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    Celia's Restaurant

    4.1 (173 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Open 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Celia's Restaurant Photos

    CELIA'S RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Celia's Restaurant

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    Fresh guacamole and salsa
    Amber M.

    Celia's restaurant in El Centro has been around since 1994. I love to stop here on my drive from Phoenix to California. The food is always authentic, the staff is friendly and the restaurant is clean. The guacamole is a 10 out of 10. It's made from scratch and the absolute best appetizer. The chips and salsa are absolutely heaven. I enjoyed the Huevos Rancheros, the spices were absolutely wonderful. We also had a bean tostada, the tortilla was cooked to perfection. I would suggest calling to make sure they're open. They do close during the summer for a full week. I highly suggest stopping here to split your trip up. You will not be disappointed. Food the entire family will enjoy.

    Machaca burrito, beef taco.
    Frederick H.

    I liked the simple Sonoran style Mexican food - I had a shredded beef taco and burrito. (In my mind burritos should be small enough to fit in one hand and not crammed with rice and beans and potatoes and shredded lettuce and everything else!) Taco could have been crispier, if I had remembered to order it that way. Salsa was great, guacamole was perfect. Staff was friendly and attentive.

    Celia
    Linda T.

    Great ambiance and wonderful food; excellent service. Nice beer options, too! Hard to find someplace as good as this!

    a pink table and blue walls
    Gaby V.

    Since 1994. I know why! Husband and I were driving through on our way to Arizona. Warm welcome, polite staff. All the customers knew each other. Owner gives warm hugs to her regulars. Food was really good, salsa was perfect! The staff was very accommodating. Old pictures on the wall, full of memories. Unsure when I will be back but I will definitely remember this experience. My chilaquiles and husband's "special" quesadilla were good! He asked for two! Loved to see great customer service, kindness.

    Combination 2 (enchilada, taco, and tostada w/rice and beans)
    Derrick V.

    I went to Celia's today with a friend because he highly recommended them. He was definitely NOT wrong. Celia's provides an authentic Mexican flavor with just the right amount of individuality. Don't miss out on this gem in El Centro! Upon my friends request, I ordered a "special quesadilla". That's what he called it, and that's how he ordered it. I didn't see it on the menu (although it may have been there). Anyway, it was so incredible! It's basically a unique flour tortilla blend with has cheese inside and is deep fried. Deep fried anything is usually pretty rewarding, even if it takes years off our lives. I'm honestly just glad I don't live in El Centro, because I'd eat enough of these to see an early grave! The Combination 2 was also very good. The tostada was my favorite, then taco, followed by the enchilada. The beans were also very flavorful. Don't miss out on this gem in El Centro, have your next meal at Celia's!

    Margarita
    Sachiko E.

    first time visit. Moved from other state. I was looking for authentic Mexican restaurants.Good food and cost of performance is great. Love special Quesadilla is my favorite.

    Guacamole and chips with salsa as our appetizer. So good
    Dona M.

    It was delicious. We go early on the busiest days. We always get their guacamole and chips with salsa before the meal. You're served quickly, and I just like this place when there's not a full house much better. It's also a good place to run into old friends like we did this evening.

    Lakshmi M.

    I've been to Celia's a handful of times over the years mainly for the wonderous creation known as the special quesadilla. Aka a fried quesadilla which exemplifies the greatness of carby goodness and cheese all in one bite. The menu offers a good spread of options including tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc and is pretty accomodating for vegetarians *aka me* I recently tried the chile relleno and it was decent, but not amazing. I can confidently say the enchiladas are better. Drop in if you're in the area and want to experience a true El Centro institution. Definitely try the special quesadilla if you haven't had it before! *You pay at the front register once you're done eating!*

    the front of the restaurant

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    1 month ago

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    4 days ago

    Bad food and bad service. I used to go there a lot, until the service went down hill. Have not been there in years

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    7 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    The best restaurant in el Centro, the staff are amazing and the food is authentic as you would expect,

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    9 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Delicious authentic food! I ordered the combo #2; Taco, Enchilada, Tostada and rice and beans. So good! Great service too!

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    2 years ago

    The food has been consistently good over the years. The issue is the pricing. WOW! It looks like a 50% increase over the past 3-4 years.

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Wonderful food served by cheerful wait staff with the owner (Celia) & her son lovingly greeting patrons as they pay & leave in the evening.

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    4 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Portions are just ok, but the food is the best Mexican in the area along with Virginias.

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    3 years ago

    My wife Rosa and I have been going to this place for years and have always loved it! Consistently good service!

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    great service and great food ! We love the Tacos dorados and refried beans. Their special quesadilla is awesome!

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    7 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Best food , best service in town. We missed Oscars smiling face. Love the special quesadilla

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    6 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Love Celia's special quesadillas and refried beans. My #1 restaurant when I'm visiting my dad in the IV.

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    10 years ago

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    Page 1 of 5

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    Antojito Como En Casa

    Antojito Como En Casa

    4.5
    (400 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    The food here is amazing! I would be a regular customer, if it wasn't for the fact that i live in…read more LA. Christina our server was very attentive and told us about their new daily specials. Friday's special was 2 tacos Dorado rice and beans, or an asada quesadilla with a side of consome for 12.99. You are recieved with complementary chips and salsa which were delicious! I am looking forward to visiting again before I head back home.

