Seoul Mexican restaurant in Mangwon-dong: pulled pork tacos, Taco Dot

My friend and I went out to Mangwon-dong and stopped by Taco Dot Mangwon Market Main Branch for dinner. It's right near Mangwon Market, so it's a great spot to hit after browsing the market. I'd been looking for good eats in Mangwon-dong and this place had tacos, which I already love, plus a bunch of other Mexican dishes like enchiladas, so I figured I'd give it a try.

We showed up around 6:30pm on a weekend evening. Any later and we probably would've had to wait — classic Mangwon-dong weekend energy, haha. Beyond tacos there was enchilada, fajita, chimichanga and other Mexican dishes I don't get to eat often, so it took us a while to decide what to order.

Where is Taco Dot Mangwon Market Main Branch? Hours and parking

Taco Dot Mangwon Market Main Branch is located at 51 World Cup-ro 19-gil, 1st floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It's open 11:30–22:00 on weekdays and 11:30–21:00 on weekends. Break time runs 15:00–17:00, and since there's no dedicated parking lot, if you're driving, I'd recommend using a nearby public parking lot.

It's an easy walk from Mangwon Station and close to Mangwon Market too, so it's a nice stop for a date or outing in Mangwon-dong. We were already hanging out in the area, so the walk over wasn't a big deal at all.

Inside Taco Dot: seating, atmosphere and the self-serve bar

There's a big taco-shaped neon sign out front, so you know right away this is a taco place. It even had phrases like NO TACO NO LIFE and I LOVE TACO, haha. With the red neon and colorful artwork, the exterior really stands out along the Mangwon-dong alleys.

Step inside and the vibe shifts a bit from the exterior! Brown chairs and tables over checkered flooring gave it a retro, old-school American diner feel. With a California flag and Route 66 decorations too, the whole place had a real American West feel.

The place isn't huge, but it was plenty of room for two of us to sit and eat tacos while catching up. When we visited around 6:30pm on a weekend, there were already quite a few other diners in the middle of their meals.

There's a self-serve bar on one side where you can grab small plates, cutlery, water and so on as needed. And the variety of Tabasco was seriously impressive — beyond the classic Tabasco, there were jalapeño, smoked and other varieties, great if you like customizing your spice.

The drink fridge had familiar sodas plus rows of colorful Jarritos, which honestly fit the whole vibe of the place perfectly, haha.

What two people ordered at Taco Dot, and what it cost

Looking at the menu, I had so many questions... With just the two of us, we ended up ordering quite a spread. Here's what we got that day:

• Paprika sauce enchilada, jerk chicken — ₩17,900
• Mango shrimp taco — ₩10,000
• Carnitas taco — ₩10,000
• Pulled pork taco — ₩11,000
• Extra guacamole
• Pepsi Zero
• Sprite

That's what we ordered. I'm not a huge fan of cilantro, so I asked for the carnitas without it.

Laid out all together, it was a pretty generous spread for two people, haha. Each taco came as 2 pieces, so my friend and I split one each and got to try a bunch of varieties — full-on taco tasting mode...

Mango shrimp taco, 10,000 won

Shrimp and mango together! It felt like an unusual combo so I was curious about this one from the moment I ordered it. It's loaded with big chunks of mango, shrimp and vegetables — at first I wasn't sure it would work. But once I tried it, it was surprisingly delicious.

The mango gives it a distinctly different feel from the other tacos, so it's a good one to mix in when you're ordering a few varieties to share.

Carnitas taco, 10,000 won (cilantro can be left out)

I ordered the carnitas without cilantro, and it came with lime and salsa. The meat was topped generously with raw onion, so I squeezed the lime over it and gave it a try.

It was saltier than I expected, but paired well with the lime and was delicious overall. We also added guacamole and dipped it in along the way.

Pulled pork taco, 11,000 won: the best of the three

Of all the tacos we had that day, this pulled pork one was my favorite!

It's piled generously with meat, tomato and cheese, and eating it all together in one bite was a great combo. Having tried all three — mango shrimp, carnitas and pulled pork — if I had to pick just one to order again on a future visit, it'd be the pulled pork, haha.

Paprika sauce enchilada with jerk chicken, 17,900 won

Tacos alone felt a bit incomplete, so we ordered an enchilada too. We picked jerk chicken as the meat! It came with a generous layer of orange paprika sauce underneath and was piled high with toppings like tomato and onion — it looked delicious just from the visuals. The paprika sauce was a flavor I'd never had before, so it felt a bit unfamiliar to me personally.

There's rice inside too, so it ends up being more filling than you'd expect. It's a different style from the tacos, so if you want to try a range of Mexican dishes, it's a good one to order and share.

How much should two people order at Taco Dot?

We had a lot of curiosity about the menu, so we ordered three types of tacos plus an enchilada and guacamole. That turned out to be quite a lot for two people. Especially with each taco coming as 2 pieces and the enchilada including rice, we ended up pretty full.

If you're visiting as a pair, I'd personally recommend two types of tacos plus one enchilada. It's a nice way to share a few different flavors, and that amount should be plenty! Of everything we had that day, the pulled pork taco was the tastiest, and the mango shrimp stuck with me too since the combo worked better than I expected.

Taco Dot Mangwon Market Main Branch was a solid find in Mangwon-dong for when you're craving tacos or want something a bit different from the usual Mexican menu while browsing Mangwon Market. And the chimichanga, which I kept wondering about while reading the menu... we ordered too much this time to try it, and now I'm really curious what it tastes like. Next time I visit, I'll have to give the chimichanga a shot, haha.