Corazon Cocina

Very tasty and good looking food.

Oh yes, their food is so legit! Chef Ramon brings his experience working at Arigatos and Cielitos, to his very own, family-​owned and operated venture. If you love fresh fish, you will love Corazon Cocina where you can taste the love of the food in its fresh and complex flavors.
I love the tostadas. They offer a special tostada weekly and they are delicious. Fresh fish, piled high atop a house made, crispy corn tortilla. The accompaniments and type of fish change based on what’s local and in season at the time. One thing that is constant, is that they are destined to be a crowd pleaser.
Equally yummy are their aqua frescas. I can’t choose just one flavor when they all sound so good, so I usually opt for a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ mix. Recently I blended the Watermelon Mint, with the Lemon Ginger Chia and it was SOOOOO good! I love the texture of the chia seeds in the drink.
Don’t forget to hit the salsa bar while you are there. The pineapple salsa snuggles up perfectly next to any fish!
Right now, Corazon Cocina is open on Sundays 11 am — 3: 30pm inside Three Pickles on De La Guerra and will be opening in the Public Market on Mondays in August 2015 in the exhibition kitchen.
Stay tuned for the opening of their own location in Montecito in 2016!

Best Tacos in Santa Bárbara. Love their Ensenada tacos and Cauliflower tacos. I found this spot on Unilocal for a quick stop to eat on my way back from Paso Robles and it’s worth the stop. This place is located in downtown Santa Barbara in front of the mission. Another favorite is the La Lola Ceviche. It’s delicious!

Amazing healthy twist on traditional Mexican food. Best ceviches and fresh tortillas I’ve ever had. The passion of the chef definitely comes out in everything he makes.

Holy Tits this place is the mother of all that is bomb dot com. Just trust me go to there, especially right when it opens. Get the Pulpo b/​c it will run out and then you will be sad. The Octopus tacos are just the dankity.
The ceviche was also plenty of the glory that is goodness in the food varietal. The people that run it are super nice and actually fairly easy on the eyes. So not only do you get really delicious food, you also get great eye candy via the service realm. Keep up the good work, chuuuuuuuuuch!!!

Best tacos in SB hands down!!!
The ceviche was super tasty also.
My favorite was the Queso Asado taco.

So good!!! I can’t wait to got back. We stumbled on to this amazing taco place because of my Unilocal app map option, and aren’t we lucky we did!
Everything we ordered was great, every taco was unique and had a fresh and flavorful twist from your typical taco. The ceviche was the best I’ve ever had. The condiment selections were fantastic! I’m dreaming of the fresh habenero pineapple salsa. The ginger agua fresca we had was so refreshing and bright and spicy.
Please don’t change what you’re doing and I hope you can open up 7 days a week!

I love tacos in just about any shape and form, and there are so many street food style tacos in town that when a taco place pops up that goes beyond that, I’ve not only gone to heaven, but I’ve gone to heaven holding a taco in each hand.
Corazon has done a great job to showing us that there’s amazing tacos beyond the basic meat, cilantro, onion combination. Something, I suspect, I’d get to experience if I spent time in Mexico sampling its vast array of regional specialties. The owners have taken family recipes, added local, fresh and seasonal ingredients, and hit the taco jackpot.
What you can expect includes a freshly made tortilla or tostada shell, a meat taco, several seafood and ceviche options, and a vegetarian taco made of ingredients inspired and sourced from the Saturday farmers market the day before. The salsas to accompany them are also wonderful, like pickled onions and garlic, pineapple habanero salsa, and a chile peanut arbol and you might find you’ve eaten before any of your order has arrived.
I am in no way a vegetarian, but the majority of the time the market taco is my favorite of the day. The flavors and combinations are so damn good. But that doesn’t mean that’s all I get. It’s really best to go to Corazon with a friend or two and order one of everything to share around. Pay with cash, or credit card — they have Square.
You can also expect a long line, and a wait for your food to arrive because each dish, which is served a la carte, is assembled to order. Prices range from $ 4 – 6 for the tacos and are generally $ 10 for the ceviche tostadas. So: not street food prices for not street food tacos. Did I say there’s a long line? Sometimes it is out the door, and sometimes they sell out of dishes within an hour or two of opening. It’s that line that’s proof of concept, because Santa Barbara is not used to lines and not used to paying much for tacos, yet they will do it for Corazon. Don’t just take my word for it, go stand in the line yourself!
You order at the counter, pay, get a number and find somewhere to sit. They will bring out the dishes, one per plate, as they become available. So sometimes you’ll get them trickling over one at a time, sometimes they’ll come all at once. Another good reason to share with a friend.
The dishes can get a little messy, but they are so good, I have zero dignity about getting it all over my face, my hands, dripping down my arms.
The stuff they serve here is by far the best tacos currently in Santa Barbara, the menu changes weekly and only available one day a week, Sundays… FOR NOW. Corazon is a pop-​up operating out of Three Pickles Deli downtown, but will be moving to its own brick and mortar location hopefully later this year. In the meantime, coming here is getting to be a Sunday tradition. You can see the menu on their FB page, or instagram (@corazoncocinasb) usually by Saturday afternoon, after Chef Ramon has gone to the farmers market.
ps. if you absolutely cannot handle waiting in that line, you are in luck that Corazon is on one of the tastiest food blocks in town to console yourself with. But you will have to watch all the post-​Corazon diners stroll by looking pretty happy and full.

