Ixmota Taqueria — Restaurant in El Monte

Visited because of an article I read and I mostly stick to veggie food so I was excited to try something good, Mexican, and veggie. Tacos were great. Flavorful and authentic tasting although their al pastor tasted, looked, and felt more like they used mushrooms than impossible meat as advertised which was very disappointing since that is what originally piqued my interest. I love al pastor and would have still ordered it but call it what it is, to do otherwise is an insult to customers and they charged us the menu price which I imagine is for the impossible meat since they are called impossible pastor but all we got was mushrooms instead. Their buñuelo had the perfect crisp to it however they use both cinnamon sugar and syrup and it was just too sweet. We had two of the aguas frescas, guava and watermelon and both were delicious but we showed up at 11am and already no CBD aguas which is 50% of the reason we drove all the way from Loma Linda to try this place. The watermelon drink had small chunks of fruit making it more delicious but I wish both drinks (tried the guava too which was also really good and tasted like the actual fruit) had been colder. Decent street parking if you're there at the right time. Cozier sitting area than I expected but some of the cars that do get to park inside are right up against some of the tables since their "inside" parking is pretty much nonexistent. When we ordered the first time I ordered two tacos, one drink, beans and rice. They came out with everything but the beans and brought the buñuelo instead and told us if we wanted the beans we had to pay for them but when I asked the lady if she could just take the buñuelo back she said no. Pretty bad customer service but whatever, we paid for the beans and tried the buñuelo, like I said though, way too sweet. Overall good food but just too many small disappointments especially for driving so far. I was really excited to recommend this place to friends and family but I can't stand behind a recommendation with the kind of experience we had. They're literally headed in a great direction but are just not quite there yet. That article really hyped it up for more than it was. Considering the distance, most likely won't be visiting again but if you're nearby and a veggie Mexican like me, it's definitely something to try. I was hoping I'd be able to give 5 stars, really wanna give 4 stars but can...

Unbelievably underwhelming. I came here based on the stacked reviews and hype on Yelp but boy was I disappointed. There are really only two things here worth trying -- a taco to taste their handmade tortillas and their juices. The agua they make is all natural without the addition of sugar like almost anywhere else so you get a nice, refreshing drink without the sugar overload.

I had the following:

2x Asada tacos 2x Carnitas y Chicharron tacos 2x Bacon (their version of Al Pastor) 1x Langostina taco 1x Carnitas taco 1 order of Esquites and a drink

Total came out to something like $16 or so.

The asada was pretty bland, overcooked and chewy. Mostly flavorless. 2/5

The carnitas y chicharron was an utter disappointment, especially after seeing how they cook it on Yelp. Granted, I'm not expecting them to cook a batch every time someone orders, the chicharron was hard, chewy and gave the tacos a jerky like consistency. 1/5

The bacon tacos were better but as an attempt at replicating Al Pastor, I have to say these are in their own realm. They don't have the same flavor or "umami" that real Al Pastor tacos have. 2/5

The langostina/lobster taco. This is by far their best taco and very well should be for its premium cost. Good flavor all around. I started with this taco so it pretty much set the bar for all of the other tacos. Tasty, flavorful and just the right ingredients that don't get in the way of the lobster. 4/5. Would have liked a little more lobster in there.

The carnitas was nice and tender but lacked any real flavor. It was nice that they gave a really big chunk of it. Quantity aside, quality was OK. 3/5.

Finally, the esquites. What an insult to Mexican food. This has to be canned corn. 0/5 for effort. I can't even articulate how ridiculous this was.

Just a really bad experience overall. I almost headed back down the 10W to Tacos Tamix to get the taste out...

My wife and I heard about Ixtaco on KTLA, apparently everyone else in LA did too! We waited all week to try it, and it was worth the wait. I arrived shortly before 8pm and had a few other people in front of me, who also were talking about hearing about the taco stand on TV. I didn't get my food until almost 9pm. An hour waiting for food at a taco stand, and I will GLADLY go back and wait just as long again. We tried fried fish tacos, soy chorizo queso tacos, fried avocado queso tacos, and veggie nachos. My wife thought the fish taco was a little spicy for her likings, she finished the but she had, but didn't pursue more. So if you like heat, you'll love them. The queso tacos, cheese tortilla, were what everyone wanted to try, and they are a great novelty taste. It's a fun idea, but the fillings in the tacos really made the food great. The seasoning and simple additions with the soy chorizo were spot on and delicious and the fried avocado is brilliant. Neither of these had salsa on them, so if you like a kick, toss some house salsa on them and you'll be pleased. The nachos had spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, and I think something else. Not a variety of toppings you'd necessarily anticipate working on nachos, but again, they really created an enjoyable flavor combination. All six tacos and the big plate of nachos totaled $26 and it was well worth...