Food & Drink
Villa's Tacos: Blue Corn Tortillas and Baja Seafood from Highland Park
A front-yard pop-up that became a three-location taqueria, with a seafood-focused third kitchen on Figueroa.
By Local Bongo Editors
Villa's Tacos serves Los Angeles-style tacos on handmade blue-corn tortillas. The tortillas are blue corn, pressed to order, and the business operates three locations in Los Angeles.
The story starts in 2018, when Villa's began as a front yard pop-up at Chef Victor Villa's grandmother's home in Highland Park. A brick-and-mortar followed in February 2023, and a third location opened in March 2025 with a seafood concept inspired by Baja-style cooking.
What Villa's Tacos serves
The menu at locations I and II includes tacos, queso tacos, mulitas, vegan options, salsas, and aguas frescas. Fillings include chicken thigh, skirt steak, pork chorizo, potatoes, grilled soyrizo, and black beans with cactus. All orders are served with radish, lime wedges, and hibiscus-pickled onions.
A specialty sampler trio is a curated tour of three tacos, including two off-menu tacos. The menu at locations I and II is exclusive to those locations.
The third location: Baja seafood and mesquite grilling
Villa's Tacos III serves an exclusive lineup of Baja seafood, mesquite-grilled tacos, and new flavors. The menu includes Baja-style beer-battered fish and shrimp tacos, which the business describes as the inspiration and reason behind opening a fish and shrimp concept of Villa's Tacos.
The third location also offers Mexican mesquite-grilled tacos. Vegetarian tacos include CAMOTE — twice cooked sweet potato, frijoles negros, salsa macha, creamy cilantro, queso fresco — and WILD HONGO — mushroom medley, caramelized onions, roasted salsa verde, cotija, cilantro. This menu is exclusive to this location.
From pop-up to Michelin recognition
According to the business, Villa's won its first L.A. Taco Madness title in 2021, and in 2022 became the first and only three-time Taco Madness Champion in the competition's history. In July 2023, Villa's earned its first Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction, beginning a three-year streak of recognition from the Michelin Guide.
The business also says Chef Victor Villa appeared on Netflix's Taco Chronicles: Cross the Border in November 2023. It says that in February 2026 he joined Bad Bunny during the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.
Locations and hours
Highland Park #1 at 5455 N Figueroa is open Monday through Sunday from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Grand Central Market #2 at 317 South Broadway is open Monday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Highland Park #3 at 6103 N Figueroa is open Monday through Sunday from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Future locations are planned for South Pasadena, Atwater, Hollywood, and Las Vegas.
Good to know
How many Villa's Tacos locations are there in Los Angeles?
Villa's Tacos operates three locations in Los Angeles: Highland Park #1 at 5455 N Figueroa, Grand Central Market #2 at 317 South Broadway, and Highland Park #3 at 6103 N Figueroa.
What is on the menu at the third location?
The third location serves an exclusive lineup of Baja seafood, mesquite-grilled tacos, and new flavors, including Baja-style beer-battered fish and shrimp tacos, Mexican mesquite-grilled tacos, and vegetarian tacos such as CAMOTE and WILD HONGO.
What are the hours at the Highland Park locations?
Highland Park #1 is open Monday through Sunday from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Highland Park #3 is open Monday through Sunday from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Sources and how we reported this
This profile is based on the businesses' own published information and aggregate themes from public reviews. It is not a hands-on review: Local Bongo did not visit, test or receive anything from the businesses named, and no business paid to appear.