Chef Ramon blows me away with beautifully prepared tacos and ceviche, paired with screamin’ fresh findings from the local farmers market. It’s a Sunday lunch habit I’m not to abandon any time soon. Everything is made by hand. Agua frescas, nice thick tortillas. It’s always a winner.

Great taco spot! Tortillas are hand made and the salsas are savory!
The tuna tostada was light with asian flavors– the fish taco was lightly battered-​favorite salsa was the peanuts with chile de arbol!

Wow! What a nice Sunday lunch. Amazing tacos, homemade agua frescas and friendly service. The tacos were from top quality fresh ingredients, you could tell from the flavor and the presentation. Great casual food can be tough to find in Santa Barbara, what a treat to find Corazon Cocina.

This place has the best tacos in Santa Barbara right now and it doesn’t come cheap. You shouldn’t expect to fill your belly for under $ 10, but the homemade tortilla and fresh fillings are worth the extra dollars. The sashimi grade tuna tostada is superb. The fresh silky tuna is marinated in a light soy ginger sauce and topped with crunchy and fragrant fried leek and creamy avocado. The charred octopus taco was my favorite as you can really savored that delicious product of Maillard reaction like a good stir fry. The salsas are not an afterthought here. The peanuts in arbol chili oil is a tasty snack. The three salsas range from mild (tomatillo) to medium (tomato) to hot (pineapple habanero). Ramon’s wife was all smile. They will have their own restaurant around April and the delicious tacos are here to stay.

This place is the bomb diggity! I just had to write this review ASAP! I finally made my way down here and it really lives up to the hype. This place is super busy and I can see why.
I ordered the Ensenada fish taco and Mercado Quesadillas. I love mushrooms so I had to try the quesadilla. You get 2 with your order served in a homemade corn tortilla. First let me say the fish taco is a must try! I can honestly say this is the best Baja style fish taco in all of Santa Barbara! It looks like a simple taco but it’s loaded with flavor and the crunchiness of the fish is on point! I loved the lime-​mayo crema drizzled on the fish taco. I like to add fresh lime juice to a fish taco but the lime-​mayo crema sauce was a perfect topping!
The quesadillas were delicious as well so if you like mushrooms then you will dig em. It has nice gooey melted Oaxaca cheese inside. They are pretty simple but quite tasty.
The salsas we’re fresh and delicious! I really enjoyed the pineapple habañero salsa. I love anything with pineapples!
Last I ordered the Agua Fresca «La Rana» that is made with pineapple, cucumber, and mint. All I can say is they perfected this drink! It’s light, refreshing, not too sweet. I want to try and make this at home yes it’s that yummy!
They’re only open on Sunday’s and they get super busy! Come with patience and the pay off will be up to your expectations. The staff is very pleasant and welcoming. You can tell they really take pride in what they do here and make you feel right at home. The food is definitely made with love!

