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El Tio's Restaurant

4.8 (46 reviews)
Open • 8:00 am - 7:00 pm

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EL TIO'S RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Outdoor seating
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - El Tio's Restaurant

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Reviews With Photos

Three Meat Burrito
Hayley C.

I swear, this may be the BEST breakfast burrito I've ever had! My friends and I came by on a Monday morning craving good Mexican food. I was visiting from LA, and had high expectations, whereas they were visiting from Cincinnati and were just excited for a good burrito. The man and woman working were super nice, and the burritos were TO DIE FOR!! They were so big, and the egg, meat, peppers, and hash browns tasted so fresh.

Jack M.

I had a good breakfast burrito from this little place hidden away in a little strip mall in Rolando. I choose the ham, eggs, tater tots, cheese, and sour cream breakfast burrito for $9 and some change. You can switch up the proteins. Like I said, the burrito was good and well filled and quite large, but next time, I will ax the sour cream because it softened up the tater tots. Also, the burrito really didn't need it. The burrito came with a good amount of ham and scrambled eggs. I would have liked more cheese in the burrito, however. I did mention to the owner that the flour tortilla needed more time on the hot griddle, to brown it up a bit and give it that good texture. The red hot sauce that I tried was really good, and so was the service. The place is simple and offers a few tables inside.

Menu 1.6.2025
Chandra R.

A hidden gem! Our party of five arrived at 8:00 AM for breakfast and were warmly greeted by the owner. We ordered five dishes, and our food was on the table within 15 minutes despite him being the only one working. The food was delicious and packed with flavor. While we were eating, the owner invited us to participate in cutting the Rosca de Reyes. My husband made the second cut, and we found Baby Jesus! The owner was thrilled for us, and on February 2, my husband will be buying tamales for everyone. This was our best restaurant experience in San Diego.

Menu Board
Lisa T.

Small, hole in the wall but well worth the stop!!! Friendly, delicious and fresh. Authentic and amazing sauces, tender and juicy meats.

Torta de Jamón

Amazing! Fresh and crunchy veggies. Great service. I will be coming back every time I'm in the area!

Carne Asada Fries

It was my first time coming here, and since we went to the area, I was looking for some good CAF. I stop by this place and the fries were delicious. The french fries were nice and crispy. Everything was seasoned deliciously. And also the sauces are just the right amount of spice. The only con that I have to save about. It is that. I wish it would have more cheese, but overall it was delicious!! Definitely going back now that I live in the area!!! And the service was fast.

Cheese Burger and Fries

I was craving a good quality burger and didn't want the usual in n out. I found El Tio's on yelp and i'm so glad I did! I got the weekly special of cheeseburger, fries, and a can of soda for $9. The lettuce, tomato, and onion were so fresh and the patty was nice and thick. Everything else on the menu looked so good, i'll definitely be returning to try more

California

Most California burritos have either guacamole or sour cream. This burrito had both and it was a perfect balance that made it very delicious. The owner was nice and offered recommendations. This hole in the wall is worth a stop if you are in the area!

Torta de Milanesa
Tim B.

El Tios has a great menu! Big portions and the flavor of the torta de milanesa was amazing. Red salsa was also fire!

Cheeto burrito
Eduardo M.

If I could rate this more than 5 stars I would. In a city full of taco shops, Tio's has to be one of the most underrated in SD. Every time I enter, Tio greets with me a warm welcome asking my order and what I'd like to drink. He creates a good atmosphere chatting you up and makes it feel as a friendship as opposed to a service. The food always comes with good portions and the salsa is great. The menu holds a lot of variety from breakfast plates to sandwiches to a classic order of carne asada fries that you can never go wrong with. Today I tried a Cheeto burrito and this might have to be my new go to order. Tio gives a great service and definitely deserves more recognition. 100/10

Restaurant store front - don't blink or you'll pass it by!

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1 year ago

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Business owner information

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Lizette G.

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2 years ago

Service was great and fries were perfect can't say anything bad about the place. The price here are fair.

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2 years ago

Really good! Good quality and good price! The service was good too they were kind! I'll be back

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2 years ago

The food was 10/10 and the service was quick and kind to our needs and overall great place to enjoy a lunch or breakfast

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3 years ago

Amazing food. Good prices. Order food here. Great service. Stop reading this review, get into your car, and come here NOW.

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MammaMia Deli Market - Gino & Gianni's Pizzeria - Homemade Hoagie made with MammaMia's Prosciutto Cotto, Salami (Finocchiona), Capocollo, and Caciocavallo

MammaMia Deli Market - Gino & Gianni's Pizzeria

4.4(374 reviews)
2.8 mi
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Wow. The sandwiches here are really good. Their pistacchio cream sauce sandwich is so very…read moredelicious with the mortadella. We went here a second time and got a slice or pizza to try that and it was delicious also. We tried multiple sandwiches and they were all good. I can't believe I didn't have any pictures of the food. I guess it was just so good that I didn't have time to take the photos as I just wanted to eat it. They have some seating outside which is nice. Covered. Service has been friendly and fast both times. I'll have to go back so I can take some pictures of their food for posting next time!!

