Lilly’s Tacos

Excellent tacos and inexpensive. $ 1.85 per taco. Come in before 12 pm and beat the lunch rush or else you’ll find yourself standing in a very long line.

Tacos so good I can come here for an hour and eat enough for the entire day. #TacosBeforeVatos

Styrofoam plates. Filling the landfills. It’s just irresponsible and lazy. I refuse to give my money to a place that serves styrofoam dishware as its only option, no matter how good the food is.

This seems to be a very popular lunch spot in Santa Barbara. I came in for lunch and there was a steady stream of customers coming and going, eating in and taking out.
They have a great salsa bar with 3 different kinds of salsa, cilantro, radishes, onions, etc. It was all very fresh.
I tried chicken, pork and steak tacos. The chicken was the best meat. I also tried a bite of the beef eyeball taco. It was interesting. Tacos are $ 1.80 each and there are several grilled meat choices and steamed meat choices. They come plain on 2 small corn tortillas and you add toppings from the salsa bar.

Must. Eat. Tacos.
Lilly’s has been holding it down for years. The best in town.

This place is awesome and you know it is because of the line of people out the front door. The tacos are great and that’s all I really can say. The chicken is a fajita mix that is really really good. The steak is steak and again super yummy. I can’t really say anything else except that the drinks are cold.
Oh, something else, not sure if this is a negative but it’s a fact. This place does not offer cheese. No cheese on your tacos so don’t even ask.

Always my favorite taco spot when I’m in Santa Barbara!
The parking is difficult but that’s everywhere in downtown Santa Barbara, unless you park in a parking garage.
Anyway, I highly recommend!

Delicious tacos for $ 1.80 each! After taking one bite of the three tacos I ordered (asada, adobado, lengua) I already knew I wanted a forth.
There is a solid salsa bar with all the basics: green salsa, red salsa, radishes, limes, cilantro and onions.
Great lunch spot an easy walk from State St. Very quick and affordable especially if you’re planning to blow your money on a nice dinner later in the day!

Definitely cheap but I did not like the tacos that much.
Lots of my friends love this place but I do not. Seems a bit dirty and the quality of the tacos was not as mind blowing as people made it sound to be.

Tried this place for a late lunch and it is so bomb. It’s at the corner of a plaza I don’t quite remember but parking wasn’t a pain if it’s on Saturday. There weren’t a lot of people when I came but I did come around 4/​5pm. The line was a little bit out of the door but it went by fast.
I asked for recommendations and the cashier told me to try the beef tongue. I also got 2 carne asada and 1 chicken. They give you a number and call it out, but I decided to go find seats for my group. The place is surprisingly clean and made me feel very welcomed. There are two carts full of fresh condiments to put on your tacos.
I got my tacos and holy, they put on so much meat! I really couldn’t tell which was which but I ended up putting almost all the condiments on (yes I’m a flavorful person) and ate them. I have never been so happy to eat tacos before, they were SO DELICIOUS! Granted the sauces were a bit spicy, I gobbled them down and even contemplated on getting more. But I had to resist.
This place is so good and I recommend EVERYONE to try it. I wish I could go back and get more.

What an amazing little taco place, the correlation between «no frills» and «quality tacos» is so strong with this restaurant.
They have several types of tacos; the white people tacos (chicken, asada (steak), adobada (pork)), and then the real Mexican tacos (lengua, tripas, etc.). The tacos were big tacos, my girlfriend was able to take all the meat and the second tortilla and make mini tacos. They even had some chopped vegetables in some of the tacos, (sorry I can’t remember which one they were in, I’m thinking adobada).
Lots of fun glass bottled soda, a solid salsa bar, and that’s about it. There really isn’t much more to say about this place, except that you’ve gotta go if you like tacos. I live in San Luis Obispo (1.5 hours away) and am planning a trip here just to show my friends how good these tacos are!
Just go and try them. Do it.

