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Los Angeles is a thriving taco town, but sometimes only nachos will do. Thankfully there are plenty of restaurants ready and willing to satisfy that craving — whether you’re looking for vegan or seafood-topped or the classic melted-cheese-and-jalapeño. Here are the best nachos in LA that you can order.
Sky's Gourmet Tacos
Black-owned Mid-Wilshire restaurant Sky’s Gourmet Tacos — which also has an outpost in Marina Del Rey — has been famous for decades for its melding of Mexican and soul food (think warmly spiced, buttery grilled shrimp tacos and burritos). Make your meal an all-out seafood feast with an order of lobster nachos, featuring buttery tail meat over black or pinto beans, melted cheese, cilantro, and tomato on tortilla chips fried fresh daily.
Comida Vegana
As its name suggests, Culver City’s Comida Vegana specializes in meat- and dairy-free Mexican food like breakfast burritos made with Just Egg, tacos piled with fillings like cauliflower and vegan chorizo, and street corn bowls drizzled with jalapeño crema. The Saucy Loaded Nachos are true to their name as well, with a vegan (and gluten-free!) combination of tortilla chips, melted queso, black beans, pico de gallo, jalapeño crema, chipotle crema, and guacamole.
Barney's Beanery
A West Hollywood hangout for decades, Barney’s is a local favorite for all things bar food, from cheesy potato skins to big, juicy burgers with all the fixings. Their Irish Nachos are essentially potatoes smothered in cheese. Served with sour cream, salsa, guacamole and your choice of chili, black beans, or refried beans, they’re way more interesting (and filling!) than your standard side of fries.
El Cholo
El Cholo claims it introduced nachos to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. The 101-year-old Downtown restaurant, which has multiple locations around LA, is known for its generous portions, and nachos are no exception. For a true taste of history, opt for the dead-simple original Carmen’s Nachos, which are chips covered with melty cheese and pickled jalapeños.
Little Blue Corn
Sometimes you just want a bite or two of tortilla chips laden with toppings — and that’s when Little Blue Corn’s side of Mini Loaded Nachos come in handy. Pair your chile relleno burrito or carnitas tacos on blue corn tortillas from this Pico-Robertson favorite with a small bowl of tortilla chips smothered in melted cheese and topped with tomato, guacamole, sour cream, and cilantro. It’s a quick and easy way to make the meal feel like a Mexican feast.
House of Birria
Birria has been big in LA for years now, but why should tacos have all the drippy, meaty fun? Try an order of nachos layered with beef birria, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole, and don’t skip the side of beef consomme from this Culver City standby. Then dip to your heart’s delight. Just make sure there are extra napkins nearby.
Mexicali Cocina Cantina
This long-standing Studio City restaurant takes a SoCal approach to Mexican food, and it is, in particular, known for its rotisserie spice-rubbed chicken. Get the juicy pulled meat served atop house-made crispy corn chips piled with black beans, cheese, and jalapeños and served alongside guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.
Rivera's
When you really want the works, think of the classic Long Beach Mexican joint Rivera’s, which serves up crowd-pleasing favorites like wet burritos slathered in enchilada sauce and cheese. The nachos, meanwhile, come topped with melted cheese, beans, sour cream, guacamole, jalapeños, pico de gallo, and a choice of meat. Any meat option will do the trick, but the charred carnitas never disappoints.
Casita del Campo
This colorful, family-owned Silver Lake legend has been serving standards like enchiladas suizas, fajitas, and carne asada since 1962. The restaurant’s nachos — one of its most popular to-go items — get an extra kick of flavor from California red chile sauce. The crispy corn chips are layered with creamy refried beans, melted cheddar, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole.
Carnitas Michoacan
Just as its name implies, Carnitas Michoacan is a Lincoln Heights go-to for the stewed pork made famous by the region, whether it’s in burritos, tacos, or tortas. For your nacho order, skip the chips and go for fries instead: The Pork Nacho Fries are smothered in cheese and jalapeños. If you’re ordering for a big group, consider getting two — this savory mash-up is a perennial crowd favorite.
El Portal
Opened by a native of Yucatan, Mexico, nearly 30 years ago, Pasadena’s El Portal is still going strong with large combo platters, Yucatan specialties, and strong margaritas. The steak nachos pile grilled meat atop freshly fried chips along with beans, cheese, tomato, sour cream, ranchera sauce, and house-made guacamole — the perfect accompaniment for an order of panuchos or tamales done Yucatan-style.
El Zarape
When you’re craving classic nachos, look no further than El Zarape in East Hollywood. The beloved taqueria’s simple nachos are a combination of chips with beans, pico de gallo, a choice of meat, jack cheese, green sauce, onions, and cilantro. Avocado and crema are optional and recommended.
Yuca's
This woman-owned duo of restaurants in Pasadena and Los Feliz has been serving Yucatan-style Mexican food since 1976. Although it offers several styles of nachos, for a true taste of the Yucatan, order the chips topped with cochinita pibil, the citrus-marinated, slow-cooked Mayan pork dish the region is known for. It’s paired with mozzarella cheese, freshly made pico de gallo, house pinto beans, chipotle salsa, and avocado salsa. It melds together to make one perfect bite. And then another.
Home Restaurant
Rounding out this list of LA’s best nachos is Home Restaurant. Known for eclectic comfort-food classics (think penne alla vodka, club sandwiches, Chinese chicken salads), this popular Los Feliz hangout also makes a mean plate of nachos. Theirs come topped with pulled roasted chicken, pico de gallo, scallions, and queso fresco, plus a couple of cheffy touches like serrano chiles and cilantro ranch.
