There’s no denying that Angelenos love Mexican food. From street-style tacos with hand-made tortillas to tlayudas and ceviches, the city is filled with restaurants that focus on regional Mexican cuisine and specialities. Finding the places you can count on can take some time, but we’ve done some of the legwork for you.
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11 Standout Spots in LA for Mexican Food
Pair these tacos and tlayudas with PEPSI®
We’ve rounded up 11 destinations for Mexican food across the city that are worth adding to your list. Whether you’re searching for a leisurely lunch, quick taco stop, or sit-down dinner, these spots offer a variety of dishes that pair perfectly with Pepsi.
11 Standout Spots in LA for Mexican Food
Pair these tacos and tlayudas with PEPSI®
There’s no denying that Angelenos love Mexican food. From street-style tacos with hand-made tortillas to tlayudas and ceviches, the city is filled with restaurants that focus on regional Mexican cuisine and specialities. Finding the places you can count on can take some time, but we’ve done some of the legwork for you.
We’ve rounded up 11 destinations for Mexican food across the city that are worth adding to your list. Whether you’re searching for a leisurely lunch, quick taco stop, or sit-down dinner, these spots offer a variety of dishes that pair perfectly with Pepsi.
La Luz del Día
Located in an old grocery store on Olvera Street, this family-owned, cafeteria-style restaurant has served as a community cornerstone and destination for Michoacán-style favorites for nearly 70 years. The menu is a mix-and-match assortment of tacos, tamales, and hearty combination platters. Try the succulent carnitas with nixtamal corn tortillas, made in-house and cooked on the plancha to order. Order a cold Pepsi to cut through the richness of the braised pork.
Stan Lee
Guelaguetza
This Koreatown icon offers an array of Oaxaca’s greatest hits: charcoal-grilled tlayudas made with heirloom corn, traditional dried meats like beef tasajo and pork cecina, memelas, and even chapulines (grasshopper) tacos. But no visit to Guelaguetza is complete without trying its James Beard Award-winning mole, a complex blend of smoky chiles, toasted nuts, and warm spices, served over your choice of meat. (It’s also sold in to-go starter packs.) A refreshing Pepsi offers a crisp contrast to all that smoke and spice. On weekends, enjoy your meal in the mural-covered dining room while listening to live music.
Yasmin Antonio
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Alma
Take a break from shopping at this contemporary Mexican restaurant located within the Grove. Start with fresh white fish ceviche or a spicy aguachile (order a cold Pepsi to tame the heat), then move on to its extensive selection of tacos, steak enchiladas, or the seasonal chile en nogada. With plenty of options, including a solid number of vegetarian-friendly dishes, Alma is an ideal spot to grab a quick lunch on the patio with a view of the dancing fountain.
Isabella Martínez-Funke
Tito’s Tacos
Located just off the 405, this old-school, no-frills taco stand has been a west LA fixture since 1959. Tito’s is known for its nostalgic, American-style hard-shell tacos — the kind topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and cold cheddar cheese. Lines can be long, but they move quickly. Don’t skip the burritos; the bean and cheese is deeply satisfying in its simplicity and is an excellent pairing with Pepsi.
Jared Cowan
Chonitos Mexican Restaurant
Amidst the restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, Chonitos stands out with a reasonably priced all-you-can-eat lunch buffet available Monday through Friday. There’s also a large a la carte menu filled with options like fish or shrimp tacos, fajitas, and molcajetes made for sharing. If you’re dining with the family, there’s a sizable kid’s menu with cheese enchiladas, chicken taco, and chicken fingers.
Tacomasa
Founder Ivan Flores opened this taqueria to share the dishes of his childhood home, Tijuana, Mexico, with a menu that includes mulitas, tortas, and burritos. Choose from fillings like carne asada, adobada, pollo asado, tripa, lengua, and nopales. Stop by in the morning for a generously sized breakfast burrito, available daily from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Tacomasa
Rebel Republic Social House
From the outside, Rebel Republic may seem more like a neighborhood pub than a Mexican restaurant — especially with a menu that’s filled with wings, burgers, and club sandwiches — but it serves a few fusion dishes that are worth a second look. Try the carnitas nachos, tortilla soup, Baja-style battered cod, or the non-traditional tacos filled with Korean short rib. The birria grilled cheese shouldn’t be missed either; it hits even harder when paired with a refreshing Pepsi to balance out each indulgent bite.
LAX Tacos
If you’re coming to or from LAX, skip the line at the burger drive-thru and head to this taco stand instead. The street-style tacos are small with a wide range of fillings like cabeza (beef head meat) and buche (pork stomach), so ordering a few is the move. At around $1.50 each, you can fill a plate without spending much. It’s a convenient stop for a meal after you’ve just landed or getting one last taste of Mexican food before leaving town.
Ensenada’s Surf N Turf
Inspired by the coastal town of Ensenada, Mexico, this Hermosa Beach restaurant specializes in Baja-style seafood. Alongside the usual cod, the fish tacos come with options like mahi-mahi, salmon, and stingray (cahuamanta). The menu goes beyond tacos, with ceviche, whole fried fish, and Baja-style stews.
Ensenada’s Surf N Turf
Baja’s Grill
A lively sports bar-meets-cantina in the middle of Koreatown, this restaurant specializes in Baja-style cuisine. Start with a birria quesadilla or fried calamari, before moving onto ceviches and seafood tacos, or choose from classic tacos filled with beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, or birria. Baja’s is great for brunch, too with huevos rancheros and chilaquiles served with your choice of red or green salsa.
Cielito Lindo
This long-running, family-owned Olvera Street favorite has been serving its beef taquitos smothered in a rich and tangy avocado salsa since 1934. The menu is simple: order the taquitos a la carte or on a combination platter with beans and rice, plus a tamale or chile relleno. Grab your food from the window, find a table inside to eat at, then spend some time exploring Placita Olvera, one of the city’s oldest, most historic centers for Mexican-American culture.
