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    The Taco Stand

    4.4 (5.5k reviews)
    ModerateFood Stands, Mexican
    Closed 9:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Order The Taco Stand Takeout or Delivery

    The Taco Stand Photos

    Business Info

    THE TACO STAND ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Classy
    Casual
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - The Taco Stand

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    Reviews With Photos

    Hotel Del Coronado
    George C.

    Our family came down to La Jolla for 3 days 2 nights of fun in and around La Jolla, Point Loma & San Diego while staying at the historic & iconic Hotel Del Coronado. Day one we come across The Taco Stand & decide to have it for brunch, after the cave store, walk along the coast & checking out the tide pools. A short drive & we get get 2 asada burritos, 6 handmade tortilla tacos (with a huge scoop of guacamole) 5 Jarritos & 2 orders of churos, man! They did not disappoint! The service was quick, Ivan who I struck up conversation with over which was the hottest salsa is as friendly as they come. I was taking the habanero when he handed me the chili oil from behind the counter (I forget the oils name) . My burrito was great, fresh, clean. My picky wife & kids Loved it so much they asked for it again the second day, I was happy to oblige but will draw the line if they ask for a third day I a row. Ha! Go see Ivan & his family working The Taco Stand in La Jolla, you will NOT be disappointed!

    BAJA TACO
    Aiperi A.

    I had the best tacos EVER! house made tortillas, extremely fresh ingredients,so juicy and delicious. Must visit! Afternoon is longer line. The best service

    Outside restaurant view
    Sonia Q.

    I came here with a friend who saw this place on TV. I was excited to try their tacos. It's a small taco restaurant with a little bit of seating inside as well as outside. When we got there the line was out the door, but not too long. We probably waited 10 minutes in line. When I first saw the menu I was worried that 1 taco was $3-5 dollars because I assumed the tacos were more like street tacos. They were bigger than a street taco and filled with meet and guacamole. So I ordered 3 pollo asado tacos with a side of churros. These tacos were BY FAR the best tacos I've ever had. The tortillas you can tell were made fresh from scratch. The chicken was so tender and had a lot of flavor. They put a lot of guacamole, but it wasn't too much or too little. It was also very fresh. As I was eating all I was saying was wow, wow, wow. I was at a loss for words. The churros also wow! They had to make a fresh batch by the time I ordered one so it did take awhile, but honestly so worth the wait. They were hot, fresh, moist and very tasty. I'm usually not a fan of churro because they are typically greasy and crunchy. These were soft like a donut. By far again the best churros I've ever had. If I could rate this place higher than 5 I would. I HIGHLY HIGHLYYYYY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE.

    NOPAL TACO and CARNE ASADA TACO
    Luis E.

    I saw a long line at this restaurant 2 years ago and figured it was worth a try. I visited The Taco Stand recently and was honestly a little underwhelmed. The restaurant was small but very lively. There is limited seating inside and out. You can see the whole staff hustling and bustling. They have a soda dispenser and self serve condiment bar in the back. It gets congested quick back there. The decor is fun and colorful. Overall, the inside is small but inviting. I ordered a bean and cheese burrito, 2 tacos de carne asada, one Al pastor taco, and a taco de nopales. The tortillas are hand made. That's always a plus. The nopales taco was cold. I was hoping that it would have been grilled because grilled nopales are fire. The nopales happened to be my least favorite item that I tried. The Al pastor lacked flavor. I also thought it needed to be cooked a little longer. It wasn't under cooked but needed more time. It came with sliced pineapples but it was barely drained and the juices made the taco very wet and sweet. The al pastor taco and nopales taco was served with their cilantro lime dressing which was flavorful. The bean and cheese burrito was good and hearty. It paired well with their chipotle sauce. The carne asada tacos were the best. The carne asada was rich in flavor and the meat was cut into good sized pieces. Served with a good helping of guac and cilantro and onions. A little messy but it was a hit. The churros are good. Good size and seasoning and not overly oily. Overall, I would revisit The Taco Stand. The tacos I would order them basic as possible. Just meat and cilantro onion toppings while adding the sauce myself. If the tacos weren't messy I'd give it a higher rating. One thing that caught my eye were the asada fries. Those looked good.

    Less than a 10 minute walk down the street
    Anthony D.

    The Taco Stand serves incredible tacos just up the street from the beach, and that perfectly captures what makes SoCal such an amazing place to live. We tried almost every taco and the standouts were the Baja and Sonora. The fish in the Baja was perfectly fried. It tasted so fresh and airy. The steak in the Sonora was fatty deliciousness and the melted cheese brought things to another level. We waited in line for 30 min and close to another 10 min for our food to come out. The long wait made our expectations even higher than they already were, but the food still managed to impress us. I highly recommend The Taco Stand! Can't wait to come back!

