Grand Central Public Market

03/23/11

Great variety, better prices

by MaksMom

There is such great variety here, and talk about a deal. Most meals are $5 and you will eat well. Sit at the counter for some Chinese noodles, walk around for authentic Mexican, a bento box, some creme puffs from Adelita's, yummy!

03/28/07

Loved it!

by hmmmichelle

I was visiting a childhood friend in the L.A. area this past January and I told her I didn't want to do the whole Hollywood thing and wanted to eat good food. She took me to Grand Central Market and I must say it was one of my favorite places in L.A. I absolutely food, especially good and cheap food! You could have a filling and delicious meal for less than 5 bucks! I had steak tacos for $2 each, horchata and sliced watermelon for $1-- what a meal! Locals don't even know about this place and they're missing out. If you're a foodie you have to go to this place, they have a wide array of food to offer.

It was just kind of hard to find a table since it was lunch time on a Saturday.

• Pros: Cheap, good food, fresh fruits
• Cons: Can get crowded during lunch

02/15/07

One of those places where you say, "This isn't LA" and it's a really good thing

by jujudiva

Going to GCM makes me feel very urban and European. I absolutely love the vibrancy inside. The produce is unbelievably inexpensive and generally of the same or better quality than you will find in your average grocery store. Avocados, mangoes, pomegranates, citrus fruits and papaya are all a steal here. I would reccommend taking the metro to Pershing Square with your wheeled granny cart and your reusable shopping bags for the ultimate, "I am a European at heart" experience. What I also reccommend is being careful from which stand you buy hot, prepared food from. It's all very cheap: Mexican, Chinese, Hawaiian, but the quality of the meats is dubious. For vegetarians, the hot food options are very limited. Try the veggie tempura at the bento box booth. Even if you don't buy a thing, you will leave GCM saying, "I love this place and I am going to bring all of my relatives from the midwest here when they come to visit".

• Pros: Great produce selection, awesome atmosphere, one-of-a-kind experience
• Cons: Fast food selection is of lesser quality

07/07/05

Wow, what an amazing place!!!

by zelda2222

I couldn't believe the prices on produce. You can buy everything from bee pollen to fresh shrimp. I walked around the whole place and looked at everything. There's an amazing mix of aisan and mexican food here, even pizza and Hawaiian BBQ. But you just have to have a carnitas torta! Piled high with succulent pork, beans, lettuce, tomato, onion, avacado and sour cream it was the best torta I ever had. Don't be afraid to ask questions either everyone is very helpful. Don't forget to get some flan and some great pastries as well the prices are really great. What a great experience. Don't be timid about this place the area seems really seedy but give it a try, its truly worth it.

• Pros: prices, TORTAS (sandwiches), Mexican food
• Cons: area