The Best!!!!!!!!!!alway good The BEST!!!!!!!!! Been going there for years and years. my Chile Riano's have always been the very best anywhere ever ever. read more

Cenote Grill is a casual Mexican grill decorated with stack-stone pillars and lighted topiary. It has a busy take-out counter, regular table service and ample complimentary parking. The menu was varied and the food was really good. The Thai chicken burrito was large and very tasty. My husband had a combination plate and said it was the best enchilada he's ever had! Complimentary chips-n-salsa was provided with not one, but two different salsas! The service was slightly slow, but friendly. The menus were a little sticky and there was food splashed on the wall at the table and a used napkin under one table. They seem to have a loyal local following of regulars, particularly an older crowd. We drove 15 miles to exclusively visit this restaurant as it had been on our list for a while. We would return if we were in the area. If their service was a little quicker and the cleaning was a little more sparkling, they'd get the extra star. (April 2026). Helpful? read more

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Okay so at first I felt like this place was warm and welcoming. Food was okay one big suggestion is do not advertise these as pupusas Pupusas are not deep fried or use any of these toppings or sides Maybe promote it more like a fried quesadilla Anyways when we paid waiter came back and she said it didn't work it's probably fraud My husband confused pulled out another card and paid But that was so rude!! read more

Cenote Grill - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

Our first time at Cenote Grill was a good one overall. No qualms about the food; everything tasted fresh and flavorful. We sat out front on the patio with our pup, and we were forgotten about after margaritas were delivered, but at least we had drinks to keep us company! Eventually decided to go inside to order. From the fleeting views I got of the interior, I'd say it's a typical Mexican American joint. I will note that 5pm on a Friday had MANY in attendance, as Cenote is directly across the street from a LARGE seniors-only mobile home park. We would go back, but perhaps on a different day of the week and time of day. read more

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Pro Review: I recently just stopped by Cenote of the Grill. I've heard some good things about this place and knew that it was my time to stop by. As a current pro yelp reviewer I was indifferent about this spot. The prices were pretty expensive and the portion sizes weren't the best either. The food was decent not bad nor great. It's a cool little spot with some good service. I definitely would come back if I was in the area. Tommy J out! read more

For sure another staple in North county. Offering a different take on hispanic food, its a delight other than the same ol'. Service is on point old school ordering counter but always welcomed with a smile. Sweet little dinning room and gives you the feel your in someone's house verses a large chain restaurant. read more

Picked up food ...we were having lunch with a friend for her birthday....they have a nice menu...server was nice....however..when we got to our friend's house...one of the meals was missing....had to back to the restaurant....she didn't realize that she forgottoorderwhat she wanted...the restaurant itself is nice and clean. My food was ok. read more

Every meal I've had at Cenote has been delicious. That said, the fish tacos are exceptional. Try this place out, you won't be disappointed! read more

North county Escondido Mexican food Fish tacos (swai) Complimentary chips n salsa Amex accepted Restrooms inside Outdoor and indoor seating Vegan and vegetarian options Check in at the counter before seating Long wait during rush hour for food and seating Everyone friendly Small dinning area so it gets loud Sells beer Various menu options Parking available To go available read more

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A fantastic spot Worth visiting. From the moment we sat down the service was quick and friendly. The food was flavorful and obviously made with care. What also impressed me was the value. I didn't give it 5 stars because there is always a little more room for growth, but honestly for the quality and taste of the food, this restaurant is pretty close to perfect. read more

One Hour Wait... and Then a Rude Response Yesterday my sister, my husband, and I stopped by Cenote Grill after a long day hoping to enjoy a good meal. The restaurant only had about 4-6 tables occupied. We were seated and our order was taken. After that, we watched several people arrive after us, get their food, eat, and leave while we were still waiting. After an entire hour, I went inside to ask about our order. Only then did they go check, and it became clear our order had simply been forgotten. We decided to leave. My husband went to pay for the drinks we had ordered, and instead of apologizing, the owner told him: "If you're not going to wait for your food, it's your loss. I know what I'm going to have for dinner." Mistakes happen, but rude and dismissive customer service is unacceptable. Unfortunately, we never even got to try the food because the experience was already ruined. read more

Our favorite Mexican food restaurant. Good authentic food at reasonable price We come here every time we are in the area read more

The food here has always been great in my experience. Try the Chicken Mole or the Chili Relleno burrito, both are excellent.

