Los Comales: Shady Restaurant of the Month
by Andrew | May 15, 2009 | 40 Comments
Los Comales
(4.48 with 56 votes)
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Oklahoma City, OK 73108
405-272-4739
I know I missed the Shady Restaurant of the Month for April. To make up for it, I am going to make a strong recommendation for this month’s shady offering. I’m even making a bold proclamation that you won’t find better authentic tacos anywhere else in the city. I have probably eaten at every authentic taqueria in town and there is none better than Los Comales. It lies on South Agnew just south of the Stockyards. They are cash only (note: they now accept visa and mastercard), but if you are in a pinch, you can go next door to a particularly shady gas station where there is an ATM and some slot machines. Does anyone really know what goes on with these gas station slot machines that say “for entertainment purposes only?” There is no way these dudes are in here on Friday’s spending their paychecks unless there is a chance to win some malt liquor … but I digress.
Los Comales is a taqueria, in true form. That means no chips and no insulting cheese jelly. While I am on the subject of insulting cheese jelly, why do Okla-Mex restaurants all over town serve this mysterious, watered down, clearly-not-cheese-based, jelly-like substance? I would prefer they just come out and say “we don’t serve cheese dip for free you cheap-skate, pay for some good stuff” rather than to serve up these ramekins of puke-orange-colored flavorless goo. Oh, look, I digress again. Ok, back to the restaurant.
Los Comales has tacos, burritos, gorditas, tortas, enchiladas, quesadillas, and a few other specials that sometimes change. I made a claim that they have the best tacos in town, and I think I am mostly correct. Max Burger probably has the best “al pastor” tacos, but Los Comales has the best asada and lengua, plus their breakfast tacos are out of this world.
That’s right, I said breakfast tacos. You don’t know what you are missing until you try some chorizo, potato, and egg tacos from this place. What’s even better is that they serve them all day. The breakfast burritos are fantastic as well. Seriously, how can you top fried potatoes, onions, cheese, chorizo, and egg wrapped up in a tortilla? I’ll tell you how — by dousing it in their delicious red sauce.
Tacos here price out a bit higher ($1.50 now $1.75) than the taco stands that occupy shady corners all over town, but hey, they have to pay rent, you know. Plus, you get air-conditioning, cool tile floors, and graffiti-covered bathrooms, all of which come in handy on hot summer days when you don’t feel like standing in the hot sun to get your lengua fix.
The quesadillas here may be my favorite in town as well. It’s hard to beat tasty carne asada chopped up, smothered in cheese, and fried on a griddle in a fresh tortilla. I know, quesadillas may not be what you think of when you think authentic Mexican food, but who cares, these are good. The only quesadillas in town that can compare are from Max Burger, and also Chef Parrott’s at Iguana Mexican Grill.
The gorditas are my favorite in town as well. Theirs are on the thin side versus the thick and crispy side — more like what you would see from a street vendor or Tacos Los Desvelados. I really like this style, though. There isn’t anything here that isn’t good. Just pick your meat (carne asada, pollo, lengua, chile verde or rojo, carnitas, or machaca; your method of delivery (taco, torta, gordita, etc.); and your garnish (red sauce, green sauce, lime). I had not heard of machaca before. I discovered it is actually a re-hydrated, shredded beef and it is very tasty. Thanks to my Hispanic food expert and friend, Aswado, for educating me on this one.
Los Comales is worth the trip to Stockyard City for those wanting a good taqueria experience. If you are tired of being insulted by other “Mexican” joints in town offering bland flavors and “cheese” jelly, this will be a breath of fresh air (assuming there isn’t a cattle auction going on down the road, in which case you shouldn’t breathe too deeply).
More Photos from Los Comales
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May 15th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
My Dad and I meet for lunch at Cattleman’s every week…I’m going to talk him into trying Los Comales next week. He might not need a little variety, but I do.
May 15th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Oh, man, breakfast tacos! I can’t wait. Been trying to find some good ones ever since we moved from Houston. Do you know how early they are open?
May 16th, 2009 at 12:14 am
BEST breakfast tacos eh? Guess I gotta go check it out now!
May 16th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I have been going here since November. It is great and the folks who work there are very friendly. I often go by myself, really not so shady!
May 17th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I returned from Oklahoma City a couple of weeks ago; after what you have said about Los Comales, I’m repacking my bag, and I’ll soon be back on the trail again…heading toward Oklahoma City!
Thanks for the tip!
