The Best Guacamole in Los Angeles

Francisco “Paco” Perez is best known for carrying on his mother’s roasted lamb legacy. At his LA branch, located in an industrial area in the City of Commerce, a dining room with wood-panel walls and wood tables gives way to a relaxing patio. Silky guacamole contains avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Sure, you can scoop up their guac with tortilla chips; but it’s more fun to use chewy shards of chicharron de queso - griddled Monterey Jack cheese that’s rolled up like a dosa.

San Antonio native Josef Centeno’s airy Tex-Mex restaurant in Downtown LA’s Old Bank District features reclaimed wood, olive green and brick walls, and a fashionable bar fronted with pressed tin. Made-To-Order Guacamole arrives in a stone molcajete. Big avocado chunks mesh beautifully with cilantro, red onion and lime juice. Serrano chiles and celery provide spice and crunch. Each order comes with shiny, just-fried tortilla chips. Drizzle house-made Bus Driver Sauce if you want to boost potency.

Chef Alex Eusebio, who competed on “Top Chef” Season 5 and also owns Sweetsalt in Toluca Lake, planted his chile-inspired Mexican restaurant smack in the middle of a dentist's office and the 134 freeway. The space features a rattlesnake mural and a fenced-in back patio with strings of lights. Cascabel makes three types of guacamole, including O.G. with avocado, lime juice, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, and salt. Smoked Bacon incorporates chunks of bacon and bacon fat. Charred pineapple isn’t as unusual as it sounds, with caramelized fruit and orange juice joining the fray. No matter what variety of guacamole you order, Cascabel provides house-made tortilla chips.

Chefs Jaime Martin del Campo and Ramiro Ramiro, long-time partners from Jalisco, built on the success of their Bell-based restaurant, La Casita Mexicana by opening Mexicano in Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. The airy space features a welcoming patio, a mural that depicts famed Mexicans, and hexagonal tiles designed to resemble what Ramiro experienced at his grandmother’s home. They make two different guacamoles. Guacamole al Tequila is more ambitious, with standard ingredients taken up a notch with punchy pickled jalapenos, pickled carrots and a silver tequila infusion.

Josephine Bonilla, Gerardo Acosta and Roomel de La Tora have run this Zacatecas-style restaurant across from LAC+USC Medical Center for the past decade. The space features mottled yellow walls, a model motorcycle, and black and white photos of Pancho Villa, who carried a .30-30 caliber rifle. Their Guacamole con Chips features smashed avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro and lemon juice. Each plate comes with house chips and three house salsas. A fire red salsa contains California chiles, chile de arbol and tomatillo slurry with white onion and cilantro. Oily red salsa features dark red chile de arbol sludge. Bonus: a guac-like pastel green paste of jalapeño, avocado and cilantro.

This East LA-meets-Baja taqueria from Chef Walter Manzke and Sprout Restaurant Group features guacamole that's made to order using Polito Farms Hass avocados, finely diced Serrano chiles, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and Kosher salt. Pico de gallo with Wong Farms tomatoes, diced white onion, cilantro, lime juice, more Serranos and Kosher salt go up top, along with toasted pepitas. If you want to take your experience to the next level, the Bomb.com features guacamole topped with sea urchin and is served with crispy chicharrones and elevated chips.

Bret Thompson and wife Lucy run their stylish Mexican restaurant on Bunker Hill. The space features overhead sails, sea blue and brown walls, and a patio with blue umbrellas. Their simple but effective guacamole recipe includes avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. House-made tortilla chips are ideal vessels. Pez also makes an array of salsas to further boost flavor. We’re particularly enamored with salsa chipotle, habanero mustard and salsa negra.

At Rocio’s Mole De Dioces, Chef Rocio Camacho made Guacamole de los Dioses, a “guacamole of the gods” with spicy habanero chile and tangy passion fruit, and the name pretty much lived up to the hyperbole. Sadly, the Sun Valley restaurant she owns with Alonso Arellano suffered from an arson attack. While they hope to rebuild, a simpler version of Rocio’s mole is available at Rocio’s Mexican Kitchen in Bell Gardens - minus the passion fruit, but still sporting fresh Hass avocados, lemon juice, cilantro, salt, pepper and a hint of vinegar. Pico de gallo or fiery habanero chiles join the guac party upon request. Their tortilla chips contain chaya, a leaf that’s beneficial for blood pressure.