Cascabel

I loved the ambiance and service here. The food was good, albeit a bit overpriced for the amount of food you get. Overall I was happy with my visit.

I really want to love this place. I’ve been here 7 times and each time the food fails to meet consistency. Some experiences it’s really good and some times it’s a real let down. Today was one of those Sundays on when the restaurant should have shined due to the lack of customers, but it didn’t. Total roller coaster ride.

My husband and I love this place! Great fresh food with creative dishes. The drinks are delicious! Nice cocktail menu and great environment.

We came here on a whim. We wanted Mexican food, and found this place on Unilocal.When you’re driving up to it you’d never know its a restaurant, so keep your eyes peeled!
I drank the fuego verde, it was spicy, but very good. We had the tacos al pastor and tacos duck confite for appetizers. Very good. The tacos al pastor could’ve been a little spicier though. Then we had the Mexican cornbread and the snapper Veracruz. Both very good dishes. For dessert I had the tres leches. Delicious.
This was a nice restaurant to stumble upon. Be sure to make reservations. It’s pretty crowded and I can foresee a long wait if you don’t have one.

Okay. So, I really liked the professionalism and bedside manner of the woman I spoke with on the phone. She was very pleasant and kind. I gave her my credit card number beforehand so that she could go ahead and charge the birthday dinner for my sister. When my plane got delayed by an hour, she was very forgiving and made sure there was a reservation for us.
The food. Enh. I’m not so much a sweet person… and most of the dishes had a sweetness to it that was a bit offputting to my palette. If you are into sweet/​savory foods, this is definitely the place for you! I did like the presentation of the food and the décor of the restaurant.
Our waiter was pleasant… I did remind him that it was my sister’s birthday and wondered if they did anything for it. He nodded and smiled. And then… no birthday candle on her dessert. no comped dessert. (so…what do you do for birthdays, exactly?) I was pretty embarrassed and felt bad for my sister, since I wanted to make this special for her.
So…interesting place. Go if you like sweet dishes. Don’t go if you are celebrating a special occasion.

Absolutely fabulous experience! Excellent service, fast food delivery to our table, and the food was absolutely tops. We had the mango seafood ceviche and the steak tacos, both of which were delicious. Also ordered rice and beans, which were exceptional. Couple of mango margaritas, which were perfect. And then we had a dessert as well which was delish. Total bill was $ 70 plus tip. Quite reasonable for such a positive experience, and our waiter was terrific, too. Will def go there again!

I finally made it here and I am so so glad!!! It totally looks like someone’s house which makes it even more inviting. The staff were really nice and our waitress gave us great suggestions. We had the house margaritas, mole potatoes, short rib flautas, the guacamole, the shrimp ceviche, el carbon tacos, and the plantains. The top for me were the potatoes, they tasted so good and their house chips were so crunchy and so good. I loved it and I can’t wait to be back!!!

Some restaurants require a long review and some are sooooo good that three words are more than enough, this is one of those restaurants. Ready for my review of Cascabel in Toluca Lake?
SO FREAKING DELICIOUS!
I’m Out!

I am very impressed with the ambiance, décor and location of the restaurant, but the food was just a total let down and disappointing. I brought my mom and grandma here for Mother’s Day dinner. I had gotten some recommendations and read great reviews, so I was excited to try it out.
The décor of the place is gorgeous. It was small restaurant and it had a nice intimate feel which I loved. It wasn’t loud inside and had a nice serene feel. It was the perfect place to bring my mom and grandma for a quiet dinner. The hostess and wait staff were all very nice and made our experience a pleasant one, which was very appreciated.
When it came to the food, it is tapas style, which in general I like to stay away from because I never leave satisfied. I don’t like sharing and having a little of everything, and this case it didn’t help that I was with very picky eaters, it limited me on what I could order.
We started with their classic guacamole, which was very good and fresh, probably the only thing from their menu I liked. It was a really small serving, so sharing between us three left me wanting more. Their tortilla chips were very thick cut and freshly made, so I loved it. I got the spicy tuna tacos; was not impressed at all. It had orange mixed into it, which I did not like (my fault for not reading ingredients beforehand). It fell very flat and did not have much flavor or seasoning. We got the vegetable enchilada, with sweet corn sauce, I took one bite and it tasted like vanilla birthday cake. Not good at all.
I love Mexican food and this was more of a tease than anything. Yes, I was full after eating but became hungry about an hour after. I was just picking a little at everything and nothing was satisfying enough.
This place is perfect to come to for some appetizers and drinks with friends to catch up, or maybe for a date, but not the best place to come for dinner when you’re hungry. I really wanted to like this place, the food just didn’t work for me :-/​
I will be back to try their margarita’s, though!

