Walking into Lares is like stepping back in time. Truly authentic family style Mexican food taken up a notch. I first ate at Lares as a kid in the 1970's, and it brings back memories of first discovering what non-gringo Mexican food really tastes like. While everything is great, my favorites are their house made tamales and the lengua chile verde. Who even makes that anymore?!? Order one of their delicious margaritas, enjoy their excellent salsa with house made tortilla chips and get ready to feel at home. The staff are always smiling, welcoming and attentive. It's nice to see a place that does things right stand the test of time and stay true to themselves and their roots. Salud!

We live close to El Cholo, and don't exactly love it. Everyone said we needed to try Lares for that same classic Mexican vibe. We came at 5:30 on a Friday, and really wanted to sit at the bar. We were pleasantly surprised to find they were busy, but had an upstairs bar. We ordered skinny margaritas and they were great! The chips and salsa were wonderful. The salsa is served warm, and it's a very good salsa. We got the albondigas soup, and it was just okay. It was really lacking in rich broth flavor. We had to add salt. We also got the verdes enchiladas and chicken fajitas. Both were good, but I feel like they were lacking that deep rich umami/salty component that comes with those traditional cooking styles. Our bartender was great. Super friendly. Super on top of everything. We will 100% be back. This is hands down far better than El Cholo.

Great food great people お友達にメキシカンを食べたいと言ったらココへ連れてきてくれました〜 ロサンゼルスにいた時食べてた味 美味い〜 とても満足な食事でしター 大好きなチリリエノが食べられた。 とてもカジュアル

Oh Lares, you can never disappoint me. Excellent service and lovely interior decoration. We always make sure to come here every so often and every special occasion. Every dish is on point at reasonable price in Santa Monica. It's a historical staple spot where you can come and look at the architecture and is the favorite spot among the locals. They got 2 full wood-finished bars both down and up stairs. As we sit down the freshest best of the best tortilla chips and salsa are served right away even on the busiest day. It is a must to get the house margarita on the rocks with salt rim. My go-to dish here is the dos tamale that I get it 90% of the time. My table also got the chicken chipotle con papas, the 7 mares, the meatball soup and the filet mignon (we dived in so quick, I didn't get a picture of). This place is magical and deserve a big recognition.

Overall a pretty solid Mexican restaurant in the quieter part of Santa Monica. However it is overly expensive and not as good as Don Antonio's down the street but still it was a pleasant experience. I am giving it a 4/5 due to the price and taste comparison to other sit down Mexican restaurants around Los Angeles. They don't have parking so it will be metered street parking or neighborhood parking. We found a metered spot near the McDonald's a block away. They have two floors, downstairs is the bar and where most of the tables are and upstairs is usually reserved for parties. There was a work or family meeting upstairs the day we dined. Our server was polite, although it took quite some time for him to come over and take our order and then also bring the check after we had finished. They have a very large menu filled with all the classics that you would expect. Being our first time we wanted to try a few different items. We started with a cup of the Albondigas and it was pretty good, although not my favorite that I have had recently. It tasted more like a vegetable soup versus the traditional Albondigas flavor. Next we got a Fish Taco à la cart and it was actually pretty good. Not like a traditional fish taco that you would get in San Diego sadly, but the fish had some great taste and overall I enjoyed it. For our entrées, we ordered the Carne Asada and the Chicken Flautas. The Carne Asada was good, although the cut had a ton of fat on it so that part I did not enjoy. The Flautas were crispy but overall pretty small. It's not a bad experience, but I would rather go to Don Antonio's, Gilbert's, or El Cholo over Lares.

Love love love Lares. This is my go to mexican spot on the west side! As a creature of habit, I always get the mole enchiladas. One day I will try something new here, but it is hard to beat the mole. The refried beans where phenomenal as well, but the rice is quite typical. My friends have tried the chicken fajitas and breakfast omletters. All delicious! Chips and salsa are brought out to snack on before you meal too. Street parking was easy. The front of the restaurant is unassuming, but once inside there is beautiful decor and an upstairs section. The waiters are attentive and service is quick.