El Coyote - Los Angeles

Originally opened in 1931, El Coyote is an LA landmark. Anything that has been open for 92 years and still going strong is doing something right. It’s been featured in many movies, shows, and is constantly written about in articles. It’s a casual, traditional, sit-down Mexican restaurant in one of the busier parts of this city. They offer parking in the rear and valet after 6PM, otherwise it will be metered street parking. We came for a lunch on Saturday and were able to park in the lot attached to the restaurant. I especially love how dark this restaurant is. There are lots of stringed lights and candles on the inside, so the lighting is really great. Not too dark that you can’t see the food but great for the overall mood. Service was pretty quick so we were able to pretty much order right after sitting down. We started with the Guacamole Fresca, which was pretty good. It’s not one of my favorites but still, I would order it again. Next came the Chicken Tortilla Soup, which I thought was great. It had a nice flavor and had a lot of chicken in it. Finally from my entrée, I chose the El Coyote Fajita Plate with steak. It was honestly really good and it came with a lot of meat. It is a bit expensive, I will admit. Our meal was about $85 and we didn’t even order alcohol. Still though it’s a place that I would recommend to anyone even though it can get a bit touristy at times.

Great food! Amazing atmosphere! Tarantino hangs out here sometimes. The plate was scolding hot but the food temperature was literally perfect. Cant recommend enough!

The Staff is very friendly and helpful, this is an institution that you must visit when in the area. The cheese enchilada plate was delicious, the Chili con carne la Cocina was also delicious. The Paloma cocktail will knock your socks off. We will be back.

El Coyote has been around for over 80 years .The menu is packed with options, so there's something for everyone. However, the prices are high for food that is not that flavorful. Meat is bland. Whenever a mexican restaurant covers the whole plate with melted cheese I usually wonder if the restaurant is trying to cover up mediocre tasting food. Unless you really like cheese. The atmosphere at El Coyote is warm and inviting, and the staff is friendly and attentive.

The servers are all so nice and you can tell they know what's up! We got there around 9 and they close at 10p so we tried to eat fast and not be jerks, and the staff were still very friendly. The food is very good, but a bit pricey compared with similar restaurants. It's very cute inside so I would always recommend. Love the chips and salsa fresco!