El Vilsito: a Mexico City auto shop becomes a beloved taquería every night

Mecauto, an auto repair shop at Avenida Universidad 248 in Mexico City's Narvarte district, had customers who needed to eat while their cars were being fixed. Founder Juan Carlos Blanco started serving tacos in the same premises, originally calling the stand El Vipsito as a play on the VIPS restaurant chain, and the night business outgrew its origin.

Run a repair shop by day, then turn the same garage into a tacos al pastor stand at night — one rented space earns twice, serving different customers at different hours.

Around 7:30pm the mechanics close and about an hour later the garage reopens as El Vilsito: vertical spits of marinated pork spin where lifts and transmissions were being worked on, with the body shop's signs still on the walls. It serves tacos al pastor plus gringas, volcanes, costras and tortas, mostly to customers eating standing at the grill or at tables inside the garage, and stays open into the early morning.

The stand became one of Mexico City's most popular taquerías: people come from across the capital, food-tour guides treat it as an unmissable stop, and by 2019 its profits had funded two more formal restaurants nearby. Motorpasión reported in 2026 that it holds more than 15,700 Google reviews with a 4.3/5 score and a recommendation in the Michelin Guide.

El Vilsito began as an accident of convenience: Mecauto, a car repair workshop on Avenida Universidad 248 in Mexico City's Narvarte district, had customers who needed to eat while their vehicles were being fixed. Founder Juan Carlos Blanco started serving tacos from the same garage, and the stand originally carried a wink at a national chain — El Vipsito — before a legal tangle with the VIPS restaurant brand forced the name change to El Vilsito.

The format became famous for its schedule. Mechanics work on cars during the day; around 7:30pm the workshop closes, and about an hour later the same premises reopen as a taquería, with trompos of marinated al pastor pork spinning where the lifts and transmissions were. Manager Ismael Tilosa told CGTN that first-time visitors find it strange to see a mechanic's shop become a taco stand — 'but the people who come regularly, it's the flavor that keeps them coming back.'

Customers eat standing beside the grill or at tables set up inside the garage, while the body shop's painted signs — offering lubricación, suspensión and transmisión services — stay on the walls. Atlas Obscura described it in 2021 as serving 'some of the city's finest' tacos al pastor, with the real draw the spit-roasted pork sliced directly onto corn tortillas with pineapple, onion and cilantro.

Word of mouth carried it far beyond the neighborhood: people come from across the capital, and Mexico City food-tour guides list the shop as an unmissable stop. CGTN reported in 2019 that the operation had expanded to meet demand and that profits let the owners open two more formal restaurants nearby, while Motorpasión noted in 2026 that the taquería held more than 15,700 Google reviews, a 4.3/5 rating, and a recommendation in the Michelin Guide.

One commercial rent serves two businesses with opposite peak hours, so the property earns around the clock instead of sitting idle at night.

The day operation provides built-in first customers — car owners waiting for repairs — who turned into the seed of a food following.

The unusual transformation is itself the marketing: media, social posts and food tours spread the story for free.

Late-night hours served a real crowd (people leaving parties and bars) that formal restaurants mostly ignore.

A space that earns for only part of the day is underused inventory — split the schedule between two businesses, and let the oddity of the double life become free publicity.

El Vilsito grew from a side stand for waiting car owners into a destination: by 2019 its success had funded two more formal restaurants nearby, and by 2026 Motorpasión counted more than 15,700 Google reviews with a 4.3/5 rating and a Michelin Guide recommendation. The same premises still house Mecauto, which now specializes in MINI repairs, so the day-and-night split the stand made famous continues to run.