The restaurant is located in the east end of LA (Mid-City area) on an unsuspecting street complete with metal gates to secure the front entrance and the front windows. There is parking along most of the side streets, but most of the spots were full when we got there. There is also a grocery store across the street with a private parking lot which I guess you can use at your own discretion.
We went during lunch on a Wednesday, and while there were a few other patrons at the other tables, we had no wait time at all and were seated immediately. The staff were extremely friendly in greeting us, and explained the menu while making a few recommendations: the Concha Negra and the Chapin.
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| Concha Negra Ceviche ($15) |
I went for the mixed Concha Negra ($15) which is a Guatemalan style mix with blood clams, shrimp, octopus (which I subbed with imitation crab), tomatoes, onions, avocado, mint, lime juice, and Worcestershire sauce. This is served up with soda crackers, corn tortillas, and if you like, a house-made habanero sauce (by request) and other commercial hot sauces (just on the table). I quite liked this -- it was very fresh and the flavors had a good punch. The fresh mint is really nice, but I would've liked less lime juice in mine as I found the lime a bit too sour and overpowering. Nonetheless, this was really delicious with some soda crackers crumbled into it and scooped up with the corn tortillas. Finished every last bite, including eating many bites from my brother and boyfriend's orders. Yum.
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| Chapin Ceviche ($10) |
My brother ordered the Chapin ($10) which is very similar to the Concha Negra mix, except it has a mix of imitation crab meat, shrimp, and octopus. It's basically the same thing but with imitation crab substituted in the place of clams. The clams were good, but they really don't change the flavor profile that much; I don't think they are really worth the extra $5, unless you A) are a tourist like me and want to try it for kicks or B) happen to be some kind of blood clam enthusiast. My brother agreed that he thought the lime juice was a little too strong for him too, but he seemed to enjoy the dish overall.
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| Tacoes De Pescado ($4.50 for two tacos) |
The boyfriend is not a huge fan of shrimp, so he opted for the Pescado ($10) which is a mix of fish, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, avocado, and lime juice and the Tacos De Pescado ($4.50) which gets you two (deep fried) fish tacos. I did get to try a bit of both his dishes and they were both excellent. The ceviche was good, and I enjoyed the freshness of the fish, but I liked the Guatemalan style of my ceviche better. The fish tacos were notably delicious as the fish was just out of the fryer (super crispy) embedded in mostly cabbage, and wrapped in a soft taco shell.
This was overall a really great lunch spot and we did not leave disappointed; it is wonderful if you are looking for a light, inexpensive, sit-down lunch with some good (but casual) service.
TL;DR
Food 4/5 - Fresh ingredients, flavor has a lot of punch. My picks: Chapin ceviche, Tacos De Pescado
Value/Price 4/5 ($10-15)
Ambiance 2.5/5 - casual seating, nothing fancy
Service/Wait 4/5 - no wait time, friendly staff
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Overall 4/5
La Cevicheria
3809 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
(323) 732-1253
