The 10 Most Delicious, Must-Eat Tacos in Los Angeles

Everyone loves tacos. They’re like sideways sandwiches! Real talk though, there’s no better place in the United States of America to eat tacos than in Los Angeles. You may think you’ve had tacos before but until you’ve sampled the best of what the city has to offer, you’re in the dark. The sheer variety of regional specialities will redefine what you think a taco is all about. Yes, there are great taco joints all over the city, but seeking out the finest is worth the effort and So if you find yourself visiting Los Angeles, or if you live in the city, these are the definite must-eats in L.A.’s proud taco heritage.

Guisados
2100 East Cesar E Chavez Ave., L.A.
1261 W Sunset Blvd., L.A.
The tasty taco options at Guisados are in a league of their own. Specializing in guisado-style tacos, or tacos with fillings of stewed or braised meats, these bad boys are served on amazing, tortillas that are always hecho a mano (handmade). The best thing to do is get the samplers plate so you can try six different meats.

Tacos Leo
1515 S. La Brea Ave., L.A.
If al pastor is your thing, this is the place for you. This bright orange truck is a La Brea landmark and its vertical pork spit roasts up the juiciest, pineapple-marinated pork around. This is the kind of taco that doesn’t even need salsa, the meat and pineapple are juicy and tasty enough without.

Carnitas El Momo
Taco Truck at various locations
Check facebook for places and times: facebook.com/carnitaselmomo.acosta
Romo “Momo” Acosta is basically a taco celebrity in L.A and his offerings are carnitas in its highest form. You can ask for a certain cut, but we recommend the taco surtido, where you’ll get a nice mix of meat and all the crunchy, fatty bits come together in one hell of a bite.

Mexicali Tacos & Co.
702 N. Figueroa St., L.A.
From their old parking lot grill to their new N. Figueroa digs, the men of Mexicali Taco & Co. have always served up some phenomenal smoky carne asada that sets the standard for carne asada in LA. The chorizo and chicken are also great, but the salty, sumptuous carne asada is the go-to move.

Ricky’s Fish Tacos
Taco Truck at 1400 Virgil Ave.
Check Twitter feed for times: @rickysfishtacos
Ricky Piña is the fish taco king of the City of Angels. Make sure you check for times as he and his truck aren’t there all day, but if you can time it right, the time is always right for these Baja-style fried fish and shrimp tacos. You might just run into LA chef royalty as well, Roy Choi and friends are known to frequent this spot.

Taco Zone
N. Alvarado St. & Montana St., Los Angeles
Boasting a diverse, yet decidedly hipster clientele (with the location it’s a given) Taco Zone is no less amazing and renowned. The carne asada is great but the saudero (rib meat) is the king. Top with their bright and spicy house-made salsas and you’ve got something amazingly delicious to sop up all that booze from Los Globos.

Kogi Taco
Multiple trucks with various locations Check @kogibbq on Twitter for whereabouts Sure, they're well known, and some may even say overrated. But you can't deny the massive impact Roy Choi's korean mexican food had on food as we know it and literally kickstarting the entire food truck movement/renaissance. The lines may be shorter (not by much) but the tacos are still amazing. The short rib is still the one to get and the tacos accoutrements perfectly complement the flavor-packed fillings.

Guerilla Tacos
Taco Truck at various locations
Check website for places and times: guerrillatacos.com
After ditching a career in fine dining, Wes Avila returned to the food he grew up with and started this now renowned cart turned truck. The menu is always changing because this place is all about fusing high-end ingredients and prep to make wonderful taco combinations. If it’s available, anything with uni is going to be a home run.

Colonia Taco Lounge
13030 E. Valley Blvd., La Puente
Lots of people don’t want to make a trek all the way to La Puente, but those people are ones who have never tasted Ricardo Diaz’s tortillas--often called the best in the city. Worth the trek no matter where you live in L.A, Colonia is a taco pilgrimage worth making.

Mariscos Jaliscos
3040 E. Olympic Blvd., L.A.
10th Street and Towne Avenue
Seafood tacos are all around Los Angeles, but accept no imitations. East L.A.’s most famous taco, seafood or otherwise, is definitely Mariscos Jalisco’s shrimp taco dorado. They’re magic in a tortilla and a unique amalgamation of a rolled taco and a taquito. Not to be missed.

Looking for more taco adventures? Check out some of the inspiration for this list The Crawl (available on Howl) a podcast hosted by our very own Off Duty host and L.A. food guru Jason Stewart, and his pal, street food kingpin Zach Brooks. In it they take you on a step by step guided tour of L.A.s best taco stops, and they’re the perfect safari guides into some of L.A.’s best culinary offerings.