The birria was heavily seasoned, particularly with cumin, and the meat was quite tough given the…read moreprice. The flan was dry and firm, as if it had been stored in the refrigerator for too long. Overall, the quality of the food did not justify the cost.

Let me admit something annoying (perhaps even snotty?) about myself: I try to go against the grain…read morein most things. I prefer things that are underground, independent and not mainstream. When EVERYONE loves something; I tend to scoff. I am this way with most forms of art, places and even food. I simply question trends and prefer to rely on my own opinion. So, when fellow Yelper and dining partner Michael B. suggested we try North Hollywood's Birrieria Familia Castro (only minutes from my apartment!) which received the coveted #1 position on Yelp's Top 100 Taco Spots list - I was hesitant. I wanted to hate it. But there is no way to hate Birrieria Familia Castro because they deserve their title. Let's explore... Birrieria Familia Castro is located near the Oxnard/Vineland intersection close to the Noho Arts District in a teeny tiny strip plaza next to a smoke shop across the street from a tire shop. Being the literal definition of 'hole in the wall'; don't let this environment detour you from dining at Birrieria Familia Castro because it is these hidden gems that are often the best (and obviously in this case). Birrieria Familia Castro is a family-owned eatery that is the baby of Anthony Castro and his parents opening the venture in 2022 and focusing on homemade recipes passed-down generations of their family tree focusing on layers of flavor and hours of marinading and simmering. Anthony begins his day with a prayer and takes nothing for granted with each patron who walks in the door. Those who Anthony welcomes will find a tiny dining space in terms of square footage and super-hot in temperature (their AC isn't the most consistent so they need to open the door as the day-long cooking heats the space); but it is clean and cozy enough. The menu at Birrieria Familia Castro is rather simple focusing on what they are good at: breakfast, tacos, various birrias (quesatacos, vampiros, mulitas, dorados) and some a la carte plates. I personally enjoyed the smaller menu as I tend to get overwhelmed with too many choices. For my dinner, I chose two Quesatacos (crispy corn tortillas filled with meat, mozzarella, onions and cilantro - $5.25 each choosing one birria and one asada) while my dining partner chose two Birria Vampiros (toasted corn tortilla with meat in between burned cheese on top, onion and cilantro served with beans and rice - $13. 49) plus, Birrieria Familia Castro's famous birria consommé. Our dishes arrived rather quickly and were served on gorgeous, culturally-authentic clay plates that I thought were a lovely touch. My desire to go against the popular fan-favorites is out the door because Birrieria Familia Castro is sooooooo goooodddd! My quesatacos were fantastic: perfect texture tortillas made by spreading the consommé fat on the tacos because throwing them on a hot griddle with tender, amazingly-flavored long-simmered meat. Even the little picked onions were marvelous. The birria consommé was to die for: an orchestra of harmonious flavor with chunks of meat swimming in the broth: I could consume a bucket of this! Yelper Michael B.'s Birria Vampiros were, by his account, delicious and "a win": hard shell with burned cheese that was a perfect combination with the pickled onions and tableside salsas and birria consommé. Micheal even mixed some of the consommé with the rice and beans which was "an extra treat". If the amazing food wasn't enough; we had a pleasant chat with the main man Anthony, himself. Anthony is hyper-focused on not only offering delicious food; but genuinely caring about his customers and how he can improve. Anthony reads all Yelp reviews to see any areas that need finessing and cares about small details of his business: remember those clay plates I am obsessed with? Anthony curates those from an artist in Mexico and he even orders plates with dividers for those who don't like ingredients touching on their plate. It is this concern and attention to detail that helped land Birrieria Familia Castro as Yelp's #1 in the nation. Although limited in hours (closed Mondays, some days closing as early as 5pm due to overhead costs and competition); Birrieria Familia Castro is highly recommended. Top-tier food, customer service and priced well - truly deserving. Don't be stubborn like me and find out why Birrieria Familia Castro is #1

Great time! Love the vibe of the place, friendly workers, good food!…read more I came for Taco Tuesday with my good friend, and we fell in LOVE with the inside! It's so colorful with emphasis on purple and blue. I felt like I was inside of one of those adult bingo places, as if the place could transform into a game room or club at night. Super cute! It did take a while to get our food, but I will say that the shrimp ceviche was DELECTABLE and our tacos were delicious! The shrimp tacos were my fav! They have a station where you can dress them. We did have a floor table, but I was a bit jealous of those in the booths. The colors were so pretty and the seats looked so comfy! Maybe next time! From the music to the energy, aesthetic, and food, this place was pretty awesome! I'd go back for sure!

Went here for trivia tycoon on Monday at 830p. It's not quiet but the music they play is good helps…read morewith unwinding the start of a work week. I had the mole and the heat level was perfect.

It's been a little while since I was last at Cascabel but it was just as great as it's always been!…read more Amazing drinks, wonderful food, and delightful service. Will absolutely continue coming back!

amazing experience! The steak tacos were absolutely remarkable, full of flavor and some of the best…read moreI've had. We also ordered the Mexican cornbread, and it was incredible. Definitely a must-try if you visit. A special shoutout to Andy, our waiter, who made the experience even better. He was so welcoming, attentive, and gave us fantastic recommendations that did not disappoint. His excellent service really stood out. Great food, great atmosphere, and outstanding service. We will definitely be back!

