Mexican restaurant and taqueria menu

Usual sections

1. Starters or antojitos: guacamole, esquites, quesadillas, tostadas, nachos.
2. Tacos: the heart of the menu.
3. Mains: enchiladas, mole, chilaquiles, burritos.
4. Desserts: churros, flan, tres leches cake.
5. Drinks: aguas frescas, beer, micheladas, margaritas, mezcal and tequila.

In a small taqueria, tacos take up half the menu. In a restaurant, starters and mains carry more weight. The template puts tacos at the top because that’s what people look for first.

Tacos: by the piece or by the order

Use price columns with their label:

Example prices in pounds.

• If your order is three, four or five tacos, say so in the label: “Order of 4”.
• Give the type of tortilla once, in the section note: corn or flour, handmade or not. If you have both, each taco’s description says which it comes on.
• Extras (melted cheese, avocado, an extra tortilla) go in a note with their price.

Mexican names, explained for everyone

Many customers don’t know what suadero, huitlacoche or epazote are. Don’t change the name: explain it.

• The name, as it is: “Cochinita pibil”, “Barbacoa de res”, “Esquites”.
• The description, with what’s in it and how it’s made: “Pork marinated in achiote, slow-cooked”, “Corn, mayonnaise, cheese and chilli”.

Some words are spelled differently depending on the customer: “chile” in Mexico and the US, “chilli” in the UK. Pick one and use it the same way across the whole menu; the descriptions clear up the rest. Tex-Mex favourites such as burritos and nachos are fine to include, and US customers will know the difference.

Heat

It’s the question people ask most. Three rules:

1. Mark with the spicy tag only what’s genuinely hot for an average customer.
2. If you have several levels, explain them once: “Mild · Medium · Very hot”.
3. Table salsas deserve their own note: “Our table salsas are hot: ask before you try them”.

Drinks

Mexican drinks need explaining too:

• Aguas frescas: jamaica (hibiscus), horchata (rice and cinnamon), tamarind. One word in the description is enough to know what they taste like.
• Micheladas: say what’s in them, because every place makes them its own way: “Beer, lime, chilli and salt”.
• Mezcal and tequila: by the measure, with the type (blanco, reposado, añejo) and, if you like, the region.

If you have a lot of mezcals or tequilas, a separate list reads better than a long section at the end.

Allergens in Mexican cooking

There are more than you’d think:

• Gluten: flour tortillas, burritos, batters, beer. Corn has no gluten, but traces are possible on a shared comal or fryer.
• Milk: cheeses (queso fresco, Oaxaca, cotija), crema, and horchata if you make it with milk.
• Eggs: chipotle mayonnaise, batters and the eggs on chilaquiles and huevos rancheros.
• Sesame: the sesame seeds in mole and some salsas.
• Peanuts and tree nuts: mole poblano often contains both; so do salsa macha and chiles en nogada.
• Fish and crustaceans: fish or shrimp tacos, ceviche, aguachile.

Mole deserves a special mention: it’s a long recipe with many ingredients, and many versions use bread or biscuits to thicken it. Check your whole recipe before marking it. And ceviche and aguachile are “cooked” in lime, not by heat: treat the fish as raw for parasite freezing, as the Japanese menu guide explains.

Writing tips

• Few words per taco: protein, one or two toppings and the salsa.
• Feature the house taco: usually the al pastor, or whichever you do best.
• Aguas frescas, with the flavour of the day on a board if it changes often.
• Vegetarian and vegan dishes, marked: mushrooms, rajas, nopales. They’re among the most asked about.

Format and style

• A4 in two columns: tacos and starters on one side, mains and drinks on the other.
• A3 poster above the counter or next to the trompo.
• Tri-fold if you do takeaway: it goes in the bag.
• Instagram post or story for the taco of the week.

The template’s style is Taquería, with colourful papel picado and chunky lettering. Memphis and Market are good alternatives for a more urban venue. More in menu templates.

Make it in MenuDesign

Open the Mexican menu template, add your tacos with prices per taco and per order, explain the names, mark heat and allergens and download the PDF. Free, no account, and saved in your browser.