36 Best Mexican Restaurants in Santa Monica

“Everything has a high end clean taste. The chips are always hot, crisp and not greasy. Every taco is delicious and what is especially nice is that you don’t feel bloated or heavy after the meal that can happen at other restaurants.“

“Great food and drinks 🍹 really good 👍🏾“

“Stoked for the new ownership and menu! Ate here once before with old menu and it was decent but now it's beyond fire! Sean and team were great people who took awesome care of us. Insanely good carne asade, chicken and mushroom tacos with a yummy cesar salad. new cocktails were on point as well. this spot is a vibe can't wait to come back. They had some great tunes bumping the whole night too. main street needs this! If you have extra room, definitely try the Tres leches its decadent. Cant wait to go back 🌊“

“I have been following tacos 1986 on Instagram (joy tostada) and have been wanting to try his tacos. we planned a family vacations to California to try their tacos and they did not disappoint. Tacos were DELICIOUS!! and the staff was very friendly. We even came in more than once to eat. Highly recommend it.“

“Went here for a birthday happy hour and absolutely loved it!

Street tacos are either $1.50 or $2.50 (veggie), and I really enjoyed the Al pastor chicken as well as the brisket. Chicken quesadilla was well cooked and flavorful, served with guac, pico de gallo, and sour cream.

The red salsa was excellent, and I preferred it over the green. Guac was fresh and paired well with the reasonably priced HH beers ($6) and cocktails ($10-12).

Would definitely be back! Happy Hour is from 3-6pm Monday-Friday!“

“I came back here for the first time in years. The first time since last decade, and it seems even better than I remember it. The one staff member they had their it seems serving everyone, Elisa, made sure of that. In a world where I'm so accustomed to restaurants declining in quality and cutting corners over time, I had a great experience.

Elisa, one of their workers was taking orders, delivering the food to the tables, clearing and cleaning tables by herself, and was knowledgeable about the menu. The service was excelent despite this place being understaffed. I'd definitely come back here again, and recommend it to lots of people.

I ordered every taco on the menu and more. I was also here with my vegan friend who was satisfied with the selection of vegan friendly options. So if you're vegetarian or vegan this place may also be a great option for you.

Vegetarian options: There's an abundance of vegetarian options with their burritos, bowls, and tacos. And even some vegan options.“

“Great Mexican food!
We love their octopus and sugar cane filets. Very authentic tastes. Only one downside is the kids salmon is a bit too salty. Other than that everything is great with Sol Agave! Recommend this place if visiting Santa Monica!
Tip: REMEMBER to validate your parking ticket to get 90 minutes free parking.

Kid-friendliness: Yes“

“Burritos bout big as hell. Very tasty food, halal tacos. I had to lock in to finish my burrito.

Only problem is there's no public bathroom so when you get nasty eating your birria tacos you can't wash it all off. They have sanitized napkins.

The food is so good.“

“Muy rica la comida y excelente servicio“

“Hurry for the best Mexican breakfast! So glad I chose Gilbert’s for the delicious everything from the warm, homemade chips with sides, soft tortillas and holy frijoles. Having tried several Mexican restaurants during my visit this was hands down my fav! Loved the outdoor seating, great service- met the founder’s daughter, whose parents from Guadalajara, started it 50 years ago. Good coffee too! Will for sure return when back in Santa Monica! Muchas gracias!“

“Great food! Love my breakfast burrito.“

“Its a nice and a clean place.. My favorite stuff its the Chipotle burrito..They have a burrito named chipotle.“

“AMAZING food and drinks. Purely fresh and tastes fantastic. I can’t wait to come back. ♥️♥️♥️“

“My gf and I recently dined at El Portal de Oaxaca, and it was an incredible experience!
We ordered the Molcajete, which was rich and flavorful, featuring a delicious broth and perfectly cooked meats and cheese. Each bite was a delight!

The atmosphere was warm and inviting, and the staff was incredibly friendly, making us feel right at home. We also tried their agua frescas--both the maracuya and the Oaxacan horchata, they were refreshing and so delicious.

If you're looking for authentic Oaxacan cuisine, this place is a must-visit! Can't wait to return!“

“Me encantó el lugar, excelente comida y un trato muy cordial“

“Good service and good food�����������“

“Friendly atmosphere Delicious meals are tasty, appetizing, scrumptious, yummy, delightful, lovely, wonderful, pleasant, enjoyable, appealing, enchanting, charming and hihgly pleasant to the taste.“

“Absolutely loved this place. I was visiting Santa Monica for a two days and came here both days. We first stumbled into it looking for lunch, and Juan at the counter helped us out. Juan has such a great vibe.

