An East L.A. institution since 1945, La Azteca remains a vital community haven. Last summer, current owner Cynthia Hernandez and her parents, Candy and Juan Villa, closed the location opened in 1965 (on what was then Brooklyn Avenue) and moved operations to a corner strip-mall perch on South Atlantic Boulevard a mile and a half away. This is the one place in my recent citywide sweep where I took an initial bite of a burrito’s tortilla and paused in admiration. So light, given the heft of the bundle, and flaky, and fragrant with the specific richness of lard. Note that in all but one of six options, Monterey Jack cheese is extra. I loved its addition in a frontrunner filled with nubbly chunks of chorizo, egg and creamy refried beans. The “sausage and egg” variation contains halved, peppery, Polish-style links. Their texture bounces among diced potatoes and more beans. And yes, if you prefer to order outside traditional morning norms, the tortilleria’s famed gushing chile relleno burrito is available at the break of dawn: Doors open at 5 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 7 a.m. on Sunday.

Show more Show less

Member Exclusive

Log in or register for a free account to save L.A. Times recommendations for restaurants, hikes, entertainment and more — all in one place.

Get Started

Show more Show less

For over a decade Humberto Raygoza has been selling his meticulously spiced variations on chorizo to L.A.-area restaurants. His own San Pedro shop, meanwhile, has become a regional destination for breakfast burritos. Even with its dusky, unnatural-looking shade of seafoam green, one burrito that I’m always drawn to is the herbal, earthy chorizo verde; his Zacatecano variation hums with the more familiar red-chile smokiness. Lately Raygoza has been branching out, filling burritos with near-molten chipotle-braised beef bound among fluffy-crisp potatoes, cheese and two over-easy eggs, their yolks still bursting if you demolish your burrito right away (which you should).

Show more Show less

A vanguard of L.A.’s current breakfast burrito craze, serving obsessives since 2014, Cofax scores highest when pushing combinations into deli sandwich territory. A sinus-clearing hit of mustard races through the pastrami burrito, followed by the jolt of pickled jalapeños cutting through a soothing density of tots, fried eggs and Jack cheese. It is a wake-up meal in all ways. Same for the torpedo stuffed with Bludso’s smoked beef brisket and slicked with beet-horseradish dressing. Wanting more conventional breakfast flavors? Go for the smoked chorizo hash with scrambled eggs, pico de gallo and the clutch addition of crushed tortilla chips. After a decade as a single location on North Fairfax Avenue, Cofax doubled its reach in 2023 with a second coffee shop in Culver City.

Show more Show less

In the category of breakfast burritos as sit-down weekend fare, Daisy in Sherman Oaks might first come to mind, rightly, for its deliciously out-there margaritas (laced with fish sauce, say, or channeling salsa verde) and chef Alan Sanz’s dinnertime chile relleno over velvety cashew mole. Brunch here happens to be fantastic. Among chilaquiles rojos, yellowfin pescabirria and a brioche sticky bun covered in dulce de leche and chopped pecans, there is one breakfast burrito option. A tightly rolled tortilla encloses soft-scrambled eggs, diced machaca and shrimp and a melting halo of chihuahua cheese. Garlic butter and an aioli softly smoky with chintextle chile gild the situation. Ruddy tomato salsa pounded in a molcajete, its texture almost emulsified, awaits on the side. A burrito of this caliber deserves some atmosphere — in this case the room’s time-tripping saloon vibes, all saturated colors and caramel lighting — and perhaps a 1990s-era sipping tequila on the side.

Show more Show less

It’s easier to feel a little hope for the human race inside Naomi Shim’s daytime Historic Filipinotown cafe. People linger together at tables, having conversation and making eye contact, or quietly reading to one another from notebooks, or working on laptops in easy silence. Doubting Thomas has an enduring reputation for stellar breakfast burritos, and its standing absolutely holds. Lately Shim and her crew have been preparing an urbane herbed pastrami variation, layered with chopped egg, lacto-fermented red cabbage, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese. Two classics — braised pork shoulder with white cheddar and tomatillo salsa, a strong vegetarian counterpart that subs avocado for the meat — stay the course rewardingly. The subject is burritos, but I’m compelled to mention Shim’s season-focused baking: A slice her peach pie, mounded with whipped cream and laid over lemon verbena custard with a salty pretzel crust, reminded me I should be stopping by more often.

