Looking for a Mexican Restaurant Near Durham? Here's Why Locals Choose La Taqueria by Katsuji

Durham has no shortage of places to get Mexican food, from downtown spots near the American Tobacco Campus to casual counters closer to Duke and Ninth Street. So when locals from all over Durham, and increasingly from Chapel Hill and RTP-adjacent towns, keep coming back to one spot specifically, it's worth asking what's actually different about it. Here's the honest answer for La Taqueria by Katsuji in Boxyard RTP: it's not trying to be everything to everyone. It's built around one specific thing — Mexico City street tacos — and it does that one thing with real technique instead of shortcuts.

Here's what that actually means for you if you're deciding where to eat near Durham.

A Top Chef Alum Cooking the Tacos He Grew Up On

Chef Katsuji Tanabe isn't running a generic Mexican menu. He grew up eating these exact tacos on the streets of Mexico City, and the menu at La Taqueria reflects that directly — not a broad "Mexican restaurant" concept built to cover every regional style at once, but a specific, personal one. That distinction matters more than it sounds. A menu built from memory and technique tends to hold up better over time than one built to check every box on a typical Mexican restaurant menu you'd find scattered around Durham.

Real Technique, Not a Toppings Bar

This is probably the biggest difference locals notice once they've been a few times. Every taco starts with a warm corn tortilla and one named protein — not a generic seasoned meat base used across the whole menu:

• Suadero — slow-braised beef from between the belly and the leg, finished crispy on the comal. This is the taco Chef Katsuji has said reminds him most of growing up in Mexico City.

• Pollo Pibil — achiote-marinated chicken, slow-roasted using a traditional Yucatecan method that traces back to an underground cooking pit called a "pib."

• Chorizo Tacos — fresh Mexican-style chorizo, cooked from raw until the fat renders and the edges crisp, unlike the cured, sliceable chorizo more common in Spanish cooking.

• NC Sweet Potato Tacos — the vegetarian option, roasted and comal-finished with the same care as the meat, using a North Carolina crop as the local twist on a Mexico City street-food tradition.

Toppings stay simple on purpose: diced onion, cilantro, lime, and housemade salsa. Nothing buried under a pile of shredded cheese and sour cream. Our guide to authentic Mexico City street tacos goes into this in more depth if you want the full story behind the technique.

A Menu Built for Actual Cravings

Tacos are the anchor, but the full menu covers more ground than that. The 2 Taco Combo is the most popular order — pick two proteins, get a side of frijoles. Single Tacos are a good choice if you're grabbing something quick between errands in Durham. For the table, there's a Quesadilla, Gringo Nachos, and a Burrito, plus jars of housemade salsa and hot sauce to take home. If you want a lighter non-alcoholic option to go with it, the housemade agua frescas and rotating Mexican sodas round out the drink menu alongside the margaritas below.

Margaritas and Mezcalinas Made In-House

Locals come back for the drinks as much as the food. The House Margarita is built on real citrus, not a mix, and the two Signature Mezcalinas — Mango Habanero and Passion Fruit Coconut — use real mezcal for genuine smoke rather than a flavored-syrup shortcut. Both run two-for-one every day at $12, and each can be made non-alcoholic on request for $9, served as the same flavors in agua fresca form. It's a noticeably different bar program than what you'll find at most quick-service Mexican spots around Durham, and it's part of why La Taqueria works as well for a weekend dinner as it does for a fast weekday lunch.

Convenient However You Want to Eat

Some visits call for sitting down with a margarita and taking your time. Others call for ordering ahead and grabbing it on the way somewhere between Durham, Duke, or downtown. La Taqueria works for both — dine in at Boxyard RTP, or order online for pickup. If you're coordinating a larger group instead of a solo visit, taco bar catering brings the same menu to your office or event anywhere in Durham or the wider Triangle, bookable directly through ezCater.

Easy to Find From Anywhere in Durham, Free Parking

La Taqueria is located at 900 Park Offices Drive, Suite 100, inside Boxyard RTP — a food hall built from repurposed shipping containers in the Hub RTP district. It's a straightforward drive whether you're coming from downtown Durham, Duke's campus and Ninth Street, or the Brightleaf area, and parking on-site is free and plentiful, so it's a low-friction stop no matter which part of Durham you're starting from. Hours can vary by day, so it's worth checking current hours on the menu page or the restaurant's Google Business Profile before you head over.

Good for Groups, Families, and First Dates

Because the menu is built around combos and shareable sides rather than single entrees, it naturally works for a range of visits — a family dinner where everyone wants a different protein, a first date that benefits from a relaxed, order-at-your-own-pace format, or a group of coworkers splitting nachos and a few rounds of tacos. Boxyard RTP itself is dog-friendly and has ample outdoor seating, which adds to why it's become a repeat stop for so many different kinds of visits, not just one type of occasion.

FAQ: Mexican Restaurant Near Durham

Come Taste the Difference

Order online for pickup, browse the full menu, or get directions to Boxyard RTP. Planning something for a group? Ask about taco catering for your next Durham-area event.