I got a carnitas quesadilla and it was delicious! Their rice is to die for and everyone was so warm and friendly

Best quesabirria in IV and Santa Barbara!

Quesobirria tacos were fantastic!

best restaurant in I.V! Reliably amazing food and service.

Zocalos is amazing! Prices are cheap and the food is the best. The staff is also very nice

most authentic food you’ll find in iv! nicest workers too! amazing <3!!!

Nice place, great food, great service.

Most authentic Mexican food in town! Love zocalo. Ge the tacos

Workers are amazing. Food is amazing. Need more now.

Try the Pozole! It’s a little spicy and so flavorful! They serve it with avocado, cilantro, lime and chips, piping hot and in a big enough bowl for leftovers. My husband had the avo and eggs on a jalapeño cheese bagel and it disappeared before he even offered me a bite!

As predicted by the other reviews this food was absolutely delicious and staff was really nice

I love this place 🤤🤤 Best mexican food in iv

This place is my favorite in Isla Vista right now. The food is fantastic, the horchata latte is a must, and the customer service is fantastic!! This restaurant and food is made with love, an easy 5 stars

My new go to. We always get the enchiladas with steak and a strawberry mint cooler. Fantastic food, incredibly friendly staff, and a great vibe.

I love this little family owned restaurant in IV. The people are so nice and the food is delicious. Everything is immaculate.

The food and the salsa were delicious! Great customer service with a smile. If you are looking for good Mexican food this is definitely the spot you want to go!

best authentic Mexican food in IV. I come here almost every weekend. so good. the workers are so nice and the food is AMAZING. literally my favorite restaurant in IV!

The birria tacos here are amazing, get the quesabirria if you want cheese, ask for rice and beans on the side 👌. The flan and arroz con leche are great too!

Absolutely the best Mexican food in the IV and it's actually AUTHENTIC food that's good for the soul! Their tortillas are top tier! 10/10 you gotta try it!

Amazing food. Got the breakfast burrito and Huevos ranchero and a latte. All was amazing. Everything is made fresh. Great service. I highly recommend

I absolutely love this place! The food reminds me of home.

I was amazed at how good this place is. Tried the UCSB bagel and the Zocalo bagel. Really interesting ingredients that mix very well. Definitely recommend. vegetarian friendly.

Visited your place today while working in the area I ordered the Quesabirria tacos and a Mango Mjnt drink, lunch was very good and tasty. I will definitely be back for more

Favorite mexican place in IV!! Great Enchiladas suisas, chorizo breakfast burrito, and mint mango tea. Everyone is super friendly and energetic!

Best Mexican food I’ve ever had. Ordered the quesabirria and I am so satisfied. One of the best things I’ve ever had!

Great customer service. Their food is well made, good quality and very tasty. Their rice is amazing!

Absolutely delicious and unique dishes! Our favorites: quesabirria, horchata and coffee flan. We will be back.

I got the breakfast burrito, hands-down best breakfast burrito I can remember. This place is great but ai fell like it's super slept-on, as most of the IV foot traffic happens near the Freebirds/Woodstock area. Spread the word about this place, it deserves more business.

Honestly the best Mexican food I’ve had in a LONG time. We received our food very quickly and staff were super friendly; not to mention the food itself is AMAZING!! 100% Recommend.

Stopped here mid afternoon while on a long bike ride. Incredible fish taco and my first horchata latte - delicious. The chef and the host were super friendly and made me very welcome. Great food and great people.

Huge burrito, best burrito I've had in a long time, amazing green salsa has the perfect spice level and flavor, meat has tons of flavor any reviews complaining about this place should be ignored imo. Would go back 10/10 for taste and portion.

The absolute best food in Isla Vista. Amazing bagels, amazing quesa birria.

We just love all the food the staff the atmosphere ❤️

ordered for takeout. loved the torta and rice with it

I visited Zocalo on a summer Sunday afternoon, so it was pretty quiet. My order of quesabirria tacos were ready for pickup on time, and they were excellent! The accompanying consommé was a perfect pairing for the quesabirria, no need for salsa. Fantastic flavor and I'll definitely be back.

Really love their tacos simply the best. Also their homemade espresso flan

people are super friendly here, and the breakfast burrito is huuuuge (and very tasty)!

Absolutely delicious bagels! I really wish their website and online ordering worked better. Definitely needs some improvements and makes it difficult to order ahead of time.

I came in a couple of days ago to try the food out for the first time. The carne asada burrito was very good and all the ingredients tasted very fresh. The salsa and the horchata were also very good. The staff were very friendly so I will definitely be back soon!

Some of the best tortas in the Santa Barbara area! I usually eat one with an horchata latte. The staff are so kind and friendly as well. I live downtown and it's still worth the trip to IV.

