There’s a wide array of taco styles that isn’t reflected on the menu of a standard taco truck. We compiled a top taco list that spans the entire Bay Area. Whether you’re looking for a chorizo and octopus taco in the South Bay or a birria taco in San Francisco, we’ve got you covered.
Our Favorite Seafood Tacos
The most popular types of seafood tacos are those from Sonora or Baja California, but all of Mexico enjoys seafood in their own way. Our list highlights familiar favorites as well as not-as-familiar takes from Veracruz and Yucatan.
El Molino Central (Sonoma): Best known for their beer-battered fish tacos topped with radish, salsa de árbol, and avocado-lime mayonnaise.
Hook Fish Co (San Francisco): There’s three types of fish available for tacos here — petrale sole, black cod, and halibut tacos. Splurge for the baja style.
Nopalito (San Francisco): Their fish taco is heavy on the smoky flavors of morita chiles and ancho adobo. It’s balanced out by the brightness of orange and tomatillo.
Pre-Hispanic Mexican Cuisine (San Jose):
A popular South Bay food truck just opened up their first brick-and-mortar this week in Morgan Hill. They’re best known for their multi-colored tortillas and al pastor tacos made with recado negro. They’re still in the soft opening phase, but they’re rolling out a new expanded menu starting early September. Make sure to ask for a side of their x-ni-pec, a fruity Mayan salsa.
Cholita Linda (Multiple Locations): This Off the Grid favorite has expanded to locations across the Bay. Their fried tilapia taco loaded with cabbage, cilantro, and a creamy salsa can’t be beat.
Taco Fino (Alameda): Taco Fino started as a taco truck in 2023. They opened their fast-casual restaurant in February this year. Their menu is simple but well executed. They serve burritos, tamales, nachos, shrimp tacos, and quesabirrias. Their most popular offering is the California burrito stuffed with tater tots. Don’t skip the Fino Fries loaded with meat and guacamole.
Our Favorite Steamed Tacos
Steamed tacos, or tacos al vapor, are made by steaming meat for hours until it falls apart into tender shreds. The most popular meat choice for steaming is an entire cow’s head, but cuts filled with lots of gelatin like pork shoulder or brisket are popular too. Most times, the tortillas are steamed too which makes them soft and fluffy.
El Tacostao (Oakland): A home-based restaurant that simmers their meat rather than steam it. It’s an untraditional take that produces a sticky, beefy consome for dipping your tacos.
Tacos Al Vapor Nueva Italia (San Mateo): This spot is best known for their great cheek and tongue tacos. They also have tacos filled with tripa, tilapia, and chicharron.
Tacos El Guero (San Jose): A food truck that specializes in steamed cabeza, ojo, and al pastor tacos. Ask for a side of their orange salsa and get them fully loaded.
Tacos Al Vapor Blanquita (San Jose): A street-food cart that steams an entire cow’s head fresh each night. You’ll have to come in early in the night if you want a prized cut like eyeball.
Our Favorite Offal Taco
Tongue, intestines, and stomach are popular fillings for tacos, but many unfamiliar with the concept are reluctant to try it. It can be hard to find a spot that makes perfectly crispy tripa or meltingly tender buche, but once you find a solid spot, it’s worth trying at least once.
La Taqueria (San Francisco): The famous Mission district burrito joint also features underrated cabeza and lengua quesadillas. Pair it with a healthy dose of their tomatillo-based salsa.
El Paisa by Los Alegres (Redwood City): This Off the Grid favorite makes some of the best lengua tacos and burritos in the Bay. Instead of tender shreds of cabeza, it’s served in small slabs so you can feel how juicy it is with each bite.
Tacos Los 3 Reyes (San Jose): Exceptional cabeza, tripa, lengua, and buche.
There’s a large salsa and topping bar with chopped herbs, pickled vegetables, and a rainbow of salsas. Wash it down with an agua fresca.
La Parranga (San Jose): This new stylish Mexico City-style taqueria makes handmade tortillas and loads them up with Mexican-style scrambled eggs, choripapa, barbacoa, brisket, and grilled tripe. They have a solid selection of salsas like creamy serrano, mango pico de gallo, charred habanero, and citrusy pineapple. Buen Rallo, the team behind the group, also owns Colibri, Il Parco, El Jardin, Suspiro, Zazil, Jiwa, and Chika.
Our Favorite Al Pastor Taco
Al Pastor is a shawarma-inspired method of preparing pork brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants. In the 1930s, thin slices of pork were cooked on a trompo (a spit) and cooked with warm spices like cumin and cinnamon and a slice of pineapple. It remains a popular choice for taco meat today.
