Fish With a Latin Touch at Serenata

Order tacos if you must, but the highlights at La Serenata de Garibaldi are fish and shellfish.

Owner Jose Rodriguez has achieved a remarkable repertoire that ranges from fish quesadillas , burritos and enchiladas to a superlative shrimp with cilantro sauce.

The restaurant is a cheerful, friendly place decked out with colorful tablecloths from Oaxaca and named for the Plaza de Garibaldi in Mexico City, where mariachis gather to seek engagements.

The menu includes such classical Mexican sauces as pipian , which is made in two versions here: a red pipian made with peanuts and red chiles, and a nutty tasting green pipian that combines pumpkin seeds, tomatillos and green chiles. These were worked out by Rodriguez’s nephew, Benjamin, who is the chef. But most of the seafood dishes are Rodriguez’s inventions, and they display a leaning toward subtle flavors and a fondness for herbs such as dill, tarragon and sage along with typically Mexican epazote and cilantro.

Chiles are generally added with restraint. Spicier dishes include pescado rosado-- fish coated with a rosy orange sauce that blends cascabel , arbol and habanero chiles. A powerful chipotle sauce is really too hot for fish but wonderful with steaming corn tortillas that are handmade to order.

Grilled fish in what Rodriguez calls “Mexican mustard sauce” surely would qualify as spa food. Most of the sauces are light; Rodriguez uses only olive oil and butter, no lard, and the fish is grilled, broiled or poached. The one exception is fried fish served with avocado sauce.

Sauces such as Isla Mujeres (wine and cream) and Golla (tomato, cream and green chile) go with fish or shrimp. The latter is named for Gregoria Golla, who once had a little food stand in Torreon, Coahuila, where Rodriguez was born. On the other hand, there are radically different cilantro sauces for shrimp and fish. The crustaceans appear in a creamy, pale emerald mixture, while the sauce for fish is all dark greenery, no cream, and zingy with chile.

Rodriguez has named a platter of mixed seafood por si no te vuelvo a ver , which means “in case I don’t see you again.” His idea is that a dish of this quality will leave customers with a good impression of the restaurant.

Aside from the seafood, I was impressed with the chicken mole , a rarity in Los Angeles because the sauce is homemade rather than concocted from a commercial paste. Rodriguez’s mother, Isabel, makes it according to a formula passed on by her mother, Esperanza Rodriguez. Almonds, pecans, peanuts, sesame seeds, three kinds of chiles, plantain and chocolate contribute to the rich flavor.

I also remember an exceptional mahi-mahi enchilada served in a platter edged with what looked like cerise lace but was actually fine shreds of red cabbage. The enchilada itself was bathed in a pale cream sauce lightly seasoned with chipotle.

The restaurant produces wonderful soups, among them corn with green chile, zucchini, and lentil with vegetables. The most appealing desserts were a smooth, dense mocha flan and Mexican guava shells drenched with thick, heavy cream and served in a wine glass.

Prices range around $13.25 for shrimp dishes and $9.75 for fish, which includes soup, rice, tortillas and a plate of corn chips and cheese-stuffed flour tortilla wedges. Lunch prices drop to a low of $3.50 for a cheese enchilada served with rice, beans and salad.

La Serenata de Garibaldi, 1842 E . 1st St . , Los Angeles. (213) 265-2887. Open Tuesday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday until 10:30 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wine and beer. There is a small parking lot opening off an alley behind the restaurant. Cash only.