Anejo Cantina and Grill — Restaurant in Los Angeles

My good friend and I did a double date with our wives here for Valentine Day. I called ahead and made reservations a month ahead to avoid all the slot being taken up. This place is in a decent size plaza so you can park there but the issue here is that there no access from the plaza to the restrauant unless you climb over a 2.5ft gate or brick wall. We arrived early but the host was still able to sit us down in the back corner. They had live entertainment for Valentine day playing Mexican music so that was nice. My wife and I started off with their bacon wrapped shrimp which was delicious, the flavor and size of the shrimp was great. For our entrée, my wife got the Alaskan Salmon and I went with their Chilean Sea Bass which I added double fries to. Both dishes were amazing but if I had to choose, I would say the Chilean Sea Bass is the winner. My friend got their Carne asada and his wife chose the shrimp & chicken fajitas. They also ordered a chicken embalada which when I added the sauce from the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, it give more flavor to it. We ended the night with their chocolate cover strawberry dessert which was very sweet and you get a decent size strawberry. The customer service we received here was almost great, our waiter was sometime no where to be found when we needed refills and wanted the plates to be taken away after finishing our food. But she was nice enough to separate the bill for us which she told us they don't normally do but she'll check with the manager.

My score:

Food: 5 star, the Chilean Sea Bass and Salmon dishes were amazing. My friend like his Carne asada and his wife enjoyed her Shrimp/Chicken fajitas.

Atmosphere: 5 star, the place is nice inside and they had live music with a dance floor so you can never go wrong there. They also have a semi outdoor seating near a fire place if you want that.

Customer Service: 4 star, our waitress was nice and accommodating to us but when we needed refills, she was nowhere to be found. I think she was the only waitress working that night so if that's was the case then I understand.

Parking: 4 star, there alot of parking spots but the place where you park is not connected to the stairs to the restrauant so you'll have to jump over the gate/brick wall or...

We were just taking a drive on a Saturday afternoon and decided to look for someplace we could stop for some margaritas and Mexican food. Seeing this spot in our search and thinking it was a good option, we decided to check it out. Am I glad we did!!

It wasn't very crowded when we arrived - in between the brunch crowds and the dinner crowds at about 4 pm. It's up some stairs on the upper level of a building with some shops below it. A little bit inconspicuous, but the view from it was anything but! There's expansive seating options both inside and outside. I highly recommend the outdoor seating as long as the whether is good. They have heating near most of the tables and a beautiful patio that has views of Ventura Blvd and the neighboring buildings around it. Some of the tables also had loveseat couches for parts of the seating!

Our waitress was very fun and friendly and it took no time at all for our orders to be taken and the drinks and food to be brought out, all in quick succession. She was very accommodating and made sure that we had anything we wanted, including offering up any sauces for the fajitas we may want and also making sure to give us some to-go with our leftovers!

As for the food and drinks themselves, they were an absolute delight! Both of the margarita drinks we ordered were very colorful and fun to drink, with a decent kick to them. The steak fajitas that we split were more than enough for the both of us. They brought us both flour and corn tortillas and in combination with the some different sauces, were absolutely incredible. The sizzling hot steak that was brought out was such a fun presentation and tasted like it was perfectly cooked, along with the peppers, onions, and other toppings. I could've eaten it all day, but it was very filling, so we got the last bit of it to-go.

The place was starting to fill in with the dinner crowd as we were getting ready to leave. While it may just have been the timing of when we went, I feel this place deserves a lot more hype! The ambiance and vibe, the view from the patio, the expansive indoor and outdoor dining areas, the great service, and of course, the great food and drinks all made this out to be a wonderful experience. You should...

Having no epxectations when walking into a restaurant is usually the best course of action. It allows one to be surprised at what is to come and Anejo Cantina & Grill has definitely surprised me. I did not expect to have such a wonderful experience when I was driving to this restaurant and now they have become a place that I want to return to often, especially for their happy hour specials.

Anejo has a lovely patio that I thought would be loud being along Ventura but was still quiet and allowed for conversation. Being on the second floor also seems to welcome a slight breeze keeping it a tad cooler than outside in the sun which was a welcome discovery. Inside they have a lovely restaurant with a bar and lots of tables and booths. The wait staff both times we have visited were poliete and attentive.

As for the food, phenomenal! Everything I've tried was delicious and, honestly, the portions might be TOO large. Both times I've visited I've gone home with at least half the meal to go cause it was so good I needed to finish it. The prices are also wonderful, especially the Happy Hour prices.

When I ordered the steak burrito for $12 on the happy hour menu I didn't expect it to come out almost as large as my forearm. Not that I'm complaining at all. In fact because it was so massive I cut it in half for my friend and I to share in our leftovers.

My favorite item might be the humble Esquitas. This street corn dish is just absolutely delicious. I honestly could just have this all day.

The Open Face Quesadilla is another instance of not at all expecting an item to be quite so large. It was delicious though.

The only item I've had that was lacking were the Asada fries, essentially the same as the steak nachos but just swap fries with the nachos. The Nachos are the superior version here. The fries tasted unseasoned, it didn't even seem like they had been tossed in salt after frying or baking. Just dumped onto a plate and then loaded with the usual toppings. Thankfully complimentary chips are plentiful so we made do by quickly swapping to using the chips for the delicious toppings on the asada fries.

Overall a fantastic location with lovely patio seating and excellent food. I...