Alegria On Sunset

This was the restaurant, my honey took me to, on our first Date. Many moon’s ago… I’m so sad to see it, closed down. Lots of great memories. They had the BEST Mexican food by far! We brought our own wine. The chicken mole, was my favorite. Sad, sad, sad…

Alegria was our favorite restaurant! So special and delicious, and Nadine is a great person. We will miss you guys! XOX

Sadly, Alegria has closed for good.
tears.

THIS BUSINESS IS CLOSED. As sad as I am to hear of this news in an article with LA Eater I present to the many of you who knew of this family owned neighborhood treasure, it is true. I loved eating here! The food & juices were made with love, attention to flavor and combination of ingredients. I, nor anyone I ever dined with at Alegria walked away dissatisfied. I am heart broken to hear that it was decided to close silently. I think I could speak on behalf of many others who share the same appreciation of Alegria, that we all would have loved to express our love for such low key fine dining. I will say only this. may you continue to cook and spread love through community dining. Is this yet another example of the neighborhood gentrification? Por Vida Alegria!

Alegria is DELICIOUS, that is a fact and the owner is so sweet. You can tell she really puts love into what she does.
Recently they switched to a cash only method, which is totally cool but apparently the other woman who works the register isn’t «authorized» to give out receipts… if you ask her for one it is as if you just asked her to give you food for free.
As a repeat customer I have to say I was really disappointed by the way I was treated last night. I love the owner and was picking up food for my employer, ready to put in an order for myself to pick up on the way home and decided not to because of the way I was treated.
Love the food, love the owner… super put off by the cashier last night…

The fact that AOS has only 3.5 stars is a travesty!!!
Granted it not a typical Mexican restaurant but more so a ecliptic blend of flavors from south of the border and So Cal. Plus the fact that everything is so FRESH and homemade is what truly sets the flavors apart from the average taco dive.
Lauded flavor withstanding, what made this place special was the service. After noticing that they didn’t serve alcohol (we wanted an evening drink with our meal) the staff recommended a neighboring restaurant. We walked out and on the way I just had a gut feeling (no pun intended) that AOS was something not to miss. So we turned around, drinks be damned, and walked back in to smiling faces and «glad you decided to stop in“s.
To start us off we had read on here that the guac was incredible and after talking up our hostess (who turned out to be the owner, Nadine) she bumped our original half order up to a full size «on the house». Boy are we glad she did! The chips were chips but that avocado spread was remarkable! So fresh, so delish. Can’t miss app right here.
Also not to miss are the fresh juice drinks that AOS makes. I can’t recall the name but ours were mint based and the perfect yin to our meal’s yang. Recommended.
As for my meal I had the Tampiqueña; seeing signature dish drew me right in. Glad I did because the skirt steak had just the right texture and the chiles robustness brought a smokey finish to the accompaniments. Have I mentioned how fresh everything was? Seriously the peppers tasted straight out of the garden. Again, another recommendation.
All in all, this transient Tennessean is highly impressed with the Western’s version of hospitality and culinary talents. LA you have a GEM right there in a little shopping center on Sunset Blvd., you should stop in ALL of the time. Nadine, thank you again for your kindness and in capping a great evening for my old man and I.

Tasty, spicy burritos and even better fresh guacamole but man oh man did the service leave something to be desired. The restaurant was not too full, but it took our server half an hour to even bring us water, let alone take our order. So much for grabbing a quick bite before we headed over to our friend’s birthday party. The food was good, but there are plenty of terrific Mexican places in Los Angeles that have better service.

Kind of baffled how this place has 3.5 stars.
It’s NOT a typical Mexican restaurant. It’s almost a Mexican-​California fusion place. The flavors are fresher and lighter than you’ll get from a typical burrito dive in the area.
The service was friendly and welcoming, and everything about our meals was delicious.
The food here is thoughtfully prepared, which is a weird adjective to use for a restaurant. But it’s pretty accurate. I had an asada burrito, where they cut against the grain and made the pieces just about perfect for each tender mouthful. The other half, who generally hates avocado (which I don’t understand, but whatever) went nuts on how well it complemented his dish.
Definitely going to be visiting here more often.

Their veggie burrito has a nice spectrum of fresh flavors. I come here regularly when I’m craving a well done burrito. The potato tacos are also rich and banging.

