1,320 reviews
#15 of 506 Restaurants in Santa Monica$$ - $$$, Mexican, Southwestern, Vegetarian friendly+1 310-458-2985+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Sun
11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Mon
11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Tue
11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Wed
11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Thu
11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Fri
11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Sat
11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Reserve a table
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
Travellers' Choice 2024
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
Learn More
CUISINES
Mexican, Southwestern, Latin
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours
features
Menu
Salads and Provisiones
Add grilled chicken breast $6; steak, shrimp, salmon or pork $7
Baja Chopped Salad
shredded iceberg, castelvetrano olives, jicama, avocado, cucumber, pomegranate seeds, jack cheese, champagne vinaigrette, tortilla strips
USD16
Baja Chopped Ceviche Salad
our fabulous Baja chopped with calamari, shrimp, lobster, mixto dressing with fried tortilla strips
USD19
Baja Caesar
chopped little gem, housemade caesar dressing, corn, avocado, cotija, tortilla strips
USD13
Guacamole & Chips
housemade chips served with pico de gallo & house ranchero
USD13
Half
USD7
Add Salsa Flight
USD4
Quesadillas
Cheese
USD10
Farmers Market Veggie
USD12
Chicken
USD14
Steak or Shrimp
USD17
Farmers Market Nachos
SM farmers market veggies, jack cheese, guacamole, pico, radish, fresno
USD13
Can a gluten free person get a good meal at this restaurant?
Details
About
We will be closing for renovations from Monday April 23rd - April 26th. We do apologize for the inconvenience. We will reopen doors on Friday April 27th.
CUISINES
Mexican, Southwestern, Latin
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours
FEATURES
Takeout, Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Waterfront
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4.5
1,320 reviews
Excellent
674
Very good
471
Average
115
Poor
40
Terrible
20
Marisela Q
Torrecillas de la Tiesa9 contributions
Nov 2020 • none
If your looking for a yummy and fresh lunch this is the place or dinner. I ordered the grilled and fried fish taco combo it came with 3 tacos on a yellow corn tortilla with a nice chipotle creamy sauce on top. The combo comes with rice or beans or the fresh cole slaw salad. I asked for the cole slaw it was very fresh and hearty. Also ordered a large guacamole and chips. My husband ordered the steak tacos and he also enjoyed them very much. Everything was so delicious we enjoyed every bite!
Thank you!
Written 27 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NationalTraveler09
Levittown68 contributions
June 2021 • none
We started out with some cocktails for the adults and the kids had some spritzers. For an appetizer we all shared the fresh guacamole and chips. Main courses we had included fish tacos with mahi mahi, shrimp tacos, and pork belly tacos. We sampled each others, but the mahi mahi was by far the best. Service was courteous and fast even though they were busy. Great place!
Written 1 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Isunwin
Los Angeles1489 contributions
Sept 2022 • couples
Above average food, located across the street from the Santa Monica Pier and beach, service was average. They charge a kitchen fee of 3% which I’ve never seen before. Parking is around the corner and pricey.
Written 3 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JAR1991
Canterbury155 contributions
May 2022 • couples
The food here is good (not great), the service we received however, was not. It started well but we were quickly forgotten about and our server seemed to be a lot more attentive to every other table he was looking after. Our drinks were cleared away and we waited, and waited to order more. Our mains arrived but before we could ask our server walked briskly away. My husband ended up going to the bar to get our drinks, we're from the UK and thought this was pretty unacceptable, but particularly in the US as throughout our trip we had received really good service. We had no table water at our table despite asking for it, and our server did not return to check on us with our mains until we had pretty much finished, so had there been an issue it would have been too late to fix it. Overall we were not impressed and for that reason we gave a very minimal tip, in the UK we would not have tipped anything. I found the service surprising given how dependent waiters are on tips in the US, probably wouldn't return here.
Written 3 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rachaelmoloney6
Dublin19 contributions
Aug 2019 • friends
The staff in this restaurant are so lovely. We visited many times while in LA. The hosts were always accommodating and it was always busy. The chips and guacamole are the best I’ve ever had. The food was delicious as well as the cocktails and reasonably priced. Definitely worth the visit.
