I was in the area and I came in because tacos sounded good. I ate there, inside the restaurant. The tacos were deliciously greasy so I appreciated that the table where I sat had napkins. The staff was so nice and helpful as I asked for a refill of my soda. They even changed the cup to a to go cup when I asked for my final refill. Unfortunately they were out of my first choice meat when I was there so I'll have to go back. When I was there for lunch, it was early so it had not filled up yet but as I ate, more people came in and decided to have lunch there. read more

Tacos 1986 - Interior - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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This place is far from good and far from authentic. As someone who's Mexican and actually knows good food. this place just isn't it. My grandma would've said: QUE ES ESTO??? What is this? Maybe you can fool tourists or people visiting from out of town, but the food was disappointing from the start. The tortillas were half cold, hard, and tasted old. And the quesadilla? Honestly, I still don't know what that was supposed to be. I'll leave it at that. Save yourself the time and money and just hit a taco truck instead. BIG Facts!! read more

Tacos 1986 - Asada Taco - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Depends on what sauce I'm in the mood for. But I def like the red sauce here. Can't go wrong with their tacos or burritos. Wish they had more meat options. For those days I do crave more I go to guisados. Service is kinda slow def order online if you can! Staff is really friendly tho read more

Tacos 1986 - Cool pic when the armed forces came out during Covid - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

It's food, you have to eat. This place tasted meh. I wouldn't go out of your way to go here unless you live within walking distance. I have had better. Maybe our 6 pastor tacos were missing stuff because they were just basic. I have had better tacos 1986. perhaps just their off night 1 hour before closing. read more

Hearing so much of this place had me intrigued to try it and see if it lived up to the comments. I chose the beef burrito, and I thought, unfortunately, it was just ok, seemed a bit overhyped as it was super small and overall basic. I did enjoy them putting guac in it, though, as that is unusual and a nice surprise. read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Consistently good tacos each visit! Quick service, no frills interior, but helpful staff. Pollo asado is a fav, Al pastor also very tasty. Pro Tip: guac included on every taco along with a nice self serve salsa bar! read more

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I stopped here for a quick bite to eat. The staff is super friendly and make you feel like family. I ordered an asada burrito and 2 adobada tacos, they were ok. But the huge selection of salsas from their fresh and authentic selection from their salsa bar made it even better. read more

Just ok for me. Vibe felt a bit "chain-ish," and I guess that's because it kinda is. Anyway, how's the food? Al Pastor and Carne tacos were ok, but honestly, I think I can get better tacos, cheaper at some of the stands and trucks all around town. Ironically, I the beans and rice were better than the tacos. I also like the quac and the way they use whole fried tortillas as the chips. A niche novelty, but not enough to rate more than 3 stars. read more

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I guess this place must be really going through it ! $35 worth of Mexican food and they can't be bothered to throw a single salsa for the customer ! Not even a single napkin. Food is disgusting too. What a horrible, horrible decision. Shout out to the person that packed this order with such hatred for the customer. I'm sure the owner will love you for this ! read more

Tacos 1986 - $35 worth of food. Not a single salsa comes with Mexican food ? Not even one napkin ? - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I had an appointment nearby and I had some time to kill and grabbed a late lunch. I've heard the name before, but didn't know much about this place. I love Tacos! I knew I had to check it out! The staff are very friendly and helpful. They gave me some suggestions on what to order. I ordered the Carne Asada and Al Pastor Tacos. I liked the Carne Asada Taco the best, but they were both good. The tacos were $3.50 each which is pretty pricy, but given the location of DTLA - I can understand. I would come back again! read more

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We were in the area for a concert so stopped here for a quick dinner. It was a quiet ambiance inside with sufficient tabletop seating. Staff was helpful with the ordering process. We got the pollo tacos a la carte ($3.75 ea). They come with guac, onions, cilantro, and salsa. There was a short 10 min wait which wasn't too bad at all. The tacos were pretty good. Chicken was tender but could have been more seasoned. Combined with the salsa and guac though? It was delicious. This is the first time I've seen a taco place include free guac for tacos. I would come back if I'm ever in the area again. read more

