(213) 486-5171

445 S Figueroa St (5th Street)
Los Angeles, CA 90071 34.053 -118.2566

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Neighborhoods: New Downtown, Downtown, Central LA

CIUDAD-LA.COM

Hours:

Sun 5pm-9pm

Mon-Tue 11:30am-3pm

5pm-9pm

Wed-Thu 11:30am-3pm

5 pm-10pm

Friday 11:30am-3pm

5pm-11pm

Sat 5pm-11pm

Last updated 9.06.10

Category:

Restaurants, Catering

Payment Methods:

American Express, Diners Club, Discover, Visa, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Outdoor Dining, Lunch Spot, Happy Hour

Cuisine:

Latin American

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Ciudad

Featured Review

Martha Burr

Contributor

Border Grill's owner-chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken ventured beyond Mexico to the rest of the Latin world when they opened up this Downtown L.A. mainstay. Walls and ceilings are splashed with Miro-like splotches and Picasso-esque scribblings that call to mind the Keith Haring-esque designs at the ladies' Santa Monica eatery. Diners embark on a giddy tour of Latin cuisine with appetizers like albacore slicked with chili and citrus, Bolivian sweet corn tamales, and Argentine empanadas stuffed with wild mushrooms and Swiss chard. Cuban beef stew is kicked up with a dark-rum orange…

