Broken Spanish

The flavors were decent, some good some mediocre, but the portions were so tiny… couldn’t justify the price.

My husband and I live around the block and pass by Broken Spanish pretty often and have not seen it as packed as it was tonight. I’m not sure if it was because there was a party being held there, because of the convention, or simply because they’ve grown. Anyway, I suggest making reservations prior to arriving in case it is the latter.
For appetizers, we got the tostadas, oxtail tortillas, octopus (they brought it out by accident so we got to try it for free!), and beets.
Loved the oxtail. It was definitely one of the highlights of the night – absolutely delicious. Tostadas were good. Everything else I wouldn’t order again.
For entrees, we got the Chicharron and Birria. Both were very good. I think I just wasn’t as up for such a huge piece of meat for dinner as I had thought, but Adrian really enjoyed the Chicharron and I the Birria. I think it should be served with rice or something. The excess broth is such a waste.
My favorite part of the meal however, was the dessert!!! The flan was amazinggggg. The consistency and texture was pure magic.
Overall, food was good but you’re definitely paying for the presentation and added ambience. However, this is definitely a place to come even just for drinks as the space has a very nice casual feel for something like that. Happy hour is from 5:30−7.

Woah, what an experience! It started the moment we sat down and were introduced to our waiter Johnny. Because of the small plate, medium plate, large plate options we were asking how much and what to order for three people. Johnny offered to order for us including any options that we were already interested in.
We were SO happy we let him choose. Everything he brought was incredible. There were so many things I would have never been interested in but were out of this world good! A squash tamale? NEW FAVORITE TAMALE! The chicharron is indeed delicious, as every review will tell you, but there is so much more to this menu. Other standouts included the octopus, rabbit, and mixed drinks.
But overall it was our incredible service that made the difference, I can tell you I would not have been compelled to write a Unilocal review without it. I have to recommend that if you go and get Johnny as your waiter let him take the wheel, because he’s batting a thousand.
Even if you don’t have an amazing waiter, the food and ambiance is worth the trip. Broken Spanish is conveniently located near the Staples Center and Disney Concert Hall so it’s a great place to come before an event.
Buen provecho!

Yo quiero this place. It was the perfect opener to The Who at Staples that night, and since I owed the hubster a Thank You dinner for helping me out at work, what better way than to treat him to margaritas and tons of meaty stuff?!
First off, the space is gorgeous with a (noisier) bar area out front and a spacious windowed back room for larger parties. We were seated in the back and ordered drinks right away. A word or two about their cocktails: artistically-​crafted.
And the food? Inspired. There was one dish I didn’t particularly like (the fundido bacalao) because it was fish and cheese. After all, it WAS the hubster’s owed dinner, so I had to say yes to his request of fish and cheese. Suffice it to say, he finished that one with out me.
But the lamb tamal was out of this world delicious and the stuffed camote was simply divine. I loved the chicharron too. We basically loved everything we got.
The service got spottier as the place got busier so we felt a wee bit ignored in the end but I would definitely hit this spot up again. They take rezzies, have valet, and it’s located off the main drag but close enough to Staples and Microsoft for it to be a great convenient place to grab a meal and go.

I’ve always wanted to try this place, so I had really high expectations, but unfortunately I was disappointed haha. Food wasn’t as tasty as I expected, for the price I would prefer yummy Mexican street food, also they didn’t serve any rice. Overall, just wasn’t a great experience.

