Yellow Door Taqueria Heads to the South End for One Weekend Only

The Best of Boston taco shop brings its menu, drinks, and vibe to sister spot Lion's Tail in September.

By Jacqueline Cain· 8/23/2019, 10:26 a.m.

Photo courtesy of Yellow Door Taqueria

Though it requires a ride on the charming Mattapan trolley to get there by public transit, Yellow Door Taqueria is well worth a visit for soft, house-made corn tortillas loaded with fresh and flavorful taco combinations so good we crowned them Best of Boston. But we completely feel your pain if you head out to the tiny, no-reservations spot only to find it full with an hourlong wait, as occasionally happens. So consider us psyched that for one weekend only next month, the Lower Mills taqueria will bring its food, drinks, and vibe to a much larger restaurant, located closer to downtown Boston.

Yellow Door Taqueria is taking over sister spot Lion’s Tail all night long on Friday, Sept. 6, and Saturday, Sept. 7. More than just a pop-up, the weekend-long takeover is a way for Yellow Door to introduce its new executive chef, Carolina Curtin, who joins the taco shop after head-chef gigs at Café ArtScience and Haley.Henry Wine Bar; and also to celebrate YDT’s second anniversary.

Chef Curtin is bringing a nice sampling of the Lower Mills menu to the South End, including carnitas tacos and her vegetarian-friendly wild mushroom carnitas; chicken tinga; mezcal shrimp; and more, plus signature chipotle aioli-slicked elote (grilled street corn), and a couple salads.

The YDT crew is also loading up Lion’s Tail’s well-equipped bar with a ton of tequila. A fruity lineup of fresh house margaritas is available on the rocks or frozen, and signature cocktails like the Yellow Door Boxer, a boozy sipper with chili-infused tequila and mezcal; and In Bloom, with strawberry, basil, lime, are all on the menu. Check out the pop-up menus in full below.

Yellow Door and Lion’s Tail are part of the restaurant empire of Brian McDonnell; Ken Casey, the frontman of the Dropkick Murphys; and designer Taniya Nayak, a Food Network and HGTV star. For the takeover weekend, Nayak is redecorating the 120-seat cocktail bar taqueria-style, complete with Yellow Door’s neon-pink signage and other gritty-chic interior elements.

The takeover runs from 5 p.m. until last call on September 6 and 7. Both nights, Berklee students Alper Tuzcu, Micaella Cattani, and Juan Tello will complete the taqueria vibe with a live performance from 9-11 p.m. Meanwhile, Yellow Door Taqueria will be open business-as-usual in Lower Mills. Lion’s Tail is located at Ink Block, just a 10-minute walk from the Orange Line—no trolleys required.

Yellow Door Takeover, Friday and Saturday, September 6 and 7, 5 p.m.-2 a.m., Lion’s Tail, 354 Harrison Ave., lionstailboston.com, yellowdoortaqueria.com.