With Broken Spanish Comedor, Ray Garcia Still Has More to Say

Broken Spanish debuted in Downtown Los Angeles in 2015, pairing chef Ray Garcia’s cooking with a Latin, Alta California approach rooted in Mexican flavors shaped by California. The original restaurant became known for dishes such as 36-hour chicharrón, refried lentils with epazote, quesillo, and potato-stuffed chile relleno with soubise. After closing in August 2020 during the pandemic, the concept briefly returned as a limited-term pop-up in 2021 at Neuehouse with a shortened menu. Garcia later worked on other projects while the restaurant remained dormant. In 2023, B.S. Taqueria announced a Las Vegas opening and later moved to Via Via Food Hall in 2025. Broken Spanish now reappears as Broken Spanish Comedor on the Westside.

"A decade after Broken Spanish debuted in Downtown Los Angeles, the mercurial restaurant has made a comeback as Broken Spanish Comedor, a more casual version of the original restaurant that brought acclaimed Los Angeles-born chef Ray Garcia's cooking to the Westside."

"When Garcia opened his landmark Downtown Los Angeles restaurant Broken Spanish and its casual sibling, B.S. Taqueria, in 2015, he joined a growing cohort of Latin chefs writing the future of Alta California - a cuisine rooted in Mexican cooking told through its California home. In 2015, Esquire named Garcia its chef of the year as the restaurant solidified itself as a destination for its 36-hour chicharrón, velvety refried lentils imbued with epazote and quesillo, and potato-stuffed chile relleno blanketed by soubise."

"Five years after opening, Broken Spanish closed unceremoniously in August 2020 amid the ballooning pandemic. A year prior, B.S. Taqueria shuttered following unsuccessful negotiations to renew its lease. In 2021, Broken Spanish temporarily revived as a limited-term pop-up at the now-defunct Neuehouse in Hollywood, serving an abbreviated menu of dishes including squash-stuffed tamal, albondigas, and the iconic chicharrón."

"For some time, the Broken Spanish front remained dormant as he worked on other projects, including Viva in Las Vegas, Qué Bárbaro inside the Level 8 development, and Asterid at Walt Disney Concert Hall, which has since shuttered. In 2023, B.S. Taqueria announced it would open at Las Vegas's Sundry at Uncommons; it later relocated to the star-studded Via Via Food Hall in 2025."

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