La Serenata de Garibaldi — fine-dining Mexican on 1st St

La Serenata de Garibaldi is a pioneering Mexican fine-dining restaurant in Los Angeles, founded in March 1985 by chef José Rodriguez and his wife Aurora at 1842 E 1st St in Boyle Heights ^[1][2]. It was one of the first white-tablecloth Mexican restaurants in LA to reject standard combination plates and instead showcase complex, regional sauces and seafood, earning praise from critic Jonathan Gold for its ‘complex sauces that blew everyone’s minds’ ^[5][7]. Rodriguez, known as the ‘Maestro de Salsas,’ developed a repertory of more than 30 salsas, including a slightly sweet mole best with chicken and a four-chile alarm salsa molcajete studded with diced avocado ^[1][2]. The menu highlighted Mexican-style seafood—fish tacos with avocado and cilantro, gorditas stuffed with shrimp, salmon enchiladas, Mexican sea bass Veracruzana—alongside handmade corn tortillas and daily-baked desserts by Rodriguez’s son Marco ^[1][2]. The restaurant used no lard and emphasized freshness and health consciousness ^[1][2].

After Rodriguez’s death in 2010, the family struggled with rising costs and declining sales ^[4][7]. The original Boyle Heights location closed in January 2017 after 32 years, and the space was later listed for lease ^[4][5][6]. The West Los Angeles branch at 10924 W Pico Blvd remains open under Marco Rodriguez’s ownership, employing former Boyle Heights staff and continuing the tradition of handmade tortillas, mole, and seafood specialties ^[3][5][7]. A third location in Santa Monica also closed ^[7]. The restaurant’s influence on later LA fine-dining Mexican concepts—such as Guelaguetza and Broken Spanish—is noted in its legacy as an early champion of elevated, regional Mexican cuisine in the city ^[5][7].