Dorados

They’re back!!! Dorados is at a new location. 440 Atlantic Blvd. Monterey Park Ca 91 754. Ceviche only for now but will slowly bring back the shrimp cocktails, wraps, and tacos. New location is where Fleur de Lys used to be. So glad to see them again.

After all this time I still can’t believe that Dorados is closed :(
That was my go-​to place every Sunday afternoon to cure my hangovers with some bomb seafood.
I’ve been trying to find another place that has that kind of seafood (oyster cocktail, imitation crab cocktail, etc) at those kinds of prices, but still no luck! :/​
If anyone has ANY information on where they might have moved please, please, I beg you, for the sake of my headache-​inducing hangovers, and low college student budget, let me know!!!

Dorado’s is opening North of where it was before at the former «Fleur di Lys» on Atlantic sometime in December. Yay! Dorados is coming back!

For the past thirteen years during my school and work at ELAC, Dorados had been one of my favs. You’ll be missed dearly, and I’ll continue to support the Team. Please do keep me updated of whereabout the next one will be.
best,
etf

Guess who’s no longer in business. LOL, I can’t say I didn’t see it coming!

Dorados was another one of my hole in the wall favorites… They had great fish tacos and the shrimp bowl was also a good choice…
I was told they lost their lease after all of these years???
RIP Dorados…

I dropped by Dorados a few days ago during my lunch and found the place closed out. Where am I going to grab my quickie lunch from now on?
It’s so sad… this used to be one of my short lunch spots.

:(
S-​A-​D.
We drove by this past weekend, and there was a chalkboard up.
Closed, Cerrado.
Thank you for sharing such great food, Dorados.

After 13 years we are closing the restaurant. Sadly, the landowners have other plans. Our final day will be Tuesday July 20, 2010.
We wish to thank all our fantastic customers and even some of the dificult ones (you know who you are) and hope that you check in at Cook’s Tortas for news on future ventures (there might be a similar menu coming next year to the area).
Love, The Dorados Team

Dorado’s is a great little place when you are in that neck of the woods, but not worth the wretched drive from Pasadena to East LA (please finish the 710 extension!).
The green rice is actually a cilantro type of rice deal. YUMMY!
Any of the «seafood cocktails» are worth ordering.
I think the fish tacos are better in batter than the «fresh» grilled ones.
The line gets bad, seating is limited, and the service is hardly with a smile! Drinks here always seem very over priced to me.

Gave second chance… ugg…stomach ache… oww… never again.
Shrimp Creole Bowl. TOO much cummin. Tasted like i was eating nothing but cummin.

The service is friendly, but the food was rather disappointing. I stopped by today and ordered 1 fish taco and 1 crab ceviche on a torta. The crab ceviche was made with bright red imitation crab with a runny faux guacamole sauce over it. It was $ 1.99 + tax so I guess I had that coming. The fish taco was $ 2.49 + tx. The fish seemed over cooked, possibly sitting out, or re-​heated. It was dry and lacked flavor.
Dorados is located in a large shopping center anchored by Rite Aid and Ralphs. I actually thought this was East LA, but apparently, it’s considered Monterey Park. It’s immediately adjacent to Starbucks.

since it is the season of lent and all is anew I decide to venture to this place once again. I have previously visited and had an okay experience. I was really hoping they amped up their game for this busy friday of during lent.
I ordered 2 fish tacos and split a Ceviche de camarron tostada… well my tacos were cool. I mean I so heart guacamole & crema with lettuce. the fish didnt really impress me. but on to the real reason they got 2 stars. the tostada was not great. it was VERRY lemon-​y and not in a positive way. also it had way more tomatoes & onion in it. I was literally searching high n low for the shrimp…
To be honest Im bummed. I really thought I would hitting this place up for several weeks in a row and now. well… I am pretty sure they have lost me as a customer.

Update — CASH ONLY, *NO* CC. (Boy, good thing I had a $ 20 on me.) Can’t give it a 5 anymore.
BTW, wife wanted half breaded fish and half shrimp in the same wrap. They do this, just ask. (Oh yeah, it’s good too.)

