Tacos Doña Lena is packing up its original Spring Branch taqueria and moving just one block down the street, trading its longtime strip-center spot on Hammerly Boulevard for a larger building that will soon include a full bar. The beloved taco shop, run by Angel and Magdalena Cabrera since 2020, says the new restaurant is expected to open within the coming weeks, though the current location will stay open until the move happens.
A Bigger Home One Block Away
According to diningout.com, the new restaurant is headed to 2030 Bingle Road, just a block from the taqueria's current home. The outlet reports the Hammerly location will remain open until the move takes place, and that a grand-opening date for the new spot has not yet been announced. Tacos Doña Lena has operated out of a strip center at 8788 Hammerly Boulevard, Suite G, since it first opened, a location still listed on the restaurant's online ordering page.
Per the same report, the bigger building will finally give the Cabreras room to pour. The new location is set to introduce a full bar serving margaritas, beer and specialty cocktails, alongside new menu additions including queso, guacamole, flautas, desserts and other Mexican antojitos.
From Pandemic Soft Opening to National Recognition
Angel Cabrera named the restaurant after his mother, Magdalena “Lena” Cabrera, and the couple held their soft opening in April 2020, according to Houstonia. Despite launching in the thick of pandemic shutdowns, the magazine notes the restaurant took off quickly, eventually earning a spot on Yelp's 2021 Top 100 US Restaurants list. Spring Branch Management District reported the same year that the taqueria also landed on Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat in Texas, with its birria tacos made from Mexican stewed beef ranking as the top seller.
The restaurant has picked up plenty of hardware since. Chron reported that Tacos Doña Lena won OutSmart Magazine's Gayest and Greatest Award for Best Mexican Restaurant in 2020, 2021 and 2022, with fan favorites like quesabirria served with consomé and the Las Tres Chismosas plate helping cement its following. Texas Monthly has singled out the restaurant's Guanajuato-style birria as its signature draw.
What Stays the Same in Spring Branch
Even with the new bar and expanded menu on the way, the move keeps Tacos Doña Lena rooted in the same Spring Branch neighborhood it has served since 2020. The relocation marks one of the more notable changes for a restaurant that built its reputation from a modest strip-center storefront into a nationally recognized name on Yelp's rankings. No grand-opening date has been set, but the current Hammerly Boulevard restaurant plans to keep serving customers right up until the new doors open down the street.
