50 Best Mexican Restaurants near Aptos

“Been enjoying Manuels since 1966. Love the red snapper, the salad, flautas with guacamole...great food always! Hopefully coming to dinner tonight! ♥️“

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We stopped by Taqueria Los Pericos in Aptos for lunch on Sunday, and it was fantastic! I had a burrito, and my partner got the fresh tostada, and both were absolutely delicious. You could tell the ingredients were super fresh.
The service was great, too—everyone was very helpful and friendly. On top of the delicious food, the prices were just right. We left full, happy, and already planning our next visit. Highly recommend this spot!“

“This was a great find! I loved the courtyard in the back. I had the veggie burrito without dairy (vegan). The fajita style veggies, black beans, ride and guacamole wrapped up in a grilled spinach tortilla was super fresh and tasty. I’ll be back!“

“I’ve been eating at Gordos for 22 plus years now. Favorite taqueria of all time. Always recommend it to friends, only leaving this review because the burrito I had last night was literally the most perfect burrito they’ve ever made for me. It blew my mind. I’ve literally ordered the same thing for 22 years almost weekly 😂 love this place. Thank you Gordos!“

“My husband and I decided to check out the restaurant for lunch and it exceeded our expectations. We order the empanadas as a starter and they were absolutely delicious. The tocos we ordered were so yummy. They had such flavor, texture had depth. The wait staff were wonderful; professional, responsive, and always attending to our needs. We can't wait to return.“

“great service! delicious, authentic Oaxacan food. We will go back!“

“EVERYTHING was amazing. can't get enough of this place . the warm bean dip and salsa is wonderful. the micheladas were super yummy. EVERYTHING WAS so yum.y and flavorful. best food ever“

“Great service! Delicious food!“

“the best place for a full meal. all home made . I follow them from Salinas to Watsonville. to me they are the best.“

“The best Taqueria in town! Definitely overall service and the food 20/10 ! The team is beyond the amazing. The ambiance is chill and good for family too! This is one of my fav. Un taco crispy al pastor con aguacate y no habichuelas ! Enjoy! Thanks Guys“

“so delicious! everything we got was amazing especially the Quesabirria Tacos with consome!“

“their meats are out of this world good. some of the best I've been going to tons of taquerias for years. tacos are legit. burritos are huge and balanced perfectly. my new spot! ORALÉ !!!!“

“I had a fantastic experience using Mr Ralph Carico Services when exploring investment options.The professionalism and knowledge of the team gave me great confidence I can wholeheartedly recommend him without reservation, Mr Ralph Carico“

“I was coming down from San Francisco back to LA and stopped by to this place. Very colorful with art painted on the walls inside. Food was fantastic 10/10. After ordering I didn't have much interaction with staff but at the time of ordering my food the cashier/waitress seems pretty nice. They have a huge menu, so I'm sure there is plenty to try.
1.ordered fish taco 🌮...it's a very big tacowith double tortilla. If you're not a big rate this one taco should be enough (Forgot to take picture 😞).
2. I also ordered, a plate that came with 🐔 🥩 🍤🍚🫘. Huge plate enough to feed 2 people. I'm a fat ass so I ate it all 😆.
3. They have free unlimited self serve tortilla chips with a salsa bar you can have while you wait for your food.
4. They do have a wet bar. I had a beer 🍺 (it was a hot day 🥵)
5. Restroom was clean. Only one toilet 🚻.
6. Free agua Fresca refills. You refill it yourself.
If I'm ever up there again I'm Santa Cruz again I'm coming to this place again. Not sure why I didn't pictures.🤷🏽‍♂️“

“the Salmon Tacos are to die for!!! I've been enjoying them for 18 years.“

“I ordered two crispy carne asada tacos rice and beans. It was really good and put together well. The crane asada was tender and of course it was all delicious. I go often and I do recommend Salsas to fam and friends. Five Star every time I go.“

“Delicious food Love eating here …“

“Delicious food, kind servers, true authentic Mexican food. No hassle, no frills - so far, I've had the Siete Mares and Pescado Fritos and both were the best I've tasted in all of Santa Cruz County. I got my order as To Go so the atmosphere I didn't really get into but there were people there enjoying their food and sports on TV. A nice surprise.“

“Great service, food and atmosphere“

“I was on a lunch break from work today, my route was in Santa Cruz and asked google for the nearest Taco Spot. It recommended me this place. Very nice corner spot and great seating area. I ordered 1 Al Pastor taco and 1 asada quesadilla just to try out the food quality. Honestly the meat was absolutely delicious!!!! Their meat is very well seasoned and the tortilla for my taco is made by hand or how we say in Spanish “Tortillas hechas a mano.” Absolutely fire 🔥 Told the owner “Memo” that his food was absolutely delicious 🤤 and definitely coming back for more when I’m in the area next time! Definitely worth the money if you want quality tacos & burritos, and no more
Taco Bell for me 🙅‍♂️ hahahaha“

“The Service is great !!! Beef taco is wonderful :) Also they do an American breakfast if you desire.Everything iv had is really good !!!“

“great tasting food it was a packed little place with people waiting outside to be seated“

“The best taqueria in Santa Cruz!!! My family and I highly recommend this place❤“

“We had such excellent service and an amazing lunch . Home made corn tortillas and menudo and pazole. First class meal and experience all the way around . I have lived in this area for 20 years and have frequented many mexican restaurants and taquerias and this restaurant left us wanting to try more!! We will be back !“

