In the heart of Ballard, Lupe’s Situ Tacos, a colorful and vibrant gem, is serving up more than just tacos—it’s a celebration of family, culture, and a passion for food. Founded by Lupe Flores, the restaurant is a tribute to her roots, blending her Lebanese and Mexican heritage into every dish. From bold, flavorful tacos to globally inspired soups, each item on the menu tells a story. We sat down with Lupe to learn more about her journey, the community that’s rallied behind her, and what makes Lupe’s Situ Tacos a must-visit spot in Ballard.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Where is Lupe’s Situ Tacos located?
We’re right in the heart of Ballard, right on Ballard Avenue, in the thick of the Farmer’s Market, two doors up from Hattie’s in a bright pink stucco building. We kind of stand out amongst the rest of Ballard.
What do you serve at Lupe’s?
We do typically mostly Mexican fare, but I’m Lebanese and Mexican, so there’s definitely a lot of Lebanese influences here and there. We’re really known for our soups, which can be from all over the world because I’m very passionate about soup and I’ve traveled a lot and have learned to cook everywhere I go, so sometimes it’ll be something as traditional as pozole. Sometimes it’ll be like Lebanese molokhia, and then sometimes I’ll just make something like tom yum because I feel like eating that. So it really depends, but mostly Mexican food.
How long has Situ Tacos been open?
Okay, so in this location in Ballard, we’ve been here since May 15, 2024, so less than a year. We’ve evolved slowly over time. So before that, we were much smaller, and we were inside of the Jupiter Bar in Belltown for three years. But it wasn’t my own, it was kind of like a standing pop up for three years. Before that, we were doing pop-ups. Before THAT, I was doing deliveries out of my car.
How long have you been in the restaurant industry? And what other lives have you lived?
Oh, man, I have a lot of other lives. Mostly what I do is play music. I play drums. That’s what I’m passionate about. This kind of happened accidentally.
I’ve been in the restaurant industry and bar industry on and off, (but mostly on) for 25 years, because it’s a thing that I could take time away from to go tour with my bands. It was never my intention to start a restaurant/bar. It just kind of happened as a funny post-COVID situation. I lost my job because of COVID. I was a bartender before and all the bars shut down and my bandmates wouldn’t practice because we were in a global pandemic and everyone was trying to be safe. I was craving human connection.
I started making these tacos that my situ trained me how to make since I was a little, little, little girl and doing deliveries for people, (masked deliveries) on people’s doorsteps to just try and connect and feel a sense of community in a really dark time.
That just leveled up. I started doing outdoor pop-ups in all sorts of weather, and those were selling out. And then I was outside of the Tractor Tavern in like an outdoor kitchen for a couple of months. And then the city shut that down. So then my buddy who owns the Jupiter Bar in Belltown was like, “Why don’t you just take over my kitchen and run your business here?” So we did that for three years. But I’m a Ballard girl and I really wanted to come back to Ballard.
So I saved up money. And then when this space was available, I just took a real big leap of faith and put my heart and soul and all of my life savings and then some into making this what it is now. Just like what you see, very colorful and wild and fun.
Where did the name “Lupe’s Situ Tacos” come from?
We’re called Lupe’s Situ Tacos because my Situ is my grandma, my abuela, she was half Lebanese and half Mexican and the word “Situ” is Lebanese Arabic for grandma, so it’s named after her.
Everything here is named for a reason.My cocktail list is named intentionally. There’s “The Linda” named after my mom, the back bar is called “Tilda’s Lounge”, named after my aunt Matilda, who was kind of like the bad girl in the family. I have an animatronic parrot up there that my friend made me named “Armando” after my goofy uncle. This whole place is just a tribute to my family and the way I was raised in my culture. I feel really lucky to be able to share it with people in a physical form.
What has been the reception of the community since you opened your doors? How does Ballard feel about tacos?
I have always felt very supported by my community. Like, it makes me cry all the time when I think about it. I feel so fortunate and so lucky. I think the people who didn’t already know me, that our Ballard folks maybe are a little bit, at first were a little curious, like, “Hmm, this is bringing a lot of color to the block, both literally, and also just the vibe.” But I think now, it’s been less than a year, and our presence here, I think, is mostly very appreciated, which, as a whole, in Seattle, makes me feel really loved. Especially in a part of Seattle that’s traditionally very white. So, yeah, that feels really good.
