Mexican &/or cheap restaurants in LA
 

I'll welcome suggestions of good Mexican restaurants in LA, with a special interest in small homey cheap places, tho glad to hear about big non-homey expensive places as well.<BR><BR> And about any little cheap good places, especially ethnic of that exists there (apart from Mexican).

El Gringo in Hermosa Beach.<BR>Gilbert's on Pico in Santa Monica for huevos rancheros.<BR>Don Antonio's on Pico in West Los Angeles for margaritas and carne asada - sit in the cave room.<BR>

El Cholo - they now have 2 locations - one just west of downtown and the other in Santa Monica - standard Mexican fare; been around forever<BR><BR>La Serenata - emphasis on Mexican seafood; fancy location in Santa Monica; hole in the wall location (cheaper also & the same food) in West LA on Pico<BR><BR>If you're in LA for awhile, the best small cheap place for Mexican food is La Super-Rica in Santa Barbara. Worth the drive. It's a dive with the best, and cheapest, tortillas!

El Cholo has lots of atmosphere, costumed servers, elaborate decor, etc. It is like a nice Mexican theme restaurant with one big difference. At El Cholo the food is actually wonderful! I highly recommend it.

El Cholo is an institution! It is upscale Mexican food, especially at the original location in the dining room with the fountain. The best margaritas, great selection of tequilas, awesome tamales! Not a dive by any stretch of the imagination. And a *must-do* on any list of Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles.<BR><BR>In my opinion La Super Rica isn't all that. Worth a stop if you're in Santa Barbara but there's plenty of great Mexican food on every corner in Los Angeles. I remember a particular taco stand around the corner from my old office on Olympic and Bundy, Rosie's? As good as Super Rica, but probably Rosie has moved on.

OK..you can do the tourist route..go to El Cholo and the others mentioned. Great food? Hardly. You want something cheap and good? Go to marielas on third and catalina. Its towards downtown near vermont and third. Get a carne asada burrito and a lemonade or jamaica. Smother it in the red sauce. Its not fancy. You will see the women grilling and chopping the beef in front of you.<BR>

I love how when people don't like places they label them as "tourist" places. The last time we had lunch at El Cholo late in the afternoon, we were the only ones that appeared not to be regulars. There were local business lunches going on, lots of apparent locals who all knew the entire staff, and most of the customers were speaking Spanish -- tourists or not, they sure seemed to know the place. We felt like the outsiders which, of course, we were.

Please, anyone from LA -- don't kill me for recommending this.....but I have to suggest El Coyote in Hollywood. While it's not "real" Mexican, I love it and eat there everytime I go home to LA.<BR><BR>It's always packed, always happening (funky, run-down 1930s building), and it's cheap. Try the taco salad -- I love the beets and guacamole. <BR><BR>Frommers.com has just posted a list of cheap and funky places (look in Budget Travel Magazine section). I love most of the restaurants they listed (Toi, Duke's, Roscoe's). <BR><BR>AG from LA

Here's a website that offers a lot of Latin food choices in LA:<BR><BR>http://www.gusto-latino.com/english/search.htm<BR><BR>Just a few suggestions: <BR>El Tepeyac (Evergreen-East LA) - (just over the bridge from downtown) Be ready to wait outside about 20 minutes<BR>for a table in the small dining room. Worth the wait. They have take-out on<BR>the side. Great weekend breakfast. <BR>Just be sure to be eat while Mass is being said in the church across the street, otherwise you're getting wait with a big church crowd.<BR><BR>Another choice:<BR><BR>La Serenata de Garibaldi<BR>1842 E First St<BR>Los Angeles (Boyle Heights area)<BR>Phone: (323) 265-2887<BR><BR>Excellent Mexican seafood and more with good sauces. Reasonable prices but upscale atmosphere.<BR><BR><BR>

Don Antonio on Pico near Santa Monica gets a lot of play on its cave room but LA Talpa (the mexican restaurant next door) has much better food. It is one of my favorites for cheap mexican food.