Dos Taquitos
Rating
Family of 4
Roughly $70 to $110 for two adults and two kids at dinner, before tip, assuming the kids order from the children's menu and the adults skip cocktails.
Duration
75 to 105 minutes, and plan on the longer end the first time. A normal dinner here is about an hour, but first-time families lose 20 or 30 minutes to the building itself: walking out to look at the chickens, waiting to see the train come by, working out what half the objects on the walls are. That is the point of coming, so do not fight it. Repeat visits with a set order run closer to an hour.
Best Ages
The sweet spot is roughly 3 to 10, and it is one of the few Raleigh restaurants where the room itself does the entertaining. Diners consistently describe a small train that delivers queso, guacamole and other dishes to the table, a live chicken coop on the property, a vintage Kombi van parked outside, and walls covered floor to ceiling in Mexican art, baskets, hats, clay pots and lights. To a five year old that is not decor, that is a scavenger hunt with dinner attached. Toddlers do fine because there is always something new to point at. Big kids and tweens still enjoy the train and the chickens even while pretending not to. Teens will read the whole place as a good spot for photos. Infants are welcome in the sense that any lively family restaurant welcomes them, though this is a dinner-only room with a full bar and it gets loud, so a baby who needs quiet to sleep is better served elsewhere.
About
Dos Taquitos on Glenwood Avenue has been making steak tacos and enchiladas de Puebla since 1991, and it is the rare Raleigh restaurant that a child will ask to go back to for reasons that have nothing to do with the food. There is also a live chicken coop on the property that kids can walk out and look at, a colorful vintage Kombi van parked outside, and a dining room where the walls are packed with Mexican art, baskets, hats, clay pots, mirrors and strings of lights. Diners compare it to a Mexican market, or to a set from a Wes Anderson film.
The through line is that the owner built the room out of what he brought back from travels in Mexico, and it reads as personal rather than themed.
For a parent, the practical value of all that is simple: your kids have something to do while the adults order and wait. That is worth more on a Tuesday evening than any amount of crayons.
The food is a full Mexican menu built around steak tacos and enchiladas de Puebla, with a full bar doing margaritas and mojitos. The website confirms a dedicated children's menu, which we mention because at Mexican restaurants families often default to splitting an adult entree and pay more for it.
Now the constraints, because they catch families out. This is dinner only, and it is closed Sunday. Posted hours are Monday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
If you were planning a Saturday lunch or a Sunday family dinner, this is not the place. Reservations run through Resy, and on a Friday or Saturday you want one. There is outdoor seating, which is the better choice with a child who cannot stay in a chair, since the indoor room is dense with tables and objects and a stroller is awkward in it.
Park the stroller near the entrance and carry the baby to the table.
Call (919) 787-3373 or check dostaquitosraleigh.com if any of those decide your evening.
The short version: come at open, book on Resy, let the kids find the chickens and wait for the train, and order off the kids menu. Done that way it is one of the more fun family dinners in Raleigh.
Age Suitability
Parent Logistics
Stroller-Friendly
Limited
Nursing / Changing
Unknown
Kid Meals
Available
Setting
Indoor & Outdoor
Rainy Day
Great option!
Plan Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Right at opening, which is 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is closed Sunday, which catches a lot of families out. Arriving in the first half hour of service gets you a table without a reservation, a room that is not yet loud, and staff who have time to point kids toward the chicken coop. By 6:30 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday this is a busy Raleigh dinner spot with a full bar going. Warm evenings are worth timing for the outdoor seating, since a patio table gives restless kids somewhere to stand up without disturbing anyone.
Wait Times
Reservations are available through Resy, and using them is the single best move here. Without a reservation, expect little to no wait in the first 30 minutes after open, and 20 to 45 minutes at peak on a Friday or Saturday evening. Food itself comes out at a normal dinner pace, roughly 15 to 25 minutes after ordering, with chips and salsa on the table almost immediately, which buys you the time you need with hungry kids.
Nearby Food
You are eating here, so this is about backup and dessert. Relish Craft Kitchen & Bourbon Bar is the nearest option in our directory. The address on Glenwood Avenue puts you in West Raleigh with the Crabtree Valley area and the Glenwood corridor a few minutes away in either direction, which means coffee, ice cream and bakery stops are an easy drive if you want dessert somewhere else. Worth knowing: because Dos Taquitos does not open until 5 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. on weekends and closes Sunday, the surrounding corridor is your fallback if your timing is off.
Why Kids Love It
A small train brings the queso and guacamole to your table. That is the entire pitch, and it works on essentially every child under ten. Then there are real chickens in a coop on the property that kids can go look at, a colorful old Kombi van parked outside, and walls loaded with Mexican art, baskets, hats and hanging lights, so there is something to look at in every direction.
Most restaurants ask kids to sit still and be bored. This one hands them a room to explore.
Pro Tips from Parents
- Book on Resy. Reservations are available online, and on a Friday or Saturday evening that turns a 30 minute wait with hungry kids into walking straight to a table.
- It is closed Sunday, and it is dinner only. Posted hours are Monday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Do not plan a weekend lunch here.
- Ask about the train when you sit down. Diners describe a small train that runs dishes like queso and guacamole out to tables, and knowing it is coming turns your kids' first ten minutes from restless into expectant.
- Walk out to the chickens before you order, not after. There is a chicken coop on the property, and a lap out there while the adults look at the menu is the best possible use of that time.
- Order from the children's menu rather than splitting an entree. The website confirms a kids menu exists, and it is the cheaper and faster route.
- Take the patio on a warm evening. Outdoor seating means a kid who needs to stand up and move is not blocking a crowded dining room aisle.
What to Bring
- A camera or phone with room on it, because the walls, the train and the Kombi van are the whole reason people photograph this place
- A diaper kit you can use in the car, since changing tables are unconfirmed here
- Hand wipes, especially if the kids visit the chicken coop before eating
- A light layer for patio seating, since Raleigh evenings cool off fast in spring and fall
- A to-go container plan for leftover entrees
- A reservation, made ahead on Resy, which counts as something to bring
Cost Info
Estimated Cost (Family of 4)
Roughly $70 to $110 for two adults and two kids at dinner, before tip, assuming the kids order from the children's menu and the adults skip cocktails.
Add $20 to $35 if the adults have margaritas, since there is a full bar with margaritas and mojitos and that is where a Mexican dinner bill usually grows.
We are not quoting individual dish prices, because the menu changes: check the current menu at dostaquitosraleigh.
com or call (919) 787-3373.
There is on-site parking, so nothing gets added for that.
Tips to Save
- Use the kids menu.
- The website confirms a dedicated children's menu, and it is meaningfully cheaper than splitting an adult entree, which is the mistake most families make at a Mexican restaurant.
- Chips and salsa come to the table and take real pressure off ordering an appetizer you do not need.
- Skip the cocktails and the bill drops by a third at a place with a full bar like this one.
- Order takeout through the website's online ordering if the goal is just the food, and save the dining room visit for a night when the train and the chickens are the entertainment you are actually paying for.
- Going at the 5 p.
- m.
- or 4 p.
- m.
- open also means you are not tempted into a second round of drinks while waiting for a table.
