Gusina Saraba

I ordered the ginger pineapple and it’s GINGERY but sooo good, not watered down. You definitely get your moneys worth! I ordered the oxtail lunch, the rice and peas is the star of this dish. Oxtails not bad, tender but not my fave. Potato salad is THEE BOMB!!! Tastes like homemade. The appetizer sampler comes with Garnaches, Salbutes and Panades. The Panades are the bomb, they just weren’t crispy enough but the flavor is good. The Salbutes had a good flavor but were LITERALLY cold, I’ve never had them like that before and the same with the Garnaches they were cold but the shell was still crunchy so I didn’t mind; in saying that I have to add that it was so much habaneros and onions on the Garnaches that I couldn’t finish them BUT the amount of cheese was PERFECT! They were good if just request less onion sauce next time! The plantain is nice and sweet. I give this place a 7/10. I’d return and know how to order. I spent a little over $40

If I could leave a NEGATIVE star I would. First of all the customer service was disgusting,the cashier was sleeping at the register!!!! LITERALLY😂😭I Ordered salbutes and a soursop juice. The salbutes was trash. The meat was ice cold and not flavorful and the soursop juice tasted like ice and cinnamon powder. Really disappointed in how they’re portraying Belizean food. Completely HORRIBLE‼️‼️‼️‼️

The food is mouth watering good. My 93 yrs old uncle LOVES the Panades. We order about once a week. Authentic Garifuna/Belizean food.

The food was excellent. We were walking by exploring what was on the menu and they were so helpful. The woman at the front explained everything so patiently and answered all our questions. I ordered the curry chicken with chicken and fish panades. I will warn you that they make everything to order so it will take a while. However, the food was absolutely worth it. I had never had Belizean food before so I had no idea what to expect. The first bite of the rice and beans was amazing! I knew I made the right choice ordering there. Then the chicken was so flavorful and tender. I absolutely would come here again. And my mom, who is very hesitant of any new food that isn’t traditional Mexican, really loved this. Give this place a try!

Had the jerk chicken, rice, and beans with fried plantains. Have to say the taste was great and everything was freshly prepared, good stuff!

So happy to have found a place that sells authentic Belizean Garifuna food. Customer service was great. The food was made fresh and was delicious! I ordered the Hudut, jerk chicken with plantain and rice, mango pineapple passion fruit drink, and panadas. The portions are large so each plate can be shared with 2-3 people. Being able to order that hudut was a treat because there aren’t any other Belizean restaurants that sell it in Los Angeles and of course it was very tasty! I will definitely be back and will continue to recommend the restaurant to others!

The food is fire..initially visited restaurant to eat at Holbox seafood, however the food caught my attention so I returned the following day..was I impressed…the oxtails was hitting…i order it with a kale and cabbage blend that was flavorful…the rice and peas were moist flavorful and cooked with love and intention, and not dry…also ordered a soursop drink was different than expected but was really good, it was like a spiced milkshake it’s spiced with nutmeg and is delicious. The foods really good and it’s a quality price point. They have a 15 dollar lunch special I highly recommend you check out. The 3.6 star review on Google is a farce and doesn’t reflect the deliciousness and quality, this is clearly 4.5 level. I highly recommend you check out this spot.

Ordered into our hotel. Food came hot and was absolutely fire. Loved everything. We ordered jerk chicken on rice with plantains cake cabbage & panades, as well as the oxtail with the same. Everything was amazing

It seems like this location has closed?! I've stopped by a few times in the past few weeks and the counter has been dark. I liked coming here since they started to offer vegan-friendly dishes (thanks to Jenny). I hope they'll be back!

I come to the Mercado de Paloma often but for either Chichen Itza or Holbox. When I heard there was a booth selling Belizean cuisine, I had to check it out. I ordered over the phone an oxtail lunch with rice & plaintains and a side of mac and cheese. Wowwww!!! The oxtails were cooked well and super flavorful. Although the oxtails were tiny pieces, there was minimal fat. There was a good amount of sauce mixed on top of the coconut rice. As a fan of coconut, I wasn't expecting the rice to taste like that at all, but no complaints here! The plantains were cooked well and the mac and cheese was bomb! The entire meal was really good. The only thing I didn't like was the attitude of the lady at counter. Both times when she took my order and when I went to pick up, she had an attitude. Not sure if this is a nuance of Belizean culture. I'll reserve my final judgement if I feel the same way after another chance. The oxtail lunch was a good portion for 1 and cost about $25 including tax.

Had no idea what I was in for when a friend was back in town and wanted to meet for lunch. Drove all the way there, parked in the lot, and walked through the entrance to what turned out to be the Mercado de Paloma (a slice of what would be like Disneyland to me). She wanted to try Holbox and we sure did! Truth be told, we were there for four hours, talking. We all also got some of the exotic sorbets at Oaxacalifornia (tasty). Then we all got soursop drinks (our first time...and became utter fans) at Gusina Saraba (Belizean Gurifuna cuisine). Wish we had room to try their food! Definitely will come back again and eat chef's food...and get another soursop drink (or two)!

