French Tacos Are The Street Food That Satisfies Any Fast Food Craving

If you haven't heard of "French tacos," you should know that the name of this fast food dish is a bit misleading. Although they feature a tortilla, they're definitely not a taco, and they're only sort of French. They originated in France, but they don't really read as quintessentially French — that means you shouldn't expect a tortilla filled with something like escargot or coq au vin.

Rather, the French tacos (yes, they're always written as a plural, even if you're referring to just one) are a fast food lover's delight: A wheat tortilla stuffed with various combinations of meat, cheese, and sauces. Vegetables are not particularly common unless you're ordering a vegetarian version. In a pinch, you could argue that they're a variation on a burrito since they're a filled, wrapped-up tortilla, but the similarities are mostly in the shape and form of the dishes, not the fillings. Fillings for French tacos typically lean greasy, such as ground beef, sausage, and chicken nuggets or tenders. There's usually a solid helping of cheese: If you order one in France, you'll likely get options like goat cheese, emmental, mozzarella, and cheddar. Classic fast food sauces abound as well, from mayo to barbecue, as well as less-standard choices like Samurai (a spicy mayo-ketchup) and curry sauce. No need to order fries on the side — they're usually put straight into the wrap. It's then heated in a panini press-type appliance before serving. 

French tacos certainly don't resemble your classic French food, but they are inextricably linked to France — even if some culinary voices, be they French or Mexican, find them to be an abomination. They're a relatively new creation: The first known restaurant to sell them surfaced in the 2000s in the suburbs of Lyon, France's third-largest city. A kebabshop owner of North African descent is thought to have invented them as a sandwich-like fast food option that would have mass appeal.

In less than two decades, French tacos quickly gained a foothold and spread around the country. They're now arguably one of France's major fast food offerings — they're cheap, at a little over 5 euros for one hefty tortilla, and popular amongst teenagers and younger French people. One chain, O'Tacos, has become particularly dominant, having established new restaurants at a rate faster than McDonald's (at least within France), now numbering over 300 locations. French tacos have spread beyond the borders of France — O'Tacos has locations in five other countries like Germany and Spain (although most of its non-French locations are in Belgium), and they're also popular in countries like Morocco.

If you live in the United States and hope to sample French tacos for yourself, you may need to travel since there aren't too many purveyors around the country. O'Tacos tried opening a location in New York City in 2017 but closed it a little over a year later. However, there are some independent restaurants that serve French tacos dotted around the U.S. In Los Angeles, an eatery called The French Way offers these meat and cheese bombs, although they've been renamed "French folds" to avoid treading on the toes of the city's many taquerias. Its menu offers "classic" fillings like ground beef or chicken tenders alongside plenty of sauces from ranch to sweet-spicy Algérienne sauce.

In Seattle, a restaurant named Brick'N'Cheese offers similar fare with ample meat and cheese, but again, the word "taco" seems to have been shunned in favor of "brick" for these hefty hunks of fast food. Beyond these options, French tacos are still rare — it seems that the popularity of actual tacos might be making restaurateurs reluctant to offer this not-really-a-taco snack to Americans.