Yxta Cocina Mexicana

Now you have a reason to visit the otherwise overlooked and ominous sounding Downtown LA corner of 6th & Central. Food, drink and staff all perfect on a recent Saturday night. With whom do I discuss getting a subway stop nearby? It's a long walk from Pershing Square. Until then, there's easy parking. If not, Yxta is almost worth renting a nearby loft just to be in the neighborhood.  If only all of Downtown was this amazing.

Located just east of downtown, with the Los Angeles skyline visible a mile or two away, Yxta Cocina Mexicana is a true gem of a restaurant. As you enter into a large space that is decidedly cool and beautifully designed, busy with an eclectic crowd of patrons, it's instantly clear that this, my friends, is a special place.

Our server, Alberto,  showed up promptly, and was friendly and very articulate about all the important details concerning the day's specials and the menu in general. We ordered our drinks, and looked the menu over while munching on smokey, spicy chipotle salsa and a lovely pico de gallo. Our drinks arrived, and having decided on what we wanted (it wasn't easy), placed our order.

My wife is vegan, and this restaurant did not disappoint her, serving a dish of Calabacitas that was absolutely delicious, whether you're vegan or not! As for me, I ordered Mahi Mahi tacos.
The first thing I noticed was that the tortillas were gorgeous, so good in fact that they compete with anything a street vendor in Mexico City has to offer - and that's a big compliment! The fish itself was perfectly grilled and delicious, an unqualified hit. For desert I ordered flan, and what I got was one of the best  (possibly *the* best) flans I have ever tasted, and I've tasted a few. The texture was just firm enough, the sweetness just right, the flavor of the custard simply perfection.

I plan on visiting Yxta Cocina Mexicana with regularity, there are just so many items on that menu that I'm dying to try! I hope you'll do yourself a favor and go find out why this is such a special place for yourself. You won't regret it.

Celebrated my Birthday here... YUM!!! Never been, read the Yelp commentary and it lived up to them all!   Had the salmon enchiladas,  tasted friend's carnitas (great!) ... Would recommend their food in a heart beat... Excellent!!  Server was really good, very helpful with recommendations and information!    

Its a cavernous space so the noise gets loud, but oh well.  And yes agree with another review that driving out of there is going thru some homeless encampment areas, but well that's like a lot of big cities these days.  Well worth the drive for the food and the service.

PS really good margaritas!!