I have quite literally ordered from here everyday for the past 2 weeks. I especially love their quesabirria tacos, breakfast burrito, nachos, and mango mint tea!! Everything I’ve tried has made this place better and better. the food is amazing and the people are so friendly and welcoming. i’ve told everyone close to me how obsessed i’ve been LOL

Super hard to find a place where the food, drinks and latte are incredible and a great price! One of my new favorite places I have found! Especially for breakfast!

+2

Best nachos I've had in a long time, maybe ever, very fast service, delish food generally!

So good. My burrito was the size of my forearm and every bite was delicious. My Horchata was perfect. The staff were very friendly and food was ready quickly. Will definitely go back!

food was fire! place was so aesthetic. jaime the server was super nice amazing service! coming back soon

Such a cute and fun environment. The music is spot on. The customer service is splendid—plenty of smiles and attention. Moreover, their Horchata Latte is outstanding!

Awesome tasty food! They do a great job here!

Incredible quesobirria in a cute, authentic restaurant. Very friendly service. Wait for them to give you the physical menu - the sign overhead is incomplete (I think it doesn't even have the quesobirria). No wonder it's an IV staple.

This is what IV needed. A Mexican restaurant that isn't greasy and doesn't add french fries to everything. Got the el pastor torta and I recommend to anyone. The salsas are what sealed the deal with this dish, an absolute must get

Best Mexican food I’ve had in a very long time! Genuinely, friendly service and so much attention to every detail - from adding new, unique items to the menu, to making fine adjustments to ensure comfortable seating to offering a variety of salsas to suit your unique taste (and heat level.) The fresh chicken tamales (cooked that morning) with egg on top were delicious and paired perfectly with the horchata latte. I 100% recommend a meal here and will be back to visit anytime I’m in Isla Vista.

We enjoyed our visit, found it on line and went out of our way to try it! Fun place close to a college. Excellent food - cheese enchiladas were yummy tad spicy but we really loved it!

One of my favorite spots in IV for authentic Mexican food and great service! I highly recommend the specialty drinks as well as the birria tacos. The bagels are also delicious.

The highest quality food in Isla Vista and consistently delicious. I love their breakfast items! My only critique is that everything is served in single-use plastic: I just bring my own reusable utensils when I go to eat there 😊 Highly recommend!

Tacos are unbelievably delicious. Spicy sauce makes the food next level

Very clean food and homemade food is the best. 👌 I had a horchata latte + zocalo tacos

BBB is peak cuisine

I normally go to freebirds in IV, but VERY glad I have this place a chance. The food was seriously fantastic! The ingredients are fresh, and the salsas were so delicious. I will absolutely go back very soon! Prices are very reasonable as well and friendly service.

We’ve been here a couple of times while visiting our daughter at UCSB. The burritos are so good, and large! The green salsa is delicious, and the variety of drinks are tempting. We’ve really appreciated the customer service as well.

Taste authentic. Reasonable prices. It's small. I had to clean the table due to people leaving trash on the tables. But the trash can is there so we can throw away our own waste. Other than that it's good.

Really good Mexican food at a good price. I had the Birria tacos with Consume and they were really yummy 😋.

the food was excellent. i ordered the quesabirria i highly recommend going here if you are in the area

Great place to eat Mexican food... Great flavors an the recipies are authentic from Mexico. Quesabirrias are the best.

We ate lunch here yesterday, it was delicious!!! We had the quesabirria tacos and the burrito divorciado without the tortilla, good portions and very tasty. The staff is very friendly and good atmosphere, there is convenient parking across the street. Hope to come back to Santa Barbara soon to eat here again.

I had dinner at Zocalo several times while I was staying in Isla Vista. The food is absolutely fantastic, everything I ate was amazing. Special mention to the Quesabirria, it quickly became my favorite Mexican food. I also loved their Horchata. Prices are very fair, and service is spot on. Do come here! It's worth it.

Seriously their quesabirria is so amazing I can't get enough of it. Dip it in their consomé, which is other worldly btw, and you get the perfect bite. The only downside is your fingers are gonna smell like birria the rest of your day. Oh, I totally forgot about their horchata latte. I'm telling you, if you haven't made up your mind about what to get for dinner and you haven't tried their their quesabirria yet, then you now know what you should get tonight.

I ordered the pozole and it’s by far the best I’ve ever tried And I’ve had some good pozole but this tops them all 🤩🤩💣Very flavorful and I highly recommend. I don’t ever leave reviews but it was to good to not.

Their BBB Bagel is the best Bagel I’ve had in my life. Just go get one now!