One of my favorite lunch spots. Family owned. Great southwest mexican options for a ladies lunch. They have a burrito and or tacos with carne asada and bacon which was delicious. But my all time favorite is the cilantro lime chicken salad. read more

We are a long time favorite of this spot. The food is fresh, the portions are good size and they have sangria, which is a nice change to beer and regular wine. My husband loves the burritos especially the chili verde, while I love the chili rellano(which you can have chicken stuffed and your choice of green, red, or home made mole sauce) You place your order at the front then seat yourself. Complimentary chips and salsa are included. This is our go to Mexican restaurant!! read more

Delicious food, friendly service, great value! Highly recommend! Complimentary chips and salsa were delicious as well!

What a pleasant surprise! My husband and I wanted to try somewhere new and chose this restaurant to eat dinner. The food was fabulous and the staff is very friendly. We will definitely be back! read more

Everything was excellent!! Even the wine margaritas were good. But their Flan is to die for!! Haven't had good flan for ages but they nailed it!! The fish dishes were outstanding! If u haven't been there yet please do try them out! U won't regret it!! read more

I placed an order for pick up over the phone and right off the bat, the customer service over the phone was great. Usually folks skip the pleasantries over the phone but whomever the man on the phone was, he was very patient and kind when taking my order. This was my first time eating Cenote grill after years of hearing that they have the best Mexican food. When I came in to pick my order up, it was very busy and the entire restaurant was bustling. On a Wednesday night at that! The decor is very mom and pop and it feels like a cozy restaurant. I sat down and waited for my food and it wasn't long before the worker came up to me to give me my food. I probably waited less than 10 minutes. I wish I'd taken pictures but I ordered the fried fish burrito and a side of chips and salsa. The burrito was fresh and delicious! And huge. The only thing I would say is that while the salsa was delicious, it was not spicy. I was hoping for some kick to it, but neither the red or the green was spicy. All in all, I'm going to come back and eat at the restaurant next time! One of the best Mexican food places in Escondido for sure. read more

I used to love Cenote as our go to authentic Mexican cuisine. Last night was disappointing food wise. This out of the way restaurant needs to go back to its old ingredients and service. It is really disappointing to have to go order your food at the counter at a nice place like this. The food was beautiful coming out plated but out of the 8 of us who were eating together, one thought their meal was good. Such a shame. I lovedddd their chile rellano before and now it was filled with weird cheese that wasnt melted and i miss the hominy that used to be a surprise inside. Sorry Cenote. Please use better quality ingredients, get a real liquor license to serve real non wine based margaritas and have servers take the customers orders at the table. read more

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I've been here several times to eat and the food is decent. I will say, that I am disappointed to find out that the prices have recently increased, but the menu still reflects the old prices. If you can't update the menu correctly, then you should give your customers a verbal heads up that their favorite plate now costs $3 more. It's annoying and misleading. Please update your menu prices! read more

Best Mexican food around and if you do not want Mexican try the Chicken Lettuce wraps with two Thai sauces. Pork Carnitas are hubby's favorite. read more

Cenote Grill - Lettuce wraps - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

The food is delicious. Heathy choices. This restaurant never disappoints. Staff friendly read more

The staff were really friendly, but I was so disappointed in the food. It's giving "white people taco night" but again I should've known when I saw the buffalo chicken burrito. I had really high hopes because we waited 40 minutes for food (no hate cause they did inform us). read more

We tried this place for the first time in years. It's getting good reviews, so we decided to give it another try hoping to add it to our neighborhood rotation. It seems that the place could use a bit of facelift in interior decoration, but the place has a cozy atmosphere. Ordering is at the cashier. They will bring food to the table when it's ready. The food was fresh tasting and satisfying. I had a shrimp burrito, which was a pretty good size and had hand-battered shrimp with thin batter, healthier, NOT frozen battered shrimp that I expected. My hubby also had shrimp burrito but asked for "wet burrito" in spicy sauce, which came out super too spicy... Cenote Grill is a nice casual neighborhood cafe-like option between fast food and sit down restaurants. We will be back. read more

Cenote Grill - Shrimp Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

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Great food, good service. New hours is better. During the Saturday rush, they should have more than one person serving the entire place. The atmosphere is relaxed and at busy times it can get noisy. I do recommend this place to everyone. read more

This place is like Cheers - everyone knows your name. Just an incredible experience coming and eating here. It also has the Cheers-style ambiance, just no counter. The first time we got here we were told there was a 45-minute wait, but other than other places, waiting meant "sit down, let us bring you some chips and salsa, would you like a drink? Appetizers? " The 45 minutes passed by in a jiffy. The coup of soup as an appetizer came out immediately, so did our draught beers. Brendon came by, introduced himself, and made sure everything was cool. When we got our dinners, the food was exceptional. And the portions were so big that we got a full second meal out of it. There is some authentic Mexican food on the menu, but a lot is fusion cuisine. I absolutely loved the Thai chicken burrito from my first visit, but the Sonora Style Enchilada I had during my second visit was just as good. Back to Cheers - a week later, during our second visit, Brendon did address us by name. Talk about personal service! read more

