Dining

Item Description

By Merrill Shindler of the Daily Breeze, with modification:

Since it's opening in 2008, Ortega 120 has become the staple of critically acclaimed Mexican food in the South Bay. 

Ortega 120 (the name comes from the number of tequilas on hand) sits in the space that used to be home to Frascati and Rockin’ Baja Lobster on Pacific Coast Highway.

Interestingly, this concept seems to fit in the space better than anything that came before; it’s a cantina space, and Ortega is very much a cantina.

There’s a big bar, a big backroom past the bar, a sprawling dining room, and an outdoor patio that’s a real treat when the weather turns warm - a good place to linger over a chunky margarita or one of the many house drinks.

The Ortega in Ortega 120 is Thomas Ortega, a culinary school graduate who’s worked at Water Grill, Lucques, Spago and Patina - which makes this project all the more unexpected. You wouldn’t expect a graduate of some of the top restaurants in town to be cooking gorditas and taquitos. Or would you?

In the case of Ortega 120, chef Ortega and his partner, Demi Stevens, seem to be having a ball creating and re-creating Mexican cooking as we know it.

And they’re doing it in a room decorated in high Mexican kitsch, including cabinets filled with tchotchkes from La Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead); Mexican movies are projected on a wall opposite the bar (my hope is that they start showing some Masked Wrestler films, which I fell in love with in Mexico many years ago).

It’s a cool joint.

To get you in the mood for all this silliness, there’s a bar menu thick with the sort of libations that go down far too easy: such as the pomegranate-ginger flavored margarita; the Pink Martini (made with watermelon and ginger); and the Horchata Margarita (which is sort of like drinking alcoholic rice pudding - wow!).

If you prefer beer, try the Michelada, a classic made with Tecate served over ice with lime and salt; or the Pacificos de Diaz - two bottles of Pacifico with lime and chile-flavored salt.

The chef has done his best to come up with new ways of doing classic dishes - along with new dishes not often seen at Mexican eateries.

The house guacamole, for instance, is made with avocado (of course), but also chopped red onions, chopped cilantro, lime juice and a scattering of queso fresco (think mozzarella); there’s a lot of complexity in every bite, especially spread on the nice warm tortillas made fresh at a comal at the front of the restaurant.

Thomas Ortega seems to have a fascination with the wide world of Mexican cheeses. His nachos are an impressive pile, topped with queso asadero and queso ranchero; his queso fundido is built around queso Oaxaca and queso asadero; and there’s queso fresco and queso Oaxaca in the terrific quesadilla de chorizo, which is also made with a chipotle-flavored sour cream.

So, now you know.

You can check out Ortega 120's menu here.

Here's what others are saying about Ortega 120:

"Favorite Mexican Restaurant & Chef," South Bay's Best, Daiy Breeze

"Top Ten Mexican Restaurants in America," Steven Milling, Man Made

Diner's Choice Award, 2009 & 2011,

"... nowhere on the beach can you find such heart felt Mexican cooking."  S. Irene Virbilia, Los Angeles Times

"Best Classic Margarita in Los Angeles," LA Weekly

"Best Tequila Bar," Easy Reader, Best of the Beach

Item Special Note

Certificate should be redeemed before 25 February 2013.   In addition, note that the certificate does not include alcohol, tax and gratuity.  It also has no cash value and it cannot be combined with other offers.