{"id":415427,"date":"2026-07-28T17:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T17:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/415427\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T17:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T17:40:15","slug":"holbox-review-is-the-michelin-starred-seafood-stand-worth-the-wait-in-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/415427\/","title":{"rendered":"Holbox Review: Is the Michelin-Starred Seafood Stand Worth the Wait in Line?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Holbox<\/a> first opened in 2017, one of eight restaurants in the historic Mercado La Paloma, no one knew how far-reaching the famed Mexican seafood stall\u2019s influence would be felt throughout Los Angeles. Holbox was the first market stand in Los Angeles to receive a Michelin star, in effect changing the way food halls and marketplaces now get perceived nationally. It landed a spot on North America\u2019s 50 Best Restaurants list and James Beard nods for chef Gilbert Cetina, whose family has been part of Mercado La Paloma\u2019s history since opening Yucatecan Chichen Itza in 2001. It has been included in Eater Los Angeles\u2019s own 38 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles list<\/a> multiple times.<\/p>\n

And yet much has remained from Holbox\u2019s early days: its emphasis on local ingredients, the quality of the seafood, and the warm feeling of both the service and the location. (The lines are newer \u2014 but they move quickly.) Regardless, it\u2019s one of the lines in Los Angeles<\/a> actually worth waiting in, no matter the length. Holbox also offers 8-course tasting menus on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., but reservations \u2014 which can be found on Resy<\/a> \u2014 can be tricky to grab in time.<\/p>\n

Although Holbox has a Michelin star, the vibe isn\u2019t white tablecloths and buttoned up servers \u2014 which adds to the appeal. Holbox is situated in Mercado La Paloma and the open seating and market setting make it feel like a true locals\u2019 destination, even as it now attracts travelers from around the world. It\u2019s fun to share tables with other guests and witness the buzziness of the mercado as you dive into your seafood spread.<\/p>\n

You can easily make your visit there a bang-bang. I suggest grabbing suadero tacos from Komal, an agua fresca from Oaxacali, and Yucatan specialties \u2014 like fried fish tacos and the antojitos trio \u2014 from Chichen Itza, a stall also run by the Cetina family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Holbox first opened in 2017, one of eight restaurants in the historic Mercado La Paloma, no one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28829,48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-415427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-dining-reports","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}