Their 'Hongo' mushroom tacos are a vegetarian/vegan's DREAM TACO! And meat-lovers go crazy for them also! Generously topped with onions, cilantro, guacamole, and red salsa on a corn tortilla, wrapped in a cute triangle shape. The head chef and cofounder of Tacos 1986, Jorge "Joy" Alvarez-Tostado, decided at age 12 to become a chef because the girl he loved wanted to marry a chef. Muchos gracias, Maria! A variety of high quality mushrooms are soaked in a salsa macha vinaigrette, turning them into the most magical mushroom experience of your life. read more

It was ok... I did order 2 combos and got a half side order of rice and 3 sides of beans! The carne asada was dry, overcooked for sure. The tortillas were not the business, not my taste in tortillas. $30 with tip, it was edible read more

Taco Tuesday alert: this place offers BOGO chicken and adobada tacos on Tuesdays, so you can get a pair of tacos for about $5 after tax. Flavor wise, the food here is solid -- good enough to come back, though not the best tacos you'll find in LA. The ingredients are fresh, and you can watch the crew make the tacos right in front of you. The service speed is okay -- not as slow as a sit down restaurant, but not as fast as a quick-service restaurant. Expect a 5-10 minute wait between placing your order and having the tacos ready. read more

This is a solid option for quick-service tacos in the heart of Santa Monica. The menu is simple and affordable. My food came out soon after ordering. There were limited seats and some stand up counters to eat at. I appreciated that there was a stocked salsa bar with a variety of salsas accompanied by onions, cilantro, and limes to elevate your tacos. I ordered the quesadilla combo with mushrooms as my protein. The quesadillas were essentially just tacos with a good amount of yummy melted cheese. The tortillas were fresh and held up well. The mushrooms were surprisingly very flavorful and juicy. The combo came with rice and beans, which were just ok by themselves. The chips & guacamole were interesting. The chips were huge (full on tostada size) and way too toasted to the point of being unenjoyable. The guacamole was average and could have been more seasoned. I got the horchata to drink, which wasn't too sweet and had a true cinnamon flavor. read more

Tacos 1986 - Chips & guacamole - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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First time coming to this place and I'm happy I did fresh tortillas along with fresh ingredients. Everything was prepped to order. Pricing is fair for fresh food and customer service is great. Definitely recommend 10/10. I'll be back again read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

We spotted this place while heading back to our car after hanging out in Santa Monica and decided to stop in for a quick bite. It's definitely a casual, no-frills spot that feels perfect for grabbing food on the go rather than a sit-down meal. The tacos were tasty and made with corn tortillas, which we appreciated. Everything came out quickly, especially considering how busy it was when we stopped by. Overall a solid option if you're in the area and want something fast, flavorful, and casual. Clearly a popular spot, and I can see why. read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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I'd been hearing so many people talk about Tacos 1986 that when I happened to walk by one by the pier, I walked in without hesitation. I was here on a Sunday in the late afternoon. There were only a few other customers there aside from me. I ordered a combination of two tacos with rice and beans and asked the really friendly cashier which his favorites were and he said he liked carnitas and beef so I chose those. The restaurant itself is on the smaller side with seating is either at a counter or long communal table. There's a salsa bar with limes, salsa, etc. Both of my tacos were excellent but in my opinion the beef was better than the pork taco. The rice and beans were good, too. This a great spot for a quick bite when you're out and about. It's also close to the Santa Monica pier and very affordable parking garages. read more

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I stopped by here while visiting the pier and really enjoyed it. It's a very simple ordering process with the kiosk, and food comes out in 5-10 min. The corn tortilla tasted great and the meat and cheese was so yummy. I recommend if you're in the area read more

Tacos 1986 - tacos - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Tacos 1986 never misses when it comes to flavor. The tacos are delicious, bold, and always a crowd-pleaser , I've only ordered catering from them, and the food itself is consistently great. The one thing that keeps this from being a full 5 stars is presentation and cleanliness, especially with the sauces. Everything tends to come out a bit messy, which makes it harder to serve cleanly at events. With a little more attention to how the sauces are packaged and presented, it would elevate the experience so much. Overall, amazing tacos, fast service, and great taste -- just hoping to see a bit more polish on the catering side. read more

