La Fonda on Wilshire

Classical Mexican Folkloric & Tantalizing Dining Experience

(213) 380-5053

2501 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90057 34.0602 -118.2806

Get Map & Directions »

Neighborhoods: Westlake, Central LA

lafondala.com

Hours:

Mon-11am- 9:30pm

Tues-11am-9:30pm

Wens-Mariachi Shows at 8pm

Thurs- Mariachi Shows at 8pm

Fri-Mariachi Shows at 7pm & 9:30pm

Sat-Mariachi Shows at 7pm & 9:30pm

Sun-Mariachi Brunch Shows at 11:30am & 1:30pm

Mariachi Dinner Show at 7:30pm

Price:

$$

Last updated 6.14.11

Category:

Catering, Restaurants, Bars & Pubs

Restaurant Special Features:

Family-Friendly Dining, Romantic Dining, Brunch, Margaritas, Lunch Spot, Happy Hour, Live Music, Bar Scene

Cuisine:

Mexican

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About La Fonda on Wilshire

The Owner

La Fonda on Wilshire

Owner

La Fonda opened in 1969 by Natividad "Nati" Cano to establish a home for his group Los Camperos, La Fonda made history for being the first restaurant in the country to fuse live mariachi entertainment along with a complete dining experience. Sadly, at the end of October 2007, La Fonda de Los Camperos closed its doors, presumably forever. Fortunately for us all, Manuel Meza who is one of the partners who own the building, decided that this icon of Mexican culture and unpolished jewel of the Los Angeles community could not be allowed to fade away.Today, La Fonda on Wilshire continues to carry on…

Provided by CityGrid

Read more from the owner

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

For authentic Mexican food in a great atmosphere that includes live mariachi music, plan for a meal La Fonda on Wilshire.

