Review: Taco Window serves tacos with a European twist


Walking down Jefferson Boulevard, Taco Window stands out among the other beautifully muraled walls with its freeform red, yellow and green chili pepper paintings and the mouth-watering scent of fresh tacos it emanates.

Only two miles west of USC’s campus, Taco Window is exactly what its name implies — a small, fast-casual eatery comprised of two sliding glass windows dividing a painted brick wall, through which one can get a glimpse of chef Basile Bouhadida flipping fresh, homemade corn tortillas. Friendly and cheerful, he leans out the window and calls people over to pick up their orders, all while maintaining a positive attitude.

Bouhadida moved to Los Angeles six years ago from Northern France, and has since steeped himself in the city’s cultural cuisine: tacos. Taco Window opened near the end of 2017, fulfilling his culinary dream to own a restaurant. He brings a European touch to the various sauces and salsas that accompany his tacos and ceviche, keeping their overall flavors muted in order to highlight the boldly marinated meat.

Bouhadida’s menu features five tacos — fish, pork, chorizo, carne asada and grilled chicken as well as one white fish ceviche on tostada. Each taco is $2.50, and $20 can get you one of each along with the ceviche, as well as a side of chips and salsa.

Basile Bouhadida, the chef behind Taco Window, moved to Los Angeles six years ago from France and opened up the shop in late 2017. Photo from Yelp.

One of the most popular tacos is the fish taco, served with a creamy jalapeño aioli. Each cut of white fish is battered and deep fried, but so light and fluffy that it is easy to overlook how the fish is almost bigger than the tortilla itself. With a single tostada and no rice, beans or other fillings, Bouhadida makes it very clear that the meat is the centerpiece of each taco. There is, of course, the option of adding chopped onion and cilantro on top, which adds another layer of flavor and texture to the taco.

Though there are only a few menu items, each option contains plenty of surprises for the taste buds, and customers are tempted to try each taco for its individual flavors. The homemade chorizo taco comes as a surprise, as it is not dry as chorizo usually is. Instead, it is thick and mixed with red chili. The pork in the salsa verde taco has a vague American and Filipino influence, as the pulled pork is soaked in salsa using the same technique as cooking in BBQ sauce for a pulled pork sandwich or in liver sauce for the Filipino dish lechon. However, the grilled chicken taco lives up to its reputation — less deeply marinated and slightly on the dry side.

The only dessert on the menu is a homemade churro, served in a crunchy white paper bag lettered with Taco Window’s typewriter-font logo. It also defies the Disneyland churro stereotype in sweetness; Basile downplays the sugar and cinnamon in favor of the inner texture of the churro, instead emulating the texture of a thick coconut flan.

Taco Window is a worthwhile walk for the ambitious (or a relatively cheap Lyft for those who are in a rush), and though it is a bit pricier than the average taco truck, Basile’s flavors are singularly fresh and filling.