Inside Guerrilla Tacos, LA’s New Street Food Headquarters

Chef Wes Avila is finally home. After years on the road, plugging along LA freeways to serve his tacos from food trucks and carts, the former fine dining chef can finally set down his knives and get to work on the first-ever brick and mortar location of Guerrilla Tacos.

The former La Reyna space in the Arts District has been completely overhauled, turning from an underused corner taqueria into something bright and bold thanks to the Do Good team. The artistry on the walls calls to LA’s great reverence for graffiti culture, while the exposed brick and throwback mural near the bar keep the history of the place intact. There’s even a little stencil in one corner dedicated to former LA Weekly and LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold, who passed away suddenly over the weekend.

On the food front, Avila says he’ll be slowly expanding the menu to cover more ground than just tacos, tostadas, and quesadillas, with added options like pozole and albondigas soup. But for now it’s the classics, served fast-casual style with a counter up front for ordering and runners who bring food to the tables. Drinkers can order their first sip from there as well, opting for something like a slightly spicy margarita with a tortilla-salt rim, or one of the craft beer and wine options available.

Guerrilla Tacos officially opens for dinner service on Thursday night, keeping limited hours to start. Expect expanded dinnertime hours, followed by lunch and brunch soon. And, if all goes well, Avila and partner Brittney Valles say they’ll soon open up a takeout window for AM service, doing limited breakfast burritos for those in the know.

Guerrilla Tacos. 2000 E. 7th St., Los Angeles, CA.

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