El Coyote from "The Hills" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"
LOCATION
El Coyote, a restaurant seen in the first season of MTV's docu-drama "The Hills" and in Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
ADDRESS
El Coyote
7312 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
elcoyotecafe.com
STORY & PHOTOS
MTV's popular docu-drama "The Hills" showcased pretty people drinking, dating, and drama-ing in the glittery town of Hollywood, CA. Since "The Hills" is a "reality" show, many of the restaurants, clubs, and other locales are easy to find and visit if you're in the L.A. area.
In the first-season episode "Jason's Birthday", Audrina goes on a date with Danny. The restaurant they choose is El Coyote on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. (Fun fact: El Coyote is right across the street from the BuzzFeed offices.) The eatery's website proclaims it "The Best Mexican Food in L.A.", but Spencer and Heidi would probably argue -- they frequented yummy Don Antonio's over on W Pico Blvd. Still, El Coyote has been around since the 1930s and is still a very popular L.A. spot.
The café is festively decorated and has a variety of seating options - a bar, tables, booths, and a seated patio area if you're into dining al fresco. The servers are all dressed in Mexican dresses or black-and-white slacks and shirts. The portions are generous and the prices are great. You can get a ton of food for a little bit of cash.
Here's how it looks in person:
In more gruesome pop culture history, El Coyote is known as the last place Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, and Voytek Frykowski were seen before returning to Tate's home on Cielo Drive and being murdered by Manson Family members Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel. (Rumor has it Tate's last meal was the chile relleno.) Don't let that scare you away, though!
The menu is available online, and according to the site's "Fun Facts", actor Edward Norton is a customer, and "Ugly Betty" has also filmed on the premises.
UPDATED TO ADD: Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which features Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, makes use of the eatery. A lot of Tarantino’s script sticks closely to the truth about Tate’s last months, including her dinner with friends at El Coyote. Reportedly, Tarantino even shot the scene in the same booth where Sharon and company dined mere hours before their tragic deaths.
STORY & PHOTO CREDITS
Written by Christina LeBlanc
Location photos by Christina LeBlanc and Alana Elowitch