Wait, 5 stars? Yes. Not an exaggeration by any means. A lovely quaint spot with delicious food. The mole is wonderful and the chicken burrito will leave you wondering why you ever bothered with chipotle. Nadine makes her food with care and passion. She hasn’t invested in advertising because she would rather give back to the community, which she’s been doing for 22 years. Now doesn’t that make you want to come in and give it a go? Skip the lines and crowds and Millie’s for some great authentic cuisine. You won’t be sorry.

Nous étions à la recherché d’un petit resto mexicain sur sunset boulevard et nous avons demandé à un gars sur la rue s’il connaisait un bon endroit. Il nous a tout de suite parlé du Alegria et nous lui avons fait confiance. Nous n’avons pas été déçu. Excellente Guagamole, burritos gigantesque et remplis de saveur. Ma copine à pris le végé et moi le Edgar!
Service impeccable. Prix excellent, nous avons adoré notre expérience!
Seul défaut: Pas de terasse…

Very clean restaurant! I ordered the special posole and tacos. To die for!!! The flavor is killer! I will definitely be back again!

Plus:
Guacamole and service. Finally, a tasteful serving of guacamole… too many times in this city I’ve eaten bland guacamole.
And there was nothing wrong with the service.
Why I gave it 3 stars:
The carnitas, while tender and moist, contained an unbearable amount of salt. I don’t eat sour cream, but I had to mix it in to curb the taste…
The interior decoration was outdated and the ceiling obviously needed repair (it looked as though it hadn’t been touched in 10 years).
And I have to say, I was confused, the layout is designed a lot like a cheap family Chinese restaurant… didn’t catch a Mexican vibe.
Also, the hipster music was annoying.

This is one of the best restaurants in LA. Definitely in the top 5 for Silver Lake and by far the best Mexican food East of Western.
It’s a travesty that this place is currently 3.5 stars. Frankly, anyone who hates on this place just doesn’t get it.
The location is unassuming and the décor is modest, but the food is phenomenal and the atmosphere is genuinely warm and friendly.
Everything on the menu is unique and given a lot of thought. From the chips and salsa to the the rice and beans to the dessert flan, nothing is «meh». The owner has put a lot of care in sourcing ingredients and spices and making everything taste like its homemade from a specific home.
As far as I can tell, the two best dishes are the VEGGIE BURRITO and CARNITAS. The Veggie Burrito is great to-​go, and the Carnitas is great when eating there. In particular. I can’t stress the Carnitas enough. You’ll know it when you try it.
The best way to describe the food is that it tastes like it’s good for you, both physically and spiritually. It’s the kind of food that you want to keep eating, and even after stuffing yourself, won’t make you feel sick.

Service was excellent!
It’s a cute small restaurant located on the busy sunset Blvd. With the lights dim, its a bit hard to see the food.
I did enjoy the aqua fresca cantaloupe flavor and papaya. It had bits of real fruit and ice. When we got down toward the middle of the drink, it was a lot of ice. Even drinking thru the straw was hard from the pieces of fruit. I skip the straw and just drink from the cup. Lol so barbaric.
The chips and qauc was light and bland. We added some salt and tapatio. It did the trick. We order the med soup, it was big. I really enjoyed it since it was lighter then the usual ones from home cooking. The chicken was tender and came with big chunks too.
My bf got the las chimichanga and it was okay. It had too much cheese but it did taste lighter. It was soggy which we were not use to. It was pretty big in size. I didn’t taste the crab in it though.
My dish was camarones con jaiba, which was very salty. One bite was fair then when I continue it was over kill. There was actual crab and shrimp in the dish but not tiger shrimp.
Overall, our meal was over $ 50 without tip. It was very expensive for a meal we didn’t enjoy. I believe if you want a different alternative to greasy and fried food then this is a better choice.

Really good food, big heavy portions. Good vegetarian burrito. Always seems to be closed when I crave it but that’s probably me.

