Best of Evansville voters have long been fans of La Campirana’s authentic cuisine and just named it Best Latin American Restaurant in this year’s Best of Evansville contest. Now, Mexican officials are honoring the business with a major culinary award, just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month.
In late August, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mexican Academy of Gastronomy awarded La Campirana its Sello M designation. The restaurant joins a list of more than 200 restaurants across the world that demonstrate a true commitment to the authenticity of Mexican cuisine, traditional flavors, quality, cultural identity, and excellence in service.
The fact that La Campirana is one of only 38 U.S. restaurants on the list is an enormous source of pride for co-founder Abraham Brown, who calls the Sello M “one of the most meaningful recognitions we could receive as a Mexican restaurant in the United States.”
“This honor represents everything we have worked toward since opening our doors at Washington Square Mall in 2015,” Brown told Evansville Living in an email. “What started as a small local restaurant with a commitment to serving authentic Mexican food has grown into something we could have never imagined. Eleven years later, La Campirana is being recognized among some of the most authentic Mexican restaurants in the nation.” Aside from La Campirana, the Sello M restaurant closest to Evansville is Carnitas El Tarasco in Indianapolis.
Brown and Ezequiel Campos started La Campirana small with just a storefront in Washington Square Mall’s food court in 2015. “We thought probably if we had 30 to 50 people coming, we would be OK,” Brown told Evansville Living in 2017. “The first day we had more than 200 people there at the restaurant, and we didn’t advertise or anything. It never went down from 200. It went up and up and up.”
They upgraded to a flagship restaurant at 724 N. Burkhardt Road and in 2024 added a second location at Main Street Food & Beverage at 900 Main St. La Campirana’s traditional Mexican birria often gets rave reviews, as do the gorditas, tortas, and flautas. “The food is a reflection of how our community has been enriched with the different cultural heritages we now celebrate in Evansville. It’s not just diversity through race, but it’s diversity in flavors, too,” Brown told Evansville Living in 2019 for its “Mex in the City” feature story. “With our gorditas, we want to make sure people understand it’s not just an item on our menu. It’s a way to tell a story through that item by being able to say this is the food the indigenous ate even before they were colonized by the Spaniards. It is a celebration of our culture (that) we still celebrate now.”
Mexican Consular authorities will visit Evansville on Oct. 30 to officially award the Sello M designation to La Campirana.
“This recognition is a celebration of our commitment to authenticity, flavor, quality, culture, and service, but it is also something we are extremely proud to bring home to Evansville,” Brown says. “We are not only representing La Campirana, we are representing Evansville and the entire Tri-State region on a national stage.”
Hungry For More?
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15-Oct. 15 at one of these businesses that Best of Evansville voters named the top 10 Latin American restaurants of 2026:
- La Campirana: 724 N. Burkhardt Road; 900 Main St. (2026 Best of Evansville winner)
- Los Bravos Mexican Restaurant: 3534 N. First Ave.; 4630 W. Lloyd Expressway; 6226 Waterford Blvd.
- Sazón y Fuego: 8666 Ruffian Lane, Newburgh
- La Plaza Restaurant: 420 S. Green River Road
- Taqueria y Pupuseria Miranda: 2008 Washington Ave.
- El Paisano Restaurant: 311 S. Green River Road
- Hacienda Mexican Restaurant: 600 E. Boonville-New Harmony Road; 711 N. First Ave.; 990 S. Green River Road; 5440 Pearl Drive
- Noche Cantina & Cocina: 2215 W. Franklin St.
- Gollita Peruvian Cuisine: 4313 E. Morgan Ave., Suite H
- Riviera Mexican Grill: 10604 State Road 662, Newburgh