Hadn’t read the Unilocal reviews, so I was surprised to see that Broken Spanish is located inside the old Rivera. The service was as good as Rivera’s was terrible… and in IMHO, the food is world’s better, as well.
The main dining room harkens back to the old Rivera style, but is brighter and has more community style seating. I’m not sure I like the renovation of the old closed dining room. They’ve added windows on two sides where the old tequila locker wall stood.
We were seated at one of the community style tables (which are separate, but really close). Our waiter was stellar. We didn’t have much time to dally as we were attending a De Camera recital at the Doheny Mansion.
We put ourselves in the hands of our waiter and he was overjoyed.
SUMMER SQUASH, BRENTWOOD CORN, RAJAS, QUESO OAXACA Tamale +++++
This was sinful. It was large tamale with this beautiful cream sauce and the most delicate bite. Don’t miss this dish.
CRUDO Diver Scallop, Apple Cucumber, Serrano ++++
So fresh with a hit of heat and the scallops were divine.
PULPO Alberjones, Chorizo, Crema +++++
Wow…the most tender octopus I’ve ever eaten and presented beautifully. Another NOT to miss dish.
The tequilas drinks were on point… can’t remember what I had, but it was fresh.
One of LA Mag’s top 10 restaurants of 2015… go there.

Restaurants are more than just the food and I find Broken Spanish to be that type of restaurant. We had Johnny who asked if he could order for the table and, being adventurous, we said yes. The food was good but nothing surprising. I like that they do byo but the $ 25 corkage fee is a bit much. Overall the décor and location are a bigger selling point than the food.

Mexican tapas!
Street parking is cheaper if you are lucky. Valet is $ 7.
Service was friendly and attentive. Needed to ask for water refills a few times.
Corkage is $ 25 a bottle.
Came for a birthday party and our group had the prix fixe menu for $ 60 a person. They also gave us a vegetarian option as well.
Portions were a good size. We had a table of 10 and they gave us 4 dishes each to share.
Tostada — Crispy and I love carrots so I enjoyed it.
Ensalada — Basic salad, too much acid for me.
Lamb Neck Tamale — Masa was soft and not dry. Lamb neck mixed with the oxtail on top was perfect.
Pulpo — Octopus was good, cooked well and not chewy.
Chile Relleno — Poblano was tender and the stuffing was ok. Was not a fan of the soubise sauce.
Chicharron — Holy fattiness! Huge chunk of tender pork and fat. I wish the skin was crispier. Some of it was so chewy that I could not bite through it.
Frijoles — My less favorite dish.
Abuelita Hot Chocolate — Not usually a fan of chocolate cake but this was really good. With the ice cream, it was the perfect treat. The mini marshmallows were a nice surprise.
Birthday Piñata — Awesome presentation. To many floral notes when you eat everything together.
Flan — Caramel flavor overwhelmed. Did not enjoy the texture of the flan, really really thick.
Mexican Chocolate Cookies — I was not a fan of the Mexican chocolate and chile de arbol mix. Had a weird flavor to me.
Meal was overall pretty tasty. Desserts were so so. During the entire meal I kept thinking to myself, is this better then 50 tacos I could have bought with this 60 bucks?!? In the end it was and it wasn’t.

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!
I joined some friends here for a Cinco de Mayo dinner and I’m oh so blessed that they picked this spot! They did my taste buds well.
What’s on the menu? Well, nothing but yummy goodness – that’s what!
Ok, you have to try these items or else you’re going to regret it! Queso fundido, tamales, ensalada, green beans, rabbit and RED SNAPPER.
Don’t think that the ensalada is your typical mix of greens. No way jose! It’s a delicate combination of hydroponic greens that includes mint. So juicy and fresh and all around tasty.
Yes, the rabbit may sound a bit out of the ordinary but EVERYONE at our table loved it! The spices that it’s cooked in will make your mouth salivate for hours.
THE 1^st PLACE WINNER: RED SNAPPER. If you like fish and you do not order this, I will personally slap you in the face. I may even rip out your tastebuds because you don’t deserve to have them if you pass this up. Don’t forget to eat the vegetables that come in the dish as well; they soak up all the savory flavor!
DESSERT: GET THE VAMPIRO which is a white mouse! YOU’LL THANK ME!