Editor's Tips

Save Money:
Happy hour takes place Monday through Friday from 4pm to 7pm.
Parking:
Ciudad is located at the corner of “5th and Fig” at the base of the Union Bank building. To self park in the Union Bank parking garage, turn left off of Figueroa just after Ciudad.
The Extras:
Ciudad offers a free shuttle service to and from the Staples Center, LA Live: Nokia Theatre and Club Nokia, Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall. The free shuttle runs Tuesday through Saturday evenings, starting 45 minutes prior to show time, and leaving every 15 minutes through to show time. Please call for more details.
ambiance
91.66999816894531% positive
  1. “Accomodating staff, cool decor, open late which is key.”
  2. “It's loud, which some will not enjoy, but the food is fun, good, enjoyable, and in nice portions.”
  3. “Spent over 3 hours at dinner on a Monday night with two out-of-town friends, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the food and the ambiance.”
  4. “wouldn't hesitate to recommend Ciudad as a destination location restaurant.”
  5. “The place itself has interesting decor yet it has this somewhat uncomforatable feel about it.”
  6. “Nice location downtown and nice patio but generally mediocre food at inflated prices.”
  7. “We had a great dinner, and had so much fun.”
  8. “So we opted for the patio, which was nice, given the weather and the view.”
dessert
75.0% positive
  1. “But my favorite was the dessert.”
  2. “The dessert did not taste fresh, but the idea was there.”
  3. “The drinks, entrees, and dessert were all outstanding.”
  4. “With dessert, he brings cold coffee, no silverware again, and a $300 bill to cap the night off.”
drinks
77.77999877929688% positive
  1. “The drinks, entrees, and dessert were all outstanding.”
  2. “At $10 to $15 a drink, the drinks should be good.”
  3. “and they have some delicious bar snacks like beer-battered onion rings, goat cheese fritters and the carnitas tacos.”
  4. “Clean and accessible interior, cool bar area, but surprisingly slow on a Saturday night.”
  5. “Ciudad serves the best cocktails in the city and has it's finger on the pulse of what's new and hip always impressing me with their knowledge of spirits from around the world.”
  6. “Overall - seemed like a good place to grab a drink and an app after work with some friends, but I don't plan on returning for dinner.”
  7. “He brings the 2nd course, a very good scallop ceviche by the way, but once again forgets the wine.”
  8. “It's a festive place to have a drink (with more than 4 tables for happy hour), and a great place to try unique food (with food from all over the Latin world!)”
  9. “With dessert, he brings cold coffee, no silverware again, and a $300 bill to cap the night off.”
food quality
84.28000450134277% positive
  1. “For those of you who say the food is great, please tell me what to order, b/c I have been sorely disappointed each time I go.”
  2. “hit the happy hour at least once every couple days for the lamb meatballs and the fresh fish tacos served with the perfect margarita (or 2!)”
  3. “and they have some delicious bar snacks like beer-battered onion rings, goat cheese fritters and the carnitas tacos.”
  4. “Nice location downtown and nice patio but generally mediocre food at inflated prices.”
  5. “Spent over 3 hours at dinner on a Monday night with two out-of-town friends, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the food and the ambiance.”
  6. “THE WORST SERVICE I'VE EVER HAD, good food, good music, yummy mojito”
  7. “The food was very good - the skirt steak was perfectly sumptuous, and the potato & asparagus soup had a delicious spicy kick.”
  8. “The food was so delicious and unique.”
  9. “From the halibut to the carnitas, all of the food was presented beautifully - our table recieved excellent service, we weren't ignored or neglected in any way.”
  10. “The service was very good but service does not make up for high prices and bland food.”
  11. “They have this sweet and sour dish that's delicious, but t hey don't do very often.”
  12. “But the food is fantastic.”
  13. “Every meal starts with a unique assortment of bread/chips, with two dipping sauces (one made from black olives and I can't recall what the other is made from, but it's good).”
  14. “Being of Latin heritage gives me a little experience on South American cuisine, and there are MANY restaurants throughout the city with much more flavorful, authentic faire -- and certainly at a fraction of the price.”
  15. “The food was ridiculously overpriced, meager portions, and I'll tell you, if you blindfolded me and put their $28 Chicken Paella Pepitoria plate and a $2 bowl of El Pollo Loco rice in front of me -- I would not have been able to make a distinction!”
  16. “"Little plates" of Thai melon salad, perfectly seasoned and the rigatoni was incredible.”
  17. “The food ranged from okay to inedible (i.e. the cactus), but who cares when you have abominable service.”
  18. “Had great service, but the food and the portions relative to the price of the meal were disappointing!”
  19. “It was really a delight - all six of us ordered something different as a main dish and no one was disappointed.”
  20. “at least the tortilla soup was good.”
  21. “However, their Carnitas Tacos were delicious (you only get two).”
  22. “Liked the food”
  23. “This place has the worst service and over priced food.”
  24. “The food here is just incredible.”
  25. “For dinner, get the short ribs - the barbeque sauce is amazing.”
  26. “In short the food is very good, but there are too many other places Downtown with comparable fare with better atmoshpere and lower prices.”
  27. “It's loud, which some will not enjoy, but the food is fun, good, enjoyable, and in nice portions.”
  28. “the best meal I've had in years!”
  29. “We had a most relaxing, delicious dinner and an all together great downtown experience.”
  30. “also like the roasted pork with plantains.”
  31. “have never had a bad meal at Ciudad.”
  32. “But don't go for a full meal.”
  33. “was odd that we were the last table standing by 11pm, but the nice interior and delicious home style dishes kept us captivated.”
  34. “Great food live music on weekeneds”
  35. “ordered a seafood dish that was also delicious.”
  36. “They serve up delicious, creative Latin-inspired dishes.”
  37. “The paella was okay, rice had good flavor.”
  38. “What a terrific assortment of creative and delicious appetizers.”
  39. “Good food, great taco's.”
  40. “The food is decent Latin fusion (although they really need to learn their way around yucca if they're going to offer it on the menu), but nothing special, especially for the prices they charge.”
  41. “The food was good though but the service was not upto par specially for the price of dinner.”
