Hell yeah, it’s michelada season. Here are the city’s best
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(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
Mexico City-based author and critic Alonso Ruvalcaba refers to the michelada and the beer cocktail’s evolution into popular culture as “democracy at work.” There’s no use stopping, he argues, the excessive extremes where bartenders vie to outdo one another, adding everything from shrimp to cherries to this once-modest beer refresher.
After all, micheladas are everywhere now.
The beer cocktail from Mexico has transformed into an L.A. summer staple. But has the innovation gone too far?
From Southern California’s unending number of Latino working-class bars to the priciest drink spots in L.A., micheladas — in styles that range from pared-back elegance to full-on baroque — are ubiquitous.
We surveyed some of the most dynamic and reliable micheladas in Los Angeles and greater Southern California over several weeks. Here are the best we found.
From the chelada to the seafood-packed botana, a primer on how to spot your miches
Showing Places
(Daniel Hernandez / Los Angeles Times)
El Camarón Pelado
Lincoln Heights Mexican
As Sinaloa- or Nayarit-style seafood has become inextricable from michelada culture, over-the-top miches are a staple across South and Southeast L.A. But this chill, family-friendly Lincoln Heights marisquería offers a form of the michelada that is a satisfying respite from all the bells and whistles yet doesn’t abandon its impulses. First, the marisco menu here is simply excellent: I recommend the tacos dorados de camarón, light and crispy, and the tostada de pulpo. The michelada itself is top-notch, balanced, with a dunked beer, a chamoy stick and a nostalgia plug in the form of a floating saladito. Proximity to Chavez Ravine makes this spot an ideal perch for a pregame summertime michelada before watching the Dodgers demolish the Giants or the Padres.
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Cerveza Cito
Santa Ana Mexican
The brewery, like the house michelada, always feels like a party. There are board games and trivia nights, and food trucks set up shop out front. The light and crisp Firme Twist is flavored with both lime and salt and ideal for the tamarind-forward michelada mix. It’s also my go-to choice for the spicy lemon, funky pepino and vegan mango micheladas. Regardless of your choice, expect a generous, gloppy rim of chamoy and Tajín, along with a sweet and smoky tamarind straw and a Rebanaditas.
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Mango Michelada from La Chuperia.
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
La Chupería No. 1
Lincoln Heights Mexican
One of the earliest temples to the modern L.A. michelada is said to have arrived at the first location of the Chupería chain, in the neighborhood around the old county medical center and across the street from the L.A. Coroner. The tone here is definitively that of an underground Mexico City-style depósito, with dark walls and aggressive music blasting. (“Depósito,” or deposit, is the word for a beer-by-the-case business in urban Mexico that may or not tolerate customers hanging out with open containers in its backdoor bodega area.) With a full slate of beers on tap, including local microbrews, La Chupería also operates as a taco spot and nachos chophouse, perfect for late-afternoon snacking. Its current miche offerings are highlighted by mango and watermelon varieties. The mix is a bit heavy on the Clamato but still achingly refreshing, with large chunks of fruit and your chosen lager bottle dunked downward, directly into a goblet.
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Colonia Publica
Whittier Mexican Cuisine
An undisputed champion of michelada variety — where the rims come colored with specialty sugars, spice blends and garnishes tailored to each drink — chef Ricardo Diaz’s Whittier Mexi-gastropub Colonia Publica is a top destination for diehards and those new to the bright and chile-spiked world of miches. The bar whips up nine types of micheladas, from the green, herbaceous, aguachile-tinged Verde, garnished with a thick wedge of pineapple to lend sweetness to the heat, to the Cocochelada, whose Modelo Negra adds a hint of depth and bitterness to creamy coconut milk, sipped via a cinnamon-sugar rim. The chamoy-inspired Chamaco comes garnished with cheffy sweet-spicy candied bacon that’s made in-house, while the Gose Vibrations, with its watermelon, pineapple and lime juices paired with a briny melon gose, tastes a little like biting into Tajín-dusted watermelon on a hot summer day. All nine micheladas are an exercise in balance and flavor, but also in fun. If you can’t decide which to order, Colonia Publica offers tasting flights, which come with your pick of four flavors, all garnished even in their miniature form — and they all pair well with Diaz’s range of tacos and mariscos.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Gracias Madre
West Hollywood Mexican
The michelada arrives with a couple of inches of foam on top, a thick, sticky rim and a cucumber for garnish. There’s an underlying clean, savory element abetted by a rim that’s more salty than tangy. And it sips like a nice cup of gazpacho with a mellow, clarified tomato flavor. There were no shrimp hanging off the sides or elaborate garnish, but it satiated like a complete meal.