May 18th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Strong recs on the food, and thanks for a new shady to check out. Not a lot of clues on what makes it shady for the non-locals but yeah, south of the Stockyard does say a mouthful locally.
Can’t wait to go have a bite. I’m weird like this. I’ll always take a healthy dose of good grub in a mystery encrusted shady hole over better grub from some overly sanitized fern encrusted trendo de jour corner of Hades.
May 18th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I noticed this place on the way to Mother’s Day at Cattleman’s last week and thought about submitting it for a review. Can’t wait to try the B’fast tacos!!
May 20th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Good breakfast tacos!!!????? I’m there . . . I’ve been fruitlessly searching for a good breakfast taco join ever since moving here from south Texas – can’t wait! Thanks for the review.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:33 am
I was introduced to the AWESOME restaurant about a year and a half ago by my husband, who’s family has been going there for who knows how long. We LOVE the food here. I have tried several different menu items and every one of them is delicious (Carne asada tacos – wow). Not only is the food great, but so are the drinks. The horchata is probably the best I’ve had. They make it fresh and it is delicious. Of course, they have the good Coke with real sugar in it too, Fresca, apple soda…
We usually go on Saturday nights. It’s quite a place to people watch too! We sometimes catch people as they are headed home from or to the discoteca.
The owners are really really nice people as well… and I think they may take plastic now! You’ve got to go!
May 21st, 2009 at 2:04 pm
so glad to hear you found a place with Machaca. I guess it’s a reigonal thing, I used to enjoy it frequently on trips to Baja California, but was surprised that I couldn’t find it in many Mexican grocery stores, not even the big ones like El Mariachi. Since reading your review i’ve gone to this place four days in a row, and took the family only once. (too bad for them). the tacos are good, and yes they do take MC/visa.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Wow, Donnie. Four days in a row. You are a shady hero!
May 22nd, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Ok, I just went today and what a great find. Seriously, if anyone knows of a better breakfast taco in the city, I’d love to hear about it, but until then, this is the place. Love that you can get breakfast tacos any time of day.
I had a chorizo and egg breakfast taco. Unbelievably flavorful and served in a flour tortilla (non-breakfast tacos are served in the more traditional double corn tortilla).
Also had one taco each of carne asada, pork in red chile and pork in green chile. My favorite was the pork in green chile. Big chunks of pork had me worried but when i bit into them they were so tender they just fell apart. So good. The green sauce is perfectly hot and with great flavor.
The pork with red chile was also good. The red sauce isn’t as hot as the green and it’s even a little sweet. Carne Asado was good but in comparison to the others, had less flavor and the meat was a little more tough.
One companion had the enchilada special which was $5.50 for two enchiladas, rice, beans and iced tea. That’s a great value.
Before visiting, I thought the tacos were on the pricey side at $1.50 compared to other taquerias. But Los Comales’ tacos are stuffed full of meat and very substantial. I had four, but that was pushing it. Could have been filled with three which would have been $4.50, a great deal. Good value here.
Beautiful find, Andrew. I will be back.
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the discussion of the “cheese jelly.” I can’t stand the stuff, and I would happily pay good money for some legitimate chile con queso. And I was beginning to think I was the only one!
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Today was my second time to have Los Comales for lunch. Wow. It was four hours ago, and I’m still full. I had a breakfast burrito with bacon, egg, potato, and cheese, and a carnitas taco, which was beautifully greasy. In all honesty, the burrito alone would have sufficed, but I couldn’t resist having a bit of variety. Nothing but good to say about this place. It is now my favorite taqueria. Seriously good stuff.
May 27th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Went with a co-worker for the first visit last week for lunch. He has been back 4 times since and myself only one other time. The burritos are slammed pack full of meat. You will not leave hungry-if you do, it’s your fault. We had to get the full understanding of the initial review so we did venture into the gas station on the corner to get our cash from the ATM…Yep, all 10 or so video poker games full with people 1 & 2 deep waiting to play. Getting the word out in the office for this place. Good food and reasonably priced.
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:00 pm
We did it. We took your advise and drove from Edmond to Los Comales (your shady restaurant of the month). It was very tempting to stop at Cattlemans since I have never been there and there was a line out the door. There was no obvious sign for Los Comales, but we recognized it from your photo. My two daughters did not want to go inside. I made them. I had Carne Asado which was wonderful. My older daughter had some fajita burrito and loved it. The only thing missing was the chips and salsa to start. We will go back someday.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I love mexican food and after reading this review, I just had to go!! I had a chicken and carne asada tacos and a friend had carne asada quesadilla. Both were wonderful, the carne asada was awesome! A great find and will go back…must try the burritos!
