If you’ve had the pleasure of devouring a taco or two from Costa Taco, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what you’re in for. If not, here’s the low-down – locally sourced seasonal ingredients piled high on a soft-corn tortilla. Generally speaking, tacos aren’t always known for their top-tier ingredients, but Costa Taco is here to change that for the better. It all harks back to Nick and Matt’s upbringing. Having grown up in New Zealand surrounded by family and food, the brothers learned to cook from a young age from their grandmother, who also happens to be a chef and owned a classical European-style family restaurant back in the day. Under their grandmother’s tutelage, the brothers were taught about the importance of using locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, which continues to underpin their food operations to this day. Nick and Matt have gone to great lengths to forge partnerships with food suppliers including Jumping Red Ant farm in Tweed Heads to ensure Costa Tacos’ produce is as fresh and seasonal as can be. Interestingly, our sub-tropical climate boasts similar growing conditions to Mexico with corn, chillies, tomatillos, avocado and lime all thriving here, so it not only made good business sense but from a sustainable standpoint, it aligned with the brother’s beliefs to champion local farmers.

The refreshingly succinct menu features five street-style tacos as well as a couple of specials that will change depending on what the crew can source. The birria taco, which comes with a side of deliciously rich beef consomme for dipping and slurping, is an absolute must-try. Absolutely every single ingredient that makes its way onto a plate, from the soft-shell corn tortillas to the squeeze of lime on top, is designed to be as authentic as possible. The small but mighty team of chefs, two of whom are Mexican, are passionate about authenticity and we’re told that this is as close to a Tulum taco as you can get outside of Mexico. The brothers plan to extend the drinks selection in coming weeks to include local beers, wines and cocktails but for now, Costa Taco is BYO and walk-in only.

Keen to see for yourself? Roll over to our Stumble Guide for opening times.