The Taco Stand

Finally an affordable taco shop downtown with food that tastes amazing! This is officially my go-​to place for when I can’t decide on what I want. I had the AL postor and Baja tacos and both were the best I’ve ever had. I had a bite of my friends Carne Asada, and although it didn’t have much flavor you can definitely taste the quality of the meat. That’s what salsa is for anyway… and all their salsas are soo good!!! Can’t wait to go back!

Super good tacos prob my favorite now!!! The chips were a little stale and greasy but the tacos were really good!!! I’ll be back!

Best (fried) fish taco I’ve had in San Diego. It’s simple but the fish is so flaky and tender and is the star of the show, not overshadowed by the breading like most other places. The carne asada and shrimp are also very well done. Adobada is good but just does not hold up to tacos el gordo. Very strong competitor in the san diego taco space.

Ordered an Al Pastor and a Carne Asada
Pros: Al pastor as great, hand made tortillas, habanero salsa on point and most of the other ones were too.
Cons: Rude/​Slow Staff
Carne Asada was under seasoned, as well as the red salsa. Tortillas were a bit too thick and thick onion pieces were too thick. Julienne instead of Brunoise
Conclusion: would go back just for the pastor but not often

These are by far the best tacos I’ve had! Truly authentic flavors and the place makes me feel like I’m at a real taco stand.
They also have authentic mexican ice cream and it’s sooo good!
Definitely my favorite taco place!

I feel sorry for this place when Tacos El Gordo opens in downtown because this place actually has potential. It’s a tad bit for a taco (about $ 3) but that’s downtown prices… I wonder what Tacos El Gordo will charge…
We catered from the Taco Stand and got el pastor and carne asada meats with all the fixings and some guac and chips. Both meats were good, love the pastor, great flavors. The guac was fresh and wasn’t watered down with sour crème… However the chips were a bit stale… At least some of them. So not sure if they reuse some chips from the day before because the stale ones were lighter in color and the fresh ones were nice yellow and vibrant.
Taco Stand is a good taco place in downtown– at least for now until more competition starts flooding in.

Overall would come back again and again because their burritos are excellent! The meat is really meaty and great cut! Love that carne asada. Recommend to everyone willing to go to downtown la jolla for a burrito or taco.
Parking: I’ve never actually had to park around here because we walk from my friends place. Looks pretty simple if you park on the surrounding streets though.
Service: super friendly staff! They are swift with the orders and have never gotten mine wrong. You can even see them make their fresh tortillas while you dine.
Food: amazing little food with great cuts of meat! Always happy with their carne asada! The best gem about this place is the sauces though. Such plenitude and variety of heat and flavor. And of course if you don’t care about that there are tapatio bottles placed around the place which is awesome haha. Portions are always even when I go too!

First time here. Was going to take a picture of the tacos but was too hungry. The flavor is excellent, like home made. Plenty of food for the money.
Limited seating but very nice and clean. Music is great although they could have it a couple of notches lower.
Definitely coming back

Horrible disorganization — had to wait a very long time to get to counter while only clerk was on phone. Got to counter only to be told wait would be another 25 minutes. Great tacos, but this experience likely destroys this as my lunch-​time go-​to. Very unfortunate.
They should have shutdown or put sign on the door.

The food here is absolutely amazing!!! 5 star.
Poor review due to the wait and the fact the cashier spends their whole time taking phone orders.
Suggest orders go through and online system only, or get more cashiers. Wrote this review while I’m next in line cause cashier was on phone whole time. The guys in front of us walked away after waiting 10 minutes.
Will update review to 5 star when walk in business is better run.
Update:
Finally got to place order after waiting 20 minutes, girl told us wait is another 25 minutes, they have a lot of phone orders. We also walked away.
Please prioritize walk in business. Really upsetting when you walk up and only 6 six people in line, but its really a 45 minute wait.
Changed review from 3 star to 2 star.

We love tacos! I mean seriously, tacos are great! Carne Asada, Chicken and Al pastor are our favorites!
Just add some salsa along with cilantro and onion and a Mexican coke. Take a bite, while the juices from the meat and salsa trickle down your hand… that’s the kind of taco you’ll get here!
I ordered the asada and pastor. Great flavor. The pastor had chunks of pineapple and was super juicy! They also had a salsa bar which was great! These tacos are also bigger than your normal street taco and pricey! For 4 tacos and 2 Mexican cokes we paid about $ 18 but, whatever. They were yummy!
I only gave it 4 stars because the customer service wasn’t that great. The lady who rang up our order didn’t greet us and was a little rude. Also, while we were eating and another couple in the restaurant as well, they hauled their trash can thruthe restaurant. Thought that was a little unsanitary.

