Tacos Perla

My friend Mari H. introduced me to Tacos Perla on my last day in San Diego because she wanted me to try these fancy artisan tacos. Well, color me impressed because they were delicious. We arrived when they opened and it wasn’t very busy. I had to use the restroom and borrowed the gigantic key. It’s located outside off of the patio but it’s very clean and wildly decorated.
After placing my order at the front, we were given a number and grabbed a seat at one of the communal tables. The order came out shortly after. The corn tortillas are hand pressed and each taco will run about $ 3.95 each. The tacos are served with just one tortilla because they are thick enough to hold the filling. I ordered the adobaba (al pastor) and carne asada tacos to try. The flavors were so good! The toppings were fresh and the meat was delicious. They have a salsa bar with 6 uniquely different homemade salsas for you to try. They are all so good! I think number 5 and number 6 were my favorites. You can also order crickets, chicharrones, or cheese for an extra $ 0.75. They have non-​traditional tacos for $ 4.95 each and you can select from: octopus, shrimp, vegetarian or a filling stuffed fire roasted chile pepper.
Tacos Perla is located on Upas Street next to Underbelly in North Park. The menu is simple but not simplistic. The flavors are transcendent and the service is on point. This is what a artisan taco place should be. I’m glad I was able to try it before leaving town but I’m sad that I don’t live closer to it. If you do go, you’ll want at least 2 tacos because the first one will just leave you wanting more. 5 enthusiastic stars.

The wait in line can be up to 45 minutes sometimes especially on Tuesdays but I will say the tacos are worth the wait. They are really unique and come with a variety of different sauces.

Living just a few blocks away this place has caught my eye. I decided to get out of my usual routine and try it out.
As you enter the place its cozy and well decorated, nice tables and design. That was the end of my positive experience.
I ordered 3 tacos, Mahi Mahi, Adobada and Carne Asada. I was fortunate, or so I thought, to get my order in before a large group behind me placed a to-​go order. I picked up a side of each of the 6 salsas and then made my way back to an empty seat to wait. And wait I did.
I started noticing the large group getting their orders. Finally the girl behind the counter asked me my name and then told me she had put my order in the to-​go order for the large group, half of which had already left. No apology, just very matter of fact. No offer of a free drink or chips while I wait, which I thought was a bit weak. In fact, the remaining people from that group were more apologetic than the staff.
Finally, after 45 minutes I got my three tacos and went home. I opened them up and they looked pretty good. The Mahi Mahi was my favorite, nicely fried and crispy. The Carne Asada was 50% fat, chewy and mostly inedible. The Adobda was okay, a little salty for my taste.
As a hot sauce fan I was excited to try each one. The spiciest was the habenero carrot, but its an emulsion, which is a fancy word for baby food texture. Not a fan. The others seemed just kind of off and almost Asian inspired. Soy sauce and peanut flavors. Not my favorite on a taco.
Overall, not a great experience. I’ll happily make the drive to Salud or Oscar’s in the future.

Tried it last week, probably best tacos in San diego. Their fresh juice is very refreshing. The salsa was very delicious and gave such a unique kick to the tacos. The staff was friendly and made the atmosphere really nice. I will be back soon and definitely recommend this place.

