El Compadre

12/07/08

Legendary margaritas? Really?

by bmgreeley at Citysearch

I really like the ambiance of this place. The decor is nice and dimly lit and occasionally there is a band playing. Sometimes I'll just watch sports on either of the two tvs at the bar.

I've been here a few times and usually have a good experience with drinks and food, but tonight the drinks were pretty disappointing. My friends and I ordered margaritas at the bar which tasted more like sweet tarts mixed with pixy sticks. We could barely taste any alcohol in them and it left me with more of a headache than a buzz. On the upside the table service was fast and the burrito that I had was pretty decent. It was very reasonably priced for a sit down joint.

Usually I wouldn't hesitate if someone asked if I wanted to meet them here for dinner, but now I might, at least if I'm in the mood for margaritas.

• Pros: Food is reasonably priced
• Cons: Margaritas

12/02/08

Bomb

by jerrymcgwire at Citysearch

El compadre is my fav mexican getaway in LA.. LOL. Their tamales are the bomb.. order the corn tomales and tell you dont like them.. if you don't your taste buds got problems

12/01/08

Yuck.

by joshysmail at Citysearch

This place is disgusting. I have too many friends that like mexican restaurants based on their chips and salsa and their drinks. The drinks might be alright, but the food is terrible. The salsa is good, but the chips are just heated store bought chips, nothing special. I've been here a few times and I can't do it anymore. Their huevos rancheros plate is an unrecognizable blob of grease on a plate. Their chicken in a burrito is oven roasted whole chicken with skin fat and just yuck. Do yourself a favor and don't eat here. If you want quick and just a stand type burrito or taco then go to Yucca's on hilhurst. Order the Carne Asade or Conchinita pibil. Also Terre's Mexican Grill on Melrose is amazing. There's no wait staff, but their empanadas are pretty special.

06/02/08

horrible service, so-so food, wrong address

by lisateacher at Citysearch

first of all, it's the wrong address for whatever reason...it's actually 1449 w. sunset blvd...thought the food was going to be good after reading the reviews. the food was okay. i got the huevos con chorizo with rice and beans...got the chorizo, but barely any egg... so so-so on the food. a friend got the torilla soup...wouldn't recommend it...for 8 bucks and some change, it was a very small bowl of torilla soup...and the taste was okay...so overall, the food wasn't horrible, but not great...

BUT the SERVICE was horrible! we had 3 different servers throughout the whole night who didn't really want to serve or take our orders...our wait time for everything was very long...to order, to get our food, to get our check...and the place was not busy! about 60% of the restaurant was filled...we expected better service because it looked like it was a local favorite.

i asked for my left over portion (which was half of the meal) to be boxed, and they took it but never returned with it....the server said he didn't hear me when i asked for to be boxed so he threw it away, and then shrugged his shoulders...without an apology! then just walked away....

never going back and would not recommend it until the service gets better...so i hope the owners of el compadre read this site because i would absolutely not recommend it based on SERVICE!

• Pros: good ambience, good margaritas
• Cons: bad bad bad service

06/02/08

HORRIBLE FOOD AND SERVICE

by dna99 at Citysearch

Absolutely Terrible!.. Went went here for a birthday party thinking it would be a fun place to be with margaritas and mariachis. The flaming margaritas didn't flame in two drinks, the service was about the worse I have ever experienced and the food was AWFUL(cold and the cheese in the enchilada wasn't even melted). On top of it all we were seated next to four girls that were only drinking and screamed and yelled with every song. The management did nothing about it except to say that perhaps they would be leaving soon. We asked politely if they could tone it down so we could try and enjoy our party a little, and they started hurling insults at us. When the mariachis came over to sing happy birthday they started yelling at us that we were being too loud. We brought a cake and it took the waiter three trips to bring 8 forks. We had to get up and go find the waiter on 3 different occasions.

• Pros: Can't think of any

05/29/08

Best chips and salsa

by Weho949 at Citysearch

I love love love mexican food and this was the first restaurant I was introduced to when I came to LA from Santa Barbara 4 years ago. I fell in love with the chips and salsa. Major turn-on. Its spicy, so if you don't like that ask for an alternative or do what we do, ask for a side of sour cream which you probably won't be charged for.

That said, I come here probably once a week and have turned all of my friends on to it. The margaritas are to die for. I've read about the poor service, I've sat at the bar, at a booth, outside, etc. I've waited an hour for a table and the hostess felt bad and gave us a shot on the house. I love this place and this is a place you should experience yourself. The mariachi band is a plus.

I think this place deserves better reviews.

• Pros: chips and salsa, flaming margarias
• Cons: parking, seating

04/26/08

BIG DRINKS! BIG FOODS! THANKYOUS!

by loveitorleaveit08 at Citysearch

me sooooooooo happy with el compadreeeeeeeeeee. yummiii. i so like drink margarita coconuts!!! my husband no like friendly man who bring big big burrito. i like man who rough with coconut. mean like meanbull. hot like fire. drink like cowboys. me go many futures times for drink and big big fatie food. next time take cab.

03/02/08

Not what you expect..too dark to trust, no rating in sight..

by EST2287 at Citysearch

I went to this place based on other reviews. Noone mentioned how dark it is in there or the fact that the entrance places you at the bar and there is a ramp that I am sure someone has fell on. The host desk is in the middle of the place (in case you go). This place is too dark to see how clean or dirty it is. The inside of the enchilada was cold, the order should have read rice and "cheese" on the side based on the amount of cheese they placed on the beans. We sat in a corner booth and the silk flowers they had as decor were dirty and you could tell noone had cle3aned the corners in months (I ran a tissue and noted the dirt). The water smelled of chlorine. I ordered the famous fire margarita, and that was creative as to how they keep the fire flaming in the drink. The service was good, but overall the place needs to be cleaned.

• Pros: The Margarita's are creative in appearance and the salsa is good.
• Cons: Not all dark restaurants have the same ambience...

02/15/08

Best Margarita, Love the Enchiladas Verdes and Live Mariachi

by jlachic at Citysearch

This has become the spot to go to. It can get super packed on the weekends, but its worth the wait. I always order the Enchiladas Verdes and Strawberry Margarita and my husband gets the El Padrino, which is amazing! I always have to have a bite of the steak that comes with it. I love that the margaritas come on fire!! They're delicious. The Mariachi is great and the service is friendly and fast. I love the chips and salsa too!! YUMMY! I just went again for Valentines and it was awesome! Don't listen to the few people who say not to go here. They are crazy! Totally recommend you try it for yourself. Why would it have 4 and a half stars!! There are no reservations but if you call 30 min. before you get there in advance sometimes they will put you on the list so by the time you get in you can be seated or at least not have to wait as long to be seated.

• Pros: Inexpensive and yummy food, great margaritas, live mariachi
• Cons: long wait on weekends, $10/margarita (but worth it), parking, no reservations

11/03/07

Worst service....EVER! One Gringo special coming up.

by brantritter at Citysearch

I used to frequent El Compadre at least once a month. Decent food, good margarita.

The last 2 times I went I sat at the bar and waited at least 5 minutes before the bartender bothered to ask me if I wanted a drink. Not a big deal on a Fri or Sat nite but this was Monday and there were 10 people in the whole place.

The old bartender was more interested in talking to his pals.

There are far too many other mexi places in LA to frequent one that doesn't give a cr*p about it customers.

• Pros: ummm.... it's open?
• Cons: service service service... that old crank of a bartender