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    The Taco Stand

    4.3 (1.1k reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Open 10:00 am - 11:00 pm

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    California Burrito
    Jill P.

    One of my favorite burrito spots in California! There's a reason why the wait is always so long and people wait a lifetime - because it's so WORTH! Came during my lunch hour and almost fell into a food coma at work after. HAVE TO GET CALIFORNIA BURRITO! I only ate half but still felt so full and had the other half for dinner - and it was still bomb CLASSIC!

    Mar y Tierra burrito, but like, partially devoured before I remembered I should take a photo. Really good.
    Alec N.

    Coworker recommended it, so we took a trip over. Parking as always is horrible in The Lab, so I went to the liquor store next door to get my boss a layoff gift before my last day next Friday. But coworker grabbed us Mar Y Tierra burritos. It was quite delicious, even without the salsa or spicy mayo. The tortilla was fighting for its life to contain everything, but that's what foil is for. Also pretty affordable for Costa Mesa. Was like $14, and really filling. Vibe and service were probably nice, coworker wasn't in a panicked state after grabbing. But again, parking is horrible in that center, and shows no sign of improving. Bike over and grab one.

    Fish Taco but be careful of the paper that lines this foil. I kept eating the paper
    Sherri W.

    Located in beautiful Costa Mesa is The Taco Stand. Lines at 6:40pm was already out the door & there aren't enough tables to really accommodate patrons. With the lines out the door, it is comforting to know that this place must be good. Orders: Fish taco-a nice strip of grilled fish w/lettuce & tomato was both satisfying & filling. Usually the fish taco's that I have gotten are small, so this was a pleasant surprise. -California Burrito includes French fries(no beans) & Carne Asada. It was filled w/tender well marinated pieces of meat. -Carne Asada w/pinto beans was as expected & good. It was fun to visit this well patronized place.

    California burrito
    Jessica S.

    How does this place rate so high? I'm shocked that they are charging $4 for a flavorless baja taco, made with a raw tortilla. I had to eat the taco with a fork, because the tortilla shredded as soon as I started unwrapping it. The seasoning was noticeably absent from this item. The California burrito was decent, filling, and reasonably priced, which is why I gave two stars. I'm not saying it was great, because it was a step up from an alertos,Albertos, los betos type of spot. The line was insane and the staff was not very engaging. This was definitely my first and last time here. Be prepared to struggle for parking, because this place is located in the camp, with a congested parking lot.

    Mitzy A.

    Very long line, but we received the our food quickly after ordering. The tacos were okay for the price. I liked that they had all the salsa options. We also ordered carne asada fries. We didn't like that nacho type cheese on the fries, but the chipotle cream sauce from the salsa bar improved the flavor.

    Al pastor burrito
    Catherine T.

    BE PREPARED TO WAIT. I stopped by 2 times during my time in costa mesa, and the food was amazing both times. I came around 8:30pm on sunday and had to wait around 45 minutes to order and for the food. I stopped by at around 2pm on Monday and had to wait 20min. The food was worth the wait. I highly recommend al pastor anything. I loved the tacos and burritos -- both were very juicy and flavorful. They have have a sauce bar with pico, onions, lime, and of course sauces which can enhance the taste.

    Carne Asada Fries, Adobada Burrito, Baja Fish Tacos
    Raul B.

    Coming from SD, I usually love The Taco Stand, but unfortunately I left feeling just a bit disappointed with this location's food. Not sure if it was on off day or just this location, but I found everything lacking a bit of flavor. The meat options all felt under-seasoned, and none of the salsas packed a punch (except for the habanero!) Burrito pricing is great, while tacos are on the pricier side. Overall, the food was still decent and did the job, but definitely not worth fighting for your life in the camp parking lot for.

    Anny O.

    Tacos 3/5 - these were just ok in my opinion. I don't know if they were having an off day or something because I've heard good things about this place but the tacos were missing some flavor. Salsa bar was nice but none of the sauces were anything special. Churros were really good though! Long wait on a Saturday night and not a lot of seating.

    Churros
    Jen R.

    It was my first time at this Taco Stand spot. Maribel was so sweet and hooked it up for me! The churros are delicious! Came out piping hot and the sauce is a perfect pairing. It's a cake donut texture -- but not too dense. The outside is perfectly crisp. Definitely try them hot. All the other food was solid. Love the Taco Stand. Fresh and good quality ingredients. Food came out pretty fast and my experience was so positive. Bless all the workers. They work so fast and diligently. I don't even live very close to this location but if I'm ever on this side of town again, will definitely be back!

    California burrito
    Vivian T.

