Voting is officially open in Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay 2026 — and Taco Bus is in the running for seven titles in Tampa Bay’s biggest reader-voted awards. From Best Tacos to Best Late-Night Restaurant, we’re asking Tampa Bay to show up for us from July 23rd through August 30th, 2026. You can vote once per day, and every vote counts. Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay?
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s Best of the Bay is the area’s annual reader-voted awards, recognizing the best local businesses, restaurants, entertainment, and more across the Bay area. Nominations set the finalists in each category — now the voting round decides the winners, announced at the annual Best of the Bay party in October. For Taco Bus, this award isn’t a marketing exercise — it’s a direct reflection of the people who choose us, day after day, taco after taco.
Vote Taco Bus in 7 Different Categories
Head to vote.cltampa.com, select the “Food” group, and vote for Taco Bus in each of the following categories:
🌮 Best Tacos — Taco Bus was built on tacos. Authentic, made-from-scratch, and unlike anything else in Tampa Bay, every taco on our menu is a labor of love. If you’ve had them, you already know where to vote. This year, we already won Best Seafood Taco for our Pina Colada Shrimp Tacos at Pinellas Taco Fest.
🌯 Best Burritos — Our burritos are generously stuffed, expertly seasoned, and built the way they should be — with proper ingredients and zero shortcuts. CrLo’s readers voted us Best Burritos in 2025, and we’re defending that title. If you’re a Taco Bus regular, there’s no way you haven’t heard of El Jefe — if you haven’t, you two should meet!
🍽️ Best Caterer — From office events to weddings to private parties, Taco Bus catering brings the full experience wherever you need it. Fresh, authentic Mexican street food with zero compromise, whether we’re serving 20 people or 200.
🚌 Best Food Truck — This is where it all began. Before the brick-and-mortar locations, before the national TV features, there was the bus. The Taco Bus food truck has been named Creative Loafing’s Best Food Truck in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024. We’d love to add 2026 to that list.
🏠 Best Mexican Restaurant — Eight locations across Tampa Bay and Central Florida. Consistent quality, authentic recipes rooted in Mexican street food tradition, and a community that has supported us since 1995. We’ve been named Best Mexican Restaurant before, and we’re ready to earn it again.
🌙 Best Late-Night Restaurant — Four Taco Bus locations — Plant City, Tampa MLK, Clearwater & Land O’ Lakes/Bexley — are open late. When Tampa Bay is hungry at 2 AM, we are always there. We’ve won Best Late-Night Restaurant in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Nine titles and counting.
🥑 Best Guacamole — Fresh avocado, lime, and a little kick, made the way guac is supposed to be. Order it as a side, pile it onto a burrito or a taco salad, or make a whole meal of it with a basket of chips. Once you’ve had ours, the tubs at the grocery store are ruined for you.
Over a Decade of Recognition in Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay
Taco Bus has been a fixture in CrLo’s Best of the Bay results for over a decade. Here’s a snapshot of what Tampa Bay’s readers have helped us achieve:
- 2026: Pinellas Taco Fest Best Seafood Tacos
- 2025: Best Tacos (Winner), Best Burritos (Winner), Best Food Truck (Finalist), Best Mexican Restaurant (Finalist)
- 2024: Best Food Truck (Winner), Best Late-Night Restaurant (Winner)
- 2023: Best Late-Night Restaurant (Winner)
- 2022: Best Food Truck (Winner), Best Late-Night Restaurant (Winner)
- 2021: Best Food Truck/Vendor (Winner), Best Tacos (Winner)
- 2020: Best Food Truck/Vendor (Winner)
- 2018: Best Food Truck/Vendor (Winner)
- 2017: Best Food Truck (Winner)
- 2016: Best Food Truck (Winner), Best Late-Night Restaurant (Winner)
- 2015: Best Food Truck (Winner), Best Tacos (Winner), Best Late-Night Restaurant (Winner)
- 2014: Best Food Truck (Winner), Best Late-Night Restaurant (Winner), Best Tacos (Winner), Best Local Chain Restaurant (Winner), Best Bargain Restaurant (Winner)
- 2013: Best Food Truck (Winner), Best Mexican Restaurant (Winner), Best Bargain Restaurant (Winner), Best Late-Night Restaurant (Winner)
- 2012: Best Mexican/Tex-Mex Restaurant (Winner), Best Late-Night Restaurant (Winner)
- 2011: Best Mexican/Tex-Mex Restaurant (Winner), Best Late Night Restaurant (Winner)
This isn’t a streak built in a boardroom. It’s what happens when Tampa Bay shows up for a place they love — consistently, year after year.
How to Vote for Taco Bus — Step by Step
Go to the voting page and select “Food” from the category group. Find each of the seven categories above and choose Taco Bus. Submit your votes — then come back tomorrow and do it again. You can vote once per day through August 30th.
Contest Dates
- Voting Opens: Thursday, July 23, 2026
- Voting Closes: Sunday, August 30, 2026
- Winners Announced: Best of the Bay party, October 2026
Let’s Keep the Streak Alive, Tampa Bay!
Taco Bus has been part of this community since 1995. We’ve grown from a single converted school bus on Hillsborough Avenue in Seminole Heights to eight locations across Tampa Bay and Central Florida — including three full dine-in locations and five Express locations. Through every expansion, every late night, and every catered event, you’ve been there.
Now it’s your turn.
Head to the voting page now, vote for us in all seven categories, and come back tomorrow! Voting closes August 30th. Let’s make 2026 the best year yet. 🚌🏆
