If you’re a Boisean on the hunt for real-deal Mexican food, prepare to celebrate. If not salivate.
A Meridian restaurant praised for its quality and authenticity is making the leap to Boise.
Tacos Loteria, 950 E. Fairview Ave., plans to open a second location at 2137 S. Broadway Ave., it announced on social media. That’s the former home of Dong Khanh Vietnamese Restaurant, which moved to Meridian recently.
It will be a relatively quick expansion for the mom-and-pop concept, which started as a food truck. Tacos Loteria opened its brick-and-mortar just over a year ago as a husband-and-wife venture from Leo Santos, who cooked, and Maria Callejas, who handled day-to-day operations and other duties.
At the time, Callejas’ son, Giovanni Santos, explained the cuisine like this: “My mom is from Mexico City,” he said, “and my dad is from Oaxaca, and half of the food is from Mexico City and half of it is from Oaxaca.”
Whether it’s tamales, street-style tacos or spicy habanero sauce, food from Tacos Loteria has won over customers Meridian. Greg C. Yelp
When will the new Boise restaurant open? Attempts to reach Santos and Callejas were not immediately successful. But it’s official. TOK Commercial Real Estate announced that the 2,240-square-foot space has been leased by La Loteria Restaurant, LLC.
Either way, it should be worth the wait.
Tacos Loteria is rated 4.4 out of 5 stars on both Google and Yelp. And the menu is much more than tacos, burritos and tortas. There are soups and stews such as menudo, caldo de res and the seafood-packed caldo de siete mares, essentially the Mexican version of bouillabaisse. Or go big and dig into a molcajete feast.
And, yes, don’t worry: Diners have the option to order traditional meats such as tripa (intestine) and lengua (tongue).
“Fantastic authentic Mexican food at very reasonable prices!” a Google reviewer raved.
“This place is LEGIT,” a five-star Yelp review declared recently. “I’m visiting the Boise area from Phoenix, so I wasn’t expecting to find such amazing Mexican food up here. Their tamales are some of the best I’ve had. Pastor tacos were delicious! Their prices are really good, you get a lot of food for your money. Service is top notch! Highly recommend this spot; they are a 12/10! Guadalupe was a wonderful server.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2026 at 4:00 AM.
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Michael Deeds
Idaho Statesman
Michael Deeds is a long-serving entertainment reporter and opinion columnist at the Idaho Statesman, where he chronicles the Boise good life: restaurants, concerts, culture, cool stuff. He started as a summer intern after graduating from the University of Nebraska with a news-editorial journalism degree. Deeds’ prior Statesman roles have included sportswriter, music critic and features editor. His other writing has ranged from freelancing album reviews for The Washington Post to bragging about Boise in that inflight magazine you left on the plane.
Dining and Cooking