I had dinner here a couple of Saturdays ago and was shocked (and saddened!) that the restaurant…read moreremained nearly empty the entire time. I first found this spot due to it being Oaxacan cuisine. Our party of four had a great time and all of our food was delightful! All of my tablemates even tried grasshoppers (chapulines) for the first time! They were on the side for the guac, which is traditional to Oaxaca. I had a popsicle margarita, which was cute and tasty. For my meal, I split the short rib mole with my boyfriend. We had so many leftovers despite doing our best to eat up! We definitely did not have room for dessert. Prices were reasonable and service was prompt. I hope we just found them on an off night as they definitely deserve crowds!

Yummy brunch! Nothing too special but it gets the job done, especially if you have a large group or…read moreparty. They were able to seat 12 of us at around 10:30AM. I got the emoladas and a cafe de olla. I've had much better cafe de ollas and the enmoladas were tasty and the plate was huge! It was around $21 and I couldn't eat it all there was so much food there. Don't skip their breakfast potatoes!!

Great food, fresh and made to order. Recommend the adobada and lengua options. Service is fast,…read moremany tables available for lunch. Ambiance is what you'd expect from a fast food spot. Bathrooms were decent.

Tacos El Gordo is an absolute beast of a business…read more Their team is producing thousands of tacos at lightening speed, all made on freshly crafted tortillas, featuring a variety of hand carved meats. How it works: you'll enter the business, grab a tray, go window to window collecting your choice of street style tacos. Once you're ready to eat, you'll purchase your final picks with the cashier. While this spot is affordable, it's not cheap. These tacos quickly add up and you could easily spend $20-30 a person depending on your hunger level. I tried a number of carne asada tacos, the cactus tacos, a tostada, quesadilla, and French fries. It's hard to choose a favorite since each item is so uniquely delicious.

The best Mexican restaurant I've ever been to. So tasty food. As a foreigner I love that dishesread more

She is the most amazing waitress I've ever had. Please never let her gooooooooooo... we loved her…read moreour food was fresh and tasted amazing

Matt is amazin waiter @ fresco cocina if you are ever in Carlsbad the whole restaurant is a vibe…read morevery attentive. Matt has the perfect personality to be the waiter. 1st time and i will be back. Oh the food and drinks are great as well

Came here for the first time tonight. My wife and I don't go out a lot any more.. I'm really glad…read morewe came to Cocina tonight. Our server Nikki did a great job!! She was super helpful. I have a lot of food allergies, and she accommodated all of them. This is so hard to find.. Thankful for you for hiring the right staff. Food was also amazing. Definitely coming back.

Amazing cocktails and lively ambiance. The tacos and chips…read morewere fresh and tasty. The chicken fries were not so great though - too much potato, too less chicken.

Parking is limited but it was totally worth parking a little further away. The outside is pretty…read moreunassuming but magic happens inside. Their happy hour menu is pretty big. All appetizers, quesadillas, and drinks are 50% off. I ordered the mix and match tacos with carne asada and shrimp. The first thing I noticed when my food came was how it smelled. It smelled fresh and authentic. It's hard for me to describe but iykyk. Everything was delicious. The carne asada was juicy and flavorful and the shrimp was cooked to perfection. The tortillas were even freshly made.

Lucha Libre Taco Shop is such a fun and unique spot if you're in San Diego. The whole place is…read moredecked out in colorful lucha libre decor, with masks, murals, and a super lively vibe that makes it more than just a taco shop, it feels like an experience. The menu has a great variety of tacos and burritos, with bold flavors and generous portions. Everything feels a little extra (in a good way), from the creative combinations to their famous "Surfin' California" burrito.

queso birria tacos was great reallh nice horchata…read moreCool decorations fast service Surf n turf was also good

I've come to Cocina de Barrio on many occassions now, and their service and food has always been…read moreconsistently good, with staff going above and beyond! My favorite meal time at Cocina de Barrio is their brunch. Their dishes range from the classics with a "Mexican twist" (eggs, pancakes, French toast) to the more authentic antojitos. I've tried and really enjoyed their enmoladas made with Oaxacan mole. The cafe de olla is also not-to-be-missed. Everytime I come to Cocina de Barrio, the staff always goes above and beyond. The first time, our server (Alberto) saw me yawn and asked if I wanted to try the cafe de olla to "wake me up" (as a joke haha) and he brought it for free! They also sing and give out a generous slice of tres leches cake to the "cumpleañero" (birthday freebie). I look forward to coming back and trying more of their delicious "antojitos" (even though I'm faithful to these enmoladas).