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tl;dr these standard, (relatively) inexpensive Tijuana-style tacos aren't worth the wait or your appetite While tacos have always been a cornerstone of the Los Angeles dining scene, Tijuana-style street food has only recently been the vogue in LA. One of the breakout stars was Tacos 1986, operated by Victor Delgado and Jorge Alvarez. Despite its name, Tacos 1986 is a relative newcomer to the LA taco scene (1986 refers to the year of Delgado's birth). The brand debuted as a Hollywood taco cart in 2019 and was met with social media and critical acclaim. Now, Tacos 1986 boasts plenty of brick-and-mortar locations around SoCal, as well as a weekly appearance at Smorgasburg. In brief, Smorgasburg is a Sunday-only, open-air food market at the Alameda Produce Market in Downtown LA. Parking in the ROW's dedicated garage is quick and easy, with 2 hours complimentary. Bathrooms are located out of the market, a short walk down the graffiti art side street. Lukewarm San Pellegrinos are distributed at the entrance, just beside the questionably clean water bottle filling station. Smorgasburg is pay-as-you-go, and the tenured vendors serve upscale street food with a Pan-Asian or Pan-Latin American bent. Underneath Tacos 1986's bright red canopy, the staff press fresh tortillas and tend to the trompa. The cart itself is painted with a brick-like pattern and flanked on either side by additional prep counters. My partner and I arrived at the weekly Smorgasburg festivities just after opening, and we were rewarded with cool weather and short lines. After a quick lap, we approached the moderately long queue for Tacos 1986. When it finally was our turn, we asked for the signature, off-menu El Perron, to which the cashier responded with a blank stare and a shrug. We settled for an Adobada Taco and presented our coupon, which the cashier quickly waved off. A bad taste already left in my mouth, I waited another 5 minutes for our food to be completed. The taco, served on a paper plate with stylized parchement paper, was good-not-great: the standard al pastor meat was rich and overwhelming loaded with sauces and guacamole. The relaively small taco set me back $3.86, expensive for Tijuana tacos but a relative bargain compared to the rest of the Smorgasburg field. And while the taco was ultimately enjoyable, Tacos 1986 didn't particularly stand out as a must-try taqueria -- rather, the questionable service was the most memorable part of the meal. Save your Smorgasburg appetite for one of the many other standout vendors. read more

Tacos 1986 - Adobada Taco - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

This is my go to spot in downtown for my favorite breakfast tacos. I always get the carne asada and eggs taco and they hit EVERY TIME. The flour tortillas here are some of the best. Especially at this location. The workers are friendly to me all the time and give me great service. Ive tried some of their other tacos as well as their breakfast burritos and I haven't had any misses. It's right in the middle of downtown so parking is tough but it's definitely worth checking out. read more

Tacos 1986 - Carne Asada & Eggs Taco - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Super expensive tacos that took forever to receive.I was the only customer and I had to wait 20 minutes for 12 tacos. $50 for 12 tacos is not exactly a deal.Rude service didn't help the situation. The meat and tortillas were decent but not for $50. Only 3 meat options and the pastor wasn't ready so we settled for asada and chicken. The place could use some cleaning. Not welcoming and dirty. Their only plus is their salsa bar. Other than that there's no reason for me to return. read more

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I'm very much a fan. It's been five years since my last visit, and the food is still fantastic. The carne asada tacos are a favorite, and the service has always been reliably friendly. Tacos 1986 is consistently a great choice. Five stars. read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

The beans were hard, meat tasted not fresh and burritos were not wrapped right and leaked all over the packaging. Ordered on Uber Eats and the didn't even send one napkin. Don't waste your money. read more

It's sad to see how Tacos 1986, which used to be so vivacious and delicious fall so far from grace that the food is unfortunately and undeniably gross. I've dined at the downtown location maybe 3 times in the last 2 years and each time has been questionable from the taste, cleanliness and food preparation. The adobada on the trompo doesn't look fresh - the color is off and looks dry. The carne asada on my burrito today didn't have any flavor at all and that tortilla was on the stale end. I'm not sure what has happened to Tacos 1986. It seems like the guy wanted clout, got his clout and now doesn't care about the standards of his food or shop. But on a positive note, great customer service from the gentleman who took my order. read more

I have been going to Tacos 1986 for a decade. I love Taco Tuesdays, great price and good food, recommended.

