I found this chain a few years ago and loved it because they have one of the only gluten-free burrito options that I've ever had (maybe the only place that I've had that offers them) and it was really good on top of that! So every time I come to visit LA I check out Tocaya again and at a different location. This time I tried the Wilshire Boulevard restaurant in Santa Monica. It was good. I would still definitely go back. The Customerservice in this location was fine, it wasn't outstanding like I had at the two other stores I was at. There's nothing to complain about-- it's just that the other two restaurants had people that were super excited and curious and engaged customers in conversation. I'm not a super extrovert so that was always nice. I realize that the person ringing us up probably was not an extrovert like the others had been so I understand, but it was just something I noticed. read more

Yum! There was something for everyone here - soup, salad, tacos and more. The favors were great. Fish taco and street corn and cucumber limeade were all delish. We would go back. read more

How have I never reviewed Tocaya?! This is such good comfort food when you're in LA after 20 years in Austin, Texas. Consistently delicious. Reliable for high quality ingredients - good flour tortillas, good cilantro lime rice, tangy chicken tinga! I'm not so into the blue corn tortillas (floppy) or the plantain chips (too dry).I love that squash blossom though. I'd happily invest in a dozen of those! The sweet corn tamales are great for dessert or breakfast! The roasted salsa is irresistible. Even the fruit salad is perfect. read more

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Food was great. Service was good. Ambiance was nice, place was decorated well and very spacious. Not your classic tacos but a good spin on it. Baja taco 5/5 Steak taco 5/5 read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Seating - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Pretty decent and filling but a little flavorless. The salsa has no spice. I usually get a bowl but have to add lemon and hot sauce to bring out the flavors. Service is pretty okay too. Good for a quick lunch place or low key dinner. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - SONORA STEAK BOWL and CUCUMBER MINT LIMEADE and CHIPS & SALSA - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

The food is absolutely delicious and so fresh. I feel like I'm treating myself to a healthy and good nutritious meal when I buy from Tocaya.

Delicious-fresh food! Friendly service and restaurant is clean; great vibes. Tuesday specials are good!!

Tocaya had just the type of fresh and light meal I was looking for. It's a fast casual dining restaurant but the seating area was nice. I really enjoyed my fish tacos, black beans and street corn. I'll admit the tacos could benefit from a mango salsa or something to add a bit more flavor. Otherwise, it was delicious. We ordered at the counter and our food was delivered to our table quickly. We sat at a large booth with plenty room for all of our food and things. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Fish TACO COMBO - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Checked out this place out of curiosity. It was chill and peaceful on a Saturday afternoon. Loved the natural lighting and plant decorations. The workers were so kind! Their Manzana Steak Salad looked the most appealing. The steak was well cooked and juicy. Interesting choice of some kind of Indian curry on the side. Salad was well-dressed and refreshing. Would like to come back to try their other dishes! read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Manzana Steak Salad - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Ordered Tocaya for a few company lunches and have been here for lunch a couple of times - save your money! Ordered a fajita burrito ($14.85) with gluten-free battered & fried mahi mahi (additional $3.45) - literally got TWO bites of mahi mahi and the rest of the burrito was rice. Same case when I dined in - ordered a shrimp burrito and had maybe two shrimps lol. I keep giving them the benefit of the doubt, but no thank you! Cute and modern vibes but the food is very mediocre. read more

I really want to like this place. They usually have about 6-8 people in the kitchen, but it still takes around 15 minutes to make a chicken bowl with four ingredients in it. I get that it's not fast food, but this isn't a complicated dish and shouldn't take more than 3-5 minutes at most. I typically come here on my lunch break, and more than half of it ends up going to waiting on my order. While I'm standing there, I can see into the kitchen and there's just no sense of urgency. The team seems to move at their own pace, and a lot of the time they look disengaged. This feels like a management issue. I'd suggest revisiting coaching around efficiency and pace. Unfortunately, I won't be coming back since I'm not trying to spend my entire break waiting on food. read more

Delicious bowl- I had the beyond chicken verde bowl which is vegan! It exceeded all of my expectations with the flavor and the freshness of the salad. I absolutely loved it and will be back! Thank you! read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Cauliflower tacos - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Love this place! It is a staple for me and my son(s) every Taco Tuesday! Fresh food, great drinks and a wonderful ambiance at reasonable prices. A true neighborhood find, run by people who know Mexican food and how to make it healthy and natural. read more

