The red-tile roof has been painted black and the exterior walls a neon green. What is going on at Silver Lake Burrito King? A small “Burrito King” sign remains at the Hyperion Avenue restaurant but workers say the longtime burrito stand will be replaced by a new Mexican restaurant and menu but did not offer more details.
Burrito King was founded in the the 1960s by Julian Montoya, who opened his first burrito stand in Echo Park at Sunset Boulevard and Alvarado Street. The chain eventually grew to about 20 outlets before competition forced Montoya to shrink his company to only two restaurants by 2003, according to a New York Times profile of Montoya.
The Eastsider has left a message Montoya to get more details about the change. Will the new restaurant menu include a machaca burrito? Stay tuned.
* Update: The Burrito King stand has been purchased by the owners of Tomato Pie, a pizza restaurant with an outlet on Hyperion Avenue, about three blocks south of the Burrito King. The new restaurant will be called Mixto Comida Latina, which will serve tacos, tortas, burritos and other Mexican food made with grass-fed beef and sustainable foods, said co owner Garrett Policastro. He and business partner Freddy Suarez expect to open Mixto in about two weeks. “We wanted to try something else and diversify,” said Policastro explaining the expansion into Mexican food.
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{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
Word on the street a couple months ago was the owners Tomato Pie bought it.
Burrito King is a part of LA! Tom Waits even mentions the one on Sunset and Alvarado in one of his songs.
Mark Wirtz mentions “Burrito King corner, where everyone goes” in his song “Silverlake Ripple”. (It’s posted on YouTube.)
NOOOOO! Another expensive establishment will replace it. RIP Burrito King on Hyperion. *pours beer*
sure it’s not turning into a pot shop?
The problem with Burrito King is that the food is completely terrible. Good riddance.
Worked down the street and used to eat there in the very late 70′s/ early 80′s. was good then. Went back in 97. Not so good. Again 2010– god awful. And so it is.
My dad used to take me to the Burrito King on Melrose and Mansfield before that location turned into California Chicken Cafe. It was not good.
In related news: LOVE Tomato Pie. Looking forward to what its owners do with this place.
Tomato pie sucks like we need more crap on dough in the neighborhood, choice between two evils I vote for local color burrito king, I lose.
Joe,
They’re not opening another pizza place. Read the article. Burrito = crap IN dough.
What’s going on with the Los Feliz Burrito King? Amirite?
Good riddance, I cracked a tooth on a chicken bone buried deep inside one of their burritos, the one and only time I ordered something from them.
Good riddance. Burrito King was HORRIBLE. Love Tomato Pie and looking forward to see that kind of quality translated into a mexican menu. Hopefully it will be open late!
This is a loss. Just hope the new is more Loteria Grill and not Hugos. Some late night I’ll be at Sunset and Alvarado.
What ever happened to the pot-dispensary guy who was going mano-a-mano with the owner of the Hyperion Burrito King? I haven’t heard anything about him since that story.
why would anyone go to a burrito king when you got taco trucks? burrito king’s too expensive any way
i’m sad to see burrito king go. many a late night i indulged in their nachos supreme and burritos. i’m sure the new place will be good and use honest, healthy ingredients, but do we really need another mexican restaurant? and as a side note, tomato pie ain’t nothing like what we had in utica. they need to to revisit upstate ny and try again.
Yeah I’m on the good riddance side of this.
Ate there 3 times, all three of which the burrito disintegrated in my hands/foil because the chicken stew that they put in it was so scalding it burned through the tortilla.
Total Mexicano meltdown.
Anyway also gotta concur, plenty of great truck and cart options out there.
RE:
“James August 17, 2011 at 6:00 pm
What ever happened to the pot-dispensary guy who was going mano-a-mano with the owner of the Hyperion Burrito King? I haven’t heard anything about him since that story.”
Ha ha ha that guy pops in and comments on that original post like once every six months, still ranting like bag lady off her meds.
Leopold, what about my comment sounded like a rant? Seems like I touched a nerve. You might need some medical marijuana to calm down.
James
No no no! I didn’t mean you, I meant the pot dispensary guy is ‘still ranting like bag lady off her meds.’ ( but I’ll gladly take some medical marijuana to calm down ;-) )
The crispy shell chicken tacos at the Burrito King at Sunset/Alvarado are the BEST. I hope they don’t close that location. This Burrito King never had food that was as good.
The food at that Burrito King was nasty. I have faith that this could be a huge improvement over what was there since Tomato Pie is awesome, no complaints about anything they’ve done there.
I know the food was marginal here but I’m sad to see the place go for more sentimental reasons… I went to Marshall High just up the street from there and when I would leave campus for lunch (which we weren’t supposed to do ;-)) we would go there or to gelsons. Shoot my *mom* would do the same thing when she went to Marshall! It’s the end of an era… let us bow our heads in silent prayer…
I ate her like 6 years ago and never went back, beans bathed in greasy oil the rice was hard and they used cheap beef, And it wasn’t affordable for mexican food.
as for tomato pie it’s lousy specially the lasagna I tried it 3 times and it was like a 5lb glob of pasta and cheese mound. As for the pizza well lets just say your not missing anything special, you want good pizza go to PALERMO”s on vermont that place is Legend. I hope the new place will make their carne asada tacos with good meat,and be priced for what a taco should be $1..
burritto king greasy food reminds me of the cactus on vine and willoughby in hollywood
I lived in the area thirty years- I must say I like good Mexican Food and lets put in this way Burrito King doesn’t lines waiting for their Burritos- On the other hand Tomato Pie has lines out the door, I would suspect that’s why they have enough money to buy Burrito King.
If they make good Mexican Food there will be lines out the door there too!
I love most crap Mexican food – but Burrito King to me never measured up to snuff for some reason. It was never as comforting (deliciously decadent) as places like Yuca’s on the greasier end… nor could it compete with with better end spots like Malo. Even with a nasty hangover I would drive over the hill to Del Taco rather than go to Burrito King. Look forward to what Tomato Pie will do there.
@sunny – why would you go to a place called Tomato Pie and order lasanga instead of pizza? just sayin’.
IT WILL SUCK!!
Tomato Pie hires really nice local guys to deliver the ‘za, so there is plenty of local color. Frienldy folks answer the phone, too.T’Pie are are in line for pizza prices, so I can’t imagine that Mixto will be stupid money. A friend’s kid just had a burrito there and liked it.
As much as I like the idea of Burrrito King, the food never met my expectations– unripe tomatos in the pico de gallo, the guac was yucky. Looking forward to checking it out.
I hope like T’Pie, they will deliver, ye gods ot have Mexican food delivered….
NIXTO on the Mixto…what a stupid name. Doesn’t roll of the tongue does it? Bring back Burrito King that place I’ve been going for 30 years. This new place is bland boring and even the pukey green paint job is ugly. If these hipsters want health food let them toddle their anorexic grass fed butts to Trader Joes for a veggie frozen enchilada. Old fashioned Mexican Food was Burrito King’s forte, sadly this place I hope goes away soon!
Burrito King’s food was 1,000 times better than this crap.
Silverlake is being overrun by grungy, skinny dirty looking 20 something year olds whose taste is not even in their mouth. There sign says Open Late but they closed at 8:00 PM last night? WTF???
The Boycott worked!