The best taco in Denver? Denver Gazette readers choose Venalonzo's as top spot

After more than a month of competition involving 32 competitors, Centennial-based restaurant Venalonzo's (6830 South Yosemite Street) has been named as having the Best Taco in Denver, emerging as Denver Gazette readers’ favorite in the inaugural 2024 Denver Taco Tournament.

“We make authentic Mexican food. It’s homemade. My brother and I wake up early and start cooking every day,” Venalonzo’s owner Nati Venalonzo told Colorado and Company last fall. “Hopefully everybody can come and check into us and thank you for coming.”

It's perhaps unsurprising for a restaurant which billed itself as having “the best tacos in town” on their website prior to the competition. Venalonzo’s had also previously been named as one of Yelp’s Top 100 places to eat in the Southwest U.S.A.

Venalonzo’s has also proudly hosted political and restaurant industry figures including Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Colorado State Senator Tom Sullivan, Denver’s Consulate of Mexico, Colorado’s Hispanic Restaurant Association, and world-renowned chef Fernando Stovell.

“I highly recommend (Venalonzo’s),” Stovell said. “If you guys in Colorado have a chance, please come and visit them. It’s absolutely outstanding.”

A favorite of patrons at Venalonzo’s are their quesabirria tacos, which contain meat folded on a crispy corn tortilla with cheese, onions and cilantro served with side of consommé broth for dipping. They also serve it in non-taco formats such as the pizza birria and the burger birria.

On the way to victory, Venalonzo’s overcame formidable opponents, including Hell’s Tacos, La Loma, Uno Mas, and Kiké’s Red Tacos.

In the final championship round, it faced another well-established family restaurant with authentic flavors in Tacos Selene.

“We would like to begin by saying congratulations to Venalonzo’s for an outstanding win,” said Tacos Selene owner Celene Rivera. “We will second like to give a special thanks to everyone who has supported Tacos Selene and has been with us since the beginning of our campaign.”

On the opposite side of the bracket, Tacos Selene knocked out formidable contenders including Wild Taco, Machetes Gourmet, and El Noa Noa. It’s one of two second place finishes for Tacos Selene in as many years.

The restaurant, which has three different locations throughout the Denver metro area, finished second place in another Denver publication’s March taco tournament in 2022.

Tacos Selene offers a variety of taco options at their Denver location (1001 Santa Fe. Drive) including asada, adobo, al pastor, barbacoa, pollo, carnitas and buche. Menus vary depending on the popularity of items throughout their three locations in Denver, Littleton and Aurora, according to Rivera.

Hundreds of voters participated throughout the five rounds of competition, but it the end, Venalonzo’s won by a commanding 181 votes, with 354 votes to 173 votes for Tacos Selene. Both restaurants harnessed the power of social media with Venalonzo’s pushing votes on their Facebook and Instagram pages, while Tacos Selene had printed out a bracket with a QR code encouraging visitors to vote throughout each round.

Venalonzo’s now wears the crown as Denver’s Best Taco. But if you’re fortunate enough to sample their variety of offerings, you’ll walk out a winner.