Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade Has a Colorful New Taco Spot

Santa Monica’s heavily-touristed Third Street Promenade has been on a quest to up its culinary game of late, and is now adding one more new name to the mix: Azulé Taqueria. The new name comes from a well-known restaurant group and lands at The Gallery food hall, with a hopeful opening slated for later this month.

Azulé Taqueria is the work of K2 Restaurants, a newer dining group that comes from longtime hospitality player John Kolaski. The group already has some projects under its belt like Pirolo’s Panino on Melrose (a joint operation with Miami chef Michael Pirolo) and Estrella on the Sunset Strip, and is opening an Italian restaurant called Massima later this year. Beyond that, K2 runs The Gallery where Azulé Taqueria sits.

Expect casual dining from Azulé (as with all of the other restaurants at The Gallery, minus Dialogue), with a compact menu of classic and new tacos alike. There’s braished beef machaca, grilled mahi, and a cauliflower al pastor option on the menu, plus queso fundido, churros, and more.

Azulé joins names like Sumo Dog and STRFSH as casual competitors inside The Gallery, while outside options like 1212 continue to anchor the walking street as well. No word on an official opening date or hours for Azulé Taqueria so far, but expect something this month.

Azulé Taqueria. 1315 Third St. Promenade, Santa Monica, CA.

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