La Purepecha is a mexican restaurant in Downtown, Santa Monica.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: Asada tacos on handmade corn tortillas
Tip: Tacos on handmade tortillas with cilantro and onions are the order; parking sits right beside the shop.
Address: 725 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Benny's Tacos brines its rotisserie chicken for 24 hours in citrus and garlic on Wilshire in Santa Monica, with churros piped full of Bavarian cream.
Order: Rotisserie chicken plate and a Bavarian cream churro
Tip: The rotisserie chicken plate feeds two; finish with the cream-filled churros even if you think you will not.
Sweetfin builds chef-driven poke bowls on Broadway in Santa Monica, an entirely gluten-free kitchen of bamboo rice, kale noodles and citrus ponzu fish.
Order: Spicy tuna bowl on bamboo rice
Tip: Every bowl base swaps free, so try the kale noodle base; the whole menu is gluten-free by default.
Tacos Por Favor has fed Santa Monica's Olympic Boulevard workshops since the nineties, a no-frills counter of hard-shell tacos and chile relleno burritos.
Order: Chicken tacos and a chile relleno burrito
Tip: The lunch rush peaks at noon sharp; order the chicken taco plate and grab salsa from the bar before sitting.
Gilbert's El Indio has run its family Mexican dining room on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica since 1974, taquitos, shrimp plates and jalapeno margaritas.
Order: Taquitos with guacamole and a Tajin-rim margarita
Tip: It won Santa Monica's 2024 Most Loved Mexican Food award; Sunday closes at 14:00, so go for breakfast burritos.
Lares has served Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica since 1968, an old-world Mexican dining room with mariachi nights and vegan-friendly southern dishes.
Order: Mole plates from the southern-dishes side of the menu
Tip: Ask about mariachi nights before you book a quiet dinner; breakfast from 08:00 is the sleeper move.
Benny's Tacos brines its rotisserie chicken for 24 hours in citrus and garlic on Wilshire in Santa Monica, with churros piped full of Bavarian cream.
Order: Rotisserie chicken plate and a Bavarian cream churro
Tip: The rotisserie chicken plate feeds two; finish with the cream-filled churros even if you think you will not.
Sweetfin builds chef-driven poke bowls on Broadway in Santa Monica, an entirely gluten-free kitchen of bamboo rice, kale noodles and citrus ponzu fish.
Order: Spicy tuna bowl on bamboo rice
Tip: Every bowl base swaps free, so try the kale noodle base; the whole menu is gluten-free by default.
Sunny Blue wraps made-to-order omusubi on Main Street in Santa Monica, miso beef and curry rice balls pressed warm behind a six-seat counter.
Order: Miso beef omusubi, plus a spicy salmon to go
Tip: Miso mushroom is vegetarian and gluten-free; get one spicy salmon for the walk down to the beach.
