Reviews for Bar Amá in Los Angeles, CA

Long time DTLA, first time visitor. Came in hungry, bad idea, a lot of food order, and not enough room in our stomachs. Came in... for nachos, but missed the Happy hour mark. Queso and guac ordered instead, basically the nachos without the meat. Peach saladwas good, Chile relleno was fantastic, not soggy, which is what i was expecting after 30+ years of only being served soggychille rellenos. I assumed that was what they were supposed to be. I've been lied to. They can be crispy, airy, and amazing. Atthat point I was full and was hoping they forgot the crispy siracha chicken. They didn't, and it was amazing. I forced myself toeat and it was worth it. I loved it. It was juicy, and the homemade ranch was unexpected and delightful. Homemade tortillas.Bring them on. Read more

Sensational. The best tex-mex cuisine I have ever tasted. We were seriously full. I had the vegetarian enchiladas, rice and... beans, selection of starters, oh and I discovered tequila! Greeted with a smile, thanks Eddy. Read more

There’s just something special about this hidden gem. Wonderful food, awesome atmosphere and affordable prices. If you want to... look good on date night this is the spot for you. Read more

Amazing food! What a pleasant surprise. I had just gotten into town and stumbled upon this place in search of Mezcal in the... area. While my drink was amazing, the food was the star! The only reason this isn’t a 5 star review is because our table wasnot ready, but we were offered to sit on the outside patio/alley for drinks until our table was available. We never gotnotification of our table as we wished to move inside as there was some sort of singles event going on outside. Possibly amissed communication. Would still highly recommend! Read more

Incredible Mexican cuisine! The only thing we ordered that wasn't EXCEPTIONAL was the guacamole. The queso, hamachi ceviche... (pictured), and entrees were absolutely delicious. They also carry Chef Josef's unique sodas which were delicious as well! Read more

A few months ago the Food 52 cookbook club on Facebook (around 35,000 members) cooked from the Bar Amá cookbook and everyone... fell in love with Tex-Mex, Josef Centeno's family stories, the absolutely excellent recipes, and the alcohol section too. When Ifinally decided to fly after months and months of being at home during the pandemic, I came to see my daughter in Los Angelesand had literally only one food wish - to go to Bar Amá. I wasn't disappointed. They have the alley open for outdoor dining,our server was fantastic and she seemed to enjoy all my cookbook stories ????, I mean, if she didn't, she hid it well lol!Everything we had was excellent, see the photos. If you haven't yet been you should go and don't forget the B side of the menuthe blistered okra was stellar and so was the za'atar labneh & puffy bread. P.S. BUY THE COOKBOOK! I've made 40-50 of therecipes, they all are totally worth it! Read more

The Puffy Tacos were the Bomb!! After watching Taco Chronicles on Netflix I was like ok I will head over to Amácita's give... these Tex-Mex tacos a try. Last time in Texas, Mexican tacos and food tasted bland. Swore to never eat Tex-Mex again! Aftereating these Puffy Taco with cochinita pibil mmmmmm delicious!! This taco just melts in your mouth. Tex-Mex finally has a tacoworth driving an hour to eat. The service was spectacular! Food got there as fast as possible and the drinks kept coming. Iwashed this taco down with a unique tasting Michelada. I am still trying to figure what spices they used it was that tasty, itdefinitely wasn't Tajin. You just have to get there and taste for yourself! Read more

I came to Bar Amá for one thing: puffy tacos. Bar Amá's Mexican-American chef (and recent Michelin Star winner), Josef... Centeno, is from San Antonio, the city that invented the puffy taco. The puffy taco, a Tex-Mex staple, has made a slow migrationto Southern California, now with (at least) two restaurants that serve them in L.A. County: Bar Amá and Arturo's Puffy Tacos inWhittier. At Bar Amá, they're available to order off of a "secret menu," and different varieties are rotated daily. I orderedboth available on the evening I was here, the "Puffy Shrimp Taco" and the "Puffy Cochinita Pibil Taco." Neither of the puffytacos served to me here were particularly "challenging" and both mostly avoided fussy "chef treatments," instead coming acrossas straightforward rather than reinvented. That said, these are "designer" puffy tacos compared to what I ate and reviewed fromArturo's Puffy Tacos earlier this summer. Whereas Arturo's tacos evoked a Taco Bell Chalupa, Bar Amá's was lighter in weightand color, reminding me more of Indian fry bread. Yet, in both cases, it is masa and not wheat used to make these taco shells, aself-reminder that tastebuds aren't always reliable when coated in salt and oil. The process behind the puffy taco shell isthat a corn tortilla is deep-fried for a very brief time so that it puffs up from air attempting to escape the masa, thuscreating large air pockets, making the tortilla "puffy." Once the tortilla is "puffed," it is removed from the fryer, glisteningwith oil and similar in appearance to a fried dough shell, then stuffed like a normal taco and served. The "Shrimp Puffy Taco"consists of grilled butterflied shrimp that has been soaked in a sticky, spicy marinade. The edges of the shrimp are charredwith a smoky crust of developed flavor, and these shrimp would be excellent on their own. Here they are covered with shreddedred & white cabbage, with an airy avocado and chile mousse that channels Cielito Lindo's famous sauce (and i Read more