Orange County does not run on one taco scene. It runs on three: the trucks, the working tortillerias, and the sit-down rooms that still treat a handmade tortilla like the point of the meal.
We already ranked the best fish tacos in Orange County. This list is asada, al pastor, carnitas, birria, and the shops that actually get those right.
I ranked them by Google and Yelp volume-weighted ratings, not influencer lighting. A 4.6 with thousands of reviews beats a 4.9 with a hundred.
If you only go to one place, make it Tacos Los Cholos in Anaheim. Angel’s Tijuana Tacos is the trompo stop, El Toro Bravo in Costa Mesa is the old-school late night, and Sancho’s across from the Huntington Beach Pier is the beach shop.
Taco Mesita in Tustin is the chef-driven one. Alebrijes is the Santa Ana truck, La Sirena is Laguna, and Puesto Park Place is the Irvine sit-down.
Tacos Los Cholos (Anaheim)
Tacos Los Cholos is the volume-and-rating champion in Orange County, and it earns the slot. Co-founder Alvaro Maldonado-Saldivar started in Santa Ana, then built a mesquite-and-red-oak operation that L.A. TACO named Taco Madness 2023 online champion.
Hours, locations, and the full menu live on the Tacos Los Cholos site.
The meats run from everyday asada and adobada up to 1855 Black Angus prime ribeye and filet tacos. That is about as close as you get to Anaheim steak without paying THE RANCH prices.
The salsa bar is half the reason to go. It packs at open, parking on State College is the usual complaint, and they stay late Thursday and Friday.
The original is at 821 S State College Blvd in Anaheim, with other OC shops in Fullerton, Huntington Beach, and downtown Santa Ana.
Google has them at 4.6 from about 6,000 reviews, and Yelp sits at 4.6 from 3,918. This is the one I send visitors to.
Sancho’s Tacos (Huntington Beach original)
The original Sancho’s Tacos sits directly across from the Huntington Beach Pier. It is a familia-owned shop that started as backyard cookouts and never lost that feel.
Order carnitas or tri-tip and take a bottle of Chubbie sauce home. They open at 8 a.m., which most street-taco spots will not do, and the breakfast tacos are a real reason to come.
The fish tacos are legitimate too. I already ranked those in the fish-taco guide, so this slot is for the meat.
Parking and seating at the pier are tight. They have other OC rooms in Newport Beach, San Clemente, and Laguna Niguel.
Rank this original only. You’ll find it at 602 Pacific Coast Hwy Suite C, Huntington Beach, with a 4.6 on Google from 1,664 reviews.
Angel’s Tijuana Tacos (Anaheim)
Taquero Angel opened this first brick-and-mortar in April 2025 after more than 16 years of LA and Inland Empire street stands. It sits in West Anaheim, about ten minutes from Disneyland, with no official website.
Follow @angelstijuanatacos on Instagram for hours and the daily spit.
This is the trompo room. Al pastor comes off the spit, asada hits mesquite, the tacos get guacamole, and the corn tortillas are handmade.
There are about 35 seats and parking on site. A loaded baked potato is there if you want the full plate.
Late night is real. Midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, per the opening reports.
Reviews are mixed on whether it matches the LA stands. It is still the highest-profile al pastor shop in the county.
The address is 3436 W Lincoln Ave, Anaheim. Yelp has it at 4.4 from 913 reviews.
El Toro Bravo Tortilleria (Costa Mesa)
El Toro Bravo is Westside Costa Mesa, not a tourist shop, and it does not have an official website. It is a working tortilleria: spit-roasted al pastor, carnitas, asada, lengua, buche, and meats by the pound, with tortillas coming off the line the way they have since 1979.
We already put it on the 500 Things to Do in Orange County list for tacos al pastor. It is still the traditional late-night pick for central OC.
Hour listings online conflict, so check Google before you drive. Parking is street and lot on 19th, not a mall garage.
