The nominations worked. Tampa Bay showed up — and Taco Bus officially made the ballot for the St. Pete Life Magazine 2026 Best Of Reader’s Choice Poll. Not in one category. Two.
Taco Bus is nominated for:
- Best Tacos
- Best Mexican Restaurant
Now we need your vote. And the good news? You can vote in both categories on the same ballot. Voting closes Sunday, May 31 at 5pm. Winners will be announced July 1.
Vote Taco Bus for Best Tacos & Best Mexican
It Started With a Bus
It Started With a Bus
In 1995, we had an idea: Tampa Bay deserved real Mexican street food. Not Tex-Mex. Not fusion. Not a chain approximation of something that should taste alive and fresh and bold. The real thing.
It started with a bus on Hillsborough Avenue and a menu built on authentic ingredients, traditional preparation, and the kind of care you can actually taste. Tampa Bay noticed immediately. The lines formed. The regulars appeared. The word spread.
Nearly three decades later, Taco Bus has grown into one of Tampa Bay’s most awarded independent restaurant brands — with eight locations across Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco counties, accolades from USA Today and Creative Loafing, and a fanbase that has followed the bus wherever it parks.
What Makes the Food Different
The Taco Bus menu is built on the principle that fresh, authentic, and accessible aren’t mutually exclusive. Every taco is made to order with ingredients prepared daily — slow-roasted meats, hand-seasoned fillings, traditional toppings of shredded cabbage, cilantro, onion, and diced tomato.
Then there’s El Jefe — and if you know, you know. Weighing in at over two pounds, it’s two tortillas wrapped around your choice of protein, double Mexican rice, refried beans, cabbage, cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole. It’s the kind of menu item that earns its own reputation, and it’s exactly the kind of thing you can only pull off when your ingredients are genuinely good. The portobello ranchero and butternut squash options have also made Taco Bus a legitimate destination for plant-based diners without sacrificing an ounce of flavor.
But tacos are only part of the story — and that’s why the Best Mexican Restaurant nomination matters just as much. The full menu runs deep: burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, fajitas, tortas, hand-pressed sopes, traditional rice-and-bean plates, and a roster of authentic sides that turn a quick bite into a full meal. There’s a reason people who don’t usually order tacos still keep showing up.
This is the kind of menu that earns repeat customers. Not because it’s trendy. Because it’s consistently, quietly excellent.
An Award-Winning Track Record
Taco Bus hasn’t just built a following — it’s built a trophy case. Recognized as Best Tacos and Best Mexican Restaurant by some of the region’s most respected food critics and publications, the accolades reflect what regular customers have known for years. This isn’t a restaurant that gets lucky once. It’s a restaurant that sets a standard and maintains it.
Most recently, our Coconut Shrimp Tacos took home Best Seafood Taco at the 2026 Pinellas Taco Fest. Add that to a list that includes a Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives feature, multiple Creative Loafing Best Of awards, and three decades of Tampa Bay’s loudest, hungriest, most loyal fanbase.
Being featured on Man v. Food didn’t hurt either.
How to Vote
Voting for the St. Pete Life Magazine 2026 Best Of Reader’s Choice Poll is simple. Here’s how:
- Visit the official voting page at the link below.
- Enter your name and email. You’ll receive a one-time verification code — check your spam folder if it doesn’t arrive right away.
- Use the NEXT and PREV buttons at the bottom of each form to navigate to the categories you want to vote in. (You don’t have to vote in every category.)
- Vote for Taco Bus in:
- Best Tacos
- Best Mexican Restaurant
- Click SUBMIT on the final page. Your vote isn’t officially cast until you do.
A few important things to know:
Voting closes Sunday, May 31 at 5pm. Winners are announced July 1.
One vote per person. Submitting more than one ballot — even from different email addresses — will disqualify all of your votes.
You don’t have to be a subscriber or a Florida resident. Voting is open to everyone.
Why Your Vote Matters
A “Best Of” win isn’t just a sticker on the door. It’s how new neighbors find us. It’s how visitors to Tampa Bay decide where to eat. It’s how the next generation of regulars gets introduced to the bus.
Thirty years in, Taco Bus is still here because Tampa Bay keeps showing up. This poll is the official version of that — a chance to put it on the record.
If we’ve ever fed you, this is your vote.
Vote Taco Bus for Best Tacos & Best Mexican