Fast Taco

This is great fast food Mexican! The food is delicious and run by really nice people. I am a huge fan of the chicken burrito but also love the chicken quesadilla and there tacos are so good! Loving supporting local business especially when it is so good!

For my first time coming here i ordered a egg and al pastor burrito. Pork was not marinated at all so it was more like a fried pork chop and egg burrito. It was a little over priced at 8 dollars but definitely on the larger side. Taste was pretty bland

I don’t understand why some people are hating on this establishment. I have been coming here for over 10 years and never have experienced sub-​par or even par. Food nor service. I would recommend this quick eatery to any friends.

Extremely overpriced. Limited menu. Unfriendly staff, and the cheapest possible ingredients poorly prepared. Very nearly the absolute worst mexicanfood I’ve ever had.

Amazing Mexican food, very friendly workers, always a must while on lunch
I can eat here for the rest of my life. If you want real quality, come to Fast Taco.

You can judge a taqueria by their homemade salsas. This place deserves praise. Chunky pico de gallo, delicious, spicy, salsa verde, milder but flavorful salsa roja, lovely diced onion and oregano salsa, and truly fantastic carrots, jalapenos, and other veggies (including fennel, I believe) en escabeche. Only the mole seemed lackluster: too thin and too sugary-​sweet.
The huevos burrito is an awesome breakfast. The carne asada tacos had just enough flavor to satisfy but were not out-​of-​this-​world.
Dirt cheap.

I started going to Fast Taco in 2000 when I lived nearby. I loved the food right away! The chicken quesadilla is to die for! After 2005 I moved to the Inland Empire. I still try to go to Fast Taco several times a year. Even though they are an hour away from me I will still drive out just to have Fast Taco. I may not be a regular any more but the owners still recognize me and my wife and have always been super friendly. If they ever move out my way I will go broke!

Food is good but they raised their prices !! I understand that everything is costly nowadays but I feel that it’s a drastic change. For two carne asada nachos plate it’s over $ 20 with drinks. They use to have a special for $ 6.50 with drink included ! :(

Awesome place!
The staff is always very polite and true to it’s name the place is fast. Great tasting food and great service to go along with it.
Already recommended it to a number of people and will continue to come back.

My boyfriend and I stop by here to eat all the time. The staff is really nice. We mainly get the (very simple) bean & cheese burrito. Its always done right. The chips by themselves are plain but aren’t bad with a sprinkle of salt and some lemon. BTW order extra cheese with the bean burrito if you try it. –sooooo gooood!
I barely touch the condiment bar except for the salsa verde. It just the right kick of heat when you need it. Overall 4stars for me if your looking for a fast and quick meal.

Best El pastor in LA. Lunch special is awesome. 5.50 for a burrito. Can’t beat it. Love this place.
Edit: no more lunch special. Still worth it though!

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say the only good part of my meal today was the guacamole. I had a Harry’s quesadilla (the name should have warned me it would be subpar) and a side of rice (THE BLANDEST rice I’ve ever eaten. seasoned with cumin ONLY, maybe some bay). man… so terrible. I’m sorry. the only thing you should come here looking for is a «fast taco». I paid an extremely high price of $ 11 ONLY to regret spending that $ 11. the server was nice. cook was creepy & kept staring at me. I highly recommend walking two blocks down to the mass gathering of food trucks @ Santa Monica business park to spend less for food 10x better and a more positive experience all together.

Great place for a quick bite. Friendly service and it’s not as greasy as other Mexican food. Awesome salsa bar too.

This was the worst Mexican food I have had since I have been in LA! Seriously disappointing! We wanted to try some place simple and new and were walking down Ocean Park and thought this would be quick cheap and simple… Should have kept walking. We paid $ 17 for a orange pop, tea, chips with guacamole and a chicken quesadilla– ridiculous!
The Mexican orange pop was delicious– the tea was tea… the chips and quesadilla were disgusting! My girlfriend actually walked out after trying one chip… lol because that’s all she wanted to pick up to take home and she thought it was terrible. I tried one and had a hard time swallowing it… tasted about ten days old. The quesadilla was one small tortilla folded over some nasty chicken which my girlfriend called dog food, and it was bad but dog food is a little over exaggerated. There was one, literally one, shred of cheese on it. The guacamole was substandard and plain and a little brown around the edges.
The crazy thing is– as disappointed as I was there seemed to be a couple regulars here that were enjoying it– goes to show you how everyone is different. Maybe this food is for you, but its not for me, and I could never recommend it to anyone!

