Taco Bamba opens in Lincolnia

Taco Bamba Taqueria is now open in Lincolnia. The restaurant specializes in tacos, tortas, sopes, and quesadillas.

The menu reflects the Cuban and Peruvian background of owner/chef Victor Albisu, along with his take on Mexican street food.

Two things set Taco Bamba apart from other fast-casual restaurants: It has a full bar, offering craft cocktails and frozen margaritas. And the menu at each of the 10 Taco Bamba locations is a little different.

In addition to traditional tacos, the menu at the Lincolnia restaurant, at 6259 Little River Turnpike, pays homage to the cuisines of the community and former restaurants in the area.

For example, the Malak al Bamba taco consists of shawarma spiced grilled beef, burnt eggplant, cucumber pico, serrano chilies, red onion, chipotle yogurt, and mint in pita bread. Ingredients in the Porque Pop taco include Korean-style chicken nuggets, slaw, green onion, sesame seed, and green chilies in a flour tortilla.

The HI-Ribster taco has barbecue pork shoulder, morita slaw, pickled onion, jalapeno, and cilantro. The Generous Jorge quesadilla has spaghetti and meat sauce with a basil ranch dressing.

The menu also includes several breakfast selections, nachos, Mexican street corn, posole rojo, calamari, fried rice, and more.

Albisu got an early education in global cuisine while growing up in Annandale and working at his mother’s Latin market in Landmark. He has fond memories of restaurants that have long since closed, such as Ribsters in Annandale and Generous George’s in Alexandria.

He was named Chef of the Year in 2015 and in 2019 was nominated for the Restaurateur of the Year Award by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. In 2016, he was selected as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award.

The Lincolnia Taco Bamba is open Sunday-Thursday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.-10 p.m.