Tacos Las Californias Opens 3rd Cali-Mex Eatery In Tampa

TAMPA, FL — Taco Tuesday just got a lot tastier.

Tacos Las Californias has opened its third taco joint at 4007 Fiesta Plaza in West Tampa.

Owner and chef, Chris Garcia, is known for his Cali-Mex recipes including his mouth-watering quesabirria tacos with beef birria on a crispy red flavorful corn tortilla with melted mozzarella cheese, cilantro and onions consomme on the side.

Garcia launched his taco empire with a food truck at 7007 Armenia Ave. in July 2002, three months after the coronavirus pandemic was declared. He took a gamble that residents who were cloistered in their homes to avoid contracting the virus would be ravenous for fresh, flavorful, hot takeout meals.

His gamble paid off.

"It blew up," Garcia said of his business.

Garcia went from a small food truck to a larger truck followed by his eatery at 5635 Memorial Highway and, finally, his new restaurant, which opened Nov. 7.

Among the surprise fan favorites on the menu at Tacos Las Californias is his birria ramen featuring ramen noodles, birria meat and broth served with two quesabirria tacos on the side with onions and cilantro.

Also popular are his cali rolls with four corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken, rolled and fried, and then topped with lettuce, cream, cotija cheese and pico de gallo.

Seafood lovers will appreciate the Baja shrimp taco with garlic grilled shrimp on a corn tortilla, topped with cabbage and pico de gallo.

Be sure to stop by on weekends when Garcia serves his chicken, pork or cheese tamales with sauces that usually sell out.

To wash down your meal, Tacos Las Californias makes four or five flavors of made-from-scratch fruit juices each day.

All three eateries are open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Click here to place online orders.