Editor's Tips

Save Time:
Call ahead and make a reservation.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “Is lovely and if you want too make it a romantic dinner for your girlfriend.”
  2. “Wonderful mariachi music and fun”
  3. “great food and music parking little hard I still give them five star”
  4. “The service was excellent, the food was pretty good despite the simple menu, the mariachi was brilliant, and we had a lot of fun.”
  5. “Your visit here is an entire trip to Mexico with authentic food, music and decor.”
  6. “The group was talented and fun and visited our table for a happy birthday.”
dessert
0.0% positive
  1. “full meal could run to about $35 per person on average, which includes dinner, drink, and perhaps some dessert.”
drinks
50.0% positive
  1. “full meal could run to about $35 per person on average, which includes dinner, drink, and perhaps some dessert.”
  2. “The food might not be the best but it's a great place to be for a few drinks.”
food quality
77.77999877929688% positive
  1. “Real mexican food with huge portions!”
  2. “Your visit here is an entire trip to Mexico with authentic food, music and decor.”
  3. “The service was decent, but the food was horrible.”
  4. “The food has been revitalized with great dishes.”
  5. “The food might not be the best but it's a great place to be for a few drinks.”
  6. “The food was tasty!”
  7. “full meal could run to about $35 per person on average, which includes dinner, drink, and perhaps some dessert.”
  8. “great food and music parking little hard I still give them five star”
  9. “The mariachi which plays there is entertaining but does not compensate for poor service and bad food.”
  10. “Not only did they have better tasty food, but they had a more spacious place.”
  11. “good food and great entertainment.”
  12. “Ceviche was average , the soup was gross.”
  13. “La Fonda de Los Camperos , great entretaiment, food and best service”
  14. “The food is overpriced and mundane.”
  15. “don't mind the menu being small as long as the food is good, and if the food is good I don't mind it being over prized.”
  16. “They serve delicious Mexican food and have live entertainment from a mariachi band.”
  17. “It's worth the drive, and the food was great.”
  18. “Good food”
  19. “By far the best restaurant to go to for a full evening of food and outstanding Mariachi music.”
  20. “Honestly, if you want authentic Mexican food and great entertainment, La Fonda is the place to be!”
  21. “The service was excellent, the food was pretty good despite the simple menu, the mariachi was brilliant, and we had a lot of fun.”
  22. “We were there for fathers day and got bad service, over priced food.”
  23. “was very surprised by the great food and entertainment that was offered at La Fonda.”
  24. “An excellent restaurant but not because of the food but because of the Mariachi!”
  25. “ate the lamb which was amazing and sampled chicken in a tasty mustard sauce.”
  26. “Great food, great music and great dancing!”
  27. “The food was good, but it's weird when the mariachi came out the food got that much better.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “don't mind the menu being small as long as the food is good, and if the food is good I don't mind it being over prized.”
  2. “The service was excellent, the food was pretty good despite the simple menu, the mariachi was brilliant, and we had a lot of fun.”
overall
89.58000183105469% positive
  1. “This is a great place for families, celebrating birthdays, special occasions.”
  2. “He told me it was a great first date place so i went out for myself hoping I had the same luck as he did.”
  3. “Honestly, if you want authentic Mexican food and great entertainment, La Fonda is the place to be!”
  4. “The food might not be the best but it's a great place to be for a few drinks.”
  5. “Very nice place to go for a big party or a a nice evening for 2.”
  6. “The restaurant is not super beautiful, but we were told that the owner(s) have great plans for expanding and beautifying the restaurant and I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.”
  7. “By far the best restaurant to go to for a full evening of food and outstanding Mariachi music.”
  8. “La Fonda de Los Camperos is the best place for Mariachis”
service
75.92999935150146% positive
  1. “The service was decent, but the food was horrible.”
  2. “They still have some of the great servers from before.”
  3. “The people there are very friendly.”
  4. “New management is misleading people and at least the Mariachi was good before.”
  5. “The mariachi which plays there is entertaining but does not compensate for poor service and bad food.”
  6. “We were there for fathers day and got bad service, over priced food.”
  7. “La Fonda de Los Camperos , great entretaiment, food and best service”
  8. “The service was excellent, the food was pretty good despite the simple menu, the mariachi was brilliant, and we had a lot of fun.”
  9. “You get the same and the best service everyday.”
value
48.00000190734863% positive
  1. “It's worth the drive, and the food was great.”
  2. “had the appetizers plate that was good, but hardly worth $30 for a few quesadillas, guacamole, taquitos (small), and ceviche (I have had better).”
  3. “The food is overpriced and mundane.”
  4. “Real mexican food with huge portions!”
  5. “We were there for fathers day and got bad service, over priced food.”
wait time
100.0% positive
  1. “don't mind the menu being small as long as the food is good, and if the food is good I don't mind it being over prized.”
1 Star Rating: Poor

02/09/12

Poor Service

by EEELLL at Citysearch

This restaurant does not deserve any ratings at all. I've been ther a couple times. This last time I was there for a very special & exclusive event & I had the most disappointing experience.... I was actually part & invited by the production of an event held at the restaurant. I have no complaints about the place itself except the unisex restroom located on the bottom floor which is very inconvenient & having to travel to the second floor if the RR on the first floor is busy. Service: Very poor service to guest & promoters driving some of the most prestigious and reputable staff who work with celebs in town. From a celeb PR point of view I would never ever host any party's, CD re-leases, brunches, nor promote or recommend to anyone looking for a Traditional/historical Mexican ambient. I was very offended when my guests were removed from my own reserved table for not ordering any food on top of waiting10 minutes for a Waiter. Really?... The place was a full house (about 200 attendees) and there was about 90-95% event attendees who purchased either drinks or were covered under some sort of complimentary appetizers or food on behalf of the production. Food was not all that authentic either. Drinks were well served but not very friendly. I believe if there one thing business management/ owner should respond well to is key guests or team members involved with any production been hosted at the restaurant. On top of everything Management did not even offer extra complementary drinks nor food. Not coming back unless I really have to.

1 Star Rating: Poor

03/03/11

The owner is more important than the customers!

by bustosjul at Citysearch

La Fonda on Wilshire since the new management had capture my attention specially with those great events they had and also with the great Latin nights parties.