    Don't you just love it when a restaurant gets things right?…read more Owners Roberto and Rina ("Reina") Perez have figured out how to prepare and present home cooking in a commercial setting, and, in doing so, have shown that they understand the importance of "home" in that construct. Some of this is no surprise to me. Reina is cousin to Rodnia Attiq (nee Navarro), who, with her mother Rosario Sotelo owned San Diego's El Borrego for almost 25 years, until they closed their business at the end of 2025. Having been welcomed and fed many times with homely care at El Borrego, I'm not surprised that the family connection - and the warmth and hospitality included in it - extends to Cousin Reina. If you're having a bad day, it's worth dropping in for a bite to eat just so you can say "hi" to her. Between the food and the greeting you'll receive, you'll leave feeling better about things. So what to eat? Depending on the time of day and how hungry you are, you'll be pleased with Cazuelitas; Pozole Rojo or the herby Guerrero-style Pozole Verde; hearty Tlacoyos; large Enchilada plates; or probably my favorite Mexican dish, Mixiote de Borrego, which is lamb that's spiced, marinated and slow-steamed until it falls off the bone. I've eated most of those things and seen the rest on my fellow diners' tables. Especially now that El Borrego is gone, if El Centro wasn't a two-hour drive from my house, I'd be a regular, so that I could continue sampling the superb and wide-ranging menu at Antojito Como En Casa.

    Photos
    Antojito Como En Casa
    Antojito Como En Casa
    Name of place

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    Name of place
    D'Poly Taco Grill & Beer

    D'Poly Taco Grill & Beer

    4.3
    (306 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    Today I returned to the wonderful D'Poly Taco Grill and Beer in El Centro where my epic hiking…read moreexpedition ended in failure, disappointment, and embarrassment a few weeks ago. I intended to travel the entire 2,600-mile length of the Pacific Crest Trail, but my adventure unceremoniously ended in El Centro under a tree about 60 miles east of my starting point. The paramedics told me that hiking is not for everyone. After a desperate two weeks of hiking with little food and water through BLM land tracks, old service roads, and desert washes, as best I can recall, I finally set up camp in El Centro under a farmer's tree near his washing line. Soon after the farmer called the police about my campfire, the authorities and my ex-wife found me in a state of delerium hosting a tea party under a large avocado tree wearing the farmer's wife's plus size nightgown while serving "cups of chai tea" to a sizable pile of rotten avocados and a rusty shovel that I thought was "Jan" from those Toyota commercials. My first real meal after being found by the authorities and my ex-wife was at D'Poly Taco Grill and Beer. D'Poly was the perfect welcome back to civilization as it has a spectacular menu full of delicious Mexican cuisine like street tacos, flautas, sopes and empanadas. The Lineman burrito is my absolute favorite. And they have a wonderful breakfast menu! It's fast casual dining, but it has a sort of classic and moody vibe that gives off a more upscale feel. Love it! A wonderful place to break free of your delusions. My ex-wife tried to tell me that hiking is not for everyone. Thankfully, the paramedics found my emergency contact list and phoned my ex-wife who showed up and broke me out of my stupor by making me drop my emotional support avocado, taking me by the shoulders and shaking me vigorously while yelling "it's over, it's over!" Ironically, that was the same way she told me we were getting divorced. I'm not a quitter, so it takes a while for me to give up. I've since tried many items on the D'Poly menu and everything is exceptional, though I do avoid adding avocado. It's just too soon. Thank you D'Poly Taco Grill and Beer! Five stars.

    We ordered California burritos to go, and they were really good. They provided plenty of napkins,…read moresauces, and lemons for us too. It took maybe 20 minutes after ordering on the phone to get our food. Added menu pics because their website is hard to navigate with all the adds and prices are wrong.

    Photos
    The new indoor seating
    The new indoor seating
    D'Poly Taco Grill & Beer
    Jalapeño Margarita

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    Jalapeño Margarita
    Perlita's Mexican Food

    Perlita's Mexican Food

    3.8
    (9 reviews)
    0.4 mi

    I will begin this review rating their food. Everything we ate was great and had good flavors (the…read morebirria needed some salt but no big deal). The food took about 15 minutes to come out (we visited on a Friday evening). Everything was hot, tasted freshly made and were a good portion. They didn't have a few items on the menu including beans. The reason for the lower rating was related to their service. This is a big factor in whether someone will come back and should be a high priority for any establishment. The waitress staff didn't give off a welcoming feeling that you would expect from a restaurant wanting to build their clients. They were not rude or inattentive, but rather made you feel they were annoyed by having customers present. I don't believe it was intentional or that they realized it but if this were improved, I would definitely have rated this higher. The restaurant is small but I felt it was the right size with nice decor. Music was playing, for background, at the right level. I'll end my review by mentioning that their prices were very reasonable. Our bill came out to just over $40 for a party of four. We liked the food and will probably eat it again; however, we may consider takeout.

    Ordene un menudo y la verdad no sabía bueno y la carne dura. Mi acompañante ordenó una limonada que…read moretardaron en traer por qué no estaba preparada. (Había pedido horchata primero pero no estaba preparada). La comida en general muy mala. El servicio de la mesera ME ENCANTÓ muy amable y cortés. Igual no recomiendo el lugar.

    Photos
    New business
    New business
    Pozole, birria and torta de birria
    Pozole, birria and torta de birria
    Outside front

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    Outside front

    Celia's Restaurant - mexican - Updated June 2026

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