La Capilla is a casual dining Mexican Restaurant with 3 locations: La Palma (a city near Knott’s Berry Farm), Huntington Beach, and the original location in downtown Torrance. I would equate this to be similar to an El Torito, but its family owned, not a chain.
This is one of Stephen’s favorite restaurant, so we came here with my parents to celebrate his birthday. We arrived on a Saturday night around 7:30 pm, and the place was busy. We were fortunate to have one of the few remaining booths, as shortly after we were seated, the placed filled up completely.
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As in many Mexican restaurants, they start you off with the warm chips and salsa… always a favorite, and easy to over consume before the meal. The salsa they provide is chunky, with a little kick but not enough to say it was too spicy or hot.
For dinner, I decided on the bowl of menudo ($10.95) and a side order of chicken enchilada, a la carte ($3.95). The bowl was much larger than I anticipated, and it was filled to the brim. While an excellent value, it didn’t have any kick to it. Of course, I had to add the oregano, chili flakes, lemon, cilantro and onions to garnish it, but I also had to add a spoonful of the salsa to flavor it with heat.
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| Garnish for the menudo |
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| Menudo |
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| Enchilada, a la carte (no beans or rice) |
Stephen had the Enchiladas Tejanas, which was 2 enchiladas topped with chorizo (sausage), served with beans, rice, and corn ($12.25). My mom had the Number 7: Chile Relleno and the signature beef taco ($11.95) and added a cup of soup for $1.00, while my dad ordered 2 enchiladas.
It was a lot of food, and we ended up boxing half of it to take home. Overall, dinner was good. Not excellent, as I have had better Mexican food elsewhere, but its comfort food for most taste buds. The check came to roughly $65 with drinks.
Service, however, could have been better. We had to ask for refills, even boxes for our food. There was a discrepancy with the check, and the server looked baffled when we pointed out the error. I had to tell him that he overcharged us an item, and he needs to take it away. I think he was confused how an error could have happened on his watch, perhaps?
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| Enchilada Tejanas |
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| Number 7 |
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When I told the server it was Stephen’s birthday, I had to repeat myself three times (once in Spanish) to say “anything for a birthday boy”? The staff did end up bringing a little flan, and sang Happy Birthday, which was all I wanted. A bit frustrating, but it worked out in the end.
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