Visiting our old neighborhood and walking down Embarcadero Del Mar we found this little gem. This building was not here 25 years ago but now that it is, the businesses here are family owned, unlike the corporate businesses that were here before. Loved the Charro Burrito and Mazapán Latte 😍😍😍! Such a great and relaxing atmosphere. Must stop by and try this food!

WOW the food here was amazing. the tacos were so flavorful and delicious, and the rice and beans were also super good. i also got a cup of horchata which tasted so good. the only thing was that the ceviche was a bit too sour for my taste. still, this place was great. service was amazing too. definitely recommend!

Some of the best food and customer service I’ve ever seen in Isla Vista in the 3 years I’ve been here!! I got the Chilaquiles, the Norteño burrito, and the Horchata Latte, all made fresh and were SO DELICIOUS. This place is a hidden gem!! Thank you guys for being so genuine and amazing — I will definitely be back for more!

Very kind workers. Everybody was welcoming and made sure you were attended to the moment you came through the doors! They have vegan options too! From what I was told, anything on the menu could be veganized (add vegan chorizo, remove creme, remove cheese, etc) with the only exception of the rice. That was made with chicken broth. They were super kind to let me know from the start! To be honest, it is a wonderful place to stop by if you want to eat some very great comfort food with wonderful service! Will be coming back again! 5/5😁😁 Also, they do have restrooms! They speak English and Spanish by the way! 😁

delicious!! the service was fast and friendly. i’ve been yearning for good mexican food accessible in IV and this was my dream come true! i got a horchata and a birria burrito and coming from south san diego, i would say that these taste like home to me :) the food was filling but not overwhelming. the decoration was pretty too. they also called me senorita which was super sweet hehe please support them so they can stay in iv!

BBB is a little hard to eat but tasted unreal

Great food authentic Mexican cuisine fabulous music!

Great Mexican food, very impressive menu selection! The tacos were superb!

This is the only restaurant in Isla Vista that I’ve been to that I have enjoyed. I haven’t been to all of them, but they were all disappointing. Zocalo has authentic Mexican food on par with many of the best Los Angeles based Mexican restaurants. The selection is vast, ingredients fresh, and an intense focus on flavor.

The staff were very friendly and the food came fast (~5-10 mins). The Horchata (photo attached) and Mango Mint Iced Tea were excellent! I had a burrito which was also very nice, although I had to take it home to finish it because it was quite large. A very good Mexican restaurant experience overall for someone who doesn't tend to go to them.

Giorgio Nicoletti

I had dinner at Zocalo several times while I was staying in Isla Vista. The food is absolutely fantastic, everything I ate was amazing. Special mention to the Quesabirria, it quickly became my favorite Mexican food. I also loved their Horchata. Prices are very fair, and service is spot on. Do come here! It's worth it.

Will Heo

Seriously their quesabirria is so amazing I can't get enough of it. Dip it in their consomé, which is other worldly btw, and you get the perfect bite. The only downside is your fingers are gonna smell like birria the rest of your day. Oh, I totally forgot about their horchata latte. I'm telling you, if you haven't made up your mind about what to get for dinner and you haven't tried their their quesabirria yet, then you now know what you should get tonight.

Brandi Calderon

I ordered the pozole and it’s by far the best I’ve ever tried And I’ve had some good pozole but this tops them all 🤩🤩💣Very flavorful and I highly recommend. I don’t ever leave reviews but it was to good to not.

CHRISTIAN GABRIEL DOS SANTOS

Their BBB Bagel is the best Bagel I’ve had in my life. Just go get one now!

Natiely Lopez

Visiting our old neighborhood and walking down Embarcadero Del Mar we found this little gem. This building was not here 25 years ago but now that it is, the businesses here are family owned, unlike the corporate businesses that were here before. Loved the Charro Burrito and Mazapán Latte 😍😍😍! Such a great and relaxing atmosphere. Must stop by and try this food!

ashley zhou

WOW the food here was amazing. the tacos were so flavorful and delicious, and the rice and beans were also super good. i also got a cup of horchata which tasted so good. the only thing was that the ceviche was a bit too sour for my taste. still, this place was great. service was amazing too. definitely recommend!

Kelly Dias

Some of the best food and customer service I’ve ever seen in Isla Vista in the 3 years I’ve been here!! I got the Chilaquiles, the Norteño burrito, and the Horchata Latte, all made fresh and were SO DELICIOUS. This place is a hidden gem!! Thank you guys for being so genuine and amazing — I will definitely be back for more!

Jonathan Santamaria

Great food authentic Mexican cuisine fabulous music!

