La Brea Seafood Option Pata Salada Throws in the Towel After Four Months

It’s an untimely death for Pata Salada, the short-lived seafood-focused Mexican restaurant at La Brea and Wilshire. The former Luna Park space got flipped into its latest iteration only in September, but ongoing Metro construction out front seems to have done them in.

Owner Martha Madison tells Eater last night that the shutter on January 17 is certainly abrupt, but “the current Metro Line construction just proved to be too big of an obstacle.” She adds that despite the street closures, traffic sign issues, dust and noise, the “Purple Line liaisons did their best to mitigate the issues.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

It’s a sad, truncated end for the staff, including chef Michael Thomas. The restaurant had received a complete remake from the former Luna Park days, but will now likely languish until the Purple Line extension gets a bit further long. And, ironically enough, with the increased ridership from the big new station across the street, Pata Salada’s space could then become one of the priciest corner pockets of restaurant real estate in the area.

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