Tacos Gavilan (Santa Ana)

Tacos Gavilan is a Los Angeles-area taquería chain whose Santa Ana branch, opened in 2017 in a former Denny's, was its first push into Orange County.

History

Tacos Gavilan grew to about a dozen locations, most of them in southeast Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Valley. In summer 2017 it quietly opened a Santa Ana restaurant in a building that had housed a Denny's. Writing for L.A. TACO in 2018, Gustavo Arellano framed the opening as a test: Mexican restaurant chains from Los Angeles had a poor record of succeeding in Orange County, where homegrown taquerías such as Taquería De Anda and Taquería Tapatía dominated, and Tacos Mexico had shrunk to a single Garden Grove store.

Menu

The Santa Ana menu follows the chain's formula of tacos, burritos, tortas and mulitas, with free frijoles de la olla (whole beans in their broth) and machine-made horchata. Arellano considered the quesadillas the best item. At the time the restaurant stayed open until midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Reviews

See also

• Mulitas

References

1. "Can Tacos Gavilan Break the Losing Streak of L.A. Mexican Food Chains in Orange County?". L.A. TACO. Retrieved 2026-10-10.