You’ll find them at 745 W 19th St, Costa Mesa, (949) 631-4464. Yelp has 4.2 from 1,163 reviews, which is the honest score for a place that has been feeding this neighborhood for decades.
Taco Mesita (Tustin)
Taco Mesita is the chef-driven contrast to the trompo and mesquite shops. It is a 2023 fast-casual with drive-thru and eat-in at the gateway to Old Town Tustin.
Menu and hours live at tacomesita.com.
The tortillas are organic blue corn, barbacoa cooks in cactus leaves, almond-wood rotisserie chicken comes with black mole, and the pork shoulder goes 18 hours. They cook in beef tallow and olive oil if that is how you eat.
They run Taco Tuesday, a late-night happy hour, and hours that start at 7 a.m. That makes this as much a breakfast-and-drive-thru stop as a dinner.
The shop is at 765 El Camino Real, Tustin. Yelp sits at 4.2 from 552 reviews.
Alebrijes Grill (Santa Ana truck)
Alebrijes Grill is the pink and purple truck parked near Northgate in Santa Ana. It sits here on purpose, with a lower review volume than Los Cholos.
Order the taco acorazado. OC Weekly, in the Gustavo Arellano era, called it the number-one dish in Orange County, and the window still backs that up with al pastor, asada, mulitas, gorditas, huaraches, and crispy tripa.
Nostalgia is not a rating, but this is still the essential Santa Ana truck stop. Parking can be tight.
Look for it at 1608 S Sycamore St, Santa Ana, around 4.4 from 315 reviews.
Tacos Madre Mexican Cocina (Costa Mesa)
Tacos Madre is a family sit-down, not a street truck. Chef David and family opened the Costa Mesa original in November 2021, and you can check the menu at tacosmadrerest.com.
Do not confuse this with Madre or Tu Madre in Los Angeles. Those are different restaurants in a different county.
Handmade tortillas are the talking point, with birria, pastor, asada, and chorizo sitting on a broader comida casera menu. Harbor Blvd parking is limited.
Rank the Costa Mesa original at 2629 Harbor Blvd. They also have Kitchen & Cantina at 3390 S Bristol St in Santa Ana and an HB shop at 16821 Algonquin St.
Public volume is modest, about 4.3 from 159 reviews. That is why this is a family taco night and not the county champion.
La Sirena Grill (Laguna Beach)
La Sirena has been a Laguna shop since 1999, and the downtown room is sidewalk dining at 347 Mermaid St. Closed Sundays.
South Laguna at 30862 S Coast Hwy is the beer and margarita room near Montage. Menus and hours are at lasirenagrill.com.
Carnitas are the taco to order, with breakfast burritos and a salsa bar around them. Baja fish tacos live here too, and those belong in the fish-taco article.
This is a coastal sit-down pick, not a trompo truck. LA Times, OC Register, and Coast Magazine have all blurbed them.
Go for a Laguna taco lunch that is not a chain.
Puesto Park Place (Irvine)
Puesto is the elevated sit-down, a San Diego-originated brand whose Park Place room is attached to the AC Hotel on Michelson. Handmade non-GMO blue corn tortillas are the base, and the signature is the crispy melted-queso taco.
Location details are at eatpuesto.com/location/park-place.
Al pastor and short-rib queso birria hold up. The mezcal and margarita bar is the reason this is a dinner, not a truck stop.
Taco Tuesday is dine-in, half off tacos from 3 p.m. to close. Park in the structure off Michelson or use AC Hotel valet.
There is also a Los Olivos Irvine location. Park Place at 3311 Michelson Dr is the one worth the sit-down price, with a 4.4 on OpenTable from 1,205 reviews.
If you’re here for fish tacos
Fish is a separate ranking. We already published The Best Fish Tacos in Orange County, and three names belong here only so you do not bounce looking for them.
Taco Nazo pioneered Ensenada-style beer-battered fish tacos in 1978. The newer Santa Ana shop is at 1766 E McFadden Ave, and the longer-running OC room is at 121 S Beach Blvd in La Habra, which is Orange County.
