El Pastorcito

Killer Local Joints and Taco Stands: An Insider’s Guide to the Restaurants of Todos Santos

Welcome to the second installment of our Insider’s Guide to the ResAll Poststaurants of Todos Santos! Here we present the town’s Killer Local Joints and Taco Stands.

This guide is divided into 7 categories, with restaurants presented in alphabetical order within each category. The sample menus shown with each restaurant are literally just a snapshot from our last visit; menu options and prices may naturally evolve over time. Please check out our other categories including: Great Food, Great Chefs, Great Atmosphere; Wonderful Food in a Beautiful Garden Setting, Charming Cafes with Great Breakfasts – and More!; Healthy Fare; Fun Places with Cute Atmosphere, Live Music, Live Theater, Live TV!; Pizza and Burgers Buen Provecho!

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Category Three: Killer Local Joints and Taco Stands

Alma y Manny Comida Mexicana

Overview: Tamales are ubiquitous in mainland Mexico, but it was almost impossible to find a fresh, hot, tasty tamale in Baja (or at least in Todos Santos) until Alma opened her street-side stand in early 2013. Folks here literally couldn’t get enough – if you arrived too late in the day she was inevitably sold out. Based on that success, Alma and her husband Manny have since upgraded to a cute open-air restaurant that is a favorite with locals, Mexicans and gringos alike. In addition to their fabulous selection of chicken, pork, beef, chile, pineapple and mixed tamales, Alma and Manny also serve an assortment of traditional Mexican fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner including chilaquiles, sopas, tortas, tacos and pozoles. And they are now almost as famous for their chiles rellenos as for their tamales, and they’ll stuff them with pretty much whatever strikes your fancy. Delicious all around!
Not to be Missed: Chile tamales, pozole
Service: They serve great food! (with a smile). Some English. Lots of people really enjoy the budgies they have in the dining area.
Rating: Three cheers!
Hours: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM daily, unless they’re closed.
Contact: On Marquez de Leon at the corner of Colegio Militar.

Bahia Restaurant & Bar

Overview: One day Alma, the owner of the fish store in town (no relation to Tamale Alma), woke up and realized that there probably wasn’t anyone in town better qualified to open a seafood restaurant than her; so much to our joy and delight – she did! The result is a completely delicious array of seafood dishes served up on a collection of plastic tables under an awning next to the fish store. It’s a wonderful addition to the lunch scene in Todos Santos.
Not to be Missed: Tostadas de Ensalada de Marlin, Grilled Fish, Ceviche
Service: Very pleasant and efficient.
Rating: Can’t get enough!
Hours: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily. Closed Sundays and Mondays.
Contact: Tel: 612-151-4085 Location: No. 88 on Journal del Pacifico Map
Bahia’s Menu

Carnitas Uruapan

Raul at Carnitas Uruapan

Overview: Raul Lopez moved to Todos Santos from Michoacan about 5 years ago to open Carnitas Uruapan, and he’s been serving up delicious, traditional Mexican food ever since. His carnitas are famous for being marinated, not fried – and oh so tasty. The walls of this simple, comfortable restaurant are all decorated with original artwork by Juan Manuel Su, and enjoying these murals is almost half the fun of eating here.
Not to be Missed: Chiles rellenos, chilaquiles (great red sauce), and all the breakfast egg dishes.
Service: Personable and welcoming.
Rating: Great! Wildly delicious food at very tame prices.
Location: Colegio Militar at Obregon

Compa Chava’s

Overview: Todos Santos local Salvador Chavez and his wife Thelma started this little road-side café in 2009 and have been serving up unbelievably delicious ceviche and other seafood dishes ever since. Very simple outdoor dining on plastic tables under a palapa roof. Very popular with locals and expatriots alike.
Salvador at Compa Chava
Not to be Missed: Classic ceviche, crab ceviche
Service: Efficient! A bit of English.
Rating: We love it! We take some of our groups here for lunch and also meet our friends here regularly.
Hours: 9:30 AM – 7:00 PM every day but Wednesday.
Location: Compa Chava’s on Journa del Pacifico Map
Compa Chava’s Menu

