The Experience
En Familia occupies a particular position in the Anaheim Packing District ecosystem: it is the restaurant that understands that modern Mexican cuisine has been underserved at the $40-$65 per person price point, and it addresses that gap with more conviction than most. The Packard Building address. A former car dealership whose industrial bones have been converted into one of the neighborhood's most characterful dining rooms. Gives the restaurant a setting that the cooking deserves.
The Josper charcoal oven is the kitchen's defining instrument. The smokiness it imparts to the Al Pastor Bone-in Short Rib and the Australian Wagyu asada is not decorative; it is structural. The Blue Corn Fritters with bone marrow and Chile Morita Pistachio Salsa is the dish that converts skeptics. The combination of crunch, richness, and controlled heat is more considered than it appears. The green chile relleno governador. Stuffed with shrimp and melted cheese, finished in the Josper. Is the kitchen's most technically accomplished single plate.
The mezcal program runs deeper than any comparable restaurant in the area. The bar team rotates the cocktail menu seasonally and maintains a standing commitment to Mexican spirits that extends beyond the fashionable. Non-drinkers are served with equal care: the agua fresca program. Housemade daily, rotating with market availability. Is genuinely remarkable. Weekend brunch adds Chilaquiles and Mole Chicken Waffles to a menu that treats midday dining as seriously as dinner.
The layout accommodates groups well. Long communal tables in the main room seat parties of twelve or more without the reservation-difficulty of comparable fine dining rooms. The Packard Building's shared courtyard provides outdoor overflow in good weather, which in Anaheim is most of the year.
Best Occasion: Team Dinner
En Familia earns its team dinner designation through three specific qualities: the sharing-format menu naturally generates table interaction, the mezcal and cocktail program lubricates without overwhelming, and the price point is defensible on a company card without requiring a budget justification. Groups of eight to twelve are the restaurant's natural size. Large enough to feel like a gathering, small enough that everyone gets to talk.
For birthdays, the Packard Building's energy on weekend evenings. Active, warm, and genuinely festive. Creates the backdrop that milestone meals need. The kitchen accommodates custom dessert arrangements; the cocktail program's depth means the table's orders will not converge on a single drink.