Everything You Need to Know About Marvito, WeHo’s New Tex-Mex Honky Tonk
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Max Marder knows what the people of West Hollywood want. Earlier this year, the restaurateur tested out his new concept, Marvito, as a pop-up at Marvin, his perpetually packed French-Italian bistro (which happens to be our favorite place for Angelenos to meet in the middle). Marvito was enough of a success that he launched it as a standalone restaurant in the space that Gardens of Taxco occupied for more than 40 years.
The new venture has a playful ethos, in both food and ambiance. Imagine if America’s most popular Mexican restaurant chains served better fare — sharper salsas, tastier tortillas, margaritas made with fresh lime juice instead of bottled mix. Imagine if they leaned into cultural nostalgia. Imagine if they were confidently quirky, instead of bland and inoffensive. In this not-so-imaginary scenario, you’d end up with something like Marvito.
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Another link in the chain
If you’re old enough to remember growing up in the 1980s or 1990s, congratulations! You experienced the golden era of American chain restaurants. This was middle class fancy at its finest: Plush leather booths, distinctive decor, expansive menus, refillable tortilla chip or bread baskets, ridiculously large and sweet drinks. In the era of food delivery apps and takeout, it’s easy to forget how these places made dining out feel like it wasn’t just a meal, it was an experience.
Marvito, tucked away on Harper Ave. just north of Santa Monica Blvd., harkens back to that time in the best way, drawing on a sense of comfort and consistency while letting its creativity fly — with food that feels like what Angelenos want to eat now.
Retro vibes
The space features pale wood-paneled walls illuminated by sconces and light fixtures that look like they were teleported from the 1970s. Colorful Western-themed art hangs on the walls. A long and inviting patio lets you enjoy the outdoors, while the old school, black leather booths are built for kicking back inside.. The music is mostly classic rock — Steely Dan, Phil Collins, the Rolling Stones. This is the kind of place where kids can play endless games of hangman drawn on napkins as their parents pound margaritas and hoover up warm tortilla chips. (Ask me how I know.) In its Instagram bio, Marvito describes itself as an “elevated dive bar meets psychedelic honky tonk,” and it feels very much a neighborhoody Tex-Mex joint from a simpler era, combined with a late-night roadhouse.
The Cali/Texas/Mexico Express
The menu is filled with classics. Start with the tortilla soup, a bowl of brick orange broth adorned with crema and chunks of avocado, and the queso, a bowl of comforting, creamy cheese dip topped with spicy chorizo. The ground beef tacos, served in a crisp, deep-fried shell, involve American cheese, tomatoes and shredded iceberg lettuce, while the shrimp tacos are blanketed in a mild, blended pico de gallo and crowned with avocado. Don’t miss the chili relleno, which features a large pasilla chile stuffed with queso, breaded and deep fried, then covered in a bright, tart tomato sauce. And definitely get a side of the pinto beans, which are large, rich, and flavorful without being too heavy. If you only have room for one dessert, get the churros. Small and dusted with cinnamon, they come with a cup of dark chocolate dipping sauce that’s good enough to drink on its own.
Forget the rules
As much as Marvito is a Mexican restaurant, it’s also a neighborhood restaurant. So in addition to the Tex-Mex and Cal-Mex fare, the menu features a couple of hefty 10-ounce burgers, barbecued baby back pork ribs in slightly bitter, chile-laden boracho sauce, pork chops, and chicken piccata. Why not? This menu is the best kind of culture clash.
The full bar has a few twists
Marvito makes a tasty margarita (called the Marvarita) and a delicious Paloma as well as a slew of classic cocktails including a Negroni, a Bloody Mary, a Daiquiri and a Tom Collins.
But the real fun is in the original creations like the La Picosa, which replaces bourbon in an Old Fashioned with mezcal, and the Bad Sneakers, Marvito’s version of a piña colada, is clarified to remove the coconut milk solids and topped with a coconut pineapple foam. If you prefer beer, you’ve got three choices — a lager, a pilsner, and Modelo, Mexico’s best German-style beer. The wine list, which skews French and natural at Marvin, is divided here into white, sparkling, rose, orange and two categories of red (regular and chilled), and mostly features wines from France and Italy, with a few California bottles thrown in.
Marvito stays up late
At peak times, like weekends during prime dinner hours (7-9 p.m.), reservations are encouraged. (And, of course, always if you have a large party.) But much of the time, when one or two people can walk in, you’re likely to get a table without much trouble.
One other selling point worth mentioning: Marvito stays open until midnight every day of the week. These late night dining hours are less rare in West Hollywood than in other areas of Los Angeles, but in this current era, that’s a noteworthy addition to the dining scene.
