El Faisan y El Venado Restaurant Yucateco

This place was awesome. The food is not typical Mexican but is the food of the Yucatan. The owners are from Merida. The owner seated us and took the time to explain all the dishes to us (recognizing that we knew nothing) so we knew what they were. I ordered the panuchos and my friend had a cochinita pibil torta. We drank Mexican Coke. The food was very satisfying. I would recommend this place highly.

I am so glad this place is in walking distance to my house. It’s a very unassuming place with a casual atmosphere, but the food is really delicious. The server is happy to explain what the food is if you are confused.

Had the pibil. Delicious! Angel, the owner was extremely friendly and helpful in his suggestions from the menu. Will definitely come back.

Have to say, this food was so good I am still thinking about it weeks later. The slow cooked pork wrapped in banana leaf was perfection and all you need to order. However I heard there are many great dishes on the menu and I would like to give them a try someday, if I could ever get passed that amazing pork.

This place is completely a hidden gem in our neighborhood. Have been driving by for years finally decided to stop and the owner welcomed us with open arms and personalize service I cannot recommend the cochinita pibil enough.
But you should really try all of the other Yucatecan food that they have there it’s all very very delicious especially the tostadas.
And for some reason are always concert dvd’s playing in the dinning room. The other day we had breakfast while watching a beegee’s concert!

We had the cochinita pibil plate, rice and beans, and aguas frescas. Everything tasted homemade. I’ve driven past this place probably a hundred times and never even noticed it, most likely cause the signage is hard to read. But we will definitely be back!

Closed at 7 on Sundays though it is listed at 8. This is super lame. Really looking forward to trying the food. But it looks like we won’t be back.

This really is one of the best Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles. It is not only the food that distinguishes El Fasian y El Venado (great name right?) but the warmth and personality of this hidden gem. One afternoon the thought of homemade cochinita pibil popped into my head and this is the place that was recommended to me. Unfortunately, I’d never heard of this place even though I’d lived in Highland Park for over 7 years! I was blown away. The cochinita they had was better than any I’d had elsewhere. The portion was probably too big for me but I could have sat there all day with plate after plate.
I have to say (like many others have) what made this meal so special was getting to become friends with the owner Mateo. He is just such a nice guy. Relaxed and with a warm smile he welcomed me into the small dining room and made me feel as if he and I had known each other for years. We got to talking and after I told him that I’d been considering going to the Yucatan to do an artist residency (although I knew very little about it) and he excused himself and rushed to the back to find a DVD about Yucatan so that I could learn more about his country. The two of us sat there for 45 minutes watching this video from the late 80’s early 90’s (the bathing suits everyone was wearing at the beach were awesome haha) about all of the various must-​see spots in the region. Mateo narrated the entire thing giving me pointers and historical background about each place. He didn’t have to do any of that. I could have just sat there and had my meal like anyone else but I quickly got the impression that this is the kind of person he is. I could go on and on about my other experiences there but you should probably check it out for yourself and make some of your own.

Really delicious.
Just go here, dummy. Eat the damn food.
Eat the panuchos, drink a lemonade.

Authentic. …I haven’t had this kind of delicious Yucatan food since my grandmother passed… The food is great… The customer service is awesome

100% AUTHENTIC!!! great experience!
The owner of the restaurant is great! The food keeps the history of Merida Yucatan going
Totally recommend to ANYONE

I was looking for an Authentic Yucatecan Mexican place and boy did I hit the jackpot! This place in highland park offers the most authentic food from the peninsula of Yucatan. I truly enjoyed everything I had. Great succulent so tender, mouth watering Cochinita pibil, salbutes (fry hand made tortilla topped with lettuce, tomato and shredded chicken, pickled onions and avocado) among an array of other traditional south of Mexico truly identifiable food from that region. The owner Angel is as friendly as they come, very hands on and catered to my every need and then some. Great food for a great price. This is a great must try, must come to visit on a regular basis, if you were me type of place. I absolutely would recommend this to everyone that is up for an intellectual expansion of what Mexican regional cuisine is all about.

My wife and I have been to this place a couple of times. Super wonderful food. The cochinita pibil is delicious and they have some of the best hi ease hot sauce ever. It’s a husband and wife duo. Very cool. Very sweet. Highly recommend.

Today was my first time here and I will be coming back soon. The food was delicious and the portions were huge. The owner was really friendly and made us feel really welcomed and provided us with great service. If you are around the area I recommend to eat here. The only downside of this place they don’t have a parking lot so you have to park on the streets, but it is worth looking for parking you won’t be disappointed the food is excellent here. It is very rare finding places in California that serve food from Yucatan.

While I’ve had the majority of the menu items I come here often just for the Cochinita Pibil, I know it’s the same owner who is a friendly man, but not sure if they’ve changed cooks? while the Cochinita is still real good, it’s slipped just a bit in the flavor, but I’d still highly recommend this place.
Torta de Cochinita Pibil ($ 7.50)
Made with a Bolillo *(I’ll assume they’re still made in house) it was very fresh, light crunch to the exterior and soft inside, filled with plenty of Cochinita Pibil and «weakly marinated onions» no big deal but they should be florescent pink/​purple in color
when marinated correctly they take on a different flavor!
While I still say they serve some of the best authentic Mexican food around, they’ve slipped just a bit so keepin’ it real and cuttin’ off a star.