Show more Show less

A breakfast burrito named “Chilakillers” is peak Evil Cooks, the wonderful and previously roving taqueria by Alex Garcia and Elvia Huerta now settled into a black-walled goth lair in El Sereno. Their take on chilaquiles — fried egg gushing yolk, shards of fried tortilla soaked in salsa rojo, a smear of guac, a smattering of queso fresco — can be made in the form of a torta, but the flavors hit harder wrapped in a thin tortilla. A similar setup frames “The Prince of Darkness,” bulging with inky strips of marinaded asado. Garcia and Huerta open for daytime hours only on the weekends. The good news? When the comfort of breakfast beckons for dinner, their eggy, saucy burritos are also available at dinner.

Show more Show less

Joshua Kang is up to something special with his Koreatown-based breakfast burrito pop-ups. He holds them once or twice a month, making 100 burritos available in one style, no choices. Pre-sales go live a few days ahead, and they’re always snapped up in a few maddening seconds. This burrito, though, warrants setting reminder alarms. Slice one in half to reveal three meticulous tiers: a rectangle of airy custard eggs; a heap of lacy pulled short-rib meat, braised in a savory-sweet, galbi-style marinade; and, of course, Tater Tots. Chopped green onion and cotija cheese ratchet the flavors, as do three condiments: cilantro-lime crema, pickled onions and habanero salsa sparked with gochugaru. This is L.A.’s finest, most tightly threaded synthesis of two cuisines in breakfast burrito form. The pop-ups make for a fun chase, and their “secret” nature courts countless social media debates, but I’m betting Kang will be running a citywide burrito empire by the decade’s close.

Show more Show less

The horror of the 2025 fires has made me ever-more grateful that Lily Castro’s 37-year-old Malibu institution continues to thrive. Classic breakfast meats comprise her burrito fillings: chorizo, bacon, sausage and ham. It was here, though, that I had the best local version of a breakfast burrito, highlighting machaca, the jerky-like dried beef traditional in northern Mexico. The round, mellow flavor of machaca threads through a combination of refried pintos, scrambled egg, jack cheese, tomatoes, onion and pepper. It’s gushy, almost wobbly, and immensely satisfying. Why did retasting it again strike me as novel? Ah, right. No tots. Old school. Enjoy its timelessness sitting at an outdoor table in the corner of Point Dume Plaza, catching the view as Malibu’s morning marine layer slowly dissipates off the hillsides.

Show more Show less

If I’m introducing visitors to the glories of L.A. breakfast burritos, I take them to Jonathan Perez’s breakfast and lunch taqueria in Boyle Heights. So much about the place speaks to our dining era. It’s housed inside Milpa Grille as an open-ended daytime residency, as is the coffee program, run by baristas Xuan Carlos Espinoza and Joel Espinoza, called Cafe Cafe Mobile. The front-counter window view absorbs customers into the neighborhood, set on a tree-lined corner chockablock with local businesses. Perez makes modern, individualist breakfast burritos. He scrambles eggs with Swiss cheese; he likes its creaminess and nuttiness. Tater Tots receive a dusting of dried chiles. Choose from among five meats and their preordained pairing: birria with chipotle aioli, pork belly with avocado salsa and Filipino longanisa (a favorite) with salsa macha. There is also a pair of vegetarian choices: grilled mushrooms, marinated in al pastor-style spices, and Brussels sprouts frizzled to papery crisps. There are no wrong answers.