    CALIFORNIA BURRITO, BAJA TACO, CARNE ASADA TACO
    Sarah P.

    As my first visit to SD in a long, long time, I felt it was necessary to visit one of the most iconic stops in the city! We have The Taco Stand in Las Vegas, but there is truly something special about getting delicious tacos by the water. The wait could get very tedious. The line wraps around the building into the parking lot with cars pulling in & out. You also wait a bit for your food. Compared to the location here in Vegas where I could be in and out in 5 minutes, spending nearly an hour standing around is less than ideal on a trip :/ But....... the food is unfortunately very very delicious. AND THE CHURROS! so yummy and sweet. My favorite is the Baja Taco. An absolute gem.

    MUSHROOM TACO
    Krissy W.

    3.5 The small restaurant had a long line that moved quickly. Even the wait for the food after ordering was not long. I had the mushroom/vegan taco. The tortilla was great. The mushrooms were sautéed with garlic and were flavorful. What was missing was the spices and freshness of a sea side taco stand. There was a bit of cilantro and a dollop of avocado - but no salsa nor chili powder. I didn't mind the messiness of the presentation. Overall a solid taco choice.

    Deepti A.

    Decided to try the taco stand on a Saturday morning after a walk in downtown La Jolla. The spot can be a little walk from the downtown. The spot was busy in the morning so recommended getting there early. The service was speedy. My burrito was good though it could use a little more flavor. The salsa bar had plenty of salsa options depending on the spice palate. The prices are good for the portions. Overall a good experience!

    Kaci C.

    Tasty tasty tacos that took about an hour to get. Self serve salsa and toppings bar which is awesome, the different sauces all added something yummy. Had the fish and beef taco which were so much better than a few other places during my trip. My complaint mostly is the wait. I get it, we came on a Saturday but the line barely budged, although when you're inside you can see they're producing tacos and packing them really quickly so what it looks like is they're doing a lot of mobile orders in between standing customers which to me isn't great. Maybe turn off mobile ordering on busy days and treat the people waiting in line first?

    AL PASTOR TACO CARNE ASADA TACO PESCADO TACO (MAHI MAHI)
    Becca J.

    I'll start out by saying the line is always long at this place... but I can confirm.. that it is SO worth the wait. Once you order your food you don't wait more than 10-12 minutes, even with how packed it is. Workers are friendly, seating area available inside and out, and the food it to die for. The pastor tacos were the winner for me and my boyfriend, with the carne asada being a CLOSE second. The juiciness and sauce on the pastor was crazy. The guac on the asada was also so delicious. All in all, PLEASE TRY IT!!

    Exterior
    Michael R.

    This location is still one of my favorite Taco Stands! So close to the beach, you can get a great meal to go (seating inside is very limited) and have a great day in La Jolla! The Mar Y Tierra fries are my favorite thing to get there - super generous portions of shrimp and steak on top of some deliciously crispy fries and topped with a heap of cheese and sauce! For the price it's honestly a great deal. The food does take a while to come out especially when busy since they have to make everything to order it seems but workers are all pretty nice and seem to try their best to get you your food as quickly as they can. Honestly the burritos are a bit on the smaller side but they are priced lower than a lot of the other burritos in SD, so I guess it's proportionate. Highly recommend trying all the sauces from their large sauce bar as well!

    CARNE ASADA FRIES CARNE ASADA TACO AL PASTOR TACO
    Uyen L.

    Went on a Sunday around dinner time and this place was POPPING. We ordered online for pickup and still had to wait about 15 minutes when we got there, but honestly good thing we did because the line to order was literally out the door and down the block. The workers were BUSY. Not a ton of seating inside, but we just took our food to the beach and had a mini picnic, which made it way better anyway. They also have a self-serve sauce bar, which I always appreciate. We got carne asada tacos, al pastor tacos, and carne asada fries. The carne asada was solid. Good flavor, decent sized pieces, not dry or chewy, actually pretty tender. The al pastor was kinda underwhelming though. A little dry and just didn't hit the same (flavor-wise). Also not a huge fan of raw onions and they cut them pretty big, so it was a bit overpowering. The fries were really good texture wise, and the steak was just as good as the tacos. Only thing is the nacho sauce on top was a bit much for me. Made everything kinda soggy toward the end. One thing I will say, they are VERY generous with the guac, and it actually tasted really good too. But I still can't get over the price... ~$5 per taco is kinda crazy. I get that they load them up, but still.

