Amaranta Cocina Mexicana

It's 2021 and I need the owner to reopen, my entire family remembers how good the food was and although I was just a child I remember how good the food was. I just want to eat this food once more, by far the best Mexican food I have tried, I am Mexican and my standards are high!! Please owner if you are reading this I miss everything, Tortilla soup, pyramid rice, ice cream, and crepas

I love this place.... been there twice and will be back again.

For starters, the 3 salsas and fresh warm chips were delicious. Watch out for the green one which has some serious kick to it! The fresh homemade tortillas were to die for as well. Next up, we ordered the tableside guacamole which was scrumptious. Made to perfection and made even better with those fresh chips.

For drinks, I had a blended mango margarita and my husband had a margarita on the rocks. When my mango margarita was delivered, I knew right away that it would be the bomb. It looked like it belonged in a magazine... perfectly blended with REAL mango, not some cheezy flavoring, creamy and delicious!!!

For the main course, I had the chicken and steak fajitas. Really great flavors and not heavy at all. The black beans were just ok, with a different texture than I'm used to, but the rest was yummy. My hubby had the conchinita pibil (pork in banana leaves) and it was really tasty although a bit on the salty side.

We tried to leave room for dessert, but after polishing off two margaritas each, every last drop of the guacamole and two bowls of chips and salsa and our entrees, we were stuffed.

To top it off, we had GREAT service from our waiter who was very attentive and catered to our every need. We'll definitely be back soon!!

If you want to get drunk on very rare and very expensive tequilas then this is the place for you!!! They have sooo many different types of margaritas to choose from and soooo many different types of tequilas to shoot! :)

The food is OK. I am very critical of commercial Mexican food because I am a very good authentic Mexican food chef myself, but this food is pretty good considering where I'm eating it from. The ambiance is great and they have live entertainment every Wednesday if I remember correctly.

I came here for my birthday and as soon as I can drink again I will return!!!

This is a very pretty restaurant. The service is prompt and friendly. The margaritas are really good. The menu is creative. The food is fresh and well-presented. The full bar features over 375 tequilas! It's certainly not a 5-star place but probably a solid 4-star. So, why am I giving it 3 stars...

When we got to Amaranta, we were promptly greeted and shown to a booth. Warm handmade tortillas arrived with a selection of three salsas... a nice change from the ubiquitous chips. The salsas were mild, medium and hot, and each was unique in color and taste. The margaritas are "on the rocks" and we weren't given the option of "blended" but that's OK. They were mighty tasty and high-octane! Our waiter was attentive but not overly so.

I ordered the Enchiladas Amaranta and my girlfriend ordered the Chili Relleno stuffed with picadillo. When our plates arrived they were attractive and the food looked appetizing and fresh. Unfortunately, my enchiladas were disappointing

They were filled with bland shredded pork and accented with a sauce that was oddly sweet and tomato-y. They were just a bore. Her picadillo-stuffed poblano chili had a little more zing but, again, was underspiced and slightly greasy. Both dishes came with Mexican rice (creatively molded in the shape of a perfect pyramid) that was ok but nothing special. My refried black beans were innoffensive but similarly lacked much flavor. Her mixed vegetables were the highlight of the meal. They were bursting with flavor and cooked just right.

So, I'm conflicted about this place. I really liked the atmosphere and the entire experience up to the actual eating of the food. Maybe we just ordered wrong. I love Mexican food for the rich palate of flavors, chilis and spice. Sorry, this meal had none of the above. It particularly seemed odd since the salsas served with the tortillas were flavorful and nice. We'll certainly go back and try again. I'm willing to bet that our next meal at Amaranta will be more satisfying and I'll add that fourth star. But, for now, I have to go with what I've actually experienced, not what I anticipate.

UPDATE 9/20/07 ---
We went back. Again, warm, fresh, hand-made tortillas and a trio of salsa were proffered. This time, the red salsa was even more flavorful than the first time! We ordered margaritas and were, again, impressed. Plenty of tequila and not too sweet. Just enough "whang" to be delicious. I ordered the tamale appetizer... two chicken tamales, one with mole sauce and one with tomatillo sauce... and pozole rojo. My girlfriend ordered the ceviche and the veggie side dish.

My pozole rojo was exquisite. In a tomato/chili broth floated oodles of hominy and lean pork. Muy sabroso! The tamales were, frankly, average. The mole sauce, rather than being dark and complex was oddly sweet. It should taste of earthy chilis and bitter chocolate. It was like a melted chocolate bar. Our waiter mentioned that they've changed the pozole rojo recipe recently. Let's hope they're still tweaking other recipes and will update the mole.