My biggest regret of my recent San Diego trip was not visiting Tacos Perla twice. While it was brought up on multiple occasions, sadly time just did not permit. When I say that it was brought up on multiple occasions, I mean it. I remember being in the ocean on a kayak and a little seal swam by. I thought to myself that the only thing that could make the moment more perfect would be if I had a taco from Tacos Perla in my hand.
I ate tacos literally every day on my vacation in San Diego. I had the best tacos of my life. I visited all the most talked about joints. The one that stood out to me the most was Tacos Perla. Tacos Perla was so good that it wrecked the rest of our taco tour the first day. Our limit for each place was one taco. We couldn’t stop at one here.
We had the carne asada and adobada. The carne asada was so good that we just kept ordering more. The thing that sends these tacos to a whole new level is the delectable salsas they make in-​house. Holy cow, these salsas were to die for. My favorite was the nut salsa. NUT, you say? YES! NUT. This was the most amazing salsa/​sauce I have ever put in my mouth (not an exaggeration). They combine a crap-​load of nuts– peanut, almond, cashew, hazelnut, and Brazilian. And then they blend with chile de arbol and other ingredients (I only wish I knew so I could attempt to mimic it). The flavor combo is off-​the-​hook. It was wildly addicting. It was so, so, so delicious that when my travel partner declared that I could not eat anymore tacos I said, «fine, I will just eat salsa.» So, that’s what I did. Some of the best dang stuff I have ever put in my mouth. Also some of the spiciest. I can handle spice like a champ, but this was almost pressing my limits. It is rare for me to get the hiccups from something being so spicy, but this salsa was hiccup inducing. This may sound terrible to some people, but I clearly suffer from masochism. The flavor and pain was addicting. Hey, there are worse things I could be addicted to.
Tacos Perla also has the most delicious homemade tortillas. We ended up getting flautas because we saw them frying them and just had to. Plus, another thing to dip in the nut sauce. So freaking good.
If you are in the area, you really have to stop at Tacos Perla. Hands down, the stand-​out of our Taco Tour. Another perk is that they are right next to Modern Times (best brewery in San Diego!). You can order in the brewery and they will deliver them to you! Only thing is that you probably won’t have enough nut sauce. Tacos Perla and Modern Times is a match made in heaven. If you are looking for stellar tacos in the land of tacos, make sure to hit Tacos Perla up. Know that I will be jealous 1,000 miles away in Denver.

Came here again for the second time and it’s gets even better. Michael was kind enough to help us out again and remembered who we were from the first time coming in. He mention about their new burritos that came out and was very interested in trying the Califas burrito. It was so delicious. He was kind enough in taking it over to Modern Times for us. That’s just awesome. Since I live here in North Park, I’ll be coming here more often. Keep doing a great job. #killertacos!

Best Tacos I’ve had in San Diego! Who ever thinks this place is «white washed» seriously has no idea what Mexican cuisine is like. Beans and rice are not a taco staple, in fact, most street shops NEVER have rice and beans.
The quality of the meat plus the flavorful sauces make all the difference. I’m so happy places like this are starting to appear in San Diego. Although it’s definitely pricey but I’d go back for more.

Great tacos with house made tortillas which is the main attraction. The wait can be very long during the lunch and dinner hours. Recommended either going early or late if you don’t feel like waiting 30 minutes for a taco. Good beer selection too and great salsas. My favorite is salsa number 5.
For being a meat eater the veg is actually my favorite taco. It has quite a bit of heft for not having any meat in it. My only gripe with this place is that every time I try to check in for the free crickets they are out. Definitely a solid option overall but city tacos on university takes the cake for best tacos in north park.

I absolutely love their corn tortilha, probably the best one I have ever had.
The boys in the kitchen were nice, helpful and did a great job with our tacos.
I do feel that 4.95 for a shrimp taco is a bit much but…
Downside: girl at the cashier is very blunt. Not to say rude. When I came back to order more tacos she turns to me and rudely says: «what’s up?» Excuse me? What kind of customer service is that? Those boys would be better off working by themselves than having someone with zero people skills being the face of Tacos Perla. Our whole group was pretty disappointed with her service. She was also very dry/​non-​friendly when bussing our table.

I try to do a online order for pick up and the order tab on the website is not working. I try calling and no one answers. I drove by and noticed the cashier at the front of restaurant talking n the phone and I called while I was looking for parking and still no answer. I came into the restaurant to order the deal mar taco and they ran out of ingredients. She suggested a different taco and I got it, but then the cook tells her they ran out of bone marrow and couldn’t serve it. Very annoying! coming from a very patient waitress and bar tender. That’s a lot ! I’m definitely not coming back to this place. No ingredients and absolutely can’t contact them for any reason.

