Duo Taco, the Chester restaurant known for turning chicken birria into something of a local legend, has expanded into Center City Philadelphia with a second location at 1102 Chestnut Street. The new spot joins the original restaurant at 540 Avenue of the States in Chester, bringing the shop's signature consommé-soaked tacos to a new crowd of Philly diners.
The restaurant is owned by Roland Taylor and his wife, Lucia, who built the business around chicken birria as its centerpiece dish, according to 6abc Philadelphia. The birria is made with a house-made consommé and prepared to order with fresh ingredients, per the same report. Duo Taco calls its overall style Afro-Mexican, a label meant to capture how the menu fuses soul food with Mexican cooking traditions.
That blend traces back to Taylor's own upbringing. He grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, cooking soul food alongside his grandmother, the station notes, and it wasn't until he met Lucia that he developed a passion for Mexican cuisine. The two culinary traditions eventually merged into the menu that now anchors both Duo Taco locations.
What's on the Menu Beyond the Birria
While chicken birria remains the draw, Duo Taco's offerings extend well past a single taco. The shop also serves barbacoa, blackened salmon, and crab cake tacos, along with a vegan shiitake mushroom option, the outlet reports. According to What Now Philadelphia, the birria chicken taco itself features a crispy, cheesy shell filled with onion and cilantro, served alongside a consommé dipping sauce for dunking.
The menu doesn't stop at tacos. Duo Taco also makes a birria ramen that layers the signature consommé and noodles with taco ingredients, and it offers rice bowls built from the same taco toppings reimagined in bowl form, per 6abc's reporting. The approach lets the restaurant stretch its core flavors across multiple formats rather than confining them to a tortilla.
Conflicting Word on Opening Status
Exactly when the Chestnut Street location became fully operational is murky. What Now Philadelphia reported that Duo Taco had not announced an official opening date for the Philadelphia spot. A more recent post on Threads from the account @duo_row, however, declared the second location “NOW OPEN 7 Days a week OPEN LATE for your convenience,” tagging the post with references to the World Cup and Philadelphia. The two accounts don't fully align, and neither source clarifies the discrepancy.
📍Duo Taco 1102 Chestnut St Philadelphia Pa 19107 2nd location NOW OPEN 7 Days a week OPEN LATE for your convenience🌮🥱😵💫🤤 🔑🚀#duotaco #homeofthechickenbirria #worldcup2026 #philadelphia #fifa
A Homecoming Tradition Moves to Chester Park
Back in Chester, Duo Taco has built a tradition of hosting an annual party for the city following Chester High School's homecoming game. This year, that event is set to take place at Chester Park, marking the first time the party has been held there. The restaurant hopes the shift to the park will help turn the gathering into more of a community event for the city, according to 6abc's report.
For now, Philly diners curious about the new location can find Duo Taco at 1102 Chestnut Street, while the original Chester shop continues operating at 540 Avenue of the States. Whether the Center City spot is running on a settled schedule or still easing into regular service remains unclear based on the conflicting accounts from What Now Philadelphia and the restaurant's own Threads post.
