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El Cata

3.8 (52 reviews)
Open • 10:00 am - 11:00 pm

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Recommended Reviews - El Cata

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Two very small size fish
Maria H.

Went expecting a good size fried fish and got 2 extra small fish I was so disappointed after hearing the announcements of the new place that opened up I had high expectations

Sushi...was awesome. Ask for the special Wasabi!
Ronnie F.

We need to talk about the stigma that a restaurant of one nationality can't serve good food from another. We've driven by El Cata a few times on our way to Zest, and this time we stopped in. Leery of the mixed menu, I was ready to just order safe. The surprises started as soon as we walked in the door. Bright, cheery, and Latin music wafting through the building. We were greeted immediately and sat down at the bar...which was an excellent choice. Grabbed our drinks and we asked about specials. She recommended everything we ate, including 2 sushi rolls with this amazing Wasabi sauce, and we were not disappointed. Camilo, the chef checked on us a few times and made sure we were having a great experience. Nice people, good food, and a fun, upbeat environment. Highly recommend sitting at the bar if you want to meet the man behind the machine. We'll be back..heard taco Tuesday is bonkers.

Menu
Erika S.

Service was really great! We went on a Friday at 5:30pm and caught Padres happy hour (two for one draft beer during games). Beers were cold and glasses clean! We got an order of the baja shrimp tacos as well as the fuego roll and the chef's special roll. Everything tasted super fresh and flavorful! Baja shrimp tacos are fried and two to an order. This was perfect to share! The rolls were both pretty big (bigger than usual) and the fish tasted clean and fresh! SUPER spicy though! Especially the fuego roll! Everyone working was super friendly and everything seemed very clean. I'm looking forward to returning.

The bottles of salsa many of them were as you can see them open, which seem a very safe way of storing salsa.

The food was savage nothing exceptional. The service was horrible as we walked in. Several servers were around the cash register and they just continue to have a personal conversation. we sat down. And we were brought some filthy menus and the server walked away as she put the menus on the table and was away for a long time when she finally came back I told her that the menu was extremely dirty and her response was "I cleaned them yesterday. It must have come from the bar." I ordered a specific drink and she brought me a completely different one. I also asked her a question about an item on the menu and she didn't seem to know anything about it. The ambience appeared to be something catering more to customers. I will definitely never go back to this place. As there were very few customers a minimum of six servers and yet she was not prompt.

Surf and Turf Burrito
Jack M.

I was excited about try this new Mexican seafood eatery, but sadly I was disappointed, and at the same time hopeful they will take the necessary steps to improve. The place is very nice inside and offers a lot of space. The location includes a bar and indoor and patio seating. The menu offers a plethora of seafood items, but I decided on the surf and turf burrito for $14.50 or essentially $15.65. At this price, I was excited for my large plump burrito filled with succulent shrimp and carne asada. Disappointedly, the burrito was under sized and lacked both shrimp and especially the beef. The meat, although tasty and tender, consisted of only a few strips here and there. There was not much to taste and enjoy. The shrimp were not only under seasoned, but also were lacking in numbers. A few more would of been good. I was quite sad at this point. The burrito did come with a lot of white rice and partially melted white cheese. The white rice was cooked well but under seasoned, and that cheese, never truly had the opportunity to melt through the burrito. The burrito also came with strangely enough, with large pieces of lettuce. I don't think they had any business in the burrito, unless they were to chop the lettuce up finely and add it with some pico. The large pieces had me scratching my head. They also put chopped tomatoes in the burrito. The didn't help much. In addition to needing a lot more meat and more shrimp, the burrito was dry inside: meaning it needed a sauce. A white sauce or chipotle aioli would suffice. Some avocado would of been a nice addition, too. Cecelia was my server and she was very nice. I explained my frustrations regarding the lack of meat and shrimp in the burrito, but not much came out of that conversation. I even opened it and showed it to her as my picture depicts. If they do not improve the surf and turf burrito, I would consider getting something else.

Enchiladas with green sauce
Sal F.

First timer, showed up when they first opened, their working out the small details of putting the flatware on the tables. Getting past that, service and food is good.

Cirwan S.

My new favorite Mariscos in San Diego! Came here with my buddies, and wanted to share the food. It's a big space, and we got a table enough for us. I noticed they had a full bar with TVs which was a plus because we wanted to watch the games. I got their version of their cocktail, the Campechana el cata. So good ! Came with 2 kinds of shrimps, octopus, and scallops. I also got the el cata taco, which came with octopus, shrimp, and steak ! My buddy got the mango augachile and he said it's one of the best he has had. We also shared sushi rolls. We got the el cata roll & chef's special roll. Very good and fresh rolls. My other buddy got the Octups plate which came with a whole octopus ! He loved it ! The restaurant was clean and the service was great which is always a plus ! Definitely coming back here !

The famous el cata mug

Food was decent. Not wow but good. A bit over priced. The mug was $60 had a few raw shrimps and octopus. And the 3 slices of tuna outside of the mug. Flavor was eh... it needed something more. My husband got the arrachera plate. Pretty good seasoned well. Beans and rice were blah. Service was ok... it was Valentine's Day and seemed like they were under staffed so our food took about and hour or more to come out. And came out separate which we didn't eat together we ate at separate times. Music was good live band and tha dj after 8pm

Fish or shrimp taco.
Simore M.

I really wanted to enjoy this place, but unfortunately, the food was only a 3 out of 5. The corn Tortilla felt old. The meat to filling ratio wasn't very good. We wanted sushi, but apparently the chef on Monday wasn't available. So there was no sushi available. After having a horrible taco weI ended up going to a sushi restaurant. The place looked very nice inside and was really large. But I wasn't impressed.

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1 year ago

Pulpo tacos were amazing! My friends had shrimp cocktail, sushi and fish tacos. All were very good. It's nice to have music in LG.

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

Bomb octopus and ceviche everything was great good prices.Finally something great other than lidos in lemon grove.

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

I came late at night with a group because they said they are open 24/7. But they aren't

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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Kyoto Gift & Food

Kyoto Gift & Food

4.7(140 reviews)
6.5 mi
•$

So we came into this store for the first time as we decided to do sushi night at home for the very…read morefirst time. The store has an amazing selection of ingredients, sauce, snacks, sake. They also have crab meat and shrimp tempura in case you need some. The best part of it all they also have a sushi bar so you can go in and have some made for you to enjoy. As we where getting our ingredients the owner politely asked us if we needed help and I proceeded to tell him that we are doing sushi night for the very first time. He immediately told his chef to show me how to do a sushi roll which I didn't not expect him to do for me. I will for ever be grateful for that and definitely gained a life long customer and friend. The process seemed easier than I expected so now I'll be going home prepared and won't have to YouTube it. This type of humble customer service is rare now days so I'm very lucky to have crossed paths with the store and the owner. Don't go anywhere else but here to get your Japanese supplies and sushi. I'll be coming soon to sit at the bar and have some rolls very soon.

I walked in and was greeted by 2 people we were talking baseball because I'm a true Blue Dodger's…read moreFan and wearing my Dodger t-shirt The guy said can give us a win Sorry. . . I was looking for. Spam musubi I got 2 boxes $5. Each I was so happy to get 2 And got a inari and sushi It was a great quick shopping of snacks and Green Tea too Cheryl was so nice we chatted but she had to stock up the store I was able to snap some photo and in the back it a few seat counter with a menu and sushi We need to go eat here Next time

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Kyoto Gift & Food
Kyoto Gift & Food - Spicy tuna with spicey mayo and red hot sauce

Spicy tuna with spicey mayo and red hot sauce

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El Cata - seafood - Updated May 2026

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