Los Angeles's Best Tacos, From Trucks to Tables

Mariscos Jalisco is a Bib Gourmand food truck with outposts in Boyle Heights, Mid-City, DTLA, and Pomona. Its famous crispy shrimp tacos, or tacos dorados de camarón, have become a defining dish of the city. The golden fried tacos are topped with avocado and a bright tomato salsa, but don’t forget to douse them with some of the truck’s fiery hot sauce.

Despite operating out of an unassuming sidewalk stand in a Pavilions parking lot, Asadero serves up one of the city’s most luxurious street tacos. The signature gaonera features a thin-cut ribeye grilled over mesquite and served on a locally made Sonoran-style flour tortilla. It’s the kind of bite that makes you pause and give thanks afterward.

Villa’s Tacos landed on one of the world’s biggest stages in 2026 when the LA taqueria appeared during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, with owner Victor Villa standing behind a branded taco cart. What started as a front-yard pop-up at his grandmother’s Highland Park home has since become an LA institution, known for blue-corn tortillas pressed to order and mesquite-grilled meats. Try the chicken, ranchera asada, and pork chorizo tacos queso-style, finished with a crisp skirt of melted cheese.

Helmed by chef Gilbert Cetina, Holbox is a Michelin-starred Mexican seafood counter inside Mercado La Paloma in Historic South Central Los Angeles. Start with raw bites like the tuna tostada and mixed ceviche before exploring a taco selection unlike most others in LA. Highlights include a seared scallop taco with chile x’catic, a house-smoked kanpachi taco with peanut chile oil, and a braised and fried octopus taco with calamari-ink sofrito.

A go-to for Tijuana-style birria, Teddy’s Red Tacos has expanded across Los Angeles and beyond. Whether you’re craving a cheesy quesataco, a stacked mulita, or a crunchy vampiro, the star is richly seasoned beef birria tucked into tortillas stained crimson with its cooking juices. Don’t forget a side of warm consommé for dipping.

Also located inside Mercado La Paloma, Komal puts Mexican heirloom corn at the center of everything it does. The molino nixtamalizes and mills its corn fresh each day, transforming the resulting masa into street foods inspired by Juárez’s experiences in Mexico City and Oaxaca. The Taco Sonia stands out with its filling of beef, chorizo, cactus, and molcajete sauce, but don’t miss the squash blossom quesadilla.

Sonoratown crafts some of the softest, chewiest flour tortillas in SoCal, and they’re reason enough to visit one of its LA locations in DTLA or Mid-City. Made with pork lard, the tortillas are thin, borderline translucent, and delicately blistered. Try them in taco form with braised beef head or Sonoran-style pork sausage, then order a few on the side to appreciate them in their purest form.

Those wanting a more traditional birria spread made with goat should visit Tacos y Birria La Única. The Michoacán-style birria de chivo can be tucked into handmade corn tortillas served soft or crisp and paired with a steaming cup of consommé. Purists should start with the tacos de chivo, but you’ll also want to try the decadent quesabirria for good measure.

If you’re craving a no-fuss street taco with classic onion, cilantro, and salsa fixings, swing by one of Leo’s Tacos Trucks. The location on La Cienega has become my go-to for a quick bite on the way home from LAX, but it’s also a reliable late-night taco destination. The juicy al pastor, carved directly from a towering trompo and finished with a fresh slice of pineapple, shouldn’t be missed.

Coni’Seafood is a longtime local favorite for Nayarit-style mariscos, but the tacos are just as compelling as the ceviches and aguachiles. The fried fish tacos keep things classic with cabbage, tomato, onion, and chile oil, while tacos al gobernador pair shrimp with sautéed vegetables and cheese, and smoked marlin tacos come with onion, tomato, and cheese.