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    City Tacos

    4.2 (301 reviews)
    InexpensiveTacos
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    City Tacos Photos

    CITY TACOS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Trendy
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - City Tacos

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    Erica B.

    One of my favorite taco shops! Taco Tuesdays are a great deal too! Tons of beer options and their tacos selection is huge! You can swap flour to corn tortillas. I love the shrimp taco and the fish taco but grilled not fried. Have an awesome salsa station too!!!

    Nell E.

    On my second visit, city tacos has a range of tasty Mexican eats, order off door dash if you wish, carne asada and more, tasty churros too. mix of outdoor and indoor seating, somewhat limited.

    Quesibirria taco on the left
    Katie S.

    I said we would be back, and we came back this last weekend. Let me start with the good because there is a lot of good. Customer service is great! Prices are more than fair for the amount of food you get. Certain items on the menu are fantastic and taste so good! I will go over what we ordered below. The bad, however. Cleanliness. The bathroom is disgusting! Filthy! This is unacceptable in my opinion. In a food establishment cleanliness standards need to be 10/10 everywhere, bathroom included. They leave the doors propped open which allows for flies to come in. We spent our entire meal swatting at flies. For me that isn't the dining experience I enjoy. We ordered some of the same items as last time but ordered some new ones too. We gave the guacamole and chips a try again. Chips are 10/10. Guacamole was bland like before and it left our mouths with a fizzy feeling when we ate it. If you look that up online or chatgpt, that is a sign that it is bad/turned/spoiled. I didn't return it or say anything about it because it was not worth being "that guy" complaining. New order for me was the cameron enchilado. Basically it was a grilled shrimp taco. Its labeled as spicy and I asked what made it spicy and the guy said the chipolte aioli but he said it wasn't spicy at all so I left it on. This taco was really good. Not spicy at all. The new one my daughter got was the chorizo asado. This one is supposed to have caramelized pineapple on it and did not indicate it was spicy. It WAS spicy and the menu should indicate that. There was pineapple on it but very little and it didn't seem like it was caramelized. I tried a bite and didn't like it. My daughter ate a few bites and was very disappointed and couldn't finish it. I want to love this place, I really do but between the dirty bathrooms and spoiled guacamole I don't know that we will return. There are so many taco places in SD why go back to one that isn't 10/10?

    Taco of the month, Feb 2025
    Nancy I.

    Friendly staff who brings your food out to you. Limited but fantastic sidewalk seating which is perfect for people watching just steps from the pier. Each month they switch out a taco of the month. Some are better than others, but always inventive.

    Victoria Beer.
    Allen S.

    Stopped by for lunch. Great tacos, great service and some good music. Even had Victoria beer! A lot of choices when it comes to tasty tacos. Highly recommend.

    To go tacos
    Alexys -.

    Great pit stop for tacos on the way to the beach. Literally steps from the beach! Lots of options for everyone. Friendly workers with great recommendations!

    CHIPS & SALSA
    Kelsi B.

    quick counter service, right on the main drag. I think if we got it to eat there and not togo it would've been better. the elote was cold and a little overly salted (I never say that kind of thing lol) and the tacos were pretty greasy. sadly the chips were really stale too.

    2 kinds of fish (I don't remember which), shrimp taco and a beef. Chips and guacamole.
    Sharon D.

    So many choices on the menu! We tried 2 kinds of fish tacos, a shrimp taco, and a beef. All were delicious. Service was quick and the staff was friendly. Indoor and outdoor sating available.

    Deepti A.

    Delicious, reasonably priced tacos right by the beach and the staff + owners are very sweet and personable! Thanks for keeping vegetarian options in the menu!

    Steve W.

    Dropped by this place for a quick lunch. Absolutely unexpected little shop on the side of the beach. Tacos were flavorful and packed with filling (no skimp out on the meat and trims). The traditional tacos were really good, but what really stood out was the specialty tacos. The Friar Fish tacos was loaded, and the scallop tacos tasted like clam chowder with lots of meat in it - delicious! Elote is also very well seasoned and on a whole cob. Definitely need to return!

    Good start medley
    Kimberly H.

    Located right by the Pacific Beach Pier. We went on New Year's Eve, before all the craziness. We ordered at the counter and the food was delivered to our table. We waited about 15min for our food. We ordered the Good Start Medley and the QuesaBirra Taco. The Good Start Medleys presentation is so cute! Comes with 3 Potato rolled tacos (flavorless), 3 Queso Corn Empanadas (Texture was nice, could have more corn), beans, quac, chips, and salsa. It was a great starter dish. For flavor, that's where the dips and salsas come in. The QuesaBirra was spot on.

    Shrimp
    Dana A.

    Feeding six people and agreeing on ONE restaurant is a challenge! I am so glad City Tacos won! The homemade tortillas and chips/salsa made us feel we made the best decision. We tried the SD Asada, shrimp, birria, octopus, and both vegan tacos. The favors were on point, we love spice and they delivered. With so many options in PB, make this your first choice.

    City Zucinni
    Nitin J.

    Tried this place for the first and they have really good tacos at affordable price. It's not a fancy place, right next to the beach and they serve food in paper plates but service is really good. I tried city zucchini, carnitas & portobello tacos, they serve one taco per item, they also have varieties of salsa's available.

    CRUNCH TIME SHRIMP and SURF & TURF

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    4 months ago

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    2 days ago

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    3 days ago

    Delicious food, fast service, great location... pacific beach, San Diego shrimp tacos are the best!

