El Rey del Taco

El Rey del Taco is a casual taqueria on East Truman Road just north of Blue Valley Park, open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, that Kansas City Magazine put on its list of 35 essential KC tacos for a tripas taco that “sings so sweetly it deserves a record deal.” Ten meats — pastor, asada, tripa, cabeza, lengua, chorizo, carnitas, pollo, buche, birria — go into $2.75–3 street tacos, burritos, quesadillas and tortas, alongside half-pound burgers dressed Mexican-style with ham and avocado, a Philly cheesesteak, aguas frescas in nine flavors, and flan, chocoflan and tres leches.

Description

El Rey del Taco describes itself plainly: “authentic Mexican food such as Asada Tacos, Pastor Burritos, Cabeza Quesadillas, and Lengua Tortas,” found “on Truman Road north of Blue Valley Park,” with carryout and delivery ordered online, outdoor seating, and hours that stretch to midnight on weekend nights.¹ Its menu is built on a single list of meats applied across formats: pastor (labeled “Mexican gyro”), asada, tripa, cabeza, lengua, chorizo, carnitas, pollo, buche and birria — as tacos with cilantro and onion, as rice-and-bean burritos, as quesadillas with rice, lettuce, tomato and crema, or as tortas with lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado and crema (the torta list adds milanesa and ham).² Beyond the taqueria core there are half-pound hamburguesas dressed with ham and avocado and served with fries, a Philly cheesesteak, a BBQ sandwich, fries with cheese and meat, chiles toreados by the piece, a 16-ounce cup of consomé, duros, flan, chocoflan, tres leches and a “postre de papa,” and aguas frescas in horchata, strawberry, cucumber-lime, pineapple, tamarind, jamaica, mango, melon and guava.²

Kansas City Magazine’s 2021 taco survey — “we ate hundreds to pick them” — chose the tripas: “The tripas taco ($2) at El Rey del Taco sings so sweetly it deserves a record deal — and you might not expect to hear that about cow intestines, but we swear on the angelic vocals of Luis Miguel, it’s the truth. Tripas are cleaned, boiled and then pan-fried (ask for them extra crispy) before getting a rough chop and touching down in a corn tortilla landing strip with red onion and cilantro. Playfully gummy, wonderfully farmy, this tripas taco shows the rest of them how it should be done.”³ The taco has since gone from $2 to $3.²

Ownership and history

No owner is named on the restaurant’s site, and no press profile, opening report or public record naming one was found in this pass. The restaurant was operating by March 2021, when KC Magazine reviewed it at this address; its own ordering site and hours are current.³¹ The name is generic in the taqueria trade (there are unrelated El Rey del Taco restaurants in other cities), so listings should be matched on the Truman Road address.

The space

6450 E Truman Rd sits on the East Side, north of Blue Valley Park and the Blue Valley industrial district. The previous tenant of the building is undocumented here.

Links

• Website: https://www.elreydeltacomo.com/
• Order online (first-party): https://www.elreydeltacomo.com/order

Menu

Last verified: 2026-08-28 · Source: the restaurant’s own online-ordering page · Confidence: High. Prices marked ”+” on the ordering page carry size or add-on options; base prices shown. Restaurant’s own spellings retained.²

Tacos — served with cilantro and onion

• Pastor (Mexican gyro), Asada, Cabeza, Chorizo, Carnitas, Pollo, Buche, Birria ($2.75) · Tripa, Lengua ($3.00)

Burritos — beans, lettuce, cheese, tomato, rice

• Any of the ten meats ($9.99; tripa or lengua $10.50)

Quesadillas — cheese and meat; rice, lettuce, tomato, crema

• Any of the ten meats ($9.99; tripa or lengua $10.50)

Tortas — lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, crema

• Pastor, Asada, Cabeza, Chorizo, Carnitas, Pollo, Buche, Milanesa de Res, Jamón, Birria ($10.99) · Tripa, Lengua ($11.50)

Hamburguesas / Sandwiches

• Hamburger or Chicken Burger — half-pound patty, lettuce, tomato, American cheese, onion, mayo, ham, avocado; fries ($12.99)
• Philly Cheesesteak — cheese, onions, bell peppers, mayo; fries ($13.99) · BBQ Sandwich ($13.99)

Sides & extras

• Chips with salsa $3.50 · cheese dip with salsa $7.99 · cheese dip solo $5.99 · asada with fries $10.99 · papas $3.50 · papas con queso y carne $10.99 · avocado order $3.99 / half $2.99 · rice $3.50 · beans $3.50 · rice and beans $5 · chiles toreados (3) $1.50 / (1) $0.50 · consomé 16 oz $2.50 · limón $1 · crema $0.50 · queso $0.50

Postres

• Duros $3.50 · Flan de Vasilo $3.50 · Flan $5.50 · Chocoflan $6 · Pastel 3 Leches $6 · Postre de Papa $3

Bebidas

• Aguas frescas — horchata, fresa, pepino con limón, piña, tamarindo, jamaica, mango, melón, guayaba ($3.50+) · Mexican Coke $4.50 · Jarritos $3.50 · Crush $3.50 · canned sodas $2 · bottled sodas $3.50 · bottled water $2 · tea $3.50

Sources

Footnotes

1. El Rey Del Taco — official website, home page. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: name; “authentic Mexican food such as Asada Tacos, Pastor Burritos, Cabeza Quesadillas, and Lengua Tortas”; “on Truman Road north of Blue Valley Park”; 6450 E Truman Rd, Kansas City, MO 64126; (816) 216-7711; business hours (Mon–Thu 10–10, Fri–Sat 10–midnight, Sun 10–10); carryout and delivery hours; casual dining; outdoor seating. ↩ ↩²

2. El Rey Del Taco — official online-ordering page. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: every category, item and price in the Menu section; address and phone; hours; rewards program; “Online Ordering Coming Soon” banner on some items. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Nicole Kinning et al., “35 essential KC tacos — we ate hundreds to pick them,” Kansas City Magazine, 2021-03-02 — Confirms: “Tripas at El Rey del Taco,” 6450 E. Truman Rd., KCMO; tripas taco $2; preparation (cleaned, boiled, pan-fried, rough chop, corn tortilla, red onion, cilantro); quoted praise; restaurant operating March 2021. ↩ ↩²