Dear Amaranta,
Please don't think it's necessary to dumb-down the cuisine of Mexico for American tastes. Those who don't get it, never will. Those who do get it will be disappointed in your efforts.

The tomatillo sauce was tasty and I liked it best. My girlfriend's ceviche was fresh and delicious. Perhaps a little too much lime, but that's a matter of taste. Her veggies were also nice.

Service was, as usual, attentive and friendly. Both times we've been to Amaranta, our waiter not only seemed interested in serving us, but was actually a nice guy. Not phony nice... sincerely nice.

OK... Amaranta, you've earned your 4th star... but only probationally. You'd better impress me on our third visit.

UPDATE 9/26/07 ---
I'll keep this short. Went out with another couple to celebrate birthdays. Girlfriend had fish tacos al pastor. Whoa! These were good! I had carnitas. Pork was tender and flavorful. Salsa had a fine flavor and kick. Maybe some guac & sour cream would be nice, though. Friend #1 has Cochinita Pibil. Another Whoa! Tender a tasty. Friend #2 had a picadillo stuffed chili relleno. Got a chance to sample two desserts: stuffed churros and crepes. Nice.

OK... I'm done reviewing Amaranta now. Probably 3.5 stars but I'm rounding up in anticipation. Some dishes are still "pleh" but some are superior. It depends on how you order what kind of dining experience you'll get. That needs to improve.

Came here for brunch w/ my girlfriends and even made reservations for us, but no need. This place is EMPTY. Sadly so. But we were willing to give it a try. It has a great big space inside the Topanga Mall and had the potential to be tasty. If nothing else, it was quiet and private.

Anyways, the 3 of us weren't very adventurous since all of us got the Huevos con Carne Asada. Unfortunately the meat was dry, the eggs shriveled, and not enough blue corn chips. I think there were 4 on each plate. With coffee, tax and tip, we each netted out about $18 each. Kind of pricey for a disappointing meal.

This place is for ambience not food.

The reason I love Amaranta is two fold. First, the food and drinks are absolutely delicious. Second, they are located in the Wesfield Topanga Plaza mall, and you know what that means...Drunk shopping!!!!!

First the food: I am a bit of a mole freak/snob and their mole is amazing. Honestly the mole gods must live in their kitchen and produce this fabulous brown liquid from the tears of angels. Yum! I love the chicken enchiladas with mole. The plate comes with three gigantic enchiladas stuffed to the brim with tender chicken breast, perfectly cooked black beans, and a little pyramid of fluffy and flavorful rice. The pyramid is seriously so cute I almost hate to eat it.

Now the margaritas: When I first read the cocktail menu I really thought I had died and gone to margarita heaven. The margaritas are listed by the tequilla they contain and the menu describes the flavor notes of each tequilla. The tequilla gods are clearly in cahoots with the mole gods and are living here too, and those angels must be crying a lot because their tears were in my margaritas as well.

The restaurant is very attractive but a bit small, so sometimes the wait can be a bit long. The service is top notch and I have always had amazing service. This is a great spot to start off a drunk shopping binge!

After walking by it 100 times with a mall pretzel, I finally took the plunge and took a seat at Amaranta in the Canoga Park Topanga Mall. This is a place that boasts perhaps too much tequila options at over 400, and prefers to think of their menu as one that "does not seek to invent or modernize Mexican cuisine, but rather to celebrate, respect and preserve its originality." I walked in expecting fancier fajitas or tacos filled with things I'd never tasted before, but what I found was quite different.

On a Wednesday at 6:30 PM I arrived braving the hectic mall parking to find Amaranta on the ground floor next to the mall concierge station. The restaurant is designed to be wide open to the mall surroundings to allow the passersby carrying a mall pretzel the chance to look in and stop for lunch. It's too bad it's not located outdoors to allow natural sunlight in the place, because the patio and it's interior would certainly be at home. They could even decrease the strange amount of neon lighting to make it a more welcoming atmosphere. It was clear that when I arrived to the empty restaurant that more foot traffic was needed. Even the waiter looked bored as he leaned against the bar with wall-to-wall booze waiting around for someone to wait on.

Seated quickly I cracked open the menu and instantly ordered the tableside prepared guacamole. As I continued to menu scan we munched on the three house made salsas dipped into with pieces of hand made corn tortillas.

