Maiz Picante Taqueria

Everyone loves their food, and I had my old school Mexican parents with me so that's saying something. The portions are well served and the quality is great. Definitely a must try taco spot.

Wow, this place has become my favorite taqueria in Santa Barbara since they have tacos al pastor that taste just like those in Mexico City! The meat is perfectly marinated, it has the typical slice of pineapple on top, tortillas are good, and salsas are great! Another plus is that prices are good given the quality and the amount of meat that you get. I usually feel good ordering just 2 tacos because they come with two tortillas and a lot of meat. I would order 3 if you are very hungry. The tacos with cheese are pretty filling. I loved the plain taco al pastor, mulita de pastor (with melted cheese and guacamole), and costra de pastor (with crunchy cheese). I’ve also tried the steak taco and it’s good. The shrimp pastor taco could have been better. So I would recommend sticking with pastor. I’m really excited because for the first time I was able to show the flavor of pastor to my vegan friends. They have beyond pastor and a vegan version of other types of meat too, but my vegan friends also think pastor is the best. Another thing that gives this place more points is that it’s decorations and music are cool so it’s not your typical neighborhood taqueria. This looks like a taqueria in La Condesa or La Roma (trendy neighborhoods in Mexico City). They also have great drinks like passion fruit agua fresca (non-alcoholic), margaritas, and beer. They even have a great dessert (pan de elote)! I’ve already been here four times since I discovered this place.

This spicy margarita was good! Vegan options for tacos - they need to work on their spices. Their salsas are OK but the spices that they used to season some of the vegan tacos could be better.

The sirloin taco in my opinion did not need the mashed potatoes. Other than that the tacos and hot sauce are great! Well priced too. My boyfriend had a Modelo negra which he enjoyed. I loved the guacamole 🥑 they give you a lot of chips with it and they threw two random whole dried tortillas with the chips. The bathrooms were very clean.

Favorites were potato and chicken, carnitas, sirloin, and corn, and the grilled shrimp. Everything is made fresh to order and comes on corn tortillas with three kinds of hot sauces, lime wedges, chopped onion, grilled onions, chopped parsley and slices of watermelon radish. We also had orange soda & two of the aqua frescas -- pineapple and apple.

Cozy spot for delicious Mexican street food. Friendly staff, unique taco menu, reasonable prices, decent portion sizes. The lengua (beef tongue) was so tender and well seasoned it made for an amazing taco as did the saucy birria. Another standout taco was the sirloin and potato. The seasoning on the beef and the potatoes took that simple taco to a whole new level.

I have tried to keep this place a secret, but the secret got out… I challenge you to find a better or more well rounded taco spot in sb! Everything is delicious. Everything. But I recommend trying the Volcanes

We happened to walk by this taqueria after the place we were trying to eat at was closed. We were so glad we ate here instead! In town on vacation and weve eaten at a bunch of restaurants in Santa barbara this week and we left this place the most satisfied! My husband had the taco costra al pastor and I had the beyond pastor, plus esquites- all amazing. Plus the Agua Fresca was delicious. Best Mexican food we've had in a long time. Yeah, I'm a white girl but I lived in Mexico and my husband is Mexican so I do know mex food! 😁