The best mexican food. Always pleasant to customers. Good to see our food being cooked. Always awesome for Tuesday taco day. read more

This place has a very comfortable and relaxed environment with high-quality meals at an abnormally reasonable price given the location. My son loved the steak and Baja tacos, especially with the handmade blue corn soft tortillas, and I was impressed with healthy additions to my Caesar salad of salmon of kale and pepitas. My only small concern was with the pricing, that it was a little unclear. They advertise happy hour all day long with $2.50 off of cocktails, so I expected to see a subtraction of $2.50 on my bill. When I looked again, I saw the fine print on their happy hour sign that the discount was already built into the price. In that case, why don't they just make the discounted price their normal price, especially since happy hour, apparently never ends? Also, my son ordered their special two-taco combo, and was told he can pick any two of the five taco varieties on the menu. Apparently he picked the only two options that each had an up-charge, which I only noticed later when reviewing my receipt. It would've been nice for the cashier to at least let me know that those options had an up-charge at the time of ordering. Also, I noticed a QR code after ordering that invited me to download their app and sign up for an account for Rewards, that immediately notified me that this week they're having a special for $2 off of the Caesar salad - the same salad that I had just ordered!!! it would've been nice for the cashier to invite me to join their rewards and download the app at the time of ordering, which is usually the case in stores and restaurants. That way I could've taken advantage of the coupon. Additionally, I don't see an option on the app to get credit for my purchase that's already passed. Regardless, this is a great little restaurant, and my son and I will definitely be back. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Steak and Baja TACO COMBO, cilantro lime rice, Caesar salad with MEXI CALI CAESAR SALMON, AGUA FRESCA, Tamarin Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Amazing service I got my drink in under 2 minutes!! it's not too sweet yet not bland either, I really liked it and thought it was a good and smart combo. I definitely recommend this place. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - MATCHA HORCHATA - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Been here a few times recently and the girl taking the orders is incredibly rude. She doesn't acknowledge customers when waiting at the counter, has no urgency, and when taking your order, she will give so much attitude. I've noticed this a few times, so it isn't just a bad day. Their food is good, but I don't support businesses with bad customer service. If a smile is too hard for them, I can't imagine they are working hard in the back doing what they are supposed to. read more

I come here regularly since I work only a block away for lunch. It hits different when you eat here. I have on occasion decided to enjoy tocaya at home and today was no different, it disappointed me once again. Why is it that when you get food to go your service level, your food experience comes up SHORT. I grabbed the steak combo that feeds 3-5 people and figured this one solve our what's for dinner, black hole. Well it didn't I asked the person at the counter that it seemed to be not a lot of meat in the container. She gave me an underwhelming answer of it should be 18 ounces of steak. Well it wasn't not only was it weighed when I got home I saved and will attach the receipts. Thank you for falling short of expectations yet again tocaya, I don't expect to return for the "to go" options. I am conflicted though I love the tortilla soup the atmosphere and all those points/rewards I have accumulated over the past 3-5 years I have been a patron of theirs. Hoping my review will kick up the consistency a notch and for once, just once they nail the, "to go," business. Be better tocaya read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - STEAK group friendly meals - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Checked out this place out of curiosity. It was chill and peaceful on a Saturday afternoon. Loved the natural lighting and plant decorations. The workers were so kind! Their Manzana Steak Salad looked the most appealing. The steak was well cooked and juicy. Interesting choice of some kind of Indian curry on the side. Salad was well-dressed and refreshing. Would like to come back to try their other dishes! read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Manzana Steak Salad - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

I found this chain a few years ago and loved it because they have one of the only gluten-free burrito options that I've ever had (maybe the only place that I've had that offers them) and it was really good on top of that! So every time I come to visit LA I check out Tocaya again and at a different location. This time I tried the Wilshire Boulevard restaurant in Santa Monica. It was good. I would still definitely go back. The Customerservice in this location was fine, it wasn't outstanding like I had at the two other stores I was at. There's nothing to complain about-- it's just that the other two restaurants had people that were super excited and curious and engaged customers in conversation. I'm not a super extrovert so that was always nice. I realize that the person ringing us up probably was not an extrovert like the others had been so I understand, but it was just something I noticed. read more

