Matt's BBQ Tacos
Taqueria · Mt. Tabor, Portland
Restaurant in Portland, United States
Book with PearlThe Read
Smoke-Forward Taco Counter
Chef
Matt Vicedomini and Dustin Reum
Dress
Casual
Why go
Matt's BBQ Tacos has earned Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats recognition three years running, reaching #104 in North America in 2025, holds a Pearl Recommended designation. Walk-in only, with daily lunch and dinner hours plus weekend morning service from 8 am. The best-value informal dining option in SE Portland for a taco-focused lunch before a higher-spend dinner elsewhere in the city.
About Matt's BBQ Tacos
Portland's Most Decorated Cheap Taqueria Has Limited Hours; Plan Around Them
Matt's BBQ Tacos earns a Pearl Recommended designation for 2025 and has appeared on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in North America list three consecutive years, climbing from the Recommended tier in 2023 to #147 in 2024 and #104 in 2025. If you've been once and liked it, this trajectory is the clearest signal to go back and go deeper. The Saturday and Sunday morning openings at 8 am are the sessions that most first-timers miss; weekend breakfast service at 2216 SE 50th Ave is the format to prioritize on your next visit.
Matt Vicedomini and Dustin Reum run a taqueria built around a specific premise: smoked meats and taco formats occupying the same plate. The BBQ-taco crossover is a niche with real precedent in Texas and Southern California, see Ditroit in Los Angeles for comparison, but Portland has few spots operating at this level of recognition in the category. The OAD Cheap Eats ranking puts Matt's BBQ Tacos in a peer group that includes some of the most consistent informal dining in North America, a meaningful credential for a format that can easily trend toward novelty over execution.
The hours reward regulars who plan. Monday through Thursday, service runs 11 am to 8:30 pm. Friday stretches to 9 pm. Saturday opens at 8 am and closes at 9 pm, the widest window of the week. Sunday runs 8 am to 8:30 pm. If you're visiting Portland mid-week and want to fit this in alongside dinner at Kann or Langbaan, the 11 am opening gives you a solid lunch anchor without competing against evening reservation pressure at those venues.
Booking is easy. This is a walk-in taqueria operation, no reservation system, no booking difficulty. The practical constraint here is timing within the day: the venue closes at 8:30 pm on most nights, which means it won't function as a late-night option after a show or long dinner elsewhere. Build it into lunch or an early dinner slot and the logistics are frictionless.
For a regular returning visitor, the weekend morning window at 8 am is the detail worth acting on. Most casual visitors arrive at lunch or early dinner. The Saturday slot in particular gives you the widest service window of the week and less competition for whatever comes off the smoker early. Portland's informal dining scene rewards this kind of timing intelligence, the same logic applies at Berlu and Nostrana, where off-peak timing consistently changes the quality of the experience.
On the price tier: no price range data is confirmed in our records. The OAD Cheap Eats classification reliably signals sub-$20 per person in this format and region, making this one of Portland's stronger value propositions if you're calibrating a trip that also includes higher-spend meals at places like Langbaan or Kann. Use Matt's BBQ Tacos as the lunch anchor and reserve your dinner budget for Portland's more booking-intensive rooms.
For broader Portland planning, see our full Portland restaurants guide, our Portland hotels guide, our Portland bars guide, our Portland wineries guide, and our Portland experiences guide.
Ratings & Recognition
- Pearl Recommended Restaurant (2025)
- Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America, #104 (2025)
- Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America, #147 (2024)
- Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America, Recommended (2023)
Booking & Practical Details
Walk-in only. No reservation required. Booking difficulty: easy. Hours vary by day, Saturday offers the longest window (8 am–9 pm). Address: 2216 SE 50th Ave, Portland, OR 97214. Phone and website not confirmed in our records.
Quick reference: Walk-in taqueria, SE Portland, open daily from 11 am (8 am weekends), closes 8:30–9 pm depending on day.
