Mechanics meet Mexican food - 4th August 2023

You might be surprised to learn what mending vehicles and making tacos share. In Mexico City, it's their location – a garage smelling of both motor oil and cooking oil – and fortunately, employees don't appear to mix them up!

This lively venue's a mechanics' workshop by day and a tacos bar after nightfall.

The slightly bizarre location is one of the busiest stops on the city's food tours, attracting thousands of hungry tourists annually. Tonalli Palomino organises tours to taquerias.

Tonalli Palomino: "Suddenly the tourists stumble upon this really authentic and unique place, afterwards they leave having discovered something completely different."

For the El Vilsito restaurant manager, the incredible thing is how far some of the visitors come simply to sample their specialities.

Isidro Hernandez Trejo: "They come from all over the world; from the United States, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Colombia, from everywhere."

Wherever the customers travel from, one thing's for sure – they adore the uniqueness of El Vilsito. It's something which makes it stand out from Mexico City's other 2,800 tacos venues.

Rebecca Avila: "I’ve never experienced anything like this before, it is totally unique here."

Christian Avila: "It is a place that you would never have imagined to be something completely different in the daytime, from what it is at night."

Food preparations get underway in the afternoon when the restaurant cooks are separated from the working mechanics by a metal curtain, with a large door opening to let customers in. There's no need to get concerned if you're having repairs done on your car, given the teams of mechanics and chefs comprise entirely different members!

Food-related tours have become a key part of the tourist economy in Mexico, and this memorable location is proving to be a tasty stop on the tourist trail.