10 Top-Rated Northeast Florida Mexican Restaurants and Taquerias, Ranked: La Catrina Leads With 4.8 Stars, and a Food Truck Is No. 3

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - La Catrina Tacos and Tequila Bar in Jacksonville tops the Jax Times list of 10 top-rated Northeast Florida Mexican restaurants and taquerias, with 4.8 Google stars from 1,495 reviews. Its Oct. 13 state inspection ended with a warning and three high-priority violations. A callback two days later found zero, a reminder that star ratings and health inspections measure very different things.

The Jax Times compared Google ratings, review counts and Florida inspection records for 10 Mexican restaurants and taquerias from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine Beach. The ranking uses Google star ratings pulled in October 2026, with review counts breaking ties. Inspection results come from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and did not affect the order.

The 10 Mexican restaurants and taquerias, ranked

All dates are 2026, and "No Further Action" is short for "Inspection Completed - No Further Action." This is a ranking of Google ratings, not a taste test or food review. La Nopalera, at No. 10, has the most reviews.

No. 1: a warning, then a clean callback

La Catrina's Oct. 13 inspection found 8 violations: 3 high-priority, 2 intermediate and 3 basic. Queso and cooked pork in the walk-in cooler were at 48 to 56 degrees after sitting overnight, above the 41-degree limit, and drew a stop sale. The inspector also noted one dead roach on a hand sink, which the manager discarded on the spot.

An Oct. 14 callback found the cold-holding problem still open and gave an extension, and staff put the food on ice. The Oct. 15 callback found zero violations and was marked "Call Back - Complied." La Catrina's top rating now sits alongside a clean latest result.

A food truck ranks third

Tacos Azcatl1 #1, on Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville, is licensed by the state as a mobile food vehicle, making it the only food truck on the list. It ranks third with 4.7 stars from 370 reviews. Its recent inspections were the most eventful of the top three.

• Oct. 13: 14 violations, 6 high-priority, and an administrative complaint recommendation. Cooked pork, chicken and beef stored overnight had not cooled to 41 degrees and drew a stop sale.
• Oct. 15: A callback found 4 high-priority violations and again recommended a complaint.
• Oct. 19: "Call Back - Complied." The record still lists one high-priority item, missing backflow preventers at an outdoor water spigot, marked "still the same."

An administrative complaint recommendation means the inspector suggested the state pursue a case, which can lead to a fine. It is not a final ruling. The truck's latest visit was marked complied.

Three with complaint recommendations

Three restaurants ended on a complaint recommendation. None is a final penalty. Each business can resolve the issues on later visits.

• Anejo Cocina Mexicana, Ponte Vedra (No. 4): An Oct. 15 complaint inspection found 16 violations, 4 high-priority, including black mold-like buildup inside the ice machine and salsa stored on the walk-in cooler floor.
• Taco Libre, St. Augustine Beach (No. 9): An Oct. 19 visit found 20 violations, 9 high-priority, with standing water pooling on kitchen and bar floors.
• La Nopalera Mexican Restaurant, Orange Park (No. 10): An Oct. 21 visit found 13 violations, 4 high-priority, including a repeat finding of black mold-like buildup on the ice machine lid.

Clean callbacks, and the cleanest visit

Four of the 10 ended on "Call Back - Complied," meaning a follow-up found earlier problems fixed. Besides La Catrina and Tacos Azcatl, Taqueria Cinco0 went from a 10-violation warning Aug. 17 to zero violations Oct. 19. Don Patron in Fernandina Beach had 20 violations and a complaint recommendation Aug. 21, then zero on its Oct. 22 callback.

Alien Taco6 had the cleanest latest visit on the list. Its Oct. 21 inspection found 6 basic violations and no high-priority or intermediate ones. The result was "No Further Action."

That same result does not always mean a light visit. Cantina Louie was marked "No Further Action" on Oct. 22 even though the inspector recorded 25 violations, 6 high-priority, the most of any latest visit here. Tacos Dona Maria 217 got a warning Oct. 20 after 17 violations, and no callback appears in the records yet.

Quick Q&A

Does "No Further Action" mean zero violations? No. Both places with that result had violations noted, from 6 at Alien Taco to 25 at Cantina Louie.

Does "administrative complaint recommended" mean a fine? Not necessarily. It's the inspector's recommendation, not a final ruling. High-priority violations, the most serious kind, are counted separately from intermediate and basic ones.

Are these the only Mexican restaurants in Northeast Florida? No. The Jax Times database lists 240 places with the words "Mexican," "taco," "cantina" or "taqueria" in the name, and 15 are matched to a Google rating. Four of those 15 were national chain locations and were left out.

How we did this

The Jax Times used Google Maps star ratings and review counts pulled in October 2026 and Florida DBPR inspection records from the Jax Times restaurant lookup (jaxtimes.com/restaurants). The list ranks Northeast Florida Mexican restaurants and taquerias by rating, with review count breaking ties, and leaves out national chains (two Chipotle3 Mexican Grill and two Taco Bell locations). Ratings change daily, and inspection results can change after new visits, so readers should check the lookup for the latest.