Went to Tacos Perla last week and was very impressed! Husband ordered carne asada and mahi mahi tacos and I ordered the Del Mar taco and 2 chicken flautas. ALL were delicious! Paired it with a spicy michelada and it made for the perfect lunch.
Sun was out, food was good, and the company and atmosphere was the best. What more can you ask for?

5 stars for the cute space (even the bathroom!), fantastic salsa, and friendly service.
1 star for the super high price ($ 5 for a street taco sized taco) and so tough as to be inedible octopus taco (I actually did throw it away).
I guess that balances out to about 3 stars. What a shame.

Yum. I would like to see more veggie options but I did enjoy the one veggie taco they had. The selection of salsas is fantastic and I could eat that all day. I also had the cauliflower ceviche appetizer, which was good.

This is what I get for complaining that City Tacos is too expensive: a taco shop with tacos that are even MORE expensive, without the redeeming quality of being delicious.
I mean, the food isn’t terrible, but it’s just not special in any way. The menu looks exciting with plenty of vegetarian options, and potentially interesting things like «vegan ceviche.» But the execution is just boring. I tried their shrimp taco too (which is supposed to be their most popular item) and it was just… nothing. The tortillas are made fresh, which is awesome, but they’re awfully small. Such tiny servings!
I just can’t get my head around paying $ 20 to eat a mediocre dinner off cardboard.

This place is so yummy! They make all their tortillas in house by the way and they are so good! Simple menu, helpful staff, and a yummy salsa bar. The carne asada taco was my fav. Perfectly marinaded and grilled. Reminded me of TJ street tacos and i looooooove TJ street tacos. The chile de casa taco was bomb too! Its a poblano pepper grilled, stuff with your choice of protein — try the shrimp! The adobada was just ok. Seasoned good but missing that extra kick to make it next level.
Michelada lovers read: you must try the mango michelada. It’s made in house by the friendly girl at the register. Think chimango (if you don’t know what this is google immediately) with a beer. Basically mango purée, your choice of beer, and the rim dipped in chamoy and tajin! This drink is everything the little Mexican kid in me thought being an adult was all about. You must try now!
Décor is cool. Modern and hipster. Staff are nice. Super tiny so not great for groups. I’ll be back soon for another michelada and to try the rest of the tacos!

My last meal of my SD vacation… it should be tacos. So I got two salmon tacos from Tacos Perla on their famous hand made corn tortillas. I ate one right away and was going to eat one later on when I get to the airport. Big mistake… with the heat of the tortilla so fresh, it was much tastier and the other taco tortilla got crusty and crunchy.
The salmon was cooked and seasoned well and the pineapple agua fresca that I also ordered was a nice fruity alternative to all the beer and coffee that I had consumed over the past few days.
My only Mexican and probably most favorite meal of my trip.

Ok… First and foremost it would be pretty awesome if they got rid of the flies in the dining room and also if the girl that was working the register was paying just a little more than zero attention that would be awesome.
Now that those negatives are out of the way. Let me say the tacos are delish and the salsa selections are amazing. When we arrived they had just opened so they were still getting ready. We ordered the veg tacos and the vegan tacos and the vegan ceviche. The veg tacos have cheese and we typically avoid it but said what the hell for the day. When the guy delivered our order he was so extremely friendly and caring. He started by making sure we were aware of the salsa bar. Then he reaffirmed that there was cheese in the veggie tacos to make sure that we were aware of that since he noticed we ordered the vegan ceviche.
The tacos were absolutely amazing with the different salsas that they have. The ceviche was good but I would have liked some other veggie options. It was primarily cauliflower based which was good but it could have had more.
They make their corn tortillas fresh here which takes the tacos to a whole new level. They don’t have a tone of options here but the ones that have are very delicious. I definitely recommend checking them out for some taco awesomeness.

