Nayar Taqueria

Craving Mexican food in SE? Check out Nayar Taqueria — serving up simple, classic flavors made by the people, for the people. Friendly staff, street parking, and a laid-back vibe. Come by and enjoy!

I loved the pictures online and had to come in to try the food. It came out looking great but was bland and the birria dipping sauce was like water from a burnt pan. I will never be back. Me and my girlfriend both got a stomach ache from the food also that's why I didn't give two stars. It was small portions but looked great. After the first bite I felt tricked. Flavorless is an understatement. Beware the prices are high and the quality is low. We were there for 30 minutes and only one other couple came in to get a cocktail. By the way the staff was sad and didn't seem they wanted to be there I don't blame people in the neighborhood not showing up. I recommend any taco truck in Portland over this restaurant. Buyer beware you may get belly pain for testing this place .

The food was amazing! Cool vibes.

These tacos are the most amazing tacos I have ever had. The restaurant has a funny sense of humor with their decor and it’s super comfortable, I have never had tacos with this much flavor and love. This is a diamond taco place that deserves more recognition. My boyfriend and me bonded over how good these tacos are, honestly saved our relationship.

Wow! Wonderful, warm atmosphere and tasty Tacos! Everyone in the group was ready for the Taco experience and this place provides! They do street style tacos, with the option to add on other toppings…yeah, we went full tilt. Fantastic! The beans are ranchero style, not refried. Yummy! The Taco salad has all the topping you could want. Come for lunch and leave full and happy.

My wife and I have been loyal customers here for 6 years, we live across the street. That’s why I rate with 5 starts. Unfortunately because they have doubled the price of their burritos to $16 (for a vegetarian burrito or chicken) from $8.95 we now need to pass on ordering from here and will likely look elsewhere from now on.

Amazing food at a good price, and it has great presentation! The staff are friendly and have a great sense of humor. I was smiling while eating. Drinks are well priced and super good. The decor and ambiance are great too, I regret not trying this place sooner! Highly recommend!

Nice local spot in the neighborhood that we’ve enjoyed coming to often. However, the recent price increases are incredibly steep, so much so that we won’t be able to justify coming back like we had been. Really bummed.

Nayar is a fantastic Mexican restaurant. My wife and I came here, since it was a couple of blocks from my mother-in-law's. We came back the next two days, and my wife came two more times when she visited with her brothers a couple of weeks later. I was blown away by the mole chicken the first time we went, and that's been a Mexican favorite of mine for... well, decades. Gettin' old, yup. Birria tacos, carnitas burrito, and many other dishes ordered, all fantastic. My wife is 1/4 Mexican, and she and her brothers are tough judges. They loved it as did I . I'm not sayin' I didn't really look forward to visiting my mother-in-law before, but Nayar definitely helps. Deee-licious!!

This was me and my friend's first meal out during our first time visiting Portland, and I wish we could've eaten here every night of the week. The food at Nayar Taqueria surpassed all expectations. Each dish was meticulously prepared with fresh, high-quality ingredients. The menu offered a diverse range of options, catering to various dietary preferences, ensuring there was something for everyone to enjoy. The service was impeccable, with attentive and friendly staff members who went above and beyond to ensure our dining experience was nothing short of perfect. They were knowledgeable about the menu and offered excellent recommendations. The ambiance of the restaurant was also noteworthy. The decor was fun and eclectic, and the colorful lighting made dining at night especially enjoyable.

I gave this place two stars for a few reasons... 1. The food was good but not great and with so many great choices in Portland, I will choose elsewhere. 2. Staff was friendly, service was quick, however, I wanted Chili Colorado which they only serve as a burrito. I asked if I could get it as a dinner, the server asked and the manager said yes. Great, we sat down, waited and after 5 minutes, the server said they don't do chili Colorado as a dinner. I reminded her that the manager/owner said yes but apparently he changed mind! Again, decent food but I believe there are way better options in Portland.

Don't sleep on this place. Returned from a trip to Nayarit and these tacos are better than we ate in Mexico. The staff is all so friendly and you can tell they really believe in good service. The food is cooked to order and doesn't come out fast as a result but it's worth it. The flavors! Our favorite taco joint in Portland.

Really yummy food! LOTS of vegan options, which is a nice change of pace for a Mexican place. The decor is cute/funky and the seating comfortable. I got the vegan taco plate and really enjoyed it. 10/10 would come again!

