Rodeo72 Public Market · Whittier
Rodeo72 Whittier Food Guide: What We’d Order Again
Rodeo72 is a Whittier food hall where we found a steak dinner we’d happily come back for, Peruvian food with seriously good garlic rice, and enough different options to make a group meal easy. We first went at night, then liked it enough to return during the day. Primal Cuts and The Inka Spot ended up tied for our favorites. Here’s what we ate and how we’d put together a visit.
Rodeo72 invited us for the first visit and covered the food. We returned on our own dime to try more stalls. This guide includes both visits.
How we’d plan a food-hall visit.
Start with our two favorites
Split the picanha plate at Primal Cuts and the fish saltado or chicken at The Inka Spot. Those were the two stalls we could most easily see ourselves returning to regularly.
Come with people who share
The portions we tried were generous, especially the Peruvian plates. Ordering from a few stalls and sharing lets you taste more. Expect restaurant prices rather than a cheap food-court meal.
Pick your kind of afternoon
Our daytime return felt relaxed and family friendly, with patio tables and the murals easy to see. At night we enjoyed drinks and the livelier atmosphere. Check the current event calendar if entertainment is part of your plan.
What we’d order at Rodeo72.
Our first two stops
Primal Cuts and The Inka Spot were our favorites from the stalls we tried.
Primal Cuts · picanha plate
Primal Cuts · Rodeo72, WhittierSteak, vegetables, and mashed potatoes
Get: The 8-ounce picanha with broccolini and mashed potatoes.
This was Lisa’s kind of dinner: steak, grilled greens, and really good mashed potatoes. The picanha was juicy and evenly seasoned, with enough fat to make a ribeye fan reconsider her favorite cut. Ours came medium rare. The potatoes had an herby, rosemary flavor and didn’t need gravy. We liked the sauces too, but the steak didn’t depend on them.
Plan your visit: This would be one of our first orders on a return visit. Check the current menu for cuts, sides, and availability.
The Inka Spot · fish saltado and chicken
The Inka Spot · Rodeo72, WhittierPeruvian plates
Get: Fish saltado, plus the half chicken with sides if you’re sharing.
The fish stayed juicy and held its own among the onions, tomatoes, and fries. The sauce soaked into the fries, and the garlic rice was very, very garlicky in the best way. We also loved the juicy roasted chicken, especially with some skin in each bite. The creamy, herby sauce added even more flavor and a little heat. These were generous plates, so bring an appetite or share.
Plan your visit: Ask for the sauces and try the food both with and without them. The fish saltado and chicken were both repeat-order material for us.
More meals worth sharing
A thick burger, a loaded katsu plate, and Thai basil chicken with real heat.
Primal Cuts · burger and beef-tallow fries
Primal Cuts · Rodeo72, WhittierA thick burger and crisp fries
Get: The burger, beef-tallow fries, and house sauces.
Even with cheese, caramelized onions, and arugula, the thick, juicy patty was the star. The seasoning was consistent from bite to bite, just like the steak. The fries had a different level of crispness from the beef tallow. Lisa isn’t normally a ketchup person, but the house ketchup with a sake reduction won her over. The garlicky, herby cowboy butter was great with the fries too.
Shootz · chicken katsu and shrimp combo
Shootz · Rodeo72, WhittierHawaiian-inspired comfort food
Get: The chicken katsu and shrimp combo plate.
We were already Shootz fans, and getting the mixed plate let us have both favorites. The shrimp were cooked nicely with a crunchy coating that didn’t feel overly heavy. The chicken was well seasoned too. We chose spicy, and the heat really kicked in—even the rice picked it up from the sauce. The macaroni salad and rice made this a substantial plate.
Plan your visit: Ask about the non-spicy option if you don’t want the heat. Our spicy order was genuinely spicy.
Kra-Pow Thai Eatery · chicken bowl
Kra-Pow Thai Eatery · Rodeo72, WhittierThai basil chicken and a fried egg
Get: The chicken kra-pow bowl with rice and its fried egg.
The chicken was juicy, with lots of basil flavor and wok char. Peppers, onions, rice, and a Thai-style fried egg rounded it out. Our egg had a little more fluffiness than the very crisp-edged version we sometimes get, and it worked well with the bowl. We chose spice level four out of five and felt it quickly, including a lingering kick in the throat.
Plan your visit: If your heat tolerance is low, start at the mild end. Garlic rice was a $2 upgrade on our visit; we stayed with regular rice.
Save room for dessert and a drink
Ube beignets, a fresh churro, and a gin cocktail made it easy to linger.
Shootz · ube beignets and brûlée musubi
Shootz · Rodeo72, WhittierA sweet finish and a savory snack
Get: Ube beignets for dessert; Spam brûlée musubi if you want another bite.
The beignets were crisp outside without being buried in powdered sugar. The ube had a more natural sweet-potato flavor than we expected, with a dense texture that reminded us a little of red bean. We loved them. The musubi was rice-heavy, which helped balance the Spam, and its torched sweet glaze softened the salty edge. They’re very different bites, but both were fun to share.
Plan your visit: Check the current Whittier menu for dessert availability.
Las Chelaguas · XL churro
Las Chelaguas · Rodeo72, WhittierCinnamon-sugar churro
Get: A fresh XL churro.
This came closest to the Disneyland churro feeling for us: warm and fresh, chewy inside, crisp outside, with just the right amount of cinnamon sugar. It was $5 on our visit. Sitting outside with families around us and a churro in hand made it a particularly good ending to the daytime visit.
Plan your visit: The $5 price is from our visit. Check today’s menu rather than treating it as a standing offer.
Capo Public House · drinks
Capo Public House · Rodeo72, WhittierCocktails, beer, and wine
Get: The City Slicker gin cocktail or a glass of Pinot Noir.
The City Slicker—made with gin, elderflower liqueur, orange liqueur, and lemon—was a new favorite for Lisa. We also enjoyed the Pinot Noir, which suited her taste because it didn’t feel too dry. The bar made the evening feel like somewhere to hang out rather than just pick up dinner. We were also told about an off-menu Bee’s Knees; ask whether they can still make it if you like gin.
Plan your visit: Menus and off-menu drinks can change. Use Capo’s current information for drinks and hours.
Good to know before you go
- Rodeo72 is at 7012 Walnut Grove Drive in Whittier. We’ve put it in SoCal Eats rather than our SGV restaurant guide.
- The market currently lists indoor and outdoor dining, with self-parking in the lot. Individual stall hours can differ from the market’s hours.
- Dogs are welcome on the outdoor patio and must stay on leash, according to the market’s current visitor information. We brought Boomer on our daytime return.
- Budget for restaurant-priced meals. We thought the food quality and the setting made sense together, but this wasn’t a bargain food-court crawl.
- The video also includes The Basket Taco Co. Its standalone page remains online, but it isn’t in the current main vendor directory, so confirm directly before planning around it.
- Prices, dishes, and events can change. Our $5 churro and the $2 garlic-rice upgrade are visit prices, not current menu guarantees.
Plan your visit to Rodeo72.
- Rodeo72 address, parking, patio rules, and market hours →
- Current Rodeo72 vendor directory →
- Rodeo Public Market events →
- Another food market: our Smorgasburg LA guide →
Visitor information and current main vendor directory checked October 23, 2026.