Published by Angie. Last Updated on April 8, 2022.
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Totopo in Mt. Lebanon serves up well-executed traditional Tex-Mex dishes along with a few traditional-leaning Mexican plates. The quality of the service, atmosphere, and food make this one much more of a destination restaurant than your average Mexican joint.
Totopo Offers Delicious Fare at Reasonable Prices
We recently dined at Totopo on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Our server brought out piping hot chips and salsa which we happily munched while perusing the menu.
The lunch menu has a great mix of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, and egg-based dishes, meaning you can choose whether you'd like to go a brunch route or a more traditional lunch route.
We were happy to see chilaquiles on the menu, an egg-based dish with tortilla chips and tomatillo salsa, and nearly ordered it until we saw the tacos al pastor.
Tacos al pastor, with its unique combo of achiote-marinated pork and pineapple, seems like it would be an easy dish to get right but is one that we haven't really seen done too well here in Pittsburgh. The meat is usually either dried out or flavorless, or the pineapple is canned and unappetizing.
Imagine our delight when the tacos al pastor appeared with extremely juicy, flavorful pork with a great achiote taste. There were huge chunks of fresh pineapple, and lots of onions and cilantro, too. We were in heaven. These were by far the best tacos al pastor we've had in the city.
Be Sure to Get a Combo Platter
In order to try a bunch of other dishes as well, we ordered a combo platter. For this one you can choose either two or three dishes like different styles of tamales or enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, tacos, or even a chile relleno, and then finish it off with two sides of your choice.
We went full gusto with a trio and tried the northern style tamale, an enchilada roja with chicken, and a chile relleno with beef. While the enchilada was just fine, the tamale and chile relleno were even better.
The tamale's masa dough was very moist and it was stuffed with a salsa verde and tender chicken. The chile relleno was our favorite of the trio – we appreciated that it wasn't deep fried like most chile rellenos, but was still indulgent with a ground beef filling and a velvety, rich cheese sauce on top.
For sides we opted for rice and beans which was much better than your average Tex-Mex rice and beans. The rice was tender and not overcooked and the beans were perfectly seasoned and creamy. The combo platters are a great value to boot – just $11 for a trio at lunch that will leave you with leftovers for sure.
Although the restaurant wasn't super packed on a Sunday afternoon, the service was efficient and pleasant. The atmosphere is also great in that it's a few steps above a standard Tex Mex restaurant.
Overall, Totopo is the kind of place you could come with a group of friends or even have a more casual date and be assured of great service and solidly delicious Mexican food.
Totopo is located at 660 Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon.
Looking for more delicious tacos in Pittsburgh? Click the previous link for some of our favorites or check out Totopo's sister restaurant, Tocayo in Shadyside!
