Set Within Mercado La Paloma, Holbox Has Become One of Los Angeles’ Defining Restaurants
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The smoked kanpachi taco at Holbox begins with sustainably-caught Baja fish—an ingredient chef Gilberto Cetina has been sourcing for the past eight years. The heads are smoked in applewood and the meat is picked and concentrated in a traditional guisado with aromatics and chiles. The fish is tucked inside of an heirloom tortilla with locally made Oaxacan cheese, then folded over and griddled before getting topped with a traditional salsa macha.
It’s this taco that best represents what Cetina is aiming to do at Holbox, the Mexican restaurant he opened nearly a decade ago inside of Mercado La Paloma, a 35,000 square-foot food hall and cultural center in south Los Angeles.
“It looks super simple,” says Cetina, “But it embodies so many things about traditional Mexican cookery and other aspects of cooking that I really like. It also gives an interesting use to an underutilized part of the fish, which is the head.”
Holbox (pronounced “hole-bosh” and named for the island off Mexico’s northern Yucatán peninsula) specializes in mariscos, seen through the lens of Southern California. Glance at the menu and depending on the time of year, you’ll see Baja blood clams, fresh uni, and Santa Barbara spot prawns. The restaurant offers à la carte counter service in addition to an eight-course tasting menu experience exclusively on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Reservations for the latter are typically released on the first of the month, often selling out within a matter of days. Notably, the restaurant does not serve alcohol.
Mercado La Paloma, launched by the nonprofit Esperanza Community Housing Corporation in 2001, was always intended to be a reprieve from the ubiquitous liquor stores and fast-food chains dotting the neighborhood. Today it remains a community focused and family-friendly destination.
“I saw this as a limitation at first,” says Cetina, who figured Holbox would open its doors and get some traction before eventually moving somewhere better suited for serving tasting menus. “Along this nine-year journey, I’ve realized that this is exactly where I want to be.”
Cetina learned to cook at Chichén Itza, a neighboring food stall in the mercado opened by his parents over two decades ago. Which is to say, he has spent his entire professional career inside of Mercado La Paloma. Cetina credits his parents with instilling in him both a strong work ethic and an appreciation for storytelling—values that remain central to Holbox today.
“My dad was an incredible storyteller. He would sit down with guests and forge these relationships—real relationships with the customers—and he would do it by sharing his story, his culture, his background.”
At Holbox, Cetina leans into these lessons, focusing not just on composing well-executed dishes, but sharing the stories behind them. “Every recipe that at some point is deviating from a traditional Mexican recipe, I always ask myself, and I ask this to my team, my cooks and sous chefs, ‘How does this fit in within the context of what we’re trying to tell?’”
The story of Holbox is one of ingredients, fishermen, divers, producers, aquaculture in Southern California, and sustainability. But above all, Cetina says it is a story of immigrants. At this year’s James Beard Awards (which will take place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in June), he is proud to represent Los Angeles, the Latino community, and immigrants everywhere.
“Without our immigrant community, this industry is a different industry. To be able to represent that sector is very important and I don’t take it lightly.”
The James Beard nomination for Outstanding Chef tops the list of other well-deserved accolades the team has been busy racking up, including a Michelin star and a spot on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Despite national recognition, the Holbox that so many know and love will continue to stay true to its roots. “We’ve been very intentional in that we’re not going to change what the guest experiences or our philosophy on food is here at Holbox.”
