Edmonston’s Taqueria La Placita Brings a Taste of Puebla to the Route 1 Corridor

Every detail inside Taqueria La Placita in Edmonston pays homage to the late owner Javier Martinez’s heritage in Puebla, a state in eastern-central Mexico.

Located at 5020 Edmonston Rd., the restaurant displays a vibrant mural of the Virgin Mary, flanked by U.S. and Mexican flags, set against a landscape featuring various Mexican landmarks. The mural was painted in 2008 by a local artist from Puebla.

Photo by Haan Jun (Ryan) Lee

The menu features traditional Mexican dishes like tamales de rajas — made with roasted peppers and Oaxaca cheese steamed in a corn husk – and tacos de carne asada — classic grilled beef street tacos with cilantro and onions, prepared in a kitchen run by Martinez’s widow, Eloísa Guzmán, known as “La Madrina del Pueblo,” or the village’s godmother.

It is the tacos that remain the restaurant’s main draw, with an oversized menu on the wall helpfully showing up-close photos of the 20 types it serves, ranging from beef tongue to tripe to pork cheeks.

Since opening in 2004, Taqueria La Placita has been named a top taco spot for the D.C. area, garnering attention from Eater D.C., The Washington Post and the Washingtonian, which recently name-checked it as a neighborhood restaurant with “staying power.”

In Spanish, “la placita” refers to a small plaza, a central place in town, so it’s no surprise that the eatery has become the center for the Mexican-American community on the Route 1 corridor.

Martinez, who also opened La Chocita in Bladensburg and La Sirenita in Hyattsville, died in 2025, but a friend who also immigrated from Puebla, Javier Martinez (no relation), now manages Taqueria La Placita.

“Here, everyone is welcome,” he told the Hyattsville Wire. “The people who come to buy things help us in every way — to stay in business so that everyone can work and get paid.”

If you go: Pick up a free cup of botana mixta, a savory Mexican trail mix.

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