The Best Taquerías in Los Angeles

Flour tortillas are the entire argument here — Teodoro Diaz-Rodriguez, Jr. and Jennifer Feltham opened in 2016 to cook tacos in the style of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, over a mesquite wood fire, and the tortillas still get pressed by hand. Get the asada taco, which is what that stretch of northern Mexico is known for. Three counters now: Fashion District, Mid-City, Long Beach.

Chef Victor Villa's own about page traces the business "from a humble roadside stand to a thriving brick-and-mortar restaurant," and the Highland Park shop on North Figueroa still runs like a stand. Ask for the Handmade Blue-Corn Tacos — the menu names nixtamalized blue corn tortillas, and that is the part worth the drive up. A second counter works inside Grand Central Market.

Huntington Park is the address that matters — the other five stores sit in Orange County and the Inland Empire, so 7127 Pacific Blvd is the one to drive to. The menu prices everything in three tiers, Regular, Premium and Prime, which is an unusually honest way to sell beef. Order the Papa Loka, a baked potato stuffed with whichever tier you picked.

Seafood, and only seafood. Gilberto Cetina opened in 2017 inside Mercado La Paloma in Historic South Central, one of eight kitchens sharing that hall, after fifteen years cooking beside his father at Chichen Itza. The Taco de Pulpo en su Tinta — octopus in its own ink — is the one people cross town for. Closed Mondays, with a tasting menu midweek.

Holbox Los AngelesJames Beard nominated and Michelin Guide Rated casual Mexican seafood counter featuring local and sustainable seafoodhttps://www.holboxla.com/

Braises, not grilled meat. The tagline is "Born and Braised in Boyle Heights," and the kitchen has worked that way since 2010 — everything sits in a pot until it gives up, then goes onto a handmade corn tortilla. Cochinita Pibil is the one to lead with, and the Chuleta en Chile Verde is the one you go back for. Counters run from Echo Park to Long Beach.

GuisadosBorn and Braised in Boyle Heights; Guisados features an authentic menu of homestyle Mexican braises on fresh handmade corn tortillas. Continuing a tradition of serving the best tacos in Los Angeles since 2010.https://www.guisados.la/

Al pastor off the trompo, carved to order, at corners the business posts on its own site — La Brea and Venice, Vermont and Sunset, Laurel Canyon and Osborne, plus a pair that drifted as far as San Francisco. The Martinez family, from Oaxaca, started with a single truck. Get the al pastor with pineapple and skip the deliberation entirely.

Home - Leo's Tacos TruckDiscover L.A.'s best taco truck! Our al pastor tacos are crafted using traditional methods passed down through generations.https://www.leostacostruck.com/

Parked in the same auto-repair lot at La Brea and Olympic for close to twenty years — L.A. Taco was writing about it there in 2007 — and it still opens at night and never at lunch. Tacos come palm-sized, which is an invitation to order four kinds at once. Get the lengua taco, and a chorizo behind it, both under a smoky roasted salsa roja.

Location - El Chato Taco Truck - Los Angeles5300 Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Wednesday 9PM–1:30AM Thursday 9PM–1:30AM Friday 9PM–3:30AM Saturday 9PM–3:30AM Sunday Closed Monday Closed Tuesday 9PM–1:30AMhttps://elchatola.com/location/

Yelp will tell you the Avenue 26 stand is closed, and the original Artesian Street pitch is — shut down along with the night market it spawned. The business moved. It now runs at 353 South Alameda in Little Tokyo, open past 2am nightly, and 1033 Neola Street in Eagle Rock. Tijuana-style street tacos, and the site still brags about a Business Insider nod.

ORIGINAL Ave26 Tacoshttps://originalave26.com/

Mexicali-style guisados on a handmade flour tortilla, which is not a combination this city offers much of — saucy braises folded into something built to hold them. The Inglewood shop sits at 4233 West Century Boulevard, minutes from LAX, and opens at 8:30 in the morning. Order the Quesataco. There is a second counter over in East LA.

Michoacán-style pork, and the site says so in two words: "Estilo Michoacán." Everything else follows from that. You will find it at 510 North La Brea in Inglewood, close enough to LAX that a delayed flight turns into an opportunity. Order the carnitas taco and ask for mixed cuts rather than picking one, because the crisp bits are the whole point.

Home - Carnitas El ArtistaOrder Online for Takeout / Pickup. Here at Carnitas El Artista - Inglewood you'll experience delicious Mexican cuisine. Estilo Michoacánhttps://www.carnitaselartista.com/

East LA, on César E. Chávez Avenue, open 8am to 6pm every day of the week. It is a tortilla and carnitas operation as much as a taquería — tortillas leave by the dozen, and menudo shows up Saturday and Sunday only. The Chorizo de Sangre is the item you will not find down the street, and it sells by weight, so take some home.

los5puntosMexican Super Cocinahttps://los5puntos.com/contact-us

Fish tacos in Los Angeles start here, by the business's own account: Gilberto and Maria Romero carried an Ensenada recipe across the border in 1978 and sold it out of a truck. That truck's corner in La Puente is a storefront now. Order the World Famous Fish Taco. The South El Monte and Walnut counters push a Baja recipe deep into the San Gabriel Valley.

Baja by way of Chinatown — Chef Esdras Ochoa's counter at 702 North Figueroa runs Monday through Saturday and closes Sundays, which takes some nerve in a city that eats tacos at 2am. The Zuperman is the order; the Cachetada and the Vampiro sit beside it on a menu short enough to read in a single go.

Afro-Mexican cooking from La Costa Chica, Guerrero, run by María Elena Lorenzo, who started as a cart vendor in Watts more than twenty years ago before the family opened its first restaurant in 2020. The counter is back in Watts now, at Wilmington and 110th, and posted hours end "or Until Sell Out". Get the Tacos Dorados de Barbacoa, plus a quesataco if the barbacoa holds out.

Started as a street stand in Hollywood in 2018 and grew into counters across Los Angeles plus outposts in New York and Las Vegas — a lot of expansion for a Tijuana-style asada taco, and that growth has cost it some consistency. Order the Vampiros, where the crisped tortilla covers for a griddle that has been busy since eleven in the morning.

Home | Tacos 1986https://tacos1986.com/