Yelp's Best Restaurant Of 2025 Is A Casual Mexican Spot With A Michelin Star

Yelp has released its Top 100 Places to Eat list for 2025, and at the peak is a humble Mexican restaurant located in South Central L.A. called Holbox, helmed by chef Gilberto Cetina. We reached out to understand more about the award-winning destination for foodies, and Cetina was proud to start by explaining what his favorite dish on the menu is and why. "Our Taco de Pulpo en su Tinta is the one closest to my heart," he said. "My father taught me the original dish, although I have modified it over the years to suit my evolving tastes, it represents the most traditional Yucatán recipe on our menu."

The Taco de Pulpo en su Tinta is one of a very few dishes on the menu that doesn't use locally-sourced seafood, as Cetina says the Pulpo Maya comes from the Yucatán region of Mexico for real authenticity. Still, sourcing the freshest seafood available for other items has contributed to Holbox's success. As Cetina explained, "The quality is unmatched when the seafood is fresh, and also allows me a truly blank canvas to impart flavors and change the texture with our dry aging process." With quality at the forefront of Cetina's mind, it's clear that this isn't the kind of Mexican restaurant where you have to worry about whether the tortillas are made on-site. His use of locally-sourced fresh fish has not just pleased his diners; it also caught the attention of another prestigious culinary organization.

Not only is Holbox honored with the top spot on Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat list for 2025, but Cetina now knows what it means to get a Michelin star. With New York City having the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the country, he was delighted to find out his restaurant would boost L.A.'s numbers. Still, he gave the most credit to the people around him who contributed to that achievement, saying, "I was so incredibly proud of not only what I was able to accomplish, but what my team had as well. Their passion, creativity, and relentless commitment to excellence have made Holbox what it is today."

As for the dining experience, you can have dinner and a show at this spot. Holbox breaks away from more formal sit-down style seating , opting instead for customers to order at the counter. As for why he chooses to keep things casual, Cetina said, "My family's original restaurant, Chichen Itza, is right next door to us in the Mercado, and I knew that I didn't want to stray too far once the idea of Holbox came to me. The customers can choose to order their food and then sit down at their choice of table throughout the Mercado or sit down at the counter and watch the chefs prepare their ceviches in front of them." 

There have been significant changes to the menu since Holbox first opened. The evolution of the dishes offered to hungry guests was born not only from a desire to make the fare more appealing but also to utilize ingredients that help keep the business sustainable. Using all the parts of a whole fish is one way Cetina has developed the current menu. He explained, "We started making smoked fish tacos and tostadas with the collars, fish sausages out of the trim and scraps, and a fish head paté on our 8-course tasting menu."

Speaking of the eight-course tasting menu, it is ever-evolving as the perfect opportunity to showcase the chef's creativity. "I use our 8-course tasting menu, offered on Wednesdays and Thursdays with a reservation, as an outlet for me to experiment with different dishes," said Cetina. While the regular menu at Holbox doesn't change much, Cetina explained that is not the case with the tasting menu: "I'll change these dishes out frequently based on what's in season, what I am inspired by at that moment or if I am wanting to try a new technique or flavor profile." With an award-winning menu that regularly features something new to experience, Holbox is a destination every foodie should add to their bucket list.