    Absolutely demolished my California burrito! The carne asada was smokey and juicy. Their tortillas are made fresh and are so perfectly buttery, and flakey. Their salsa bar is great too - highly recommend the creamy cilantro sauce, pico, and salsa verde! Staff are friendly and food comes out pretty fast. Super great taco spot and the price is super reasonable as well for the amount of food you get.

    California burrito

    Very Good Food and service Everything served well and customer service was amazing food taste great

    Al Pastor Burrito
    Madeline B.

    Extremely delicious Mexican food, and good price for what it is. I got the Al pastor burrito and churros. While the Al pastor was tasty, what really stood out was the pineapple inside of the burrito. Also, most of the burrito was meat and wasn't filled with nonsense. Salsas are also so delicious- the creamy sauce and the mild salsa. The churros are really the star of the show. Genuinely the best churros I've ever had. They're made fresh per order and served with sweetened condensed milk. The inside is soft and warm, outside crispy and sweet. Staff was super nice and helpful. I love the style of the inside and everything is well-kept. Definitely gonna keep this as a go-to. Wish they made fresh aguas frescas though!

    Chicken burrito to go - you can grab your own sauces at the sauce bar
    Yun Ping C.

    Love the Taco Stand! I remember first going to their location in SD and a few years ago they opened this one in Costa Mesa. I typically enjoy getting their pollo or chicken tacos as well as al pastor. I believe my friend got their mushroom tacos which she enjoyed. This time I tried the chicken burrito. I did like it, but I think I prefer the tacos. The burrito was pretty big so I ate it for 2 meals, but I think portion wise I would like to just finish 2 tacos at once - plus I can get 2 different meats. Overall, I just think the flavor is great and it's always fresh and pretty convenient since I live quite close by. There's a salsa bar area to grab your salsas and stuff for your order. We went on a Friday night at about 6 PM and the line was out the door after we ordered! My friends order took a bit longer, but they were super nice! Ambiance is very casual. It's loud and busy and crowded. Definitely recommend ordering online or calling if possible although I haven't tried myself. It gets crazy busy!

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    2 months ago

    great atmosphere and yummy food! service was also great! the place to come to when in costa mesa 10/10

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    The Taco Stand Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - The Taco Stand

    Are the fries gluten free? There seems to be a coating on them and would like to check due to a gluten allergy.

    I don't believe so

    Do they have taco Tuesday special?

    No, they don't.

    View All 4 Questions

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    4.4(3.4k reviews)
    3.7 mi
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    Takes reservations
    Happy hour specials

    OMG!!! What an amazing experience from the time we came in the door till the time we left! Friendly…read moreand inviting atmosphere! We were in from out of town and celebrating 31yrs of marriage. We sat at the Bar and really enjoyed our time with Mario! He was great and really took care of us, not to mention the food was amazing!

    What a great find. I had not eaten at this place before, but it came highly recommended from a…read morefriend of mine so I thought hey I'm going to check this out. I am so glad I did, especially since it was happy hour. The place definitely has a great vibe to it. Plenty of seating throughout the restaurant. I recommend sitting at the bar as that's where all the action happens. You definitely want to make sure you get there for happy hour and Taco Tuesday especially, $10 Margaritas $4 tacos and these are not cheap tacos. These are like serious tacos that will fill you up. Their salsa is great, not super spicy and makes great for munching while you're talking with friends. The margaritas are definitely strong, which is nice, as some places tend to water them down for happy hour. I would say that this is a great choice to go check out and have a taco or two or three or four. I had the carne asada, the carnitas, and the pastor, every single one of them was perfect and the salsa that they came with was out of this world. Bottom line? This is a great place for Taco Tuesday as well as just a hangout and have a drink after work. Whenever I am in Costa Mesa. I am definitely coming here again.

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    Mercado Gonzalez - Carne Asada Burrito and Tortilla Chips

    Mercado Gonzalez

    4.3(1k reviews)
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    Want to be transported to somewhere new, fresh, exciting and to embrace Hispanic culture? Mercado…read moreGonzalez is that. It's not just a grocery store, it's not a place to go in and out (you could if you wanted to), it's a place to enjoy not just the produce, but everything it has to offer! Yes, it is a grocery store, but it's also a place with many food stalls with delicious foods that are made fresh throughout the day! The service is fantastic, everyone is so happy and are eager to help! The ambiance is bustling either music constantly playing and some live music on certain days! I've had their horchata, burritos from one of the stalls, a torta, and a muleta. I've also purchased some fresh guacamole and their freshly made agua frescas!, all of which were great! Some say it's ok or sub par from other places, it could be true, but it's definitely the experience that is hard to match. This isn't just a one and done place, I feel like I haven't fully experienced everything yet and plan to come back multiple times to try out all that this place has to offer!

