Sinaloa Express welcomes everyone, offering an authentic taste of Mexico with menu staples like barbacoa, tamales, sopes, machaca, mixed seafood platters, and fresh seafood. True to its name, Sinaloa Express specializes in dishes from Mexico’s Pacific coastal state of Sinaloa.

The restaurant’s owner and chef, Luis Miguel López, co-founded the eatery in El Sereno alongside his father in 2013. Now, López works in tandem with his younger brother to deliver culinary excellence. The López family hails from El Salado, Sinaloa, a town famous for its creamy macaroni salad, or “pasta fría.”

The history of Sinaloa Express

Sinaloa Express remained in El Sereno until 2019, when it relocated to South Gate, where it continues to thrive today. One of the restaurant’s standout dishes is the barbacoa, made with slow-cooked beef, traditionally prepared underground or in an open flame pit. As the meat cooks, it releases flavorful juices that are combined into a rich stew seasoned with chiles and spices. The dish is served with spicy beans, creamy pasta fría, and handmade tortillas, creating a perfect harmony of flavors.

Luis Miguel López, center, cooks alongside his brother Jesús López, ensuring every plate meets their high standards.

López’s personal favorite dish is machaca with vegetables. A classic from northern Mexico, machaca features dried beef or pork rehydrated, shredded, and often sautéed with tomatoes, green chiles, and onions. At Sinaloa Express, it’s served with spicy beans, a slice of fresh queso fresco, and handmade tortillas.

For Sinaloans and loyal customers, the restaurant’s interior embodies the essence of life on a traditional Spanish ranch. Vibrant yellow walls framed with rustic wood create an inviting, open atmosphere. Ranch-style decor, including wooden barrels, wagon wheels, and horse figurines, is complemented by wall art depicting ranch life. One painting features a horse galloping through a sunny field, while another shows a cozy house surrounded by flowers and a horse stable.

Sinaloa Express Menu

The menu at Sinaloa Express brings nostalgia and comfort to Southeast LA’s Latin community, offering dishes that feel like home. Claudia Félix, a server at the restaurant, has worked there for just four months but has known López for over a decade. A Sinaloan herself, Claudia shares that her husband is the restaurant’s head seafood chef and agrees that Sinaloa Express is a special place. It not only represents a small community but also brings its flavors to a big city.

Everyone knows tamales taste best fresh out of the pot. While reheated tamales are a warm embrace on a rainy day, they pale in comparison to the nearly spiritual experience of biting into a tamal fresh from the steamy depths of a boiling pot. During the holiday season, it’s best to order tamales in advance and pick them up fresh—or grab a batch uncooked and steam them at home. Air fryers simply won’t do them justice.

Interestingly, pork tamales were the very dish that started the Sinaloa Express journey in 2019. López and his father’s success with tamales explains why they remain a menu favorite to this day. Growing up in El Salado, just outside Culiacán, Sinaloa, López learned the art of cooking from his grandmother, who ran a popular eatery. As a child, he spent hours shaping silky dough into perfect circles for sopes, learning the intricacies of both cooking and running a business.

In addition to tamales, Sinaloa Express offers dishes packed with character. Their barbacoa, for instance, instantly takes you back to late-night celebrations that ended with barbacoa at dawn. Tender beef cubes slathered in red chile sauce nestle alongside soft potatoes and tangy green olives—delicious, but also a reminder to beware of the pits lurking inside!

Learn about Sinaloan cuisine or try new dishes!

Whether you’re craving the taste of your homeland or looking to discover Sinaloan cuisine, head to South Gate for some of the best and spiciest Mexican dishes around. You’ll find pozole, menudo, sopes, and tostadas, staples of this stunning coastal state.

Try the chilorio—shredded pork fried in red chile sauce with sautéed onions and jalapeños. Don’t forget to ask for plenty of their handmade corn tortillas. They’ll make you wonder if your mom snuck into the kitchen to lend a hand.

At Sinaloa Express, the commitment to traditional cooking shines in every bite. From soft, fluffy masa to perfectly seasoned meats, everything reflects time-honored processes. The tortillas and sopes are handmade, and the chorizo and chilorio are prepared in-house by López himself. Even the capirotada, a spiced bread pudding traditionally enjoyed during Lent, is lovingly crafted by López’s mother, who remains actively involved in this family-run business.