I live right down the street from this place and I've gone multiple times without ever being disappointed. I can confidently say it is one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Diego. The California burrito and steak and egg burrito are definitely my favorite with their red sauce being really good. Absolutely recommend. read more

Heading back to San Diego. July 6th through the 13th, 2026 this will be one of the first places I hit. They have such great food here. Miss it. You will not find anything like this in Tennessee that would compare to this food. You can find Mexican food in Crossville, Tennessee, but it's nowhere close to California Mexican food. read more

It was just Ok. The Boss Lady and I were hoping for great food, since we don't get this in East Texas, but it was somewhat disappointing. We miss SoCal Mexican and wanted to love this joint. The cheese on some of the plates was cold and not melted. The flavors were great and the salsas were on point! I had the fish tacos, which were good but I wish that they had a grilled option. Probably won't be going back read more

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Been going here since I was in High School. Best taco shop in San Diego county! Best carne asada burrito & taco! Good breakfast burritos too. read more

@cotijas_santee offers a wide variety of delicious Mexican dishes, serving everything from chicken and beef to seafood. The portions are generous, and I loved that the food wasn't too salty or oily -- just perfectly balanced in flavor. The staff was also very friendly, even with how busy it gets. I highly recommend giving them a try if you're in the Santee area, my fav was the surf and turf fries read more

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I ordered through grub hub and typed a note throughout asking for 2 of each sauce. Immediately after putting the order through, I called the restaurant to also verbally make the request. I did this because past experiences at other locations, I tend to not get any or the type I want if I don't type and call follow up to ask again. When I received my order, I had 6 sauces. Of ONLY red. That was extremely disappointing and changes the food. Everyone knows the sauces make the food better. I will say that the carne and pollo were delicious and the flour tortillas tasted fresh. I would still go back, I'm just dissatisfied with the lack of sauce when I was sure I covered my bases. read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - Carne Asada Fries, Pollo Asado Taco, side of carrots, 6 red sauce - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

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After eating in-house, I ordered food to go. Added a drink for myself. There was a family w/kids ahead of me. The cashier peered around them to let me know my order was ready. I took my bag & waited for the dad to finish wrapping his radishes & limes to go. I added tomatillo salsa to my bag & left. Forgot about my drink...While at my next stop, I remembered it. Drove back, hoping it was still there. It wasn't, but the cashier gave me my drink (receipt was still in the bag along w/my food). I appreciate her courtesy. Cotijas was here when I lived in Santee back in the early 80s. I'm certain that courteous service goes hand-in-hand w/good food~ read more

Good food, my wife's burrito was a draining a bit at the bottom But the food tastes great read more

We have eaten from this restaurant for over 40 years! Have always loved the taste and value of our food. The service has always been great. read more

The rolled tacos and guacamole contained 3 rolled tacos resembling cigars. There was no guacamole. The tacos were drenched in a green liquid resembling green goddess salad dressing, rendering them too messy to pick up and eat. the bean/cheese burrito had to be opened to spread the cheese evenly throughout and re-assembled. The ham and cheese quesadilla was dripping grease. Service was prompt. read more

5 stars. I've been going here my whole life & not one time I had a bad meal. Thank you Cotijas, we love you. -Nathan Angelo Sanchez read more

I come to this taco shop once a week and tonight they got my order completely wrong I'm not sure who's cooking tonight 9/9 9:30 pm I got a carne asada burrito with beans Completely opposite of what I wanted read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Love the generous portions. My kids love coming here for a quick after school meal. Staff is super friendly. And the inside dining is always clean and tidy. read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - Carne Asada Fries - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

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Great service food is always fresh and delicious definitely our Friday go to for our family

Never been disappointed. Been in San Diego for over 20 years and this stuff is good quality Mexican food!

Best ceviche around. Super fair price. Got it with extra avocado. Salsa bar too I'm stuffed. Kids menu too.

1st time going with my family and we order breakfast burritos. They are huge and delicious. We sat inside and the place was clean and nice. Not a big place inside but plenty of seating. Got there before the crowd was inside seating got full with family's. I'm looking forward to going back and trying out the taco plate. Or the enchiladas plate . read more

Lately this place has been disappointing. It used to be great but the burritos are getting smaller and smaller. I ordered a California burrito and bean and cheese burrito. My toddler could have finished a whole burrito they were that small. Picture is of the bean and cheese. All tortilla. read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - Bean and cheese, all tortilla - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Best taco shop in East County. Fast and friendly service. Quality ingredients. Creamy Guac!