If you’re a taco connoisseur this place should definitely be on your bucket list! I’m from the LA area and am used to always having amazing tacos within a 10 minute drive. Lilly’s tacos definitely compares to some back home and gets my taco fix when I’m craving! Although it’s a little more pricy than I would prefer per taco ($ 1.75) they pack a good amount of QUALITY meat that I don’t mind as much as my wallet does. The line is usually pretty long, but it definitely moves quickly and efficiently.
My favorites include authentic mexican taco meat (soft shell or GTFO):
Lengua (tongue if ya didn’t know)
Asada (done perfectly)
Abogada (check that spelling)
Must make a visit! They also have one in goleta.

Lilly’s Tacos, probably one of the best Mexican places I could get north of the border, no? The great thing is that they focus on tacos to make sure you get the best taco you can get and then dress it up how you like it, but I love dressing it up the traditional Mexican way. No burrito, nothing Tex-​Mex, just a good old fashion taco.
FOOD: I ended up getting so many tacos. Labio, cabeza, lengua, asada, I mean, all of them looked so good. You can taste the difference between them if you have eaten things like cow lip, cow head, cow tongue, and what not, but for me, I am only a novice when it comes to those kinds of meat. The way the meat is prepared is delicious, not game-​y or tough, but just perfect. After ordering and receiving your fresh and very hot tacos, walk over to the little bar at the back. Traditional Mexican tacos come with a lime wedge (I like a lime wedge per taco, but that’s just me), onion, cilantro, radish, and a little bit of salsa of your choice. Put as much or as little of everything you like to make your taco the best taco outside of Mexico.
SERVICE: Fast to get the tacos out. Fresh. Win.
Although I just came back from Mexico recently, Lilly’s Tacos does the Mexican taco justice. If only it was closer to me in Northern California !!!

BOMB!!! Great street tacos, the flavor of the meats were soooo good. I got chicken and beef tacos but I think i liked the beef better.
Simple place with great food, prices are $ 1.70 plus tax a taco
Great place to eat if you want something yummy, quick, and cheap!

This is a great little gem in the area
After a day of wine tasting my girlfriends and I decided to stop in here for some food. I loved their basic menu of tacos. They have different meats for steamed and grilled. They also have a vegetarian options. I went with two tacos: one asada and the other chicken. Both of the tacos were okay. The meats were cooked fine and were both seasoned right. However, I didn’t think it was anything too special. They arrive pretty simple and you can add whatever you like from the salsa bar. The pricing is so cheap there isn’t much to complain about. It’s about $ 1.70 per taco so about $ 4 for two tacos.
The inside this place is pretty large and casual with plenty of places to sit. There are two salsa bars so you do not have to wait long to get all your sauces. The sauces are all pretty good and were kept on ice. The guy at the counter was nice and patient with us. Our foods came out fast and we were all pretty happy. I also like that this place takes card. We got lucky with parking, otherwise parking can be hard to find on the weekends.

Got lucky both times I came here and didn’t have to wait in a long line. I came here twice for a late dinner, so around 8 PM.
PRO
+ rare fillings for tacos such as eyes, tongue, etc. as well as normal meat such as beef, marinated pork, etc. if you are not feeling adventurous
+ food comes quickly
+ large portion of meat
+ napkins in a canister on the table so you don’t have to keep asking for more
+ lots of seatings inside and outside
+ condiment bar with fresh cilantro and onions and a wide variety of sauces
+ accepts credit card, but $ 0.50 charge if your order is under $ 5
CON
— you have to ask for water from the cashier. The water ended up tasting really weird. It didn’t taste like it was out in the heat for too long but it didn’t taste normal, ended up tossing it away after a sip.
— taco was a bit dry, but lots of sauces to make it wetter
— most of the sauces were spicy, so try a little of each before pouring them on your tacos
— restroom was a bit dirty
— they raised the price of the taco over time, it used to be $ 1.60 and now its $ 1.70
— parking may be a bit hard to find since they closed off the lot across from Lilly’s where the trolleys are

Awesome is one word to describe this place. Authentic place indeed. Simple menu but great taste. They don’t try to offer everything under the stars which is good. Very small kitchen but kept clean and organized. Self service but this is ok as the price is very cheap. Common $ 1.70/ taco right near the beach no way get out of here.
The tacos are served on two corn tortillas. You get all toppings unlimited. Home made salsa. You can tell this place is authentic by looking at the crowd around you. Will visit this place again. 4 tacos and a bottled drink for $ 9.50 incl tax.

