El Zarape

There’s no lack of hyped Mexican joints in Santa Barbara, but El Zarape is definitely not one of them. Located in a quiet residential neighborhood far away from downtown’s aggressively-medicated Sur La Table crowd, El Zarape is packed with locals who know they’re eating some of the best tacos nobody knows about. We get the alambre - beef topped with bacon, vegetables, and cheese. Just make sure you swing by the salsa bar on the way out. That habanero one is no joke.