Bar Amá

"LA has never been a beacon of great Tex-Mex food, but Bar Ama is doing its job to make up for the rest of the city. Bar Ama is laid-back, easy to get into, and the kind of place you stroll in with a few friends after work and end up staying till 10pm. You’re going to want the queso, lots of vegetable stuff, and the off-menu puffy tacos." - jess basser sanders, brant cox

"There’s nothing easy about opening a restaurant. Places open and close like clockwork in LA as the secret formula for success remains just that: a secret. So opening four of your own restaurants on the same block? Death sentence. Unless you’re Josef Centeno, who somehow cracked the code and turned DTLA’s Historic Core into his own personal food playground. With Baco Mercat, Orsa & Winston, and Ledlow, Centeno created a culinary identity for a part of town that never had one. But with Bar Amá, he promised a place the neighborhood could treat as their own. Promise delivered. Bar Amá’s casual, walk-up cantina vibe is exactly what you want it to be and a nearly foreign concept in this suddenly upscale part of DTLA. Opening everyday at 11:30am, you can just as easily have a quick lunch with a client as you can grab a beer and some queso after work with your loft neighbors. Just make sure you make a reservation on the weekends. Sh*t gets packed. The menu is full of real deal messy Tex-Mex food, but with way better ingredients and bigger dreams than what’s usually seen in this genre. When queso and branzino crudo sit next to each other on a menu, we know the place is f*cking with us just a little, but in a way that we very much enjoy. If a restaurant is having this much fun, you are too. Bar Amá is a total crowd-pleaser. Downtown has raced so quickly towards the high-end of things, it’s just a relief to know a place like this can even still exist. And props to Centeno for knowing it could. Now give us the rest of your secrets. Food Rundown Puffy Tacos This San Antonio regional staple is Bar Amá’s signature dish and possibly even better than the Texas original. Tex-Mex Queso This dirty little appetizer is delicious and the first sign that Bar Amá is hell-bent on not taking this too seriously. Mom’s Green Enchiladas Homestyle Mexican cooking done right - messy and delicious. Cauliflower and Cilantro Pesto The vegetables at all the Centeno restaurants tend to be excellent. No different here. Taquitos You’ll want some little flavor-packed taquitos to round out your meal. Spend the extra $5 to get the all the toppings as well. Migas Only found on the brunch menu, this Tex-Mex slopfest of eggs, tortilla chips, potatoes and onions is your hangover move at Bar Amá. Tres Leches Take us now sex lord. This beautiful dessert consists of mocha, coconut, and a cream cheese frosting that’s pretty unreal." - Brant Cox

"Bar Ama in Downtown LA is offering a Tex-Mex Thanksgiving Dinner to-go. It’s ideal for four people (but is plenty to share between two) and will include Tex-Mex turkey roulade with gravy, cranberry-grapefruit sauce, duck fat Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and more. The package is $300, plus $60 for an optional wine bottle pairing and $25+ batched cocktails." - kat hong, nikko duren, garrett snyder

"Bar Amá, an arm of Josef Centeno's sophisticated group of downtown restaurants (including Bäco Mercat, Orsa & Winston, and Ledlow) is an upscale rendition of the comforting Tex-Mex prepared in the childhood home of Chef Centeno. Outfitted in blue tile and reclaimed wood furnishings, the dining room offers the perfect place to unwind after work for the house's Super Nacho Hour, with the aid of mezcal-based cocktail or shot of tequila." - Canopy

"Bar Ama is an excellent Tex-Mex restaurant Downtown that’s offering a special $200 Valentine’s Day meal. It comes with your choice of whole lobster, steak, or both, plus plenty of sides like crudité and fondue, Caesar salad, cheesy wedge potatoes, and a chocolate budino. Pickup only." - brant cox