Without the community, there’s no way this would be successful. By and large, people are so eager to, like, do anything they can. So much of this place, the build-out and everything, was done through trades and things like that to make it even possible, because I don’t have a bunch of investors. I just kind of am nice to people, and then they’re nice to me back, and then somehow this shit gets thrown together.
When a first-time customer is coming through the doors, what should they expect when they get here?
It’ll probably be pretty loud. Lots of women work here. We have 20 employees, and only three of them are men, and they’re very supportive, wonderful men. But yeah, we’re a loud, sassy bunch. The music’s loud. At any given time it can be a little bit chaotic and very fast-paced.
We’re not a bougie, fine dining experience. We’re a get-in or get-out or get-in and make some friends at the bar and hang out kind of place. We also call this back bar the womb, because it’s a cozy place that women can feel safe, and anybody can feel safe.
It’s fun, but we’re not doing the whole “make a reservation, wait in line for two hours, serving wine to you” kind of experience. It’s more of like “take a shot of tequila and eat a piece of cheese” kind of experience.
What are some of the greatest hits on the menu?
That’s such a hard question for me to answer. We don’t have a huge menu and so when people ask me that question I end up listing the whole menu. If it’s your first time here and you eat everything, you have no food restrictions, I would say get the three taco plate, one of each kind.
The Hushwe is the traditional Lebanese brown butter beef. The papas is the creamy garlic potato filling that’s like decadent, bad-girl taco. And then the spicy cauliflower is kind of my riff off of Arabic cauliflower and hummus kind of mixed together. It’s vegan, it’s real delicious and it’s like the one that people are always like, I don’t know if I like cauliflower and then it ends up being their favorite. So definitely get one of each.
We’re also known for our nachos because I make my own queso in house, like hatch green chili, really delicious queso. And we’re super known for our soups. And if you’re in the know and if you’re a regular, I have people come in multiple times a week, every week just to get soup. A lot of neighborhood people who work in the neighborhood because I don’t fuck around when it comes to, I mean any other food, but I’m very passionate about soup. I don’t eat other people’s soup because I love mine so much. Not to be an asshole, but that’s just the way it is.
Most of our menu is gluten-free or can be gluten-free, so you don’t have to worry about that. I would say 90% of our menu is at least vegetarian. A lot of it’s vegan. But then there’s some meat in there too for the meaty folks.
Everyone else out there really loves the carnitas taquitos and all of the taquitos, which is also good. So that’s kind of the whole menu. And then if you’re here on the weekends, we have the best Mexican brunch.
Intentionalist is all about encouraging people to spend like it matters in their local communities, support women-owned, people-of-color-owned small businesses. Could you say a little bit about why it’s important for people to spend like it matters?
I think traditionally and historically it has been nearly impossible as a woman or a member of the BIPOC community to start your own business. And luckily that’s slowly changing because of companies like Intentionalist. And I think it’s really important not only to show up, like physically and be supportive but also show up with your money because it’s harder for us to get loans. It’s harder for people to believe in us.
I can’t tell you the number of times a man has come in here and been like, “This is really good, but you know what I think you should do with your business?” And I’m like, “No, but I bet you’re going to tell me.” That’s the kind of attitude we don’t need. So the more that you can show up and support places like this, also like a lot of us really know how to cook and run shit because that’s how we were raised. We’ve had to work harder, usually, our whole lives. And so when it comes to running our own shit, I think you will find that a majority of us are not trying to fuck around. And at least speaking for myself, it’s very important to me. This whole place is a reflection of my family, my culture, my history, and I’m not going to half-ass any of it. So it’s good on you too, because it’s like, well, you’re getting to reap those benefits. Not to sound like a jerk.
It’s just the way it is.
What are a few small businesses that you love?
- I’m a big fan of Yalla, which is on Capitol Hill. My girl Taylor runs that place. She has not only been like a mentor for me from a business perspective, but also from a perspective of like, when I was trying to do this citywide benefit for the Lebanese Red Cross, I looked to her because she did one the year before for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, and I kind of used her template, I guess, for lack of a better word, as like a guiding light to try and figure out how to do it this time around. She also set up a new location in the new Montana Bar in Queen Anne.
- From a music perspective, Sonic Boom Records down the street has always really supported all of my bands and all of the local community.
Anything else to add?
I welcome you to come on down to Situ Tacos in Ballard. We are a fun little respite in the rest of what can feel like a gray, dark place. And I invite you to come down and be adventurous with your mind and your palate. Everything’s got some flavor and some kick, and there’s no way to tone any of that down, nor would we want to. You’re welcome to come by anytime, and I hope you enjoy it.