Border Grill Downtown LA

This place is good my boyfriend got the carnitas plate and he loved it. I got the ceviche both peruvian and the other one I cannot remember both are pretty damn good. It is somewhat pricey but it is worth it. My other family members tried the yucca plate and loved it. The staff was very friendly and attentive. Ceviche, Ceviche, Ceviche soooo good!

If you’re going to be in the area and want really good food, you must try this Border Grill. The food is consistently good. The only thing I have to criticize is that for the last 5 years the menu has not changed much or at all.
I personally enjoy this particular location for patio seating around sunset (please see photo).
Chicken Poblano enchiladas is one of my favorite.

Wow, I was blown away at this restaurant. The food is super tasty and fresh. The service is perfect and helpful. I had the black bean tacos and guac. It was very very good! I am a fan and will definitely come back here often.

Everything is overpriced. Fine, worst thing about it was I had leftovers for my shrimp taco. They boxed it for me and when I opened it to eat for lunch, all they gave me were rice and beans. Great. Never coming here again. Poor service

This was my first time walking in here during lunch at work. As I sat down I seen prices seemed pretty high but still gave it a try. Got my burger and I was impressed by the quality of its ingredients and also by the size of it also seemed very fresh and loved the salsa they had with the chips. Would come again but not so often due to the price.

We had a variety of entrees. All were extremely delicious. But you must leave room for dessert. The CHURRO TOTS were a dream come true. They are the reason we came here. Heaven in a bite sized pastry. Whatever you do in your life. Make sure you have the CHURRO TOTS. It’s a Latin paradise in this place.
All the true taste of Latin cuisine can be found here. I have tried other places that claim to be authentic. You will find it hard to find a truly authentic experience anywhere else.

I don’t write reviews unless I feel strongly about a service. Honestly, I had possibly one of the best brunches ever here this past Saturday in celebration of my Birthday. I called a day before to set up a reservation for 10. I had about 6 – 7 extra people show up last minute and the staff was incredibly accommodating. Great host, attentive bussers, and AMAZING server. Corina truly made the experience BOTTOMLESS.
The food was on point (Tacos, Ceviche, Sliders, Banana bread, Blue waffles). The staff had a smile on their faces at all times, and checking out for 16 people was a breeze (usually makes for a bad experience).
The price is a definitely above the average price of brunch in town, but you really get what you pay for here. I really have nothing negative to say. I will most definitely be coming back.
Thanks for making my 25^th birthday so great!

I came for the all you can eat brunch and was underwhelmed. There are a lot of options for food which is nice but I didn’t feel like it was worth the amount paid. In terms of the mimosa bar, I was a little upset. The way it works here: they bring around champagne and you have to walk inside to the mimosa bar to pick the juice you’d like to mix with it. It’s a cool idea that they have different juices BUT I don’t want to get up to keep filling up my cup. Another downfall with this concept was that the waiter would fill up the champagne when we weren’t done with one flavor so we couldn’t really try a new flavor. The total bill was over 100 bucks and then when asking for validation for parking, I assumed it would lower the parking a little but parking alone was another $ 20.
I don’t see myself returning here, there are way better places to go to in DTLA.

Dinner was absolutely amazing.
My husband had the cilantro quesadilla and he said it was phenomenal!
I ordered the enchiladas, and they did not disappoint.
I also had the corn tamales, which were different, but so delicious that my husband and friends couldn’t keep their forks off my plate.
Our waiter, Julian, is among the very best I’ve had. We will return anytime we are in town… not only for the food, but for his excellent service alone.
If you’re in the area, stop by and ask for Julian. You’ll be happy that you did.

Downtown LA is a restaurant house of cards, isn’t it? But though the Otiums of LA will come and go, we’ll always have tasty and reliable Border Grill. Located on Figueroa right across from the Bonaventure Hotel, it’s ready to delivery high-​end Mexican food with style.
A beautiful airy space with fun murals, those giant jaw-​dropping dinner plates, napkins, rings, glasses — it’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Service is a hit, from front-​desk check in, to bussers and servers. It’s like they are saying, we know you will be paying a premium for this Mexican food, so we will make it worth your while. And they do. The presentation is awesome, from the miniature green corn tamales to the arty ceviche and on to the shrimp tacos. Tons of fun cocktails to wash it all down at a reasonable ($ 10 range) price.
I’m from Philadelphia, and we don’t like to eat outside, but there’s a giant front-​facing patio for those who do. At my 7pm dinner a few nights ago, the patio was packed. I’m a shrimp guy and you cannot go wrong with the shrimp dishes. My dinner mate had the enchiladas and she could not get enough.
Border Grill, downtown, yo.