Came on Taco Tuesday, which to be fair is probably one of their busiest days, so I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. But I waited over an hour after placing my order, and over an hour after receiving not one, but two texts saying my food was ready and would be brought out shortly. When I finally went up to ask what was going on, the waitress insisted she had already brought me my food. Now, I'm crazy for a lot of reasons, but never would I be crazy enough to lie to a taco establishment as a big guy myself. That's just absurd. After I told her that definitely wasn't true, she begrudgingly put my order through again. About twenty minutes later, a kitchen staff member brought out my food and handed it to me with a comment along the lines of, "Here's the food we already brought out." So apparently even after remaking the order, they were still insisting I had already received it. The tacos were fine, but an hour and twenty minutes, two false "your order is ready" texts, and being repeatedly told I received food that I never got is a pretty wild customer experience. Won't be coming back. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Food was great. Service was good. Ambiance was nice, place was decorated well and very spacious. Not your classic tacos but a good spin on it. Baja taco 5/5 Steak taco 5/5 read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Seating - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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How have I never reviewed Tocaya?! This is such good comfort food when you're in LA after 20 years in Austin, Texas. Consistently delicious. Reliable for high quality ingredients - good flour tortillas, good cilantro lime rice, tangy chicken tinga! I'm not so into the blue corn tortillas (floppy) or the plantain chips (too dry).I love that squash blossom though. I'd happily invest in a dozen of those! The sweet corn tamales are great for dessert or breakfast! The roasted salsa is irresistible. Even the fruit salad is perfect. read more

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Pretty decent and filling but a little flavorless. The salsa has no spice. I usually get a bowl but have to add lemon and hot sauce to bring out the flavors. Service is pretty okay too. Good for a quick lunch place or low key dinner. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - SONORA STEAK BOWL and CUCUMBER MINT LIMEADE and CHIPS & SALSA - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

This place is amazing. I can go there and order three vegan tacos for around 10 bucks with the watermelon drink they make fresh there that's comes with refills. In other words, I can actually get full and not break the bank and the food is amazing. These are the best vegan tacos I've ever had in my life. Bar none. Nice atmosphere great staff my new favorite place. read more

Tocaya had just the type of fresh and light meal I was looking for. It's a fast casual dining restaurant but the seating area was nice. I really enjoyed my fish tacos, black beans and street corn. I'll admit the tacos could benefit from a mango salsa or something to add a bit more flavor. Otherwise, it was delicious. We ordered at the counter and our food was delivered to our table quickly. We sat at a large booth with plenty room for all of our food and things. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Fish TACO COMBO - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Yum! There was something for everyone here - soup, salad, tacos and more. The favors were great. Fish taco and street corn and cucumber limeade were all delish. We would go back. read more

Ordered Tocaya for a few company lunches and have been here for lunch a couple of times - save your money! Ordered a fajita burrito ($14.85) with gluten-free battered & fried mahi mahi (additional $3.45) - literally got TWO bites of mahi mahi and the rest of the burrito was rice. Same case when I dined in - ordered a shrimp burrito and had maybe two shrimps lol. I keep giving them the benefit of the doubt, but no thank you! Cute and modern vibes but the food is very mediocre. read more