Antonio

Very kind workers. Everybody was welcoming and made sure you were attended to the moment you came through the doors! They have vegan options too! From what I was told, anything on the menu could be veganized (add vegan chorizo, remove creme, remove cheese, etc) with the only exception of the rice. That was made with chicken broth. They were super kind to let me know from the start! To be honest, it is a wonderful place to stop by if you want to eat some very great comfort food with wonderful service! Will be coming back again! 5/5😁😁 Also, they do have restrooms! They speak English and Spanish by the way! 😁

Yan Lei

delicious!! the service was fast and friendly. i’ve been yearning for good mexican food accessible in IV and this was my dream come true! i got a horchata and a birria burrito and coming from south san diego, i would say that these taste like home to me :) the food was filling but not overwhelming. the decoration was pretty too. they also called me senorita which was super sweet hehe please support them so they can stay in iv!

Ryan Longacre

BBB is a little hard to eat but tasted unreal

Sara Kaiden

Super hard to find a place where the food, drinks and latte are incredible and a great price! One of my new favorite places I have found! Especially for breakfast!

Olga Liakhovich

Great Mexican food, very impressive menu selection! The tacos were superb!

In from out of town and was craving quality tacos and we found this place via Google. Tasty tacos, fresh (!) ingredients, friendly (!) staff, clean atmosphere. Highly recommend!!

Food is excellent. The service is superb. Vibe is lively. The abuleita mocha was just what I needed on a cold windy day. I didn't think I can get authentic Mexican in Santa Barbara but this place hit it!

Misael P Mtz

Great place to eat Mexican food... Great flavors an the recipies are authentic from Mexico. Quesabirrias are the best.

Alice Rivera

Food is excellent. The service is superb. Vibe is lively. The abuleita mocha was just what I needed on a cold windy day. I didn't think I can get authentic Mexican in Santa Barbara but this place hit it!

Rob Mathison

In from out of town and was craving quality tacos and we found this place via Google. Tasty tacos, fresh (!) ingredients, friendly (!) staff, clean atmosphere. Highly recommend!!

Stephanie Jaime

Taste authentic. Reasonable prices. It's small. I had to clean the table due to people leaving trash on the tables. But the trash can is there so we can throw away our own waste. Other than that it's good.

Excellent asada tacos. Al Pastor made with pineapple YUM!!

The horchata latte was bomb, the quesabirria tacos were super delicious

Great food at a great price

Great food, but not the most comfortable place to hang out. We had several different dishes and could definitely have tried more!

Pretty good food and reasonable prices. Staff is really nice, but I found ordering kind of difficult since they don't have any posted menus (only printouts). Seating inside is plentiful but not super comfortable.

This place has more of a boutique/coffee house style that serves great authentic Mexican food. Seating area is very small and they do not have any alcoholic beverages, otherwise I would have given it a five-star. I'd go back! Good portions and good prices.

A new Mexican place on the block. Ordered a protein burrito. It was quite large with beans and rice on the inside. Overall, it's good, but I didn't quite like two things: it was a tad dry and wrapped in food paper instead of foil (which retains heat better, if you take a half of it home).

Steve Spain

This place has more of a boutique/coffee house style that serves great authentic Mexican food. Seating area is very small and they do not have any alcoholic beverages, otherwise I would have given it a five-star. I'd go back! Good portions and good prices.

Tanner Cassidy

Pretty good food and reasonable prices. Staff is really nice, but I found ordering kind of difficult since they don't have any posted menus (only printouts). Seating inside is plentiful but not super comfortable.

Burritos we’re just basic and not much meat in the burrito. Mainly has rice and beans. Price was high compared to the other Mexican restaurant in the area. The Jamaica drink was from a powder mix. I make it at home so I know the difference. Bottom line is if you want authentic Mexican food look elsewhere.

The tacos could have used a bit of salsa to accompany them as they were a bit dry. The guacamole was a bit bitter.

I decided to try this place after seeing the good reviews. I was a little disappointed. The rice was very good but the tacos were nothing special. Unfortunately all 3 tacos have to be the same meat, you can't mix and match like at other places. Also my tummy hurts... Salsa Verde was very good though.

After reading lots of good review I decided to experience the authentic Mexican food at Zocalo, but it disappointed me. It was crowded. We waited about 10 minutes to place our orders. Table was full of food crumbs. I had to ask for cleaning. Someone came to clean after 15 minute. There were no napkins, spoons or cup for water, but the restaurant offers self-service. Every time you have to ask for a napkin/cup/ spoon. Food was just bland. I feel like this place is overrated. Surely not coming back.

Mou Halder

After reading lots of good review I decided to experience the authentic Mexican food at Zocalo, but it disappointed me. It was crowded. We waited about 10 minutes to place our orders. Table was full of food crumbs. I had to ask for cleaning. Someone came to clean after 15 minute. There were no napkins, spoons or cup for water, but the restaurant offers self-service. Every time you have to ask for a napkin/cup/ spoon. Food was just bland. I feel like this place is overrated. Surely not coming back.