La Monita Taqueria
Bay Area native Billy Bautista and his wife Kasama "Oh" Laopanich opened this Mahatun Plaza taqueria in 2009 to fill Bangkok's Mission-burrito void, and Time Out credits it as "one of the first Mexican restaurants in the capital."
Why go
Fifteen years on, the original 75-seat room still runs the formula that built it: handmade tortillas, slow-cooked meats, house salsas, and Mission-style burritos with California proportions. Time Out has kept it on the city's best-Mexican list since the scene it started grew competitors. The quesa-birria tacos and carne asada quesadilla are the modern-era headliners, and the bar runs Latin cocktails off an extensive tequila list. The operation now spans three formats, taqueria, taco truck at Siam Paragon, and the bigger EmQuartier cantina, but the Ploenchit original is the one with the history in its walls.
Order this / avoid
- Order: a Mission burrito or the quesa-birria tacos, the carne asada quesadilla for the table, and a margarita off the agave list (venue; Time Out).
- Avoid: measuring it against regional-Mexican orthodoxy; the DNA is Cal-Mex by design. On Jeff's mezcal note: the documented program is tequila-led, so ask the bar what agave depth they currently pour.
What locals & experts say
- Time Out Bangkok (2021, Arpiwach Supateerawanitt):
It was in 2009 that La Monita Taqueria started out, marking it as one of the first Mexican restaurants in the capital.
1 - Capp Street Crap (secondary, named author): the founders built it on Mission-style burritos after finding Bangkok's Mexican options lacking, and the room ran
regularly packed.
2
Good to know
- Timing: lunch through dinner daily; exact hours unverified, check the venue.
- Booking: walk-in; peak dinner can queue, and the taco truck or cantina absorb overflow.
- Getting there: Mahatun Plaza on Ploenchit Rd, steps from BTS Ploen Chit; an easy add-on to a Central Embassy or Lumpini stretch.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: mexican and mezcal.
Verdict
could-visit — Bangkok's original serious taqueria, opened 2009 by a Bay Area founder homesick for Mission burritos, still on Time Out's best-Mexican list and now three formats strong. It is the city's dependable answer to a taco-and-margarita craving rather than a chef-driven destination, and its value inside that lane is real. Slot it for the night Thai food fatigue arrives.