I LOVE THIS PLACE!
The décor is fabulous, exposed rustic dark wood beams against white walls and the gorgeous massive snake sketched along the back… Love it.
The food is outstanding — I could maybe live on their salsa. It’s so good that while their guacamole (the pineapple one) is divine, I could have skipped it entirely in favor of spending more time alone with the salsa.
We loved the Celery Root & Potato Flautas, they were divine!, the vegetable enchilada will haunt my dreams until I can have it again, I honestly don’t even remember what else we got or what my boyfriend had — I was in a foodjoydelirium… whatever it was he was in heaven. He loved it. We just love this place, LOL, SO MUCH! It’s so close to Hollywood, make the drive. So worth it.
They have a great Tequila list and respectable selection of Mezcal, though I think they could open that up a little and lose the Del Maguey. I tried the Mezcal Old Fashioned, curious to see how it played out with grapefruit and El Silencio Espadin (a mild mannered Mezcal that’s not terribly remarkable or smokey in flavor, but an easier drink for first timers). My drink came out deeper red than I expected and wondered if the bartender was accidentally a little heavy handed on the bitters, one sip and that’s really all I tasted. I think the drink could use a more robust Mezcal and less bitters. I forget what my boyfriend got for his first drink, but we both agreed that we much preferred and thoroughly enjoyed our next round of regular old margaritas on the rocks — they were perfect, really perfect.
The food and service were so great — I absolutely cannot wait to go back!!!
What a wonderful restaurant and dining experience. Really really terrific — outstanding. Did I say that already? Well it is.

Cascabel is a short driving distance from the Universal Studios area in Los Angeles. The restaurant is known /​focused on Nuevo Latino cuisine. I personally really love this place. Hidden away with a chill vibe.
Background:
According to the Cascabel website, the owner is Alex Eusebio. He was born in Spain and spent some time in Dominican Republic, New York City, NY and Denver, CO. During his time in New York City, he worked with Alex Garcia of Calle Ocho and Douglas Rodriguez (James Beard Award Winner). Talk about some great influences! He was also a Top Chef Season 5 contestant. In Los Angeles area, he has 2 stores:
1) Sweetsalt — gourmet café & bakery (
)
2) Cascabel
Food:
The food at Cascabel is delicious! There is a happy hour menu, so between the 2 of us, we ordered:
— Duck Confit Tacos — with black bean purée, goat cheese, avocado salsa, pickled shallots
— Tai Snapper Tacos — with cucumber slaw, aioli, and house hot sauce
— Fried Chicken Tacos — with cascabel chili honey, cabbage slaw, and house hot sauce
— Smoked Bacon Guacamole
— Rosemary Mule
— Spiced Hot Chocolate Brownie — with Horchata ice cream, tajin wafer, piloncillo pepita crumble
No complaints about any of the food we ordered. The dessert was by far my favorite and knocked it out of the ballpark. Talk about some complex flavors. My mind was definitely blown!
Tip:
Look for the Cascabel sign and go through the driveway (parking is in the back of restaurant). There is also an entrance into the restaurant from the back but you’ll have to walk through the restaurant to get to the hostess station in the front of the restaurant.
YUMMY!