This place it so awesome! The food is so delicious and the staff is super nice. It’s really great to see how fresh things are and it is made right in front of you. Cannot wait to go back!

I had the biggest craving for Mexican food while I was at work. Being that I work in Santa Monica, I was not expecting to find anything authentic. This place is located right around the corner from where I work so I came here for convenience. I would say my tacos from Fast Tacos came relatively fast lol.
They only have pork, beef, and chicken as your meat choices so I decided to try one of each. I think I liked the pork best, then beef, then chicken. The chicken wasn’t bad but it wasn’t as marinaded and flavorful as the other two. The tacos are a decent size and 3 filled me up. It also came with a little side of chips.
There is a salsa bar for everything you may be looking for: onions, cilantro, salsa verde, salsa, lime, etc. This was a big plus for me! I recommend the spiciest hot sauce that they have!
Overall, Fast Taco does not have the best tacos I’ve ever had. NOT EVEN CLOSE but if I ever need my Mexican food cravings satisfied in Santa Monica, this will have to suffice.

Dine-​in and try the Tostadas.
One complaint: They don’t use lard, and advertise as such in their business cards.
Note to business owners: I realize you’re likely trying to adhere to the falsified anti-​fat and anti-​lard campaign of the 1980s. Lard is healthier than vegetable oil. Get some lard, ideally from pastured pigs, and I’ll keep coming back for more.
Spread the word.

This isn’t high quality or authentic Mexican but it’s $ 5 for a burrito, chips and a drink during lunch and it’s served to you by a really friendly staff.
It’s mom and pop owned and they make everything to order right in front of you.
If you work in the business park it’s the cheapest quality meal you can grab.

Great service, the owners are so adorable!
The food is great, it’s a new lunch staple for my coworkers and I. Like other reviewers have said, their salsa bar is great! The molè salsa was my fave.
The prices are unbeatable.

Fast Taco is definitely an odd bird. From the moment you walk in, you notice this is not your average taqueria.
First, there isn’t a prep line like most taquerias. Instead, you place your order at a counter and then the ticket is passed to one person in a small, slightly cramped space assembling/​cooking all the food. The lack of space, man power and long production line are undoubtedly what makes Fast Taco much less fast than the name would imply.
Second, the taqueria is devoid of Mexicans. Now I know ethnicity matters little when it comes to culinary capabilities, but this impacts the authenticity of the burrito. The oddest part is that their menus talk about wanting to bring authentic Mexican food to Santa Monica… Hmm. To give an example, the «guacamole» looks like my mom’s guacamole, which is a total 1950’s housewife recipe that includes mayonnaise and garlic powder.
After ordering and waiting for quite some time, I had rather low expectations. But this is where the surprises began. Upon receiving my burrito, I noticed it was grilled very nicely. Then I took a bite and it tasted really delicious! I got the Pastor burrito and the meat was very well done. It is highly seasoned, which usually isn’t the greatest, but it provided the kick needed to make the burrito more interesting.
The sour cream and aforementioned guacamole are both unusual. The sour cream had a soupier texture with less taste… it’s almost like it’s part yogurt and part sour cream. Maybe I tried it on an off day, but that was definitely a funky surprise. And of course, the guacamole is more like an avocado spread than traditional guac.
At the end of the day, taste is king. And in that game, Fast Taco is doing something right. I can see why they’ve been around a long time, especially in that area where non American food is lacking. The prices are right and the portions are good. I would absolutely come back. But if you want tradition and are willing to travel to East LA, do so.
*One side note: They need new cups for soda. The ones they’re currently using are the size of a coffee cup and you only get one free refill. I don’t even think it amounts to a can of soda.