Believe it or not, this Westgate restaurant is one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the area — it was opened in 1984 by Octavio and Dorita Garcia. The original has outlasted two additional locations for good reason — the spacious dining room modeled after a plaza is homey and lively, a favorite for family celebrations. Highlights include tamales, seafood enchiladas, chile relleno, and the flan.

Leslie Garcia continues her late husband’s vision, honoring David Montes de Oca with a welcoming Kenner eatery brimming with traditional Mexican flavors. Chilangos Restaurant was de Oca’s post-Katrina dream a step up from the taco truck that served construction workers around town. He learned his taco-making skills from his uncle, a “chilango,” or resident of Mexico City.

The name of the game at Taqueria Guerrero is comfort food — begin on the huge menu with warming pozole or menudo, the well-known hangover cure, which seems to be extra curative here. Pastor, lengua, and tripas are always tender, never tough, and tortas and chimichangas are menu highlights. Don’t expect margaritas here, just beer, but there are all the best Mexican brews to choose from.

Step inside Johnny Sanchez on Poydras and it’s clear this isn’t your usual taco joint. Eye-popping art, modern lighting, and a sleek sophisticated vibe matches the menu (and prices). Still, partner/chefs Johnny Sanchez and Miles Landrem deliver the goods, from tacos stuffed with albondigas, Aaron’s grandmother’s recipe, to crispy P&J oysters and fried cauliflower. Specials are always worth a try, and margaritas are top-notch.

Cozy, authentic, homemade — that about sums up Panchita’s Mexican Restaurant on Carrollton Uptown, just steps from Lebanon’s Cafe. This family friendly homey spot offers Veracruz style specialties marked by fresh tomato sauce with olives and capers, without the heat of chiles. Try the al pastor and asada tacos, anything with mole, and a sno-ball or popsicle palate cleanser. Great prices.

Tucked away on a side street in the Warehouse District, Espiritu Mezcaleria and Cocina is worth discovering on a few fronts. The restaurant offers modern, regional Mexican cuisine including tasty tacos, from crispy shrimp to Baja fish, to tortas, and ceviche, all best enjoyed with a flight of three housemade salsas. Then there’s the cocktail options — the restaurant’s co-owner Jason Mitzen is a master Mezcalier — and the bar is modeled after a Mexico City mezcaleria.

El Loco is an alternative to Felipe’s, an assembly-line style spot that doesn’t sacrifice flavor for volume. It’s housed in an adorable building on a busy block of Carrollton Uptown with a small front dining patio that is usually full, where regulars order deeply savory meats including lengua, tinga, and conchitas pibil on tacos, queso-drenched nachos, giant frozen margaritas, and super burritos that, even with add-on guacamole, come in well-priced.

The Riverbend neighborhood loved La Mansión, the fun, homey Mexican restaurant tucked away on Dublin Street (and its owners, Edwin Alonzo and Veronica Cardona), so it’s great news that they’ve recreated something similar in a more prominent address just a few blocks away. It’s probably best suited for takeout, but if Alonzo is around, it’s worth trying to chat him up (and to try one of his margaritas).

Yes, Lengua Madre is vastly different from most of the restaurants on this list — the buzzy restaurant is helmed by Ana Castro, who creates modern Mexican tasting menus in an incredibly chic, minimalist space in the LGD. While it might not be the Mexican most diners are used to, this food is game-changing, but rooted in tradition, and it shows in dishes like a luscious fontal tetela, mole with incredible depth of flavor, and cobia al pastor.

With locations in New Orleans, Metairie and Harahan, Taqueria Corona is a popular sit-down bet for families and anybody craving ribeye carne asada. That rib-eye shows up in the tasty Philly cheesesteak taco with other options including crispy baja-style fish, pulled pork, and traditional spicy beef tongue. The house margarita is a good deal, made with fresh lime juice.

For Mexican on the West Bank, look no further than Taqueria Sanchez a tiny, bright roadhouse that greets diners as they hit Gretna. The green salsa is the key here, and don’t miss the menudo or tortas, both standouts on the vast, affordable menu.