There’s a new little taco shop on south Seneca that doesn’t have much of a presence anywhere. Their social media isn’t much, googling them won’t be any sort of phone number. They need a little help to get the word out and fortunately due to their quality of food, customer service and presentation, we are here to help.
Our latest review covers Taqueria Altena.
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3835 S Seneca St
Wichita, KS 67217
Monday – Friday: 11am – 8pm
Saturday: 10am – 8pm
Sunday: 10am – 2pm
Cash Only
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Their menu consists of tacos, enchiladas and burritos. They have an expanded menu on the weekends including menudo and birria. Be sure to bring cash with you on this visit.
My barber over at De’Ville’s Barber Shop (highly recommended) actually gave me a heads up on this place. He really liked their tacos and thought the salsas were amazing. He also instructed me to try the birria if I could make it in on the weekends. Birria is a Mexican dish in a small part of the country. It’s a spicy stew traditionally made with goat meat or mutton but fear not the option at Taqueria Altena is shredded beef. Admittedly, I was a little upset as I was excited to try a new meat. In the state of Jalisco, it’s considered a hangover remedy similar to how some consider Pho one.
On my visit I tried the birria, the birria tacos, and their pork and cheek tacos. I’ve never had cheek before so figured, why not?!?!
By all accounts from people who were there trying it, the birria was amazing. If you’ve never had it before, be aware that it’s pretty greasy but some people told me that’s how its made. The shredded beef very tender and packed so much flavor. I was given some tortillas along with the birria but had forgotten about them. By the time I realized the tortillas were there, it was too late. My bowl was empty.
You can also get birria tacos which I highly recommend. They were my favorite of all the tacos I had. The rest while still delicious didn’t compare. My first experience with the cheek tacos went like business as usual. It didn’t taste any different from many of the unique meats found around other small taco shops. The tacos there had plenty of meat stuffed inside the dual tortillas. Two or three tacos will leave you stuffed. Four to five tacos will leave you crawling out the door.
If you’re a condiment fan like myself, the salsa options are really as good as I was told. They range from all levels of spiciness. The hottest wasn’t entirely hot so the owner gave me a separate hot sauce that wasn’t on the table. I paid the price for opening my mouth later.
The staff on hand was very pleasant and really thankful for everybody who stopped in. The owner was excited that I was so inquisitive of the birria and we had a great chat about food native to his area of Mexico.
While this is quite the drive for me, it’s one I’ll be making again soon. Check these guys out.
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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