What a great hidden gem! The inside of this place is playful, fun and unique all while having a very laid back ambiance. The service was really friendly and they were extremely patient with us as we perused their menu. We ended up getting an asada taco, chips and guacamole, and an Al pastor burrito. The burrito was amazing, tortilla tasted homemade and was filled with some of the tastiest Spanish rice I've ever had. Loved the salsas that come with it as well. Be careful with the spiciest salsa. I can handle heat but this one will kick you in the pants. The guac was also really good and freshly made with big chunks of avocado. If you like a smooth guac, this may not be the one for you. We will definitely be back!

We come here often because the burritos are fantastic!! The chicken burrito always hits the spot, but honestly, everything I've had here is delicious. The ingredients are always fresh and the staff is friendly!

Our favorite taco spot is now open for breakfast 7 days a week. An awesome selection of tacos, burritos, and specials...and then their Micheladas - heaven! Fun stuff on their walls.

So good. Had a trip shelf patron margarita and also a spicy cazadores margarita. So good! Come for the drinks, stay for the drinks and food and enjoy their sense of humor.

Tried this Mexican taqueria on Foster and everything was amazing. The service was fast and friendly. Place is not crowded. Had more than the "usual" options for Mexican tacos/burritos. The beer battered carne asada fries were so crispy and topped with guacamole. I ordered the shrimp taco, Al pastor taco and chicken mole taco and the tortilla tasted freshly hand made. Love that I found a new favorite Mexican spot close to home!

Well, after passing this place for a long time we finally decided to stop in & try things for ourselves. The staff is friendly. The 8 ounce regular (not Mexican) bottle of Coke was more than a 12 ounce soda in a can. I ordered a carnitas plate with black beans & corn tortillas so nothing out of the ordinary. I received pinto beans instead; no biggie but still annoying. The carnitas looked like shredded chicken. Carnitas should always be finished in the frying pan to get crisp & enhance the flavor. The warmest thing served were the tortillas but they were heated on the grill & not steamed. We were brought 3 salsas, however, the one was so dirty it was clogged with solidified salsa - not sanitary and completely gross in my option. If lukewarm food is your thing, this is the place for you. The flavors were fine but hot food should always be hot & carnitas should always be crisp.

It's close by, and will do in a pinch. The burritos are a bit small for the price, however this is common and only a few places really offer a big portion for a fair price anymore. They are always nice and quick.

If I could give this place a zero star review I would first and foremost your host has the worst service yes, I ordered my food to go. It shouldn't be an issue to her if I want to stay and eat ever second if you're going to charge somebody extra meat actually put some extra meat in the food never coming again

Great food; very tasty. Great service. Very clean which is important to me and humorous signs everywhere that make you smile

The server was very nice. Sadly my breakfast burrito was kind of terrible. Egg only one half and very salty. So much so I couldn't finish. Can't recommend and won't be back with so many other good breakfast taco places.

Amazing food! Owner is soo friendly! Just started breakfast open 7 days a week at 9:00 a.m. I can't wait to try it!

This review is specifically for the chicken tinga burrito. Ordered one to be delivered over the weekend and was nervous because even though I've driven past this place a hundred times, I've never tried it. I ordered the burrito as is with the addition of sour cream. And... it was one of the best burritos I've had in Portland. It was BIG, had a good amount of every single ingredient, and most of all, the chicken tinga was PHENOMENAL. It was saucy and spicy and absolutely perfect. I have been dreaming about it every single day since I ate it. 10/10 recommend.

First time visit and definitely will return to try more of the menu! The bartender/server was welcoming and friendly. I enjoyed the carnitas mole enchilada. The mole was delicioso -- not too sweet, not too chocolatey. We had chips and guac, so I took one of my enchiladas home for later. The decor has light-hearted humor everywhere from the list of opening and closing hours to the sign about the Feb. 29 and 30 happy hours! Check out the unique salt and pepper shaker holders.

Service has deteriorated. I walk in for a pick up and see a new host. I provide the correct name. Now, that should have been the end of it. However, I was given the 3rd degree by the host. What did you order? Who is it for? Is this order for you or someone else? She seemed unreasonably protective over this $10 burrito. I should have asked her, is there some phenomenon of burrito bandits using their psychic powers for freebies? I will be going to the many other spots nearby from now on. Here is a novel idea: show your regulars some kindness, and respect rather than like criminals?!

I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to burritos but this was the worst burrito I've had in a really long time. 90% of my burrito was rice, 5% was meat, 2% was beans and 3% was pico de gallo. The rice to meat ratio was what made this not enjoyable. I kept eating bites completely overpowered by rice and barely any meat or beans. I had also asked for no pico de gallo. I am a person who typically likes rice but I didn't know I was getting a rice burrito.