The panadas are delicious, I had to come back for more. This time I came with my youngest daughter & we basically was both trying to eat more than the other but I let her win .

Best Caribbean food in DTLA in my opinion. Why not 5 stars? Well, you gotta be perfect in EVERYTHING to get 5. Although they slightly missed the mark, they're still my go to in DTLA for authentic Belizean food. Let me preface this by saying that I am Belizean and eat Belizean food all the time, so my ratings come from being very familiar with what authentic flavors are. Panades 8.5/10: why? A little too oily for me. Actually overall, they're oily for everyone. But the FLAVOR hunny!!! My goodness. So I got the fish panades and the bean n cheese panades. The crust is sooo flaky and thin and well cooked. The filling, omg, SEASONED to a T. My only complaint, which is a big one I think, is that it's too oily. If they got that under control, 10/10 off top. The chicken panades aren't that good. They're lacking flavor which was surprising to me. Rice and beans 9/10. No real complaints here. I'd like a little more coconut milk in the rice as I didn't taste it. Jerk chicken 10/10. They use wet jerk seasoning because it's Belizean af lol, and we love our gravy. They've figured out the jerk flavor. They got it y'all. My family got jerk shrimp and jerk oxtail. Just damn delicious, honestly. Oxtail 8.5/10 now the only reason they're not 10/10 was because it was falling off the bone too much. Now I know you're thinking "falling off the bone is good," which overall it is, but I like to be able to bite my meat(pause) off the bone. When I picked up the oxtails the meat stayed in the plate. The sizes are good and they don't leave a ton of fat on there. Potato salad 3/10. They missed the mark on this one. Now, my standards are high because my momma, her momma, my aunties, errbody makes fire potato salad in my family. It's not creamy enough and it's lacking the potato salad dressing. It's just off, but by American standards, I think it would be like a 7... Stew beans: 10/10. Seasoned DOWN!!!! Ok. Hudut 9/10. This joint comes in a whole thanksgiving pan because they give you a whole red snapper. I got the lunch and it was plenty. I don't like fins on my fish so that's what grossed me out and made them lose a point. The coconut flavor and the overall seasoning in this dish is on point! Escvatiche red snapper: 9/10 same thing, when I see the fins I feel like the fish isn't all the way cleaned. But this dish came with white rice and stew beans but they forgot my stew beans...luckily the fish had gravy. Plantains: 10/10 always good. Not too stingy Service: they could be very slow at times but overall, average about 20-30 mins a plate. I won't dock points for that time my family waited 2 hours tho... Location: they're located inside the marketplace on grand and 37th street. Cafeteria style set up

This is my new favorite Belizean restaurant in LA. Everything was amazing, the food, the service, the ambiance. I got the two meat special and it came with two sides. I got stew chicken and oxtail. I will say I wish the rice had a little bit more coconut flavor but I can't even complain everything was bomb. The potato salad and mac n cheese were the best as well.

The oxtail was tender and had a good flavor along with the gravy. The plantains were delicious since they were cooked in butter. The rice and peas was ok. It looks like basmati rice and a little on the drier side. The rice with the gravy was good. The potato salad tasted fresh and the mac and cheese had a pretty good flavor. There was weird customer service issue which is why the review isn't five stars. I had also ordered a side of sweet potatoes. They didn't have any and via an Uber Eats rep, offered panadas as a replacement. I had no interest in the panadas. I assume the bread pudding (the only other dessert dish offered) was also out. I asked for the item to be canceled. The Uber rep told me that because the order was in progress, she couldn't do anything. Once I got the order without the sweet potatoes, I could contact customer service about an refund. I said ok. Uber Eats will not refund me the $5 and only offered that I can rate the the restaurant. So while this mostly seems an Uber Eats issue, I do not understand why only panadas was offered. If they offered a side of plantains which is typically sweet, I would have taken that (they do not sell sides of the plantains per the menu.) Also I have had restaurants cancel items on their end when they run out. I don't know why they didn't. I know it's only $5 but it is the principal and customer service. Overall though the food was good and I would get it again. I just hope they don't run out of what I order again...

Never had I tried Belizean food before this day. Now my life is forever changed. The food was absolutely incredible. An explosion of flavor in my mouth. The chicken was so tender it fell off the bone. Since it was our first time my husband asked for opinions on their menu items and she suggested chicken curry is great. She couldn't be more right! We got a side of Mac & cheese which also was so good. I personally love plantains. These were perfection. Mixed with the rice and beans and curry gravy!? I am drooling thinking about it again. I even bought another plate to take for dinner that night. Great s staff and quick service. I look forward to eating here again and again!