1^st timer, loved the brisket taqueria from the happy hour menu. I saw their version of Sazerac. Have to wait till June to come back and try it. Yum! Looking forward to my next visit. Cool place. Cesar did a great job!

My last Border Grill visit a while back wasn’t great but having returned to the DTLA scene for a new job and working right above Border Grill — I have come back on more than a few occasions — I must say it’s way better than it was before.
I came here after work for St Patty’s Day and had a green kale margarita that was delicious! Also came here a few times with coworkers for a happy hour drink or two. Waiters/​bartenders are friendly and its a good time. Haven’t eaten here lately but the chips and salsa are fresh and delicious!

A-​OK. The bf and I came for their all day Sunday HH (great promo, I wish every restaurant had this) and tried a bunch of things from the HH menu. We tried every taco and my favorite was the crispy rajas one! It’s a deep fried pocket of filling and super flavorful and crunchy. The baby back pork one was also really yummy. The other tacos were good, but nothing standout about them. Ceviche was a small portion, but fresh! Endless chips and salsa are the best!
Service was excellent. Our server was Chelsea, who was super friendly and attentive and just great. Snag a seat on the outdoor patio, its super nice at night and the heat lamps are going so no worries about being cold. The inside is super spacious and they have TVs for whatever sports game you want to watch.

Excellent service and friendly staff overall! My husband and I have exploring DTLA more lately since we’ve been frequenting the same old spots in the past few months. Trekking out from the usual locations can be tough especially when you’re tired, hungry and hungry. Ever since living in LA, I’ve been spoiled with delicious authentic tacos and taco trucks everywhere, but I’m not from LA and I grew up eating Tex-​Mex style food as my «Mexican» food. Border Grill was exactly what I was looking for this Sunday afternoon.
What we ordered:
Ceviche– ORDER THIS! 2 different style ceviche, both interesting and tasty in its own way.
Turkey Tostada– This is HUGE! It was absolutely delicious and our server recommended this to me as these aren’t usually on menus that I’ve seen before. I didn’t feel so guilty finishing this since there was a ton of veggies :)
Steak with Huevos Rancheros– My husband had his beans substituted for roasted corn which he thoroughly enjoyed!

Dine LA 2016 Day 3 was lunch at Border Grill in DtLA. You get a starter and a special plate for $ 20. Not bad but at the same time not great. I ordered the ceviche veracruzana as my starter. Unknown fish, tomatoes, oregano, avocado and olive with 2 sticks of fried plantain chips. Pretty good but nothing special. It was good and tangy. The waiter mentioned the crispy calamari tacos are new on the menu so I decided to try. Just like the other dish, it was good but not great. Calamari came out crisp and hot off the fryer. Good contrast with the cabbage slaw, tomato garlic jam and cilantro lime mojo. This dish also came with Mexican rice, cilantro rice, and black beans. For $ 20 and skimpy portions, the Dine LA menu at Industriel was better for less.
The service here was great though and very attentive. It’s all about presentation here. Food was good.

First off, gotta say the service was fantastic and all of the staff was great. None of the food was bad, it was all just pretty OK.
CEVICHE
Best of the bunch, good stuff.
PORK TACOS
For some reason these all came out kinda cold. still, not bad.
LAMB BURGER
Good flavors but the patty was kinda dry.
All in all, it was just pretty OK.

So far, I like it here. I ordered the chicken salad and it came with avocados and plantains. This is a great selection for lunch because you don’t want to go back to your office bloated and comatose. You’ll look like an idiot and we don’t want that. The chicken had that southwest grill to it and the plantains were perfect. It is a pretty big salad and very filling but it won’t make you look like you’re about to fall asleep during that incredibly boring meeting in the conference room which is always scheduled after lunch as if some diabolical mind plans these things to see who knocks out first (yes that was a run on sentence but I needed it to be to add to the humor and if you don’t have a sense of humor, stop reading this right now. I have to add these things in my reviews to see if people really read this stuff or they just UFC them).
I like the fact that they bring out some fresh tortilla chips and three types of salsa. The leftover salsa came in handy when I wanted an extra kick for the chicken. The service was quick and very attentive to my needs. They do validate so bring your parking ticket with you. I did notice that they had some good burritos and tacos on the menu and will most likely try one of them next time I go in.
I’ll keep you guys posted!

