The most western end of Olympic Boulevard is predominantly an industrial and recreational area, with a swathe of commercial buildings on the south side, and the skate park on the north side east of 14th Street. Nestled among these concerns is a somewhat innocuous structure that houses a Mexican restaurant cutely named “Tacos Por Favor,” and this past Sunday, myself and two friends, Jeremy and James, pleased ourselves with a visit, and were thankful that we did.
Upon entry the simple functionality struck us with it’s stripped down, south of the border feel to it, with a two-stage order counter, a self-collect kitchen counter, and a small salsa bar. It really is a no-frills deal, and after scanning the menu items, the prices appeared to be stripped to the bone to boot!
We lined up at the counter and perused the menu, all breakfast, lunch, and dinner options were clearly listed and priced. And what prices there were! How about a carne asada burrito, served with rice, beans, salsa, onion, and cilantro for $5.45; a shrimp burrito (vegetables, cream, lettuce, pico de gallo, rice, and beans) all for $6.05; or their monster burrito (chicken, shrimp, black beans, guacamole, spinach, pico de gallo, green salsa) all for $6.95. After digesting the list, I chose the mahi mahi burrito (vegetables, cream, lettuce, pico de gallo, rice, and beans, all for $6.05), James opted for the chile relleno burrito (rice, beans, salsa, onion, and cilantro, all for $5.45, whilst Jeremy had a hungry desire for the chile relleno, as well as a mole sauce enchilada (served with rice and beans, all for $8.95).
Service from order to delivery was a brisk eight to 10 minutes with our ticket numbers being announced in accordance with the dishes that, somewhat unceremoniously, appeared on the delivery counter for our individual collection, and so we arose from our functional chairs, situated at our functional table, and collected our dishe, on their functional plates, along with our only-just-functional plastic cutlery.
While Tacos Por Favor seem to favor prices of the small kind, their servings declare that, at least from their way of thinking, size does indeed matter, with all of the plates bulging with hot and fresh goodies. My mahi mahi burrito (as were all of the burritos that we ordered) was big and firm. It was crammed with tasty and fresh mahi mahi, which was well balanced with assorted vegetables, greens and cream, as well as rice and beans. James thoroughly enjoyed his equally large example, and while Jeremy’s extra enchilada was slightly smaller, but did boast a delicately tasty mole sauce, not overly rich, but delightfully flavored.
Tacos Por Favor is a fun and convenient eatery with a no frills approach to Mexican food. There is also an eye to healthy cooking as they proudly boast “no lard used,” and with prices that are distinctly south-of-the-border, it proved to be a far superior stop for not-so-slow food for three guys on the go. Even though on our visit it proved to be more “Burritos Por Favor,” we all agreed that we would certainly go a little bit out of my way to visit Tacos Por Favor in preference to any number of the “bells,” “burgers,” of “fried chicken” joints that offer inferior food for about the same prices. More por favor!
1406 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310. 392.5768.
Mon-Sat 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sun 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
