Havana 59

LA Times Critic Loves Dama’s Lush Decor, Pan-Latin Surprises | Eater LA

"At the edge of Downtown’s Fashion District in the City Market South development, I found Dama to be an enduringly charming pan-Latin cocktail-and-dinner spot with a romantic, throwback vision of Latin America—more Hemingway-era Havana than contemporary realities. Its warmly lighted, two-tiered dining room evokes pre-revolutionary Art Deco Havana with Old World tile floors, plush wicker seating and lush tropical foliage, giving the space a sultry, shopworn bohemian elegance. Chef Antonia Lofaso’s cooking and the cocktails from Pablo Moix and Steve Livigni play the pan-Latin card well: the linguica sausage intoxicates you with its tangible crispness and a heavy perfume of garlic and pepper, the menu offers a parade of bracingly fresh seafood and hefty batidos de banana, and the entrancing, expert blender drinks restore something like dignity to fruity daiquiris and piña coladas. All in all, it felt like a great time in Downtown." - Farley Elliott