Never in a million years would I think this restaurant exists where it does. It’s mostly dentists and then this gem behind one of the buildings. Apparently it used to be a home and now it’s converted to this super cool restaurant. I had the beef tacos and guacamole. Very good quality good. It’s was super packed when we got there but by 10:30 it was empty on a Saturday night. It’s not a place you’re going to stay long late hours but otherwise great food and great experience.

I have to admit I was impressed by this place. Even though it is a hard to find place I with it being in back of a business. The food is pretty damn flavorful and tasty. Everything that we ordered was good. Small portions but this is a tapas place so keep that in mind. We ordered several items off of the menu even dessert and it was all so delicious.
This is a great little hideaway and a great place to go on a first date. It is a tiny restaurant with limited seating so I would advise to make reservations. They have valet parking for $ 5 which is not bad. Jus be prepared to spend some money if u want to get full because this is a tapas place and the portions are gonna be small

What a quaint and amazing hidden charm!!!
Definitely returning!
Lauren is an awesome waitress!

This place is amazing. First of all the atmosphere was so warm; like being in a family member’s home. The hostess was very sweet and our waitress was great.
We started off by ordering the carafe of sangria. It tasted extremely watered down so the second one we ordered we asked for little to no ice and WOW, the difference was crazy. Sangria was amazing BUT make sure to order it with little to no ice.
The chips they bring to the table are so yummy we couldn’t stop eating them! And their salsa was probably the best salsa I’ve ever tasted. No joke. The guacamole tho! It’s so good we wanted to order another.
Two appetizers we got were:
* Tiger Coconut Shrimp: was so bland we wouldn’t order it again
* Burrata which was to die for and was one of my favorite things here
Entrees:
* Skirt steak: my boyfriend ordered it and I tasted it. I didn’t care for the steak and said it out loud. Apparently a worker heard me and 5 minutes later a manager came and said the chef wanted to offer to remake his steak to make him happy. We explained that I stated it and he loved it but they wouldn’t take that as an answer. In my opinion, the skirt steak wouldn’t be special without that amazing purée that is on the side.
* Mexican corn bread; OMG I can’t explain how amazing this was. I devoured it completely. This was perfect portion and had my mouth going crazy! Highly recommend.
For sides:
* Cauliflower: horrible, it was tasted by one of us and then never touched
* Mexican rice: I could live without
After we scraped our plates clean, the manager came back with another fresh Skirt Steak with apologies from the chef. We explained again how the guys loved their steaks and I was the one who commented. We ended up giving the steak to one of the workers who hadn’t had their break yet. The fact that the service was so on point was incredible.
This place was amazing and I definitely will go back!

Cascabel is not really a tapas place, but it was good nonetheless! The entryway looks like a little grotto, and the inside is cute as well, with bar seating plus different dining areas. We were sat in the front dining area, and although it was very open the noise level was not bad.
They have an extensive selection of tequilas, but we opted not to try any since it was a Tuesday night haha. They also offer some interesting cocktails as well as wine and beer.
We got the ahi tuna tostada, the short rib taquitos, and the Brussels sprout tacos. The ahi tuna tostada was amazing, definitely the best dish of the night. Although there were many components to the dish, you could still taste the flavor of the tuna. Delicious! The short rib taquitos by themselves were good but not amazing, but the sweet potato purée they came with was soooo good. Would order again just for that purée! The Brussels sprout tacos were also good. Overall a very solid meal.
There’s a parking lot attached, but we found street parking easily so we just did that. We almost missed the place since the entrance is around the corner, so look out for that if you opt for street parking.

Fantastic happy hour. Delicious food.
I ordered the margarita and guacamole to start with. The margarita was just the right amount of strong. The guacamole was so good we ordered a few more of them.
We then all ordered some tacos. I got the fried chicken tacos and steak tacos. The fried chicken tacos, in my opinion, were better, because it is a unique concept. Just enough batter to the fried chicken to not overbear the tacos.
Will definitely be back. Sweetsalt, of the same chef, is an amazing lunch spot. A big fan of Alex Eusebio, from the looks of these two establishments.

