Sharing the love: Brothers take Dubai by storm with authentic Mexican taqueria

Within Dubai’s culinary scene known for experimental gastronomy and gold-topped everything, a small taqueria run by two Mexican brothers stands out.

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Hailing from the city of Guadalajara, Isaac and Josue Antonio Ruiz Mendoza run Tacos Los Hermanos in Dubai Motor City. The small Mexican taco stand has been going strong for over two years, with Josue, 44, running the kitchen and Isaac, 43, handling the business side of things.

Though the brothers have lived in Dubai for several years - Isaac for 13, Josue for eight - they flourished by making sure their food wasn’t watered down simply to appeal to a wider audience. They also import many of their ingredients from Mexico, right down to Coca-Cola that is still made with cane sugar as per the original recipe.

But what makes their food truly authentic? Isaac jerked his head towards his older brother, “Him.”

'Sharing the love'

Josue's passion for food started in the farms around Guadalajara where, as a kid, he would often hang around the kitchen at big family reunions.Photo Credit: Fatima Benhaddou

Josue is hard to miss, sporting a thick horseshoe mustache with a signature straw hat instead of a chef’s toque.

“People think this hat is from the vaqueros (cowboys) in the U.S.,” he said. “But it’s actually Mexican.”

While just being something he’s comfortable in, it’s a nod to the heritage that nurtured his love for food. Josue fondly recalls family reunions at the farms surrounding Guadalajara city, where raucous relatives would gather in and around their small kitchen. While other children, including his brother Isaac, played outside, Josue would be in the kitchen, tasting, stirring and snacking on whatever he was handed.

Josue still remembers a repurposed piece of farm equipment that was placed on an open fire in the kitchen. It would be used as a large steel plate to cook tortillas because it retained the most amount of heat with the least amount of fire. He also vividly remembers the smells, sound and warmth of that kitchen.

“It’s not just sharing the food, it’s like something bigger,” he said. “It’s just sharing the love.”

Building a dream

Isaac's matter-of-fact nature balanced his brother's jollier personality as he took to running the business side of things.Photo Credit: Fatima Benhaddou

With a background in restaurant development and management, Isaac is more pragmatic than his brother.

According to him, 95% of restaurants shut down within one year, which is what they experienced with their first Mexican restaurant in Business Bay eight years ago.

“Business Bay was not like this eight years ago,” Isaac explains. “It was desert, only 40% of the buildings had occupancy there.”

There were also no proper roads to their restaurant at the time - most were still dirt paths then. Isaac was forced to close shop and moved on to developing Mexican restaurants for others, including Taqado, El Chapo’s Tacos and El Mostacho. But the idea to start his own restaurant with his brother had been in the back of his mind for a while, finally coming to fruition with Tacos Los Hermanos, Spanish for ‘The Taco Brothers’.

The hard work has not gone unnoticed - their customers include homesick Mexican chefs and international visitors from countries including the Netherlands, Canada and Switzerland. Some customers also show up with luggage, hungry for a taco immediately after landing at or on their way to the airport.

“The funny thing is, Dubai, it’s a fancy city. People come here for luxury,” Isaac said. “And then they put this taco joint on their list of must-visit places, and this is something very nice.”

The brothers also say they have received some royal and celebrity customers, but prefer to keep their identities discreet.

“We treat all our customers the same, as friends.”

The taste of success

Tacos Los Hermanos' signature dish is Chef Josue's birria beef tacos, served with salsa, chips and consomme.Photo Credit: Fatima Benhaddou

The brothers’ bond has clearly only grown stronger as they work together. Though they had their share of sibling squabbles as kids - Isaac once threw a TV remote at Josue’s head - there was always an unspoken understanding that they had each other’s backs. As adults, that understanding has evolved into a relationship built on mutual respect.

“It is different, but not that much since we share the same goals, the same passion,” said Isaac. “The difference is now we have different roles on a typical working day.”

With plans underway to open another location in November, the brothers reflect on how they would define success.

“Success is not just about if you have a hundred places or one place,” Isaac said. “When people come back, when people put you on their list of something important - I think since that moment, you already are successful. You feel happy with that.”

“Because you’re not sharing one taco, one kind of food,” Josue said. “You’re sharing your culture, your traditions, with everything you know.”