This was a nice change from the usual chips I'm accustomed to seeing, but you can request chips if you're tortilla phobic when it comes to salsa. The waiter indicated that the green was mild, the darkest color was medium, and the red was hot. Heat was true to name, but the salsa was a bit thin for my taste. I've always thought that salsa was for scooping, not for dipping. Probably why it's called salsa and not dip.

A cart soon rolled over with all the guacamole making ingredients and the guacamole man did his thing. The result tasted remarkably like guacamole! Yes you can screw up guacamole, sadly it's happened to me more then once. It was very fresh and I could certainly taste all the different bits and pieces that went in to making it, especially the lime. A truly solid guacamole. This came with chips that were made in-house same as the tortillas, and tasted equally warm, fresh, and greaseless.

For my entree I had a tough time deciding between the chicken fajitas and the conchinita pibil. I went with the latter, described exotically in the menu as "marinated chunks of pork wrapped in banana leaves and steamed to perfection." For sides I picked the spanish rice and refried black beans.

I had hoped it would arrive actually wrapped in a banana leaf tied shut like a present waiting to be opened on Christmas day. I was sad to see someone beat me to it, but no matter, it's what's inside that counts right? What I found was unevenly cooked with the outer edges being a bit on the dry side, and the center being the more tender and moist. Texture wise it was on-point, but it lacked in spice to bring it all together. This was the theme for the remainder of the plate which mentioned ingredients like onion and garlic that I couldn't detect.

I did manage to snag a taste of what the others had ordered. The enchiladas amaranta did not suffer from the same under spicing that my choice did. The pork had the qualities that I'd hoped for in mine, and overall the entire enchilada felt more true to the restaurants earlier mission statement.

The third dish on the table I didn't manage to try. But the diner said his camarones al ajillo was very "meh." Out of the three it was the most interestingly presented dish, arriving in a clay pot brimming with shrimp.

The dessert menu had a few interesting options but we opted for the churros con crema y cajeta. I love a good churro, and these were a nice surprise. Filled with bavarian cream and served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream drizzled in caramel sauce, this was the star of the evening. I had a hard time not kicking everyone out of the booth and having it all to myself. It was sweet without being overpowering, and the heat from the churro was well partnered with the ice cream chill.

If I was doing my holiday shopping at the Topanga Mall this winter I would go back to Amaranta despite the dish discrepancies. The guacamole is worth another order, there are a few enchiladas I'd like to try, and the dessert was a delightful grand finale.

When I eat out, I don't usually put Mexican on the top of my list, unless I have East Coasters visiting. But since trying Amaranta, I'd definitely opt for south-of-the-border. It wasn't terribly heavy, which is why I generally veer away from Mex, and the dishes have unusual ingredients that made me scratch my head and think, "You can eat that? Hibiscus, really?" Wonderful guac made fresh at the table, and pretty darn good pomegranate margaritas.

They lost a full star for service, which wasn't awful but enough for me to comment. We asked *twice* for more tortillas and never got them. And when I did my usual narrowing-down of dishes and asked the waiter which he'd recommend, he was terribly unhelpful. "Depends on what you're in the mood for." No kidding! How about you tell me which is most popular? Or which you prefer? Or something I don't know about the dish, such as the cauliflower is cheesier than the description indicates? That would be helpful. But you, sir, were not.

Thoroughly unimpressed, but what can you expect from a restaurant in a mall? Their alcohol selection is quite extensive, and the decor is welcoming, but the food was just so blah....not at all Mexican.

When I go to a Mexican restaurant, I pretty much base weather or not I'll go back on their burritos. Has Amaranta heard of those? Apparently not. This was fancy-schmancy-almost-Mexican-food. The ingredients were there...somewhere, but the food was so bland and the service so bland that I just couldn't wait to get out of there.

3.5 stars

I love their handmade tortilla and 3 salsas. I get full just eating those. The drinks are also to-die-for. The sangria is awesome, and reviews on the margaritas are also really good.

This is not your traditional Mexican place, so if you are looking for authentic Mexican food, look elsewhere. What I noticed is you really have to "find" what you like on their menu b/c the items are a bit "fusion." I had the fish tacos the first time, and they were a bit sweet with pineapple salsa. Chili relleno is also on the "fusion" side. However, the skirt steak fajitas and the shrimp with garlic were excellent even though the portions are a bit small. Finally, the soups are really good here, especially the pozolle.

The decor and service are pretty good. Definitely a place I would go back to. This place has beaten out Sol y Luna in my books.

Finally, this place is on the expensive side for Mexican food. Most entrees range in the $15 to $20 range with soups costing $7 or $8.