A friend first told me about Evil Cooks back when they had a spot at Smorgasburg in DTLA. So, when we heard they opened a shop nearby, we decided to check it out. The space is small and modest, with just a few counter seats inside. We were seated in the back, which wasn't ideal on this chilly evening since there were no heaters. We started with the Tom Yum Aguachile, which was incredible in every sense--seriously spicy but so delicious that we couldn't stop eating it. Next, we tried the Poseidon taco, their signature dish loaded with perfectly cooked octopus, and the Simmons taco, featuring a generous portion of tender lengua. Both were fantastic. We also ordered the Rock Lobster taco, which was decent but didn't leave much of an impression. For our main dish, we went with the Baklava Wellington: a pork rib wrapped in phyllo and topped with fine cotton candy. It was a strange combination, but somehow it all worked. Major kudos to the chef's creativity. This isn't your typical taco spot--it's more like a Top Chef-style culinary adventure. We'll definitely be back when the weather warms up! read more

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Ordered to go and the food was ready within 15 minutes. The store is unassuming and I almost walked past it, but What I ordered -- all tacos with the homemade tortillas: 1. The Poseidon (Pulpo): Octopus was cooked well and I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor profile of the taco. I didn't taste the pineapple, but I did taste mozzarella so I wonder if it's because pineapple isn't really in season this time of year? It could also be that my taste buds are off. 2. El Goth (al pastor): SO MUCH MEAT. I felt like my tacos was overflowing with al pastor in the most delicious way possible. There is a little heat with this (I am also really bad with anything spicy) but I thoroughly enjoyed how tender the al pastor was. 10/10 would get again 3. Rock Lobster (lobster): DELICIOUS. The lobster was well seasoned and the taco itself comes rolled up more like a taquito so it holds all of the lobster meat inside. Lobster is a pretty subtle flavor, but you could taste the care in seasoning the lobster prior to serving. I felt like you definitely get a good amount of meat with the taco itself too. All tacos came well dressed with onions, guac, and salsa (which I asked to be removed sadly due to my spice tolerance) and everything was quite delicious. These tacos are definitely a culinary fusion. What struck me was how well balanced everything was. I didn't feel like any of the tacos overpowered each other but each one stood out on it's own. I will definitely be coming back to try the tomahawk steak!! Parking is all street which can be hit or miss but be patient! read more

This is a local place that gets a lot of hype. When they posted a lobster taquito on their Insta, it looked so delish that I had to try it despite the fact that it's a hit or miss whether the lobster will make me sick. I couldn't just walk away with one taquito so the owner recommended the McSatan. I'm not gonna lie, the McSatan did not sound appealing but since the masses loved it, I went with it. The irony is that the lobster taquito, while it did not make me sick, was lacking in luster - it simply did not meet the flavor explosion the images had conjured up in my mind. Now the McSatan - WOW! I could not have been more impressed by something that simply did not sound palatable. A hamburger taco? What? But yes, I now understand why this item is so popular. Definitely recommend this - put aside your presumptions and try this with an open mind. You will not be disappointed. Evil Cooks just announced they will be opening up a brick and mortar on Eastern so I look forward to trying more options. They can also be found at Smorasburg on Sundays but I'm not sure if that will still be the case once they open shop. This once pop up establishment has made a name for itself and is here to stay. Go check them out with an open mind and give your mouth a treat with some non-traditional options. read more

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Everything on the Menu is delicious. Best Mikita that I have ever had. Handmade corn tortillas. Friendly service and freshly prepared food. A must try. read more