This place is the best! friendly staff... no long wait times, full salsa bar, free hot carrots! Every time i order it's a hit! Made fresh... delicious... There's nothing like a reliable taco shop and Cotijas is always reliable. Carne asada meat for burritos is great quality. My wife loves the hard shell chicken tacos. Don't sleep on their soups! Very diverse menu and variety of flavor and they all hit depending on what you're in the mood for. For sure in the upper echelon of taco shops. Blessed to have them in Santee. read more

My daughter and I used to come here at least two times per week and we don't very much any more. They are expensive and inconsistent. Sometimes when I get a carne asada burrito it's a good hefty size but many times it's a wimpy excuse of a burrito. Not exaggerating either. Angers me how the cooks can even do that to someone's food when there are so many other options for Mexican food in this city. I sometimes get a machaca burrito but be warned that they don't use poblano peppers, they use plane green bell peppers. I asked them why and they said because of the cost of the poblanos. Really, for a few slices up pieces to go in the machaca you're telling me it's too expensive to use? Given how small my carne asada burritos are I think you've more than made up for it. I will say though their fish tacos are really good. Since I never know what I'm going to get from this place we've pretty much stopped coming here. The place is always clean and nicely decorated. read more

What a shot carne burrito. Asked for rice and guacamole. It's like they put a spec of guacamole. This is bullshit. read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Updating to 1 star because it's so gross. I would like to say I would order here again because the food is good but they tainted it for me. How can I trust that I won't get another finger nail in my food read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - This is a fingernail that was inside my Carne Asada Fries - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

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2 fucking stars for really good spicy red salsa. They are very expensive, got my order incorrect. Charged me $2.50 to add guacamole instead of pico in my burrito and had no guac when I got it. I downed 3 red salsas and called it a night, peace out to my $17 no guac burrito.. read more

Ordered food from here through DoorDash. I ordered 5 rolled tacos with guacamole. I have to say they were the worst rolled tacos I have ever had in San Diego. Born and raised in San Diego. Considering I was super hungry they were disgusting. I couldn't even eat one. After the second bite of the first taco out of 5, I threw them away. I wouldn't even give them to a homeless person that's how bad they were. Do NOT get food from here! The food is no bueno. read more

Good and cheap spot for burritos in Santee! We got the carnitas burrito to share between 2 people and had them cut it in half. It was still a good amount of food my bf and I were both between content to full afterwards. The meat was fall apart tender and had good pork flavor. The burrito was also well balanced in general and was not dry at all. I also enjoyed the variety of salsas and hot sauce that they had! They also have a window outside to order if you want takeout instead of a sit down meal. Overall a delightful surprise and I'm glad we finally tried this spot that we've been driving past so often. read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - carnitas burrito - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Worst carne asada burrito, rice, beans & salsa's I have ever had. Complete waste of $18. NO BUENO!!!

Truly the best shrimp burrito of all time . I have moved out of San Diego / santee for over 15 years but I still stop by every time I visit ! We also love the rolled tacos ! read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - 3 rolled tacos . Amazing - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

I wanted to love it solely based on the hash brown burrito but was highly disappointed after biting into it and only getting one measly bite of a hash brown. The hubby and I ordered the hash brown burrito which promised eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, sour cream, and crispy hash browns. The burrito itself was good, the sour cream was unique and something I never would've put in a breakfast burrito myself. I then ordered 3 beef rolled tacos and the hubby ordered two carne asada tacos. It's the better of the Cotijas I've had in the county, but just disappointing that the one thing I wanted didn't live up to the hype. read more

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I live super close to this taco shop and it's our go to. Not only because the food is good, but I'm obsessed with their red hot sauce! Last night's visit for some late night hash brown burritos was super disappointing though. The price has significantly gone up and the portion size has gone down. Our burritos were so small that I was hungry after. You should never be hungry after eating a burrito from a Taco shop! Almost $26.00 for 2 small hash brown burritos and we decided we'll go to Bad Hombres next time. They have a similar breakfast burrito that is under $10.00 and they don't skimp on their portions. read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - Hash brown burrito cut in half. Sooo small and sad! - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

The best Cotijas ! Their veggie burrito and fish rolled tacos are the best! Their salsa bar is amazing as well!