Show more Show less

The breakfast menu at Walter and Margarita Manzke’s all-day modern California restaurant in Hancock Park — the one locals and visitors wait for in a line that often trails halfway down the block on weekends — is full of embellished morning foods: adobo fried rice dotted with carefully rendered pork belly, arroz caldo arranged with duck leg confit and designer mushrooms, one big beautiful blueberry pancake that is part flapjack and part soufflé. We can debate whether a knife-and-fork luxury breakfast burrito is a breakthrough or an abomination, and if our all-but-official breakfast food should ever receive the smothered-burrito treatment, but this is what République puts forth: a large tortilla folded around short-rib meat and black beans that is placed in a cast-iron pan, covered in morita chile sauce and Oaxacan cheese that melts into strings, crowned with a fried egg and strewn with whole cilantro leaves and bite-sized hunks of ripe avocado. It is extravagant, and its many elements equal a delicious whole.

Show more Show less

In February 2020, weeks before the pandemic shutdown, Graciela Diaz and her son Javier Diaz took over the corner cafe at Beethoven Street and Venice Boulevard in Mar Vista founded by Sabina Aguilar. How did the pair navigate their just-acquired business through the crisis? Breakfast burritos. Where Aguilar had once served one simple egg-bacon-cheese combination among huevos rancheros and French toast, the Diazes went all in on mix-and-match options, including wheat and gluten-free tortillas and sauces like spicy ranch or pineapple-jalapeño. I stick close to a couple of the restaurant’s fixed options: the popular chipotle burrito (chicken, egg, grilled onions, cheese, avocado, and the vital chipotle crema) and the Oaxacan that swaps in chorizo, quesillo and black beans.

Show more Show less

New entrants in the L.A. breakfast burrito field are unceasing. Söbuneh, a Farsi word for breakfast, is my favorite among recent arrivals. Three years ago, Ethan Banayan left his career in commercial real estate and enlisted his friends Omeed Minoofar and Ryan Elyahouzadeh to expand his weekend hobby — mastering breakfast burritos — into a viable business. The trio have gone from leap to leap: backyard pop-ups, building their brand out of the Colony commercial kitchen space in Sawtelle and, as of February, opening their first location on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. Start with “The Sig,” lined with melted cheddar and scrambled egg that spirals into a center of warmly spiced beef chorizo, buttery pureed black beans and tots. Alternate between pouring over two sauces, honey-chipotle aioli and cilantro-lime aioli, for satisfying contrasts. Part of the pleasure of Söbuneh is hanging out: The space resides down a dim outdoor hallway that leads to a small, usually-bustling patio with additional upstairs seating.

Show more Show less

This Atwater Village takeout window has long been a cornerstone of L.A. breakfast burrito culture, and admirably its generations of owners have never given in to trends of supersizing or “proteinmaxxing.” Burritos typically cost $3.99 to $6.99. It’s a very good burrito at a very reasonable price. Much of the notice goes to the chilaquiles burrito shot through with crushed tortilla chips; chorizo is an excellent filling option for maximum texture contrast. As much as I appreciate its crackling quality, the other headlining burritos filled with potatoes (leaning more in texture toward hashbrowns than tots) tend to pack more flavor, especially with the addition of bacon. The lighter nopales variation delivers plenty of cactus strips plus spinach, egg, cheese and velvety pintos. If you’d like to stick around to eat, consider the second location of Tacos Villa Corona that opened in Eagle Rock with outdoor seating and, unlike Atwater Village, plenty of parking.

Show more Show less

Ben Richter and Alex Claster founded their downtown breakfast-burrito carryout window in 2018, expanding this decade to outposts in Pasadena, Hollywood and West Hollywood while keeping their menu admirably, narrowly focused. In a town of bloated burritos, Wake and Late opts for compact engineering, with a plenty-filling mix of egg, avocado, tots, cheddar and options of bacon (my choice), steak, beefy refried beans (also my choice) and pickled jalapeños. Lately they’ve also been constructing “Juarez” burritos that recall the slender, neatly rectangular Zacatecan-style packages made by Burritos La Palma. They’re filled with refritos, mozzarella cheese and possible additions of short rib birria or chicken verde. Can they be considered breakfast burritos without eggs? I’m mulling the question as I eat my second one this morning.

Show more Show less