June 12th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I was introduced to this from a random coworker that hadn’t been there for quite some time; I then introduced just about everyone in the office. Everything that i’ve tried has been great.
A joke around the office is that the burritos are so full, when your done eating them you still have a salad on your plate from the stuff that fell out.
June 15th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I went to Los Comales 6-12-09 with a friend and it was wonderful. We have both worked extensively in the restaurant buisness in the past and know good food. This was excellent. It is simply wondeful, authentic, mexican food. It is a little more expensive than Taqueria Sanchez and other taco trucks but the portions are larger (and tasted better to me) and you really dont need to order as much. There were not alot of people there and it was 12:15 so I worry about them being able to stay open. I really hope they do because i will eat there often.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:26 am
thanks for recommending this place. had lunch there today and it was very good. some of the best barbacoa I’ve ever had! I also stopped in at the Mexican bakery just across the street; they have a wonderful assortment of sweets (and you can get 2-litre bottles of Jarritos pop). try the tres leche cake!
June 18th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Went Los Comales (LC) today for lunch. We got there about 11:30 and the parking around LC was full, very encouraging. We found an empty spot on the side, parked and went inside. The place is very spartan on the inside. A real no frills kind of place which is not necessarily bad for lunch. It was very clean though.
Ordering is made easy because everything on the menu is numbered. That way you don’t have to butcher the pronunciation or try to say them with a spanish accent like some non-speakers do.
After reading all the reviews I decided to try a carne asada taco,a pork with red chili taco and a barbacoa gordita. I ordered horchata,(never had horchata before but it was very tasty and a good compliment for the spices in the food),for my drink. The horchata was not on the drink section of the menu. (BTW, you order at the counter and the food is brought to your table.)
The food came a little slow but they were busy so it was not an issue. I’m not an expert on taqueria’s so I’m not going to address the size to value thing. My order came to $8 something and I put the change from a 10 spot in the tip jar.
Now for the food. The carne asada taco was good but not great. The pork and red chili taco was awesome. The barbacoa gordita was extremely tasty but was very greasy. I’m not sure if it was the barbacoa or the gordita prep that made it greasy. I’ll try a barbacoa taco next time. I think the red chile pork taco was my favorite. It had a little heat, it was alittle sweet and the pork was very tender. I plan a red chile pork burrito for next time. I may also try a pork in green chili taco, it’s should have a little more heat than the red pork. BTW, the barbacoa was very tasty and tender despite the grease.
Go here. I didn’t find it at all shady. We never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. It wasn’t at all like going to a sterile, clean and comfy Panera Bread in Edmond though. No WIFI or designer coffee. If you need that then stay up there or wherever. The Stockyards are a unique place in OKC and LC just makes it a little better.
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:05 am
My mother once asked the manager of an Okla-Mex restaurant what exactly was in the “Cheese-Jelly”. It’s mainly cream of chicken soup & corn starch! If you’re lucky, they mix in some tomato & onion. Now we always pay extra for the real queso.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Los Comales is the best place for tacos! I order about $20 dollars worth of tacos every time I go there. Thanks to Chef Bennett for the 411 on this joint.
August 8th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Okay, so does “authentic” mean no cheese or what? i just went and all the crap fell out, all it was was steak and onions in a tortilla!
August 8th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
I would define “authentic” as the way you would get it in its country of origin. And no, you won’t get a street taco in Mexico with shredded cheddar, shredded iceberg lettuce, or diced unripe tomatoes. If that’s your thing, don’t go to Los Comales.
August 11th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I had breakfast at Los Comales this morning I had a chorizo and egg taco also a barbacoa and lengua taco, all were very good and three tacos are about right to fill me up,the place was very clean and the staff, as well as other customers were all friendly as are most of the folks in “Packin Town” never thought of it being shady though.
September 5th, 2009 at 10:55 am
They say Cattleman’s has some of the best breakfast in town. Unfortunately I will never be able to try it as it is too close to Los Comales. Lunch yesterday and this breakfast this morning. Man I’m sold! This place is great!
September 19th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
My husband and I went here for dinner last night. It was so great to have real tacos, with corn tortillas. We had lengua, pork with red sauce, and carne asada tacos. I was not super excited by the lengua’s flavor, but I am glad to know they have it. The pork and carne asada were excellent.
And maybe the location is a bit shady, but the restaurant itself seems clean, and everyone was very friendly. Thank you for the review!