Planning details
- Hours
- Monday: 11 am–8:30 pm · Tuesday: 11 am–8:30 pm
- Location
- 2216 SE 50th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
- Website
- mattsbbqtacos.com
- Phone
- (503) 956-7455
The take
The Take
The Vibe
Matt’s BBQ Tacos reads like a Portland native: a taqueria that channels the city’s devotion to wood smoke and careful sourcing into a street-food format. The result feels immediate and unpretentious — brisket and other smoked proteins hit the tortilla with a pit‑house intensity while the service stays quick and accessible. Recognition from Cheap Eats and rising rankings gives it contemporary cachet without tipping into formality; it’s a neighborhood spot that occupies the intersection of smoky, hands‑on cooking and casual, order-at-the-counter dining.
Best For
This is a go-to for informal meals: breakfast tacos make it a solid stop for morning eats, while the taco format and smoked proteins suit lunch and dinner runs. The writing emphasizes repeat visits and affordability, positioning the kitchen as a reliable choice for everyday occasions rather than rare, reservation-only affairs. It’s especially good for quick solo meals, casual hangouts, or low-key celebrations where the draw is well-executed smoked meat served simply on a tortilla.
Ordering Tips
Stick to the signatures: the brisket taco and pulled pork taco are highlighted as central expressions of the kitchen’s smoke-first approach, and breakfast tacos are called out by name. Expect a fast, accessible experience—order with the intent to eat simply and quickly rather than planning an extended, multi-course meal. Because the kitchen is described as tightening and gaining recognition, sampling the smoked proteins is the clearest way to judge the place: choose one of the highlighted tacos and let the pit work speak for itself.
Venue details
Ambiance
Relaxed casual atmosphere with shaded outdoor seating in a food cart pod.
Tags
Vibe
Best For
Experience
At the Table
- Dress Code
- Casual
- Noise Level
- Conversational
- Service Style
- Counter Service
- Meal Pacing
- Quick Bite
- Capacity
- Small
Signature Dishes
- brisket taco
- pulled pork taco
- breakfast tacos
Planning details
Hours
- Monday
- 11 am–8:30 pm
- Tuesday
- 11 am–8:30 pm
- Wednesday
- 11 am–8:30 pm
- Thursday
- 11 am–8:30 pm
- Friday
- 11 am–9 pm
- Saturday
- 8 am–9 pm
- Sunday
- 8 am–8:30 pm
Location
Also consider
Also Consider
- Kann; Hatian, Haitian, Hatian, Haitian
- Ken’s Artisan Pizza; Pizzeria, Pizzeria
- Nostrana; Italian, Italian
- Apizza Scholls; Pizzeria, Pizzeria
- Blue Star Donuts; Doughnuts, Doughnuts
Restaurant context
Among Pearl-tracked Portland restaurants, Matt's BBQ Tacos occupies a different category tier than most of its comparison set; the OAD Cheap Eats classification puts it firmly in the under-$20-per-head range, which makes it more useful as a lunch anchor than a direct competitor to evening-focused venues. If you're deciding between this and Kann or Nostrana for dinner, the answer is both: Matt's BBQ Tacos at lunch, one of those for dinner. They don't compete for the same slot.
The closer comparison is against Portland's other high-recognition informal dining. Ken's Artisan Pizza and Apizza Scholls both operate in the affordable, walk-in-friendly end of the market with strong local credibility, but neither matches Matt's BBQ Tacos on the specificity of the format; the smoked-meat taco crossover is a narrower, more distinctive offering than a pizza room. If you want casual and recognized, you're not committed to pizza, Matt's is the stronger call. Blue Star Donuts is the only other comparison venue here operating at breakfast hours, but it's a different category entirely; pastry, not savory. For Saturday or Sunday mornings when Matt's opens at 8 am, there's no direct overlap.
For visitors building a Portland eating itinerary across multiple meals, Matt's BBQ Tacos makes the most sense as the informal, low-friction stop that frees up budget and booking energy for higher-stakes evenings at Kann or Langbaan. The three-year OAD trajectory; Recommended in 2023, #147 in 2024, #104 in 2025; signals a venue getting more consistent, not less. Book easy, eat well, spend the dinner budget elsewhere.
