Costa Alegre Restaurant

I’d been craving pozole for about 2 weeks, but it’s hard to find in Silver Lake. Luckily I checked Unilocal,and Costa Alegre came highly recommended. I do not regret going there, the pozole was outstanding, and I left feeling content and full. Definitely recommend it!

Worst shrimp cocktail and michelada ever and over priced. I always wanted to try this place. It was a disappointment. Didnt even finish half of my cocktail. They charged $ 1.25 extra for 3 little skinny pieces of avocado. What a joke

Just left the place no one was there and it was empty and I forgot my dodgers hat called and they said nothing was there !! Really messed up that hat wasn’t just a hat it was custom worth $ 90 I regret leaving a tip

Good food, fun Mexican Riviera ambiance and great service! Love this place! Best pozole in town! Crunchy tacos, potato tacos, huevos divorciados and their micheladas are awesome must-​tries!

I have lived in the area for quite some time and am disappointed that I had never been here before. I ordered the potato tacos with cheese. They were delicious. My partner had enchiladas and she loved them as well. The atmosphere is great and the waiter was very attentive. I will definitely come here more often.

Extremely authentic! You get greeted right away and the waitresses have an great customer service. Food is made quickly and it’s perfect for large groups of family and friends :)

Correction: there’s only one little table where you can sit with your dog! It’s in the blazing sun in the parking lot, fine for a warm night or cool day, but definitely not acceptable for a regular Los Angeles mid-​day meal. Docking a couple stars; the inner patio should allow dogs, I think it legally could…

First of all, my mothers homemade mexican food is my favorite! I’m very picky when I eat others mexican dishes because I find myself always critiquing and comparing it to my mothers. This restaurant is by far the best mexican food in the area, in my opinion. First off, I love their chips and salsa. The salsa is not too spicy, but has alot of flavor, definitely homemade. Secondly, their micheladas! Oh my, they know how to make them right! I have a hard time finding places that know how to make them the way I like. Salted rim with a lime on the mug. I love mine with modelo negro.
Last but not least, their pozole is great! They have only pork and vegetarian, I would recommend them to add chicken pozole, however I’m in love with their pork pozole. They use good quality meat and that is a must for pozole. I was lazy this morning to make the drive, so I ordered delivery from another restaurant and I was so disappointed in their pozole that I drove back to return it and made my way to Costa Alegre. This is my first time Unilocaling and I just had to show them some love.
Lastly, amazing customer service. The owner, an older lady came to our table and greeted us. Plus our server was great too! Hope yall enjoy as much as i do.

So my original two thoughts for lunch didn’t work out for various reasons. Decided try something new. Love kitschy décor. Best Chile Rejellanos I’ve had in long time. Dark green chiles, Mexican white cheese, lovely egg batter. Chips and salsa were both also very good. Just enough kick to salsa. I also tried taco de papas. Wasn’t my favorite. I will order chicken quesadilla for Chelle.
Well editing to lower stars. Had to ask other waitress for order to go. Waited again and had to ask other waitress for check. Usually good tipper but I base tip on service. Give 10 percent then that’s what you receive!

From Chicago, came here on my first stop in California for food. Awesome stuff. Great vegetarian options! I would recommend the green pozole with tofu. Try the michelada aswell. It’s like the Mexican version of a Bloody Mary. Traditional style of the place. Great waiters/​waitresses, fast cooks.

Posole. Do I really need to go on?
The chicken I got with my naked chicken burrito was so juicy and full of flavor. It was all white meat and ugh, it was so good. Retried beans are never my favorite but these were very good and the rice was perfect.
I have lived in Echo Park all of my life and have never been here before. I’m so glad I tried it, the posole is legit.

I don’t even look at the menu, every time I come here, I always order the seafood burrito. It’s AMAZING !! I highly recommend it.
Besides the excellent food, they always make feel like I am at home, the customer service is the best. Judith, you are the best !!

Food desert and drinks on a Friday night with my husband everything was perfect at this place our waitress Karla was great she took good care of us. Good service good food good ambiance highly recommended

I had the Salmon a la Vanessa and it was very good and healthy– I also had the sangria. I really like the atmosphere of this place– I was able to sit outside and enjoy music from the juke box. The host was very friendly and they have many vegan options– you will be surprised. They have kale on the menu incorporated into Mexican recipes. I’m not a kale fan but if you are you’ll go nuts over their wide selection of options. I’m definitely coming back soon! I found this place the old fashioned way… I literally walked around peeling into places on sunset I’m echo park until I found this place.

Little to no parking at this place but it didn’t seem to matter. They were busy. Ordered the Carne Asada Fries which were DELICIOUS and a meal in itself. 5 taco platter was priced right at 9.95 and the chile relleno was also delicious. It was served with mole sauce which is a little different but great flavors. We’ll be back to try the shrimp cocktail & pozole.

My girlfriend and I went to try their menudo (hangover cure) this past Sunday. The place was not full nor empty, it was ok but yet we waited 30 minutes for our food. The menudo was missing a key ingredient, hominy, and for this reason, along with the long wait, I gave this place 2 stars. (I would have gave it one star but the micheladas were not bad)

Amazingly close to my grandmother’s cooking! Igualito que la cocina de mi abuelita! Cocido de res es mi favorito

It’s my second visit here. They get 3 stars because of the micheladas, which are prob the best in the immediate area. The food is good, I had shrimp ceviche & the beef hard shelled tacos. The service, however is poor. They will take your order & forget you’re there, even when it comes time to get your check. And if your drink runs low, you better make it last cuz it’ll be a while before they’re back to ask if you need more. They should at least give you some water to start with.