El Pastorcito

Overview: If you’re a meat eater get yourself over to this taco joint and order up some Tacos Al Pastor now –it’s one of the best tacos you’re ever likely to consume in this life. El Pastorcito is so popular that it recently moved to a new, larger location closer to the center of town. The 2 Lucias who run El Pastorcito have been offered significant sums of money to reveal the secrets of their tacos al pastor, but they’re not selling or telling. For vegetarians El Pastorcito also serves papas rellenos and quesadillas. Beer, soft drinks and water are for sale. El Pastorcito was started in 2007 by Alejandro Fuerte, a 20-year resident of Todos Santos who moved here from Michoacan.
Not to be Missed: Tacos al Pastor
Service: Nice folks serving up great food. Limited English.
Rating: Absolutely awesome! We eat here as often as possible.
Hours: 8:00 AM – 2:00 AM daily. Except when they’re closed.
Contact: Just show up! Location: No. 73 on Journal del Pacifico Map
El Pastorcito Menu

El Tacos y Mariscos Sinaloense

Overview: Looking for a more peaceful environment, Jose Luis Ibarra Grimaldi, his wife Maria and their children moved to Todos Santos from Mazatlan five years ago and have been delighting Todos Santos taco lovers ever since. El Sinaloense serves a variety of seafood and meat tacos, papas rellenos and quesadillas during the day, and a variety of seafood dishes at night. Soft drinks, orchata and water available.
Not to be Missed: Smoked marlin and shrimp tacos
Hours: 7:00 AM – 2:00 AM every day except Monday.
Contact: El Sinoloense on Journal del Pacifico Map

Las Fuentes

Overview: Las Fuentes is a very charming restaurant that has been serving up a wide range of delicious Mexican breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes since 1994. The name of the restaurant comes from the traditional fountain (fuente) under the large palapa roof. Seating available under the palapa and in the garden.
Not to be Missed: Huevos Rancheros, Nopales Rellenos con Queso (nopale cactus leaves stuffed with cheese), Grilled Lobster
Service: Relaxed.
Rating: Yum!
Hours: 7:30 AM – 10:00 PM daily
Contact: 612-145-0257 Location: No. 116 on Journal del Pacifico Map
Las Fuentes Menu

Miguel’s

Overview: Started in 2001 by Miguel Angel Torres Villalobos, Miguel’s is another great Todos Santos institution. Originally famous only for its chiles rellenos – and rightly so – Miguel’s has really increased the quality of its other offerings and now serves a full menu of very tasty, very well-prepared, traditional Mexican dishes. They also offer breakfast now. Miguel’s has a very cute atmosphere with stones on the floor, surfboards on the ceiling and plenty of cold beer and margaritas in the kitchen to serve all comers. It’s the epitome of Baja!
Not to be Missed: Chiles Rellenos with Shrimp, Fish Fajitas, any of the enchiladas
Service: They’re on the job!
Rating: A favorite! We take almost all of our groups here for either lunch or dinner during their stay with us.
Hours: 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily. Closed Wednesdays in the summer.
Location: No. 123 on Journal del Pacifico Map
Miguel’s Menu

Taco Georges

Overview: This taco joint on the side of the road is a celebration of Baja California Sur’s great contribution to Mexican cuisine – the fish taco! Started 13 years ago by the original “George” Jorge Ramirez Rodriguez of La Paz, it is now run by George Jr. who moved to Todos Santos 3 years ago to take over management of the stand from his father. George buys his fish from the local fishermen at Punta Lobos and is proud to be serving a Todos Santos-sourced meal. Soft drinks available for sale. There are usually a couple of plastic tables with chairs next to the cart for those who would prefer to dine en scene.
Not be be Missed: Fish tacos!
Service: They get the tacos from the cart to your mouth as quickly as they can!
Rating: YES!! Great fish tacos! We eat here as often as our cholesterol counts allow.
Hours: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM daily except Thursday.
Contact: It’s a taco stand – just show up! Location: Taco George’s on Journal del Pacifico Map

Todos Santos Taco Crawl: What Makes a Great Taco, a Great Taco?

by Bryan Jáuregui | Culture, Food

by Todos Santos Eco Adventures

Todos Santos has a well-deserved reputation as a food lover’s paradise, with our many fabulous restaurants, cafés and wine bars. But what you may not know is that Todos Santos also has some pretty darn good taco stands. In fact, our official, self-appointed, Mexico City taco snob has reviewed the taco scene in Todos Santos and has pronounced our town’s taquerias to be right up there with the big-city greats. We interviewed 4 taco stands in town to find out about the people behind the tacos and to answer that burning question: what makes a great taco, a great taco?