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure a Lyft/Uber driver recommended this spot to me. I just moved from California, and was asking about authentic Mexican food. And, I bookmarked this restaurant from his recommendation. I was in the area, checked my bookmarks... And ordered the mole with chicken. Damn! And the mild and medium salsas...damn! Okay, thank you thank you thank you for this rec because not only was the service a delight, and online ordering easy, but the food was DAMN GOOD. Fresh, good ingredients, incredible flavor, not greasy, and just what I need. I'll be back. Probably weekly. This is the thing... I know Portland is all about the food carts and taco trucks. But, this is a taqueria. Quality good food in a sit-down restaurant. I'm so glad I found a fantastic taqueria, because this has been daily for me my whole life.

A decent meal for a Tuesday night. We came in for dinner, took a look at the menu and ordered. Just two people in the place (important later), Prices were reasonable - $12 for my spinach enchilada dinner - and for the most part, flavor was great. A shout-out for the refried black beans - they rocked. A bit of a hiccup for the enchilada - spinach was a bit thin but plenty of green peppers and onions. Bumping a star for service. Although the owner (?) warned us that it might take a few extra minutes for our meal due to a lot of online orders, he mitigated this by offering free chips and guac. And a free refill on my lemonade. Considering current employment concerns - the owner mentioned that he "had ads everywhere" but was unable to recruit help, this was outstanding service with a smile. Strong kudos for this!!! This is the second time I've been to Nayar. I think, for a slightly-less-than authentic Taqueria, they're one of the best in the neighborhood. I'll be back.

This place is great. I had the enchiladas de mole. WOW. Great margaritas. A do again.

Came here on a beautiful and busy Saturday evening to pick up our dinner I had ordered earlier via Grubhub. The food was good. But I was more impressed with their customer service. There was a line of people ordering in person. The phone was constantly ringing. Their food delivery apps were on fire. Through all the stress, the staff remained calm and extremely pleasant! Kudos to you all! The server even offered me a comp drink while I waited!

I am not a big fan of Mexican food. I can usually satisfy my taste for it at Taco Bell. IMHO, it mostly all tastes the same. THIS IS DIFFERENT!!! Nayar Taqueria has changed my mind entirely on what Mexican food can taste like. I could have OD'd on the pinto beans and the rice -- forget anything else. I have no idea what they were seasoned with, but it was a huge improvement over anything else I have ever tasted. A cod enchilada in a delicately flavored cream sauce was the main entree. DEE-LI-CIOUS!! I found this restaurant on Yelp and decided to try it because it had so many great reviews. In addition, the photos looked good enough to eat. Everything is as good as it looks. I can't say enough good things about the food here. I will keep returning to try everything on the menu. Sorry I don't have pictures but you really can believe the ones on their website.

Got the Pazole Verde Soup and taquitos. The taquitos reminded me of what you get in the frozen section of a grocery store. The soup had decent flavor but almost no hominy and there were a lot of chucks of beef fat, which I personally don't enjoy.

One of the best. I've been going here for maybe 10 years from when I lived near foster and I still stop when I'm nearby. I showed my husband and he loves it if not more than I do lol. Just really good ingredients and made with love.

I walked in and asked the owner? how the huevos rancheros are. He just said ok.. I ordered at the register and paid same time. Sit down and the food was brought out to me. My food was cold but tasted ok. The salsa bottles had dried residue in the spout Not allowing anything to come out. He was right that the huevos were just OK. when I was done I walked to my car then went back in to let him know my food was cold and I suggested to serve on warm plates. He just said he has no way to heat plates. It's simple just make me want to come back for weekend breakfasts. That did not happen. It's hard to pay top dollar for subpar food. This must be why I was the only dine in customer. This place has so much potential but unfortunately the owner does not listen to his customers.

Honestly amazing, friendly place to come enjoy a bite and even a nice tasty margarita! The service is great. All the humans make it right. I enjoy the Classico relleno burrito that comes with a stuffed pepper and steak....as well as theCarne asada fries. You reallly can't go wrong with the regular Chile relleno. Truly a wonderful place that I will be coming back to over and over again. Ambiance is also very very nice inside the building.

I can't believe I live down the street from this amazing restaurant. The food is ALWAYS spectacular. The staff are super friendly. The ambiance of Nayar is fantastic as well. It's very affordable and filling. I've eaten here Dozens and Dozens of times and have never had a bad or unpleasant experience at nayar. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK YALL!!!

