Hugo's Tacos

If you've ever driven on the 101 N. through Studio City, you may have noticed the brightly colored sign for Hugo's Tacos on Coldwater Canyon near Riverside. Hugo's appears to be a sister company to a restaurant just across the street also called Hugo's. The pair are also related to a place in Hollywood called The Dive.

Hugo's Tacos is the Prius of taco stands. It is a hybrid of healthy-organic style foods and street tacos. It has all the regular fare, tacos, salads, tostadas, and burritos with your choice of meat (steak, chicken, al pastor, carnitas, grilled fish ), your choice of shell, and your choice of salsa. But then, it has some organic choices as well.

There are fillings such as Soy Chorizo, Potato, and Zucchini or zucchini, corn and string beans. Unfortunately, I was in the mood for tacos, with meat, so I didn't try any of the special meats.

I ordered the 3 taco deal which was about $5.75, for $2 more you can get a drink and chips and it's a good deal since drinks will run you $1.50 for soda $1.75 for tea. I decided on the crispy tacos, with steak and a different salsa on each. The crispy shell was made of mini flour tortillas fried. I tried the Salsa Cruda, Honey Chipiotle and Salsa Negra. The Honey Chipotle salsa was the only one that really had a distinct flavor to me. It seemed like it would be delicious with something lighter like fish, chicken, or, even better chicken nuggets (which they don't have). I thought the steak was a little tough and wished I had ordered different meats.

A fellow diner had the salad with chicken and it was covered in meat and came with plenty of cheese and dressing on the side. The salad was filled with finely chopped vegetables. We also sampled the chips which seemed to have a light lime flavor, however, they didn't come with salsa (someone got them with the combo) so they were a little dry.

The restaurant is right next to the freeway and the only seating is on a covered patio near the back. However, don't let this dissuade you from going, the patio is on the far side of the shack from the freeway and surprisingly quiet and comfortable.

All in all, I would go back to Hugo's tacos if I was in the area, was interested in eating something a little fresher and healthier than typical Mexican fare, or was dining with a vegetarian. The restaurant was a little farther than I like to travel for a quick bite making it quite an affair, but if I was passing by I would certainly not hesitate to stop and I would certainly try the other related restaurants.





Hugo's Tacos
4749 Coldwater Canyon Ave
Studio City, CA 91607
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