El Pastorcito

Best for: tacos al pastor and carne asada
Hours: 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM daily. Except maybe some days in summer.

The 2 Lucias who run El Pastorcito have been offered significant sums of money to reveal the secrets of their tacos al pastor, but they’re not selling or telling. “We get the pork in from Cabo San Lucas then do all the preparation here. It’s a secret recipe of the owner. But we do use the traditional pineapple on the top and bottom of the meat, or sometimes an onion on the bottom. That’s all we can tell you!” When asked what makes a great taco a great taco, they said it’s all in the preparation of the meat and the salsas. “Salsas must be prepared fresh everyday with fresh ingredients. We buy all local Todos Santos produce for the salsas and it makes a nice difference.” For vegetarians El Pastorcito also serves papas rellenos and quesadillas. Beer, soft drinks and water for sale. El Pastorcito was started 3 years ago by Alejandro Fuerte, a 20-year resident of Todos Santos who moved here from Michoacan.

Taco George’s

Best for: fish tacos
Hours: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM every day but Thursday

Taco George’s

This taco cart on the side of the road is a celebration of Baja California Sur’s great contribution to Mexican cuisine – the fish taco! Started 10 years ago by the original “George” Jorge Ramirez Rodriguez of La Paz, it is now run by George Jr. who moved to Todos Santos 2 years ago to take over management of the stand from his father. He’s done pretty well by the old man – in high season he moves 300 to 400 tacos a day from his cart. George buys his fish from the local fishermen at Punta Lobos and is proud to be serving a Todos Santos-sourced meal. When asked what makes a great taco a great taco he plays his cards close to the chest. ‘Oh, nothing special. That I can tell you about.” Soft drinks available for sale.

Barajas Tacos

Best for: carnitas con cuero and chicharron
Hours: 8:00 AM to Midnight, every day but Tuesday
Ruben at Barajas Tacos

Started by La Paz resident Jorge Barajas in 1995, Barajas is a long-time favorite with residents and visitors alike. When asked what makes a great taco, Esmeralda and Ruben – both of whom have worked at Barajas for 11 years – said it all comes down to the people who prepare the pork for the carnitas. As it happened, the new carnita supplier for Barajas was there during our meal (the old supplier went on vacation and never came back) and he explained “It’s all about the correct combination of time and heat, and knowing how to get this right takes years of practice. We cook the meat with onion, garlic and orange – and maybe a few other things too.” Vegetarians in the crowd? Barajas also serves papas rellenos (stuffed potatoes) an assortment of quesadillas, and fish/shrimp tacos. Only soft drinks and water available for drinks, but you can bring your own beer or wine.

El Tacos y Mariscos Sinaloense

Best for: smoked marlin and shrimp tacos
Hours: 7:00 AM to 2:00 AM every day except Monday. Tacos during the day and mariscos (seafood) at night.

Jose Luis at El Sinaloense

Looking for a more peaceful environment, Jose Luis Ibarra Grimaldi, his wife Maria and their children moved to Todos Santos from Mazatlan four years ago. But they retain their Sinaloa ties and buy their shrimp and smoked marlin from there (Jose Luis reminds us it’s all the Sea of Cortez!). When asked what makes a great taco a great taco, Jose Luis doesn’t hesitate. “There are really 3 main factors: 1. The product – what you put into it. We only buy the best. 2. Spices and salsas. We take great pride in our salsa bar. 3. Service.” El Sinaloense also serves a variety of meat tacos, papas rellenos and quesadillas. Soft drinks, orchata and water available.

This list is just representative of some of the taco joys you can find in our pueblo magico. Got your own favorite taco joint in Todos Santos? Tell us all about it!

Todos Santos Eco Adventures

Killer Local Joints and Taco Stands: An Insider’s Guide to the Restaurants of Todos Santos

Todos Santos Taco Crawl: What Makes a Great Taco, a Great Taco?

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