Went to a Tacos 1986 at another location and it was fire. This one was a smoldering memory of it. Almost empty and now we know why. It wasn't bad. It was ok. Tortillas were fresh. Meat (carne asada and al pastor) tacos were ok but not that flavorful. Guacamole was sparse. Maybe not all the locations are consistent. read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Was looking for a spot in Santa Monica with food that's quick and affordable, and stumbled upon Tacos 1986. This little taco spot is located right by the beach on Colorado Ave, and is really convenient after spending the day in Santa Monica or watching the sunset. The staff was helpful, and I ordered a mulita with Al Pastor and a Carne Asada Taco. Prices were great, and it was just enough to fill me up. Both were delicious, especially the Pastor meat. And they have a salsa bar which I LOVE. I will forsure be back, this will be my new go to taco spot after the beach! read more

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If you need a quick bite in downtown SM this is a good option. Wandered in at 1pm and noticed the Breakfast Menu said 'until 12 (after we ordered I saw people getting item from that menu, so maybe they do have eggs after 12, I'll have to go back and see). So my BF and I shared a huge Chicken Burrito. Super juicy, it was running down our arms, not a ton of chicken in the burrito, what was there had very mild spice with a lot of flavor, lots of white beans for protein, excellent sauce. We thoroughly enjoyed the flavor and if we need a quick meal near downtown Santa Monica, we'd go here again. Homemade lemonade was perfect, not too sweet. read more

Absolutely amazing! Love the food. Reasonable price. Everything was made from scratch. Staff was awesome! We will absolutely go back if in the area. We did the burrito and taco combo read more

Tacos 1986 - Burrito combo #5 Perron Combo Adobada Burrito Asada Taco Pollo Taco - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Tragic experience here. Does not compare to the Westwood location at all. The staff was friendly but the food could not have been worse. The curbside pickup offered in toast is not actually an option which led to some scrambling to try to get our order. The toast app also offers weird choices for toppings on your tacos making the "default" option actually an entirely plain, naked taco. Our food was cold and devastating. We will not be back sadly :( read more

The tacos were okay as far as taste, but they forgot my rice, beans and drink and I had already made it home.

Fast and friendly, Tacos 1986 is a not-so-hidden gem of la Mexican street food culture. Love the vegan options! read more

Tacos 1986 - Vegan vampiro. Fresh and delicious. - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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it was pretty good for an actual place rather than a truck! i loved the food it wad pretty good, place was empty and not super special looking BUT good for to-go! people were super sweet & patient! overall nice!! i would definitely come back if im around the area cause it has a friendly atmosphere. also 10/10 sauces thoughhh the red is super spicy and the green has so much flavor, in love!!! read more

Tacos 1986 - the tacos to-go since it's close to the beach! - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Delicious tacos with really good tortillas. I normally don't eat my tortillas, I tend to just either eat only the meat and toppings or pick pieces of the tortilla. However this place, I eat every single thing. Love their salsa selections. Service is fast here and you aren't waiting too long for food. Only con would be that there isn't any seats. I often come during my lunch break and being on my feet all day, I just want to sit and eat but that's okay. read more

Food was horrible tasteless and stale!!! We stopped by here for a quick bite after reading all these good reviews and it was most definitely not worth the price nor did it meet our expectations. They served us up some stale rice on both of my kids combos , I got an asada bowl and the meat was big chunks of fat . Portions were super SMALL for the price paid . Ended up paying over $50 and they forgot to give me a bag of tortilla chips I had on my order. Do not come here and waste your money, spend it elsewhere . read more

This place never disappoints. The tacos and burritos here are amazing. The service is relatively fast. It's a fast food spot so most people get the food, eat and go. There is also a small salsa bar available. Parking is a pain. I'd opt in for street parking I'd recommend the tacos! read more

Tacos 1986 - Al pastor, pollo, and carne asada tacos - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Next level food ( original Tijuana tacos ) every sauce is special. Service is excellent. Coming back tomorrow