  42. “but we were seated, the service was attentive and the food was GREAT!”
  43. “There are much better happy hours with tons of space, good food, and competent wait staff.”
  44. “Good food, terrible service”
  45. “The dessert did not taste fresh, but the idea was there.”
  46. “My wife loved her dishes, and our out of town friends were so impressed.”
  47. “It's a festive place to have a drink (with more than 4 tables for happy hour), and a great place to try unique food (with food from all over the Latin world!)”
  48. “We ordered lots of apps and had a fabulous time - loved the goat cheese fritters and spicy quesadillas.”
  49. “We sent back two dishes that were just not very good or tasty.”
  50. “Great food service was was good and they also had a live band playing”
  51. “While I appreciate their attempt to transform Pan Latin food into haute cuisine, Ciudad is a watered-down version of the real thing, not appealing to this Latina's palate, and perhaps not to anyone with a true penchant for authentic Latino food.”
  52. “Even without seeing either MarySue or Susan, it was a great food experience and I think that's par for the course in an LA celeb eatery.”
  53. “If you like Paella, I do not recommend this dish.”
menu variety
75.0% positive
  1. “The food is decent Latin fusion (although they really need to learn their way around yucca if they're going to offer it on the menu), but nothing special, especially for the prices they charge.”
  2. “IN retrospect everything on the menu is overpriced.”
  3. “Tapas are great - good selection and variety, nice-sized”
  4. “'venturing beyond mexico,' as they claim, really was just a stretch - sounded good on the menu, but didn't deliver.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “really want to say that Ciudad is a great place - but I can't.”
  2. “Overall - seemed like a good place to grab a drink and an app after work with some friends, but I don't plan on returning for dinner.”
  3. “The happy hour is a good value, which is why I bothered going to the restaurant to dine in the first place, but BIG MISTAKE!”
  4. “great place to have dinner before the Theatre.”
  5. “Ciudad is my favorite restaurant in the city.”
  6. “It's a festive place to have a drink (with more than 4 tables for happy hour), and a great place to try unique food (with food from all over the Latin world!)”
service
58.969998359680176% positive
  1. “The hostess and server were rude and inattentive.”
  2. “Good food, terrible service”
  3. “The service was very good but service does not make up for high prices and bland food.”
  4. “Luckily, we flagged down our waitress and informed them about their bad arithmetic.”
  5. “Accomodating staff, cool decor, open late which is key.”
  6. “had horrible service and would never go to Ciudad again.”
  7. “The portions are small, the wait staff are terrible.”
  8. “The wait staff was warm and attentive.”
  9. “There was music, really GOOD music in fact, that it was a shame that only those people outside could hear it.”
  10. “Had great service, but the food and the portions relative to the price of the meal were disappointing!”
  11. “And while our waiter was polite, the busboy repeatedly came to our table asking to remove our plates even though it was clear that we were still eating.”
  12. “Mediocre dinner, terrible service”
  13. “Great food service was was good and they also had a live band playing”
  14. “Since it was noon, alchohol wasn't an option, so our waiter (who was hot) recommended a virgin Mojito which was excellent.”
  15. “Overated and terrible service”
  16. “There are much better happy hours with tons of space, good food, and competent wait staff.”
  17. “From the halibut to the carnitas, all of the food was presented beautifully - our table recieved excellent service, we weren't ignored or neglected in any way.”
  18. “The service was a little slow, but I think they might have been short a server.”
  19. “Great appetizers and the staff know what they are doing.”
  20. “The food was good though but the service was not upto par specially for the price of dinner.”
  21. “read the reviews here this morning and was amazed at over how many actually believe this place is considered good dining (although the negative comments are more accurate) and wondered if people only think it's good because of the hype.”
  22. “The food ranged from okay to inedible (i.e. the cactus), but who cares when you have abominable service.”
  23. “Also, the service was great.”
  24. “but we were seated, the service was attentive and the food was GREAT!”
  25. “Our server was relaxed, friendly, gave great suggestions, and was not snobby.”
  26. “This place has the worst service and over priced food.”
value
55.56000232696533% positive
  1. “Ciudad's happy hour is probably not the best value in town.”
  2. “It's loud, which some will not enjoy, but the food is fun, good, enjoyable, and in nice portions.”
  3. “The happy hour is a good value, which is why I bothered going to the restaurant to dine in the first place, but BIG MISTAKE!”
  4. “Nice location downtown and nice patio but generally mediocre food at inflated prices.”
  5. “The food is decent Latin fusion (although they really need to learn their way around yucca if they're going to offer it on the menu), but nothing special, especially for the prices they charge.”
  6. “The food was ridiculously overpriced, meager portions, and I'll tell you, if you blindfolded me and put their $28 Chicken Paella Pepitoria plate and a $2 bowl of El Pollo Loco rice in front of me -- I would not have been able to make a distinction!”
  7. “In short the food is very good, but there are too many other places Downtown with comparable fare with better atmoshpere and lower prices.”
  8. “IN retrospect everything on the menu is overpriced.”
  9. “Everything was cold to luke warm and very very tiny portions.”
  10. “Had great service, but the food and the portions relative to the price of the meal were disappointing!”
  11. “The food was good though but the service was not upto par specially for the price of dinner.”
  12. “This place has the worst service and over priced food.”
  13. “The service was very good but service does not make up for high prices and bland food.”
  14. “Being of Latin heritage gives me a little experience on South American cuisine, and there are MANY restaurants throughout the city with much more flavorful, authentic faire -- and certainly at a fraction of the price.”
  15. “The portions are small, the wait staff are terrible.”
wait time
0.0% positive
  1. “Clean and accessible interior, cool bar area, but surprisingly slow on a Saturday night.”
  2. “The service was a little slow, but I think they might have been short a server.”
  3. “Service was slow and subpar.”
2 Star Rating: Below Average