I arrived early during happy hour to celebrate a friend’s birthday. It’s one of the restaurants from Top Chef contestant, Alex Eusebio of season 5. The other being Sweetsalt located also in Toluca Lake.
I arrived early and ordered off items from the happy hour menu as I waited. I ordered the signature margarita and some tacos. I ordered the duck confit and fried chicken tacos. The bartender said that I could not go wrong with any item off the menu.
Immediately I noticed the quality, tortilla being used here. Of the two tacos, I loved the duck confit tacos. The fried chicken taco concept was interesting, but I wasn’t much of a fan of the fried chicken batter.
Once my friends arrived, I wasn’t really happy that they couldn’t transfer what I ordered to our table. I would have been easier that way then waiting to close out the bill at the bar while my friends sat at the table.
My friend ordered different items off the dinner menu for us to taste to add to what I ordered from the bar for happy hour which were discounted at around $ 2 off the regular menu.
I loved the look and feel of the restaurant. It was stylishly decorated. It’s a snake-​themed restaurant, but it had only one visible snake painted on one of the walls.
My friend spotted a cast member of Seinfeld while we were seated at dinner. I wouldn’t be surprised to see other celebs dining here because of its close proximity to the studios. I spotted Miley Cyrus dining at their other restaurant nearby, Sweetsalt, one time while having lunch.
The scene appears to be locals, probably in the entertainment industry with all film studios nearby, from this part of the Valley. The location is on a quieter stretch in Toluca Lake. There’s valet or street parking available.

My husband took me to Cascabel for my bday and I loved it! We loved it! The space is super cozy and romantic. It is an old home converted into a restaurant so it really has that warm welcome feeling, like you are in your friends dining room. This place has lots of character and I love how they’ve decorated. When you go, be sure to explore and check out all the rooms… they even have an outdoor patio with string lights.
Once we snapped out of our captivation of the beautiful surroundings, it was time to get to business. I started out with a really good (and strong) margarita. We also got the smoked bacon guacamole… we actually loved it so much we got another order! We got a bunch of different tacos I can’t remember all the names but they were all amazingly delicious. The Skirt Steak entrée was my favorite… it was so flavorful and just melted in your mouth. Mmmmm so good! Even though we were pretty full we couldn’t turn down the horchata ice cream… insanely good.
I cannot wait to come back here… even if it’s just for some more of that bacon guacamole and a margarita… meet me at the bar!

A few of us went to Cascabel to buy us some time as we waited for the comedy show nearby. The place is actually very cute. After walking down a hidden path, we arrived at what looked like an old house with multiple rooms and a charming patio in the back.
It was a Saturday night and we hadn’t made reservations. So, we started off at the bar as the hostesses tried to find us a seat despite the fact that they were booked for the evening. While we sipped our drinks we chatted with the bartenders, who were very friendly. We took their advice for what to order both at this place, and at the sister restaurant down the road that has the same chef.
After a brief wait, we were escorted to a table in the corner on the patio. It was a beautiful night, so sitting outside was perfect. We started with two orders of the bacon guacamole ($ 7) because, well, it’s BACON guacamole! And it was really good with the house chips. Why others haven’t thought of this is beyond me. The bacon added flavor and salt to the guac and it gave it a little more texture than most guacamoles have. I was glad that we had enough guac to go around as the house salsa had a deeper, heavier, smokey undertone that didn’t appeal to me.
Opting for quick, light options, we all ordered tacos which came in pairs — duck ($ 10), rabbit ($ 9), and steak ($ 9). I had one duck and one steak. Despite the multiple toppings on each taco, both were subpar. The black bean purée on the duck taco was too pasty and the goat cheese just didn’t work with it. The steak had a good flavor but the chunks kept falling off of the small tortilla and overall, it was just very forgettable.
Very cool place, great service, but subpar tacos. The bacon guacamole though… excellent!