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(Daniel Hernandez / Los Angeles Times)
The Grain Cafe
Mid-City Mexican
This unassuming family-run chain of vegetarian Oaxacan restaurants was a comfort for me when I first moved to the Mid-City area and began frequenting the local spot, in a strip mall near Salvadoran favorite El Baron and a Mateo’s ice cream shop. Halfway through the pandemic shutdowns, the Grain on Pico acquired a license to sell alcohol, leading to the Grain michelada magically manifesting. In it, the cafe’s commitment to excellence and quality ingredients shines through; the miche here is both modest and exceptional, served in a barro clay mug, the kind usually used for tequila-based cantarito cocktails. A wedge of pineapple and cucumber accompany the chilled-out rim, along with a chamoy stick. A nicely shaded outdoor patio offers the perfect setting for a quick, midweek miche detour. For a bite, I suggest chilaquiles or tortas.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Guelaguetza
Harvard Heights Mexican
This is where I tried my first michelada. My friend described it as a Bloody Mary but lighter and more refreshing, and with beer. I insisted I wasn’t a beer drinker, but I ordered one anyway. That first sip packed a wallop of citrus and spice with a smooth, mellow tomato flavor bolstered by the distinct umami of anchovy. The rim tasted of roasted chiles and even more citrus. It was brunch in a glass, and I’ve been hooked ever since. The restaurant bottles its mixes (OG brown, red and vegan) under the name I Love Micheladas, and you can order them online or find them at select retailers around town — including Costco.
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Martin's Cocina y Cantina
Inglewood Mexican
A lot of people in Inglewood are loyal to the Fiesta Martin family of local restaurants, a quick-dining experience with multiple locations that demonstrates how deeply many Black Angelenos regard California Mexican food as part of their culinary culture as well. A visit to a Fiesta Martin locale is like a window into the broader Southwest L.A. community: a mixed Black, Mexican and Salvadoran clientele with families, first dates, sports teams and groups of girlfriends who are unafraid of breaching their limit of margaritas. Recently, the group behind the restaurants opened an upscale version of its kitchen in downtown Inglewood, dubbed Martin’s Cocina y Cantina, with sleek decor and heightened attention to detail at every turn. Young, stylish locals have already claimed the space as their own. There’s a full bar and a bunch of great cocktails, but really, if you’re cruising for a fresh happy-hour moment, the bar at Martin’s cantina is a great place to order a house michelada and relax until traffic dies down. There’s not a lot to the miche here, but it delivers: Classic, straight-up and delicious.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Miche x God
Sylmar Seafood Restaurant
The team at Sylmar’s Miche x God lives under one simple but very wise motto: “Life’s short, eat mariscos and drink micheladas,” and this spot specializes in both trades to dizzying effect. There are flavorful, fresh ceviches, aguachiles, pulpo quesadillas, fish tacos, shrimp cocteles and more, and the micheladas, which are vegan and virgin, for now — though a beer-and-wine license is expected by the end of the year — are jaw-droppingly colorful, especially when rimmed with Miche x God’s house-made sweet-salty chamoy in a range of flavors (we love the watermelon). If you’re hoping to combine the best of both worlds, opt for the botana, which stacks a tray of cocido, ceviche or aguachile atop a 24- or 32-ounce bright, effervescent miche; grab it to-go and B.Y.O.B., or sip it alcohol-free inside or on the patio. If you’re hoping to recreate Miche x God’s magic at home, the team sells michelada mix, chamoy (original, mango, watermelon or blueberry), and even travel sizes and miche-inspired merch.
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(Daniel Hernandez / Los Angeles Times)
Miches de la Baja
West Carson Mexican
Once you start adding solid food to a michelada, the options brim with possibility. You can go hard — too hard? — or, like Miches de la Baja, you can ignite the senses a bit without drowning out the core ingredient: beer. The South Bay chain offers memorable micheladas in the botana style meant to sustain a drinker with some food in the drink — but not too much of it. For actual appetites, Miches de la Baja has a solid menu: The cocktails, ceviches, tostadas, and aguachiles are worth saving room for. My favorite here is the tamarindo miche: Regular michelada mix is tinted smoothly with tamarindo flavor for a surprising sweetness. Chunks of mango and cucumber accompany the obligatory chamoy stick. The vibe is very South Bay.