03/10/10

Disappointment

by obeezer at Citysearch

Went to Ciudad for Happy Hour for the first time on March 9th. My co-workers had been raving about how good the fish tacos were and how affordable the HH menu was. The host greeted us with a smile and said it was okay to push 2 tables together. The good service ended there. Our server comes over a few minutes later and drops off two menus. He didn't have a smile on his face, didn't say "hi, my name is...what can I get you?" He took our drink and food orders but couldn't seem to get away fast enough. No offer of chips or salsa, didn't even bring it until I asked 15 minutes later. The salsa was plain, the chips were nothing to rave about. The mojito was good but they make it in a tall skinny glass and fill it with mostly ice, so it's barely worth $4.50 at HH. Our server sees that our chips are almost gone and DOES NOT offer more - I had to ask - AGAIN. My boss decides to splurge and order the Mahi Mahi Ceviche, which is $11.50! It arrives on a large plate, but the portion size is not large by any means. It amounts to about 1 cup of ceviche; they make it look like more by layering on freshly sliced avocado and some interesting shaped chip or something. So, I would definitely not recommend the ceviche. Oh, and by the way, they no longer have fish tacos on the HH menu. In terms of seating, Ciudad has the most uncomfortable bar stools I have ever sat on. They have no back or arm (so, ladies this means you have to hold your purse or put it on the floor), and your feet don't have much to rest on

  • Pros: good mojito
  • Cons: Uncomfortable bar stools, slow/unfriendly service
2 Star Rating: Below Average

02/13/09

Not a good experience

by nurse76 at Citysearch

My husband and I had lunch for the first time at Ciudad today. When our lunch came, my husband asked if the beans that came with the lunch plates had or were made with any pork products. We clearly stated to the waitress that he had an allergy to pork products. Our waitress assured us the beans were vegetarian. We asked again "are you sure" . She said without doubt that they are vegetarian and are not made with any pork. He took a few bites and noticed pieces of bacon in the beans! The manager seemed very concerned initially but continued to ask if we had informed our waitress of the allergy, as if it was our fault! The food just was ok.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

12/06/08

Excelent Businessperson's lunch

by scottc4746 at Citysearch

I have been treated a couple times to table top service and everything from service to food quality was top notch. If you are by yourself, the bar offers a business lunch for $10 including beverage. It is a special that changes daily and is great, albiet a bit uncomfortable, it is great. Try it for your next lunch hour.

  • Pros: great service and quality
  • Cons: lack of parking
4 Star Rating: Recommended

10/23/08

Great food live music on weekeneds

by Romomono at Citysearch

Great food service was was good and they also had a live band playing . The place was packed and we got our food super fast !

A ++

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

08/07/08

One of LA's Best High-End Restaurants

by joanovarq at Citysearch

I have never had a bad meal at Ciudad. They serve up delicious, creative Latin-inspired dishes. Every meal starts with a unique assortment of bread/chips, with two dipping sauces (one made from black olives and I can't recall what the other is made from, but it's good). My boyfriend took me for my birthday and ordered a steak dish which was perfectly seasoned, juicy and delicious. I ordered a seafood dish that was also delicious. In the evenings, the restaurant is chock full of yuppies fresh off work from the downtown highrises. Sometimes the music is a little too loud, and the restaurant feels too much like a nightclub. But the food is fantastic.

  • Pros: Delicious food
  • Cons: Loud music, parking

The Details on Ciudad

Place Categories:

  • good latino food
  • recommend mojitos
  • terrible service
  • liked sangria
  • nice portions
  • great food service
  • warm wait staff
  • favorite restaurant
  • great place
  • delicious latininspired dishes
  • gooey rainforest brownie
  • loved scallop ceviche
  • good live music
  • all outstanding dessert
  • creative appetizers
  • never bad meal
  • not recommend main dish
  • generally mediocre food
  • terrific assortment
  • bad experience
  • amazing happy hour
  • nice patio
  • overpriced retrospect everything
  • cool decor
  • rude server

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