The Taco Stand

As a general statement, Southern California doesn’t lack taco options – they’re all over the place geographically and in similarly varied degrees of authenticity to classic Mexican recipes. The Taco Stand is both a good and fairly authentic chain, founded in late 2013 in La Jolla, California and mostly San Diego-based for its first four years, expanding to Miami in 2018 and Orange in 2019, then to Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa, and Mission Viejo in 2023 and 2024. Taking inspiration from Tijuana taco stands, The Taco Stand is essentially the West Coast version of NYC’s Los Tacos No. 1, offering a compact menu focused solely on tacos, burritos, and “extras.” Most tacos go for $4, burritos closer to $10, and extras (fries, chips, and churros) for $4 to $12. Sodas and beers are available from a soda dispenser and fridge.

Putting aside standard parking challenges at The Camp, the Costa Mesa location – sandwiched between 1954 Egashira Bakery and Daydrift Coffee – offers a nice though largely self-service experience. Ordering and meal pickup both take place at a counter that sits next to perhaps 30 seats spread across edges of the same counter and bus-it-yourself tables. A salsa bar offers access to at least seven different levels of spice and flavor, plus extra limes, herbs, and veggies, while decor is limited to whatever can be seen in an open kitchen; our eyes were drawn mostly to a huge al pastor pork and pineapple spit, next to a large plancha melting surface for cheeses. Most of our order took 20 minutes to come out, but a substantial portion of chips and thick guacamole ($6.59) was ready to go immediately as we finished placing our order, helping us stave off hunger as we waited.

We tried five different tacos, four from the regular menu and one from a list of three upgraded “volcan” (melted cheese) specials, intentionally selecting a mix of meat and seafood options. Perhaps the best of the bunch was the al pastor taco ($4), which was also the least expensive, with nice pieces of pork and a thin but sweet slice of pineapple, paired with avocado, onions, cilantro, and chipotle salsa. Also very good was the carne asada taco ($4.59), a nice portion of grilled steak with similar garnishes that wasn’t quite up to Tacos Los Cholos levels of smoky perfection, but well-portioned and filling. The Taco Stand puts “mild salsa” rather than chipotle on the asada; you can add more from the self-service bar.