Mexican Restaurants in Leeds: A Neighbourhood Guide

Leeds splits its Mexican food between the city centre and its northern suburbs. Boar Lane, Merrion Street, Cloth Hall Street and Call Lane cover the centre, mostly with burrito counters and late-opening bars, while the smaller independent kitchens sit further out in Chapel Allerton, Meanwood, Headingley and Farsley. Two more entries in this guide are outside the city altogether, in Huddersfield and over the North Yorkshire border in Harrogate.

What follows maps the Mexican and Mexican-inspired venues in and around Leeds that are listed in our UK directory, grouped by the area given in each address. It is a directory listing rather than a ranking: we have not eaten at, tested or scored any of these places, and the order carries no judgement. Everything said about a venue comes from its own entry.

After the venues there is a section on the Leeds shops that sell Mexican ingredients, from a market stall to a spirits merchant. Price bands appear as our directory records them, from budget to high end.

Leeds city centre

The centre holds four entries, all within walking distance of one another, and they cover very different formats — two quick burrito counters, one Latin American chain and one late-night bar.

Barburrito Leeds

At 61 Boar Lane, Leeds LS1 6HW. Our listing describes a Mexican street food chain serving fresh burritos, tacos and nachos made to order, and notes that it is popular with students and office workers. It sits in the budget band.

Boojum Leeds

At 92 Merrion Street, Leeds LS2 8NG, at the Merrion Centre. According to our entry this is an award-winning Irish-Mexican burrito chain and Leeds was its first location outside Ireland, with burritos, tacos and bowls in the budget band. The recorded hours are consistent across the week: 11:30 to 22:00, seven days.

Las Iguanas Leeds

At Unit 3, Cloth Hall Street, Leeds LS1 2HD. A Latin American chain rather than a Mexican specialist, with flame-grilled dishes, sharing plates and bottomless brunch on the menu according to our listing. Mid-range band, opening at midday and closing at 22:00 midweek, 22:30 on Friday and 21:30 on Sunday.

Neon Cactus

At 35 Call Lane, Leeds LS1 7BT, one of the city centre's bar streets. Our entry records a Mexican restaurant and bar serving tacos, burritos and quesadillas alongside an extensive tequila and cocktail list, in a lively nightlife setting. It is in the mid-range band and keeps the latest hours in this guide by some distance: closing at 04:00 on several nights and 02:00 on Sunday, with the kitchen and bar opening from midday most days and 17:00 on Monday.

North Leeds: Chapel Allerton, Meanwood and Headingley

The independent kitchens cluster to the north of the centre, a few miles out from the centre. These are neighbourhood restaurants with shorter weeks — several are closed on Monday and Tuesday — so checking before you travel matters more here.

Pinche Pinche

At 116a Harrogate Road, Chapel Allerton, Leeds LS7 4NY. Our listing describes a small, cosy Mexican restaurant serving tacos and burritos for over 15 years, roughly three miles north of the city centre. Mid-range band. It also runs a pantry, covered further down this page.

Este Cuate

Listed at Number 8 Cocktail Bar, Stainbeck Lane, Meanwood, Leeds LS7 2PU — a kitchen operating inside a cocktail bar rather than a restaurant with its own frontage. According to our entry it is a passion project from Mexico City-raised chef Obri Gonzalez, with key ingredients imported from Mexico and everything made from scratch, including the marinades, salsas and tortillas. Mid-range band.

The hours we hold are limited: closed on Monday and Tuesday, from 17:00 on Friday, 15:00 on Saturday and 13:00 to 18:00 on Sunday.

Lupe's Cantina Mexicana

At 204-206 Cardigan Road, Headingley, Leeds LS6 1LF. Our directory describes a no-frills, family-run cantina that has been serving Mexican dishes in Headingley for almost a decade, with an atmosphere the entry likens to a bustling Cancun eatery. Mid-range band, closed on Monday and Sunday, and open from midday until 21:00 or 21:30 on the days it trades.

West Leeds: Farsley

Sabroso Street

At 10 Town Street, Farsley, Leeds LS28 5LD. Our entry records a family-friendly taqueria run by husband and wife team David and Anika, specialising in Mexican street food in a casual neighbourhood setting, in the mid-range band. The hours we hold show it closed on Monday and Tuesday, opening at 15:00 on Friday and running 12:00 to 20:00 on Sunday, so it is largely a weekend proposition.

Beyond Leeds: Huddersfield and Harrogate

El Fuego Street Food

At 29 Lidget Street, Lindley, Huddersfield HD3 3JB. Our listing describes Mexican street food specialists serving tacos, burritos and quesadillas with a smoky char-grill twist, popular for takeaway and informal eat-in service, in the budget band. Recorded hours are evenings only: closed on Monday and Tuesday, from 17:00 later in the week and 17:30 on Sunday.

Paradise Tap & Taco

At 26 Oxford Street, Harrogate HG1 1PU, in the town centre. Our entry describes an independent neighbourhood bar pouring craft ale, fine wine and hard liquor alongside Mexican-inspired street food served until 9pm, with no reservations and no table service. Mid-range band, open from midday and running to 23:00 most nights and midnight on Friday.

Shops for Mexican ingredients in Leeds

Three entries in our Leeds listings sell Mexican products to take home, covering groceries, agave spirits and a restaurant pantry.

Casa Mexica Leeds

At Unit O, 1904 Hall, Leeds Kirkgate Market, Vicar Lane, Leeds LS2 7HN. Our directory records a Mexican food and produce stall in the historic Kirkgate Market, selling tortillas, salsas, hot sauces, snacks and Mexican spices. The entry notes it is the sibling of Casa Mexica in Manchester.

Latitude Wine & Liquor Merchant

At 5 Cherry Tree Walk, Leeds LS2 7EB. An independent wine and spirits shop with a dedicated section for tequila, mezcal and other Mexican agave spirits. Our entry notes it was named Independent Spirits Retailer at the Drinks Retailing awards in 2023.

Pinche Pinche Mexican Pantry

Listed at Chapel Allerton, Leeds LS7. This is the small pantry and market attached to the restaurant above, selling Mexican groceries — tortillas, chillies, salsas, mezcal and craft items — available in-restaurant, so opening will follow the restaurant's own pattern.

How this directory works, and cooking it at home

Every venue here is mapped in our UK directory from public information: address, price band, format and, where we hold them, opening hours. We do not inspect kitchens, rate food or rank venues. Several of the Leeds independents close for two days a week and some open only in the evening, so confirm hours with the venue before travelling out to Meanwood, Farsley or Lindley.

If an entry is wrong — a venue has moved, changed hands or closed — you can tell us through the report link on its page and we will amend it.

To cook at home, the shops above will cover the basics. Start with handmade maize tortillas, which almost everything else is built on, then try crispy carnitas tacos. If the agave shelf at Latitude is what drew you in, our British drinker’s guide to mezcal and tequila is a useful primer, and the margarita recipe covers the classic.