Ocho Mexican Grill

This was actually way better than I expected. Even better than Chipotle in my opinion. Everything tasted fresh and I loved their Southwest dressing to go along with my bowl. I ordered their bowl with chicken, black beans, white rice, grilled onions, lettuce, green chile, tortilla strips, grilled corn, and Southwest dressing… good lord it was delicious! Restaurant looked new and clean and service was spectacular.

I would of tried this place except I’m here at 4:20pm on January 26, 2016
And the young people working here are chewing on chips and saying «oh this and that isn’t good…»
I’m scared to look over cause they are so deep in conversation.
Thank you for letting me use the restroom but I feel if I eat any food here I will stay in the restroom for 2 more hours
I won’t record the voices and munching of the workers her now. You do the math,
I changed my mind, got scared lol

Good Mexican Joint. It is in the financial district so its hard to find parking but once in a while after work I temporarily park at a meter and get my food to go. It is similar to Chipotle in the idea that it is assembly line Mexican Food. The taste is more authentic then Chipotle because it is more spicy and less Americanized. The salsa was not my favorite but the meat and chicken is very tasty.

LOVE this place! I when I say «place» I specifically mean this Ocho on 3^rd & Grand. I placed a pretty large online order for the office– we passed around a menu and we made a list of what everyone wanted– customized their own bowl/​burrito/​salad. Ocho got every single order right, delivered right on time, and made the whole experience so quick and easy! We will definitely be ordering from here again. We ordered from their other location on 6^th & Hope the first time and boy were they horrible-​I had to wait an extra 20 mins for them to hurriedly throw our orders together and of course the orders were wrong. Go to/​order from this location instead– five stars! Thanks for the great customer service Ocho on 3^rd & Grand!

I eat here all the time. Employees are super nice, food is great and fresh (although I recommend the cheese sauce) and whole wheat chips are also a hidden gem of the establishment.
Never disappointed.

My girlfriend and I visited LA today because we have tickets to the Broad, so we decided to eat here. The presentation of the food and restaurant is very warm and inviting. Ocho Mexican Grill allows you to create your own meal and add whatever meat/​veggies you would like in your dish. We will definitely be back to visit. The food is authentic and the workers here keep the restaurant very clean.

Much much much better than Chipotle. I got a burrito and it was by far one of the best I’ve had. Make sure you get the guacamole and chips because the chips have this soft and sweet texture that will leave you drooling. Pricing for a burrito, drink and chips/​guac was about 16 dollars and change. If I am ever in that area, I will make sure to stop by for a burrito!

As the 3 stars indicate, this place is A-​OK, especially if you’re in the area. It’s located near MOCA, The Broad, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. If you’re in the mood for Chipotle-​style food and don’t mind paying $ 1 – 2 more, then check this place out. Do not go out of your way to eat here.
When we went inside, we saw a sign that they offered beer battered fish as a protein option. We were intrigued and picked that to go with our bowl. We were disappointed with the portion of the fish. It was only 2 small pieces (think slightly larger than a fish stick). Wah wah. If we had ordered another protein, we might have been more satisfied. Regardless, I do not recommend getting the fish! Their toppings looked good and tasted fine. Nothing special though. We just wish there was more fish since the bowl cost $ 9.75. Oh well, live and learn.
Service was friendly and efficient. No complaints there.

Trust me, I hate rating places with 1 star and if you look at my profile, my 1 star distribution is rare but this place was terrible. I came here on a Sunday afternoon with my friend to grab a super late lunch before heading to the Broad museum and to my surprise, I never had such bad tacos in my life. For those that know me, tacos are everything to me. It’s my favorite food and every time I have a craving, it would be tacos!
Let’s start off that my friend and I shared a plate. We ordered 3 asada tacos with corn tortilla. The sizing of the tacos was relatively large, which was great! But the meat was COLD and all 3 corn tortillas literally fell apart. It couldn’t hold the contents of our tacos in place and I never had such cold meat in my life. Hopefully, our tacos was just an isolated incident but we both won’t be back. I didn’t want to make a scene by taking our food back because we were rushed on time for the Broad museum appointment but never was I ever this disappointed in my life. How can you mess up on tacos? Such a simple concept to it too!

Delicious! And definitely better then Chipotle. I’ve been passing this place for years since it was vacated by the old Koo Koo Roo Chicken restaurant, and have been meaning to try one day. Well that day was today and I’m so glad I finally did. I had the Grilled Angus Steak Salad; extremely good with mild salsa and chipotle dressing. You don’t have to go on safari, searching through your salad to find your meat either; chock-​full of steak with every bite. Ocho Mexican Grill is a definite winner with me!

I’ve always passed by Ocho where I used to work, but never felt the need to try it, since Chipotle was just a walk down further. Now that Chipotle is no longer just a «walk down further», the next best thing was Ocho. I took advantage of their order online/​pick-​up option, which saved a buttload of time. I got the grilled chicken salad with brown rice, hica-​mango, squash and corn, romaine lettuce, pickled cabbage with cilantro lime and mild green sauce on the side. They do not skimp on giving you toppings and it’s similarly priced to Chipotle. Around $ 9 including tax. I’m not sure why I didn’t get Ocho before, but I can definitely say I like it better than Chipotle. Go here instead of Chipotle for lunch in downtown!
TLDR: better than Chipotle (imo). more toppings and salsas/​toppings don’t have onions mixed in, so I can eat my food in peace sans onion. :)

We had been wanting to try OMG, but they were usually closed on the weekends that we frequented the Music Center/​LA Opera/​Walt Disney Concert Hall. Since we were recently in the area on a week night, we ditched Subway and came to OMG instead. And OMG, it is soooo much better than Chipotle. It’s like the platinum version. In addition to the usual proteins, OMG also offers fish and tofu. And so many more fresh toppings and condiments that complement your master creation, or to add to one of their recipe recommendations. We chose to create our own chicken bowls with beans, rice, and toppings galore. My favorites were the habanero salsa and the mango/​jicama which nicely cooled off the fire in my mouth! Staff is friendly and attentive. Also glad to hear the news that they are now open on the weekends for lunch! (Get there before 4 pm!). The only thing missing are the margaritas. ..

