Overview Top Taco is an all-you-can-eat taco competition on a Thursday night, when more than 60 Colorado restaurants in Denver, and 40-plus in Houston, serve unlimited tacos to a 21-and-over crowd that votes for the G.O.A.T., the Greatest of All Tacos. It runs on a Thursday so restaurants can bring their chefs without losing weekend service. The ticket covers everything, food and drink included. DiningOut Events produces it in Houston, Denver and Dallas, alongside its RARE steak, Surf seafood and Chicken Fight festivals. On site First Taste and VIP guests come in at 6 and general admission at 7. Restaurants and food trucks line the grounds serving tacos, and more than 50 spirit brands pour over a hundred tequilas and mezcals from tasting zones, lounges and pop-up bars, with beer, aguas frescas and soft drinks alongside. Live music and lucha libre wrestling run through the night, and Denver added goat petting in 2026. In the VIP area eight grill masters compete in an Asada BBQ Taco Showdown and run live cooking demos, with private bars, lounges and bathrooms. Audience Nobody under 21 gets in, and the Denver FAQ spells out that this includes babies. Guests do the judging: every ticket carries a People's Choice vote for tacos and another for cocktails. Because tastings are unlimited, the festival pushes rideshare and shuttles, and in Denver it paired the night with a one-night hotel rate for guests who wanted to stay over. Track record The festival's categories have included Top Creative Taco, Top Traditional Taco, Top Vegetarian Taco and Top Creative Tequila Cocktail, with judges' and people's choice awards. Simon Wuestenberg, Chief Sales Officer of North America at Anheuser-Busch InBev, said of DiningOut's events: "This is exactly the type of event we need to be a part of, and exactly how we need to show up." Brand presence In Denver in 2026 Buckhead Meats, Patrón, Modelo Especial and Modelo Aguas Frescas presented the VIP showdown, and Pepsi supplied the soft drinks. A spirits brand can enter the cocktail competition three ways: paired with a participating restaurant, poured by one of its own premium accounts, or on its own. Every sponsor space comes with a branded banner, tables, linen, ice and power, and DiningOut will match a brand with a restaurant. Brands have brought trailers, bars, DJ booths and step-and-repeats. Through Stock Your Bar, guests can order spirits they tasted near wholesale for pickup or delivery.