ARLINGTON, Texas—Family-owned Gilberto’s Taco Shop continues to draw customers for its crowd-favorite dishes, like its birria series that has gained attention on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
Many in the Arlington community recognize the taco shop for its popular menu items, like quesabirria tacos.
Gilberto’s Taco Shop has three locations in Arlington: one in downtown, another near the University of Texas at Arlington and a third on Bowen Road.
Jose Ruiz, owner of Gilberto’s Tacos, has operated the business since 2019, when he opened the first location at 1112 E. Abram St.
“I opened up my first location in 2019—Feb. 17,” Ruiz said.
The second location, at 611 W. Park Row Drive, opened in May about three years ago. The third location, 1110 S. Bowen Road, Suite A, opened recently near Pantego.
Ruiz said that the tacos are made by his family using traditional recipes dating to the 1990s and 2000s. He said the restaurant’s authentic Mexican food is similar to Tex-Mex offerings in Texas.
Authentic and creative
“My family has been in the restaurant business since the ‘90s, early 2000s,” Ruiz said, “I just decided to take a lead and see how it would go with me opening up the business, because I have uncles and aunts and my parents, of course, have owned restaurants. I’ve been in this business, this type of business, since I was young.”
He said the restaurant’s cuisine marries authenticity with creativity.
“I would say, you know the type of food that I sell is, of course, authentic Mexican food,” Ruiz said, “I do want to say since we are in the state of Texas, we do have a little bit of Tex-Mex. You can add a twist to it.”
The most popular items include a variety of birria fusion dishes, such as birria tacos, birria ramen, birria pizza and birria burritos, as well as stuffed Hot Cheetos fries. Birria flavors have become a favorite in Mexican cuisine on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Viral food trend examples include Hot Cheetos Birria Balls and quesabirria tacos, which remain popular in 2026 and are widely recognized as Instagram-famous dishes.
“The most popular item on my menu would have to be birria. Anything birria,” Ruiz said.
Birria is known for its rich Mexican consommé broth. As a result, quesabirria tacos are among the top-selling items at all Gilberto’s Taco Shop locations.
“That’s probably the main thing that we sell, which is Birria,” Ruiz said. “It can be either tacos or pizza or quesadillas.”
Emphasis on customer service
Customer service is a top priority in the restaurant business.
“The first thing that comes to mind when you talk about, my businesses, I would have to say it’s customer service,” Ruiz said. “I would say, it’s my customer service.”
That commitment is echoed by Ruiz’s employees.
“Our No. 1 priority here at Gilberto’s Taco Shop is customer service,” Hailey Gamiz, manager of Gilberto Taco Shop 2, said. “Anytime a customer comes in, it’s always like, they’re always greeted with a hello, welcome in.”
A variety of authentic foods, including tacos, burritos, and other Mexican dishes, are prepared during rush hours at Gilberto’s, and staff members work hard to keep up with demand.
“When there’s tons of people coming through the door, there is tons of food coming out,” Gamiz said.
Customers said they always have a memorable time at Gilberto’s.
“They greet me well, and my favorite product from Gilberto’s Taco Shop [is] the Hot Cheeto burrito,” customer Adrian Lopez said.
In the Arlington community, Gilberto’s Taco Shop is among the popular restaurants known for specializing in birria flavors. Several other local restaurants offer variations of birria, including Cris and John, a Vietnamese-Mexican fusion restaurant in Dallas; Dragon Casa, a Chinese-Mexican restaurant in Dallas; and Hurtado Barbecue in Arlington.