Today i attended a press conference showcasing El Canelo Alvarez vs Hatton promoted by Golden Boy promotions so Oscar de la Hoya presented himself the fighters. I made plans to be at the restaurant before 1pm around lunch time so i can have a couple drinks, lunch and enjoy the conference and why not? get the Oscar de la Hoya's autograph. I walked in and i saw four people eating at the bar and i approached the bartender and asked for a beer and also an order of Taquitos same as the lady was having just besides me. And the bartender told me "I am sorry the kitchen is closed" but hey here is people eating right now?? and she said "Uhh is because he is the owner of the place (Jimmy Roca)". It was very disappointing i wanted to have lunch there and the kitchen was closed but none the less that the owner and his entourage was eating right at the bar because he ordered to the cookers food specially for him, but they could not serve regular customers. It doesn't make sense at all for me, five minutes later more food was coming out for the same individuals. Bartender was very nice and apologized for been unable to serve me as I expected. I noticed the owner treated the employees not very professional specially with the cleaning guy {but not the nice bartender lady} when giving orders to sweep the floor (totally unfair, would be better to treat employees with respect so they learn how to treat customers and make them feel special).

Story long, short. it made me feel bad as a customer looking the special treatment he was giving to his friends and at the same time I was unable to buy food and spend some hard to earn money into this place by just buying a plate of food. Jimmy, i think that wasn't a good strategy.

1 Star Rating: Poor

06/20/10

New Owners / Bad Service / Not the same Mariachi.

by MasterIQ at Citysearch

We had not visited La Fonda since last year and we were surprised to see that the Original Mariachi was not there anymore. That the last Mariachi event was at 8:00 PM. We were there for fathers day and got bad service, over priced food. After our food got to our table late and never even got water. After the show finished at 9:00 PM and our food got there almost 45 minutes after the fact...we decided to stay for the 10:00 PM show. To our amaze they started to taking the tables away and in no time it became a dance floor for these awful new techno music. We were disappointed and will never come to this place ever again. New management is misleading people and at least the Mariachi was good before...now it was a disgrace to Mexican culture. I was not going to live a good tip and after the check came....it was already taken "That is why they don't give a F&#@ if they serve you good or not". Save your $$$/time and spend your cash wisely in a different place "It is not the same". My dog would have gotten sick with the food. NEED A REFUND.

  • Pros: Mariachi was so..so.
  • Cons: The price of the food and the service was extremely bad.
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

12/14/09

Good food

by CSMobileUser2 at Citysearch

great food and music parking little hard I still give them five star

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/27/09

Wonderful mariachi music and fun

by petunia lucille at Citysearch

We found parking on Wilshire blvd which was super convenient. We hadn;t been there for years and this is not the dingy old La Fonda. The group was talented and fun and visited our table for a happy birthday. I ate the lamb which was amazing and sampled chicken in a tasty mustard sauce.

My friends went up on stage at the end to dance a "mariachi loco."

  • Pros: great food, terrific music, family fun

The Details on La Fonda on Wilshire

Place Categories:

  • good mexican food
  • best mariachi
  • great first date place
  • best service
  • overpriced food
  • hardly worth appetizers plate
  • great entertainment
  • best restaurant
  • great mariachi music
  • fun group
  • enjoyable intimate setting
  • authentic decor
  • favorite spot
  • tasty mustard sauce
  • love fathers
  • great talent
  • good margaritas
  • amazing lamb
  • nice staff
  • enjoyed the quesadilla
  • full meal
  • fantastic traditional dancers
  • great plans
  • nice evening
  • fantastic live mariachi band

Message from La Fonda on Wilshire

  • Enchanting Mariachi Music
  • Mouthwatering Dishes
  • LA Landmark

La Fonda opened in 1969 by Natividad "Nati" Cano to establish a home for his group Los Camperos, La Fonda made history for being the first restaurant in the country to fuse live mariachi entertainment along with a complete dining experience. Sadly, at the end of October 2007, La Fonda de Los Camperos closed its doors, presumably forever. Fortunately for us all, Manuel Meza who is one of the partners who own the building, decided that this icon of Mexican culture and unpolished jewel of the Los Angeles community could not be allowed to fade away.Today, La Fonda on Wilshire continues to carry on its legacy as a Mecca of Mariachi Music and Mexican culture. Currently, we are featuring Mariachi Monumental de America de Juan Jose Almaguer. As one of the country's premier mariachi groups, Monumental de America brings a quality of music befitting the legacy of La Fonda.

La Fonda on Wilshire
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