Evil Cooks makes a bold first impression. This heavy-metal-themed taquería in El Sereno might be too weird for the stubborn taco purist, or too demonic for your god-fearing grandmother. Dining here means encountering at least one Megadeth song, cherubs crying fake blood, and a mutant cheeseburger-taco hybrid known as The McSatan. Yet if anything on this list rightfully piques your interest, you’ll appreciate Evil Cooks for what it is: an envelope-pushing, unabashedly proud Mexican restaurant that doesn’t just think outside the box—it blows the box to smithereens. And once the dust settles, it’s clear that beyond the goth and gore, the eyebrow-raising flavor combinations at the center of Evil Cooks are the reason this restaurant redefines what exciting Mexican food can look like in LA.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

The oddities at Evil Cooks reveal themselves in phases. When you first arrive, the narrow room looks something like a basic diner, complete with counter seats and a sizzling griddle. Then you’ll notice the Grim Reaper statue, hear the guitar-shredding sounds of Slayer, and peek your head out onto the barbed-wire-fenced patio that looks out onto a back alley. There’s a scrappiness to Evil Cooks’ setup that makes it feel like a personal passion project rather than a seasonal haunted house. And though it might not be the best environment for date night, it does exude a fun, welcoming energy that’s been a constant from the days when Evil Cook’s husband-and-wife team was running out of their own home, and later at Smorgasburg.

During the day, Evil Cooks exists as a counter-service operation with various tacos, tater-tot-filled burritos, black asada mulitas, and tortas stuffed with chilaquiles, many of which are labeled with metal-themed puns (naturally). The Simmons taco with jiggly, braised tongue sets off mini sparks with its chunky salsa cruda, and the jet-black Poseidon taco, smothered in smoky salsa tatemada, gets a sweet curveball from grilled pineapple.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

At dinner, Evil Cooks offers table service, house-fermented tepache (but no booze), and a distinct set of dishes that point toward the chef duo’s fine dining ambitions. Don’t expect to find anything turned down compared to lunch, though, figuratively or literally. The music is just as loud, and wildly creative fusion dishes land like big, flavorful slaps, including a crispy phyllo-wrapped pork rib subtly sweetened with candy floss and an ornate tom yum aguachile that leaves your lips burning until you’re halfway through the next course. Evil Cook’s dinner menu is far more concise, and portions run large, so two small plates and an entree are enough to feed two. Like everything else Evil Cooks does, it’s a thrill ride that we’re excited to hop on again, even if it produces a few screams in the process.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

The Simmons Taco

No members of KISS were injured in the making of this taco, but it does deliver a lot of tongue in one bite. The sliced lengua has texture in multitudes: charred at the edges, seared until crispy on both sides, yet so soft in the middle that it shreds between your teeth. The sole salsa, a chunky bright-green salsa cruda, provides all of the acid and heat this taco needs.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

The McSatan Taco

Close your eyes, and suddenly, you’re eating a Big Mac. It’s wild. From the savorty onion-y smell to the yellow cheese that sticks to the roof of your mouth, this is a direct Mickey D’s-to-taco translation. We’re lukewarm on Big Macs in general, but you’ll appreciate this dish if you’re a fan.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Baklava Wellington

At first, we stared at this dish as if it was an alien baby. Candy floss on a hunk of phyllo-wrapped pork? Huh? But it doesn’t taste as disjointed as it looks. The floss and salty lengua jus meld together to create a sweet-savory sauce for the tender pork rib. However, the mushroom duxelle at the bottom tastes a bit out of place, detracting from the crispy phyllo with its mushy texture.

The Poseidon

The entree version of one of Evil Cooks’ signature tacos tastes as citrusy and deeply smoky as the handheld verision, except it also comes on a bed of mush (this time a risotto). However, in this case, the mush works. The risotto is cooked with a recado negro that tastes of warm spices, complementing the salsa tatemada slathered on the tender curls of octopus.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Pho-King Salad

This deconstructed salad is pho-king hard to eat. Herbs and rice noodles will get everywhere, but if you can manage to get a mouthful of everything, it'll remind you of a fantastic Vietnamese spring roll dunked in sriracha.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Tom Yum Aguachile

Do not underestimate the three red peppers next to this dish. Evil Cook’s isn’t playing around. If you’re up for spice, though, you’ll be very happy with this beautifully plated aguachile seasoned like savory-sour Thai tom yum. It’s full of buttery, plump scallops, and the stylish crescent-shaped tostadas warrant a photo.