The original taqueria in the Pearl District was opened by restaurateur Ramzy Hattar in December 2019, with Antonio Javier Palma Caceres as the chef and Davide Bricca overseeing cocktails.

[3] In 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Willamette Week's Nick Zukin described the taqueria as "a popular late-night destination for hungry club and bar patrons".

[4] Serving a variety of regional Mexican cuisine, the restaurant's menu has tacos (including Baja fish such as cod and Yucatecan cochinita pibil), burritos, nachos, birria with beef, lengua with habanero, margaritas on tap, and micheladas.

Various ingredients include chile de árbol, cochinita pibil, consommé, queso blanco, salsa with guajillo chili, and "locally nixtamalized" tortillas made from Three Sisters masa.

[16] In November 2020, the business confirmed plans for a second location in a new development in northeast Portland's Vernon neighborhood called Alberta Alley.

[2] In March 2020, The Oregonian's Michael Russell included Papi Chulo's in his overview of "Portland's 40 best inexpensive restaurants" and said the birria tacos "are among the best lunch values you can find downtown".