Holbox by Chichen Itza

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Cocktel de camaron - shrimp, avocado, house made sauce, onion, cilantro, lime
This was fucking fantastic, the glass was filled with at least 15 fresh, snappy shrimp, and the house sauce was slightly sweet with a bit of heat, so good.

Uni and opah ceviche tostada - santa barbara uni, hawaiian opah, onion, cilantro, tomato, salsa roja, avocado
Holy shit this was so good, the opah was topped with four of the freshest, creamiest uni I’ve had in a long time. Better than guerrilla tacos #isaidit.

Chiles rellenos de pescado - spicy yellow chiles stuffed with fish, breaded and fried. Served with homemade mayo and morita sauce
I loved the perfectly fried crispy batter, reminded me of a croqueta.

scallop al carbon - live diver scallop cooked in its shell over wood grill with x’catic chile sauce
Delicious

almeja - surf clam cocktel served in its shell
Crisp, clean, sweet.

pata de mula - mexican blood clams
So damn bloody csi had to be called in to investigate. Tasted like the chicken liver of the sea.

Tacos

wood grilled opah taco - house made mayo, arbol-guajillo sauce, cabbage, pico de gallo, handmade tortillas
My favorite of the three, perfectly cooked meaty opah on a fantastic soft tortilla

tacos de pulpo en su tinta - braised octopus in calamari ink sauce, handmade tortillas
Super tender, my first ever #takotaco :octopus: :taco:

tacos de scallop - seared Japanese diver scallops, chile x’catic sauce, cabbage, pico de gallo, handmade tortilla
This one put me over the top and foiled my plan for a bang bang at chichen itza.

And yes, Gilberto was in the kitchen. Super nice guy.


I had to make up for my failed bang bang during my last visit. Unfortunately there was no paella tonight.

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i remembered to try the arbol cacahuate and it great, my favorite.
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Uni and yellowtail ceviche tostada - santa barbara uni, yellowtail, onion, cilantro, tomato, salsa roja, avocado
The ceviche was a bit acidic on its own but eaten with the sweet uni it was delicious.
The 'nads were so fresh they tried reproducing with the yellowtail. uni, dos, tres, cuatro, uni count back up to four.
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cocktel mixto - shrimp, octopus, oyster, avocado, house made sauce, onion, cilantro, lime
As good as last time, everything was super fresh and the sauce was delicous.
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torta de camaron empanizado - breaded shrimp, home made bread, mayo, lettuce, tomato, avocado
This came with about six large perfectly fried butterflied shrimp on some nice crusty bread. Reminded me of a shrimp po boy. I wanted to save half of this for later to complete my bang bang but it was so good i finished the whole fucking thing.
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Cochinita Pibil - pork marinated with achiote, sour orange juice, and spices, cooked in banana leaves, topped with pickled red onions served with sauteed black beans, rice and steamy tortillas
Bang bang complete
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Queso Napolitano - dense vanilla flan with traditional caramel sauce
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Cocktel de camaron - shrimp, avocado, house made sauce, onion, cilantro, lime
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Uni and yellowtail ceviche tostada - santa barbara uni, yellowtail, onion, cilantro, tomato, salsa roja, avocado
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scallop al carbon - live diver scallop cooked in its shell over wood grill with x’catic chile sauce
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torta de camaron - breaded shrimp, homemade bread, mayo, lettuce, tomato, avocado
This is an outstanding salsa delivery vehicle, with the added benefit of being fucking delicious. My favorite was the salsa de cacahuate.
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aguachile de callo de hacha - baja california half moon scallops in lime-cilantro-serrano marinade with avocado
New menu. Damn this was so good, super fresh and sweet scallops, in a tart, bright, spicy sauce, all balanced with the creamy avocado, raw onions and saltines.
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yellowtail collar - avocado, pico de gallo, corn tortillas
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kumiai oysters
Wow, it’s amazing how chef Gilberto can source such fresh seafood. These were perfectly shucked with not a drop of the liquor being spilled.
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Chef Gilberto is now offering a 6 course tasting menu consisting of items off the regular menu and a couple off menu entrees. Call to make a reservation.


branzino

fat bastards, wa

aguachile de callo de hacha - baja california half moon scallops in lime-cilantro-serrano marinade with avocado

(new) sopa de mariscos con erizo - uni seafood stew with crab, yellowtail, clam, shrimp, potato and grilled bread
Wow fucking incredible. Every single component of this dish was perfectly cooked and delicious. Must order.

I wanted to lick this harder than gene simmons at a tootsie pop factory.

pre-lunch bang at mariscos jalisco


pre-dinner amuse-bang before providence

kumamotos
pristine

soft shell crab, avocado/cucumber puree, soy sauce
crispy and meaty

sopa de mariscos - mussels, scallops, branzino
no uni this time but this was still incredible. every item was perfectly cooked, the mussels were plump and tender, scallops were soft and buttery and the branzino was flaky with crispy skin. sop everything up with the delicious grilled bread. must order.


tacos, coctel, and tostada were fantastic. i can do without the ceviche.

wood grilled fish taco - wood grilled kanpachi, cabbage, handmade corn tortilla, morita sauce, mayo & pico de gallo

baja fish taco - battered and fried wild rock fish, cabbage, crema, mayo & salsa roja on handmade corn tortilla

scallop taco - pan seared maine diver scallop, handmade corn tortilla, chile x’catic sauce, caramelized onions and fennel

baja shrimp taco - battered & fried wild gulf shrimp, cabbage, crema, mayo & salsa roja on handmade corn tortilla


ceviche mixto - wild rock fish, mexican octopus, wild mexican shrimp, cilantro, tomato, lime, onion & salsa roja

coctel de camaron - wild mexican shrimp, cocktail sauce, avocado, onion & cilantro

uni for scale

kanpachi & uni tostada - premium santa barbara uni, baja kanpachi, tomato, onion, lime, cilantro, avocado & salsa roja


