TOCAYA: A FAST-CASUAL MODERN MEXICAN SPOT THAT HAS SO CAL WRITTEN ALL OVER IT
The Cost -$25 per person
The Atmosphere – When you walk into a Tocaya, you enter a modern Mexican fast-casual restaurant with Southern California written all over it. The light, bright, Instagram-worthy interiors with modern furniture and fixtures are a staple at all the restaurant’s locations. Open for both lunch and dinner, Tocaya is the perfect setting for a meal with friends or family or on your own. It doesn’t take reservations, but you can usually get a table shortly after ordering at the counter.
The first Tocaya opened not too long ago in Venice beach in 2016, bringing its “modern Mexican” food, essentially Mexican food infused with a whole lot of Southern California, to the Los Angeles area. With the popularity of its organic meat options, gluten-free options, and low-carb bowls, Tocaya quickly won over the hearts of Angelinos. Today, the restaurant has a total of twenty locations in Southern California and Arizona and we imagine that they will continue to expand into new areas of the country. For a casual lunch at LA’s well-known Century City Mall, we checked out its Tocaya location.
The Order – Strawberry Margarita, Guacamole, Black Beans, Street Corn En Fuego Bowl, and Churro Waffle Bites.
The Great – Let’s start with the cocktail, the Strawberry Margarita. The drink was made with fresh strawberries which was key to its success. Instead of tasting overly sweet and artificial, the drink was more natural, light, and refreshing. While there could have been more of a tequila taste in the cocktail, it was a nice way to start the meal and is a good option for someone who prefers a drink that isn’t alcohol-forward.
The other dish earning our Great rating is the Churro Waffle Bites. A recent addition to the Tocaya menu, the dessert is served in a mini metal fryer basket. It is full of bite-sized waffle pieces that are coated in cinnamon and sugar and served along with a tasty vegan chocolate dipping sauce. The portion is a good size and this dish is a great value for the price ($5) but the one downside is that it came at the same time as the rest of the meal because everything was ordered all at once at the counter.
The Good – The guacamole at Tocaya comes in two sizes and we ordered the full-sized version. It comes with your choice of the more traditional tortilla chips or crispy plantain strips for dipping, of which we chose the plantain strips. The nice part about Tocaya’s guacamole is that it is made from fresh, good-quality avocados. The not-so-nice part is that there isn’t much flavor in it aside from the avocados themselves. The dip needed more salt, cilantro, and chile in order to make it stand out, but the plantain strips were definitely fun and made for a nice, creative alternative to the tortilla chips. The pomegranate seeds on top also gave it a little bit of flair but the guacamole itself is not going to wow you.
Even though nothing that was ordered was meant to be accompanied by a side of Black Beans, I ordered them anyway. Tocaya’s beans are not dry and not soupy, having great consistency and texture. They are made with onions and guajillo chiles and are topped with some grated vegan mozzarella. The cheese isn’t as good as cotija would be and the dish could have benefited from some pork flavor, but overall, the black beans were a solid side dish.
Last but not least, the Street Corn En Fuego Bowl was the only entrée that was ordered. With the bowl, you are able to select your choice of protein and your choice of cheese - I chose shrimp and cotija. I also substituted the cauliflower rice for the cilantro lime rice as I wanted to try out the “healthier” option. The bowl, which was quite large, came with six to eight shrimp, spicy corn, spicy cabbage, avocado, lime, the cotija cheese, and a chile de arbol salsa. It was definitely on the spicy side (about a medium at an Indian or Thai restaurant) and had a lot of great flavors. I enjoyed the cauliflower rice and thought that it fit the dish well and while I would try something else on the menu next time, it wasn’t because I did not enjoy this bowl.
The Verdict – Tocaya’s growth over the past few years has been impressive and it is a result of its focus on quality food in a fast-casual but upscale setting, all while maintaining reasonable prices. If you are visiting Southern California, Tocaya is a great place to enjoy a casual meal in a relaxed setting and is a much more health-conscious, higher-end option to Chipotle or other Mexican fast-food chains.