    Lily T.

    the taco stand: they have a few locations down in oc and sd, but we went to the la jolla one. i rlly liked the tortillas and they pack her up!! it is like $4 for a taco but def worth it. meats were juicy and tender + they have a sauce bar in the back w unlimited sauce, pickled onions, and pico de gallo. i def wanna come back for their cali burrito bc ive seen so many videos abt it. warning tho, seating is limited inside and no bathrooms. service was efficient but come early bc lines can get long.

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    17 days ago

    Best location in San Diego everything is so flavorful and cooked to perfection! Customer service is awesome too, Ivan was so helpful!

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    Page 1 of 138

    The Taco Stand Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - The Taco Stand

    Are the carne asada fries gluten free?

    NO. Fries have wheat in the ingredients and are in a shared fryer. They are very accommodating for other items and happy to answer any questions. Great spot.

    What is the parking situation like?

    Uh, there isn't one. Parking is super tight. Go a block away, and just park on the street somewhere. If you see a spot within 2 blocks, grab it. The lot next door is for Mitch's Surf Shop (which is a great local surf shop - must visit), so they're… 

    Do they sell deep-fried tacos? -fried the corn taco shell

    Just soft shell, but they do have deep fried house made churros and chips!

    Where do you park?

    There is a very small parking lot shared by other restaurants and shops. You're better off finding parking on the street. We parked around the corner in a neighborhood.

    Is it cash only? and do they have an atm machine?

    I'm pretty sure I paid by credit card.

    Are they open for lunch?

    Yes

    Do you use any nuts in your food?

    Only deez nuts.

    Are there restrooms?

    I don't remember. Please call them.

    Any daily specials or Taco tuesday deals?

    I haven't seen any.

    Any taco Tuesday deals?

    No, updated 2/4/25

    Is there a long wait when pre-ordered online pickup?

    No just tell the restaurant workers you're here for pick up and they should have it bagged and ready to go

    But do y'all have consume?

    No they do not have consome

    Is your chipotle sauce and cilantro sauce dairy free?

    Hello, Both sauces contain dairy. The chipotle sauce has mayonnaise and the cilantro sauce has… 

    Are the tortillas homemade?

    Yes👍🏾

    Do they have vegan options?

    Very limited. Cactus Taco or Bean Burrito. Not a great place for a vegan.

    Do you guys offer takeout?

    They do take out, but keep in mind that they don't do phone/online orders on weekends because of how crowded it gets.

    Gluten free items?

    Hi Karen, Our tacos are gluten free, with the exception of the Baja and Sonora. Our quesadillas… 

    You guys going tonfranchise?

    Not at the moment. Thank you!

    Are there any recommend times to visit during the day that's the least busy?!?

    I have been there once when visiting San Diego, the family and I got there around 6pm and sat down to eat around 7:15pm. A long wait, yes! But damn was it worth the wait. We cannot wait to stand in line for a long time to eat there again! 😉

    Is it safe to eat here for someone with a peanut allergy?

    Be sure to let them know beforehand, but I believe you should be ok. I’m almost positive nothing in the menu contains nuts.

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    El Pescador Fish Market & Restaurant

    El Pescador Fish Market & Restaurant

    4.1
    (1.8k reviews)
    0.0 mi
    $$

    This was such a random find on our way into San Diego! We were looking for a great seafood spot for…read morelunch, and the location and area of this place were perfect. We were honestly blown away by the quality of the fish. We tried the tuna poke, and it was so fresh and delicious. It actually tasted even better than it looked! It looked like a smaller portion at first, but it really wasn't and ended up being very satisfying. We also got the seabass sandwich, which was fantastic. If we were locals, I could definitely see us getting this often. Last but not least, we tried the octopus, which was cooked wonderfully. We really liked that this was such a casual spot, and the person taking our order was so nice and helpful, especially for a newbie like me who wasn't familiar with the menu. We'll definitely be back next time we're visiting San Diego and would absolutely recommend giving this place a try!

    An absolute gem for all you seafood lovers out there! Fresh specials and house favorites. You can…read moreeven order fish, shrimp and other items from their seafood cheat to be fresh grilled. Never disappoints! Service is fantastic, quick, responsive, very kind and will get you anything you need! Good is so fresh, comes right off the grill or out of their cold chest. This is one of my absolute favorite spots! Cozy wooden tables, bustling activity and outdoor seating with a cute small capacity's garden. Heaven!