I was hoping for another amazing lunch at Cook’s Tortas but on arrival I was greeted with a line out the door. This is great for them but not so good for my complaining stomach who was talking up a storm by then, so I drove a block to Dorados which is the original location from the owners of Cook’s. They serve various seafood plates here, and after my experience at Cook’s I had ridiculously high hopes here too.
To be fair the food was really quite good. Healthy portions, fresh ingredients and interesting flavors yet somehow I was mildy disappointed. Most likely because Cook’s does something unique while this place is a more traditional undertaking. Even here though, there are very untraditional flourishes to savor.
There was no line and service was quick if not exactly overwhelming, unfortunately their credit card machine wasn’t working which severely limited what I could try.
I finally opted for a fish taco and a shrimp taco. Prices are moderate but not exactly cheap averaging about $ 3.00 per taco. On the plus side they turned out to be gigantic and stuffed full of all kinds of things least of which turned out to be the shrimp and fish.
I rather enjoyed the fish taco, it’s made similar to fried shrimp and has a similar texture and taste that I liked. Not typical at all. The taco is filled with cabbage so the fish is somewhat lost in the end but I’d definitely order this again.
The shrimp taco was less successful for me although it’s good quality and full of shrimp. It’s filled with red and green peppers and green rice. Nicely flavored but I preferred the fish version.
The Horchata here is delicious. It’s a little thicker and has more texture than usual. Good stuff.
Overall the food is probably four stars but I’m just not feeling generous today for some reason. Maybe it’s the lack of credit, or the disinterest of the service (Cook’s has a very friendly staff), or the disappointment in not having a torta but whatever it is, I’m leaving it at three stars for now.
I will definitely eat here again to see what other dishes compare, but if I had the choice I’ll pick Cook’s every time.
Best Plates: Fish Taco, Horchata
Food — B+
Ambience — C
Service — B–
Value — B

I was expecting so much more after sister said this place was good.
I wanted to try the mahi al pastor taco but they were out of mahi. waah.
so i opted for a fish taco figuring it would suffice. and i also got a tostada mixta which should be the unit of measure for every marisco place.
the fish taco wasn’t battered but coated and fried like how they fry shrimp. it was flat and tasteless. no good.
the tostada mixta was ok. no octupus, no abulon so what the flip. fish ceviche, crab, and shrimp ceviche with some whole shrimps. the shrimp ceviche had a somewhat artificial lemon juice flavor to it.
like i said it was ok, but $ 15 is a bit too pricey for about a pound and a half of shrimp ceviche in a big cup. you can get it at Northgate for $ 5 a pound.
it would be better if they sold beer. but then again wouldn’t every place?

FRESH everything here is fresh and hot off the grill. It gets busy during lunch rush but that’s a good thing right?
They have typical mexican food with a seafood healthy twist. There rice is green their beans are black and the lettuce is really red cabbage. Instead of a burrito you order a ‘wrap’. The meat is all very tasty chicken and asada are my favorites. I normally order a asada wrap and never regret it. THe flavors feels so vibrant and alive and distinct.
I also enjoy their shrimp burritos served on 2 corn tortillas with bellpeppers and ontions and a chipotle kind of seasoning. tasty tasty tasty to the last bite.
Not too much seating though to try to avoid the lunch rush or don’t expect to have a table to eat at.
Their clam chowder used to be to die for, however it has since been retasted and i’d say its more like a SO GOOD not to die for kinda chowder. i haven’t had any better anywhere around here. It’s served piping hot with plenty of big chewy clams to find. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
I almost forgot to mention the best part, it’s fairly priced and reasonable. you can over indulge easily wanting to order a lil of this or that but it can add up but if you stick to one or two things you can do well. you can be both stuffed and happy.

I debated on 3 or 4 stars and what pushed me into the 4 range was the fact that you can’t get quality food for so cheap anywhere around here. So, in the end, i guess it’s 3.5 stars.
In the sea that is fast food and chain restaurants, you have to appreciate an independently owned business. I only eat at a couple places for lunch at work, and this is now one of them. I only knew about this place because of the posting at Cooks Tortas down the street (which is my #1 choice).
I ordered a ceviche tostada and fish taco and it was only $ 5! The small restaurant looks like a fast food joint and the food comes out fairly fast, but it’s not fast-​food-​tasting food. The fish was good, the ceviche was fresh. Seating is fairly limited inside to a few booths and some bar space with several tables outside. You know people must love this place because it was jam packed. After a short wait we scored a booth and chilled.
So now, i have two lunch spots at work. Yay!

THeir doraditas are awesome, other stuff is good also but i’ve had better, the reason I go there is the doraditas
and b/​c its close

My meeting was over and I ran out like a kid being excused for recess.
Everyone, sing with me:
«I Don’t Want To Work I Just Want To Bang On The Drum All Day»
With my boss giving me a WTF are you doing look, I tell him «onward to Dorados!»
Dorados is right by ELAC so they can get kind of busy with students and school staff. Its just nice to relax and people watch here once in a while.
I had the classic fish taco and a grilled fish taco. Good stuff, but sometimes the guac, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce overtake the fish. Still not bad. The carne asada is lean which is always a plus. ($ 2.00-$ 2.29). The chips arent free though… I know. I know… WTF right?
One free soda refill… I know. I know… WTF again right? It’s cool, you’ll be so full that it would be enough. Meal with 2 tacos, drink and chips = $ 7-​$ 8. Not bad, plus you get to check out the «scenery»…hint hint guys…
They’re known for their ceviche, but im not a big fan of it. WTF right? I know I know…