I try not to write bad reviews unless something was god awful. I ordered two orders of Jerk Chicken and one order of Goat Curry. It literally took 1:14 minutes to get our food. The woman who took our order was annoyed and rude from the get go. When she dropped our food off, she didn't even look at us and almost threw it on the table, then walked away with a scowl on her face. I understand being busy but this is some of the worst service I've had in years. If you want to try their food, do yourself a favor and order it to be delivered to save yourself from having to deal with them. Spend your money at any of the other amazing food vendors there. Other food reviews are accurate. The food is amazing which is why I gave them an extra star.

Food is tasty and VERY GOOD!! Made fresh! My favorite is the Panades, salbutes, and garnaches. The wait to get your food can take awhile but it is so worth it! Ambiance not bad, it is located inside of Mercado La Paloma in Historic South Central which can get somewhat busy due to the other restaurants in the square. MUST TRY! DO NOT PASS IT UP!

Delicious, nourishing food in a vibrant community center, prepared and served and prepared by a super friendly owner and staff. What more can you ask more? Plate lunches are a tremendous value, especially in today's pricing environment. Don't miss this spot.

Very healthy and tasty curry chicken rice with beans, veggies, the male cashier is friendly and explained well. The hibiscus ginger lemon tastes too strong in ginger.

There are no words for how great this place is. Winston is a one man operation but runs his restaurant like a professional and wishes you blessings when you order. I had the jerk chicken, stew chicken and curry chicken and it changed my life. One of my best friends in high school was a guy from Belize. Eating here was like eating at his house again for dinner. Thank you so much Gusina Saraba for bringing back great memories.

Great food and excellent service! We will definitely be coming back. Thank you for the introduction to Belizean food.

Amazing Southern Belizean food! Real fresh and authentic food cook with a Garifuna hospitality. It tastes like home. 10/10!

Came back to see if it was just as good as the first time and was not disappointed everything is still 10/10 Students from USC: put daddy's money to good use and support this black-owned business ps. they also offer student/teacher discount

The food was good. Just a little spicy for my kid. The panades masa fresh but I would have liked a little more mackerel in it. But the size and taste was good. I also ordered a Carmel milk cake. I would highly recommend as well as the curry goat. It was delicious.

If you want a nice Belizean cuisine, he's the guy for you check him out you won't be disappointed ... I will post a video later. I have it I just have to look for it.

Went here to get some Belizean food and come to find out it is not authentic and probably the worst I've ever had in my life at 40 years old. I can't believe that this place is allowed to call their self of Belizean food place. Worst part is the lady was rude while a guy was sleep on the counter. Having people stand around. Just to say go find out for yourself if you like waisting your time. It looks dirty in and around the kitchen.

If I could leave a NEGATIVE star I would. First of all the customer service was disgusting,the cashier was sleeping at the register!!!! LITERALLYI Ordered salbutes and a soursop juice. The salbutes was trash. The meat was ice cold and not flavorful and the soursop juice tasted like ice and cinnamon powder. Really disappointed in how they're portraying Belizean food. Completely HORRIBLE‼‼‼‼

Very friendly and kind staff!!! I tried the passion fruit and mango juice with sea moss and it was incredible. It was made fresh and its just the right amount of sweet. My mother (who is from Belize) ordered the empanadas and she loved them as well.

Welcome to the community! We got the oxtail lunch item, which came with oxtail, rice and beans, fried plantains, and carribean medley squash as the side. Everything was really delicious! The oxtail is so savory and soft, and the plantains were some of my favorite that I'd ever had. The squash was honestly very good as well.

After visiting the Garifuna Museum in LA we decided to find a restaurant that serves food from the Garifuna culture. We had a lovely lunch in the food court of Gusina Saraba. Highly recommend!

Best damn Caribbean food this side of the Mississippi, OMG!! I had the lunch special the curried goat, rice and peas and cabbage, all for under $20 where they do that at? so so delicious. Food was hot, service friendly. My new spot for Belizean food.

I work across the street from Mercado la Paloma and was so sad to see my favorite stand Azla close - until Gusina Saraba moved in! They have lived up to the good vibes of the space and more. Their service is always friendly and speedy, and the portion sizes are GENEROUS. The curry chicken is flavorful and the oxtail is so tender it falls off the bone. Plus I love that every dish comes with rice, beans, plantains, AND another side of your choosing! Can't wait to eat my way through the rest of the menu!

Good Belizean food, prepare to wait a few minutes for your food since they are cooking and doing it to order.

I'm an Uber driver and I go around to different restaurants and I'm gonna say this one is

Literally one of the best meals of my entire life. Had jerked chicken and both kinds of panades. You will not regret coming here! Super affordable too!!

Great food! I got the oxtail with mac and cheese and rice and beans. Was delicious and another great addition to the market. Will definitely be back -- there were many other items on the menu that sounded really good.

We just had a meal here and it was great! We asked the friendly, young person working at the counter if there was a vegetarian dish to recommend. And she made a suggestion of a vegetable stir fry with rice and beans and fried plantains. Everything was really delicious and very satisfying. Perfectly cooked veggies with some crunch left in them! The rice was fluffy and the red beans tender. The plantains were sweet and seemed oil free...how did they do that? I will come here again!