I've been ordered their vampiro and the first time it was super yummy. The tostada is very hard and crunchy and has a good toasted flavor. Unfortunately the last two times I've ordered I got a lot of tendons and not as much good asada pieces. Other than that the flavor is great. Seating inside and some outside. Always fast and efficient service read more

Tacos 1986 extends its Tijuana style tacos to Santa Monica where you'll find its usual menu of tacos, vamprios, mulitas, and burritos. While the location may leave a little to be desired, caught inbetween the pier and the metro, the restaurant itself is decent and staff are friendly enough. Tacos are 3.75 but come with guac - meats are seasoned and cooked well and laid ok top of a nice tortilla. They have their own take on al pastor that's decent. Burrito at $13 is a bit small and lacking vs what you'll find at a street stand, but tastes solid. They have sauces on the side you can get - orange has a decent kick and the red is well rounded. The dark red adds a nice depth of flavor. read more

The best tacos in LA!! These tacos are tasty juicy and authentic, I tried other places and I can say they have the best tacos in the city and also have the best taco Al pastor, the pastor is well seasoned which makes it juicy and flavorful it's so good compared to other places I've tried, the only recommendation I have is adding pineapple to give them extra flavor! but even without it is very tasty and yummy. If you are from NY these tacos are like Tacos #1, the best of the best! The service was also excellent, Daniel it's very nice, he treated me in the best way making my experience very pleasant and enjoyable. Thank you guys, keep going! read more

Tacos 1986 - 3 carne asada tacos and 1 al pastor - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Don't order from this location. I regret ordering from here! I woulda been better off buying tacos from a street vendor or another Mexican spot! This was my first time visiting and eating at this location and the service was horrible. The employee was polite at first when he greeted me and let me know he was still working on my online order. He also appeared to be completely overwhelmed because he was running the store by himself, which I understand is stressful. However, that doesn't excuse how he spoke to me and my mom When my order was ready. I asked for all the drinks to my 3 TACO COMBO MEALS which he forgot my Coke after he handed me a Mexican Coke, he responded, "I don't have ice and I don't have time." I told him I don't have a bottle opener to open this Then, when my mom asked for pico de gallo, he came out and pointed to the salsa station and said, "It's literally right here," in a condescending way, as if she were stupid for asking. Once we got to my car To make matters worse, our order was missing the beans and rice we paid for. I called the store afterward, and of course, no one answered. I understand that being left to run the entire store alone contributed to his frustration, and management needs to address the staffing situation. But customers should not have someone else's stress and frustration taken out on them. We paid for our food and deserved basic courtesy and a complete order. Very unprofessional and disappointing first experience! read more

MUY SUCIO. Deberían mantenerlo más limpio. También para ser tacos tardan demasiado... tienen solo una persona que tarda años haciendo el burrito del de enfrente ... mejoren esos taqueros. Fuera de eso OK pero para el precio... meh. read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Food was horrible at this place, I decided to stop by with my family for a quick bite after reading great reviews about it and it was definitely not worth the price. I paid $55 for 4 tacos a rice bowl and a burrito plus a side a chips , food hard as steel definitely will not be coming back King tacos gives you fresher food and quality read more

Tacos 1986 - Dried hard taco - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Came to this place during my vacation in Santa Monica and wanted this place to be good so bad as I was so excited to get some Mexican food but unfortunately it was such a terrible experience with service and food. The cashier was just extremely weird. She was helping someone when I showed up to pick up my order. She asked me what could she help me with while still attending the other customer, I responded in English "I'm here to pick up a order, and followed to speak in Spanish and said "It says it's ready in the app" and she looked away and didn't say anything to me & continued helping the person. She clearly spoke Spanish since she had a very strong accent & also was speaking to the cooks in Spanish, that whole interaction was so unnecessary and uncomfortable, she finished with the customer & followed to do other things while I was just standing there waiting to get her attention and receive my order. I waited but then, I just asked her about my order and she followed to give it to me, I didn't appreciate getting ignored just because she felt like it.. Now: Food was soooo bad. We ordered Steak Vampiros and it tasted as if they were 2 days old, the salsa and just everything tasted so nasty. The only good thing about my order was their ice scream but yeah, not recommend this place at all. read more

Tacos 1986 - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

This is my favorite restaurant ever!! Their carne asada tacos are to die for. Leo and Jonah are amazing! So friendly.