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It is ALL outstanding...... really!! Food excellent. People very nice and do a great job! Place clean and " smells nice" read more

Cenote Grill has what I call my "death row" meal. You know, the last meal you want just before you die ? This is it for me. A chicken enchilada topped with traditional mole sauce and a fresh poblano chile relleno stuffed with carnitas, topped with homemade salsa verde. Black beans and white rice. Mind blowing. Really. 5 star. read more

First, the good... staff was nice and they were trying to do their best on a busy Friday night although they seemed to not have the best system in place to handle the crowd. Now the bad... I would not call Cenote Grill "Mexican" food at best maybe TexMex. The food was bland and lacking overall flavor. I ordered the sopes which were disappointing. The rice was on the sope instead of the side and it tasted like unseasoned rice-a-roni. The meat on them did not have much flavor either. Then it was topped off with what seamed a salad. Not what I would call sopes. My wife had the nachos which again were disappointing. Their quesadilla was a ok but still not the best. I make better ones at home. I was surprised how busy they were but then again it was mainly older white people. If you are looking for Mexican food this is not the spot. read more

It's a unique restaurant. Its hours are a bit funky and closed a closed days a week. But the food and service is on point. You have to get or at least try the battered fish tacos, they're amazing. I don't think there is any tequila drinks which is a bummer. The ambiance, that of an old walk in dominoes or round table converted to a Mexican restaraunt/ diner vibe. Very locally feel .. I mean, don't go for ambiance. Go for good food. read more

Cenote Grill - Battered fish tacos - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

My burrito was pretty tasty, but the waitress's service was not so good. First, she made me pay her before I sat down to eat in the restaurant. What's up with that? I wasn't ordering food to go. I saw that she didn't make any of the other customers pay before they sat down. It's not like I looked like I was homeless. And never once did she make eye contact or check on me to offer me water or more chips, or anything. She literally treated me like I was invisible the whole time I was there. And I was there for nearly an hour. 30 minutes to get my burrito and 30 minutes to eat it. And not one word of acknowledgement for the waitress. That waitress might want to consider a different vocation. Sorry, but I won't be returning. There are plenty of other restaurants that have happy and friendly food servers. read more

Good home like made food, very friendly atmosphere, can be very busy, not always opened weird open hours

Excellent food and service. Their Thai wrap is especially good. I guess it's a lot of wrap but other food is great too.

I found this place on Yelp while visiting Escondido. It had great reviews and now I understand why. First off, the service was impeccable. We were greeted at the door and seated right away. The server was very accommodating and sweet. Our order arrived sooner than expected without any errors. I highly recommend the Baja fish tacos, Delicious! I will definitely be back. read more

I have been here twice now and it's definitely worthy of 5 stars. It's been open for a long time and I barely tried it for the first time fairly recently. I remember seeing it growing up and being curious about it. My friend recommended it and insisted that we go so we did. We both got combo plates and I got the tortilla dumpling soup which was so good! My friend loves their sangria. I was surprised by the drink selection. Their menu is unique and it's really cute inside. You order at the counter and the staff are so friendly and welcoming. The food came out fast and has been delicious each time. I have been telling people to try it now that I know how good it is. You already know I'll be back! Thanks Cenote grill! read more

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Cenote Grill serves up a tasty California burrito. The carne asada is juicy and flavorful, the fries are crispy and seasoned, and a balance of cheese, guac, sour cream and picante. Everything tastes fresh and the portion is generous. Friendly staff, quick service, and a burrito that hits the spot. read more

Been going to this place for years! Food is always delicious, fresh and health-conscious, depending on what you order. Staff is friendly and helpful. Sometimes you order and pay at the front, then take a seat. Other times, you sit and server will take your order. Either way, service is friendly and food arrives in good time. read more

You know what's good about Cenote? EVERYTHING. I've been coming here for years - and can't believe I haven't reviewed this amazing place yet! My go-to is the cod in butter/caper/lemon heaven. It's outstanding. Camarones modelo, combination plates, tacos, burritos, margaritas - it's all really good! I often bring my 90-year-old Grandma who has a sensitivity to anything 'spicy' (that includes mild food, folks) but they always accommodate her and dial her food down on the spicy scale. Today we went for my sister's birthday and Hector and the team were fantastic. We all really loved the special birthday treat Flan too! read more

Cenote Grill - Cod with butter - heavenly! - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

Excellent food and quality customer service...personnel are very professional and ensure customers are well taken care of in a timely manner