Tocaya Modern Mexican
Mexican restaurant · Venice
1715 Pacific Ave, Venice, CA 90291
Highlights
Modern Mexican cuisine with plant-based options, bowls, tacos
Modern Mexican cuisine with plant-based options, bowls, tacos
"Tocaya is supposedly a Mexican restaurant, but it really just uses ingredients you might find in Mexican cuisine and puts them into salads and grain bowls. Those grain bowls are pretty solid though, and the tacos are better than we thought they would be. The space kind of looks like a cafe that gets set up at Burning Man and can easily be disassembled in minutes - there’s plain floor, exposed wood, and fairy lights strung up over the simple metal tables. That, and the fact that those bowls are very easy to carry, makes Tocaya a good, easy lunch option." - jess basser sanders, amy clark
"Think of Tocaya as a cheaper, better, and more convenient version of places like Gracias Madre and De Buena Planta. This full-blown chain with over a dozen locations across SoCal self-describes its menu as “Modern Mexican.” That’s just marketing jargon for, “we have plant-based options, too.” But the vegan dishes are where Tocaya shines. Get a spicy picadillo bowl with cauliflower rice and fried maitake mushroom tacos topped with sweet-smoky chipotle crema, and see what we mean. " - sylvio martins, brant cox
"This self-described “modern Mexican” mini-chain—which serves tacos, bowls, and burritos with a general health food bent—started out in Venice and now has locations all over SoCal. The non-vegan options here are fine, but where Tocaya shines is the plant-based portion of its menu, including the most convincing cashew-based queso dip we’ve ever tasted and a stellar maitake mushroom ceviche that wouldn’t be out of place at a fancy tasting menu restaurant. If you want tacos, get the spicy vegan picadillo filling. Think of Tocaya as a cheaper, more convenient (and much tastier) version of places like Gracias Madre and De Buena Planta." - sylvio martins, garrett snyder, nikko duren
"With nearly a dozen locations in and around LA, Tocaya is a full-fledged chain, but all that means is you’re closer than you think to one of their locations. The food at this Mexican spot is way better (and healthier) than it needs to be, with a menu that includes everything from fajita burritos to street corn bowls to the tortilla strip-filled Tocaya Salad that we think about while eating any other salad." - brant cox, brett keating
"This self-described “modern Mexican” mini-chain—which serves tacos, bowls, and burritos with a general health food bent—started out in Venice and now has locations all over SoCal. The non-vegan options here are fine, but where Tocaya really shines is the plant-based portion of its menu, including the most convincing cashew-based queso dip we’ve ever tasted and a stellar maiktake mushroom ceviche that wouldn’t be out of place at a fancy tasting menu restaurant. If you want tacos, get the spicy vegan picadillo filling. Think of Tocaya as a cheaper, more convenient (and much tastier) verison of places like Gracias Madre and De Buena Planta." - Garrett Snyder
