Let's be honest: When I think "fast food restaurant," I don't usually think, "Wow, I can't wait to see what it's like!" But, uh, guys? I'm right: America's most beautiful Taco Bell restaurant is actually something to write home about. As well as being perhaps unexpectedly beautiful, each of them is also very unique – and perfectly suited to the city in which they are located. Who would have thought Taco Bell would become a legitimate tourist destination?
Taco Bell is actually older than most people think (although not as early as McDonald's). The chain's founder and namesake, Glen Bell, opened his first fast-food restaurant in 1948 in San Bernardino, California, but it wasn't a Tex-Mex restaurant; shop. It was a hot dog stand. He later opened a second burger and hot dog shop in 1950, and after befriending the owner of the taco restaurant across the street and learning how to make hard-shell tacos, he opened a third location called Taco-Tia . By the early 1960s, Bell had opened a number of other taco shops (four of them named El Taco), which he eventually sold to a business partner. That's when he opened the first Taco Bell in Downey, California, and, well...here we are.
In recent years, Taco Bell is now owned by Yum Brands. Brands, has been expanding its product portfolio somewhat; in addition to regular Taco Bell restaurants (about 7,000 worldwide), the company now operates a number of urban queue restaurants and Taco Bell Cantinas. The Cantina concept, which opened its first Chicago location in 2015, includes not only the standard Taco Bell menu, but also things like a "shareable" menu and — perhaps most notably — beer, wine and alcoholic beverages such as spiked wine. freeze.
Cantinas tend to be the most unique of the bunch, so it's no surprise that the prettiest Taco Bell locations are often also Cantinas. for example……
Pacifica Taco Bell Bar
This Taco Bell restaurant, located at 5200 Coast Highway in Pacifica, California, has long been considered the most spectacular Taco Bell restaurant in existence—even before it was planned to become the Taco Bell Cantina. Articles like this 2013 Thrillist article hailed it as "the world's greatest Taco Bell," even though it wasn't announced until last year that it would be transformed into a Cantina. Renovations were carried out in 2019 and the results are stunning.
(Yes, I did describe Taco Bell as "amazing.")
Since the Tex-Mex restaurant is located right on the beach, it's only natural that it has a walk-up window with beach access; surfers, sunbathers and other beachgoers can stand up and easily order their favorite Taco Bell treats. There's even a "surfboard parking lot" outside. The interior is also new, with a mural by San Francisco street artist Nora Bruhn and an indoor/outdoor fireplace. Oh, and it 's one of the first Taco Bell Cantinas restaurants to have recycling and compost bins inside the store. All in all, it looked like a pretty good experience.
The best part is, this building hasn't always been a Taco Bell—but it's always been noticeable. The building was originally constructed in the 1960s , according to a 2018 history of the building published in the San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Hartlaub. It operated as an A&W burger joint for about 10 years, but it has had many identities over the years, being, as Hartlaub said, "passed down from generation to generation" in the community. "Every resident seems to have worked there or given birth to someone who worked there. At the very least, everyone has a good story to tell."
It's not entirely clear when it became a Taco Bell—it likely happened sometime in the 1980s—but by the 1990s, it was on the map as "one of the most scenic fast-food restaurants in the world." A national travel article. As they say, it's...well, you know how it is.
But not all scenic Taco Bell Cantinas restaurants are located by the ocean. Some of them - in fact, many of them - are in the city. like…
Hell's Kitchen Taco Bell Cantina
In 2018, three new Taco Bell Cantinas opened: one at 224 Seventh Avenue, one at 500 Eighth Avenue, and one at 840 Eighth Avenue (between 50th and 51st Streets, for those who pass For grid navigation people). All three restaurants have featured specialty beers on their menus since opening — in partnership with New York’s Blue Point Brewery, Big City Bell Pilsner — as well as quirky, urban-inspired designs and super-late hours. Want a taco at 4:30 in the morning? This can be arranged; 840 8th Ave. is open from 7 a.m. to 5 a.m. daily. It might not be quite 24-hour Taco Bell, but 22 hours is pretty close.
However, if you're willing to eat a Taco Bell every day, there's always...
Vegas Taco Bell Bar
Of course, Taco Bell's flagship store is in Las Vegas; where else? As Taco Bell Corp.'s then-CEO Brian Niccol said in a 2016 press release announcing the restaurant: "When we were discussing where to open our flagship store, It didn’t take long to realize that opening a downtown Vegas location would undoubtedly create a unique, unique, and fun destination and experience for Taco Bell fans.” The bistro’s address is right here in Las Vegas. on the Strip, 3717 S. Las Vegas Blvd., is undoubtedly the flashiest of the taverns.
What makes this place sparkle? Maybe it's bright lights and original artwork. Perhaps it's because it has two floors and a terrace that not only guarantees plenty of seating, but also plenty of stylish seating. Maybe an open kitchen so you can clearly see your beloved shortbread being made. Maybe all of these things and more—for example, frozen walls that dispense all the alcohol-twisted freezes you want, tablet menus and ordering systems now standard at many Taco Bells, and large merchandise stores , keep on, keep on, keep on. Oh, and it's open 24 hours a day, so you can grab a burrito anytime.
By the way, did I mention you can also get married at this Taco Bell if you want? Because you can. This was in Vegas, so obviously there was a wedding chapel on site. The $600 package includes a half-hour ceremony with a designated officiant, a private reception area for up to 25 of your favorite people, a bouquet with Taco Bell hot sauce packets, and plenty of wedding merchandise. Dream wedding, or dream wedding?
Of course, these three locations are far from America's only famous Taco Bells. Heck, there are even more bizarrely unique (or uniquely bizarre, depending on your perspective) Taco Bells not just across the country, but around the world. Still, if you've been thinking about planning a road trip, I can think of worse ideas than planning your route based on the most interesting bells in the entire land. So, how many vacation days do you have left this year?