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(Daniel Hernandez / Los Angeles Times)
Ricco's Michelaguas
Torrance Mexican
There was bound to be a nonalcoholic offshoot to the michelada craze eventually, and it’s hit hard in L.A. in recent years, with “miche-aguas” or “michelaguas” playing on the truly boundless variety that is possible with the beer-like cocktail. The drinks are the favorite of the under-21 set at the night markets that have sprung up across Southern California in the pandemic-era realignment of street-food eating. Night-market nonalcoholic michelaguas tend to tip over the edge into the extreme — with mountains of fruits, candies, gummy candies and other add-ons that sort of stress me out. But you have to start somewhere, and for me, the nonalcoholic michelada subgroup is more deeply associated with daytime swap meets. Michelaguas are enjoyed every weekend at the swap meets in Santa Fe Springs and Paramount, as well as the Roadium in Torrance, where Ricco’s Michelaguas is a worthy introduction. The swap meet’s central snack bar keeps a michelagua stand. Try the mango or the verde, but you can also order yours with just about any agua fresca available. (Tip: Spend on VIP parking or park offsite to avoid the Roadium’s maddening general lot.)
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San Pedro Fish Market
San Pedro Seafood Restaurant
Almost nothing pairs better with a crisp michelada than fresh seafood, but throw in waterfront dining and your drink really feels transportive. At San Pedro Fish Market, a family run local chain famed for its stacked-high trays of sautéed shrimp, a dockside michelada with a tray of oysters can suddenly feel more like a vacation than a simple meal. The house miche is so popular that bottles are sold for home mixing, but onsite, the salty, spicy blend can arrive simply in its tall cup or done up with sauce, and can be made with Pacifico, Modelo, Victoria or Corona. A meaty wedge of lemon floats inside the drink, adding another savory, citrusy layer, while a thick blanket of peppery foam floats atop it all. The house miches can also be found in the offshoots in Long Beach, Wilmington, Harbor City, Rolling Hills Estates and at sibling restaurant, Crusty Crab, but for the full experience, head to the iconic San Pedro location, grab a shrimp tray and a picnic table right against the fence, and watch the ships and the gulls while you sip.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
TacosWay
San Fernando Mexican
This is a restaurant that takes its micheladas seriously. There are no fewer than six on the menu. For a crowd, there’s the Charolazoway, which comes with half a dozen bottled beers stuffed with chamoy-stained limes on a platter overflowing with Tostitos salsa verde chips, cucumber, Japanese peanuts, shrimp and cueritos. If you’re solo but still feeling like a splurge, the Rubia y La Morena is an impressive order, with two bottles of beer sticking out of an almost overflowing goblet rimmed with shrimp cocktail. The bottles look like mini drip cakes with chamoy streaking down the sides and onto the shrimp. Every available inch of bottle, beer, shrimp and glass is covered in chile and lime seasoning. There’s a lot going on, but the mix shines through with savory tomato and a smack of citrus.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Todos Santos
Hollywood Mexican Cuisine
Chef Ronnie Muñoz recently opened a string of adjacent restaurants in Hollywood, but at Todos Santos, his ode to Baja and one of L.A.’s newest restaurants, he’s devised a blend that pairs well with not only his aguachiles and tacos but also his more composed plates. Its body and depth of flavor can stand up to dishes such as pulpo al pastor or the prawns a la diabla thanks to a blend of Thai fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, fresh lime juice, tomato juice and Cholula. Of course it pairs just as well with raw seafood; the team adds horseradish to the miche mix to serve as a cocktail sauce for the oysters on the half shell too. The michelada can be made with any of the restaurant’s beers.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Trejo's Cantina Hollywood
Hollywood Mexican
The michelada at Danny Trejo’s Hollywood cantina is simple and satisfying, with a thick tomato base that’s heavy on the black pepper. There’s enough chamoy and Tajín on the rim to make your lips pucker. It’s the combination of the michelada mix and the Trejo’s Cerveza Lager that gives this particular pairing a boost. It’s crisp and refreshing and lets the mix shine. The drink is served in an ice-cold mug with the remaining can of beer on the side. And yes, Danny Trejo’s smiling face stares back at you from the front of every can.
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Eat your way across L.A.
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