Family really likes this spot. 2 of us are pescatarians so we like the veggie and fish options here. We really like the squash blossom tacos and kid especially loves the cauliflower. We both recommend the fish tacos and burritos. Flavorful sauces for them. Short order counter but they do have a seating bar (no bartender) and sell alcohol. read more

What a great location with lots of seating. We ordered the quesadilla with mushrooms and it came with salsa that paired perfectly. We also got the en fuego bowl which had kernels of sweet corn that tasted bright and sweet. I added some to the quesadilla which made it taste even better. I barely ate the Turkey part. They have a lot of to go orders. I was hoping it'd be a quick dinner given the meter running. They might be prioritizing the to go orders. Parking is street which can be hard. I really like how they offer some outdoor dining though! read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Meat and cheese quesadillas - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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I went here with a couple friends for an early dinner and it was tasty and filling! The service was quick too! I ordered the taco combo (chicken tinga and Baja) and chose chips and queso for my side. The tacos were tasty and hot, and the chips were good and not too salty but the queso was very underwhelming and bland. I ended up asking for a side of fresh garden salsa and that was better. I also decided to order the tortilla soup and was pleased. It was tasty and creamy. For dessert, I decided to try the churro bites and that was a real treat, especially with the accompanying caramel sauce. Other than the underwhelming queso, everything else was good! The booths and chairs were comfortable inside the restaurant too. read more

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The food never disappoints. Great flavors with a serious effort to traditional seasoning in a semi fusion style. The service was fast and welcoming. The restaurant has a Baja-style ambience, open layout with light colors. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Baja taco and street chik'n taco - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Tocaya organic was good. We came here because we were running errands and wanted a bite to eat and well this was the closest Mexican cuisine they had besides La condesa. ( expensive) Service was great. Please mention if it's your first time there so that they can explain to you how their menu works. It was clean and aesthetically pleasing however the bathrooms could use a little fixing. The door latch is broken on one of them. read more

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Ok service, good food, love that they offer vegan options. They can also veganize many of the dishes! Lots of fake plants that take away the charm. Sadly The few live plants were dying. I was enjoying the music playlist until the vibe was interrupted by the loud music coming from the kitchen. It caused too much of a clash. read more

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Stopped by with some family. Quick and friendly service. Big portions. Nice vibe. Would come back! read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Food was delicious and fresh. Service was quick and welcoming. Tried their taco salad and tamarindo agua Fresca, would definitely recommend.

Great food , excellent service, hard ass workers! Ty always great environment comfy vibes! read more

Love the California burrito,is so tasty! The beans are delicious with tortilla chips. The staff is always very friendly and professional. read more

Fast service, great quality food, gluten free options! Very clean and nice atmosphere. Plenty of street parking in the area too.

I usually come on a Tuesday for the tacos Tuesday deal. $2 chicken tacos and there're always great. I like the tinga the most. They also have except guacamole with pomegranate seeds in it and the tortilla chips are made in house. Service is fast, prices are cheap and the food is great. I like the ambiance at the century city mall much better but Santa Monica is fine too. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - 4 chicken tacos 1 barria 1 tinga 2 diced chicken . - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

The girl i ordered was bright and bubbly, greatI think her name was Kaya. Cindy on the other hand who I made sure I got her name right was full of attitude when she brought my food out. I asked her for some water age game me a face and never brought my water. Then she made eye cintact with me a few times. Still no water. Potatoes in my burrito were too hard. Not cooked enough. I couldnt eat them. read more

I love their takes on Mexican dishes, while I enjoy authentic Mexican food, Tocaya keeps it different and just as healthy. I ordered the Salmon Bowl and it was so fresh and enjoyed the tomatoes and squash along with the tomatillo rice. They had what tasted like a yogurt cream sauce that I was hesitant about but paired well with the vegetables. read more

