New Central Ave. Restaurant Promises a Return to South LA Decadence

Great news for South LA, as the owners of Crenshaw’s Delicious Southern Food have opened Delicious at the Dunbar in the historic Dunbar Hotel, now known as Dunbar Village.

Delicious at the Dunbar touts itself as a combination of Mexican and Southern food, slinging out jambalaya and gumbo as well as mole poblano, southern breakfasts, and a handful of culturally-merged options like beef brisket enchiladas. The reasonably-priced menu ranges from three tacos for $9, to $21 for gumbo. There’s a full-service bar as well, and in a nod to its jazz-filled past, live music on weekends.

This second location has a couple of firsts: Delicious at the Dunbar is the owner’s first full-service restaurant, and is also Central Avenue’s first full-service restaurant to open in over 20 years.

Adriana Cortes owns Delicious at the Dunbar with her father and chef, Vidal Cortes. They opened Delicious Southern Cuisine on Vernon and Crenshaw in 2012. The choice to settle a southern food restaurant in Dunbar Village seems a solid fit, as the neighborhood was once the center of LA’s African-American culture. Dr. John Somerville built the Dunbar Hotel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convention in 1928. The hotel accommodated African-Americans who were denied lodging elsewhere. And the Los Angeles’ Central Avenue jazz scene is well-documented, with jazz musicians either staying or performing at the Dunbar, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Bessie Smith.

Delicious at the Dunbar is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Delicious at the Dunbar. 4229 S Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA

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