They also do pastor and asada. Fish is still why you go.
Playa Baby is the painted school bus at 13331 Beach Blvd in Westminster, in the Walmart lot at Beach Blvd and the 22. About 4.9 from 101 Google-cited reviews, which is why this is not number one on a meat-taco list.
LAist featured it July 2, 2026. It sits on the same Beach Blvd corridor as Little Saigon Korean BBQ.
Pedro’s Tacos has been a San Clemente staple since 1986. The original in our fish-taco guide is 414 N El Camino Real, San Clemente, and Yelp also lists 550 N El Camino Real.
Confirm the door, then go for the simple fish taco, not a second top 10 here.
Honorable mentions
Tacos La Cana is the roaming OC truck already named in 500 Things. Follow social for the daily drop.
It shows up on brewery nights around Bottle Logic, Modern Times Costa Mesa, and Green Cheek. That is why it also lives in the best breweries in Orange County guide.
No fixed address, so it stays honorable.
Burritos La Palma is a burrito house, not a taco ranking, even though it collected a Michelin Bib Gourmand from 2019 through 2023, a KCRW Golden Tortilla, and a Netflix Taco Chronicles nod. Santa Ana plus Costa Mesa at 1170 Baker St.
Tacos Ruben y Mulitas sits around 1221 E 1st St in Santa Ana, though GPS also wanders toward 163 E Walnut. Handmade tortillas, pastor, birria, mulitas.
Public volume is tiny, about 4.6 from 20 reviews on one aggregator. Confirm the truck is still there.
Tacos Miranda is the neighborhood Huntington Beach counterweight to the pier, at 21582 Brookhurst St. Asada, pastor, carnitas, quesabirria.
Ratings were not verified this pass, so it stays off the ranked nine.
Comparing your options at a glance
| Shop | City | Style | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tacos Los Cholos | Anaheim | Mesquite taqueria | Best overall |
| Sancho’s Tacos | Huntington Beach | Beach counter shop | Pier / breakfast |
| Angel’s Tijuana Tacos | Anaheim | Trompo / TJ-style | Al pastor, late night |
| El Toro Bravo Tortilleria | Costa Mesa | Working tortilleria | Traditional late night |
| Taco Mesita | Tustin | Chef-driven fast-casual | Blue corn, drive-thru |
| Alebrijes Grill | Santa Ana | Taco truck | Taco acorazado |
| Tacos Madre | Costa Mesa | Family sit-down | Handmade tortillas, birria |
| La Sirena Grill | Laguna Beach | Coastal sit-down | Laguna carnitas lunch |
| Puesto Park Place | Irvine | Elevated sit-down | Irvine dinner, mezcal |
People Also Ask…
Tacos Los Cholos in Anaheim, a 4.6 from about 6,000 Google reviews, with mesquite and red oak meats and a salsa bar that is half the reason to go. Start at 821 S State College Blvd, Anaheim, CA 92806.
El Toro Bravo in Costa Mesa is the traditional late-night tortilleria. Angel’s Tijuana Tacos in Anaheim runs midnight weeknights and 2 a.m. weekends, and Los Cholos stays late Thursday and Friday.
Angel’s Tijuana Tacos for trompo carved off the spit, El Toro Bravo for old-school spit-roasted pastor at a working tortilleria. Those are the two I would argue about.
Almost never. The ranked taquerias and trucks are walk-up, while Puesto Park Place in Irvine takes OpenTable reservations and Tacos Madre is sit-down.
Most of the ranked brick-and-mortar shops take cards. Trucks can still be cash-friendlier, so bring a card and some cash, especially for Alebrijes, La Cana, and Ruben y Mulitas.
That is a different list. Read the best fish tacos in Orange County: Taco Nazo in Santa Ana and La Habra, Playa Baby the Westminster truck, and Pedro’s in San Clemente.