Great addition to the area, the el pastor taco is amazing!
Great salsa bar with fresh salsas and pickled carrots, onions and jalapeños.

No. Just no.
I ordered the asada tacos and tried the chicken as well. The asada meat was cut in really big chunks, it was weird. And the «chicken» was so fatty and gristly, I just threw it out. Prices aren’t too bad for being in downtown. Service was pretty damn terrible and the wait for a few tacos was well over 30 minutes. Though management tried to compensate with a card for a free burrito, I won’t be back to cash that in. I’ll just give it to one of the many unhoused walking around in the area. They might like it.
An extra star for offering protein style and the salsa was tasty.

I had been looking forward to getting some delicious tacos for months — they are sadly hard to come by in the northeast of England — and The Taco Stand did not disappoint!
Worth every bit of the wait (there will likely be a bit of a line to order, and a wait for your food to be ready!) for the flavorful tacos bursting with fresh ingredients. I had the Al Pastor (pork, cilantro, onions, cilantro sauce, pineapple) and the Baja (battered fish, cabbage, cilantro, tomato, onions, and chipotle sauce) and love them both. Only thing I wanted was more pineapple in the Al Pastor, as it really made the taco special. The cilantro sauce on that one was totally addictive! They have a little salsa bar where you can get all the extra condiments and salsas you want, as well as a wall of several hot sauces. The perfectly fresh guac and crispy housemade chips rounded out a terrific lunch.
Each taco is around $ 3 – 4, and two of them were enough for me (maybe three if you’re a hungry dude), so it was an inexpensive but perfectly delicious meal that served as a great first lunch during our vacation in California.

Flavor and quality ingredients… This is the taco stand of the future. Everything was well thought out and supremely delivered. The textures and flavored combined seamlessly in your mouth… The only warning is the price point in the tacos, buts the price is warranted given the quality… At the end of the day you can find cheaper tacos of delicious flavor other places, but the quality ingredients are worth the price to a new wave of foodies as they should be. This isn’t Tacos El Gordo, nor do they try to be… But they are delicious and well imagined. I’ll be back (probably more than I care to admit)
Long live Taco Tuesday!

Mixed feelings here. Way cool shop with great employees. I have to mention the order gal she advised me that pico can be added to my burrito at the salsa bar with no extra charge vs 75 cents for the cooks to do it. THANK YOU. I am still annoyed from over a year ago with GAGlione brother cheesesteaks charging $ 1 for peppers (that were at the pepper bar if I would have turned around while ordering). Anyway big line at 11:50?
The line was longer than the food took after ordering. I got my salsa and my order was ready AWESOME fast… props to the kitchen!
Speaking of Salsa. The salsa bar was nice but none of them were remotely spicy including the «habanero» marked ‘spicy’ with a warning, The green had the same amount of kick. The salsa’s were definitely fresh but I was not a fan at all. I like some kick.
Luckily the spicy shrimp taco packed a kick so no need for the salsa bar! It was delicious with a medium to spicy kick and the shrimp were perfectly cooked for $ 4. The home made corn tortilla it came in was really good!
I also ordered my «standard» a bean and cheese burrito with pico. It was HUGE and only $ 3. Unfortunately I was not a fan of it. So boring. I know you must think what? It’s a bean and cheese that IS boring. Welp I am a bean and cheese freak they do taste differently on many levels. The flour tortilla did not taste home made like the corn one. The beans tasted canned the cheese was like sargento fake cheese and was unmelted. Very disappointing. I think at the very least, they should throw it on the griddle for a few to melt the cheese and heat it up. I like a little crunch on my tortilla too.
Overall the shrimp taco and service was the redemption here!

Landed here by accident, had to try the «Mar y Tierra» fries — so good and pure indulgence.
The tacos are made with freshly made corn tortilla and are delicious. Our table also had the «Mexican» corn on the Cobb AKA elote, everything was hot, fresh and made to order.
I was impressed with their salsa bar and very pleased with the restaurants cleanliness!
I recommend if you are in the area and are craving street style tacos.