My rolled tacos were cold. The horchata taste horrible. tastes like plastic. I wont be recommending this place to anyone.

Dissatisfied, ordered a California burrito , it was literally 80% fries , and the lady had to dig through the burrito to find a spec of cheese . It was the worst burrito I have ever had in San Diego county . Cheeping out on a 13.00 dollar burrito is just plain Greed ! Way to many taco shops in santee to be stiffing people ! On to the next . read more

One of the many Mexican restaurants in Santee. Walk up window here makes it more convenient. I ordered a pick up order and was able to grab it through the pick up window. The. carne asada chips here were delicious. read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - Carne Asada Chips - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Been going to Cotijas since I was a kid, and it's still one of my favorite spots. Their shrimp burrito is unmatched--loaded with flavor and that creamy white sauce that I've never found anywhere else. It's super unique, and best part? No rice. I'm not really a fan of rice in my burritos, so that's a big win for me. Carne Asada Fries: Big portions, perfectly seasoned carne asada, melty cheese--everything just hits. Another go-to for me is the surf and turf burrito (minus the rice, of course lol). Perfect combo of shrimp and steak, and always hits the spot. Prices are solid too. Affordable, filling, and just overall good quality. Cotijas definitely holds it down in San Diego. read more

So let me just say that the food here is just consistently good. But my review is not for the food today as I leave at 7:45pm April 5th, there's a guy inside and I'm not sure of his name. He was wearing a blue sweater tonight......he is one of the most polite, overall great people you want to interact with. While so many other shops barely say anything to you much less thank you for your business.....the gentleman that works here in the evening is always grateful you came in. His customer service is just amazing and makes coming here an extra bonus on top of the delicious food. I'm sorry I don't know your name but thank you sir. read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - The outside ordering window - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Stopped here on our way back from Julian in December. Delicious Fish Tacos, Excellent Burritos and the owner/mgr. was very nice and friendly. The place was immaculate. You could see how clean it was through the windows and when I went inside. This is how all public food establishments should be! What a pleasure! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! read more

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I can't believe I've never reviewed Cotijas before. I'm for real shocked. I LOVE this place. It's my go-to Mexican spot. I've gone way too many times to count. Every time someone comes to visit, I take them here. I'll have to add pictures the next time I go. I'll list my top favs though. Tacos The carne asada taco is my number one and always my go-to. It's full, flavorful and never a bad choice. That fish taco is fire too. It's light and tasty. I have also had the chicken asado taco too. I prefer the carne asado or the fish. I've also had the rolled tacos. They weren't really my fav but if I'm going to pick one, I'd go for beef. The potato taco was cool. It was mad hot so I ate it fast but I wasn't really feeling it. I'll try it again one day because I like potato tacos. Tostadas Dawg, gone and do yourself a favor. Order this. The bean one if my favorite. Always hits, never fails. One is enough to fill me up but I'm a small human. 2 will definitely do the trick. Burritos That surf and turf burrito is A1. You won't be disappointed. I have had this burrito twice now (cause all I keep ordering are those carne asado tacos) and that burrito is so good. Big enough to be two meals. I also really like the shrimp burrito. It has white sauce which is helpful to me for dietary reasons. Lastly but definitely not least, that horchata ..... CHEFS KISS. When I tell you that I have had to have a better horchata in the city. I get horchata when I see it and this one is still the best that I've had. I always get a large now cause the one time I got a regular, it was gone too quickly. The service is always great. They friendly, welcoming and can make modifications. They have in door and outdoor seating and Public restrooms. They do to-go orders and you can call in. They aren't usually mad busy but there have been a few times when we planned to go to eat there and decided to take it home. Please drop by here. They've been here for a really long time and it makes sense why. read more

The price has gotten extremely high, while the serving size and quality has gone down. I ordered a shrimp burrito and the first 3/4 of the burrito was all rice. Really disappointing from a place I have frequented for years. read more

Tons of guacamole for someone that is allergic and can't even eat this. Don't order through uber eats, this location will not look at the notes. To the trash they go because it's covered in it, and my family member can't eat it. SMH read more

Cotijas Taco Shop - Tons of guacamole for someone that is allergic and can't even eat this. Don't order through uber eats, they don't look at the notes. - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California