Dinner last night was a mixed bag. Some bangers, a couple misses. For such a limited menu, the misses were surprising. We had: tom yum aguachile 10/10. So damn delicious. It has an intensity and depth of complex flavor I don't remember ever experiencing before. Really intense and spicy. A spoon would have been nice to have to slurp up some juice tho Lengua spring roll. 4/10 Didn't know quite what to expect. Was it a fried roll .. was the tongue braised til soft and crisped up. Or thinly sliced like pork in a Vietnamese spring roll. Answer is none of the above. The peanut sauce and salsa verde served alongside were great. The rolls them selves were of the cold Vietnamese variety. They were large, albeit haphazardly rolled. The herbs and greens were really refreshing. The lengua, though , was pretty unappetizing. Thick, cold chunks of tough unseasoned boiled tongue. Discarded the tongue and ate the veggies Barbacoa taco: 10/10. So damn delicious. Highlight of the meal for sure. Seared on the plancha in some of the grease from the meat. Rib (forgot what they called it) 2/10. For a dish that is in every photo for the place online. It does not deliver . It's a rib wrapped in filo, baked.. topped with cotton candy, dried rose and pistachios. Served over a mushroom risotto. This ate DRY. A pretty dry, unseasoned rib, wrapped in dry phyllo, topped with dry cotton candy, topped with dried petals and dry nuts. We ate one rib (it was served with two or three.. didn't dig that deep into it to count. And pushed the dish aside. The rice was fine. .. but didn't really go. A miss Also. Was expecting a pork floss type topping.. but nope. It's a sweet, somehow dense cotton candy. Also had the octopus plate 7/10. Octopus served over Israeli couscous. The octopus was cooked well, and the cous cous was good as well. Felt a bit one note and could use something to brighten it up. A salsa verde or other acidic herbal note would has kept it more interesting. Left most of it Lastly. The mystery dessert. 10/10. Loved it and glad the meal ended on a high note. Tonight's mystery dessert was a strawberry respado with a cherry cheesecake empanada. The empanada was served slightly warm, and the dough was great. I wouldn't have hated a spoon of whipped cream and for the fresh cherry garnishes to be pitted.. but still was a great dessert. Most patrons seemed to mostly be ordering tacos, and if I come back. Thinks that the route I would go. The entrees were lack luster compared to the taco we had. read more

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This is an edgy foodie destination with a dark heavy metal theme. We sat in the back patio area and ordered a Prince of Darkness burrito. The asada meat was perfectly crispy and it was delicious, you can taste the quality of the ingredients. The only drawback was that the burrito was on the small side for the price. The service was great and the employees are very friendly. There are many photo opportunities including two standing coffins in the patio. read more

Evil Cooks - Dinner before Mayhem APR2025 - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I don't even know how to start this.. this was my 1st time..I went close to closing.. wanted to try the 1 $ tacos... which turns out we're vegetarian.. well get back to that tho lol..I got the 3 from hell so I can try a lil of everything.. they did not disappoint.. from the presentation and time on all the details. Especially the tortillas hecha a mano.. and the ambiance..I felt like I was in my family's kitchen.. thank you for a great 1st experience of many..ill be back to try that poseidon taco 4 sure! P.s. the vegetarian taco turned out to be bomb af..I was pleasantly surprised! read more

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Been wanting to come here for a while (first knew of this delicious food when they cooked it out of their home). Very excited looking at the menu and seeing unique entrees! Tonight was Taco Night and we loved each taco - Black Al Pastor Black Octopus Cheeseburger Lobster Taquito Catfish and for dessert... Churro Cheesecake Definitely coming back to try their entrees! #evilcooks #evilcookstacos #evilcooksla read more

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Evil cooks is one of my favorite places to eat at Smorgasburg. They are always consistent and have tons of delicious options to choose from. The one taco that I absolutely have to get every time is the churro cheesecake taco. The blend over flavors is absolutely perfect and I love the crepe "tortilla." read more

Evil Cooks - Strawberry Churro Cheesecake Taco - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Insanely good food! Shrimp tom yum aguachile, enchilada dumplings, tepache drink and all of their tacos were excellent. New favorite for sure. read more

Cute/quirky taco and Mexican food spot on a small Street in El sereno. The food was a little salty, but overall great and the service and dedication to the theme was well appreciated! read more

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The lengua taco was the star of the show for me. It was thick cut and chewy and full of flavor. I'll definitely be back for this. The octopus taco was unique and had a black sauce mixed. The surprise dessert changes each time, and on our visit, we got a chocolate flavored twinky-like cake baked in pastry breading with a small dollop of ice cream. Overall a unique setting with great metal music playing. Service is great and fast. Parking in the side lot. read more

Evil Cooks - Surprise dessert - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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As the most, hands down, edgiest and most raw looking vendor at Smorgasburg, I KNEW we had to get some food here. Like seriously?? Scorched skeletal remains next to their menu board and hardcore metal theming? Count me in! It is a bit of a wait, cuz just like me, there are a lot of people who wanna eat there food. Just know that you're in for a yummy, gut busting, filling meal soon because they do NOT skimp out on their portion sizes. We got the: 1) Poseidon: -A MUST get and something that's super unique, at least in terms of the tacos that I've had before. -It has octopus al pastor, pineapple, cilantro, pickled onions, guacamole, salsa, and quemada (roasted tomato salsa). -Absolutely delicious. I haven't had octopus in a taco before, but this went divinely with all of the ingredients inside. -Slight tender chewiness of the octopus that is seeped in the flavor of the salsas and with the slight sweet tanginess of the pineapple, bite of the pickled onions and creaminess of the guacamole. One of my top tacos easily. 2) El Asesino: -Essentially a mix of pastor meat and octopus. All of the deliciousness mentioned above but with a different meat added to the mix. 3) Super Torta: -This was INSANELY HUGE. Like bigger than what both of my hands can hold and I have massive yaoi hands for a chick. -It was so much food that we barely put a dent in it and had to take it home for leftovers (and this was after sharing it amongst 3 people). -It truly is a SUPER torta. -It comes with chorizo, pastor, weenies, cheese, tomato, cilantro, salsa, and guacamole. Everything is so evenly distributed throughout the sandwich, so each bite is bursting with not only flavor but all of the toppings and ingredients to the point where it's bursting out of the sandwich. -It's SO MUCH meat and it is the pinnacle of greasy indulgence but with that being said, it's SO good. I really liked the weenies as an addition to the torta meats too haha. I'll definitely hit up Evil Cooks the next time that I can! read more