The only thing keeping this from a 5 star review is the price and the portion size. Taco’s are street food. lets keep street prices. I’m a huge fan/​advocate for not getting too cute with street food. There’s no need to try to make it gourmet. Let’s keep it real. along with the prices. $ 13.00 for 4 tacos is pretty crazy! With that said, the tacos ARE good. They’re real good! They’re just too expensive and too small.
I had a topal (cactus) and a baja (fried fish). Both were super good and not oily at all. My girlfriend had the baja and the grilled pescado. She really enjoyed both but said the grilled taco was a little too salty. Other than that, we had zero complaints.
Honestly, I’m not sure I will go back. It has nothing to do with the taste or quality. It has everything to do with the fact that I left and literally went down the street and bought a burrito after my «meal.» I was still super hungry and their burritos were too pricey for the portion size to go with round 2.

Eh. Tried this place because it’s new in the neighborhood. Not that impressed by the al pastor meat, it’s rather flavorless and bland. Being Mexican and growing up with these foods as a staple I expected a lot based off the reviews. I got the terra y mar fries and the fries themselves were amazing. I also didn’t appreciate the nacho cheese in the fries… I’ve never seen that before, frankly. The shrimp was surprisingly great, full of flavor. Very mixed feelings about this place… The tacos looked great, maybe that’a the reason for such great reviews. They need to work on their call out system… Having loud music during busy lunch hours and then having to shout the names of those whose order is ready creates a bit of a messy system.

We ordered an Al Pastor and Carne Asada burrito and it was muy delicioso. You can tell they use fresh quality ingredients and made fresh to order.
The salsa bar has your typical choice of red and green salsa but also includes a creamy cilantro that is quite good.
If you want dessert they have churros that are also made to order.
Move over Roberto and Lolita, there’s a new cook in town at The Taco Stand.

I stopped here for lunch today and was really impressed. The Cali burrito was one of the best I’ve ever had! The tortilla was freshly made and you can tell that all of the ingredients are fresh and high quality. I loved that in addition to the usual salsas, there were some non standard sauces as well. SO good!!!

The tacos are delicious, but they’re too small to charge as much as they do. I understand the meat is high quality but paying 3 something for a taco that isn’t 3x better than a dollar taco I can get down the street isn’t a good deal. They’re super good, but $ 10+ for 3 tacos so I’m actually satisfied is too much.

Wow! It was really good! I had the adabado tacos. It was only $ 2 a taco since it was tuesday. The tortillas were on point! I felt like I was cheating on the establishment next door (the old gallery) since I have been going there for years. But after trying it I will definitely return. Sorry old gallery found a new place for taco tuesdays!

New taco shop in down town San Diego. I decided to give it a try. I notice the price for tacos are little high. I bought two Carne Asada tacos to go. The taste was OK nothing special and I didn’t even get a little full. $ 7.11 for 2 street tacos. I won’t go back for tacos. I rather go eat at tacos El gordo.

