Tacos in LA/Pasadena?

August 30, 2024 7:24 AM

Flying into LAX this afternoon, driving to a relative’s in Pasadena. We are trying to keep our masks on on the plane. Can you suggest a good taco place that would be a reward when we land this afternoon?

That’s about it! We will be hungry when we land and I promised my kids tacos. Somewhere between LAX and Pasadena.

posted by Ollie to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

Tito’s Tacos is fairly near the airport, has outside tables and outside ordering. Beyond that, it’s absolutely legendary though it’s a real “love it or hate it” place. I have been loving it for decades.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:43 AM on August 30

Yeah, agree about Tito's. Unfortunately I'm in the "don't quite understand the appeal" camp, but definitely a LA legend. Very VERY greasy. Take a cruise through this reddit search and you might get some alternate ideas.
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:55 AM on August 30

Sonoratown— dtla
posted by Ideefixe at 7:56 AM on August 30

I liked King Taco when I was travelling to LA / Pasadena last spring. It's fast food and the restaurant itself didn't particularly impress but the food was great and as Canadians with fewer Mexican Restaurant choices, we had never tried horchata¹ and we loved theirs!

...

1. horchata - a milky drink made from ground almonds, tiger nuts, or rice.

posted by jeffmilner at 8:19 AM on August 30

There's a Guisado's in Pasadena that's definitely worth a visit
posted by kbuxton at 8:22 AM on August 30

If you can wait until you get to Pasadena, there is a great Guisados. The tacos are excellent, as are the tamales, pastries, and horchata. They also have a very large and comfortable patio for eating outside.

There is also a Tacos 1986 in Pasadena, and they have the most delicious mushroom tacos I have ever eaten. They might be better for takeout, though, since I think they have counters outside but no seats.

On preview: King Taco is more of a fast food kind of place, more on the Taco Bell/Del Taco side of the spectrum. I don’t think the one in Pasadena has outdoor seating, but it is only a block from a nice park.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 8:36 AM on August 30

If you can wait until your destination (or close to it), I suggest King Taco.

If you want something close to the airport, Tacomiendo on Culver and Inglewood in Culver City has some of the best carnitas.
posted by inviolable at 8:36 AM on August 30

Villa’s Tacos in Highland Park, phenomenally good
posted by corvine at 8:37 AM on August 30

Drive east of LAX and hit up any of the taco trucks on Hawthorne Blvd, the the 10 to the 110 toward from there. This is the quickest route to good tacos if folks are really hungry when you land.

OR, EVEN BETTER

proceed to the 110 from LAX and get off at King. Go to the "tire shop taqueria" at Avalon south of King. It's searchable on Google maps by that name.

OR, BETTER STILL

just take streets and pull over whenever you see a taco truck at a carwash. This is where all the best tacos can be found.
posted by kensington314 at 8:47 AM on August 30

Guisado's is absolutely top-tier. Heading to Pasadena, get off the 110 where it ends at Arroyo and head North to a few blocks to California. It's right there.
posted by mr_roboto at 9:24 AM on August 30

I’m the person who said Tito’s so I just want to pop back and say yes, Guisados is really great and whether or not you do that right after arriving, you should do it at some point. Lots of locations.
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:41 AM on August 30

My family loves the tacos at La Estrella #2 in Pasadena.
Especially the red sauce and the al pastor and carne asada.
Tiny place. No indoor seating.

King Taco is a great recommendation too.
posted by kidbritish at 10:02 AM on August 30

I will say, people love to hate on King Taco but it is good and the red salsa is special and going to King Taco is one of the 10 most "LA" things a person can do.
posted by kensington314 at 11:23 AM on August 30

Ah, I came back because I thought maybe I was unfair to King Taco, so to clarify: I am vegetarian, and their vegetarian options are limited, so my opinion is qualified by those restrictions.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 11:56 AM on August 30

Oops I'm back again because tacos are a serious topic. HomeState tacos are the bomb, and they also have many locations, including Pasadena.
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:09 PM on August 30

Hmm, I need to weigh in on HomeState tacos Pasadena. The restaurant is beautiful and the patio is lovely, but I would say tacos are nothing special (proviso: we are meat eaters). We went once full of excitement given all the great reviews and have not been tempted to go back once. Vibe is very passe yuppy (serving every drink in a mason jar, just one example).

Tacos poncitlan: was amazing on Lincoln, but since they reopened on N. Allen this year they are good but pretty forgettable, I am very sad to report.

La Estralla #2 is definitely one of our favorites.
posted by arnicae at 2:37 PM on August 30

We went with Guisados, which was extremely good. I want to try all these suggestions, though. Maybe we’ll do a taco crawl.
posted by Ollie at 7:20 PM on August 30