These 7 San Diego County taquerias make Yelp’s top 100 taco spots in the U.S.

Are you craving tacos?

Yelp released its Top 100 Taco Spots of 2025 Thursday, and seven San Diego County taquerias are on the list.

California accounted for almost half: 45 of 100. Arizona, Hawaii and Texas also did well, with multiple well-regarded taco joints. Some states had one or two, including Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana and Oregon. Around a dozen states had none.

Trends come and go, and this year’s top 100 taco spots reveal what is hot now in the realm of popular taco tastes — at least according to Yelp users.

One clear takeaway: Birria is big. Seven places had “birria” in their name.

And the numero uno, the top dog, the hot tamale of taco joints across all 50 states?

California’s Birrieria Familia Castro, where people love the handmade flour tortillas and tender, juicy meat.

“All were absolutely fantastic! IMHO, the best tacos don’t need anything more than well-marinated meat, onions, cilantro, and a little sauce, and these absolutely delivered,” one Yelp user raved.

One more trend — or is it a throughline? Tacos take on local flavors. At Hawaii’s Shaka Tacoz, it’s guava salsa. At Louisiana’s Parrish Tacos, it’s fried gulf shrimp with bang bang sauce and cilantro. At Deckhand Dave’s Fish Tacos in Alaska, it’s fresh, sustainable, local fish.

These are the best reviewed taco spots in San Diego County, from Yelp’s Top 100 Tacos 2025 list.

13. Terrific Tacos, a San Diego caterer. “Proud to serve all of San Diego with the most authentic Tj taco cart experience,” its Instagram profile says. It has no apparent website, but Yelp lists this phone number: 619-779-0088.

22. De Cabeza el Único in Chula Vista. One specialty is lamb head. “You pick, bone in or boneless. Ready for tacos. Served with soft warm corn tortillas and salsa,” its menu says.

37. Craft and Taco Lounge in Escondido. A few of the fillings in the “escondido coco loco” taco: coconut shrimp, bay scallops, coconut flakes, toasted sesame seeds and micro greens, for $5.75. It also has atypical veggie options such as eggplant and zucchini.

45. The Craft Taco at SOVA in San Diego. This Sorrento Valley hot spot sells bowls and salads, along with tacos. Its happy hour (all day Monday and other afternoons starting at 3 p.m.) gives a drink discount and half-off on starters.

57. Sinaloa Mexican & Seafood in Oceanside. One Yelp account holder liked the California burrito, where “both the meat and fries inside were crispy but not dry, which was perfect.”

59. The Waves Taco Club in downtown San Diego. Its mural-adorned dining room serves nine kinds of “responsibly farmed” seafood tacos (smoked tuna, chipotle shrimp and more) topped with locally grown crops and no pesticides. (It also donates surplus food at the end of each day, its website says.)

73. Roxys Tacos is also downtown. “The owner was awesome and so friendly; he told me that he gets his ingredients from Tijuana and you can taste the authentic difference 1000%,” a Yelp review says.

The list includes taco trucks, counter-order eateries and sit-down restaurants, and winners are ranked by a combination of Yelp data and community reviews submitted by members of the crowd-sourced ratings platform.

Many excellent San Diego County taco places did not make the national ranking, which begs the question: do they need to get better at marketing or are Yelp users keeping them under wraps?