November 16th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
One of the best if not the best in town for tacos hands down!
February 11th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I’ve have been going here for aabour 2 years now after my barber told me about it, I’ve told several friends and family members and now they’re all hooked on it. come to think of it, it’s been awhile since i’e been there, time for a fix I think another good thing about it is I never have trouble getting my wife to go there. she’s from Calif and is always complaining how we don’t have “real mexican food here but she doesn’t say that about this place, I usually get the asada burritos, they are huge for the money and have great flavor but have also had some tacos(but not the breakfast ones which I will have to try next time, also have had the quesadillas and enchiladas which were also good
February 11th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
P.S.I’ve have been going here for aabour 2 years now after my barber told me about it, I’ve told several friends and family members and now they’re all hooked on it. come to think of it, it’s been awhile since i’e been there, time for a fix I think another good thing about it is I never have trouble getting my wife to go there. she’s from Calif and is always complaining how we don’t have “real mexican food here but she doesn’t say that about this place, I usually get the asada burritos, they are huge for the money and have great flavor but have also had some tacos(but not the breakfast ones which I will have to try next time, also have had the quesadillas and enchiladas which were also good had to add a little bit, i’ve lived on the SW side of OKC for a few years now and have tried mssny taquerias and taaco trucks but this is by far my favorite
March 30th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Okay. I had B’fast here alone at 0800 on Sunday morning. Place was deserted until I was about to leave. I had the sausage #9 breakfast burrito and a mexican coke. So, SO good. The only complaint would be that the salsas were fresh out of the fridge and I would have rather had them room temp. No biggie as they warm up quickly enough. Next time I’m going to get a couple of breakfast tacos and mix the fillings up a bit between the tacos. I originally went with the burrito because I was able to get a bigger variety of fillings in the burrito. The burrito is massive for a little under four dollars.
I didn’t find the restro shady, but as I was headed south down Agnew towards 29th, there were four cops circling the area. Good Sunday AM entertainment if you ask me…
August 28th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
The #13 Burrito, Machacado, Beans, and Cheese is the best thing I’ve eaten in recent memory, and my new favorite at LC. I have become a regular and have yet to be anything but enthusiastic about all that I’ve tried. And I am also vehemently opposed to cheese-jelly.
September 8th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
I enjoy breakfast at Los Comales any time I’m in the area and sometimes go ther even if I’m not, can’t beat the breakfast taco’s, the burrito is great also, I like the sausage egg and potatoe, it is very filling and a good value also !
September 11th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Mmm, I’ve been there twice now, thanks to EatAroundOKC. I just drooled a little bit on my keyboard at the thought of having their tacos again.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
This is easily my favorite place for tacos. The wife and I try to go every time we’re in the area, and we enjoy it immensely every time that we do. The pork verde is easily my favorite choice, be it in a taco, burrito, etc., but I’ve yet to have something that I didn’t love.
Funnily enough, I’m at Los Comales right now about to enjoy diner. My wife ordered the chicken flautas (#27), which she loves, with sides of rice and beans with a Mexican Coke. I’m having the carnitas burrito (#36), two carne asada tacos (#19), and a half liter ofMexican Squirt. I can’t wait.
February 6th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
I had breakfast here yesterday morn, just keeps getting better, keep up the good work is all I know to say !!
April 9th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
I’m not sure if anybody has reported this yet, but the last time I went to Los Comales, the prices on just about everything had gone up. If memory serves me correctly, it was only a quarter increase. The food is still delicious, but it doesn’t help when making a decision on what is the best “bang for your buck” when picking a taquería.
April 10th, 2011 at 6:51 am
Rick, yes, I had heard that but thanks for reporting it here. It seems it’s $0.25 across the board meaning the percentage increase on their formerly $1.50 tacos is pretty substantial. Larger items like the burritos, however, can easily absorb the extra quarter. With tacos at $1.75 now, I think Taqueria La Original edges them out on value with tasty tacos that are the same size for $1.65. Or Abel’s, where you can get taqueria tacos for $1.75 when you dine in but you get the chips, salsa and sopapillas thrown in for free. I don’t blame them for the price increase but it does make the competition tighter whereas before I felt Los Comales was the clear winner on value and taste.
April 23rd, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Been here several times for tacos – awesome red chili pork and machaca is good, too. Two tacos with lots of filling and a horchata for under $5 then go to the panaderia across the street for some fresh-baked mexican pastries…it’s one of our favorite eats for when my wife and I want a “cheap date”.
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