“Chorizo Tacos were delicious $3 each. Such a steal! Love them.“

“I was just in the area and this was the top rated fast food place. I got a super burrito which was good for the most part but there were super salty bites, not sure maybe the beef was over seasoned. I would give them a 3.5 but rounded up to 4.“

“I ordered a smaller catering order for my husbands birthday and Taquizas Gabriel did not disappoint! He was happy to help and cater even for a smaller party (I ordered 2, 15 taco trays: 1 shrimp 1 pastor with chips/salsa/peppers/onions) which I was super grateful! The tacos were so fresh and so flavorful and the customer service was wonderful! Made it so easy for me for that day and I’m so grateful! If you need tacos for dinner tonight or for a party, I’d highly recommend getting them from here! My favorite tacos on this side of Santa Cruz/Capitola!“

“This is a good Taco place. Very Mom and Pop. Local customers love this place. Cash only but it has an ATM on site.\n\nIt used to be inexpensive but nowadays a burrito will set you back $12 or more. \n\nThe last few times that I drove by it was closed.“

“muy rico todo los tamales son de primera Calidad y los tacos mas ricos que he comido gracias por su dedication a su labor.“

“Flavorful authentic delicious mexican food and the vibe is great. Great waitresses.“

“This is a really good halal restaurant here in Santa Cruz. There isn't much of a halal restaurant here in Santa Cruz, and this has been a go-to for me recently. The owner is extremely nice and generous with the portions. Unlimited Chips, and there are a lot of exotic snacks.“

“Great chicken tacos 🌮 chips & salsa - the whole family enjoyed 👍🏼 Friendly service as well.“

“On vacation from FL. We was craving Mexican food, our hotel suggested this place, and what a great place to eat! The food was authentic and it was a treat! Our server we met was Lilly was so nice it made the food that much better! Can't wait to go again before we leave the area. Keep up the great food and customer service!“

“Chorizo Tacos were delicious $3 each. Such a steal! Love them.“

“Dropped in from San Diego ca food was great and definitely recommend to everyone“

“I mean if you haven't tried this place where have you been hiding? This is like one of the two best Mexican restaurants well maybe three maybe four actually in town so if you don't want to break your wallet go down here and they give you your money's worth guaranteed there's one at the other end of town too.“

“Excellent customer service today from server Heather. She totally accommodated the fact that I am gluten free and took her time to go over the entire menu with me, and she also made me up a fresh batch of gluten free chips. Heather is so knowledgeable and really kind and patient. i felt really cared for us.A customer and the food was very good too.“

“This was our first time there and the food was great and the atmosphere was great.. also had great service. We will be back again..“

“This was honestly the best food truck food I have ever had. I eat healthy all week, but I know when I go to a brewery on a weekend, I’m gonna have to make some compromises! No compromises had to be made for this food, as they had tons of healthy options! But healthy doesn’t always mean delicious, but this place was truly some of the most delicious food I had ever had at a brewery! (Humble Sea beer garden on the Santa Cruz wharf) I'll search out this food truck anytime I'm back in the Santa Cruz area.

Vegetarian options: Absolutely delicious!“

“Great place to meet up with friends, for breakfast or anytime! Great beach and lighthouse view, and casual, comfortable atmosphere! I highly recommend!!“

“The best very Good food Costomer sercice and atmosphiere the resturant is exelente this is betted than any resturant in santa cruz ca i recomend its like if my grandmother is making the food delisouse come you will miss out if you dont have a amazing day !!!“

“Los tacos de lengua mis favoritos con aguacate. Y mi coca cola mexicana,“

“Little gem of a find... fish tacos were great. So was the super taco. Guacamole was fresh. Our server was the best! She was prompt, friendly and accommodating. We found a table tucked outside which was nice, but you're crowded with Zelda folks coming and going. Inside seating is fine, but you're on the beach - would be nice to have more outside seating.

Definitely coming back.“

“Been going there since the early 2020's and it's always has been good...
Good quality food, enough to fill your belly, and even with the plates, sometimes enough to even bring home, love it being close to walking distance, nice restaurant...“

“Staff was super friendly and they truly cared about the customers. I had the fish taco and it was amazing“

“Hi everyone I highly recommend this place this the best Mexican food I have ever had in Santa Cruz honestly the best I've had ever anywhere! and the best part is that everything is so fresh they make your food fresh nothing is frozen there . This is the only place that I go for Mexican food and me and my family go there quite often it tastes amazing every time ! And even better the employees are awesome super nice . In the outside sitting area is so nice they have an apple tree and their own orange tree and limes !! It's beautiful.“

“The closest restaurant you will find to Abuelita’s kitchen. The food is as authentic as you can get! I always judge the authenticity of a Mexican restaurant by their beans, and their beans are spot on! Tacos de asada, nopal breakfast burritos and menudo is among my fave. The service is always great, the ladies their are always so welcoming and humble, they remind me of my tias. Give this small place a chance! You won’t regret it!“

“Great food , Great Margaritas! , Great service, 😊“

“A friend recommended this place for "the best burritos" and they were SO right! We will drive from Monterey just for Ranch Milk's burritos. The shrimp burrito is my favorite, I've never tasted anything like it. Their carne asada burrito is also amazing. We also came here to watch the World Cup, they have a few TVs and they also sell alcohol.

Parking: Parking lot is easy to access and leave. There are plenty of spots and we've never had a problem finding parking“

“The Al Pastor was dry, I like it aged and dry, not sweet. The tacos were large and with thinly sliced fresh cabbage, tomatoes and beans. The waitstaff was excellent and the chair was comfortable. I am disappointed they didn’t have taquitos and I did not see sides of rice and beans offered on the menu. ?“