I go here about once a week now because the lunch specials are so good and the staff so attentive…read moreand on top of things. They instantly bring out fresh warm chips and salsa with this amazing bean dip while you peruse the menu. If in doubt, get the chicken flautas lunch special. It's a giant plate with two giant flautas, rice, beans, guac, pico, and this delicious cornmeal that also functions as a little dessert. Imagine almost like a cornbread cookie dough. And I think it's very reasonably priced at $14.99. I always get it without cheese and sour cream because I'm trying to avoid dairy, and they hook it up for me every time. The service - shoutout to Felipe and Victor at the bar especially - is always so friendly. The employees actually seem to enjoy working there. Between them and the delicious, high quality food, Los Amigos has become a weekly go-to for me. Do yourself a favor and check it out!

I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, this is some of the worst Mexican food I have ever tasted…read morein my life! I ordered the Shrimp a la Scampi, light garlic, with rice & beans to go. When i got home, I realized the shrimp was sitting in a greasy pool of garlic-laden oil, which leaked all over everything. Thank God they use a plastic bag; otherwise, that garlic mess would have been all over my car. The beans were so salty & weird tasting (the worst ever), I think the chef must have been in the Mortons family. The rice was okay, but had no flavor at all, so my doggies will love it in their food tomorrow. The chips, which are now in the bin, were completely tasteless. They don't include tortillas(?), so I paid for an order of them, but they had so much grease on them from the pool of oil that leaked, I had to throw them out. The only thing I rescued from this expensive meal was the shrimp. I pulled them from the greasy garlic pool and am planning to rinse them off tomorrow and put lemon on them. Hopefully they will be edible. The young gentleman who got my order ready was a sweetheart, so I will say one nice thing. After the overwhelming garlic smell, the mess I had to clean up because of all of that leaked oil and my disgust with the waste of money, I ended up having watermelon at home for dinner.

Love coming to salsa and beer! This location has lot…read moreparking with a staff to tell you availability The menu is available via QR code on the table California burrito isn't on the menu It's a shrimp and steak burrito! Highly recommend! Service was fast and plates were piping hot! Inside is very dark and ominous! Love the art! Always gonna be on my list!

Two Haiku Review:…read more Prices look steep but The serving sizes are just Gargantuan. The Food tasted alright, But I really enjoyed the Free chips and bean dip!

Parking is a bit scarce at this location, especially around lunch time. I parked around the corner…read morein a 1 hour spot, luckily didn't get a ticket because I think I went a little over. I had a very pleasant experience with my work friend out front on the Don Cuco patio. Our server was very attentive and constantly checked on us, offering refills of my Coke, and so on. I was super happy with my chicken flautas, which came with rice and black beans (by choice). The flautas were lightly fried and not over-done. The chicken inside was very tender and fresh, and came with yummy guacamole and sour cream for dipping for an added bonus. The rice was also soft and fresh tasting, while the black beans were hearty and not overly runny like some places. Really good food, really good service, really good vibes, all at reasonable prices -- what more could you want?

Food is not that great. Ordered:…read more1) chicken nachos- chicken was cooked perfectly, chips were good. Beans overly salted. 2) Chicken flautas- salty yet lacked flavor. Tortilla tasted stale. Beans were extremely salty. Service was good.

I had such a great experience at Casita in Sherman Oaks! The food was delicious, the atmosphere was…read morecute and welcoming, and the overall experience was even better because of our server, Oceana. She was so friendly, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed throughout our visit. She was genuinely kind and made us feel very taken care of without being overbearing. Great service can really make or break a dining experience, and Oceana definitely made ours a memorable one. I'll definitely be coming back!

We had a small misunderstanding regarding the seating. I had called ahead and requested a table…read morenear the window, but unfortunately, there was some confusion when we arrived. Thankfully, the management was very kind and understanding and quickly resolved the situation, making sure we were seated where we had originally requested. To make up for the misunderstanding, they also kindly took the first string off our bill, which we really appreciated. It was such a thoughtful gesture. In the end, everything worked out perfectly. The atmosphere was great, the food was enjoyable, and we had a wonderful evening. We really appreciated how the management handled everything and made sure we left happy. We would definitely come back!

Great service, I had the carnitas which were delicious. They were not dry, beans with cheese and…read morerice were delicious. Thanks again great service. We will definitely be back.

I don't remember writing this but I've been back since it's reopening & it's my local!…read moreTheir own Parking lot & street pkg. Clean bathrooms. Excellent service!! My fave chips & salsa. IMHO the best chicken wings! I get them crispy and at happy hour - It's $13 for 12 wings and they come with celery, carrots, and ranch and/or blue cheese and they're fantastic.! $8/10 margaritas at HH as well. HH til 6pm, I believe all week??? I looooove this place!!!

I have been wanting to try this place and today was the day!…read more I was very excited to try the mazapan latte, which was very good. For food, my boyfriend and I both got chilaquiles with barbacoa! It was the perfect portion size and great flavor. We were both happy with our meals! The space itself is more spacious than you'd expect and they do move people in pretty quickly. We waited a bit for a table, but nothing major. Service was friendly and efficient enough. It was a cute spot and we will definitely come back!

I had a pretty good experience. The food was good and I enjoyed the coffee as well. The service,…read morehowever, could use a little improvement. Our server forgot to add the espresso shots to our coffee and also brought us a dish we didn't order. Mistakes happen, and I'm always understanding about that. What bothered me more was the lack of acknowledgment or apology it felt a little like "it happened, no big deal." As a paying customer, a simple apology and correcting the mistake goes a long way. That being said, I enjoyed the food and would definitely come back and give them another chance. Hopefully the service is a little better next time! The ambience was also nice inside.

Amazing service and great food Everything is delicious and…read morefreshly made Nothing better than a hole in a wall Mexican food with great taste

The birria is amazing !!!! 10/10 My son had a burrito…read more Steak. It was delicious. We had quesabirrias. Double tortilla double cheese??! Worth every penny.