Elevated Tex-Mex with puffy tacos, queso, and margaritas
FARMERS AND MERCHANTS BANK BUILDING, 118 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013 Get directions
$20–30 · Menu
"There’s nothing easy about opening a restaurant. Places open and close like clockwork in LA as the secret formula for success remains just that: a secret. So opening four of your own restaurants on the same block? Death sentence. Unless you’re Josef Centeno, who somehow cracked the code and turned DTLA’s Historic Core into his own personal food playground. With Baco Mercat, Orsa & Winston, and Ledlow, Centeno created a culinary identity for a part of town that never had one. But with Bar Amá, he promised a place the neighborhood could treat as their own. Promise delivered. Bar Amá’s casual, walk-up cantina vibe is exactly what you want it to be and a nearly foreign concept in this suddenly upscale part of DTLA. Opening everyday at 11:30am, you can just as easily have a quick lunch with a client as you can grab a beer and some queso after work with your loft neighbors. Just make sure you make a reservation on the weekends. Sh*t gets packed. The menu is full of real deal messy Tex-Mex food, but with way better ingredients and bigger dreams than what’s usually seen in this genre. When queso and branzino crudo sit next to each other on a menu, we know the place is f*cking with us just a little, but in a way that we very much enjoy. If a restaurant is having this much fun, you are too. Bar Amá is a total crowd-pleaser. Downtown has raced so quickly towards the high-end of things, it’s just a relief to know a place like this can even still exist. And props to Centeno for knowing it could. Now give us the rest of your secrets. RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE Food Rundown Puffy Tacos This San Antonio regional staple is Bar Amá’s signature dish and possibly even better than the Texas original. Tex-Mex Queso This dirty little appetizer is delicious and the first sign that Bar Amá is hell-bent on not taking this too seriously. Mom’s Green Enchiladas Homestyle Mexican cooking done right - messy and delicious. Cauliflower and Cilantro Pesto The vegetables at all the Centeno restaurants tend to be excellent. No different here. Taquitos You’ll want some little flavor-packed taquitos to round out your meal. Spend the extra $5 to get the all the toppings as well. Migas Only found on the brunch menu, this Tex-Mex slopfest of eggs, tortilla chips, potatoes and onions is your hangover move at Bar Amá. Tres Leches Take us now sex lord. This beautiful dessert consists of mocha, coconut, and a cream cheese frosting that’s pretty unreal." - Brant Cox
"Bar Amá, an arm of Josef Centeno's sophisticated group of downtown restaurants (including Bäco Mercat, Orsa & Winston, and Ledlow) is an upscale rendition of the comforting Tex-Mex prepared in the childhood home of Chef Centeno. Outfitted in blue tile and reclaimed wood furnishings, the dining room offers the perfect place to unwind after work for the house's Super Nacho Hour, with the aid of mezcal-based cocktail or shot of tequila." - Canopy
"Come to this downtown Tex-Mex spot any night of the week and you’ll find it full of friends and coworkers eating off-menu puffy tacos, going to town on queso dip, and drinking Ama’s margarita like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a pretty straightforward version (tequila, triple sec, agave, and lime), but the ingredients are high quality, and the overall taste isn’t too tart, either. Its chili salt rim provides a nice kick at the end." - brant cox, sylvio martins
"One of the city's most celebrated pastry chefs (Miller Union and Tiny Lou’s) is set to open a dessert and cocktail bar this summer. Bar ANA will take over the old El Bar space, and we see ourselves here sipping coffee and eating from their rotating pastry menu by day and enjoying cocktails and sophisticated desserts in the evening." - jacinta howard, juli horsford
"This downtown Tex-Mex spot isn’t as popular as it was a few years ago, but in our analysis, that’s a good thing. Bar Ama has become one of the Historic Core’s most reliable neighborhood spots with a queso dip we’ve told our therapist about. The Deal: Super Nacho Hour. $8 margaritas and nachos, $5 tacos and queso, and more. When: Monday-Thursday 10-11pm, Friday 11pm-midnight, Saturday-Sunday 9-10pm." - brant cox
