Mexican Restaurant : Near LAX

[SBcook]

Our daughter is returning from six months abroad and wants to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant upon her arrival at LAX next month. There will be 8 of us and would like a nicer place, full bar, etc. Any, any suggestions of places within that area would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Clinton]

You might like Paco's Tacos on Manchester. Nice atmosphere and the foods good plus it's near the airport.

Paco's Tacos Cantina
6212 W Manchester Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90045

Another fancy trendy place would be Cozymels in El Segundo.
2171 Rosecrans Ave
El Segundo, CA 90245
[phone]
Neighborhood: Westchester / LAX

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Paco's Tacos Cantina
6212 W Manchester Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Cozymel's
2171 Rosecrans Ave, El Segundo, CA 90245

[Ogawak]

The food at Paco's would be a little better, but Cozymel's would be nicer and fancier. A more authentic choice, but much less fancy, would be Teresa's Mosaic on Sepulveda.

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Cozymel's
2171 Rosecrans Ave, El Segundo, CA 90245

Teresa's Mosaic Cafe
150 S Sepulveda Blvd Ste G, El Segundo, CA 90245

[westsidegal]

cozymel's, imho, is chain-restaurant type of mexican food.
haven't tried theresa's mosaic, but i'd go for an unknown before going back to cozymel's.

[Jack Flash]

Paco's. First place we stopped when my brother-in-law visited from overseas. What makes Paco's really stand out are their fresh, made-to-order tortillas. The fresh flour tortillas (which must be made with lard) are like warm, fluffy, delicious blankets.

[wienermobile]

You might try La Sirena Grill in El Segundo with hand-made corn tortillas, soups, and sauces made from scratch using local, organic, and sustainable products. I like their Enchiladas de Mariscos with shrimp, crab ,scallops and lobster broth. They also have a nice heated patio with a raised fire pit surrounding it and inside a very nice blue illuminated bar.
http://www.lasirenagrill.com/
Plaza El Segundo
710-D Allied Way
El Segundo, CA 90245
[phone]

I also like Teresa's Mosaic Cafe in El Segundo. Everything homemade with Great Fresh Tortillas and I love their Lomo Adobado Oaxacan-style pork loin marinated in red spices. Served with calabacitas con queso (Sonoran-style squash, corn, tomatoes, onions and cheese) and black beans..Very busy at lunch and on the quiet side at dinner.
http://www.mosaiccafes.com/Teresas_Mo...

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Teresa's Mosaic Cafe
150 S Sepulveda Blvd Ste G, El Segundo, CA 90245

[westsidegal]

only went to La Sirena Grill once, but the food was definitely serviceable, had a full bar, and was FAR FAR better and far, far better looking than cozymel's (a place to which i've been dragged many times).

[Clinton]

You'll never know if this party of 8 might like Cozymels? Been dragged there many times too for business lunches and had to wait many a times for an open table. Goes to show that it can't all be that bad? Granted that it's not the best but it's far from not being the worst.

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Cozymel's
2171 Rosecrans Ave, El Segundo, CA 90245

[AAQjr]

Eeeew. No. Its a glorified El Torito, It's fine for happy hour I guess. I'd much rather go to Paco's Taco's which isn't fantastic either.

Personally I'd check out wienermobile's recommendations and I might because I really haven't eaten much in this area since I moved to the area. lol keep going back to Culver city to eat

[Clinton]

For me personally, I prefer quieter places like El Abajeno in Culver City but given the choices close to the airport, I selected these locations. For a party of 8, the service is reasonably quick after a long flight and the drinks are good. As I had suggesting before, some people may like chain restaurants like El Torito or even McDonalds otherwise why would they still be in business today? BTW, I like Pacos Tacos a lot better also.

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El Abajeno
4513 Inglewood Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230

[Peripatetic]

This previous thread may also help:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/714563

If you don't mind a 20-30 minute drive east, there's La Huasteca at Plaza Mexico in Lynwood. Personally that would be my choice for a nicer place with full bar in that area. The one downside is that it can be loud when the Mariachi band plays, so you might want to check what their schedule is if that's a problem. There's a slightly dated review by the venerable Ubergeek here:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/535229

La Huasteca
Plaza Mexico, 3150 E Imperial Hwy, Lynwood, CA 90262
310-537-8800
http://lahuasteca.com/

[Servorg]

While we still have to try the Mexican side of the equation, that sort of drive time brings the new Bubba Diego's into play. If at Bubba's and someone wants BBQ all they have to do is ask for a menu for the adjacent Crossroads BBQ and viola!! - Mexican and BBQ all at the same time...

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Crossroads BBQ
2927 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Bubba Diego's
2927 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

[Peripatetic]

Servorg, have you been back to try the Mexican food at Bubba Diego's? I haven't come across any reports yet besides the one effusive rave on Yelp (written by the same recently joined Yelper who wrote the one effusive rave for Crossroads BBQ, naturally).

[Servorg]

It's on my to do list. My wife keeps working insane hours so we've done a lot of take out. So I may simply get Mexican food take out from them. Whether I go or I do take out I'll certainly post about it afterward.

[Peripatetic]

Look forward to it. Liked the writeup on Crossroads!

[New Trial]

Although not my favorite by any means, Casa Sanchez is not too far from the airport, decent and meets the rest of your needs. They also have mariachis, if that matters.

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Casa Sanchez
4500 S. Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066

[westsidegal]

irrc, Casa Sanchez also offers quite a selection of premium tequilas.

[cant talk...eating]

Agree w/ New Trial - and, Casa Sanchez doesn't always have mariachis. I've had better Mexican food (am I remembering tri-color tortilla chips??), but it's more of a upscale place than, say Paco's, which is somewhere to take your kids and load up on big plates of cheese-covered food. Not that that's always a bad thing. La Huasteca would be a haul from LAX unless she'll get in in the morning. The 105 is really horrible going east in the evening from LAX. Haven't been to the El Segundo spots mentioned, but in your case, Casa Sanchez is a straight shot up Sepulveda and will feel more like a nice night out.