Houston's historic Second Ward has long been a hub for family-run Mexican kitchens, and Villa Arcos is one of the oldest names in the neighborhood. It opened its doors at 3009 Navigation Boulevard in 1977, founded by Velia Arcos Rodríguez Duran, who ran the place until she passed in 1986. Since then, the restaurant has stayed in the family through three generations: her daughter Yolanda Black Navarro, who died in 2015, and her son Christian Navarro, and it is now operated by Jacob Torres. That lineage is more than a footnote here; it's the whole point, and the #IAMFAMILIA mural by artist Angel Quesada on the wall makes it official.
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What people come for, though, is the food. Villa Arcos is best known for its breakfast tacos, and the menu gives you plenty of ways to order them. The super breakfast tacos run $4.25 for fillings like bacon, chorizo, sausage, ham, potatoes, chicharron, fajita, chicken, and barbacoa, with a slightly cheaper barbacoa taco at $3.99. If you'd rather sit down, the breakfast plates are $10.95 for ranchero, barbacoa, machacado, ala mexicana, migas, chorizo, sausage egg, bacon-egg, potato egg, ham-egg, and chicharron, with barbacoa and machacado plates at $11.85. Everything is made to order, and the homemade flour tortillas are a signature.
Lunch keeps the momentum going. Tacos like beef fajita, pastor, chicken, carne guisada, picadillo, barbacoa, and crispy are $3.99 each, and Velia's Burrito is a $3.00 staple. The lunch plates are $11.80 across the board for beef fajita, carne guisada, chicken, picadillo, cheese enchiladas, chicken enchiladas, three crispy tacos with rice and beans, beef quesadilla, chicken quesadillas, cheese quesadilla, and pastor quesadilla, with a picadillo tostada plate with rice and beans at the same price. If you want a quesadilla on its own, the beef and cheese versions are $7.19, while chicken and pastor are $8.00. A single crispy taco is $3.99, three crispy corn tacos are $9.50, and a rice basket is $3.95. Two picadillo tostadas are $8.10, and two bean tostadas are $6.35.
Weekends bring out the menudo at $12.50, and tamales are sold by the dozen for $14.40 or the half-dozen for $7.20. Sides are sold by the half-pint for $3.00, covering sour cream, rice, charro beans, refried beans, a side of potatoes, guacamole, red sauce, green sauce, pico, bacon, and chicharron, with a full pint of guacamole at $6.00. A dozen corn tortillas are $7.20, or $0.60 for a single one. Drinks range from a $2.70 Coca-Cola to a $3.90 Mexican Coke, $3.30 Jarritos, $3.90 Joya apple soda, and $4.00 horchata, hot or iced. For something sweet, the turnover, cinnamon cookies, conchas, and butter cookies are $6.00, and marshmallow pops are $3.75.
Beyond the counter, there's catering for events, with a Classic Pack of 12 wrapped breakfast tacos for $43.80 and a Super Pack with egg, potatoes, bean, and cheese for $53.40. Online ordering is available at the Navigation Boulevard, Express OST, and Express Wallisville locations, and there's a Villa Arcos Rewards program and gift cards. It's a place that has grown up alongside the neighborhood, and it still leans on the same family recipes that started it all.