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We went to Kamakazi VDay Dinner event and I didn't enjoy the food all that much, flavors were kinda exotic for me and didn't seem worth $110 per person. We love their regular menus but the special one for this event wasn't our cup of tea. I know the chef is trying to get recognized which is great but I wish they told us the price ahead of time and also wished they served alcohol. It was 4 small meals with 3 small flavored aguas. Stick to regular menus in my opinion but otherwise love this small business and theme! read more

Come here for the tacos, especially the special ones. Love the tongue and pork/octopus. Burrito was ok, but definitely will come back for the tacos. Also, family owned joint. read more

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Inventive, metal inspired food, expertly executed. Like spicy food? Like Lemmy? Make this a stop in your culinary voyage and enjoy the yummy deliciousness. rock on dudes! read more

These tacos were outstanding! In fact top, now among the three spots in LA for our family! We will definitely return.

Easy to miss at night, but great to find their parking. The space was comfortable- like they had been there for years. We couldn't decide to eat in or in the car. They have seating outside which may work during the day but I'm always cold so not going to work at night. We went with To Go! Service was exceptionally Evil and we are both so grateful another delicious eatery has opened near us. We ordered The Poseidon, EL Asesino, a Mulita with Black Asada and a Torta. Dude, I'm in heaven with all the thick pulpo. The purist in me loved the Poseidon but El Asesino also had black pastor so it was next level. Looking forward to coming again soon with my kid. read more

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We had a great experience! The food was delicious and the service was great! We sat on the patio, which felt like hanging out at a metalhead friend's backyard We'll definitely be back. read more

Evil Cooks - 3 From Hell (Black Asada, Black Pastor, Chorizo Verde tacos); McSatan Taco; Chorizo Verde burrito - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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That Poseidon taco is to freaking die for. One of my favorites in all of la. Place is small but feels like home. We need more places like this out in El Sereno. read more

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Awesome rockero vibe ! Food is good ,owners are friendly and professional . The decor ,ni se diga ! Queremos rock and roll !

I could eat the pulpo forever here!!!! Don't get me wrong, I feel bad eating them because they are soooooo beautifully smart animals but they are prepared delicious here and I feel I am honoring the animal. The black marinade is BOMB! read more

They're called Evil Cooks, but they're actually really nice haha I tried their Asesino taco which is a combination of their Al Pastor and Pulpo. Wow! Loved how it all complimented together. The Pulpo tends to be very soft and squishy so the Al Pastor helps give it a solid textured bite. The pickled onions and crema is the cherry on top to really make it a home run. Also these tacos are HUGE! Don't be scared now - these Evil Cooks don't bite! ;) read more

Evil Cooks - Asesino is the best (get this one)! - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

The dinner menu is both delicious and inventive! My husband and I had the chorizo verde pot stickers, croquettes, tom yum aquachile, and baklava Wellington. Every dish is super flavorful and came out quickly. We came on a Thursday night to avoid potential crowds and sat in the back patio (seats maybe 20) where the staff checked in regularly on how everything tasted. My favorite was the baklava Wellington-- the pork rib was tender and the sweet cotton candy topper nicely soaked up the lengua au jus. I think of it as imaginative spin on a traditional pork lentil stew. The tom yum aquachile really tasted like tom yum with a strong lemongrass flavor and fresh scallop and shrimp, but be warned that the dish is as spicy as the three chili icons on the menu suggest. The croquettes are like arancini and fried to be crispy and not greasy. My husband liked the steamed potstickers best for the fun Mexican-Chinese twist (a rare combination to find, even in LA) and sweet vinegary dipping sauce-- the chorizo also wasn't greasy. If you're looking for a fancier date night in El Sereno, give Evil Cooks' dinner menu a try and support a local family business! read more

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Food is delicious. Must have. Would recommend you taste everything. Burritos are excellent. Tacos trio is bad ass. read more