Allow me to start with the location. If you are looking for a fancy restaurant worthy of a Beverly Hills address… this is not your place. However, what the restaurant lacks in location it more than makes up for it with the food. The restaurant located on Avenue 50 in Highland Park packs a lot of punch when it comes to authentic Yucatan style food. The menu offers a full range of traditional mexican food items… but if that’s what you want just go to any east LA restaurant. The only reason you come here is for the Cochinita Pibil, Poc Chuc, Relleno Negro, Queso Relleno, Salbutes, Kibis, Panuchos and the Escabeche. My personal favorite is the Cochinita Pibil. I usually order the Cochinita Pibil plate so I can take home the leftovers.
I’ve been to this restaurant at least twice a month over the past 1 ½ years. I’ve had every Yucatan style dish on the menu. I have never been dissapointed with anything on the menu. My inlaws are from Merida, Yucatan… they told me this is the best Yucatan style food they’ve had outside of Mexico.
The Restaurant:
It is on the small side with 6 or so tables… not for large parties. Expect to be seated, served and waited on by the owner, Angel. He is the only one that has ever seen working the restaurant besides the kitchen staff.
Parking:
Street parking is available but hard to find.
Price:
The prices are fair and cash only. No alcohol (ATM near the door)
Overall:
On any given day you’ll find native Yucatecos enjoying an authentic meal with the men dressed in guayaberas.
Enjoy!

Small place with a great flavor. Very cultural and tropical flavors. Family style and so very friendly. You get a homey sense to it. Great place to try things you’ve never had before. I would definitely go back for seconds!

A must try!
Another Mexican restaurant dedicated to bringing you dishes straight from the mother land. The owner, from Yucatan proudly serves dishes that represent this part of la raza. So don’t waltz in here expecting something you’d find on your taco crawl with your drunk pals.
We ordered a torta de cochinita pibil, bistec encebollado & panuchos. Everything tasted amazing. Especially with that habanero salsa he brought out. It’s ran by the owner & his wife, just the two of them, teammates… So it might take a bit longer than a fast food joint to get your order but it’s worth the wait. The owner was nice & happy to explain how some of the dishes are prepared. You can tell he takes pride in what his restaurant has to offer.
Hopefully you guys get a chance to try this place one day.
Your Homegirl,
Violy

I was really excited to try this restaurant since I’m not aware of too many places serving food from the Yucatan. The first time we stopped by on a Monday night, they were closed due to some equipment issues. We came back on a Sunday evening.
I had seen a glowing review of their turkey dish, escabeche oriental, online and really wanted to try that, so we picked that dish plus cochinita pibil. The entrees don’t come with any sides, so we also ordered a plate of rice and beans.
Free tortilla chips & salsa– the tortilla chips are delicious; nicely fried and a little, but not too, greasy with a hint of salt. We were warned that the habanero salsa was spicy and it really is! But good. The other salsa is also quite tasty.
Escabeche Oriental– pan cooked turkey leg served with a sauce and cooked onions. After all I read online about how amazing this dish is, it was a let down. I didn’t think the flavors were that outstanding and also didn’t really care for slight sweetness of the sauce. The turkey was a bit dry. On the plus side, the dish did come with a generous portion.
Cochinita Pibil– shredded, slow roasted pork. Slow roasted pork is always good but I’ve had better versions of this dish with more flavor that were also juicier. The pickled onions were good but it’s probably hard to mess those up. When I compared the picture of our dish to one on Unilocal,the other one, take a couple of years ago, looked much better. Maybe the quality has gone down.
Also, the tortillas served with the cochinita pibil were very disappointing: just tortillas like you’d buy at the grocery store. Thin and fairly tasteless. I was hoping for better ones.
The gentleman who owns the restaurant is very friendly and patient if you are new to this type of food and the service was attentive. Overall, as much as I wanted to love this place, I didn’t. I would come back to try a few other dishes but if I’m craving flavors from the Yucatan I would probably go to Chichen Itza at Mercado.

What a gem in Highland Park! El Faisan is a small mom and pop shop that specializes in Mexican food from the Yucatan. The owner is a very friendly man who takes great pride in his work. There are about 9 tables in the restaurant, and the ambiance is very cozy. You get free chips and salsa! The second salsa they give you is extremely spicy. I believe there’s habenero in there.
Huarache: (⁵⁄₅) Avocado, tomato, queso fresco, cilantro, lettuce, and carne asada on a long tortilla.
Panucho (45): Picked onions, grilled chicken, and lettuce on a fried piece of bread.
Salbate: (⁵⁄₅) Beans, pickled onions, grilled chicken, and lettuce on a small tortilla
Tamal: (⁵⁄₅) The tamal was huge! Served on a banana leaf, the masa had tender, marinated beef inside. The masa is very moist and flavorful.
I need to come back for the cochinita pibil! Everyone raves about it, but since I had some cochinita pibil last week at Chichen Itza, I wanted something different today. Will definitely be back to try other things on their menu.