Opened by Brian Aster and David Madrigal in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant has a colorful interior and serves traditional cuisine such as tacos, adobada, barbacoa, chile rellenos, and agua fresca.

[4] The interior features prints by queer Mexican artist Felix d'Eon, framed portraits of Mariah Carey, Verónica Castro, Gia Gunn, and Marsha P. Johnson, pennants, and photographs of RuPaul.

[9] In 2020, Katherine Chew Hamilton of Portland Monthly called the restaurant a "standout" of the year and wrote,[10] "Taqueria Los Puñales makes some of the best tacos I've had in Portland—I particularly love the choripapas and the barbacoa.

[13] Seiji Nanbu and Brooke Jackson-Glidden included the business in Eater Portland's 2021 list of fifteen "outstanding" taco eateries in the city.

While the classic guisados here are great, the beauty of Los Puñales lies in the more unconventional fillings like the garlicky steak al pesto and fried Chile relleno.