concept
At dusk we change the sign at the door of our shop. Past that point it's TACOS BAR.
The night service at Los Tacos Azules. Ebisu, since November 2022.
It starts with corn. Heirloom Mexican corn, milled here, nixtamalized, cooked one at a time. That doesn't change, morning or night.
What changes is the sea. We don't choose the fish — someone who knows that day's water chooses it for us. Even the same species, depending on the one we're given, has to be handled differently. Raw, fried, grilled.
That decision decides what the corn becomes — a tortilla off the comal, a tostada, a tamal.
All of it is corn. In Japan, rice becomes many things. Cooked, sushi, porridge, mochi, senbei. Corn works the same way. Each course comes with a salsa made for it. The plate isn't finished until the pairing is decided.
Sushi, tempura, yakitori. Japan has a form for restaurants built around one thing, with the chef deciding. TACOS BAR works in that form. The language is Mexican.
This is the service I put the most into.
Regular reservation service is currently paused. Events only.
Marco Garcia
Marco Garcia. From Monterrey, northern Mexico. Self-taught.
A university exchange in Japan drew him into food. Back in Mexico he travelled to study regional cooking, and it was meeting Diana Kennedy that led him to native corn and nixtamal. He opened the first Los Tacos Azules in Monterrey in 2011 and closed it in 2013.
In September 2018 he opened Los Tacos Azules in Sangenjaya, Tokyo. In November 2022 he began TACOS BAR in Ebisu.
More in the Story.