Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks to nearly double in size with debut of new patio

This is going to be a big year for what is perhaps the San Fernando Valley’s most famous restaurant and celebrity hangout.

The James Beard Foundation’s America’s Classics Award-winning Casa Vega is turning 70 this year and to mark the milestone anniversary the eatery is nearly doubling its footprint thanks to the opening of a new patio named in honor of the famed restaurant’s founder.

The Ray Vega Patio, a new 3,000-square foot expansion honoring founder Rafael “Ray” Vega, Jr., opens to the public March 9.

“Casa Vega is more than a restaurant. It has great food, it has great great margaritas but more than anything we offer a great feeling to people. So the patio is a huge deal and it’s the next step into continuing that,” said Christy Vega, Ray’s daughter who now owns the restaurant.

“I think it’s going to be a really nice gathering spot for Angelinos,” she added.

Founded by Vega Jr. in the summer of 1956 when he was 22 years old, the restaurant stands out at its location at 13301 Ventura Blvd. thanks to its white exterior marked with a red Casa Vega sign written in script. The interior is decorated with iconic wrap-around red leather booths and a hardwood bar.

It’s not only known for its strong margaritas and authentic dishes that helped popularize Mexican food in the area, but also for attracting celebrities like Marlon Brando, Cary Grant, Dean Martin and Desi Arnaz and more recently stars like Charlize Theron, Sandra Bullock and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters.

It’s also a well-known filming location most recently featured in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” in which the movie’s stars Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio sat in the red booths at one of the tables.

Vega decided to dedicate the new addition to her father, who passed away in 2021 at age 86, because it was always his dream to build a substantial patio for his customers, Vega said.

“This was really his vision,” she said. “Doing such a substantial patio it really felt right dedicating it to him and in his honor because it really was his vision,” Vega said.

And it was quite a vision since it will include 100 seats, an 18-seat bar, a retractable roof for year-round service even on rainy and really hot days and it’s meant as a place for date nights since it’s anchored by a central fountain surrounded by tables.

“I call it the heartbeat of the patio,” Vega said. “We have a ton of date nights here so the fountain is dedicated to date nights,” she said.

Vega also fulfilled another one of her father’s dreams when after renting the building for decades the family purchased the structure this year, ensuring their future in the Valley, she said.

“I’m part of this restaurant legacy of this Mexican immigrant family that came over to bring and introduce Mexican food to the town and to see it 70 years later as still being so relevant and iconic in L.A. it means everything,” she said.

Casa Vega is at 13301 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks; 818-788-4868 or casavega.com