The Best Churros In Los Angeles

One of life's greatest simple pleasures is a sweet nibble of freshly-fried dough. Top that with cinnamon sugar and add some sort of hot dipping liquid like hot cocoa, chocolate, or coffee into the mix, and you're in business. Enter the churro. Though it's debated if these ubiquitous carnival treats actually originated in Portugal or Spain, one thing is for sure: they are delicious.

We asked our favorite desserts specialist Nastassia Johnson of Let Me Eat Cake to help us make our selections. There are only so many balls of fried dough one can consume for the sake of research, after all. And besides, sharing is more fun. Here are our faves in Los Angeles—as always, leave your favorites in the comments.

Mercado Olympic

Mercado Olympic is a weekend-only, unregulated street food fair that sets up in Downtown L.A.'s piñata district. There you'll find all sorts of wonderful Mexican fare, from fresh braided Oaxaca cheese to funky huitlacoche and icy mango and chile raspadas. Our personal favorite by far are the churros, though. The vendor pushes the churro batter out of a giant caulk gun into a massive cauldron of bubbling oil, frying them to perfection. Once the excess oil has been dabbed off, he dusts them gently with cinnamon and sugar, and puts them in a small paper bag—just like you'd find on the streets of Mexico. Be sure to plan accordingly, because the market only happens on Saturdays and Sundays from around 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. —Krista Simmons

Mercado Olympic is located in downtown Los Angeles, just west of Central Avenue

Churros Calientes

In Los Angeles we are used to the thick, doughy Mexican-style churro. And while we are big fans, we do also love the delicate, thin Spanish-style churro. Tucked away in a tiny storefront in West L.A., at Churros Calientes you can find organic Spanish-style churros. While their most popular item is of course a basket of freshly fried churros served with a thick cup of hot chocolate, we particularly enjoy these thin crispy treats drizzled with gooey dulce de leche. They offer a variety of toppings, or for the purist a simple dusting of organic sugar. —Nastassia Johnson

Churros Calientes is located at 11521 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, (424) 248-3890

Barton G

When it comes toshock value and eccentric plating, Barton G is the place to be. The restaurant concept is based on the idea of dinner theater, with food as the star of the show. They serve dishes like cotton candy on the head of Marie Antoinette, tuna sashimi skewered with a samurai sword, and of course a buffet of churros served with a giant clay pot filled with Chinese five spice hot chocolate that's frothed up with a whisk called a molinillo. An order is more than enough for four people to split, but totally worth the splurge. —Krista Simmons

Barton G is located at 861 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, (310) 388-1888

Fundamental LA

Chef Phillip Pretty's Westwood restaurant is definitely one of those places where you can ball on a budget. The three-course tasting menu is $39 is actually four courses once you include your choice of dessert. We highly recommend their churros served with a side of salted dulce de leche. If you're a real sweets fiend, make sure to order the simple yet authentic cream soda to wash it down. It's a real treat. —Krista Simmons

Fundamental LAis located at 1303 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, (310) 444-7581

Churro Borough at Mexicali

We know two things to be true: we love churros and we love ice cream. Churro Borough, an L.A.-based catering company, takes the churro up a notch. They serve two fried-to-order churro discs coated in cinnamon sugar that surround small-batch homemade ice cream in flavors like Horchata and Mexican chocolate. They are crispy, sweet and they form the perfect union of two great desserts. You can find them a Mexicali Taco and Co. or at pop-ups across the city. —Nastassia Johnson

Churro Borough at Mexicali is located at 702 N Figueroa St.,(213) 613-0416