La Serenata de Garibaldi Is Back, Bigger and as Tasty as Ever

Every week since La Serenata de Garibaldi closed almost two years ago for remodeling, I get at least a couple of phone calls and/or messages from someone desperate to know when the beloved Mexican seafood restaurant in Boyle Heights would reopen.

Listen up. La Serenata is now back--doubled in size, and showing off an elegant new look. Driving down East 1st Street, it’s easy to spot: Just look for the row of amber lanterns mounted on the facade and the valet parking out front. That’s right--no more searching for parking on the street, or maneuvering around to the back parking lot.

The massive carved wooden door opens onto the double dining room. Gone are the bright folk art colors of the old La Serenata. Everything is muted shades of cream and natural stone and wood. Carved stone pillars frame one part of the dining room, and heavy beams overhead give it a substantial, old-fashioned look. Servers are decked out in black vests and bowties. And yes, owner and chef Jose Rodriguez is there overseeing every detail.

The best news is that the food is as good as ever. I’ve always loved the fish empanadas, tender discs of masa stuffed with chunks of fresh fish. And the quesadilla wedges still come out with freshly fried chips and a bowl of smoldering red salsa before you ever order.

At dinner last week I tried the flautas for the first time. Who knew flautas could be this good, stuffed with tender, moist chicken, expertly fried and served with a smooth green avocado sauce that packed some heat in its finish?

Molcajete sauce was a special that night, which I ordered with camarones. The giant shrimp were terrific with this spicy sauce of diced chile, onion, tomato and avocado. And Mexican seabass was a wonderful foil for the smoky chipotle sauce. (At La Serenata, diners pick the sauce to go with their seafood.) Though the emphasis is seafood, La Serenata’s menu offers plenty of other dishes, too, such as chicken in mole sauce or deshebrada en chile colorado, shredded beef in a masterful red chile sauce.

I’m already poring over my calendar, looking for a suitable occasion to go to lunch at La Serenata, when you can get fish tacos, or those rafts of cornmeal masa, called sope, topped with shredded beef or chorizo. Rodriguez is a master of sauces. That’s why something as ordinary as chicken enchiladas in green sauce can seduce with its flavors.

So will everybody please stop sending me messages now? La Serenata is finally back doing just what it does best.

BE THERE

La Serenata de Garibaldi, 1842 E. 1st St., Boyle Heights, (323) 265-2887. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Dinner appetizers $3 to $18; main courses $9 to $19. Valet parking.