I was really disappointed with our brunch experience. Our waitress Jeanette was inattentive…read morethroughout the meal and rarely checked on our table. We had to wait around needing basic things like water refills and condiments while our food sat getting cold. When I asked for sauce, I was never informed there would be an extra charge, which should have been communicated upfront. To make matters worse, our receipt looked unprofessional it was a printed receipt with information crossed out and handwritten over in pen. We were also charged a service fee that honestly did not reflect the level of service we received. The atmosphere had potential, but the poor service took away from the experience.

Had a 5/5 experience celebrating a birthday brunch here! The food is phenomenal- the sopes benny…read morehad the most tender lamb birria and the churro & french toast was heavenly! Not pictured but also delicious were the popsicle margaritas. The mango popsicle was perfect for the hot day. A special shoutout to Theresa for her cheerful and uplifting service. All the staff we encountered were lovely but she went out of her way to make sure we were well taken care of and felt special celebrating. I've visited both Cocina de Barrio locations and loved my experiences at each. Will definitely be back and highly recommend you try them to dive into delicious Mexican dishes with great service!

Fantastic experience. The recipes are elevated and fun, fresh, and delicious…read more We had the cucumber jalepeno margarita, the Paloma, the shrimp tacos, fish tacos, ceviche, guacamole and chips, and churros. Everything was incredible, the standout being the mezcal raisin sauce on the shrimp tacos- trust me when I say you'll be thinking about it. Definitely enjoy their happy hour and unique take on traditional recipes.

One of the most beautiful restaurants I've been to. *(…read moresee pics featured below) Food was elevated Mexican cuisine. Short rib with mole sauce ( si tender and flavorful) Seafood pasta ( scallop, shrimps and crab claws ) Cocktail drinks were perfectly made. Pineapple margarita ( hubby enjoyed his drink ) Pina colada ( the best one I've had ever! ) Mezcal margarita w/ 1/2 tajin/ salt rim Overall, wonderful dining experience. Would definitely dine here again!

Made last minute reservations for a friend's birthday, Friday at 5…read more First the place is beautiful. Gorgeous ceilings. It's loud though. Especially once every table was filled. Our waitress was nice but could have checked in a bit more. We started with the complimentary salsa and chips. The salsa is spicy. Too spicy for us. But the chips were good. We ordered the guacamole to go with the chips. It was good, but definitely needed more salt and lime. May ask for salt on the table once we did that it was fine. She ordered the taco, enchilada, chili rellenos. The portion was large. It came with beans and rice. What I love is the taco comes on a separate plate so it doesn't get soggy from the enchilada sauce. She enjoyed everything, but was unable to finish the entire meal because it was so large. I ordered the fillet and shrimp. The fillet was the most tender cut of meat I've ever had in my life. I could cut it with a fork. They had a nice crust on the outside with good seasoning. The shrimp were a little undercooked, but the sauce was good. It comes with a side of plain rice, which I felt could've been seasoned a little better. Since it was her birthday, they brought a complementary scoop of ice cream, which I thought was very nice. For drinks, she had a beer and I had a virgin margarita which really just tasted like a limeade. With tipped the bill came over $200. Not something that I would do every weekend, but definitely felt festive.

This place named itself "sushi bar," but it also says it's an authentic Mexican seafood restaurant?…read moreThat feels like an identity crisis lol. I was given chips, salsa, and an appetizer soup thing in a cup. The chips were fine. I thought the soup was alright. I didn't like the salsa as I found it too watery and lacking in flavor, more like a hot sauce than a salsa. I ordered two hand rolls, a spicy tuna roll and a salmon skin roll. I thought they were good. I found the salmon skin too crispy and deep fried for my preference, but it was still good. Finally, I realized that not only do I never eat authentic Mexican seafood, I'm not even sure what that entails. So I dug through the menu and saw something called "Don Tono," described as stuffed with seafood, but without much other explanation. I asked the waitress what this Don Tono is exactly, and to my surprise, she wasn't sure either. So, of course I had to order it. It was a big thing of aluminum foil with goodies inside, kinda like a seafood bake. It was good, although I found the flavor to be a undertuned. I would've liked some Cajun seasoning. The best texture and taste was probably the fish itself as it was light and flaky without being mushy, and it absorbed the umami of some of the other seafood. I thought the shrimp and shellfish were just okay, and maybe just a tad overcooked for me. Honestly, I was also not a huge fan of the cheese here; I feel like it doesn't quite fit. I also got some rice and salad with it, which were both fine.

I got a couple rolls to go as well as some edamame. All serviceable, nothing remarkable but an…read moreinexpensive option for some decent sushi! Fun decor in this place! When I came in to pick up my food there was no one at the host stand and it seems like there was one waiter running the whole show during busy lunch time. Little teeny tiny parking lot but it's right across from the shopping centre parking so not a big deal.