Attended a private party in the front patio of the Border Grill held by DTLA Mixer sponsored by the most generous Michael M. who organizes & funds these fun events in the ever growing & burgeoning DTLA scene. There was a special event catering style Quesadilla & Taco bar where the most charming & friendly Ms. Michelle was manning the cooking station throughout the evening.
To accommodate carnivores & lacto-​ovo vegetarians, but not vegans, there were quesadillas de pollo & another quesadilla using artichokes. Of course, there was cheese made up of a multiple variety such as Spanish Manchego, Oaxaca/​string cheese, Cotija/​aged sharp white, & some others that Michelle had mentioned, but I can not recall. The melted cheese was creamy with a bit of tang that went well with the other ingredients stuffed into the quesadilla.
The chicken for the tacos was marinated previously so that the meat was moist, soft yet still had a bit of a chaw. Grilled brown sweet onions added to the earthiness to this mild meaty taco. There were 3 salsas: Green tomatillo w/​refreshing acidic herbalness; reddish brown Chile de Arbol which was slightly piquant & a bit smoky; Salsa Roja which was my favorite by having a satisfying vegetal, acidic yet sweet tomatoey Umami. To accommodate the generalized crowd, all the salsas were wussified & not particularly «hot». Purple pickled onions in the Yucatecan style, slices of canned jalapeño peppers, whole corn «chutney» were on the condiment table next to the Taco-​Quesadilla station.
I first choose the Border Margarita which included tequila, fresh lime, organic agave nectar, & full of ice to quench the thirst of a humid early evening. It was lightly sweet, touch of tequila fermented funk, refreshing lime.
Later I opted for the Kaiken Malbec which was a deep, dark reddish black, touch of oak, acids & tannins that gave the wine good structure & balance the sweetness. Light dark fruit flavours like plum, cherry, blackberry that went well with the cheeses & the grilled chicken.
The staff here is efficient, friendly, thoughtful having to deal with multi-​orders of drinks and knowing whom to give it to & when. Michelle is cool giving out orders of food with aplomb. She even hammed it up for me when I let her know I was putting her picture on Unilocal.Pleasant, casual atmosphere in the patio surrounded by tall skyscrapers, busy Figueroa Street with the occasional roar of motorcycles & the intricately tiled golden pyramid of the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library in the distance.
It’s a good place for DTLA office workers who want to wait out the evening rush hour or don’t want to go to nearby East LA to have some downhome Mexican on Cesar Chavez or 1^st Street. 3+ Unilocal stars for good food, drink, & more stars for the smiling service.
PS From 4pm to 1am, parking just to the east of Border Grill in the Union Bank Bldg is only $ 5 w/​validation at the front reception of Border Grill.

This is another «must to go» if you like dining downtown. I went here for the first time during restaurant week and I’m glad I did because I got to taste a wide array of things (and sample my boyfriends food as well).
The food:
–the vegetable ceviche was refreshing, colorful, and delicious.
–the plantain empanada was a unique twist. Very good as well.
–the sweet corn tamales are so good! But I’m totally bias… I love a good tamale!
–the sweet potato black bean tacos were good, maybe just a little less sweet potato but super filling and great vegetarian tacos.
*during brunch they have unlimited small plates for $ 30 and bottomless mimosas for $ 10
The service:
–everyone that worked there seemed genuinely happy to be working! Happy employees make the whole dining experience better. Our server, Chelsea, was so great! And we have the same birthday so she comped our drinks! She was attentive and kind. Overall, she made the experience wonderful.
So if you like downtown LA as much as I do, and you are looking for a place to eat, stop by border grill!

If you want «healthy» Mexican, I don’t think it gets better than Border Grill. I’ve been here for both dinner and happy hour, and have had a great experience each time. I will warn that if you come for dinner the restaurant is pretty shockingly empty — I think it’s mostly a lunch place for DTLA business people.
Happy hour prices are solid — $ 5 for a margarita or mojito and then there’s $ 5 guac, tacos for $ 3.50, and other little bites like nachos.
For dinner, I highly recommend the Grilled Fish Tacos, the Yucatan Pork, and the Chile Relleno. I love that Border Grill is committed to sustainability by serving organic long grain rice and black beans, antibiotic and hormone-​free meats, and local ingredients when possible. This is definitely not your classic refried-​beans-​cooked-​in-​lard Mexican place. Everything tastes clean and fresh and doesn’t make you feel sickening full. Prices are a little steep, but I think it’s worth it for better ingredients!