For National Taco Day, we compared two very different Los Angeles taco experiences—one priced at just a few dollars and another costing more than five times that amount.
At Tacos LA 26, customers can order tacos for $2.25 and choose from eight varieties of meat. Marketing specialist Jennifer Huynh said the affordable pricing reflects the restaurant’s dedication to serving its neighborhood.
“Our goal is for the community to be able to afford something sustainable, something they can come to like three times a week, four times a week,” Huynh said. “Something that doesn’t hurt their pocket.”
The restaurant receives fresh carne asada every morning and prepares each order as it comes in. According to Huynh, the foundation of a memorable taco is meat that is “juicy, tender” and delivers plenty of value for the price.
At Villa’s Tacos, which has three locations throughout Los Angeles, the taco takes a decidedly more luxurious turn. The restaurant’s $12 specialty combines Japanese A5 Wagyu, Chilean sea bass and a freshly made blue corn tortilla, then adds carrot purée, microgreens and bone marrow butter.
The Villa’s team said the high-end ingredients are intended to “elevate the taco experience.”
“What makes this a $12 taco is the intention behind it,” Villa’s kitchen manager Daniel Peñate said. “Everything is made with a reason.”
Peñate added that Villa’s does not view fine dining as something limited to “four white walls with white linen tables.”
“It could be anywhere,” he said. “It could be out here in the street.”
Although the prices differ by roughly 5.3 times, both Los Angeles taco spots say the essentials remain the same.
For Peñate, that means starting with a fresh corn tortilla, adding mesquite-grilled meat and finishing with a balanced salsa—all carefully combined so the flavors work together in “harmony.”