Go to Tocaya in Santa Monica if you want to be charged double and be told that your pick up order was delivered by door dash when you arrive. I placed my order on Tocaya's website for pick up at the Santa Monica location. When I arrived, the supervisor Gio said my order had been picked up by the door dash driver. I showed him the pick up order on my phone. He confirmed that I did not order on door dash. My address wasn't even on the pick up order. Gio said to have his kitchen make my food order a second time he would have to charge me double for the order that Tocaya sent via door dash. When I refused, Gio called his manager and asked if a customer uses their site to place an order for pickup could be sent via door dash. The manager told him that was not possible. Gio had to get permission from the manager to not charge me a second time to make my pick up order. It took Tocaya twenty minutes for them to make my food again. Placing food through a restaurant site should mean a direct pickup. Third-party delivery apps should not take over direct site orders without your choice. Tocaya's staff members should fix a mix-up fast. Blaming a delivery driver for a restaurant error wasted my time. Waiting an extra twenty minutes for remade food added stress to a busy day. I recommend going to El Cholo to avoid Tocaya's poor customer service. read more

Family really likes this spot. 2 of us are pescatarians so we like the veggie and fish options here. We really like the squash blossom tacos and kid especially loves the cauliflower. We both recommend the fish tacos and burritos. Flavorful sauces for them. Short order counter but they do have a seating bar (no bartender) and sell alcohol. read more

We walked in to have lunch today and the employee immediately told us it would be at least a 30 minute wait to have our order filled. The restaurant was empty. When I asked why I was given the answer that they would be taking care of the online orders that came before. If online orders are more important than actual customers frequenting the restaurant location then they should switch to a take away only format. We walked out. They lost out on our business. We will not return. read more

The food is absolutely delicious and so fresh. I feel like I'm treating myself to a healthy and good nutritious meal when I buy from Tocaya.

Gross. Not healthy no matter what you think. Deep fried, burnt plantain chips, birria that tasted like it sits out for hours... Yeah, just because some things are organic doesn't make it healthy. read more

What a great location with lots of seating. We ordered the quesadilla with mushrooms and it came with salsa that paired perfectly. We also got the en fuego bowl which had kernels of sweet corn that tasted bright and sweet. I added some to the quesadilla which made it taste even better. I barely ate the Turkey part. They have a lot of to go orders. I was hoping it'd be a quick dinner given the meter running. They might be prioritizing the to go orders. Parking is street which can be hard. I really like how they offer some outdoor dining though! read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Meat and cheese quesadillas - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Delicious-fresh food! Friendly service and restaurant is clean; great vibes. Tuesday specials are good!!

Tocaya organic was good. We came here because we were running errands and wanted a bite to eat and well this was the closest Mexican cuisine they had besides La condesa. ( expensive) Service was great. Please mention if it's your first time there so that they can explain to you how their menu works. It was clean and aesthetically pleasing however the bathrooms could use a little fixing. The door latch is broken on one of them. read more

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I really want to like this place. They usually have about 6-8 people in the kitchen, but it still takes around 15 minutes to make a chicken bowl with four ingredients in it. I get that it's not fast food, but this isn't a complicated dish and shouldn't take more than 3-5 minutes at most. I typically come here on my lunch break, and more than half of it ends up going to waiting on my order. While I'm standing there, I can see into the kitchen and there's just no sense of urgency. The team seems to move at their own pace, and a lot of the time they look disengaged. This feels like a management issue. I'd suggest revisiting coaching around efficiency and pace. Unfortunately, I won't be coming back since I'm not trying to spend my entire break waiting on food. read more

I went here with a couple friends for an early dinner and it was tasty and filling! The service was quick too! I ordered the taco combo (chicken tinga and Baja) and chose chips and queso for my side. The tacos were tasty and hot, and the chips were good and not too salty but the queso was very underwhelming and bland. I ended up asking for a side of fresh garden salsa and that was better. I also decided to order the tortilla soup and was pleased. It was tasty and creamy. For dessert, I decided to try the churro bites and that was a real treat, especially with the accompanying caramel sauce. Other than the underwhelming queso, everything else was good! The booths and chairs were comfortable inside the restaurant too. read more

