Taco Time! A teen’s take on some of the best spots to get your taco fix in VC
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are the author’s own. We invite you to compare with your own experiences.
VC taco spots are unique because the restaurants are often run by families who have been here for generations with recipes passed down. The three most popular types of tacos here are pollo (chicken), asada (beef) and pastor (pork), made with homemade tortillas to hold in toppings. Here are some locals’ top picks that I rated based on flavor, environmental ethic and friendliness to teens like myself, listed in alphabetical order.
Do you want to sit in paradise AND eat a taco? That’s what we found at Beach House Tacos at sunset. The setting is surreal: a rustic wooden boardwalk overlooking a white sand beach and the vast Pacific Ocean. Normally I don’t like crowds or the cold, but I endured both with a smile frozen on my face because it was THAT BEAUTIFUL. By the time our food arrived it seemed they had called every number from 0 to 100 except ours several times, and I think even crabs under the boardwalk would have tasted pretty good. I’m still smiling!
Taste: B
- Tons of fresh veggies
- Too much mayo and sauce in general, making it messy and masking otherwise excellent flavor
Sustainability: A
- “Straw available only upon request”—yes!
- Bikeable, walkable, maybe even swimmable if you are adventurous
- Beautifully decorated recycling bins
- Plentiful vegetarian options
- Best outdoor seating. The views!!!
- Strategically placed heat lamps under covered indoor seating, so energy was not simply wasted outdoors. I bet that as soon as solar-powered heat lamps are available these guys will be all over that!
Kid-Friendliness: B+
- Animal and kid friendly boardwalk; jungle gym and beach steps
- Public bathroom was gross; no way would I revisit or take a small child in there. Avoid!
- Cashier offered me a pen when I asked for it, but then retracted the offer when I said I needed it for 30 minutes. Still, he offered it at one point, so that’s nice.
- Longest wait ever in the cold, which didn’t seem to bother younger customers (one said customer even ran into the freezing-cold ocean partially naked).
- Relatively expensive: $4.50–$5.50, but I realize good fish is pricey.
There was a lot of fist pumping and yelling and swooning as we ate these tacos, but we were totally neglected. However, I won’t take off points for service because this place is simply the real deal. Everything in these tacos is fresh, from the perfectly sautéed veggies and habanero pepper in the salsa, to the expertly fine-chopped, locally sourced meat and homemade tortillas. Despite the adrenalizing tacos and glowing space filled with games and candy machines, the many potted plants and wall-climbing vines had a calming effect, and I left feeling excited about this authentic taco experience.
Taste: A
- Homemade tortillas
- Locally sourced, mouthwatering precisely chopped meat
- Fresh veggies marinated in store and sautéed to perfection
- Incredible salsas
Sustainability: B-
- Glass bottle drinks, not plastic
- They used paper plates instead of foam, but compostable or reusable dining ware would be even better.
- Not bike friendly
- No fish or veggie options
- The games inside were super fun, but unfortunately energy wasteful
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Kid-Friendliness: A
- Enjoy the games and gumball machine if you are not too stuffed with tacos to move. Try to pick up the stuffed animal with claws that don’t fit around one, etc.
- $2 tacos—the price is right!
- Sweet cashier took extra time to describe the most popular tacos we should order
I love this place and felt loved back! The super-sweet older gentleman who waited on us proudly wore his own taco hat, showing the staff is not just stylish, but also authentic: This endearing man would probably go home after work and make tacos for his family, because he’s that crazy about tacos. The tacos’ flavor speaks to high devotion; in fact, the homemade corn tortillas were the best we tried and hit it out of the park (speaking of which, there’s a pretty awesome park across the street). Definitely sit on the spacious patio and try the grilled chicken taco (or two, or three) with fresh onion and cilantro in that aforementioned mouthwatering tortilla. If this doesn’t leave you in a blissful food coma, don’t forget the park across the street for post-taco pull ups (or just go home happy).
Taste: A-
- Substantial homemade corn tortilla that’s soft enough to melt in your mouth, yet sturdy enough to handle piles of toppings
- Fresh ingredients, like cilantro, onion and salsa
- Not too salty
- They might want to ditch the photos of their tacos on the windows, since they are not as good as the real thing (!!!)
Sustainability: B
- They provided recycling bins, reusable forks and plates—yay!
- Plastic straws? How about compostable or ditch straws altogether.
- Lots of vegetarian options
- Outdoor seating, which partially overlooked the parking lot and partially overlooked some green space
Kid-Friendliness: A-
- Incredibly friendly staff
- Playground nearby
- Easy to find and bikeable if you really want a taco but can’t drive yet
- Non-intrusive music
- $2.89/taco—a little pricey, but maybe not considering the thicker tortilla, which made me really happy about this place.