I really like this place. Good tacos. Wait staff was a little off, but it was kind of just a vibe you know?

Finally! A good Mexican spot in Portland. This hidden gem has fun quirky vibes but actually delivers with excellent food. Their Chile relleno burrito is *chefs kiss*. The oversized margaritas and really reasonable prices are joyfully resistant to the pomp of modern dining, making it a truly splendid spot for casual but excellent fair.

This place beyond skimps..expensive. I order 3 tacos each had 4 pieces of meat. Bummer it's by my house and it's lack luster!

Soooo disappointed! Never coming back to this place again. Everything is just off, compared to the good old days. The music is so random, there's no soccer (football) on anymore. The food is so bland and Americanized. I made an incredibly flavorful taco soup (2 heaping tablespoons of chili powder alone), that knocked the socks off anything on that menu. Miss our old friendly owner, and family.

How did I not know about this place sooner!! Delicious. Service was great. Highly recommend the spicy Margarita and the classic burrito. YUM

best mexican food in all of portland ! Must try, mole enchiladas and carnitas. Burritos are bomb.com too.

Excellent veggie burritos! Great jalepeno poppers. Love this place. Easy parking on the street. Great prices and generous portions.

Lovely ambiance with a tropical feel. We ordered an asada taco, rice, chips, pico and guacamole, and a burrito. Everything was excellent. Best rice I've ever had at a Mexican restaurant. Also friendly and fast service.

Nice little hole in the wall with some of the best Mexican food I've ever tasted. This place is pretty small and it's nothing fancy, but you're guaranteed to enjoy your meal. The people who work her are incredibly friendly and go out of their way to make you feel at home.

I checked this place out when it first moved into the neighborhood, but intentionally did not return - either because I wasn't impressed with the food or with the service. After tonight's experience, I'm pretty sure it was both. You guys swore that this place had the best chile relleno burritos, when they in fact do not. I don't have any logical explanation for all why you'd lead me astray like that, but ya did. It was hands down the worst CR burrito I've had. It was basically a rice burrito with a few beans and even less chile. And what little chile did exist was partly inedible due to it being over roasted and hard. When I finally ate my way to the bottom of the burrito, I was greeted to a greasy pool of oil. Beyond the food itself, I was charged an undisclosed 3.5% credit card fee. The fee was not posted visibly anywhere, and I should know, because I sat there for 20 minutes waiting for a burrito that had been sitting on the counter for 15 of them. The lady literally set my bag of food on the counter in front of her and let it sit while I sat across from her waiting for my order. There are better options out there and I won't be returning.

had some important clients visiting me from various important cities, such as eugene. we were supposed to make a big business deal that would save my family (my family is not safe). saw this place was right next to a funeral home so i assumed people were dying to get in there if you know what i mean. it is now my belief that this restaurant is actually killing people with its INSANELY STEEP PRICES and VERY SMALL FISH TACOS. the moment i saw my tacos, i went into a frenzy. the tacos were flying everywhere. the horchata was on the ceiling. i blacked out with anger and before i knew it, i was being loaded into a coffin. i had to kick my way out, and by the time i got out of there, my important business acquaintances were on a flight back to eugene. i am humiliated and disgraced and my family is probably heading to the funeral home next. 5 stars

The four and a half star brought me here. But it is, in my opinion, no less than 5!! Tried the Burria Tacos (3) and was very very impressed. The guacamole was fresh and well seasoned. The salsa was also very fresh. There are 3 sauces two greens and one red that they offer. Wow! I used to go to (PQN - you figure it out) as my fav for years. But COVID has kept them closed to indoor dining whereas Nayer has both inside and outside availability. Also, while I like to patronize local eateries, I don't like it even owners push their political views on the customer (right or left). For me , Nayar is my new favorite spot for tacos and tortas even though it is a 30 minute drive. It's worth it. Oh hey, they also offer a vegetarian offering too

A perfect combination of a sit down restaurant with a food style of a taco truck. Food was fast and delicious, margarita was perfect and large. Restroom was clean and offered a good laugh too!

Great chicken, pork, or Chili tamales ($4 a la carte, or 2 on a plate with rice/beans for $12.95), and solid street tacos (~$3 each). I wish they had a salsa bar and pickled carrots/onions/jalapeños for toppings, but than that I can't ask for much more from this local taqueria.