Small storefront setup with some standing and counter seating. I ordered a $3.45 taco, which was a good sized with plenty of meat and a nice scoop of avocado. They also have a self-serve salsa bar. I tried the al pastor -- while it had a crispy texture, the flavor was disappointing, and unfortunately, I didn't feel great after eating it. read more

Quick and easy and delicious!! Love their Taco Tuesdays!! The adobada is my favorite and love their salsa bar with fresh radish and cucumbers. read more

I saw a whole bunch of people walking around with tacos 1986 bags so I had to go try it. We tried the classic tacos Al Pastor store one and a Carne Asada . I love the variety of selection of different hot sauces. They were all very good. my favorite is for sure the Al Pastor! The taco is also so unique it was like a fluffy egg almost . So unique and different definitely worth stopping by for a late night grub. read more

Tacos 1986 - Carne asada - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Claudia was so nice and gave us recommendations for the breakfast tacos. 10/10 service and food read more

Tacos 1986 - Menu + Counter - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

This place used to be my go-to for tacos and burritos when it first opened in DTLA, then I moved out at the start of COVID and hadn't been since, even though I visited the other newer locations since then like Burbank which were just as good. Having just moved back to DTLA I decided to come back here expecting what you normally get from Tacos 1986 and I was in for a very rude awakening. The place that used to look pristine was very run down, it seemed like everything in the restaurant got rearranged to where the original design of the counters was at odds with how they intended to operate the place now, many of the white tiles on the counters were missing, the stools in front of all the counters that were originally intended as stand-up made it awkwardly crowded and inconvenient just to approach the POS to place an order, and once I did maneuver my way in there, it took a good chunk of time before there was even a visible employee, let alone one who would take my order. As I was attempting to place that order, the music blaring out the speaker directly above us was so loud that it was drowning out the soft-spoken employee making it nigh impossible to hear him speak, but we eventually got through it and I waited for my burrito. When I eventually got it, the carne asada inside of it was a bit dried out, the burrito was lukewarm, and the ingredients were not evenly distributed inside of it at all. The tortilla was a bit dried out too. The rice on the side was AWFUL though. Not even lukewarm, dried out, and one of the grains was hard enough to get stuck in my teeth. It doesn't seem like the ownership or management really care much about this DTLA location and don't want to spend the money it'll take to make it look as good as it did when it opened, like the rest of the locations still look, and they clearly don't want to pay to staff it properly or reconfigure the construction of it to fit how they want to operate it in this post-COVID world. Until they want to show pride in their establishment and quality of food again, I won't be going back. read more

I went to this place because its part of the neighborhood. Terrible service. The person Roberto who helped wasnt helpful at all. He acted as he was doing me a favor instead of helping the customer service. I hope management can help train their employees how to be approachable. Sad story. Especially in these times !! Wish them the best but I wouldn't advise you to go there for high prices, crappy service, and mid food.. King Kaio read more

DELICIOUS TACOS, GREAT PRICE! I discovered this spot on Uber Eats, and tried their ASADA BOWL, their Asada Quesadillas, and Mushroom Quesadillas! 10/10!!! The asada is so tender and flavorful and JUICY! For the bowl, there's the perfect amount of everything! It's enough to get you full, and maybe even save some for later! The quesadillas are perfect! It's important to note that they're quesadilla 'tacos,' so they're not full size, huge quesadillas! But they're pretty cheap, and BUY ONE GET ONE FREE currently on Uber eats! They're super juicy, and give you a LOT of guacamole!!!! Loved them! I got the mushroom quesadillas just to try something new, but they were delicious! A very fulfilling option if you're vegetarian! The service was A1 when I went to pickup my order! The space is super clean, and the ambiance feels like a shop out of the 90s with the color scheme! Strongly recommend this spot, and I'm sure I'll be ordering here again by the end of this week! (The photos I'm attaching are very close-up to give you an exact depiction of what you'll get and the thickness of the tacos, versus an aesthetic pic for the gram vibe) read more

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I just left this place. Horrible customer service on behalf of the girl w/ green hair. Me & my friend had a hard time opening the door we tried to get the 2 workers attention and they both completely ignored us but the there store hrs say open til 3AM. We saw the next people try and open the door same thing as us couldn't open the door. I called the business and it ranged not once did they pick up she lied and said that she did. Saw the next party of pple open the door so i went in and told the girl w/ green hair we tried coming in you ignored us i called and you guys also didnt answer and was completely stand off ish. Horrible customer service this is who you guys have representing your store? Embarrassing and shitty service definitely wont bother ever trying the food here. read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

i would give it zero stars if i had a choice not only is the meat terrible like as if was fatty food4less meat but the gave me all tortilla not meat and for the price they charged me they defiantly robbed my ass . best tacos my ass, worse tacos in los angeles dont waste your time. read more

Tacos 1986 - All tortillas no meat for $4 . I definitely got robbed. - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

People really raved about this place. I had high hopes. The tacos are authentic, but I really think just about everything lacked flavor. We ordered 3 tacos, 3 quesadillas, chips and guac, beans, rice, and drinks. The chicken was the best of the meats. The carne asada and al pastor were both pretty dry. Guac was fresh but not enough salt and other ingredients. People were nice. The salsas inside were excellent - they should use some of this for flavoring in the future read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Tortillas are almost undercooked. Go to pavilions parking lot and get real Mexican food this place blows.

