Fily's Tacos Mexican Grill

The best tacos on the southeast side might be sitting in a gas station. Fily's Tacos Mexican Grill runs its kitchen out of the Shell convenience store at 4181 Hessen Cassel Rd, and the reason people go is simple: reviewers keep describing the tacos as large, well-seasoned portions served on soft tortillas. That is the whole pitch, and it is a good one.

What It Actually Is

Set expectations before you drive over. This is a quick-service Mexican taco stand operating inside a Shell gas station convenience store, not a sit-down room with a host and a margarita list. You order at the counter, in fast-food fashion, and the menu is purely Mexican. If a no-frills counter spot bothers you, this is not your night out. If it does not, you are exactly the person this place is for: a fast, honest lunch where the food does the talking and nothing else is asking for your attention.

The restaurant carries a few names depending on where you look. It shows up as Fily's Tacos Mexican Grill, as "Fily's Tacos 1," and it is registered as Filys Tacos I Mexican Grill LLC. Same taco stand, same address.

What to Order

Start with the tacos, since that is what regulars and reviewers single out first. The steak tacos and the tongue tacos both get called out by name, so if you have never had lengua and want to try it somewhere the crowd already trusts, this is a reasonable place to start. The tamales draw their own repeat mentions, which is worth knowing because a good tamale is harder to find than a good taco.

To drink, get the horchata. It is the beverage reviewers keep bringing up, and cinnamon-rice horchata is the right foil for a tray of seasoned meat.

The rest of the board fills out a full Mexican counter menu:

• Tacos
• Tamales
• Chimichangas
• Burritos
• Fajitas
• Taco salad
• Guacamole
• Cheese dip

The Neighborhood

Fily's sits in Hessen Cassel, on the southeast side of Fort Wayne. It is a working stretch of the city, and a counter taco operation inside a fuel stop fits it well. If you are already filling up on Hessen Cassel Rd, the food is right there. If you are mapping out the corridor, the nearby Hessen Cassel Express is another option in the same pocket of town.

Who It's For

This is a solo-lunch, grab-a-few-tacos, back-to-your-day kind of place. It rewards the diner who cares more about a big well-seasoned taco on a soft tortilla than about tablecloths. Fort Wayne has plenty of Mexican spots working other angles: Tacos El Chillon and 2 Amigos Taqueria are worth a look, and El Sol de Mexico if you want a full sit-down room. But when the craving is specifically for a taco stand that treats the taco seriously, Fily's earns the stop, gas pump and all.