Kimmy L.
Yelp
I remember seeing a Birrieria Tijuana van drive by on my way to Burien and knew that I had to go (plus Yelpers were raving about this place on social media). I was first introduced to birria by my coworkers who described it as the tasty, cheap meat that Latinos used to eat during recessions. Traditionally birria was made from goat or deer, but several American Birrierias also serve beef birria (like this place). I tried birria from the Mexican chain, El Riconsito, before, but it was extremely fatty and honestly a huge disappointment. I was hoping that by going to an actual birriera, the birria would be more authentic- and boy, was this place twenty times better than El Riconsito.
My boyfriend and I came here on a weekend evening at around 8pm for a late dinner. Birrieria Tijuana is built into a neighborhood Mexican market, but the restaurant is accessible through a side door as well.
The restaurant has a fair amount of seating with several booths and tables. It definitely has a fast food feel with the white tile floors and very casual atmosphere.
This place serves birria in all forms including on top of fries, inside a quesadilla, in a burrito, in a torta, on its own, in consume (dipping soup) and even in an instant ramen cup. Instagram videos also show birria "pizza" for $22 which is HUGE and definitely an interesting fusion dish.
After perusing the menu, my boyfriend and I both got Plato Birrias which came with meat, rice, taco shells, white retried beans, a jalapeño, sautéed onions, salsa verde, salsa rojo, red onions, cabbage, and lime (approx $16 per plate).
The birria platos were gigantic and the portions were extremely generous- they gave us like a pound of meat which neither of us could finish in one sitting. The meat was tender and tasty- it reminded me of pot roast or beef brisket with a slightly tangy, savory, and spicy sauce. The frijoles (beans) were superior to your typical canned refried beans. I'be never had white refried beans before, but they were very good! The onions were sweet and perfectly complemented the meat. They also gave us at least four corn taco shells each which we topped with the meat, cabbage, onion, and salsa. Speaking of salsa, the verde was good, but the red salsa was the real winner- spicy, slightly smoky, and just a little tangy. I only wish that they gave us slightly more salsa, but we probably could've asked.
Service was good and we got our food within 20 minutes. The floors and tables were super clean, but passable.
Overall: 4.5/5 for food, 4/5 for service, 3/5 for atmosphere