Nothing particularly stood out for me here. Tacos were pretty pricey for what you get. I ordered two tacos and that was not enough. Tried the carne asada taco but the meat was not even hot and couple pieces were just fat/​chewy. The corn taco shell was much larger than the contents inside it. They don’t offer a flour taco option which is what I usually get but their corn taco was not bad in flavor. I also tried the shrimp taco which was decent but again for the price of $ 4.75, I expected a lot more than just one piece of shrimp. They have 6 different kind of salsas you can add to your taco which was pretty neat but that didn’t matter to me much as the meat portions of their tacos was my main disappointment with this place. Sadly they ran out of their fish ceviche at 7:12pm as that was what I was going to get.
I tried my friend’s octopus taco but that didn’t taste too good either. It was a bunch of small octopus which means you’re stuck with a bunch baby octopus legs that have no flavor. I’d avoid that and just stick to the mahi mahi taco which was decent.
Not the best tacos I have had in San Diego. Sadly after the meal, I walked by many other taco places that were more busy than when we came to eat here. Should have done more research next time.

Ding ding!
And the winner of San Diego’s best taco is… Tacos Perla!
Since trying City Tacos earlier this year I have joined the club of San Diegans who rate City Tacos as the number one taco in San Diego. But I finally tried Tacos Perla this past weekend and it easily beats City Tacos!
Sorry, City Tacos. I loved you, but, um… I think we should still try to be friends.
To start, Tacos Perla tacos are 50 percent bigger than City which are pretty tiny. For $ 3.50 you are getting a mammoth of a adobada pork taco served on a hefty housemade corn tortilla that tastes like my abuela made it. Wait a sec, I’m not Latina?
Also, you can get a hibiscus or strawberry (or whatever the flavor of the day) agua fresca with unlimited refills. It was 90 degrees out and the staff was mucho friendly and never made me feel guilty about asking for a refill. Then another refill. Then another. Four cups I had!
But perhaps the best thing is that you can add a side of Oaxaca style crickets as a topping to your taco, and you can get it free by checking in on your Unilocal app. Otherwise it’s like 75 cents I think. I was super excited and then I don’t know what I was expecting but I was kinda shocked that they gave me a little plastic cup with about a dozen critters in it. Um, waiter, there’s a bug in my taco…
There’s also six housemade sauces that are super unique and four of them are super spicy! I liked the mixed nuts one (peanut, almond, cashew, hazelnut, brazilian nut, chile de arbol), the pineapple-​turmeric-​basil one and the blisteringly hot carrot and habanero emulsion.
Next time I go back I’m gonna splurge and try some of their more experimental tacos like the grilled octopus for $ 4.75.

Oh North Park, how have you grown since 5 years ago!
Location: On the corner of Upas and 30^th. The interior is actually really cool. Patio seating as well as group seating inside. You are welcome to sit on tree trunks at the taco bar, which I thought was a great touch!
Décor Very modern and cool! Hipsterish!
Food: To be honest, I’m not sure what the whole hype was about their tacos, but it did not have flavor to me at all! I ordered two carne asada tacos and the Ocho (grilled octopus). The choice of hot sauces were cool, however a lot of flies were in the restaurant that they flew into the hot sauces, swimming or dead. So I kind of lost my appetite! The corn tortillas were cooked fresh in which was delicious! Other than that, I would get more flavor tacos at Rancho’s on 30^th. They also have self-​serve water available right at entrance door.
Not sure where the bathroom is located, but there is a key hanging next to the register for the bathroom.
Service: It was okay. The guy taking our ordered seemed a little impatient when there was no one in there. But whatever, because I probably won’t be coming back.

asisti por primera vez mis tacos 2 de asada tardaron 20 min los chicos de la cocina que entraron no se lavarln las manos… los tacos estan buenos gracias.