La Luz del Día Restaurant — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The location is Olnera Street Plaza. It is always busy here. We were able to get a seat/table right away. There is no wait staff. Orders are taken at the counter, and you pay at the register at the other end of the counter. Contact with staff is very limited. I think this takes away from the experience of eating in a Mexican restaurant. The food is very can process, I mean the beans are can made and warmed by the kitchen staff. The rice lacks original Mexican flavor. The tortillas are store bought, and unfortunately, even the salsa is mass produced and lacks flavor. Gone are the days when you walked around Olvera Street and the smell of tortillas being made fresh. Or the beans soft boiled to a wonderful tenderness that brought back memories of being in Nana's kitchen. Or the smell of fresh cilantro and onions being chopped for salsa. Now, everything is purchased and warmed or opened with a can opener. So, overall, it's not the best food to eat anymore on Olvera Street, but still a quaint little spot to kill a couple of hours. So, as long as you eat somewhere else, this is still an okay place to take a walk and walk off the breakfast or lunch you ate somewhere else. Answer to your reply. Perhaps if the food had more flavor, my opinion would not have touched a nerve with you. If the food tastes like it comes from a can, that says a lot about the cook. If the salsa was fresh, you must make it on a Monday and stretch it so it lasts all week. Sorry, my review set off your hostile nature. But, the food really does taste like you opened a can. Posted 6/2/2023. After reading your response. I was nice in my first review. You have a right to your opinion, and I have a right to post a review. If this food was your best, I'm glad I didn't order...

The food was great. The hostess, however, started us on a sour note. We put ourselves down on her list with our cell phone number. She said she would call when our tables were ready in 20 minutes. Still, half of our party stayed right in front chatting. After 30 minutes had passed, no phone call was received. One of the party members went to check how much longer it would be. She said that since we weren't there, she had skipped us. When again, they were standing in front of the building not too far from her, and she had said she would call to let us know our table was ready. When he told her that she became very short with him and she said he had to wait since new customers had gone in and she went inside to see if there was another table. Every time she would appear, she would take other groups that came after us in again. Until finally, we walked right up to the door so others who arrived later wouldn't get asked before us. So the next time she came out, we were right at the door. Finally, she took us in. There were three open tables inside. She takes us to the one that looks uncleaned and then leaves us without a word. There are 5 of us and only four chairs. So when we assumed was the manager had come up to us and asked if we had been brought in (since we were just standing), we said yes, but she left us, so she sat us down at the following table that had enough chairs and looked clean.

Our waiter was kind and fast. Our food was delicious, but we were already annoyed by how we were treated before entering. It took almost an hour...

The carnitas, tortillas and beans from La Luz Del Dia will always be my favorite. Just thinking about the food lets me remember how amazing it tastes. It's so good that it's a specific Mexican flavor that I've only been able to find there. I truly mean it, I spent 28 years in the area and visited as many different places, the trip here was ALWAYS worth it to me. I have tried every place near me now that I am out of state and nothing comes close. My entire life the taste has been exactly the same. A few upgrades I noticed over the years, but only to accommodate the gigantic line that is always there, which isn't bad since you are conveniently guided to your seats, although at times you may be right up against someone, but people eat and leave so spots free up frequently. Mostly all traditional carnitas are similar in flavor, but I noticed the quality of the meat is better here than anywhere else I've been to. The corn tortillas will be a bit softer than some people are used to, but be assured they are made fresh right there in the building in front of everyone. The beans has the best part, so creamy and nearly pureed. It is perfect to dip and mix with everything else they have there, which is all made in a very traditional and uncomplicated way that has proven itself for decades. The beans have absolutely no burnt oil taste that most Mexican...