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.