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el ruso taco being eaten over table
Tacos from El Ruso
Farley Elliott

10 of LA’s Best Tijuana-Style Taco Spots, Mapped

Carne asada, handmade tortillas, guacamole, and more

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Tacos from El Ruso
| Farley Elliott

Tijuana is the talk of the taco world right now. The Mexican city to the south has been an inspiration for an untold number of new stands, trucks, and restaurants over the past few years, leading to long lines, lots of Instagram fame, and a general rise in the quality of tacos found all over greater Los Angeles. From grilled carne asada, ideally cooked over charcoal, to hefty corn tortillas, thick swipes of guacamole (and even a few with cheese, beans, and flour tortillas) this current taco trend is showing no signs of slowing down. Here’s where to find 10 of the best Tijuana-style tacos across greater Los Angeles.

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Tacos El Venado

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Tacos El Venado absolutely runs the San Fernando Valley taco scene. With multiple locations, this Tijuana-inspired stand draws legions of fans nightly, and draws in tens of thousands of Instagram followers along the way.

A tray filled with Tacos El Venado tacos and salsas.
Tacos El Venado
Tacos El Venado

Pablito's Tacos

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One of the newer entrants onto the Tijuana-style taco scene is Pablito’s. The restaurant actually began life as a Peruvian pop-up turned sit-down spot, but now they’ve expanded into Tijuana territory with multiple locations across the Valley, including at the famed Circus Liquor.

Angel’s Tijuana Tacos

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Angel’s Tijuana Tacos is actually run by the same team as Tacos El Venado, though they tend to focus on different neighborhoods. The new-ish Eagle Rock location rocks from dusk until late night, often playing to very long lines.

Tacos 1986

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There may be no more talked-about taco of the past year in Los Angeles than Tacos 1986, the street vendors turned Downtown restaurant operators who hail from Tijuana proper. Don’t sleep on the adobado, or those mushrooms.

Tacos 1986 tacos avocado on plate
Tacos 1986
Matthew Kang

Loqui works a pan-Baja menu, offering flour tortillas similar to Rosarito’s El Yaqui, and other outfits found out in Mexicali. There are plenty of attachments to Tijuana directly, including options for corn tortillas.

A variety of tacos.
Loqui
Loqui

El Ruso

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El Ruso owner Walter Soto hails from Tijuana, and makes his Mexicali/Rosarito-inspired fare shine despite all the competition out in Boyle Heights. Head there for charcoal-kissed carne asada, and lots of guacamole.

el ruso tacos on plate
El Ruso
Farley Elliott

Tire Shop Taqueria

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Tire Shop Taqueria is the O.G. street vendor within the Tijuana genre. They’ve been doing handmade corn tortillas and thick smears of guacamole over carne asada for years, well before the Instagram influencers showed up.

Tire Shop
Tire Shop Taqueria
Matthew Kang

Tacos Los Poblanos #1 Estilo Tijuana

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Tacos Los Poblanos #1 Estilo Tijuana is a classic Southeast LA spot, known forever for its Tijuana-inspired tacos served from a truck in a parking lot. Along with Tire Shop, this is one of the spots that has been doing it right since forever.

Taco truck los poblanos parking lot tent
Tacos Los Poblanos
Tacos Los Poblanos

Tacos Ah Carbon

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Ah Carbon is a Tijuana carne asada specialist based out of Montebello. The place is quickly amassing a following on social media, and in real life, with evening post-ups on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Carlos Tijuana Tacos

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Whittier is getting into the Tijuana-style game with Carlos, the upstart option that operates on weekends only. Don’t forget about the adobada here, or the larger-than-life quesadillas.

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Tacos El Venado

Tacos El Venado absolutely runs the San Fernando Valley taco scene. With multiple locations, this Tijuana-inspired stand draws legions of fans nightly, and draws in tens of thousands of Instagram followers along the way.

A tray filled with Tacos El Venado tacos and salsas.
Tacos El Venado
Tacos El Venado

Pablito's Tacos

One of the newer entrants onto the Tijuana-style taco scene is Pablito’s. The restaurant actually began life as a Peruvian pop-up turned sit-down spot, but now they’ve expanded into Tijuana territory with multiple locations across the Valley, including at the famed Circus Liquor.

Angel’s Tijuana Tacos

Angel’s Tijuana Tacos is actually run by the same team as Tacos El Venado, though they tend to focus on different neighborhoods. The new-ish Eagle Rock location rocks from dusk until late night, often playing to very long lines.

Tacos 1986

There may be no more talked-about taco of the past year in Los Angeles than Tacos 1986, the street vendors turned Downtown restaurant operators who hail from Tijuana proper. Don’t sleep on the adobado, or those mushrooms.

Tacos 1986 tacos avocado on plate
Tacos 1986
Matthew Kang

Loqui

Loqui works a pan-Baja menu, offering flour tortillas similar to Rosarito’s El Yaqui, and other outfits found out in Mexicali. There are plenty of attachments to Tijuana directly, including options for corn tortillas.

A variety of tacos.
Loqui
Loqui

El Ruso

El Ruso owner Walter Soto hails from Tijuana, and makes his Mexicali/Rosarito-inspired fare shine despite all the competition out in Boyle Heights. Head there for charcoal-kissed carne asada, and lots of guacamole.

el ruso tacos on plate
El Ruso
Farley Elliott

Tire Shop Taqueria

Tire Shop Taqueria is the O.G. street vendor within the Tijuana genre. They’ve been doing handmade corn tortillas and thick smears of guacamole over carne asada for years, well before the Instagram influencers showed up.

Tire Shop
Tire Shop Taqueria
Matthew Kang

Tacos Los Poblanos #1 Estilo Tijuana

Tacos Los Poblanos #1 Estilo Tijuana is a classic Southeast LA spot, known forever for its Tijuana-inspired tacos served from a truck in a parking lot. Along with Tire Shop, this is one of the spots that has been doing it right since forever.

Taco truck los poblanos parking lot tent
Tacos Los Poblanos
Tacos Los Poblanos

Tacos Ah Carbon

Ah Carbon is a Tijuana carne asada specialist based out of Montebello. The place is quickly amassing a following on social media, and in real life, with evening post-ups on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Carlos Tijuana Tacos

Whittier is getting into the Tijuana-style game with Carlos, the upstart option that operates on weekends only. Don’t forget about the adobada here, or the larger-than-life quesadillas.

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