I am not one to say that every place I have been to is the best but this place is seriously out of control good.
The Ensenada taco was absolutely perfectly cooked the fished melted like butter in my mouth the the crème sauce on it was magical. Easily the best fish taco in Santa Barbara and perhaps the best I have had.
The La Lola ceviche was as good as any I have had but the star of this show was the Callitos ceviche. The coconut milk with the scallops and aguachili was nearly indescribably good.
The prices are a bit high but I’d pay it 100 times over. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention how friendly and accommodating the service is here. Truly a gem of Santa Barbara, I hope they are successful enough to open a full time front soon! I don’t know if I can be patient enough for Sunday’s only, it’s too good!

Two Words: Sundays Only!
I got here a bit early because everything is made fresh! I have never tried a smoked salmon taco, but they nailed it. I didn’t try anything else because I was full from a donut I had earlier, but I didn’t want to miss out.
The menu changes weekly and it is located inside of Three Pickles
Stop by on Sundays — hopefully it will be open on other days in the future.

This place is located inside the Three Pickles deli. Overall, the food was very good, but the day that I went it took us over 90 minutes from getting in line to receiving our food. When we arrived, the line was all the way to the door and took us about 45 minutes to get through. The waitstaff was very nice, and explained that they got unexpectedly busier than they have ever been in the past. The ownership seem to be concerned about how long it was taking as well.
With all that said, the food was pretty good. The Ensenada Fish Taco was amazing! One of the best fish tacos I’ve ever had. The La «Lola» ceviche tostada was just okay. While it was good, the $ 10 price tag was not worth it.
Overall, I think this place is fantastic, but if they can’t figure out how to handle the big rushes it would not be worth going to.

Sundays only!
If you’re in SB for a weekend, CC 100% needs to be on your itinerary for Sunday. If it’s not, you’re a fool. A dunce-​cap wearing fool.
The concept is easy enough: a taco/​ceviche/​tostada pop up boasting a limited, but expertly executed menu. Since everything’s market fresh, it’s best to get there early to ensure they don’t run out of any of the board’s offerings. The salsa bar is a work of art on its own and reason alone to make a visit!
On our visit, between 4 of us, I’m pretty sure we ordered one of everything, but the standouts were:
–Ensenada taco — I didn’t try, but the gal that ordered it had to order another one immediately after finishing the last bite, so that says somethin’!
–Market carrot tostada — the Chef definitely has a knack for root vegetables. This was by far my favorite of the bunch! The tostada crunched just so.
–Tostada de Callitos — scallops, avocado, pomegranate seeds, mango — a serious quench of citrus and one of the most beautiful dishes offered
–Mama’s tamale — I don’t know whose mama is responsible for this, but this recipe did her proud
In an effort to support another local biz, I’d skip the beverage options and instead order something to accompany your feast from next door neighbor, Handlebar Coffee Roasters.

Absolutely delicious! They are only open on Sundays, but everything is fresh, extremely flavorful, yet still light and amazing. The Menu changes week to week but my favorite was the Lola taco with hamachi avocado and pomegranate seeds.

Stumble this on our way to get a sandwich before my 6 hour train ride back to SD. We totally came here by accident and glad that we did!
The line is quite long and the wait for the food is quite long, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how fresh the fish and ingredient taste. The pricing is not your everyday affordable Mexican food… And for the amount of food.
We got the salmon taco ($ 6 for one), the octopus ceviche (about $ 9) and the pork belly quesadilla ($something high) The smoked salmon taco was very good! I believe they smoke the salmon there. A bit expensive for one tack though. The ceviche was excellent and had great flavors, but the portion is a lot smaller than all the places. It’s just a small handful on a small tostada. They did give you a good amount of octopus though for the size. The pork belly quesadilla is not your typically quesadilla but totally worth a try. It was crunchy and not flat. Flavors were good and they have home made sauces that are excellent as well. My favorite was the spicy habernero and the pineapple one.
It was more of a contemporary mexican fusion food, their food presentation makes your mouth water. The place itself can be renovated when they get around to it.

So good! I’ve been a couple of times now (they are only open on Sundays) and it’s been such a great treat. The market tacos are the best way to eat your veggies. The first time I went that was my favorite (and, yes I tried the entire menu). This past Sunday they did a great pork belly quesadilla, fresh battered fish tacos and we managed to score the last of the ceviche. (!) Which reminds me, don’t wait too late in the afternoon to go — since everything is market-​fresh they do run out.
Don’t forget to try the salsas and peanuts in oil. Fresh aqua frescas too!
and you can slip right around the corner to C’est Cheese for a cookie after…