My sister wanted to take me to the LA location when I visited a few years ago but we had other food adventures. But she got married and ordered food for dinner and boy was it good. Very good. But the chips! First of all, amazing chips but they gave us too many. Otherwise, I would have escorted them back to my house, but my baggage could not accommodate. But for real, these chips were good. The food had a while to travel, but it was mighty tasty. The tortillas were ok but could have improved if heated on a gas stove, I wish I could have brought these home too. But, all and all, next time I'm in town, I'm definately asking for a trip here. The food was that good. read more

I been to this location twice, both times there wasn't to many people which was nice I came on a Sunday afternoon and a Wednesday evening. The food comes out pretty quickly under 10 minutes. The place is always clean and relaxing feel. I got the gluten free burrito it was really good! I would recommend it! The burritos don't come gluten free but you can ask for a gluten free wrap. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California

First, and shockingly, they were out of ice. A restaurant out of ice? it sounds like a contradiction in terms. Therefore, no margaritas. I ordered the spicy avocado bowl but they forgot to include the spicy. it was flavorless. I had the same food at the Olive Street location: simply fabulous. So, this location was a great disappointment. Even the decor was bland. read more

MODERN MEXICAN is the right way to describe this place. You can tell the difference in flavors between food truck Mexican food to the food in Tocaya. It was very tasty my favorite was the fish taco. The stuff were nice and quick and the environment inside to dine in was welcoming. I recommend this restaurant! read more

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Thank you, Juan, thank you Francis and William! Your location is great with great hospitality, plus and accommodations with eating healthy and yummy! Love you have vegan and stand by organic and local sourced for more than any other restaurant in the US. We are lucky to have Tocaya nearby. Love love!! Taco Tuesday is great too!! Oh and made to order crafted organic tequila margarita's, even one even has fresh hibiscus. Delicious!! read more

Well if you're looking for a Chipotle style restaurant with the wait of a sit down.... wait no further!!! Went there with the family and truly disappointed !!! The food was good... when it finally came out. Sat for 30 min. from the time ordering at the counter. There were 8 people in the kitchen all looking at the order monitors like it was the World Cup playing!!! I swear they're more concerned with the take out than the people eating in!!! Take a hard pass next time! read more

My office gets this delivered from time to time and what trash! Flavorless chicken, fatty beef, cumin in refrieds? Blech. And pomegranate seeds in guacamole isn't innovative. read more

Best Vegan Tacos ever!! The energy of the people is great, the space is very comfortable. Is my husband and I favorite spot in all LA! read more

Amazing place-I've been coming here for years! It never disappoints highly recommend their steak tacos, strawberry basil drink is tasty as well. All around great location and always clean, but busy. read more

Delicious. It has a corporate feel, but the tacos taste authentic. The Baja fish tacos are as good as the ones I had in cdmx ! Super sweet staff too read more

I'm kinda breaking up with my local Tocaya in Scottsdale bc something is always off. I can't put my finger on it, but I usually walk out hungry and $50 poorer. They have great kids meals and their happy hour is good (1/2 off apps and $5 margs). This was close to my hotel and I felt like tortilla soup (theirs is hearty and vegan). It was LOADED with avocado. It was so good and hit the spot. Thanks, Tocaya Santa Monica for this redemption. read more

So here we are about 3 days after consuming the gluten which is pure poison for me having severe gluten intolerance and I haven't been this sick in years. I was up for about 24-48 hours basically crawling in and out of the bathroom in excruciating pain which is what happens when I have gluten (and yes it can be days later). I hadn't been well since eating it but this is so bad I almost went to the ER. And ALL because that girl with the pink hair carelessly did not put in a gluten free wrap on the burrito I ordered AFTER I requested GF. I am at a loss for words with how carelessly this location handled the matter which has SEVERELY affected my life. Upset doesn't come close. This will take a LONG time to repair the damage done to my gut but right now I've had to focus on just being stable enough the function with how sick I am, and medical bills later... read more

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I love Tocaya and the Fajita Del Rey bowl with extra chipotle sauce. The chips guac, ceviche, burritos are all great. This review is specifically just for this location. I really wanted to try the new steak bowl. This location is near my work and every time I've had it l, it's not good. The staff is nice but the food tastes old. This bowl looks greyish in the photo and was greyish in real life. The steak was overcooked and just fatty pieces that you have to spit out, rice was hard. Do not base your only try of this restaurant at this location. read more

Tocaya Modern Mexican - Mexican Near Me - Santa Monica, California