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Fish tacos
    Fish tacos
    Outdoor patio

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    Outdoor patio
    La Jollita

    La Jollita

    4.4
    (124 reviews)
    0.7 mi
    $$$

    Amazing food. Great Spot. Good ambiance. Would definitely go regularly. Only downside was that I…read morehad a reservation and I was told I had to wait. After asking another host whether we could go to the bar and wait, they were able to seat me within 6 minutes. Otherwise their service and waiters were warm, welcoming, and attentive. Their best items on the menu are their seafood and their ribeye. This time, I ordered the ribeye aguachile style, which is not on the menu. It was good, but the regular is a lot better and is a must order. The tacos are phenomenal, and their tuna tostada is incredibly solid. Their agua fresca is the weakest on their menu. Here are my individual food ratings: Tuna Tostada: 4.8/5 Taco Leo: 4.9/5 Queso Fundido: 4.5/5 Ribeye Aguachile Style: 3/5 Cucumber Agua Fresca: 1/5

    Wow. Wow. And more Wow. Members of my groups! If you missed this lunch out, you really missed…read moresomething! This is the real deal and the whole package. La Jollita from start to finish is 5 Stars! The staff that greets you is everything you want them to be. Warm and welcoming. Now, as a group (San Diego Foodies and Carlsbad Foodies on meetup) that has been doing Restaurant Reviews since 2008, I can honestly say in this last year we've had more FIVE STAR Restaurants come into San Diego. And I can tell you personally, I am thrilled! It's hard to do a Restaurant Review when you are scrambling to eat, eat, eat. But let's listen to some of the comments ..... Robyn says: "The fresh tuna is out of this world". Hiroe agrees and so do I. Hiroe says: "The Shrimp Ceviche is fantastic". "And the salad is Yummy" adds Robyn. I just love that the shrimp is cooked in its' shell. "It shows that it's fresh shrimp" says Hiroe. I mention that you get more flavor from anything cooked in its' shell. Even when I cook corn. I leave it in its' husk even if I am boiling it on the stove. We all enjoy different tacos. Steve says: "I really like the beef". Robyn has a Tuna Tostada and says: "I will come back and eat 3 of those". Let me just say: "I am not a taco girl". But now I understand why people like tacos. I will come back and try more"! So many choices. So little time! lol My pictures are gorgeous but they just won't upload. I will try again later! Thank you La Jollita and welcome to the neighborhood! With gusto, garlic and gratitude, Chef Marian San Diego Foodies Carlsbad Foodies

    Photos
    La Jollita
    Camarones roca
    Camarones roca
    Some front patio seating

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    Some front patio seating
    Catania

    Catania

    4.5
    (1.4k reviews)
    0.5 mi
    $$
    Happy hour specials
    Rooftop seating

    A high-quality restaurant with a relaxed vibe, serving very good coastal Italian with homemade…read morepastas. Great spot for a nice dinner in La Jolla, with gorgeous sunset views to boot. The ravioli was the standout of the night, thin pasta with just enough filling for a delightful bite. The bucatini all'amatriciana wasn't quite what I'm accustomed to, the guanciale was ground rather than diced, and the sauce leaned more toward a meat sauce with an oily finish, not really my style, though the pasta itself was cooked well al dente. The steak, on the other hand, was excellent. Cocktails were great, and the staff were attentive throughout. For dessert, the trio was a nice way to sample a few things, though I wish they offered smaller sampler portions instead of full-size pieces. The Basque cheesecake was excellent and the semifreddo was perfect with a nice crust. The chocolate torte was good but couldn't compete with the other two. Overall a strong dinner spot in La Jolla, especially for pasta lovers and sunset views.

    This restaurant is in a beautiful location in La Jolla, on the third floor over seeing the ocean…read more We arrived on Saturday around 5pm while visiting San Diego. We called an hour ahead to reserve a table and luckily they had availability. We ordered the crudo and octopus as appetizers. The crudo was served with fresh tuna topped with a sweet melon sauce (not to my liking, but still appreciated). The octopus was delicious. For our entrees, we ordered the pistachio pesto pizza, raviolli, and beef ziti. The pizza was my favorite (i love anything pistachio) especially enjoyed the pistachio pesto. I appreciate the thin dough of raviolli and the ziti was good. Overall food was good. Our server's name was Kevin, he was friendly and gave great service.

    Photos
    For more restaurant recommendations follow my Instagram page @cozinhacombossa
    For more restaurant recommendations follow my Instagram page @cozinhacombossa
    Prawn was tring to eat my noodles
    Prawn was tring to eat my noodles
    For more restaurant recommendations follow my Instagram page @cozinhacombossa

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    For more restaurant recommendations follow my Instagram page @cozinhacombossa

    The Taco Stand - foodstands - Updated August 2026

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