The guy at the register had alittle attitude. Charged us wrong. And when we got our food the tortilla didn't not feel warm at all, and some not even cooked all the way. And the rice was given scrapes from what the looks of it the bottom. This was me and sisters spot, but after the visit we will most likely not be coming here anymore. read more

Tacos 1986 - Asada Mulita - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Food took 20 minutes for just two tacos and it was not busy at all. Tortilla just broke apart. I wouldn't come back to be honest.

Came after a night out of fun and they were so patient with our order! All of the employees were incredibly nice. We came too late to try anything other than the bowl but they were still SO GOOD! Def an after club must try! read more

Had some good food at the DTLA of this small local chain. It has a few others around the city but this one is close to quite a few things and is a convenient option. Tacos 1986 is a small place inside with the counter to order at and some seats along the window. Maybe not a whole lot on the menu but there's tons of good choices to get. You can get meaty items and vegetarian friendly items including not just tacos but burritos and quesadillas. A lot of it's authentic. It's more authentic than Taco Bell to be sure. The place is pretty small inside, but we were able to get seats by the window. It's about $3 for the beverages such as the Jamaica. This is the fruit flavored water. People come for the tacos of course. There's a few of these to choose from. It's $10 for the 3 Tacos Combo. We got the Hongo Tacos. A good plant based choice. These are filled with marinated mushrooms, and topped with guacamole and salsa. Get a lot without paying a lot. It's got the combos where you can get a few tacos. There's the meaty ones as well as ones for vegetarians. read more

Tacos 1986 - Jamaica And The Hongo Tacos - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Insanely disappointed by both the food and service at Tacos 1986. I ordered the #2 (Quesadilla) which came out looking like tacos? I didn't realize it came with salsa and guacamole (the writing on the menu was super small) but I am allergic and don't like spice so we ended up ordering and paying for another order so they wouldn't have to remake the first one. We were very clear when we asked for NO salsa and NO guacamole. The girl at the counter nodded and so we sat and waited. I guess they didn't care about the modifications because they gave us the exact same order? My boyfriend let them know that I couldn't eat it and reiterated the modifications, but the workers just stared at us in silence. The girl then said "The salsa isn't spicy she can eat it." But I'm still allergic to the guacamole that they put on there...? The guy cooking got really irritated and slammed his cooking utensil on the table when the girl told him to remake it. Although it was awkward, we weren't in the wrong so we did ask that they remake it this time. They gave me plain chicken and tortillas. No cheese. I was kinda bummed out that it was looking so plain, so I went to grab a lime. Not only were the limes old and dry, but THEY HAD HAIR ON THEM LOL On the bright side, my boyfriend said his tacos were decent. He liked the four sauces that they provided. I did not like the beans at all, but I thought the Mexican rice was good. If you're reading this review, I would not come to this location. It's dirty, empty, the staff is rude, and the food is just alright. There are other taco spots in the area that are a lot busier-- I would go there. read more

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The hype is real The al pastor and mushroom tacos are so good Tortilla was soft and salsas were spicy and flavorful I just loved the mushroom tacos - best i ever had So meaty and light Will definitely come back The lemonade is very good too! read more

Tacos 1986 - Al pastor - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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The asada and al pastor tacos were huge and guacamole was an added surprise. Horchata was bomb!!!! And Justin was super great. Took care of me and my daughter. Great customer service. read more

I've had tacos from 1986 before. They're okay. Not amazing, but not bad either. When you live in a city where you can get terrific street tacos for $2, the price point at 1986 seems a little high for what you're getting. But overall, it's a decent option to if you need to scratch that taco itch. read more

Tacos 1986 - Al pastor and carne asada taco - Tacos Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Friendly service and some really great chicken tacos. The agua de jamaica was also refreshing while still the right amount of sweet.

Food used to be good. just ordered and had probably the worst food I've had in a while maybe because they were closing? My burrito had no meat only beans read more

The cashier messed up my order. I clearly ordered 2 tacos de asada and luckily I left not too far away to see it was only one and went back. She made things worse by fighting with me that it was only one I ordered. Bad costumer service! To top it off, the meat tasted like it was sitting there the whole day. The tacos and the salsa weren't good. I wouldn't recommend it. The restaurant reminds me of how sketchy the neighborhood looks. There's also no parking. read more