He recommend the shrimp, so I got a shrimp taco and a fish taco. WHEN I TELL YOU this absolutely blew my mind. Easily the best taco I’ve ever had in my existence. I got it for takeout and actually had to come back later that evening just to tell them all how good the tacos were lol.

They give you chips and salsa with every order which is such a nice touch - I feel like you don’t get that too often these days. Chips were great, one of the salsas was so spicy in the best way.

I will come back here every time I visit LA!“

“The best authentic Mexican restaurant at the heart of Santa Monica. We met one of the owner and he explained the origin of the dish. All the food we tasted here were all so delicious full of flavour.“

“Food is Amazing and Staff treats you like family. Been goung here since 1996 . My Favorite is the Chicken Enchildas with Hreen Sauce.“

“In A Nutshell:

-Yagul is a Oaxacan oasis.
-I found out about this place while exploring the neighborhood & noticed a lot of people popping in/out.
-Not only that the beautiful smell of Mexican food wafted into my nostrils, so I mentally bookmarked this spot.
-Not too long later, I came in for a nice breakfast.
-The Huevos Rancheros really hit the spot.
-The portion was not too big & everything tasted fresh, especially the beans & rice.

Overall, the service is very friendly & I liked the prices too.“

“Awesome food and great service“

“Every time I eat here, I wonder why I don't come here more often. It's a little shack on the side of the road, so it's best for takeaway. Dang, the fish tacos are good. The prices have gone up on the e.g. ceviche, but it's still fresh and good food.“

“Excellent and authentic! Highly recommend!!“

“This place is AMAZING!! From the service to how flavorful their salsas were. That spicy green salsa will burn your mouth just the way you like it. Hard to find places that make good salsas. Taco de asada was amazing in flavor and so was my coctel de camaron and pulpo. Muchas gracias por su servicio ?☺️“

“Let me just say...I’ve been living in Santa Monica for awhile now and Los amigos food truck La is BOMB 🔥 FINALLY good, authentic comida Mexicana. It’s been a rough journey trying to find decent Mexican food out here in Santa Monica but they definitely surpassed all these “Mexican” spots out here. 12/10 definitely recommend if y’all are out here 🥵🥵“

“Ordered lunch from here this week - here's my Mas Veggies review. I like that the menu is very simple to order. Choose the flavor & protein you'd like, and get it in a bowl or burrito or as tacos or nachos. We ordered 3 different kinds of burritos. The baja one with the 'fish' was my favorite. The carnitas with jackfruit was not really my taste. The asada with cauliflower was alright. Each burrito was quite filling. Got it thru doordash.“

“Me encanta la comida y el servicio soy cliente desde hace 12 Años“

“The best authentic Mexican restaurant at the heart of Santa Monica. We met one of the owner and he explained the origin of the dish. All the food we tasted here were all so delicious full of flavour.“

“Had a great Mexican dish for dinner, which I enjoyed a lot, a number of Mexican designed cocktails as well. I would recommend this place for dinner and/or lunch.“

“Delicioso!!!!! Muy recomendado“

“Solid product ! Thank you Luke pleasure chatting with you !

Perfectly done Mexican American style burrito I can’t say it’s fully American. I don’t like that style and it’s not fully Mexican. Love a lot hint of Americana Thank you for not putting french fries on the burrito. What’s up with that weirdness“

“First time here. Enjoy our dinner, super yummy food and the great customer service from the bar manager . She was great at recommending and explaining our drink had an old fashioned with tequila, she even came back to ask how we liked it. We Never had an old fashioned with tequila and it was really good. The ambience of the place, didn’t have to wait to be seated. Highly recommend this place.“

“muy buena atención al cliente limpio el lugar buen salón amigable el cajero 100 % garantizado“

“The crispy carne asada tacos were outstanding. The meat was seasoned and was extremely tender“

“Maria Sol is a must visit to eat! Atmosphere is great and service (Ignacio) is just fantabulous! Food is so amazing! We had the table side guacamole, tacos de papa and ahi poke tostadas with some fabulous drinks! Gotta come try this gem of a place right in Santa Monica Pier.“