This is a cute little place that I used to come to all the time but the last few times I’ve been it has been a little disappointing. I always get the veggie burrito which was great, but my husband got chicken sopas which were pretty soggy. Usually sopas are a little crispy but these we’re actually dripping. Their salsa is kind of a bummer too, just some chunks of onions and tomatoes in a little bowl. I wouldn’t recommend the potato tacos either, they’re pretty dull.
I’ve never seen it «jumping» in here, there never seems to be more than four tables occupied. We usually come for lunch on the weekends. The waiter/​waitress (whoever is working) always seems overwhelmed, though always super nice. They aren’t too attentive, though. I hate having to ask for water. I don’t know if they’re just understaffed or what but the wait time always seems way too long for how empty the place is.
The décor used to be kind of fun kitschy, but now they have a wall of «artsy» photos for sale which kind of sucks. I mean, the photos are aren’t great and it doesn’t really add anything to the place.

The wait times are just absolutely unacceptable. 50 minute wait for a burrito at lunchtime with only two other parties in the entire place?
It’s really sad to see such an iconic place in our neighborhood go downhill so fast.
The food is still very good – despite other reviewers assessments about the food being not as great as it used to be (or being generic, which it’s not). But, like others have said, with so many other choices nearby that are equally as good (if not better) what’s the point of third and fourth chances for this place anymore?
Sad.

Absolutely my favorite mexican food restaurant in LA. Amazingly friendly service and the kind of place where you feel like they know your name.
The carnitas are out of this world. Perfectly juicy with nice crisp bits. Just the way I like um!
The basil mint lemonade, and all their fancy house made drinks, are out of this world.
If your looking for amazing mexican food in east LA, there is no better choice.

I cannot believe this place is anything less than 5 stars. You people are out of your minds. The food is incredible! The agua frescas are delicious (orange is my personal favorite). And the staff is all new and super nice so everyone complaining about the waiters should come on back now.
And to everyone complaining about the wait, if you want fast food go to Taco Bell. This is what dining should be. The owner is an excellent chef. You can tell she takes great care in preparing each dish. Bring someone you enjoy spending time with, relax, and prepare to be stuffed.

Decent spot. But extremely hipster and white washed mexican food.
I got Posole and my chicken was in chunks. Very unusual for Posole. My boyfriend tried some deep fried shrimp burrito. It was okay. But definitely not mexican.
Aqua fresca had to much sugar.
The menus were really dull. It would have helped if they explained what is in the name of the food instead of just writing «this is the Jason burrito. It was a vegetarian burrito but Jason wanted carne asada» or whatever. Like cool, kudos to you Jason. I just wanna know what’s in the burrito.
Won’t be coming back here. I only like authentic mexican food. This place is way to Americanized.

This could be the saddest review on Unilocal,but Alegria has lost it. For the past four months I have eaten there three times, and all three I’ve had to wait over 45 minutes for quesadillas for my kids and a simple burrito for me. I’ve question the staff (who looked embarrassed) and even once the cook/​owner who was very apologetic and promised to make improvements — but hasn’t.
The hard fact is that the owner is getting older and she used to have the great support of her daughters who made that place hum, but now she is all alone in the kitchen. Everyone who was there was complaining about the wait times and suffering as our family was. It’s sad to say but I will NEVER go there again. I just can’t.
I hope the owners daughters or someone else can convince Alegria that they are failing their customers and make things right again. The place needs new owners and a REBOOT, and if it does I will be the first one on line.
Sorry — but life is too short.

Alegria is an unassuming Mexican restaurant in a less than trendy strip mall along Sunset Boulevard. I’d driven past it hundreds of times without seeing it was there, but now I see it and go, «Oh, that place. I like that place.»
I came for a late-​ish dinner with a group of six on a Wednesday night. The restaurant was quiet, close to empty, and we closed the place out around ten. It was calm and relaxing, sparsely decorated with dim lighting. Service was great — our waitress was friendly and very attentive.
The food was tasty. We got chips and hot salsa as soon as we sat down, and I had the enchiladas suisas for dinner. These were delicious, chicken enchiladas smothered with salsa, topped with queso fresco and crème fraîche. The salsa verde was excellent, made with roasted tomatillos, jalapeños, and cilantro, and it soaked right into the corn tortillas and tender shredded chicken breast. The rice and black beans on the side were good, too — all in all, a filling, delicious meal. I washed it down with a watermelon agua fresca, and that was perfect. Slushy, sweet, watermelon in a glass.
I have a few other preferred Mexican spots in the area, but none that are quite so convenient and conducive to a sit-​down meal. I’d like to come back to Alegria soon. I suspect it won’t be difficult to make that happen.