Is Guisados LA’s Favorite Mexican Restaurant?

When Armando de la Torre, Sr., and Armando de la Torre, Jr. opened Guisados, they didn’t have a business plan, but their determination to succeed was relentless.

“We just started. We just opened the doors,” de la Torre, Sr., says.

The recipes were different from the start. No burritos, no carne asada. They honored the stewed techniques from family kitchens growing up. They landed on the name Guisados, de la Torre Jr. made a logo, and they leaned into the journey ahead.

“It was really tough for the first couple months, but we stuck to what we had in mind to do,” de la Torre, Sr., goes on to say. “We got written up in the LA Times first, and that was a good little bump. And then we got written up in the LA Weekly and that just propelled us like nobody’s business.”

As they grew, so did their influence across Los Angeles. They opened a second location, a third, a fourth.

Maintaining the integrity of the food they serve has helped to sustain their popularity. Every day, one of the de la Torres stops in at each location to ensure each menu item tastes as it should. From Boyle Heights to Echo Park, West Hollywood to Pasadena, consistency is crucial. For them, there is only one way to ground the corn for their hand-made tortillas, one way to stew their varied meats in medium-sized vessels.

“The only way we can control the quality of the recipes is tasting everything,” de la Torre, Sr., says. “One day, a jalapeño can be not spicy, the next day super spicy, so we always have to be tasting and making adjustments. It’s a process.”

Luckily for the business and the customers, de la Torre, Sr., has a sharp olfactory frame of reference.

“I remember the flavors I’m looking for,” he goes on to say. “I know what’s right.”

Not only does Guisados fill a culinary gap in the Mexican restaurant scene in Los Angeles, the local restaurant chain expands the mainstream definition of Mexican food.

Being Hispanic, for the de la Torres, means knowing good food and understanding cultural variance. Every Mexican or Mexican-American home is defined by different cooking styles in the kitchen. In their household, Guiso — or stew — was the dinnertime staple. They wanted others to be a part of that story.

For older Mexican guests, dining at Guisados is like taking a journey home to their country. Among younger customers, Guisados conjures memories of grandma’s table. Even when it comes to gringos, Guisados teaches non-Latinos that Mexican food is rich in its many traditions.

“We talk about Guisados and the potential it has,” de la Torre, Jr., says. “What else do you have to do in life other than pursue the potential of something? Why not keep striking when the iron is hot?”

De la Torre, Jr., worked in restaurants growing up, but never thought he’d end up in the restaurant industry long-term. As the years have gone by, Guisados has had such a positive impact on his life. The way he sees it, his passions have been made possible by the professional foundation he co-partnered with his father.

“Our success doesn’t happen without each other,” he goes on to say.

While his father has expertise in the kitchen, de la Torre, Jr., excels in the office. He runs their social media, creates merchandise, oversees restaurant interiors, and leads their Featured Artist program. As a way to actively engage with the local artist community, he features original art on many of their restaurant’s walls. For him, guests consume with their eyes first, so the restaurant’s visual experience needs to elevate the delicious food they’re serving.

“This has been now my legacy,” de la Torre, Sr., says. “I never thought I’d have a legacy.”

“It’s his legacy,” de la Torre, Jr., adds, gesturing to his father, “and it’s also mine.”

Even when times were tough, the de la Torres kept focused. In the early years, they stuck to their instincts. Through Covid, they found adaptive ways to overcome obstacles with a passionate relentlessness. Together, they’ve already left their mark on Los Angeles.

Guisados is certainly one of the city’s favorite restaurants. Check out their exclusive interview on LATV’s new TV-special, Storytellers.