The Bf and I were on a trek back from Paso/​SLO and needed a quick bite. A Unilocal search is the key — so handy when you’re on the road and in a neighborhood you don’t know much about. I typed in «Lunch» and let it default to my current location. The food gods smiled down at me as Lilly’s Tacos was the top pick. Unilocal never steers me wrong and with all those stars, it felt so right.
And right it was! Busy — like line out the door at 2. I take this as a good sign and another plus point is that it was moving along pretty nicely. Parking is terrible in the area, but the area is nice so if you had to wander by shops on a stroll to get there it’s not a real loss — just be warned.
We ordered 6 tacos, they’re street sized and it’s basically all they do there. Multiple meats, some veggies, but tacos for days — and rapido! My order was taken in and in hand in less than 5 minutes (minus the line wait time)
My only complaint was that I asked for it to go and was offered the option of having the cilantro/​onions/​etc all on top of the tacos wrapped up and ready to go and I said an absolute yes to that but when we got to our picnic spot the toppings were wrapped in separate foils and we had to add it all with our hands — no big deal, just messy when it was a to go deal. I don’t mind self assembly, but would have grabbed utensils and more napkins, etc. I suggest a peak in the foil before you head out if you’re on the go.
The meat (pork and asada for us) was as good as it can possibly be. Literally, it’s like the perfect street taco. The toppings were fresh and tasty, the green sauce has a kick and full of flavor.
When you dine in, you get your tacos with the meats and whatever and then top it at a nicely stocked salsa etc. bar. Seating inside is busy but bigger than it looks — no air conditioning it seems.
Drink available in the cooler — be sure to order them when you pay at the counter before choosing a seat.

Lilly’s has been my go to place for tacos since it first opened. I remember when this place use to be a tiny hole in the wall that hardly anyone knew about and the tacos use to cost $ 1.00 each! Now they charge $ 1.60 but it’s still a great deal for what you get.
It’s nice to see how far this place has come along; from expanding their tiny hole in the wall to opening a second location out in Goleta.
This place is strictly a tacos only place so don’t expect to find anything else. Their taco choices consist of carne asada, adobada, chicken, steamed steak, and veggie. They also offer unique choices such as cabeza (head), cachete (cheek), lengua (tongue), labio (lip), and Ojo (eye). I’m not into those parts but if that’s your thing then you can find it here!
There’s always a line out the door but it moves quickly and the food is served quickly too. Sometimes it can be a hit or miss with the meat being a bit dry but just add some salsa, lime, cilantro, onions, and radish and you’re good to go! For the most part Lilly’s does not disappoint and will continue to be my go to place for simple and delicious tacos.
Most important Tip: They are closed on taco Tuesdays! Say whaat? I’m still trying to figure that one out SMH.

Lilly’s is where part 1 of my Taco Theory was born. Here is my hypothesis: the more cow parts on the menu the better the food. Cheek, eye balls, tongue, tripe, and the usual cow parts are on the menu. I tested my hypothesis by ordering tripe, cheek, and asada. They were all oh so very delicious and cheap too! I came here 3 of the 4 days I was in Santa Barbara to get my hands on these little street tacos. I miss them to this day!
Part 2 of my theory is the flavor of the food increases as the shady/​scary factor increases. Lilly’s is off the main drag near the highway. Not exactly risking your life for tacos but it will do.
I can’t wait to go back!