These Are The Best Food Trucks In CA, According To Yelp

Yelp just dropped its list of the nation's best food trucks on Tuesday and 22 percent of them offer a diverse variety of cuisine right here in the Golden State.

The crowdsourced review platform for eateries assembles its list each year based off of thousands of reviews to find the best meals on wheels.

Of the 100 mobile kitchens lauded by Yelp users, 22 are based in California—surprisingly spread across the state and offering everything from American staples to global fare.

About half serve tacos or Latin street food, while the rest span a mix of burger joints, Southern comfort food, Middle Eastern dishes, Japanese sweets, Italian seafood, Mediterranean kabobs and Colombian cuisine.

The 100 rounded up by Yelp were plucked from a master list of more than 58,000 food trucks across the States just in time for National Food Truck Day on Friday, June 27.

Every culture seems to have its own "street food" and the tradition of enjoying such a meal is one that spans the ages. Today, the U.S. food-truck scene is as $1.8 billion industry, according to a recent report from Toast.

Particularly in California, mobile kitchens offer an opportunity for burgeoning restauranteurs and chefs to test their talents without breaking the bank on a brick-and-mortar. And often, the experience offers creative dishes and international fare at a more affordable price point than their full-service counterparts.

California's highest ranking food truck was named in San Jose, Jojo’s Hot Chicken, which had national rank of no. 4. The "we got you" Nashville hot chicken truck is known for its sandwiches, fries and of course, its crispy, spicy chicken.

While Yelp dubbed Hawaii a "food-truck nirvana" with 25 top-rated trucks dominating the list, the Golden State wasn’t far behind. Los Angeles — California’s most populous city — was also named a "top food-truck city," alongside Austin and Portland.

Angelenos are just a drive away from six of the top food trucks listed, including Nico's Burgers, which was ranked no. 10 overall and came in at no. 4 on the California list.

As soon as the list dropped, Patch was eager to get out the door to try one of the trucks on Yelp's list. So, we visited perhaps one of the most unique on the ranking — Little Tokyo Taiyaki, in Los Angeles. The Japanese and Korean dessert truck was ranked no. 43 on the national list and came in at no. 11 in California.

The taiyaki truck is one of LA's sweetest hidden gems, that has been reliably parked almost daily in the same spot outside the Little Tokyo Galleria for years. It's the place where taiyaki, Japanese fish-shaped cake — meets hotteok, a South Korean dessert pancake.

"Our desserts are freshly made using our special recipe. From savory to sweet, there's a flavor for everyone," reads the truck's website.

We can confirm this. On Tuesday afternoon, we tried two taiyaki orders: one filled with red bean, offering a perfect balance of chocolate-like sweetness and savory richness; the other stuffed with sweet potato — a smooth, subtly sweet filling with a hint of citrus. We followed that with the Honey and Nuts hotteok — a warm, chewy delight packed with peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and drizzled with honey.

Here are California's top 22 food trucks in 2025, according to Yelp:

1. Jojo’s Hot Chicken – San Jose, CA (National Rank: #4)
2. La Jalisciense – Santa Nella, CA (National Rank: #5)
3. La Piñata Taqueria – Vallejo, CA (National Rank: #6)
4. Nico’s Burgers – Los Angeles, CA (National Rank: #10)
5. Taqueria Mi Guadalajara – Bishop, CA (National Rank: #12)
6. Mariscos Mi Gusto Es – San Diego, CA (National Rank: #13)
7. Bomb Burger – Northridge, CA (National Rank: #21)
8. Frogtowns Gourmet Tacos – Los Angeles, CA (National Rank: #22)
9. Chomp Chomp Food Truck – Los Angeles, CA (National Rank: #33)
10. Falafel on Wheels – Los Angeles, CA (National Rank: #40)
11. Little Tokyo Taiyaki – Los Angeles, CA (National Rank: #43)
12. Gracias Señor! – Brentwood, CA (National Rank: #57)
13. Pana Food Truck – Santa Cruz, CA (National Rank: #59)
14. Tacos El Muchacho Alegre – Napa, CA (National Rank: #61)
15. Frutti Di Mare – Westminster, CA (National Rank: #62)
16. viva la vegan tacos – Sun Valley, CA (National Rank: #66)
17. El Gallo Giro Taco Truck – San Francisco, CA (National Rank: #81)
18. Boni’s Tacos – Cambria, CA (National Rank: #82)
19. Rumi Kabob – Vallejo, CA (National Rank: #83)
20. Biikho Colombian Food – Riverside, CA (National Rank: #84)
21. Joe’s Taco Shop – San Jose, CA (National Rank: #94)
22. Pico House – Los Angeles, CA (National Rank: #97)

Check out the full list from Yelp here.