La Santa Torta
Mexican restaurant · Acorn Industrial ·
Jalisco-style birria tacos, tortas, brunch, and elote
Jalisco-style birria tacos, tortas, brunch, and elote
"Leo Oblea of West Oakland’s La Santa Torta just got back from Flavor Town, USA. In a recently aired episode of “Guy’s Grocery Games,” Oblea represented his ode to quesabirria in an instant coffee-infused challenge against two other food trucks for a prize of $10,000." - Paolo Bicchieri
"The quesabirria food‑truck sensation soft‑opened a permanent brick‑and‑mortar on September 21 with tacos, a mechanical bull, and raffles at its new 95 Linden Street location." - Becky Duffett
"Opening November 1 at 95 Linden St in Oakland, the brick-and-mortar outgrowth of the popular La Santa Torta food trucks grew out of Leonel Oblea perfecting his family quesabirria recipe after quitting his job in 2017. Oblea, a Culinary Institute of America graduate and great-grandson of an acclaimed birriero from Jalisco, spent six months dialing in a mix of 10 spices (including coriander, cloves, and cinnamon) so the juicy beef stewed in a rusty-red broth delivers tender meat, crispy cheese, and a savory, deeply hued consommé with flashes of marjoram and warm spices; he used his Eurocentric training to keep the broth sheer so the herbs stand out. The menu carries over bestsellers from the trucks — quesabirria tacos and the long hoagie-style torta — plus Oblea’s addictive elote made from fresh corn seasoned with lime, parmesan, chili powder, and Flaming Hot Cheetos, and weekend brunch items like chile rellenos, chilaquiles with La Finca Tortillas, French toast with cajeta goat-milk caramel and pecans, and new breakfast sopes; lacking a liquor license, they've partnered with Old Kan Brewery next door to supply beer for micheladas. It's a family operation, with his dad Trino doing prep and his fiancée Yesenia and her brothers Victor and Ivan handling marketing and truck management, and Oblea says sharing their family birria tradition with a California twist has brought the family closer." - Maria C. Hunt
"Finally parking permanently in the former Old Kan space at 95 Linden Street, I'm excited that La Santa Torta will be slinging the same meaty tacos and cult-favorite wet tortas from their birria truck and expanding to a deeper menu of Jalisco-style dishes, including a sauce-drenched torta ahogada." - Becky Duffett
"Having built a devoted following with their La Santa Torta food truck, Victor Guzman and Leo Oblea are opening a standalone restaurant in West Oakland to serve a deeper catalog of Jalisco-style dishes, including their popular beef birria tacos, tortas, brunch specials, and a dripping-wet torta ahogada." - Luke Tsai
