The Vancouver Foodster 12th Annual Taco Challenge was a success featuring taco creations from restaurants around Vancouver. Each restaurant featured their taco creation from May 1-25, 2025. Our media judging panel determined the ultimate winners of the challenge, and this was quite the task as each judge who tasted each creation with a rigorous process based on taste, originality/uniqueness and presentation/appearance.
The Winners are:
1st Place:
{101 points}
Salsa & Guacamole
Birria Tacos A.K.A Quesabirrias
Price $23.90 (includes the 3 tacos)
Created by: Paola Hein & Dani Henriquez
Description: Get ready to meet your new obsession: our legendary Birria Tacos!
Tender, slow-braised beef, dripping with rich, savory flavor, tucked into crispy, golden corn tortillas, melted cheese oozing from the sides, and served with a bold, aromatic consomé for the ultimate dunk. Each bite is juicy, cheesy, and packed with deep, crave-worthy spices that’ll have you hooked from the first dip.
Warning: once you start, you won’t want to stop.
Ingredients: 3 corn tortillas stuffed with birria beef, cheese, onion and cilantro with a side of birria broth.
Available: Daily all the time.
Salsa & Guacamole
13483 72 Ave LOWER LEVEL, Surrey
Tel:Phone: (604) 597-0202
Web: https://salsaandguacamole.com/
Instagram @salsa_andguacamole
2nd Place:
(93 points)
Those Indian Guys
Masala Fish Tacos
Price: $14 (includes the 2 tacos)
Created by: Vinnie
Description: Marinated fish tikka tossed in Indian spices & herbs assembled in a home-made paratha taco with a little slaw, avocado, pickled onions, carrot julienne and our signature mint chutney.
Ingredients: House made Malabar paratha taco, fish tikka, avocado, pickled onions, mint chutney, hot sauce, carrot, lime drizzle.
Offered: Daily, regular hours 11 am to 9 pm
Available: Takeout and delivery.
Delivery: uberEats, Doordash.
Those Indian Guys
120-1881 152 street. Surrey BC
Tel: 778-512-9556
Website: www.thoseindianguys.com
Instagram: @those_indian_guys
3rd Place:
(91 points)
Vancouver Aquarium
Tempura Seafood Taco
Price: $18 (includes the 3 tacos)
Created by: Executive Chef David Lee
Description: Tempura Pacific Cod and Halibut, warm flour tortilla, spicy slaw, crispy pickled ginger.
Available: Daily all the time
Vancouver Aquarium Courtyard Cafe
845 Avison Way, Vancouver
Tel:(778) 655-9554
Instagram @vanaqua
In the People’s Choice Awards category, the public who tried the Taco Creations were the ones who had the opportunity to cast their vote throughout the challenge.
The Winners are:
1st Place People’s Choice:
Salsa & Guacamole
Birria Tacos A.K.A Quesabirrias
Price $23.90 (includes the 3 tacos)
Created by: Paola Hein & Dani Henriquez
Description: Get ready to meet your new obsession: our legendary Birria Tacos!
Tender, slow-braised beef, dripping with rich, savory flavor, tucked into crispy, golden corn tortillas, melted cheese oozing from the sides, and served with a bold, aromatic consomé for the ultimate dunk. Each bite is juicy, cheesy, and packed with deep, crave-worthy spices that’ll have you hooked from the first dip.
Warning: once you start, you won’t want to stop.
Ingredients: 3 corn tortillas stuffed with birria beef, cheese, onion and cilantro with a side of birria broth.
Available: Daily all the time.
Salsa & Guacamole
13483 72 Ave LOWER LEVEL, Surrey
Tel:Phone: (604) 597-0202
Web: https://salsaandguacamole.com/
Instagram @salsa_andguacamole
2nd Place People’s Choice:
Miso Taco
Cochinita Shoyu Tacos
Price: $17 (includes the 3 tacos)
Created by: Diego Delgado
Description: Inspired by the renowned cochinita pibil tacos from Yucatán, traditionally served with pickled red onions and habanero salsa, this dish reimagines a classic with a playful, cross-cultural twist.
We took inspiration from the rich, savory notes of a tonkotsu shoyu ramen broth to create a unique braising sauce, blending achiote and traditional Mexican spices with deep, umami-packed Japanese flavors. The result is a tender, flavourful meat, topped with fun and vibrant elements to add exciting textures and bursts of flavour with every bite.
Overall, it’s an explosion of taste, marrying the warmth and soul of traditional Mexican cuisine with the depth, complexity, and elegance of Japanese culinary techniques, a bold fusion that feels both familiar and thrillingly new.
Ingredients: Corn tortilla, pork cochinita with soy sauce base, crispy shallots, chard habanero and mango dressing, fukujinzuke pickles, toasted sesame seeds.
Offered: Daily Tuesday – Sunday, closed Monday’s.
Not available for takeout or delivery.
Miso Taco
3456 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Tel: (236) 471-8011
Web: https://misotaco.ca/
Instagram @misotacoco
3rd Place People’s Choice:
Those Indian Guys
Masala Fish Tacos
Price: $14 (includes the 2 tacos)
Created by: Vinnie
Description: Marinated fish tikka tossed in Indian spices & herbs assembled in a home-made paratha taco with a little slaw, avocado, pickled onions, carrot julienne and our signature mint chutney.
Ingredients: House made Malabar paratha taco, fish tikka, avocado, pickled onions, mint chutney, hot sauce, carrot, lime drizzle.
Offered: Daily, regular hours 11 am to 9 pm
Available: Takeout and delivery.
Delivery: uberEats, Doordash.
Those Indian Guys
120-1881 152 street. Surrey BC
Tel: 778-512-9556
Website: www.thoseindianguys.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/those_indian_guys/
Each media judge scored each creation with a maximum of 40 points as follows: Overall Taste 20 points, Originality and Uniqueness 10 points, Presentation and Appearance 10 points. The highest number of points a challenge creation could have been awarded is 120 points.
Our Media judges for this challenge were: Jacqueline Chui, Maggi Mei and Shelley Hayashi
Thank you to all the restaurants and food trucks that accepted my invitation and featured the Taco Challenge creations on the menu for the past few weeks during this challenge.
I encourage you to visit the winning restaurants to try their Taco creations!
By: Richard Wolak