    Our building had a catered event from them, and it was well received overall with a successful…read moreconclusion after some initial challenges. I will use mostly my names for what I tried: "ELEPHANT EAR" BREAD: -- light beige color -- very sweet -- honey taste very pronounced and sticky texture -- great with hot Mexican chocolate or hot coffee with no sugar to offset the sweet RATING = A- "PINKIE LA RUE" (aka Polvorone Rojas): -- semi-crumbly texture -- buttery shortbread -- large size -- dusted w/white table sugar on top which I scraped off to reduce the sweet -- medium sweet or tad more -- not dry nor moist -- very nice tasting, especially w/milk or hot coffee RATING = A "RHINO HORN" bread: -- has some color variance with light brown -- semi-firm texture -- lightly sweet -- best for dipping in hot Mexican chocolate or hot coffee; not ideal to eat plain -- not buttery -- I am not a big "dipper" of cookies or bread into coffee so this is not of much interest to me -- it's okay RATING = B- CUCUMBER/LIME AQUA FRESCA: -- I poured into my water bottle and added half water to get the sweet down. Way too sweet for my palate but nice once I got the ratio right. -- up to medium sweet initially RATING = A- PINEAPPLE/SPINACH AQUA FRESCA: -- above medium sweet but expected for pineapple -- the pineapple defeated anything rough about the spinach for me which was a good thing...not chalky tongue syndrome RATING = B+ WATERMELON AQUA FRESCA: -- medium towards high sweet -- I did 50/50 with water again to get it right -- tasted pretty close to fresh watermelon juice when I did that RATING = A

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    Descanso - Lobster Enchiladas

    Descanso

    4.1(1.8k reviews)
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    I've always enjoyed eating at Descanso but last night was extra special. We went for a special…read morecelebration and had a party of 20. Caroline, the catering manager, set everything up as discussed and even had a personalized menu for my guests. Our waiter Manny was top notch. Personable and attentive throughout. The support staff was as well. My guests raved about their entrees and cocktails. It was a tremendously positive experience.

    We LOVED our Mother's Day brunch at Descanso. We made reservations and were seated quickly. They…read morehad bottomless mimosas and a special Mother's Day menu. Food- 10/10. We ordered the bottomless mimosas, watermelon spicy marg, churro pancakes, and the shredded beef chilaquiles. All were amazing! The churro pancakes were soooooooo yummy. Crispy and fluffy. Service- 10000/10. Manny was amazinggg! He was working so hard serving so many tables at once and he did a great job. He was so kind, positive, and had great recommendations. He always made sure we had everything we needed. The gals at the front were also so kind and helpful. Everyone there was great! Environment- 10/10. It was a beautiful day so we sat out on the patio. They had table umbrellas which were super nice to block the sun. They also had a DJ's (I think there were 3 taking turns) that were all great! The inside is very clean and nicely decorated! Next time we wanna try sitting at the grill :) Extras- Lots of parking as it's in a shopping center. The prices for us were a little on the higher end, but the food and service are fantastic! Perfect place for celebrations and authentic food :)

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    Acapulco Restaurant & Cantina

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    4.4(2.2k reviews)
    0.7 mi
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    This is my favorite Mexican Restaurant. Our server Roberto provided awesome service. We live in the…read moreInland Empire but we make sure we have lunch at Acapulco every time we are in Orange County. Great food and great service.

    LOVE this place for GREAT, FRESH, Coastal, Mexican food!…read moreThis location in Costa Mesa in particular, has been updated (new paint, new chairs, new lighting, etc.) and they have updated their menu with even MORE, Seafood items! They make GREAT Guacamole, customized at table side to your specs and their FRESH Chips, Tortillas and Salsa's are homemade in the restaurant. Husband LOVES their Pomegranate Margherita's and I can't get enough of their Enchilada's (Cheese, Chicken) and their Crunchy Taco's (Shredded Beef is my Fave!). Add in that their FRESH, Side Salads are AMAZING along with their new menu items - including Seafood combo's and there is no where else to go in OC for better Mexican food! Our INCREDIBLE Server, Hector (He IS the Acapulco restaurant - always upbeat and advising us about their new menu items!) and their FANTASTIC Chef Hector and all of the other Servers and Cooks there, make this a casual, yet special date-night restaurant! P.S. We've also tried their EXCEPTIONAL, Sunday Buffet and literally had to almost be wheeled out of there, there were SO MANY DIFFERENT, AUTHENTIC foods to choose from and sample! VERY nice to find this level of a PERFECT MEXICAN restaurant - with HIGH QUALITY FOOD INGREDIENTS, nearby! Can't wait to go back!

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    The Taco Stand - mexican - Updated May 2026

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