Nepenthe – Big Sur, California
January 25, 2026Rolling In The Dough
Churrería El Moro – Echo Park (Los Angeles), CA
Visited: February 2026
In late-January 2026, our favorite churro and hot chocolate place from our 2023 trip to Mexico City (CDMX) opened its second location in the United States in Echo Park (Los Angeles) near Dodger Stadium.
We are not unfamiliar with renowned churros having eaten them at the world famous Chocolatería San Ginés in Madrid, Spain, the oldest churro and chocolate establishment in Madrid founded in 1894. To be honest, we thought they were just ok. So, when we were advised to go to El Moro in Mexico City, we didn’t bother to go until our last day in town. We should have visited earlier.
Churrería El Moro had been in business in CDMX for nearly 90 years when we visited Mexico City in 2023. It was founded in 1935 and makes the most delectable crispy, chewy, hot churros rolled in sugar and cinnamon alongside several different hot chocolates, dipping sauces and even ice cream. When we were in CDMX, Tracy had a mini-churro strawberry ice cream sandwich (Consuelitos), which she thought may have been the best thing she ate on the entire trip, and that’s saying a lot because we had a lot of great meals there.
El Moro opened its first location in the United States at the incredible Mercado González in Costa Mesa, CA, in 2023. Mercado González is the brainchild of Mexican supermarket chain Northgate González, which has more than 40 locations throughout Southern California. The Costa Mesa location fashions itself after similar mercados in places such as Guadalajara, Oaxaca and other Mexican cities. If you are in Southern California, you really must go!
Five days after the grand opening of El Moro in Echo Park, Tracy and I drove downtown to see if the churros were as good as we remembered. 
And they were! Hot out of the frying oil and smothered in cinnamon and sugar, bet you can’t just eat one.
I ordered the churros and Mexicano hot chocolate with cinnamon. The hot chocolate was excellent, except that it was really, really, really HOT. And dipping those churros in the hot chocolate only added to the experience. Muy delicioso!
Tracy opted for a Consuelo, a churro ice cream sandwich which comes with vanilla, strawberry, chocolate or seasonal ice cream flavors. Tracy ordered vanilla this time after having fallen in love with strawberry in CDMX. The Echo Park El Moro features artisanal ice cream, and the vanilla ice cream is chock full of vanilla bean flecks and stupendous, despite being a tad too thick to eat without a pile of napkins to sop up the ice cream melting from the warm churros. Tracy hopes they will bring the mini Consuelitos from CDMX to Echo Park soon.
We did not leave room to sample the al pastor torta (torta with pork marinated in the classic al-pastor style) or asada torta (juicy grilled beef served with onions and cilantro in a toasted roll), so we returned the next evening to try them out. The rolls tasted freshly made, and the tortas came up fairly quickly as almost everyone was there for the churros. In case you were wondering, we liked the al pastor torta best. Be sure to ask for an extra container of the salsa which comes with the torta.
To wash down the tortas, we ordered the seasonal milkshake which happened to be Cherries and Cream. Oh my! That was so delightfully tasty and not too thick, so I could actually sip and savor it.
Couple of thoughts … although there is a tiny parking lot, the street parking is hit and miss (there were no parking spaces available nearby on Sunset on either visit). Off Sunset, it is a residential area, so you have to look for street parking (we lucked out both times with spots nearby). Be sure to expect a line. We arrived at 10:30 a.m. mid-week and there was no line, but by 11:00 a.m. it was getting busy (and they had only been open five days when we visited). When we arrived the next day at 5:30 p.m. there was a line (and 45 minutes later a longer line). There was less street parking available in the evening.
Now that we have tried almost everything at El Moro, we can highly recommend it, whichever location you choose.
Churrería El Moro
1524 West Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Sunday – Thursday: 8 am – 11 pm
Friday/Saturday: 8 am – 1 am
Parking: Small Lot & Street
Instagram: elmoro_usa
