Tacos Por Favor is a street-food stop in Mid City, Santa Monica.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: The lunch rush peaks at noon sharp; order the chicken taco plate and grab salsa from the bar before sitting.
Address: 1408 Olympic Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Heavy Handed smashes short-rib-blend patties on Main Street in Santa Monica, beef tallow fries and Straus soft serve from a pandemic pop-up made good.
Try: Short-rib smashburger
Tip: Double smash with American cheese, fries in tallow, soft serve after; the line moves faster than it looks.
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.
Try: Rotisserie chicken tacos
Tip: The rotisserie chicken plate feeds two; finish with the cream-filled churros even if you think you will not.
Bay Cities Italian Deli, family-owned since 1925, bakes and stacks the Godmother on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica behind hour-long lunchtime queues.
Try: The Godmother sub, takeout counter
Tip: Order the Godmother online ahead and skip the queue; it is debit or cash only and closed Monday and Tuesday.
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.
Try: Poke bowls
Tip: Every bowl base swaps free, so try the kale noodle base; the whole menu is gluten-free by default.
HiHo Cheeseburger griddles 100 percent grass-fed wagyu from First Light Farm on 2nd Street in Santa Monica, a classic double for fast-casual money.
Try: Wagyu cheeseburger, counter service
Tip: The mustard-grilled double with onions is the order; it is counter service, so grab a booth before you order.
Hot Dog on a Stick still hand-dips corn dogs at Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, where Dave Barham began hand-dipping them at his 1946 lemonade stand.
Try: Original corn dog
Tip: The rebuilt stand pounds its lemonade by hand the way it did in 1946; corn dog and lemonade is the whole menu you need.
