This post was updated Feb. 2 at 4:03 p.m.

Westwood’s Pinches Tacos offers more than just a pinch of flavor to customers.

Miguel Anaya and his brothers opened Pinches Tacos’ Westwood location almost 10 years ago, after opening the original Pinches Tacos on Sunset Boulevard 18 years ago. Anaya said he and his brothers had always been in the restaurant business and would get requests to start a restaurant when cooking meals for friends when they entertained in their backyard. The name “Pinches” came to be in an argument between Anaya and his brother Javier, in which Javier told Anaya to make his “pinches tacos,” Anaya said. Customers never forget the name, he said, which in Spanish can refer to a chef’s assistant or translate to an expletive.

“One of the things being in the business is you develop friendships,” he said. “You develop friendships with the people from the university, from the hospital. … We have become good friends.”

Opening a Pinches Tacos location in Westwood, Anaya said, felt like a homecoming for him and his brother Fernando, who are both UCLA alumni. Being in Westwood, Anaya said, has allowed him to reminisce on his college days. It has also given him the opportunity to interact with and become friends with Westwood Village community members such as UCLA faculty and students, he added.

Customers feel at home at Pinches Tacos, Anaya said. Anaya recalled his friend saying that other than the food, his favorite thing about Pinches Tacos was the diversity in its customer base. Anaya said it is difficult to find a restaurant where doctors, attorneys, gardeners and chauffeurs alike can all sit and enjoy a meal. He added that customers have come to Pinches Tacos straight from the airport after going on vacation and told him that, while they enjoyed their trip, the restaurant is home for them. Former UCLA athletes too, Anaya said, have come back to the restaurant after becoming professional athletes and thanked him for still being in Westwood.

Pinches Tacos has the best tacos in Westwood, according to Gabriel Watson, a longtime customer. Watson, who works at a business management firm, said he first discovered Pinches Tacos five years ago when he was running errands nearby. Watson said he typically orders the three-taco combination and especially enjoys the restaurant’s al pastor tacos. Compared to other restaurants, the portions are sizeable, and the tacos do not feel heavy, he added.

“It’s a no-brainer whenever I want tacos,” Watson said. “Today, I’m thinking ‘Taco Tuesday,’ … so I’m going to Pinches.”

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Though the Westwood Pinches Tacos location is nearing its 10th anniversary, Anaya said the restaurant has not changed since its opening. With multiple Pinches Tacos locations in Los Angeles and one in Las Vegas, Nevada, Anaya said he prides himself on the consistency of the restaurants. Each location has a welcoming atmosphere, Anaya said, and also uses the same family recipes from Anaya’s hometown of Jalisco, Mexico, at every location. He said the recipes from Mexico have been passed down in his family for generations.

“We want to be a staple where people can know that, when they come in, it’s going to be the same thing,” Anaya said. “This is our comfort food. … It creates that comfort zone for people where they come in and not just have a friendly environment, but they know they’re going to get exactly the same thing.”

The soft tacos, Watson’s go-to order, are not the only selling point of Pinches, he said, as he also enjoys the restaurant’s atmosphere. While he often sits in Pinches Tacos’ outdoor seating area, Watson will sometimes sit inside by the restaurant’s large, open windows to enjoy the sunlight, he said.

“I usually come here, and I like to sit outside in the courtyard because it’s one of the few places in midday where you can still get sun,” Watson said. “I like the ambiance of the light here, and there’s big tables. You can sit up high at the bar. There are a lot of great qualities about it.”

Michelle Gonzalez, who has worked at Pinches Tacos for four years, said the restaurant can sometimes be very busy. She said the employees work together as a team to get through these rushes. Student customers, in particular, she added, tend to be very understanding when there are miscommunications with orders .

Anaya said the customer experience at the restaurant can be compared to attending a party in someone’s backyard. Pinches Tacos caters parties, too, he said, and the UCLA Athletics programs have ordered from the restaurant for large events.

Anaya said that, among students, the crunchy “Gringo Taco” is the most popular item. He said the taco, which students have referred to as “fire,” has unexpected flavors and that students always want more. At Pinches Tacos, the food itself is what matters, and everything is delicious, Anaya added.

“We’re about the food. There are a lot of places you come in, and everyone is taking pictures,” Anaya said. “If I go into a place and everyone is taking pictures, I go the other way. I want to enjoy the food.”