Restaurant Spotlight: Tocaya Organica

The Los Angeles-based casual restaurant, Tocaya Organica, just opened their San Diego outpost a few weeks ago in the Gaslamp Quarter, and people have been rushing to dine and try their Mexican cuisine made with organic ingredients. The menu features tacos, burritos, bowls, and salads, with a heavy emphasis on vegan fare.

Carnivores can choose to add grass-fed meat, free-range chicken, or fish for their proteins with each dish. If you need help choosing, each dish is also given chef recommended options for protein and cheese!

The most popular dishes include the Fajita Del Rey bowl, the Tocaya salad, Barrio-style tacos, and the fresh aqua-frescas and iced teas. The restaurant also serves margaritas, wine, and beer.

The 6,000-square-foot restaurant takes up two floors at 755 Fifth Ave. Inside, the restaurant features a mix of wood, stone, and natural fabrics in vibrant fiesta colors. Diners can look into the open kitchen or sit at the indoor and outdoor patio or in a separate mezzanine area serving as a lounge space. This expansion features The Madera Group’s very first 40-foot living wall filled with succulents that serves as the restaurant’s centerpiece.

The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m.

What We Enjoyed:

• Alex learned from General Manager, Alex Hernandez, that Tocayo is the Spanish term for a person with the same name or surname as another individual. So, Alex met his Tocayo while he ordered the “chop chop” salad complete with crispy romaine & butter lettuce tossed with corn salsa, roma tomato, diced red onion, white beans, cucumber, tortilla strips and spicy citrus dressing. Alex chose the chef’s recommendations of the achiote chicken and queso fresco. Alex also ordered the refreshing crimson berry iced tea.
• Sherry enjoyed the Venice Beach Bowl complete with roasted cauliflower, sweet potato bravas, lentils, pickled onions & cilantro-curry salsa. She chose to have the protein Chicken Tinga (shredded free-range chicken breast stewed with chipotle en adobo, tomatoes, onion & pasilla chiles) and the chipotle jack cheese. She also ordered the Strawberry basil aqua fresca.
• Erin had the Fajita Del Rey bowl complete with sautéed poblano peppers & onions, cilantro lime rice, black beans, vegan chipotle crema, guacamole & pico de gallo. She also added the chef recommendation of the chicken tinga and queso fresco and washed it all down with the refreshing glass of Cucumber mint aqua fresca.
• Everyone shared a delicious bowl of crispy plantain chips that could be dipped in their signature guacamole topped with pomegranate seeds, lime pepitas, jalapeno and cilantro.

Insider Tips:

• Get your parking validated for 2 hours for the Horton Plaza structure when you dine at Tocaya!
• You can eat there every day and never have the same thing! You can constantly mix and match a bunch of different options for the bowls and salads!
• The Taco combo is a great deal! For $10.50 you get 2 tacos 2 sides and a drink. The sides you can choose from include sweet potato bravas, roasted cauliflower, roasted shaved brussel sprouts, street corn, and more!
• Want to go to Happy Hour? Monday-Friday from 3pm-6pm you can get $5 cervezas, $7 Margaritas & Select Wines and $2 menu bites!
• Taco Tuesdays! Enjoy 2$ tacos and happy hour drinks all day!
• The Modern- Organic- Mexican Tocaya Organica has locations in Venice Beach, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Playa Vista, Century City, El Segundo and now Gaslamp!