Pork marinated with cumin, thyme, oregano and garlic, stacked on a vertical spit, carved thin and folded into warm pan arabe with a chipotle-based salsa. Puebla's own invention.
Lebanese and Syrian migrants reached Puebla in the 1920s and 1930s and brought the vertical spit with them. Tacos Arabes Bagdad on 2 Poniente dates its recipe to 1933, and the first Oriental counter on 16 de Septiembre claims the same year. Both served spit-roast pork wrapped in flatbread rather than a corn tortilla, seasoned with Levantine spices rather than achiote. That idea travelled to Mexico City, swapped the bread for a tortilla and the spices for a red chile marinade, and became the taco al pastor. In Puebla the original is still the default, and Los Camellos in Azcarate took a 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand for its version.
7 editor picks for Tacos árabes in Puebla, ranked by editorial score. All Puebla signature dishes · Tacos árabes across every city.
Tacos Árabes Bagdad ★ 4.4
centro-historico · Avenida 2 Poniente 311, Centro, 72000 Puebla
Tacos Arabes Bagdad has folded spit-roast pork into pan arabe in Puebla since 1933, and has worked the 2 Poniente counter since 1945, one of two claimants.
Taquería Los Camellos ★ 4.2
azcarate · Calle 24 Sur 703, Azcarate, 72501 Puebla
Taqueria Los Camellos took a 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand in Puebla for its tacos arabes and camellos, the cheese-filled version, out in Azcarate.
Tacos Beyrut ★ 4.1
centro-historico · Avenida 5 Poniente 718-A, Centro histórico de Puebla, 72000 Puebla
Tacos Beyrut opens only in the evening on 5 Poniente in Puebla, carving pork off the vertical spit into warm pan arabe for around 24 pesos a taco.
Don Pastor ★ 4.1
centro-historico · Calle 16 de Septiembre 203, Centro histórico de Puebla, 72000 Puebla
Don Pastor works two spits on 16 de Septiembre in Puebla, al pastor and arabe, alongside alambres, cemitas and a queso fundido, running until half eleven.
Tacos Tony ★ 4.0
centro-historico · Avenida 3 Poniente 149, Centro histórico de Puebla, 72000 Puebla
Tacos Tony has served tacos arabes in Puebla since 1942, from a 3 Poniente counter a block off the Zocalo that fills with families on Sunday afternoons.
El Taco Poblano ★ 3.6
centro-historico · Avenida 9 Oriente 2, Centro histórico de Puebla, 72000 Puebla
El Taco Poblano on 9 Oriente in Puebla runs one of the cheapest taco arabe deals in the Centro, two tacos for roughly 30 pesos, all day long.
Taquería Katy ★ 3.6
los-remedios · Calle 18 Norte 50, Barrio de los Remedios, 72377 Puebla
Taqueria Katy sells tacos arabes at about 16 pesos each in Barrio de los Remedios, Puebla, which is why the queue starts well before the evening.