Explore Portland
Around this place
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Unlock the full Matt's BBQ Tacos guide in Pearl, including awards, comparisons, FAQs, planning details, and nearby places.
Compare Matt's BBQ Tacos
| Venue | Location | Cuisine | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt's BBQ Tacos | Portland | Taqueria | 2026 OAD Cheap Eats in North America Ranked · #602025 OAD Cheap Eats in North America Ranked · #1042024 OAD Cheap Eats in North America Ranked · #1472023 OAD Cheap Eats in North America in RecommendedPearl Recommended Restaurants |
| Kann | Portland | Hatian, Haitian | 2026 Food & Wine Top 10 US Restaurants · #92026 OAD Casual in North America Ranked · #1012026 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence2025 World's 50 North America's Best Restaurants · #272025 Robb Report 100 Greatest American Restaurants of the 21st Century · #802025 OAD Casual in North America Ranked · #1172025 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence2025 Resy Best of the Hit List2024 OAD Casual in North America Ranked · #97 |
| Ken’s Artisan Pizza | Portland | Pizzeria | 2026 50 Top Pizza USA · #102026 OAD Cheap Eats in North America Ranked · #1332025 50 Top Pizza USA · #82025 50 Top Pizza World Best Pizza · #432024 OAD Cheap Eats in North America Ranked · #3572023 OAD Cheap Eats in North America in Recommended |
| Nostrana | Portland | Italian | 2026 50 Top Pizza USA · #482026 OAD Casual in North America Recommended2025 50 Top Pizza USA · #292025 OAD Casual in North America Ranked · #6012024 OAD Casual in North America Ranked · #2352023 OAD Casual in North America Highly Recommended |
| Apizza Scholls | Portland | Pizzeria | 2026 OAD Cheap Eats in North America Ranked · #222025 OAD Cheap Eats in North America Ranked · #152024 OAD Cheap Eats in North America Ranked · #172023 OAD Cheap Eats in North America in Ranked · #16 |
| Blue Star Donuts | Portland | Doughnuts | No published awards |
How Matt's BBQ Tacos Portland compares with similar nearby venues.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Matt's BBQ Tacos accommodate groups?
Matt's BBQ Tacos is a walk-in taqueria with no reservation system, so larger groups depend entirely on timing and available space. Arriving early on a Saturday; doors open at 8 am; gives the best chance of getting your group seated together. For parties of 6 or more, split arrival or off-peak weekday visits are the practical move. This is not a venue built around group bookings.
Can I eat at the bar at Matt's BBQ Tacos?
Matt's BBQ Tacos is a casual taqueria format, not a bar-and-dining setup, so a traditional bar counter for eating is not part of the experience here. The venue operates as a walk-in spot at 2216 SE 50th Ave; seating arrangements reflect that format rather than a sit-down restaurant with bar service. If counter seating is your priority, check current setup on arrival.
Is Matt's BBQ Tacos good for solo dining?
Yes; a walk-in taqueria with no reservations is one of the easiest formats for solo diners. No awkward table minimums, no booking pressure, the OAD Cheap Eats recognition means the food justifies a solo trip on its own merits. Weekday lunch hours (11 am–8:30 pm Monday through Thursday) tend to move faster and with less wait than weekend rushes.
What should I wear to Matt's BBQ Tacos?
This is a casual taqueria; come as you are. Matt's BBQ Tacos has earned Pearl Recommended status and back-to-back Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats rankings without any dress expectations attached. Jeans, sneakers, or whatever you wore to run errands all work fine.
What should I order at Matt's BBQ Tacos?
The menu specifics aren't documented here, but the concept is in the name: BBQ-informed tacos from chefs Matt Vicedomini and Dustin Reum. The OAD Cheap Eats North America ranking (climbing from #147 in 2024 to #104 in 2025) points to a kitchen that's improving, not coasting. Order the tacos; that's the core of what earns the recognition; and ask staff what's running well that day.