My standard disclaimer: I rate taco shacks more strictly than other places because well it’s just my thing. 3 stars rating from me is actually pretty good for a taco place.
Went here with the wife yesterday. They have only been open a short time and the journey to getting this place open has been rocky to say the least. I have been watching this business for literally a year now. They have struggled with contractors that didn’t show up to do work and other issues that I can only imagine. The place is totally new from the inside out, I saw it during all phases of construction and I can tell you that it was completely gutted and rebuilt.
As for the service it’s good and as speedy as they can make it. They still seem to be struggling with training a few staff members. The girl at the register didn’t know what a «wet burrito» was. Ok no problem we all have to learn sometime. I don’t think they have enchilada sauce because I was told they couldn’t pull that off. I will say that she did get the request for no cilantro on the ticket. But I asked for a burrito and she keyed in a taco. The kitchen staff fixed this for me at no charge and in a time frame that I’m fairly sure would qualify for a world record of some sort. I mean seriously by the time we got the error brought to their attention I didn’t even get sat back down to wait before a fish burrito was at my table. I’m talking literally 25 seconds. They did have a little cilantro on it, but considering the situation I let that slide. As they were actually busy with a line out the door, that was moving pretty quickly.
The wifes tacos though weren’t assembled as she requested, they did put a cream sauce on them. Not a huge deal but she does take very careful care to watch what she eats.
The salsa bar has [as you can see from the pics below] 5 salsas and pickled jalapenos and onions. The Jalapenos are ok, i prefer grilled. But the onions on the other hand were awesome. They pickle them with a little sugar so they have just a hint of sweetness to them that really complements the sweetness of the onion. They were some of the best pickled onions I’ve ever had. As far as the salsas they were not bad at all. Their mild was truly mild with no spice that I could detect whatsoever, but yet it still had a really good flavor. They have 2 cream sauces a Cilantro and Chipotle. The Chipotle was mild yet didn’t have that overly smokey taste that always reminds me of a dirty ashtray. The Cilantro sauce was surprisingly good as well especially since I can’t stand cilantro. It’s a little sweet and definitely not overpowering. There is also a Verde salsa that the wife seemed to like really well. They also have a Habanero salsa that was also really good. I was impressed as it had a really good flavor as well as a decent amount of spice. It’s nice to see a habanero salsa that balances the spicy with the sweet, as some will use carrots and end up with over emphasizing the sweet component of the habanero.
They do make their own corn tortillas fresh here on demand. Let me say that again, «They make corn tortillas on demand per order received.» That was quite impressive to me, they have a hand roller for them and a worker with a bowl of dough rolling them and cooking them on a griddle as they are needed for an order. What’s more impressive is that they are structurally sound. They don’t seem to be the weak kind that split down the middle and just dump the entire taco stuffing out the bottom leaving you holding 2 pieces of tortilla.
The flour tortillas do not appear to be made on site but are good none the less. They are do not seem to be from a commercial mass producer like «Mission» as they have that ever so slight chewy texture that fresh par-​cooked flour tortillas have. The flour tortillas also are structurally sound and do not fall apart easily.
In short this is a place that is a good taco restaurant. I will go there again as the quality is good as is the service, and the salsas.

I am a big fan of The Taco Stand in La Jolla and just found out they have opened one in downtown San Diego B street !!! Yea !!! Love Love Love the Tacos they are the best in town… The fish taco my fav… delicioso… will come again anytime I am in the area… Great Job Taco Stand

Wow! What a great new spot in Downtown. The most amazing tacos I’ve ever had… I am very picky with the red meat and I had a Carne asada taco and it was perfect. Good quality of meat and all the ingredients are fresh. The line was super long during lunch time but it went really fast. Don’t let intimate you… I can’t wait to go back here.

I just came in here on a break in between clients for dinner and I have to say it was fantastic. I got the pescado burrito. Grilled fish with avo, pico de gallo, chipotle sauce and cabbage. This could quite possibly be my new hangover hangout since it’s just blocks from my home.

Great food. The tacos and burritos are absolutely the best. EVERYTHING is made on premises and made to order. The beef is much higher quality than can be found elsewhere. Bran new but every bit as good as their La Jolla location!

You can never eat too many tacos.
Not when they’re that good.
This new taco joint merely opened two days ago! Quite busy at lunchtime w/​a few waiting in line. (It’s sister store is also in La Jolla)
Savor the Carne Asada tacos to start w/​a side of guac & chips. The portions are reasonable, & the location is an excellent target for all the surrounding businesses w/​people craving a good eat.
The kitchen is bustling, w/​workers trying to cook to order w/​the incoming demand, with the aroma of fresh meat sizzling on the grill.
Get there early to avoid a longer wait time from the lunch crowd. When I left, people were already out waiting on the sidewalk.
Don’t forget the nice salsa bar in the back, esp, the chipotle & cilantro variations.
I give it a 4 stars for now only b/​c I saw that some of the workers were getting confused w/​the orders (newly opened, working out the kinks). But they were nice and efficient in their response to fixing them, & from what I observed, most of the diners walked away full & happy.
Ps-​You can also order tacos protein-​style where you still get the same quality of deliciousness but wrapped in lettuce. Kinder to the waistline for people like me who need tacos at least once a week :)

We love the location in La Jolla but are thrilled there is a location downtown now! I can’t decide which taco I love most though … Sonoran with beans and grilled cheese with carne asada or their incredible el pastor from a real spit. Why debate though, try both!

Woohoo! A new Mexican food spot downtown. They are reasonably priced and it looks like they’ll be open on weekends which is a big plus for me.
I had their California burrito. I’d give it a 4.5. I’m not in love with their mild salsa since it tastes too much of cilantro for me, but otherwise can’t complain.
Check it out for yourself!