The skinny: You'll get on a ride at Disneyland faster & before your food is ready here. The long: The food is okay but is it worth the wait? Unfortunately, it's a Nope for me when this place is notorious for being sloooooooooow and the staff, namely short gray hair dude, has an indifferent attitude when you're standing & waiting 20-30min for the food to come out. I would be more understanding if he was busting his balls to try to get everyone's order out quickly however, he won't even break a sweat. He'll just take his sweet a$$ time doing prep work, cutting limes or making a margarita all the while the cook has already placed the food by the window and all that needs to be done is bagging the food. Don't even bother asking if the order is ready, he'll just tell you, "oh coming up soon." Or, "in a couple minutes." Etc. You didn't ask for a receipt right away? He'll tell you a lame excuse that it's difficult to retrieve on their register if you don't ask when you pay which is just flat out lazy. Also, as a delivery driver, it's ridiculous that you could delay coming there 15min & still have to wait another 20min for food to be ready. If you have multiple orders to deliver but become a sitting duck from this restaurant, you can kiss your tips goodbye and expect your customers to leave you a bad rating for sure (I'm mentioning this because it happened to me). In another instance, I picked up food from another restaurant which I had to wait 10min for and then take another 10min to drive over to Nayar, so 20min total before arriving and they were so disorganized that they hadn't even realized the order was in & still hadn't even started making the food! That was the last straw for me, as a customer and as a delivery partner, their repeated disorganization, indifference, & lack of urgency, is just disrespectful & unprofessional. If they read this & truly cared, they would do something about this and change for the better but I wouldn't hold my breath because their attitude is, Don't like our service? Tough luck don't come. So I'm not.

Still in the midst of trying new things here but so far I've had their plate with three tacos and their Chile Colorado plate and both of them were SO good. I'm normally not a huge taco fan but they were so great here :) I also love how affordable everything is and their rice and beans are legit. I always get kind customer service which is always a plus. Anyways, I'm definitely coming back here :)

We recently decided we'd give this place a try again after over a year. NT used to be our favorite place for Mexican food until it was sold to its current owner. We initially stopped going because the new owner started over-seasoning some of the meats, and every food item we ordered was way too salty. Unfortunately, this time around the food was just as over salted. The burrito was filled with tons of rice, with few beans and the meat was at either end. We only ordered a couple of basic burritos and a few pollo tacos mid-afternoon. The restaurant didn't appear to be very busy and we were told that our order would be ready in 10 minutes. Well, we ended up waiting 50 MINUTES for our order, while 2 other groups who placed their orders AFTER US received their meals! I inquired after 35 minutes to make sure our order wasn't lost and the gal was snippy with me, saying she had no idea how long it would really take for our meal to be ready when she initially said 10 minutes. Finally, when we did receive our to-go order, we weren't even given enough salsas. You'd think since we waited as long as we did, the restaurant would have comped SOMETHING?!?! Nope. NOTHING! Not even an apology!!! It's so sad to see how such a wonderful establishment has been ruined. The previous owner and his staff were so friendly, efficient and produced some of the best Mexican food I've had on the entire West coast! After the way my family was treated and for the lousy food we received, I guarantee, we will never go back!

I ordered 3 tacos that took over 25 min to come out. We were 1 of 3 tables sat. AND one of the tables already had their food... so I'm not sure what the hold up was. The carnitas meat was incredibly fatty and bland. The Horchata was chalky and overly sweetened. We also ordered rice that had obviously been sitting under a heating lamp. They had a lot of to go orders being picked up that seemed to take priority over the folks sitting in restaurant waiting for the food that they ordered. It was too expensive to be sooo disappointing.

Have had my eye on this place and I have to say, this place would be so much more popular if the neighborhood was trendier. It kind of annoys me that it's not because this place deserves some love. My two vegan orders: taco vegetariano w/ tempeh and the spinach green enchilada without cheese were...phenomenal. I though that splitting 1 single taco and an enchilada between two people was going to be a light snack, but we were very very full by the end of it. The enchilada so generously came with a ton of rice, beans, guac, and pico de Gallo. The taco had absolutely everything: tempeh, beans, every vegetable you can think of, etc. This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in portland, and i will definitely be coming back if I can. I hope business goes well and they're able to open another location downtown! Would love to come here more often.

The interior looks fresh and bright. I had just two tacos, chorizo and carne asada. I like that their tacos have 2 tortillas thus they don't rip. It seemed like the al pastor and chorizo were made with identical spices and were hard to discern any difference in flavor. The chorizo was very dry and had no zing.