About Chef Raul Medina
The chef behind Taqueria La Venganza.
Chef Raul Medina turned a scrappy street pop-up into an award-winning plant-based taquería known for tacos that taste like the real thing. No watered-down flavors, no compromise on culture.
His food is built on memory — late-night taco runs, smoke from the plancha, and tortillas loaded down with everything. He just rebuilt all of it with plants.
Chef Raul Medina · Taqueria La Venganza
Story
From backyard tacos to a plant-based taquería.
Raul grew up on real Mexican street food — the kind that shows up at family parties, late-night parking lots, and tiny stands that somehow turn out the best tacos of your life.
When he started changing how he wanted to eat, he didn’t walk away from that food. He reverse-engineered it. Years of obsessing over texture, smoke, fat, and spice turned into the plant-based meats and tacos that became La Venganza.
The goal isn’t to make “good for vegan” food. The goal is to serve tacos that would hold their own at any taquería — that just happen to be made from plants.
Philosophy
What drives Raul’s food.
Flavor first
If it doesn’t hit hard on smoke, fat, acid, and heat, it doesn’t make the cut. Everything is tested until it feels like the taco spots he grew up on.
Plants, done filthy
This isn’t wellness food. It’s big, messy, late-night tacos built from plants — stacked with the same attitude as a street taquería.
Respect for the culture
The menu honors Mexican street food tradition — technique, timing, and hospitality — while pushing what plant-based food can be.
Timeline
How La Venganza came together.
Backyard experiments
Raul starts testing vegan versions of carne asada, carnitas, and barbacoa —
feeding friends, family, and anyone willing to try “plant-based tacos that don’t suck.”
Street pop-ups
La Venganza shows up at bars, events, and parking lots. Word spreads through
people who don’t usually care if something is vegan — they just want another taco.
Award-winning tacos
Raul’s tacos take home LA Taco’s Taco Madness prize for Best Taco in LA,
stacked up against traditional, meat-heavy taquerías.
Brick-and-mortar in Oakland
Taqueria La Venganza lands on Telegraph Ave, giving the project a permanent home
and a bigger canvas for specials, pop-ups, and collabs.
In the press
Where Raul and La Venganza have shown up.
Raul’s tacos and approach to plant-based Mexican food have been featured in local and national outlets.
Q&A
A few questions for Raul.
Why build a completely plant-based taquería?
Because tacos are culture, not just meat. I didn’t want to give up the food I grew up with,
so I rebuilt it with plants instead.
What makes a La Venganza taco “right” to you?
It has to feel like something you’d crave at 1am — salty, fatty, bright, and a little reckless.
If it doesn’t hit like that, it doesn’t go on the menu.
What do you want people to take away from eating here?
That they’re not missing out. Whether you’re vegan, veg-curious, or just here with a friend,
you should leave thinking: “I’d come back for that.”
Work with Chef Raul
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For collabs, pop-ups, consulting, or media inquiries:
hola@venganzafoods.com
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Follow along on Instagram:
@YOUR_HANDLE_HERE
