Where to Eat Lunch in Coachella
Sixth Street has tortas, birria and a turkey club within a short stretch. That’s a useful starting point for lunch in Coachella when everyone is hungry and nobody is being particularly helpful.
The first three stops are on Sixth Street. The rest add burgers, birria ramen, sushi and seafood around town, plus a sports-bar lunch at Spotlight 29.
Jalisco
Jalisco covers both sides of the tacos-or-torta decision, with carne asada, chicken and lengua among the torta choices. Birria is another reason to make this a Sixth Street lunch.
Eat here or take it to go. Sixth Street Coffee is nearby if you want coffee afterward, so this pair works when you’d rather spend your lunch break eating than driving.
1605 6th Street, Coachella
Sixth Street Coffee
The turkey club gets chipotle mayo, avocado and Swiss on sourdough. The chicken salad gets a croissant. Even lunch’s more sensible options are making an effort.
This is the early-lunch pick, especially if coffee is part of the plan. Food service follows a shorter schedule than the café itself, so use the brunch menu’s food-service hours when planning a sandwich stop. An open coffee shop doesn’t necessarily mean an available turkey club.
1500 6th Street, Coachella
El Tranvia
El Tranvia has costillitas con nopales—ribs with cactus—as well as pollo en mole and beef enchiladas. Those are good reasons to give the plates a look before defaulting to a burrito.
It’s farther west along Sixth Street than Jalisco and Sixth Street Coffee, with dine-in and takeout. A useful downtown option when the plan involves sitting down for lunch.
1221 6th Street, Coachella
Andy’s #5
Chili cheese fries count as lunch. We can argue the finer points of that at dinner.
Andy’s #5 also has double cheeseburgers, bacon cheeseburgers and carne asada burritos, so there’s room for a more conventional order. This Highway 111 stop has a drive-through as well as dine-in service. Pick it when you want the option to take lunch home without getting out of the car.
49950 Highway 111, Coachella
Taco Shop 760
Taco Shop 760 has found quite a few places to put beef birria: tacos, ramen, fries and a tortilla-based PizzaBirria. A normal lunch is still available, should you insist.
The ramen brings noodles into the birria broth; the pizza layers birria and cheese between flour tortillas. This Grapefruit Boulevard branch has dine-in service. Make sure an online order is set to Coachella; the company also has Indio locations.
48975 Grapefruit Boulevard, Suite 3, Coachella
Coachella menu and ordering · Directions
Sushi & Mariscos Guamúchil
A sushi menu with a fried carne asada roll has already made a few decisions about how lunch is going to go. Guamúchil mixes sushi and mariscos on Grapefruit Boulevard, with baked and breaded rolls among the choices.
Aguachiles and seafood tacos give you another way into the menu. Read the roll descriptions if you’re expecting an all-fish lunch: some bring beef, bacon or several cheeses into the mix.
49405 Grapefruit Boulevard, Coachella
La Cazuela Restaurant
Garlic-butter shrimp is a persuasive reason to head south of Sixth Street. La Cazuela also does shrimp in chipotle sauce and shrimp-and-cheese tacos.
There are cheese-stuffed chiles rellenos and enchilada-and-taco combinations, too. The broader Mexican menu makes this a useful choice for a group that wants both seafood and combination plates.
52805 US Highway 86, Coachella
Taproom 29
Taproom 29 is the pick when lunch needs a screen showing the game. Pizza, burgers and a prime-rib panini give you something to do during the commercials.
It’s inside Spotlight 29 on Harrison Place. Under-21 diners need an adult 21 or older and seating away from the bar. The casino permits smoking; keep that in mind if smoke is a deal-breaker. The casino’s dining rules have the details.
46-200 Harrison Place, Coachella
Heading toward Indio instead? There are more options in our Indio lunch guide. For another part of the valley, browse our Coachella Valley lunch guides.
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Written by : Casey Dolan
Casey is the founder of Cactus Hugs and also works with local businesses on their websites and digital marketing. Learn more (and hire!) him here. Please, send him your news tips and your whiskey!