[dropcap size=big]S[/dropcap]anta Barbara’s Mexican restaurant landscape mirrors the pretty beach city’s own scattershot demographics. Where Spanish colonial revivalist-styled margarita destinations packed with spendy clientele, screaming students, and Fiesta-focused tourists mingle with more modest— and occasionally world-famous— taquerías serving a steady flow of working people, informal family outings, and salt and sea foam-encrusted surf folk in search of a solid burrito.
As Santa Barbara continues to be a prime weekend driving destination for Angelenos and those beyond, we put together a practical guide to separating the city’s best taco and L.A. TACO-approved spots from its abundant chaff. Reminder: Tacos are also absolutely the best type of food to soak up all the wine after tasting your way around the Santa Ynez Valley, too.
Enjoy The L.A. TACO Guide to eating in Santa Barbara
Tacos Pipeye
Our first stop these days for tacos, gorditas, and alambres. Family-run Pipeye excels with soft, locally unrivaled, chapati-esque tortillas made in-house and served with jagged edges and comal scars. Juicy cuts span the gamut from buche, borrego, barbacoa de res, chicharrón, to mushrooms and rajas, with a $5-for-3 deal that allows you to taste around the menu liberally. Plus, the salsa bar's creamy habanero-peanut is good enough to eat on its own. Or maybe that’s just us. The charming diner space, which long-lived as local Greek favorite Pavlakos, also maintains a truck that sets up nearby in the late night. 217 N. Milpas St., (805) 770-8979