Great restaurant for drinks and «botanas» as they call it.
Their is no HH options so drinks are not discounted at all (a bit pricey). Some of the ones we ordered that were pretty good were the Patron saint, and aztec colonel. Both great options! Even though I had a great experience here and the food was amazing I think that it is a bit expensive for what you get. I’ve never paid $ 14 for a tamal but damn it was good! If you don’t mind paying an extra buck for it. I will say that it’s a very casual yet trendy restaurant. Great atmosphere here!
Some of their dishes that we ordered and that we liked were:
Chochoyotes
Lamb Tamal
Veggie Tamal
Pulp
Birria
Oh and one last tip, they have valet! Highly recommend it since it’s hard to find parking around there.

Go here with a group. Don’t make the mistake that I did and go alone. Unless you want to be so full that you can’t move after, haha! Everything looks and tastes so good, it’s hard not to order entirely too much. I’m not sure when I’ll have a chance to go back so I ordered the Pollo Prensado AND the refried lentils AND the Chicharron, not to mention two giant bottles of a delicious IPA out of Tijuana. It was all wonderful, absolutely wonderful, but a menu like this is either for someone who has will power or is joined by others, neither of which I had the night I was here haha. Although that Cazuela is recommended for two people but is easily fine for one, it’s not that big.
But yeah. The Pollo Prensado gets the star of the meal award, but that Chicharron was no slouch either. It’s nice to have an actually good restaurant in this space — Rivera was THE most overrated restaurant in LA. This is a massive improvement.

I was slow to come here because I’ve heard mixed reviews on this place but I liked my dinner here a lot. Came here with a group of four and ordered a ton of food.
They don’t have diet coke, btw, only Mexican coke. The décor is cute and all your food comes out in adorable ceramic bowls and dishes.
We had the heirloom corn tortillas, pulpo, oxtail quesadilla, queso fundido, scallop crudo, tostada, chile relleno and chicharron. EVERYTHING was good. Food definitely veers towards the spicy side but it’s all inventive, beautifully presented and delicious. My favs were the queso, oxtail quesadilla, tostada and the chicharron. Also the tortillas are SO GOOD. We all kept eating them on their own.
For dessert, we had the abuelita’s hot chocolate, all the ice creams and sorbets (chocolate, guava, goat’s milk and horchata), and the arroz con leche. Loved the arroz con leche and the horchata ice cream.
I’d definitely come back here again anytime. Great spot for date night or a dinner with friends.

I was really excited to try this place, I’ve had it bookmarked for months and kept on reading about it and the hype was a bit overdone, I left feeling underwhelmed and overcharged.
Food: 3 stars
The menu was not that exhaustive it was pretty simple if I would have dined here with a bigger group of friendsI am confident that we would have burned through the menu but this was not the case. But I did love that they had non-​traditional protein dishes on the menu. So we ordered the most popular items and some…
Oxtail quesadilla: 3 stars
This was a must order for me as oxtail is my favorite protein but I was mildly disappointed. The portion was small and the tortilla was kinda soggy this was more more like oxtail soft tacos, and if they called it that maybe I would not have been disappointed but I’d have to give it 3 stars as the oxtail was really good.
Lamb Neck tamale: 4 stars
The lamb neck was moist and flavorful and had the right amount of gameyness to it. I could have just eaten a bowl of the lamb neck with the frijoles and been a happy camper, but the masa could get an edge, not much to write about that.
Chicharron: 5 stars
This is was the meal of the night! The texture, the flavors, the presentation and the portion– everything was perfect about this dish!
Frijoles:3.5 stars
These bean just had enough kick and paired well with the Chicharron, but could probably stand on its own.
Duck: 1 star
Dry, dry, dry. With all that fat, how is duck served dry? Even with the mole, still dry. I love duck and never been disappointed by this protein until this evening– avoid it and order something else.
Ambiance: 3 stars
I loved the bar area and the bartenders were great. I would come back here for a drink before a game at staples. However, to dine here was pretty loud and not cozy at all. It almost felt like we were eating at a communal table and had to raise our voices to carry the conversation.

Meh. Just ok.
Came here for dinner before a concert at Staples Center and I have to say I was not impressed. Nothing stood out and the cocktails or just ok.
We ordered the lamb tamale, oxtail quesadilla, and the queso fundido.
Décor & vibe are nice but I wish the food impressed me.
Also, many of the food options contained meats that could be considered «gamey». Given that i do not enjoy gamey meats much, i wish they would have had more variation to offer.