Delicious as simple as that Custimer service and food and of course Santa Monica location is my favorite, thank you

The Mulita and the Vampiro were awesome! Beans and rice were on the money and all of it was super reasonably priced!!

Great chicken.. and steak. Buying it by the pound and raiding their salsa bar is the move!

Came on a Tuesday, when they have two for one tacos. It was an outstanding deal! The tortillas were a little thin and broke apart, but they tasted great. The al pastor was delicious and the pollo was fine. read more

Tacos 1986 has very good food. The service was excellent. Salsas was packed with flavor. Got the asada and eggs burrito that came with a drip coffee. read more

Ahh,Tacos 1986. What can I say? They sure have interesting food. But what I really like is that you can find a special surprise, in the form of glass, in your burrito. It's really something when you take a bite out of your meal and have it cut your mouth and throat on the way down. But really, really, what I love even more about this place is that when you let the staff know that you found this special surprise in your food, they respond nonchalantly with the following " Oh yea, some glass broke over the counter. I guess it fell into the meat." And don't make any intent to get rid of possibly contaminated meat. Oh, top notch service for sure. I really love a spot that immediately upends your day and lands you in the ER to make sure there is no glass lodged in your throat or stomach. You really can't top that! Proceed at your own risk. Seriously. read more

Tacos 1986 - Glass found in the burrito. - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California

February, March, April & May 2024/Santa Monica: What can I say, I absolutely love this place & come often! There's nothing like the Mushroom Tacos at Tacos 1986! They are out of this world delicious!!! Popular: Each time I've been to this place, it's been crowded, as it's very popular, because the food is so so yummy! I've introduced several friends to this place and they love it as well and they ate the meat tacos! However, they enjoy the mushroom tacos as well! Friendly: Customer service is top-of-the-line, always friendly & with a smile!! The line was once again out the door when I ate there today! Order Up: You order at the counter, there is indoor seating, great music playing and they will bring you your order and/or call out your name! Overall: I truly love this place, easily my favorite tacos! Tacos 1986 makes phenomenal mushroom tacos, always excellent customer service, steps away from the Santa Monica Pier and just thinking about the tacos makes my mouth water & I just ate there... Yes, they're that good!! Yum! read more

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Low key spot for super tasty Mexican favorites for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Including burritos, tacos, vampiros, mulitas and more. They do have veggie options with mushrooms. And I DESPERATELY want to gatekeep the fact they have an addictive horchata cold brew they make in house! It is my favorite cup of coffee in Santa Monica right now. But go EARLY if you want a cup because they do run out! Especially at only 4 bucks! The staff are so sweet! Service is quick, so if you see a long line, don't fret; it goes fast. Salsas are self serve and all super solid. The salsa macha is my favorite! Seating is cafeteria style. read more

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09/17/2025 Pork Tacos $3.80 ea. not bad price compared to nearby restaurants. All we wanted was just a couple of tacos. We got greeted as we entered. Placed our order and got our food within a timely manner. Looks like this place could seat 40 people. It was clean. It's near the entrance of the Santa Monica Pier. Other restaurants wanted over $ 20. For a taco plate. I would come back. read more

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I ordered the vampire. It was perfect. I was actually surprised. The carne asada was so perfect. The meat was juicy and well seasoned. They could give you a little bit more. The al pastor was also very good. I would pay for double meat, though. Their spicy sals is very delicious. Not hot. But very delicious. Must try it. The guys are very friendly and fast. I would have take. a picture. But sorry, I devoured my food asap. No time for pictures. read more

Delicious!!! 2 thumbs up! my favorite was the vegan (mushroom) great flavor ! Natalie liked the beans and rice. read more

Tacos 1986 - Delicious! - Tacos Near Me - Santa Monica, California