Chef Victor Albisu invited us across the river to check out the offerings at his new taco joint, Taco Bamba. It’s a bit of a full circle for Albisu, who got his start setting up a sandwich counter at his family’s Latin grocery store, ended up running the kitchen at BLT Steak, and opened the South American vineyard-inspired Del Campo in the District earlier this year. A few weeks ago, Albisu opened the doors to Taco Bamba, a taqueria in the same Falls Church shopping center where his mom owns Plaza Latina Market. Albisu still likes to cut meat sometimes in the market’s butcher shop, though he’s got his hands full with his own two businesses these days.

“The idea behind it really has always been to do something very straightforward, very traditional,” Albisu explains. “But as we thought about it, we wanted to do some non-traditional as well. So we drew very distinct lines between what’s traditional and what’s not.”

The best of the bunch may be the Black Pearl, a fish taco with two fried strips of tilapia and an aioli made black by squid ink. Carne asada, served in a tortilla as a strip of steak instead of being chopped up, is also a highlight. Then there’s the torta. The Torta Bamba, good for three or four meals, layers eight types of meat between the bun and is larger than just about anything I’ve ever seen in these parts.

Taco Bamba
2190 Pimmit Drive, Falls Church, Va.
Daily, 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.