El Compadre Restaurant of Hollywood — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The worst restaurant night of my entire life in LA and beyond. I’ll start by saying that I have been going to this place on and off for over 5 years before I moved to LA I started going to the location in Echo Park because the last time I went to this location in Hollywood it was so loud and just crazy so I liked the change of the Echo Park location. Tonight I came into this location and right away the bartender gave me attitude for ordering a skinny margarita the way I like it. I let that slide bc it was a busy night. Anyhow when I got my food, when I was mostly done - I found a long dark hair in it, i then shared this with the bartender and he grabbed my plate and then said he would take care of it and go to the back and figure it out. I quickly heard him go back there and begin laughing and creating such a laughing scene that it was impossible to ignore this. He then returned and completely ignored me. It wasn’t until he got close I asked him what was up and he curtly said that I don’t want to know… He didn’t apologize once at all. He just walked away. Then, the bar back, who is Latin - as am I - came to me to ask if I was ok. I explained that I was not ok bc not only did I find a massive hair in the food I didn’t even finish, I wasn’t apologized to or offered anything - like another dish or anything to fix what happened. The bartender then came ana asked what I said and the bar back explained all including the fact that I was upset they laughed. He(the bartender) then, loudly yelled at me in front of a full bar of ppl / saying to me that I must be “insecure” bc I think they are laughing at me. I never thought they were laughing at me - I just thought it was rude and terrible that they were laughing at all about something so gross. I’ve never been treated so horribly at any restaurant, ever. It’s appalling to be honest. I know it’s not Nobu but have some decency!!! I love the echo park location but to be honest I may just not...

El Compadre is one of the two or three closest restaurants to our home, and some decades ago I lived in the apartment building directly adjoining its parking lot. I used to go there a lot because of proximity, and for the great atmosphere and live mariachi music, but was never particularly fond of the food.

The last time I went, after picking at a bland, underwhelming #1 combo plate, I was straight up with the waiter and asked him if there was anything notable on the menu, because if so I hadn't found it yet. He recommended the pork chili verde.

Now, chili verde is one of my very favorite foods, and my spouse makes the best version in the world. I've spent quite a lot of time trying to find a great restaurant version of it since my favorite, at the defunct El Chavo on Sunset near KCET, shuttered. I had to try it, and so last night we gave El Compadre what was honestly one last chance. It was delightful.

While waiting for our table, a woman dining alone at the bar told us she came here a lot, and recommended the chile relleno she was devouring. I had also read a review here that mentioned the chicken tortilla soup. So that was the order. Chili verde plate for me, chile relleno for spouse, and a bowl of chicken tortilla soup to share.

It was all uniformly excellent. The verde was authentically prepared, spiced just right, and came with tasty (and seemingly handmade?) small flour tortillas. The relleno was dreamily fluffy, almost custardy, and had a nice kick to it. The soup was indeed delicious, so thick with ingredients that it was more of a hearty stew. Perfect for a cold solstice eve.

I'll back, for those two, and possibly only ever those two, dishes. They're good enough, combined with the ambience, flaming margaritas, great chips salsa and guac, to...

I had high hopes for this place, but the hostess truly ruined it for us. We were told that the patio was first come, first served, so we walked outside to see if there was room for us. There was one table very close to a family, which we weren't comfortable with given the increased risk of COVID exposure. We saw another table that wasn't cleared yet (where our party would fit better anyway) and two different servers told us it would be OK to sit there. We waited, sat down, ordered drinks, and were preparing to order food when the hostess came over and told us we needed to move because someone else had reserved that table later in the evening. She didn't work with us at all on letting us sit there until the family left; letting us finish our drinks and then moving; or explaining why the reservation couldn't just sit in a different spot, especially since we were told there were no reservations or controlled seating outside when we arrived and their reservation was almost 90 minutes from the time she first approached us. Also keep in mind we had arrived 20-30 minutes prior to this so were very settled.

We ended up having our friends meet us elsewhere and just finished our drinks. The frozen mango margarita I got tasted a bit artificial and wasn't very strong, but my friend enjoyed her jalapeno margarita on the rocks a lot. The outdoor area was also really small and had no music or anything - it seemed like an afterthought compared to the inside, which had a much better vibe (other than the hostess, who killed it...). Definitely won't be back to this location, but may try the other one since the menu looked...