Linda Mar Taco Bell

Courtesy of Taco Bell

Adam Isserlis/CC BY 2.0

Courtesy of Taco Bell

Dale Cruse/CC BY 2.0

View from the patio toward the north, January 2022 jddarcy (Atlas Obscura User)

Courtesy of Taco Bell

View from the patio toward the south, January 2022 jddarcy (Atlas Obscura User)

Courtesy of Taco Bell

Usually, a meal at Taco Bell is illuminated with neon lights and scented with mists of Baja Blast from the soda machine. But at one Taco Bell in Pacifica, California, your Chalupa Supreme is dappled with sunlight filtering through the Northern California fog.

Inside an angular building from the 1960s and clad in rustic wood, this outpost of the 7,000-strong chain blends in surprisingly well with the Linda Mar beach it sits on and the sea beyond. Beachgoers and surfers have long flocked to the restaurant for restorative Doritos Locos tacos, so much so that there’s even a surfboard stand out in front. Out the large windows, breaching whales can be spotted. The spectacular view and nicer-than-average architecture led it to be dubbed “the greatest Taco Bell in the world” by The San Francisco Chronicle.

In the summer of 2019, the Linda Mar Taco Bell transformed into a Cantina, meaning it now offers alcoholic drinks as well. The walk-up window for ordering was kept intact, while an indoor-outdoor fireplace now lines one of the large picture windows (after all, it’s almost always sweater weather due to beachside Northern California fog). Also, you can now get your Baja Blast spiked with tequila.