Wow. Not sure if it’s just that we chose the best dishes but it was amazing. Service was really good also and the place had a great vibe.
Not that I judge a place by the bathroom but that wasn’t so nice which was weird since everything else was nice.
Lamb neck = 5 stars.
Oxtail = 4 stars.
Duck = 5 stars. Mole was ridiculous.
Chocolate desert = 4 stars.
Def will come back to try more

This place is hoppin’! Tried to get reservations at around 5 PM on a Saturday and earliest we could get was 9:30 PM. Got there a little over 9 PM and we were seated right away.
Service is pretty good. I liked how our server comes around to check if we were done with our first round of order. Our table was small so that could be the reason but still it’s nice to have someone who makes to pace the food delivery.
Tortillas (with whipped carnitas fat)
* sounded fancy coz of the «whipped carnitas» description on there but, uh. Ok regular tortilla served with congealed fat. Pass next time I go.
Tamales (lamb neck, king oyster mushroom, queso Oaxaca)
* very flavorful, with the meat so tender. Not a fan of the cheese as it was too strong for my taste but something I might order again.
Cabbage (with cueritos and cilantro)
* a perfect pairing for their chicharon. Tangy; reminds me a little bit of kimchi minus the interesting smell. Maybe more like stringed sauerkraut.
Chicharon (with elephant garlic mojo, radish sprout, and picked herbs)
* very fatty but so full of flavor. And so beautiful to look at. Actually I felt like I was getting a heart attack just by looking at it but heck, I’d choose this for my last meal on earth.
Draaaaanks
Paloma Phosphate
— blanco tequila, grapefruit gomme syrup, citrus oil, acid phosphate, grapefruit soda and sea salt served tall over ice. A little sweet, just like how I prefer my drinks
Green Gardenblanco
— tequila, belle de brillet, lemon, ginger, green juice medley and fennel flower served over ice. A little too strong for me but still good
Definitely a good place to impress your date if they’re craving for Mexican food and if you don’t mind forking over $ 20 for valet parking.

A great overall experience at Broken Spanish, a sleek restaurant with big windows, wood walls and bright tiles. The crowd is loud, buzzy and the vibe is upbeat and trendy. I love the plates and pottery on which the dishes are served, such a nice touch! As always we ordered way too much! The only small downside to the night was some forgotten drinks which were comped when they finally arrived. They have some great cocktails here but be patient as greatness does take time. Also, do inquire about dishes if you don’t like spicy food as the menu doesn’t always warn which dishes are lightly spicy and which are truly hot. Some dishes (lamb tamale, green beans, tostada, mole duck) were really very good while others were stunning.
Highlights:
The queso fundido was amazing! It came perfectly hot and just the right amount of oil, salt, tang and creaminess.
The homemade blue tortillas (ordered separately) are delicious too! We needed them to sop up a variety of sauces.
The scallop crudo was spicy, tart, and bright with apple, lime and cucumber. This is a small dish, just enough for each of us to try one scallop.
The Spinach tamale had a light texture (not as dense as many tamales I have tried). The sunchoke added a crunch, the pawlet cheese brought a creamy richness. The rich salsa balanced the flavors perfectly.
The whole snapper was excellent although you must be super careful of bones, it’s work (worthwhile work) to eat this. The fish was flakey and perfectly cooked sitting in a green ‘Clamato’ sauce that was bright with cilantro, lime and studded with bites of avocado, clam and leeks. Pour that sauce over every bite, you won’t regret it!
Dessert was the chile mango. It was a surprising mix of tangy, sweet and spicy. Like so many dishes here the flavors build and start in one place and take you on a journey. Go here ready to try new things and experience really bright, flavorful and unique food.

