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El Camino Real is a long-running, family-style Mexican taqueria in Kansas City, Kansas, known for open-kitchen street tacos and house-made corn tortillas, operating two locations in the city’s northeast and Argentine neighborhoods.

Description

El Camino Real is an authentic Mexican restaurant and taqueria on North 7th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, a stretch long associated with the city’s Mexican-American community. The kitchen is open to the dining room, and tacos are built on fresh, house-made corn tortillas wrapped around grilled meats, then served with a bowl of onions, cilantro, and limes for the diner to finish at the table.

The menu centers on traditional taqueria fare: al pastor (often offered with grilled pineapple), asada, lengua, tripas, and rajas tacos, alongside menudo, flan, and house-made salsas. Reviewers consistently single out the al pastor and the homemade tortillas as signatures. The restaurant operates in a casual, neighborhood setting with a price range in the $10–$20 range per person.

El Camino Real runs two locations in Kansas City, Kansas — the original at 903 N 7th Street and a second at 1147 Argentine Boulevard — and is sometimes branded as “Taqueria El Camino Real” or “El Camino Real 1 and 2” across its listings and social profiles.

Ownership and history

El Camino Real is a locally owned, family-style operation. Public listings describe it as a well-loved corner of Kansas City, and its social presence (“El Camino Real 1 and 2”) reflects the two-location family business. The specific founding family and exact year of establishment are not confirmed in available public sources; the base intake places its origins in the 1980s, which remains unverified. “

Note: this restaurant should not be confused with Taqueria El Camino (elcaminopa.com), a separate, unrelated Kansas City–area concept founded in 2020 by Chef Ethan Greer and sold in 2024 to Chef Wendy Stone. That business is distinct from El Camino Real at 903 N 7th St despite the similar name.

A phone-number discrepancy exists in public records: the base intake lists (913) 321-1945, while several third-party listings (KC Parent, PlaceJoys) show (913) 342-4333. Both may be active lines for the two locations. “

Last verified: 2026-06-02 Source: Digital platforms (Grubhub, UberEats, Toasttab mentions) + Instagram (@elcaminorealkc) + reviews Source URL(s): Grubhub/UberEats listings for locations, https://www.instagram.com/elcaminorealkc/ Confidence: High for core offerings (al pastor, house-made tortillas); consistent across sources.

Signature / Defining Items:

  • Al Pastor tacos (frequently cited among the best in KC)
  • House-made corn tortillas (from-scratch focus)
  • Wide variety of traditional taco meats/fillings in open-kitchen taqueria style

Earned tag added: al-pastor-tacos.

Full current details best via delivery apps or Instagram for the most up-to-date. Archive with more notes in 99_Archive/2026-06-02_el-camino-real-menu/capture.md.

Tier classification

Provisional Tier 1. El Camino Real is a locally owned, family-run taqueria deeply rooted in Kansas City, Kansas’s Mexican-American community along the historic North 7th Street corridor, with a multi-location footprint built over decades and a from-scratch (house-made tortillas, open kitchen) approach that reflects genuine pride in roots. Tier 1 placement is contingent on confirming the owning family’s KC-metro roots and the establishment date; if those cannot be verified, this may settle at Tier 2. “

See also

Sources

  1. Visit Kansas City, KS — El Camino Real I listing — https://www.visitkansascityks.com/listing/el-camino-real-i/303/ — accessed 2026-05-30
  2. PlaceJoys — El Camino Real — https://el-camino-real.placejoys.com/ — accessed 2026-05-30
  3. KC Parent Magazine — El Camino Real listing — https://kcparent.com/locations/el-camino-real/ — accessed 2026-05-30
  4. Yelp — El Camino Real, 903 N 7th St — https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-camino-real-kansas-city-2 — accessed 2026-05-30

Verification

Drafted 2026-05-30 from web research; 4 sources. Unverified items: exact founding year (1980s claim from intake is unconfirmed), owner/family name, and primary phone number (two different numbers appear across listings). Confirmed: address, two-location structure, cuisine, signature dishes, social links. Flagged the naming collision with the unrelated “Taqueria El Camino” (founded 2020).

See also

  • Registry
Categories
  • Locally owned
  • Mexican