I like that the food at this place is mostly organic, vegetarian friendly, and fresh. I love the variety of options. I love that it doesn’t leave a weird after taste in my mouth or leave me with awful breath.
Now for the things I don’t like:
1) The punch and the lemonade were both too sweet and just tasted strange.
2) The price. It’s just very expensive. Two people w/​drinks = $ 20-​$ 25.
Overall, the environment is cute, and it is one of the cheaper, quick options near downtown arts venues. Great for grabbing a quick bite before a show at the Ahmanson.

We stopped in here before heading to the Broad Museum for lunch. It’s located a block away from the museum. It’s the same type of point-​point style eateries (like Chipotle) but better. I tried the chicken bowl with brown rice, jicama & mango add in, cilantro sauce, mild tomatillo salsa with roasted corn and squash and topped with corn tortilla strips. My boyfriend had the surf & turf bowl and he enjoyed it. I really enjoyed my lunch and it was really delicious. I wished they had Ocho in OC — this would blow Chipotle on any given day. We also tried the jamaica refresher. I’d definitely return if I’m in the area again and want something quick and easy.

The food is very good and healthy. If you like Chipotle you will most likely like Ocho. They have a salsa that is super spicy, very nice.
The only issue we had today was that the tables outside were not clean. A staff member passed by to pick up trays and even 10 minutes later nobody came to clean. No table out of about 10 was clean. My wife said the womens bathroom were not clean either. You could get these 5 stars with a sponge and a towel :-)

Just a quick update —
When getting free guac on the 8^th, make sure you say «I LOVE OCHO» and get the guac on the SIDE.
I was here on the 8^th with my coworkers, and they did not honor it for two of us.
While in line, I asked the employee making my bowl if they had free guacamole today, and he said yes. After hearing that, I asked him to put guac on my order. At the register, another employee charged me for the guacamole after I said «I love Ocho.» I asked her about it, and she said that it is only free when you ask for it on the side. I explained to her what had happened and asked if they could honor it, but after talking to her manager, she said no. I didn’t want to hold up the line or make a scene so I just paid the extra.
My coworker was in line after me, and they did not honor the deal, because she said «I love guac. I love ocho.» A bit ridiculous, no?
I understand that we messed up on ~technicalities~ but this experience completely turned me off from Ocho.

I came back to this place many times after my last review. And for most of those times, I ordered the Mahi-​Mahi with my taco. I never experienced any fishiness thus the update.
As for the Carnitas, I ordered it again today for the first time after my prior review, and. .. still salty. So the rating stays the same.
Mahi-​Mahi, yes, Carnitas, nyet.
Their Cilantro Lime Salsa is delicious btw! It’s great used as dipping salsa for my tortilla chips (I have my own bag of Mission Tortilla Chips at the office). It also goes well with the Mahi-​Mahi.
Staff members here are efficient and quite nice.
Parking — nahhh, no one comes here as the destination. You gotta be already in the area to come here (because of work or maybe visiting MOCA).

This place is absolutely amazing! I really enjoy eating here when possible. It is located conveniently just a block from my job and its always a hit for when I have invited new people to try it. I have told them its better than the competition and no one has yet to argue after they have tried Ocho.
The interior is real nice clean look with plenty of signs for all food options. They also have horchata and lemonade drink options here that they don’t have an some of the other locations.
I usually get the burrito bowl with no lettuce (chicken) and its to die for. Not too much condiments and everything tastes very fresh.
They have plenty of inside and outside seating but it still gets packed during lunch hours. I would recommend coming earlier than later.

I liked this place a lot. Let me tell you the two things that makes this different from Chipotle.
1.) They have more variety /​flavors. Mango salsa, fried onions, lots of different sauces, etc. Tasty!
2.) My friends and I grabbed some burritos and then headed over to the Grand Performances venue across the street, laid out a blanket, and ate our burritos while we waited for the show to start. «Excuse me, but where did you get those burritos? They look soooo good and they’re huuuuuuge». Yes, that’s right, the burritos we got were so massive that total strangers approached us to find out where these godzillas came from!
4 stars for tasting great. Plus 1 star for the portion size! If I ever make it back there and the burritos are «normal» sized or more expensive, I’ll be taking back my fifth star. So if you’re reading this Ocho, you got a good thing going on; don’t mess it up.

Very similar to Chipotle, but way better! They have a menu that suggests various ways to mix their ingredients into a meal. I love the vegan paradise, but I know their meat choices are delicious as well.
The guacamole is fantastic!!! Bright green, super creamy, and fresh. It helps that if you check in on Unilocal you get free chips & guacamole. ;-)
Also, give the aguas frescas a try. I like the rosy lemonade. Even though the rosy lemonade is $ 3.50, I can’t resist buying it whenever I’m there.