Mondo Taco
2200 Colorado Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Mondo Taco used to be located in mid LA, but they moved to a newer and bigger location in Santa Monica! Today, they are featuring 34 unique and modern tacos that you can order, and these tacos are divided into three categories: crawl, grow, and swim. Crawl consists of the meats, grow includes the vegetarian tacos, and of course swim is the seafood! Since everything looked amazing, we decided to order a large variety to share amongst the four of us. Ask for their three spicy sauces- they have the ghost pepper sauce which will burn your tongue if you're into that. I really enjoyed the other two as they really spiced up the tacos!
We also got guac, salsa, and chips as well as agua frescas to drink! The guac was so good we actually ordered another one.. and we finished both. They offer pineapple and watermelon agua frescas which was super refreshing.Since we ordered a lot, I am only going to highlight my favorites.
Tokyo Shrimp- Tempura Shrimp, Avocado, Spicy Mayo- tempura + taco + avocado all in one!? This was my favorite of everything we tried!
Crispy Fish- Blackened Shrimp, Onions, Garlic Mayo- I love crispy fish tacos, and this was no exception. Simple yet bomb!
Bayou Fish- Grilled Cajun Fish, Jambalaya, Cajun Aioli- they are really killing it with the fishes- another fantastic combo to try.
Viet Yum- Grilled Shrimp, Cabbage, Lime, Chili Sesame oil- this was very fusion tasting, and I liked how they created their vietnamese style taco. Love the crunchy texture that the cabbage added!
Yo Adrian- Rib Eye, peppers, onions, mushrooms, provolone- I love a good philly cheese steak, and that in a taco was extremely appealing to me. My friends didnt like it as it was melted provolone in a taco, but I loved it! So this may be based more on preference.
We also got the blueberry panna cotta which was surprisingly delicious! We were extremely full but managed to finish all of it as we could not stop taking bites.
Although the tacos are pricer, you do pay for tacos you can't get anywhere else! The service also surpassed my expectations- I was extremely impressed when I got up to refill my drink and the guy offered to do it for me. Mind you- this is an order at the counter and take a number type of restaurant. Overall, this restaurant deserves a five stars based on originality, taste, service, and presentation. My friends and I had different tastes so we did like some more than others, but we generally liked all of the tacos. Definitely try out the different tacos and figure out what you like!