Evil Cooks
Mexican restaurant · El Sereno
3333 N Eastern Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90032
Highlights
Creative tacos including octopus, lengua, and flan dessert tacos
Creative tacos including octopus, lengua, and flan dessert tacos
"Eating at Evil Cooks is like riding a coaster at Six Flags three times in a row: a head rush and maybe not something you’d share with your sweet grandparents. This heavy metal-themed taquería in El Sereno blasts Megadeath as you eat tender lengua tacos next to a fountain of fake blood, or blackened octopus smothered in a smoky salsa near a locked door that leads to Satan’s Lair. It’s all a bit on the nose in a fun, campy way, which is why we love it. Plus, Evil Cook’s sit-down dinner menu is unlike anything else in LA, with dishes such as pork rib wellington topped with candy floss and lemongrass-y tom yum shrimp aguachile that burns like the ninth circle of hell." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"This heavy-metal-themed taquería based out of El Sereno might convert a few purists. Octopus trompo marinated in recado negro served with salsa tatemada, pickled onions, cilantro, grilled pineapple, and avocado cream Cheesy octopus barbacoa taco with onions, cilantro, and salsa roja" - team infatuation
"What does Alex Garcia and Elvia Huerta’s new restaurant and thrash metal have in common? Take a listen to Slayer’s Repentless and it all makes sense. Alongside partner Huerta, Garcia, the power chord loving couple promise unconventional tacos like octopus al pastor in a smoky recaudo negro (charred chiles marinade) that’s sliced from a forebodingly dark trompo. In Evil Cooks’ first brick and mortar the Devil’s Rib, a tomahawk steak served with corn tortillas and fixings, and an unconventional beef Wellington made with pork and phyllo dough topped with pashmak are just the kind of mains expected from this rebel kitchen. The flan dessert taco on a flour tortilla, called La Bruja (witch), is a tribute to Huerta, while the family’s homemade herbed green chorizo tacos take their customers on a flavor journey between heaven and hell. The shop is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday." - Bill Esparza
"Despite what our kindergarten teacher told us, not everyone is unique—and that goes for restaurants, too. But Evil Cooks is. The heavy-metal-themed taquería started as a pop-up and Smorgasburg vendor before opening full-time in El Sereno, and the diner-like space grabs your attention even before you clock the McSatan cheeseburger taco on the menu. Slayer and Megadeath tunes fill the room, a ripping hot plancha sizzles behind the counter, and there’s a trickling fountain of fake blood on the back patio (hell yeah). The excellent tacos take the theme further, with options like The Simmons with thick slabs of lengua and a chunky salsa cruda, the jet-black Poseidon with seared octopus in smoky salsa tatemada, and a $1 fideo taco that’s just tomato-y-sweet noodles stuffed in a griddled, soup-dipped tortilla." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, garrett snyder, brant cox, sylvio martins, garrett snyder, sylvio martins, cathy park, cathy park, garrett snyder, sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park, cathy park, brant cox, sylvio martins, sylvio martins, sylvio
"For some of the most creative modern Mexican food in Los Angeles, head to chefs Alex and Elvia García’s Evil Cooks Corazón Abierto in El Sereno. Here in the compact space with a black thrash metal interior and a black-painted, succulent-accented patio, the chefs prepare the same tacos, tortas, mulitas, and burritos that made their pop-up a sensation, including the Poseidon (octopus al pastor taco), Asesino (pork al pastor and octopus taco), chorizo verde burrito, and “chilakiller” (chilaquiles) torta. The dinner menu brings plenty of creativity, like crispy fideo croquettes topped with truffles and chorizo verde pot stickers. — Bill Esparza, contributor" - Rebecca Roland, Matthew Kang, Mona Holmes