Chef Gilberto and holbox are back in business. They’re selling everything from fresh raw seafood, to cook at home meal kits, to ready to eat meals.

early on, seafood paella was a very limited special that i missed out on, so i had to try it when i saw it on the takeout menu. and it was fantastic. The aroma from the saffron and seafood emanating from my passenger seat as I was driving home was intoxicating. it’s amazing how chef nails every piece of seafood in this dish, not one item was overcooked. this man knows his seafood. and yes there was some scorched rice, but the crispiness didn’t hold up during transit. but i didn’t mind because everything was so good. the portion was huge with lots of seafood and can easily feed four people.

seafood paella - shrimp, octopus, saltspring mussels, scallops, kanpachi #covid15

Holbox
3655 South Grand Avenue #C9
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 986-9972

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Been meaning to try this as I love Mexican seafood!

I thought their paella was excellent.

This is not your father’s Spanish paella.

Like most Mexican paella, it is far more spicy than its Spanish cousin, and it is definitely less soupy (no real socrarrat to speak of). And one can definitely taste the difference in the absence of white wine, which isn’t a bad thing. Just different.

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Cocktel de camaron - shrimp, avocado, house made sauce, onion, cilantro, lime
This was fucking fantastic, the glass was filled with at least 15 fresh, snappy shrimp, and the house sauce was slightly sweet with a bit of heat, so good.

Uni and opah ceviche tostada - santa barbara uni, hawaiian opah, onion, cilantro, tomato, salsa roja, avocado
Holy shit this was so good, the opah was topped with four of the freshest, creamiest uni I’ve had in a long time. Better than guerrilla tacos #isaidit @Chowseeker1999 you need to try this.

Chiles rellenos de pescado - spicy yellow chiles stuffed with fish, breaded and fried. Served with homemade mayo and morita sauce
I loved the perfectly fried crispy batter, reminded me of a croqueta.

scallop al carbon - live diver scallop cooked in its shell over wood grill with x’catic chile sauce
Delicious

almeja - surf clam cocktel served in its shell
Crisp, clean, sweet.

pata de mula - mexican blood clams
So damn bloody csi had to be called in to investigate. Tasted like the chicken liver of the sea.

Tacos

wood grilled opah taco - house made mayo, arbol-guajillo sauce, cabbage, pico de gallo, handmade tortillas
My favorite of the three, perfectly cooked meaty opah on a fantastic soft tortilla

tacos de pulpo en su tinta - braised octopus in calamari ink sauce, handmade tortillas
Super tender, my first ever #takotaco :octopus: :taco:

tacos de scallop - seared Japanese diver scallops, chile x’catic sauce, cabbage, pico de gallo, handmade tortilla
This one put me over the top and foiled my plan for a bang bang at chichen itza.

And yes, Gilberto was in the kitchen. Super nice guy.

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That Pulpo en su Tinta taco is amazing. Creamy, funky, tender, meaty.

Thanks for this post, I only had that one taco… and look forward to heading back! :slight_smile:

–Dommy!

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You definitely need to try the cocktel de camaron and uni ceviche, highlights of the night.

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Absolutely! We went to Mariscos Chente tonight and was a bit dispointed by the Botana de Camaron and Pulpo… especially after coming back from Cozumel and having that TakoTaco.

–Dommy!

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Good to know, I was thinking about ordering that but was one taco too stuffed.

Okay, this looks awesome. Way way awesome!

Silly question - did you happen to have the salsa made with peanuts and chiles de árbol? The only place I’ve had that is in Santa Barbara and I ADORE it. If I could get that in LA and a shrimp torta and/or a scallop taco? It would be heaven : ).

Sorry i didn’t try that one, but i did get a picture of it.

I’m going tomorrow, and will attempt to learn from you to be able to accomplish the bang bang. Perhaps the uni tostada, cocktail, and then cochinita pibil next door.

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I certainly wouldn’t describe the Mercado de Paloma as “South Central.”

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Nice report @PorkyBelly. :slight_smile: Looks really good! And we’ll definitely have to try the uni. :wink: Thanks.

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Omg that looks amazing

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May the bang bang be with you.

Fyi, Gilberto will be doing a catering event today and won’t be in the kitchen, ymmv.

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I certainly wouldn’t describe the Mercado de Paloma as “South Central.”

While the name “South Central” is no longer widely used. I grew up on 47th and and Main and in the time that it was very well called that. Essentially anything UNDER Washington was “The Hood”. South of Central Los Angeles. Even the USC campus was very different at the time. I never thought I would have that close relationship with the University as I do now.

Fyi, Gilberto will be doing a catering event today and won’t be in the kitchen, ymmv.

Oh no!!! We are going to start calling… “Is Chino in today?!” LOL!!!

–Dommy!

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Okay. Hmmmm…

The one is Santa Barbara is a tiny bit thicker but- I think I’ll just have to go and check this out! It all looks so darn good.

Thanks for the pics!

J. Gold is right–the tostadas/ceviches are spectacular. And this uni is extraordinarily high quality. And given the proximity we got some pibil from Chichen Itza as well. The pibil was a bit bland. Very much worth the visit for the tostadas and the shrimp cocktail.

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