Leo’s Taco Truck (San Francisco): A famous LA taco truck known for its al pastor and piña tacos arrived to SF’s Great Highway in April. Sample their meat in a torta, huarache, burrito, quesadilla, or loaded nachos. They also offer tripa, lengua, carnitas, cabeza, chorizo, buche (stomach), and suadero. The truck posts up a short walk from the beach making it the most scenic taco joint on this list.
Loló (San Francisco): This Mission district favorite has been open since 2007 and features a vegetarian version of al pastor made with cauliflower — it’s the perfect vegetable to carry the smoky flavors.
Tacos Mama Cuca (Hayward): These al pastor tacos are different in a couple of ways. They’re assembled on freshly made flour tortillas and aren’t made using a trompo. Instead, the pork is marinated and grilled.
Al Pastor Papi (San Francisco – Opening Soon): After a successful food truck run, Al Pastor Papi is opening his first physical location in Union Square this week. (Add date here)
Tacos El Chilanguito (San Jose): A Mexico City-style food truck that serves their al pastor in tacos, tortas and gringas (a quesadilla with pineapple slices).
Our Favorite Crispy Tacos
Tacos dorados (fried tacos) can be folded or rolled up. When rolled, they’re known as flautas, but some call them taquitos. They can be topped with anything from queso fresco to pickled onions.
Cenaduria Elvira (Oakland): A home-based restaurant with incredible fried tacos. Choose between fillings of beans, potato, shredded meat, rajas, ricotta, or chicken. Load up on their extra-spicy red salsa.
Nick’s Crispy Tacos (San Francisco): An institution that specializes in crisping tortillas. Order your tacos Nick’s Way to get a crispy tortilla loaded with cheese and guacamole.
El Papucho (San Jose): A small restaurant that offers Mexican specialties like flautas, pupusas, tamales, and churros. Their crispy tacos are filled to the brim with chicken, pork, potato, or beef.
Our Favorite Fusion Tacos
Fusion tacos push the boundaries of what can be wrapped in a tortilla. A good fusion taco takes inspiration from other cuisines and blends them into something new yet cohesive.
Belly (Oakland): A taqueria with a menu influenced by the cuisine of Korea, Japan, and the American Southwest. Grab a taco loaded with panko, Korean hot chicken, or fried tofu.
Tacos Sincero (Pop Up): This pop up is actually more about tostadas than tacos, but they deserve a mention for their unique take on Mexican cuisine. Their menu is always changing and includes Doritos furikake, housemade kimchi, sichuan chile verde, and more.
Señor Sisig (Multiple Locations): The originators of combining Filipino and Mexican flavors in the Bay. You can’t go wrong with their sweet cured tocino tacos served on a corn tortilla slathered with a cilantro cream sauce.
Barya Kitchen (Food Truck): Filipino-Mexican fusion with a California twist. Their pork belly taco has aromatic bell peppers, onions, and cilantro.
Our Favorite Birria Tacos
Birria is traditionally made with goat, but the Jalisco version made with beef is the most popular in the United States. At its best, birria nearly melts in your mouth and the broth is infused with beefy flavor.
El Garaje (Pop Up): They’re known for being one of the first to make quesabirrias in the Bay Area. Their exceptional birria is served in a grilled cheese, burrito, or taco.
La Vaca Birria (San Francisco): Best known for their massive $20 grilled cheese birria burritos, this place is about much more than massive portions. Their birria is as tender as it gets and they cook over mesquite wood, so a lot of their menu has a smoky flavor.
Con Sabor a Mexico (San Jose): This spot went viral for their giant birria taco the length of your entire arm. You can also try their birria scooped over fries, nachos, or instant ramen.
Our Favorite Vegetarian Taco
Vegetable-based tacos don’t have to be boring, or healthy for that matter. Whether, you’re looking for tacos made with nopales or carnitas made from mushroom, vegetables open a whole world of taco opportunities.
Tacos Oscar (Oakland): A fun rotating mostly-vegetarian menu with roasted broccoli, seared eggplant, cactus, and much more. They have a fun outdoor seating area that feels like a backyard barbecue.
Tacos La Venganza (Oakland): A large vegetarian menu offering a twist on Mexican classics such as mushroom carnitas, beet chorizo, and almond queso fresco.
El Halal Amigos (San Jose): A popular taco spot with a sweet potato & crispy kale taco drizzled with a vegan chipotle mayo.
