El Compadre (Echo Park) All Ages / Beer / Casual / Dinner / Drinks / Family / Frozen Margaritas / Fun Restaurant / Good for Groups / Groups / Jeans and T-Shirt / Late Night Food / Lively / Margaritas / Mariachi / Mexican Food / Seafood / Street Parking / Take Out / Mexican Restaurant

My Take: So it was Cinco de Mayo. My pals and I were looking for a place to get a bite and a margarita, but were worried that due to our poor, last-minute planning, there would be nowhere to go that didn’t already have a line out the door. It is with great fortune that we landed at El Compadre, the best Mexican restaurant in Echo Park. The eatery also has a location in Hollywood. My table went with a community-style meal (a couple orders of the Botana "El Compadre Especial") and two pitchers of margaritas. I kid you not, after eating and drinking my fill, I owed about $20 (tip included). I insisted the tab be recalculated because I couldn’t believe my eyes. Neither could my wallet. The Scene: With a mix of resident hipsters and families, El Compadre looks exactly how you’d want a Mexican restaurant to look. With big booth, tons of tables, a dimly-lit interior, and plenty of vintage Mexican stylings, you know when walking through the door that this place is genuine. There’s even a mariachi band that will play tunes at your table. Cocktails & Cuisine: Oh the food. The menu is packed with awesomely authentic offerings and you really can’t go wrong unless you accidentally order the beer tongue a.k.a. lengua (which I am sure tastes great but the idea is just too much for me to sink my teeth into). Other than that, I have eaten all the mainstream meats that El Compadre has to offer. The streak is super tender, the shrimp is firm and doesn’t have that gross black goop in it (sorry to break it to you folks, but that black goop is shrimp poop), and the chicken is normal (by normal I mean no jiggly bits of cartilage that get stuck in your teeth). One thing that El Compadre is definitely known for is its flaming margaritas. But I am not a fan of putting fire near my face. Prices: Shockingly inexpensive, El Compadre is great for groups. It’s so annoying to split a group bill evenly, especially for ladies who eat and drink half as much as dudes, but the prices at El Compadre are so reasonable, you won’t mind if you ate one or two fewer tacos than the rest of the gang. Botana "El Compadre Especial" feeds three to four and costs $28. Combo meals are about $12 and under. Chef’s specials, which can easily feed two, are about $16 and under. Seafood dishes are a bit pricier. What to Wear: Throw on a Dodgers T-shirt and you’ll fit right in. Inside Info/When to Go: El Compadre is open until 2am every day!