In April 2021, an oceanfront Taco Bell restaurant located in Pacifica, California, appeared in a brief TikTok video:
It received more than 60,000 views, a modest amount compared to other videos with millions of plays. The special location had also been featured in prior months in other TikTok videos.
Primo Patio
The Taco Bell at 5200 Coast Highway features outdoor seating on the beach that faces the ocean. Diners can enjoy their food and drinks while watching the sunset.
Readers need not worry about finding parking. California beaches are busy year-round, especially in the summer, but the property is surrounded by several lots with ample spaces.
History
In 2019, Curbed.com published that the location had reopened after quite the remodel.
The "famed structure" on the ocean began as an A&W hamburger franchise in the late 1960s, and has been a Taco Bell since the 1980s.
This video of Pacifica, purportedly from 1987, showed what the location looked like when it was fairly new, beginning at the 2:28 mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-FJc6BqidE&t=148s
While the Taco Bell building has been around for quite a long time, one special addition was made to the menu that coincided with the 2019 remodel: alcohol.
Taco Bell Cantinas
The oceanfront location in Pacifica is one of many special Taco Bell locations, dubbed Taco Bell Cantinas. The first one opened in Chicago, Illinois, in 2015.
According to the company, Taco Bell Cantinas offer "a fancy new look, open kitchen, custom menu, and specialty alcoholic beverages like beer, wine, and sangria." Also available are liquor versions of the restaurant's Twisted Freezes.
As of April 2021, the company's website did not list the Pacifica location as a Taco Bell Cantina. However, a phone call to the restaurant confirmed it is indeed a cantina and that it does serve alcoholic beverages.
Famous Taco Bells Around the World
While the oceanfront Taco Bell in Pacifica might be the best spot to watch the waves come in, there are plenty of other interesting locations around the globe.
A Taco Bell in Guatemala City, Guatemala, is the largest in the world. It measures 6,415 square feet. The historic building was once a bank.
Readers looking to travel back in time can visit a 1990s-themed Taco Bell in Lathrop, California. One Yelp reviewer said: "Stepping into this Taco Bell was like traveling back in time." No word if the restaurant has updated its looks in the last several years.
A Taco Bell in Fort Worth, Texas, has a unique feature not seen in most other locations: a second floor.
A list of "12 Beautiful Taco Bells You Never Knew Existed" said of the Fort Worth restaurant: "This Texan Taco Bell took 'everything’s bigger in Texas' to a whole new level. A second level."
Taco Bell Rumors
We've covered our fair share of Taco Bell rumors over the years. In fact, we even published a list of the top 10 Taco Bell fact checks.
For example, one rumor claimed that Taco Bell's Cinnamon Twists were made by deep-frying rotini pasta.
One of the older rumors said that its restaurants served "grade D but edible" meat. There were also claims about the Taco Bell dog as well as a $2 bill.