La Nena Cantina brings coastal Mexican food and cocktails next to DTLA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, newly opened.
Walt Disney Concert Hall has never had a good answer for what happens after the last bow.
You leave, you’re hungry, and DTLA’s dining scene — with its recent growth — has never had a “sure thing” place to go specifically to catch that “after the show” crowd at 6 p.m. and hold it past 11pm.
We’ve watched this problem persist through three different “DTLA renaissance” news cycles.
Luckily the problem has been solved now.
La Nena Cantina, which is now open at 141 S. Grand Ave., brings a good menu and great cocktail list with plenty of tequila options to taste through.
First Look
The address is the pitch. La Nena Cantina sits adjacent to the Concert Hall itself, not a rideshare away, not “steps from,” actually adjacent, just out the front door and 10 steps to the right.
Owner Vicente del Rio walked the room throughout the service, offering conversation charm, support, hospitality and suggestions for your next plate or drink.
Here Comes the Food…
Dinner opened with a tiradito de hamachi: clean, briny yellowtail in a salty-sweet soy-citrus pool, avocado for fat, jalapeño for heat, radish and carrot for crunch. Nothing on the plate was fighting for attention. Pure flavor harmony
A three-way ceviche tasting made the same case from a different angle: Ceviche de Camarón brought shrimp, avocado, and tomato together for something bright but rounded, Ceviche de Pescado stayed clean and acidic with white fish and lime, and the Aguachile carried real heat off its lime-serrano base without losing freshness. Order all three. The range tells you more about what this kitchen can do than any single bowl.
Queso fundido came in several versions. The mushroom is rich, salty, milky — earthy but heavy, and it needs the tortilla to cut it.
The chorizo version runs the same molten base with spiced, fatty, faintly smoky crumble folded in, and for me it’s simply the better dish.
Elotes — sweet corn, tangy crema, salty cotija, chili heat — competently, without pretending to reinvent anything.
The mango salad was the one that surprised me. I would have probably ordinarily never ordered it, and it was one the night’s highlights. Mango and grapes for sweetness, peppery greens, tangy goat cheese, toasted walnut for crunch, passion fruit dressing pulling it tart.
The healthy bowl, romaine, corn, black beans, sour cream, guacamole: clean, textural, unpunchy.
The tacos norteños closed the savory run: charred skirt steak, sweet caramelized onion, cooling guacamole, lime to cut the richness. Smoky, direct, no notes worth writing.
Dessert was crispy churros served with cajeta (Mexican caramel), signature fried ice cream with a crunchy crust topped with chocolate and whipped cream, and traditional tres leches cake
The Drinks
A hibiscus-forward mezcalita opened the night: tart, floral, agave sweetness, assuming Jamaica flower was the base, which the profile strongly suggests.
A third round, built around tamarind with what tasted like mezcal underneath and an egg-white-style foam that doesn’t match the “Pasión de Tamarindo” description on paper, was good enough that I’d rather ask the bar directly than guess in print.
A destination and a Feast
La Nena Cantina isn’t just a destination that happens to sit near Disney Hall; it’s infrastructure for an arts corridor that’s needed this specific piece for two decades and never gotten it. If the room performs the way this preview suggests, it becomes the default answer to “where to after..?” for the entire LA Phil and Music Center audience.
One note, any place I stood in the restaurant, I couldn’t get cell phone signal. No calls, texts, email, no website surfing. This is either a welcomed feature or a dealbreaker.
FAQ
When does La Nena Cantina open to the public? This Thursday or Friday, following a private preview dinner held Wednesday, August 5th.
Where is La Nena Cantina located? 141 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles — adjacent to Walt Disney Concert Hall at The Music Center.
What kind of food does La Nena Cantina serve? Coastal Mexican: ceviche, tiradito, queso fundido, esquites, and mesquite-charred tacos, with a full mezcal and tequila cocktail program.
WHEN: Public opening Thursday or Friday this week
WHERE: La Nena Cantina, 141 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012 (adjacent to Walt Disney Concert Hall)