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Delicious bowl- I had the beyond chicken verde bowl which is vegan! It exceeded all of my expectations with the flavor and the freshness of the salad. I absolutely loved it and will be back! Thank you! read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Cauliflower tacos - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

The food never disappoints. Great flavors with a serious effort to traditional seasoning in a semi fusion style. The service was fast and welcoming. The restaurant has a Baja-style ambience, open layout with light colors. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Baja taco and street chik'n taco - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Love this place! It is a staple for me and my son(s) every Taco Tuesday! Fresh food, great drinks and a wonderful ambiance at reasonable prices. A true neighborhood find, run by people who know Mexican food and how to make it healthy and natural. read more

Ok service, good food, love that they offer vegan options. They can also veganize many of the dishes! Lots of fake plants that take away the charm. Sadly The few live plants were dying. I was enjoying the music playlist until the vibe was interrupted by the loud music coming from the kitchen. It caused too much of a clash. read more

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Stopped by with some family. Quick and friendly service. Big portions. Nice vibe. Would come back! read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Love the California burrito,is so tasty! The beans are delicious with tortilla chips. The staff is always very friendly and professional. read more

Great food , excellent service, hard ass workers! Ty always great environment comfy vibes! read more

I love their takes on Mexican dishes, while I enjoy authentic Mexican food, Tocaya keeps it different and just as healthy. I ordered the Salmon Bowl and it was so fresh and enjoyed the tomatoes and squash along with the tomatillo rice. They had what tasted like a yogurt cream sauce that I was hesitant about but paired well with the vegetables. read more

I usually come on a Tuesday for the tacos Tuesday deal. $2 chicken tacos and there're always great. I like the tinga the most. They also have except guacamole with pomegranate seeds in it and the tortilla chips are made in house. Service is fast, prices are cheap and the food is great. I like the ambiance at the century city mall much better but Santa Monica is fine too. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - 4 chicken tacos 1 barria 1 tinga 2 diced chicken . - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Food was delicious and fresh. Service was quick and welcoming. Tried their taco salad and tamarindo agua Fresca, would definitely recommend.

The girl i ordered was bright and bubbly, greatI think her name was Kaya. Cindy on the other hand who I made sure I got her name right was full of attitude when she brought my food out. I asked her for some water age game me a face and never brought my water. Then she made eye cintact with me a few times. Still no water. Potatoes in my burrito were too hard. Not cooked enough. I couldnt eat them. read more

My sister wanted to take me to the LA location when I visited a few years ago but we had other food adventures. But she got married and ordered food for dinner and boy was it good. Very good. But the chips! First of all, amazing chips but they gave us too many. Otherwise, I would have escorted them back to my house, but my baggage could not accommodate. But for real, these chips were good. The food had a while to travel, but it was mighty tasty. The tortillas were ok but could have improved if heated on a gas stove, I wish I could have brought these home too. But, all and all, next time I'm in town, I'm definately asking for a trip here. The food was that good. read more

I been to this location twice, both times there wasn't to many people which was nice I came on a Sunday afternoon and a Wednesday evening. The food comes out pretty quickly under 10 minutes. The place is always clean and relaxing feel. I got the gluten free burrito it was really good! I would recommend it! The burritos don't come gluten free but you can ask for a gluten free wrap. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

MODERN MEXICAN is the right way to describe this place. You can tell the difference in flavors between food truck Mexican food to the food in Tocaya. It was very tasty my favorite was the fish taco. The stuff were nice and quick and the environment inside to dine in was welcoming. I recommend this restaurant! read more

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Thank you, Juan, thank you Francis and William! Your location is great with great hospitality, plus and accommodations with eating healthy and yummy! Love you have vegan and stand by organic and local sourced for more than any other restaurant in the US. We are lucky to have Tocaya nearby. Love love!! Taco Tuesday is great too!! Oh and made to order crafted organic tequila margarita's, even one even has fresh hibiscus. Delicious!! read more