I like the bright colors of the façade.
I was early for an event next door at Taix Restuarant, so I decided to have a bite at Costa Alegre for the first time.
I enjoyed the outdoor seating, the waitress was pleasant, but I was shocked when my order came. A hard taco exactly like you would get at Taco Bell, or Del Taco.
Not cooked, just assembled, a store bought taco shell filled at Costa Alegre.
The waitress could tell I was shocked, but I didn’t complain.
I probably shouldn’t order hard tacos anywhere ever again, so many are made this way, or deep fried and burned to a crisp!

REVOLTING! DREADFUL! OBSCENE! ABSOLUTE REPULSION!
None of these words above describe my experiences at Costa Alegre. And I’ve had many. Think I’m a visit away from becoming El DUKE… I like it here. It’s comforting and the service is super friendly. The food is of course good and is becoming increasingly veg friendly. They boasted a large «Veggie Menu» banner on the exterior in a blatant attempt to attract we, westward bound sunset blvd veggie commuters. I totally fell for it and have yet to regret it. I was a bit skeptical at first, then I made my selections to order and BLAM! It was all on point.
The child loves the tacos dorados de pollo.
Look, it’s simple and comforting, as I already mentioned. Plenty of families, locals, hipsters, paisas, dodger fans, cholas, moi, what have you, are represented. Why not go? There’s a little variety for everyone! Enjoy a cold chela and feel tranquilo.
Side-​note: I do not recommend the «Sangria».
Side, side-​note: I highly recommend the tofu enchiladas and burrito .
Echo Parque Y Que?
El CV–

(Dined 10÷11÷13 F @ 9:00pm): Rest assured, this place won’t cost you a leg or an arm!
Costa Alegre Restaurant owed a debt of gratitude to Filter Magazine’s 4^th annual Culture Collide Music Festival, as it seemed like that was the only time I visited this fine piece of Mexican morsels.
It was night #2 of the music festival in Echo Park, and my friend and I needed some food to soak up the free beers we just consumed. We also wanted to check the Dodgers/​Cardinals playoff game. Surprisingly, the place wasn’t packed at all, so we found a table inside with a perfect view of the TV to cheer on «Los Doyers!» We quickly scanned the menu and ready to order, so this was how it went down for me:
Modelo with Complimentary Tortilla Chips & Salsa ($ 5.25) — This «premium» Mexican cerveza was one of my favorites. But as soon as I took my first swig I thought to myself, «How can I pay for beer when I just finished drinking comp beers at the Taix 321 Lounge!?» No matter… it was worth it, and I truly loved their comp AYCE warm tortilla chips and freshly-​made salsa. Seriously, I’d throwback back this hot salsa and chase it with a shot of tequila as it danced around in my belly! On previous visits I’d settle in with a beer or two and nom nom nommed away on these.
Traditional Tacos Plate (Fish) with Rice and Beans ($ 8.99) — It was no-​meat Friday for me and as much as I loved the chips & salsa I needed more substance. This two-​taco dish also offered a choice of various meats if so inclined. The food came steaming hot so I munched on more chips & salsa until it cooled off. Then, I grabbed a taco, cradled it ever so softly and dove in like the swimmer I was. A reenactment of «Jaws» could’ve described my first bite. The fish portion was decent size and had a lovely crunch while the taco stuffing was merely an afterthought to me at this point. The rice and beans were pretty standard and nothing to write home about. I’d suggest some cilantro and chopped onions in both rice and beans.
Service — A friendly young male dressed in a black suit greeted us and immediately led us to seats inside close to a TV. As soon as we sat down, another young Hispanic hombre appeared as our waiter and offered us waters, had chips & salsa delivered, and took our drink order. He then took our food order when he returned with our beers. Our food came out in less than ten minutes, the chips, salsa, and water glasses were constantly refilled, and our plates were cleared away before we knew it. Soon our check arrived but were told «no rush» as they knew we were watching the game (FYI…Dodgers lost 3 – 2). Kick-​arse service!
Parking — Non-existent…unless you counted the couple of spots on this triangle corner plot of land. Totally a local walk-​to place. There was metered parking along the main drags of Sunset Blvd. and most neighboring streets. Good luck if you tried to find free residential parking because if you found any it would be a long walk.
Atmosphere, décor, ambience — You couldn’t miss this bright-​yellow building and sign whether it be day or night. As you entered through the front outdoor patio seating and bar area, you couldn’t help but notice the various street signs, fake tropical birds, and flags hung from the ceiling; whatever, it brought a smile to my face. There was plenty of seating out there yet you dealt with the noisy street traffic. Inside was a bit crammed with its booths all along the walls and a cluster of tables in the center; yet, you wrestled with the audible chatter. Plenty of lighting (natural and electric) in both dining areas. At least one TV inside and outside, I didn’t noticed if there was any background music.
Attire — It was totally casual so I would normally be in a t-​shirt, boardshorts, and flip-​flops.
Overall, Costa Alegre Restaurant was one of many Mexican restaurants in the Echo Park and Silver Lake neighborhood who offered basically the same items. What stood out to for me was the chips & salsa and the exceptional service. Way back when I had their Pork Wet Burrito which was big and tasty!
I found good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (total experience was around $ 16.00 before tip), but a nice place to chill with your beer while you munched on the chips & salsa. And, they accepted my credit card of choice… AMEX! 3.5 STARS