The food is flavorful, but I didn’t find anything that stood out to me as memorable. I can see what the Chef Ray Garcia is doing — he’s bringing upscale, modern, refined Mexican cuisine to Los Angeles.
Chef did extensive research and some R&D at some of the best Mexican restaurants in Southern California such as Taco Maria before opening B.S.Taqueria and Broken Spanish.
The service at their sister restaurant, B.S. Taqueria, was more attentive from start to finish during my visit compared to Broken Spanish. With prices high here, I expect the same level of attention or even better.
I recommend checking out Bracero Cocina or Galaxy Taco in San Diego or Anepalco in Orange for modern Mexican with higher service levels to match.
Guerilla Tacos also has inexpensive modern, refined Mexican cuisine… out of a truck. It is my favorite modern Mexican in Los Angeles.

Mexican food on another level.
I love my taco trucks and I’ve always hated the idea of sitting down in a restaurant for Mexican food, but Broken Spanish has slapped me silly. The décor is very inviting and festive. I came for dinner so it was dimly lit so it was not IG-​friendly. I can’t recall the drinks I had because I asked the server/​bartender to make me something with mezcal. It was stiff and sweet.
I started with the lamb neck tamale. It was moist and meat was plentiful. I felt the taste of the lamb was very subtle so for those of you afraid of the gaminess of that meat, you’re in luck. I ordered the cabeza not knowing I would be serve the skull. It was difficult to tackle that beast with good table manners. I apologize to all the people around me that had to watch me dissect the thing. The meat was sooooooo tender and fatty. It came with tortillas so it wasn’t too overwhelming. It is definitely worth the price but make sure to share it! Otherwise you won’t have room for anything else!
I’m very intrigued by the menu and would love to pay another visit some time soon.

I met a cool woman at a b’ness gig, and after following up with her, she suggested we have dinner at Broken Spanish. It is located on Flower & 11^th (in the same space as now closed Rivera), across the street from The Palm. Classically trained local chef, Ray Garcia offers his spin on traditional Mexican dishes. BS also has an extensive cocktail menu, including several tequila based cocktails.
We ordered crudo ($ 15 | Diver scallops, apple, cucumber, serrano); lamb neck tamale ($ 16 | king oyster mushroom, queso oaxaca); tortillas w/​whipped carnitas fat ($ 7); quesadilla ($ 14 | oxtail, plaintain, habañero, salsa quemada); duck w/​mole ($ 34 | sesame & persimmon); and chicharron ($ 37 | elephant garlic mojo, radish sprout & pickled herb. To drink, we shared a cazuela ($ 20 | mezcal, blanco tequila, mandarin napoleon, lime jicama, pineapple, fresno chile & pretty flowers).
Rarely does a meal start out underwhelming to wowing me, but BS was the exception. First of all, the sauce for the scallops had a good tart flavor. However, the scallops were sliced thin vs whole, and the portion was ridiculous for the price: 2.5 Stars. Secondarily, the tamale tasted good. The lamb was tender, and nicely seasoned. Nonetheless, $ 16 for a tamale?!: 3 Stars. Thirdly, the tortillas were OK, but really didn’t do anything for me. You had to slather the tortillas w/​the carnitas fat, and the tortillas were nothing special: 3 Stars.
Fourthly, the quesadilla was a chiste (joke)! It came out as tacos, and although the braised oxtail tasted good, the portion of meat was small for the price: 1 Star. On the other hand, the duck, was outstanding. It was tender, and the mole had the depth of the multiple ingredients it contained: 5 Stars. Lastly, the chicharron was excellent. The skin was crispy, the meat tender, and the sour sauce contrasted nicely vs the savory pork: 5+++ Stars. The drink was a novelty, but in my mind should be served in a punch bowl, and the portion should be larger for the price: 3 Stars.
Regarding the ambiance, it is very nice. They did a little remodeling after taking over the space from Rivera. I believe the space is better utilized now: 4 Stars. Likewise, the service from Rogelio and his team was very good. He was very informative and attentive. In addition, the dishes came out quickly: 4 Stars.
3.5 Stars overall. I would return for the entrees, and the extensive tequila list. However, IMHO the smaller plates are overpriced and not that good.