We thought we were lost in an abandoned mall parking lot when suddenly we turned a corner and spotted dozens of cars and the super-stealth Establos Meat Market. It wasn’t clear where to order or if there was even food sold here, but the long line suggested that these people sold something we should try! The signs are in Spanish and we didn’t hear much English spoken, which indicated that this place is legit. After we finally realized we had to pick up our food in the back of the convenience store, we were rewarded with truly outstanding tacos!
Taste: A
- Just the right amount of salt
- The chicken taco was the best—it soaked up the flavors perfectly.
- Superb accompaniments like fresh lime, spicy salsa and homemade chips
- The Establos Meat Market torta that the guy next to us was eating looked so good it was hard to focus on my tacos. (I’ll order that next time.)
Sustainability: C
- Excellent veggie options
- Outside seating with views of a parking lot, but at least you can sit outside
- Disappointed by the “styro” plates and salsa in plastic. Real plates and containers or compostable ones, please!
- It’s not bikeable, but they get points for being so mysteriously hard to find and even tricking my phone’s map.
- No recycling or composting on the premises that I could see (but maybe it’s hard to find like everything else here?)
Kid-Friendliness: B+
- Very friendly, even when we held up the line asking all kinds of questions about what to order, how to order, if they even sold food here, etc.
- $1.99 per taco rates on my student budget.
- There’s a long line because this place is soooo good, but it’s fast-moving, since they know how to run a smooth business!
- I like that I can pick up gum, toothpaste and other essentials here while I order my tacos.
- Luckily, we spoke Spanish or this experience might have been even more confusing. Practice before you go! And pick up your food in the very back (again, no one told us that).
Mom and Pops is where a food truck loving germ-a-phobe still wants to eat: colorful and fun while also bright and CLEAN. I visited early in my taco-tasting, so I wasn’t super familiar with all the taco lingo, and didn’t like it that rather than helping me decode their menu, they snickered when I asked, “¿Que es, el pastor?” (For the record, it is a specific way to season and cook pork, so you don’t have to be humiliated too). My ego aside, Mom and Pops’ kitchen was incredible: sparkling white, efficient and nimble women chefs, and a tiny space that should serve as an inspiration for anyone seeking to minimize their building footprint. Importantly, this small kitchen produced big flavor: their killer mango habanero salsa added refreshing and sweet balance to my el pastor tacos and helped me move past my soured opinion of their service.
Taste: C+
- Tacos somewhat dry, bland and lacking additional veggies, but the amazing mango habanero salsa made up for it.
- No chips or special accompaniments other than that great salsa
Sustainability: C
- Small building footprint; hopefully they don’t drive this truck frequently.
- Foam plates and plastic containers could be replaced with compostable materials.
- Shared resources, like the lighted picnic area, with the brewery (Ventura Coast Brewery) next door
Friendliness: C
- Brewery next door made this more suited for adults.
- They were clearly impatient with taco novices, but at the same time, it was only two women taking orders, cooking and cleaning, so no doubt they were focused on their product.
- $3 per taco seemed expensive for the experience
#YES. First, let’s talk about the design. There are little hand-painted swordfish on the saloon-style doors, with another little sign sweetly touting, “four legged guests preferred.” Come on. So cute. Pierpont Tacos effuses a sense of vibrancy and thoughtfulness. The artful mix of modern and vintage decor is echoed in their brilliant and successful modern take on the authentic basic taco: homemade tortillas and toppings that rival the best I’ve tried, but made fresher, livelier and healthier than the others. On every level, from decor and service to taste and sustainability, Pierpont is #nextlevel.
Taste: A+
- Fresh fish with an incredible crispy baked exterior
- Tons of fresh veggies & avos piled onto the tacos
- Sauces were unique complements to the specific items ordered.
Sustainability: A-
- Bikeable, walkable
- Outdoor seating
- Tons of veggie and fish options if you are trying to eat less meat
- Would be better if tacos and sauces were served on compostable or reusable dishes
Kid-Friendliness: A+
- $5.72 for a fish taco or $4.16 for a veggie taco is on the expensive side, but the ingredients—like fresh fish—were definitely high quality and the experience was worth it.
- Anyone could spend an hour looking at all the details in the gorgeous hand-painted signage and animal prints … Oh wait, I did spend an hour looking at all the details.
- Upbeat music enhanced the beachy vibe
- Helpful and enthusiastic staff (how could you not love working here?!)