Written 10 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Phil H
Sevenoaks32 contributions
July 2023 • family
We wanted to have at least one Mexican meal on our road trip and were running out of days. The restaurant was fully booked when we arrived but we enjoyed a 30 minute wait watching the world go by as the location is really good. We definitely enjoyed the Prime Barbacoa combo - top pick. The flour taco’s won the taste test. The shaved Elote was the best corn we have tasted in many a year. Thank you. Victor was a great host and really looked after us
Written 23 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Satu
19 contributions
Jan 2023 • couples
The fish tacos were dry even after we asked for more sauce. Presentation on the plate was quite messy. My Ceasar salad was also quite tasteless and dry. Service was ok. We chose this place pretty much based on reviews, but will not visit again.
Written 8 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MichiganderAbroad
Ann Arbor149 contributions
Oct 2021 • none
This is one of my favorite restaurants in LA, period. I am so pleased they made it through the pandemic- when I visited this week it had been over 2 years since I was last in Santa Monica, and Blue Plate hasn't missed a beat. I had their passionfruit margarita, a salsa flight with guac and the fish tacos, and everything was as fresh and delicious as I remember. I will keep returning every time I make it out to the area.
Written 8 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nelson P
Salt Lake City43 contributions
Mar 2022 • couples
Cute place with tasty food! The waitress was super friendly and got everything correct. We let her know we were hungry and she made sure everything came out as quickly as possible. Best meal we had on our trip in cali. So happy when they offer flour tacos instead of corn.
Written 14 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
russalka
9 contributions
Apr 2023 • none
We delicious tacos with a view of a the ocean. The serving sizes were generous and came with 3 tacos, chips and salsa, rice and beans or slaw and rice. The restaurant was very busy but service was quick. There was a mixture of families and couples and groups of friends when I went. This is easy to combine with going to the Santa Monica pier.
Written 7 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dan j
Port Coquitlam807 contributions
Sept 2023 • family
We went to visit the pier and decided to find a place to eat, googled best Mexican restaurant and Blue Plate Taco was #1, so we gave it a try. We were all very impressed, everyone enjoyed their taco's and the salsa's were just excellent! It's located right across the street from the pier and has great views, the prices and reasonable and service was fairly quick considering how busy they were. We would definitely go back.
Written 25 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dane and Rachel B
20 contributions
June 2023 • couples
We expected that this might be one of those overrated tourist stops and we were pleasantly surprised! It was a busy Saturday night and after a short wait we were seated. Margaritas were excellent fresh with enough punch you new you were in to something. Husband had Pozole which was the soup and I had the pork belly tacos. The soup was hearty and filling and sooooo full of flavor! The pork belly tacos were to die for - they were so good with their marinated pineapple star anise and cloves … who knew that was gonna be such a taste sensation!?. The black beans were well seasoned and the cilantro slaw was divine! Although they were packed and it was getting late, each staff member we encountered from the hostess to the bartender to the waiter were very friendly and we couldn’t be happier! Great choice! exquisito!
Written 26 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pjack68
994 contributions
Oct 2023 • family
First time at a Mexican restaurant although we enjoy cooking tacos at home.  Margaritas ordered were very nice and we had high hopes based on TA ranking. Ordered Shrimp and Lobster tacos. Asked server what the difference was between the corn and four tortillas (as remembered one was a different texture but needed clarification). She rather unhelpfully, or perhaps obtusely replied one was made our of corn and one was made out of wheat - well thanks! Shrimp Taco I found quite unpleasant but this may be because I dislike the texture of crunchy prawns.  Was more optimistic about the lobster but actually found it very bland. Wondered if we'd made an error not ordering a salsa so opted for a habanero.  When this was brought we were warned it was mega hot and this was the case so it didn't really solve the problem of the bland Taco and it might have been nice to get some advice as to what we should add to the Taco to make it more interesting. Was very happy to have another margarita but by the end we had no enthusiasm so left. Such a shame as we were looking forward to this restaurant, although we intend to visit Oscars in San Diego in case this was a poor example.
Written 21 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mike B
Brookline74 contributions
Oct 2021 • none
To be honest, we prefer Tex-Mex style over authentic Mexican cuisine, and this is Tex-Mex style executed exquisitely. I had a steak fajita, my wife a chicken quesadilla, and both were absolutely delicious with fresh, flavorful ingredients prepared just right. Good margaritas, good portions, excellent service, reasonable prices. We were visiting from Boston, and we wish they would open a branch there.
Written 3 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FuddleWuddle
London65 contributions
July 2023 • family
Good margaritas and breezy service. Choice of salsas with chips was great- we liked all 6. Sadly our tortillas for our tacos were soggy and thick- don’t recommend the Barbacoa tacos. steak tacos were ok apart from tortillas.
Overall I wouldn’t go back, unless I only wanted drinks, chips and a flight of salsas.
Written 12 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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