Evil Cooks - Menu - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I love this place so much. Ive pretty much tried every taco and burrito over the past couple years and you cannot go wrong. The homemade salsas are all amazing read more

Food was good but for some reason the menu doesn't say what's on most items. If you have a food allergy you kinda have to tell them before ordering because they don't do free of charge remakes. Cute tho :) read more

The best octopus tacos I've had by far. It's funny cause I had just had some the day before from another place, and my jars were hurting from how chewy the tacos were. I didn't have that problem at all with these. My son, who doesn't like octopus ended up having a taste of mine, and had 2 tacos himself. I had been wanting to try these guys for a long long time, and the wait was worth it. read more

Everything was so delicious! Lots of seating in the back- great for groups. I ordered the El Goth, El Asesino, and The Simmons. The lengua was so tender, I loved every bite. Wish this place was around during my teenage years- a place like this is so full of character and fills my little emo heart. read more

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Evil Cooks has two locations, one in El Sereno and another at Smorgasburg LA. There are only limited hours of operation, so I recommend checking their insta page for any updates. They are open on Friday nights from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm in a home in El Sereno. The menu doesn't have prices, so I have no clue how much the various items cost. But I did order the special for $12, which included three tacos: the black pastor, green chorizo, and carnitas lite. I also ordered their sweet tacos, including their popular flan taco and churro cheesecake taco. Those are $5 each. The good news is that they take credit cards, but there is a $.50 charge. I think my favorite was the green chorizo with onions, salsa, queso, and cilantro. Yum! read more

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Phenomenal and worth the hype. Places like this are what make LA such an exciting food city. Incredible flavors, totally unpretentious - but thoughtful and refined. Service was warm and friendly. Had the Los Malditos - rich, but great and balanced. Enough for a meal. Also had the veggie al pastor - bright and super flavorful. And finished it off with the Memento Mori surprise desert, which almost topped everything! Can't recommend it highly enough. Unusual spot - fun space, and thankfully I love metal - I will be back! read more

It may be too soon for me to write a review. We've only been here once and we only ordered tacos; not the big fancy entrees. But of the tacos we ordered, and the black sauces were a fun touch seeing that this is a goth-metal taqueria - the one taco that blew me away was "La Bruja" - the dessert FLAN taco. I thought it would be a flan in a tortilla - pretty straightforward, right? But this flan taco was truly next level. The tortilla was more like a crepe, and the fairly boring-looking block inside was super creamy and delicious. Amazin. I am now eyeing the other dessert tacos. Bear in mind that the prices are not cheap here, and we waited a very long time to be served on a busy Friday night. read more

Wow! This place is f*ckin sick, mayne. I saw their display at SmorgsburgLA super decked out in goth/grunge/rocker status but it was what they had on their menu what caught my surprise. The have a taco called la bruja taco which is really a flan taco. Yo, I was hesitant on trying something sweet that is generally a savory taco but wow. I was surprised. It was surprisingly good! Something totally out of the ordinary but works well. You can taste the smooth texture of the flan yet with a little zest of orange and herbs. I can experience the sweet, citrusy yet refreshing taste of it. Something you gotta try for yourself but I can't wait to taste the other items! read more

Evil Cooks - Flan Taco - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Dropped D Death Metal tacos? There's a place for that. Evil Cooks! I'm not a food critic but I know when food makes me smile and ask how is it that I'm 67 years old before I tasted anything as awesome as this"? read more

I recommend this to anyone that like to go to fun restaurants. This place has a great atmosphere, great music, wonderful service, and amazing food. If you're not a metal head, it doesn't matter you'll have fun here. read more

The Prince of Darkness was delicious. Friendly staff. Small location, but has nice seating in the back area. read more

Evil Cooks - The Prince of Dakrness burrito and The Chilakillers burrito - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Always delicious and a great addition to El Sereno. Octopus taco, pastor, and the lobster tacos are my favorite.

This place f&@ken rocks!!! Been wanting to come here, having heard that the owners were metal heads like me. The staff were welcoming and the music was blasting (not too loud). The food was A-MAZING!! With names as the McSatan, the Goth, The Poseidon, it may seem bougie, but its quality artesanal craft made food. Like I said, this place f@&ken ROCKS!!!!! read more

Evil Cooks - Tom Yum Aguachile. - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Cool place to eat in Los Angeles. Unique taco menu. Quick service. Satisfying portions. The vibe in the dinning area matched the decor. The Octopus tacos are a the must try item. The tortillas used are thick and taste good. This is a cool place to go for a quick lunch inbetween shifts. read more

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DAMN!!!!! If you haven't been you gotta check it his spot out! Taco creations are mind blowing and the vibe is cool as HELL, literally. A must when in ElSereno! read more