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    1 year ago

    Meat was old and I got food poisoning. I was so hungry I had to eat it anyways. Worst tacos I have ever had. Not flavorful or anything!

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    1 year ago

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    5 months ago

    Great tacos and guacamole! The $2.50 beer special and 10% off the menu on taco Tuesday was nice too!

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    3 months ago

    Good tacos, great service. Bathrooms were dirty. Overall not bad to try a taco in pacific

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    Page 1 of 8

    City Tacos Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - City Tacos

    For spicy items are they customizable to not make them spicy? Like leave off a sauce or something to that effect.

    Is this place dog friendly?

    They have a couple table outside which would be ok for your pooch.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Tacos El Gordo

    4.1
    (1.6k reviews)
    8.0 mi
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    Loved the food here!! The line go by super quick so don't get discouraged if it looks long. Inside…read moreyou basically go to the station of the food you want, and they have signs stating the food so you know where to go. The adobada was what I was most excited for. It's similar to Al pastor without the pineapple though. The meat was tender and the flavor was authentic. My partner liked this one the most! What shocked me was the carne asada. The taco was delicious!! It had a wonderfully smoky flavor to the meat and it was juicy and tender. I have been craving it ever since!! This was my favorite. There's no seating downstairs but if you go upstairs you'll find some tables! Be warned that it's hot upstairs. But since you chow down the food quickly you won't be there for too long anyway. If you're visiting San Diego, this is a must!!

    Unfortunately my adobado tacos were SO DRY. I think it was unfortunate timing as when they got to…read moreme, they were changing the meat carvers and for some reason that took a whole 10 minutes. So the pork was probably getting dry as it was roasting for 10 minutes straight. The asada fries are also terrible. The asada is not seasoned well, it just tastes like charcoal. The cheese they use is so cheap and doesn't even melt properly. Their queueing system is so dumb as well. You have to get on a line per each protein you want. But then for some reason, if you want fries you have to PAY FIRST and then show them a ticket??? Makes no sense. Also I put down a water bottle at a table while going to get my order and the cleaners threw it away. Super annoying.

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    Great Service!
    Great Service!
    Carne asada fries
    Carne asada fries
    Adobada tacos

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    The Waves Taco Club

    The Waves Taco Club

    4.7
    (380 reviews)
    7.9 mi
    $$

    Wanted to try some tacos while out here and this one had good reviews. It was also near our hotel…read morewe were staying at in Gaslamp. They have drawings all over their walls which was fun to look at. They have a few specials which are a good deal if you're going to get a drink anyway. I love c that c they had a self serve salsa bar. Must get the chipotle shrimp taco! 10/10 with flavor. Battered fish taco was ah ok.... Salmon taco was great too 10/10. Service was prompt. We had chips and salsa while we waited so it was cool. Overall, I recommend checking this out and trying the chipotle shrimp and salmon taco!

    I stopped by on a Wednesday after a fútbol game and found it to be a great late-night option…read more Ordering is simple. You walk in, place your order at the counter, and find a seat. There were a couple of groups dining in and someone picking up a to-go order, but there was still plenty of seating available. The employee working the counter was friendly. They also serve alcohol, and during my visit drinks were 20% off. Options included Pacifico, Modelo, Blue Moon, hard seltzers, and a selection of canned craft beers. I ordered: * Mahi Mahi Taco: the fish tasted fresh, and I liked the crispy onions on top. There was quite a bit of sauce, which made it pretty messy to eat. While the fish was good, it felt like a very heavy taco overall. * Surf & Turf Taco: this was loaded with steak and topped with two flavorful shrimp. The shrimp had an amazing flavor, and this taco was much more enjoyable and balanced. Overall, the service was great, the prices were very reasonable, and the protein quality was excellent. My only critique is that the tacos felt a little overdone with toppings and sauces when the quality of the protein could easily stand on its own. Still, it's a solid spot for an affordable late-night bite. One thing to note: there are no restrooms available inside the restaurant.

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    The Waves Taco Club
    Surf Turf Burrito
    Surf Turf Burrito
    Shrimp Burrito

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    Shrimp Burrito
    Chula Tacos

    Chula Tacos

    3.9
    (282 reviews)
    17.4 mi
    $$

    Chula Tacos in Nestor is definitely worth a visit if you're looking for authentic, flavorful tacos…read morewith generous portions. Every item we ordered was packed with delicious flavors and made fresh. One thing that stood out was their attention to detail with to-go orders--they provided plenty of condiments, including a variety of salsas, cucumbers, radishes, and peppers, which really elevated the meal. The highlight of the menu is the Keka Taco. It is incredibly delicious, loaded with flavor, and so filling that it can easily satisfy even the biggest appetite. The only downside to this establishment is the limited parking, which can make picking up your order a bit challenging during busy times. However, the amazing food and generous portions more than make up for the parking inconvenience. If you're in the area, the Keka Taco is a must-try!

    Tacos are very hearty. Finding a seat on the other hand is crazy! We showed up with a family of 10…read moreso we wanted an outside bench but they're limited. We waited nearly 40 mins for a bench... people were done eating but they were just sitting around basically loitering at this point! There was A table with 2 people and another with3... like why would anyone just sit there killing time when others want to sit and have a meal (there was a family of 6 behind us waiting). I think the restaurant needs to find a way to keep the tables rotating. Any-hoot food is pretty good, very hearty and filling. I would say they're high but the portions are generous so it equals out

    Photos
    Chula Tacos
    Keka (carne)
    Keka (carne)
    Outdoor seating

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    Outdoor seating

    City Tacos - tacos - Updated July 2026

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