L.A. TACO is embarking on its biggest mission yet: to create a reliable taco guide for every neighborhood in Los Angeles! Along the way, we will also be releasing brief histories of each neighborhood to understand L.A. a little more and why each and every neighborhood makes our fine city unique. Check out the rest of our history and food guides on our neighborhood page.
Welcome to Pico Rivera. East of East, it is an eight-mile-long neighborhood with a population of 60,764 filled with a deep sense of community pride, history, and tradition. Pico Rivera’s best tacos often get outshined by its neighboring East Los Angeles, but it does have some gems.
The appeal of Pico Rivera’s taco scene lies within their mom-and-pop taco shops. The majority of the stops I made were to places run by families. Pico is traditionally known for backing the area’s local high school, El Rancho High, home of the Dons. In the last three decades, Pico Rivera became known for its famous venue, the Pico Rivera Sports Arena, which hosts regional Mexican rodeos, concerts, and other events throughout the year and is the talk of the town. It also became the new home to half of the Ave 26 Night Market street food vendors after more than a hundred of them were displaced from their original location in Lincoln Heights in 2021.
Here are Pico Rivera’s best tacos.