Small parking lot. There are spaces in front and to the side that angle downward. One of the sides…read morein the parking lot looked to be a one way exit only. The pizza shop door is on the left side and the deli/grocery is in the middle. For sandwiches, order at the counter, take your receipt to the grocery cashier and then hand over your yellow receipt at the deli counter when they call your name. Staff in the deli side were nice and helpful. The pizza side not so much. The sandwich was ready faster than my pizza slices. They had a ton of by the slice pizza's to choose from. They have seating inside in the pizza area with a tv that has sports on it. The interior had a cute pizza parlor vibe. Tried: Cheese pizza $6 - good, lots of cheese, but crust was tough and chewy. Whole lotta ties turkey sandwich $14 - good flavor, liked the Italian dressing. Bread was super tough and chewy.

Photos
MammaMia Deli Market - Gino & Gianni's Pizzeria - Wine and Beer Cave

Wine and Beer Cave

MammaMia Deli Market - Gino & Gianni's Pizzeria - Inside of The Godfather

Inside of The Godfather

MammaMia Deli Market - Gino & Gianni's Pizzeria - Building front

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Building front

Grove Grinder - Turkey, bacon avocado sandwich

Grove Grinder

4.4(356 reviews)
1.9 mi
•$$

Grove Grinder located in the heart of Lemon Grove. They offer indoor and outdoor seating. Not ideal…read morefor large crowds but, definitely a location to try for amazing sub sandwiches! When you see the entire store front packed with City Workers enjoying their meals...IT'S A MUST TO STOP AND TRY THEIR FOOD! That speaks volume in itself! I just love "MOM AND POP" locations! I believe this shop is a mother and son ran operation and they are an amazing duo dishing out amazing subs for reasonable prices! Watch out other sandwich chains out there cause Grove Grinder IS WHERE IT'S AT!!!! They have been in business since 1972...NUFF SAID! I ordered the Ann Special with everything on it. They do not skimp on meat and the proportion of bread to meat to veggie ratio is spot on! A full size sandwich is enough to feed two people easily or one very hungry person. I did not try any of their side items or large selection of root beer drink options to choose from but, I will be back many more times to try all they offer! Thank you Grove Grinder for amazing eats and allowing me to snap all my photos of your small shop for my review! If in Lemon Grove, show some love to Grove Grinder and grab you one of their amazing affordable, delicious subs...YOUR WELCOME IN ADVANCE!

I'm a little heartbroken about this because I had a 5-star review drafted up for this place that…read moreread: "Grove Grinder is the GOAT of neighborhood sandwich shops. Over the years that I've been coming here, I've been pleasantly surprised to find that the quality, portion size, and price point has kept pace with inflation and remains the best sandwich option in East County." I'm certainly not the longest-running customer of this spot, but I have been coming to Grove Grinder ever since I moved to the area four years ago. I kept coming back, wrote rave reviews in San Diego food-related social media groups and threads, bugged food influencers about them, and sent many of my friends and family their direction because I was that big of a fan. My husband and I have taken these sandwiches on roadtrips and plane rides, grabbed them in the middle of household chores, and picked them up for each other when the other is too tired or sick to cook. The reason why I'm ultimately knocking this review back and heavily questioning whether I should return has to do with a disappointing experience from my last visit with my husband that we now think was part of a larger pattern. The past couple of times we saw this person at the register, we used my name for the order. This time, though, my husband gave his name instead and the person at the register gave him some attitude about it and asked "You're *really* going with that?" I don't understand what their problem was with his name, but both the person in the front and the staff in the back refused to use it. They called out everyone else's names (and they usually call out mine when I order) and we noticed that our sandwiches were looking skimpy compared to how stacked we know they can come. My husband uses a nickname that might not be the name he was given at birth, but is a name he has used for over 20 years and might as well be his "real," name. We don't want to make assumptions, but most of the staff has always been at least a little cold towards us at best, slightly rude at worst, and even though this experience might seem relatively small to some, it's ultimately the straw that broke the camel's back. We suspect that their distaste for us might be politically motivated. We know it can't be personal because we've been nothing but polite. It sucks, but it seems to be that if they perceive you to not be "their people," your money isn't as green at their establishment, even if it spends all the same. I loved this place and felt lucky that they're close to my house, but feeling disrespected and like the staff are trying to fire us as customers is enough motivation to take our business elsewhere.

Photos
Grove Grinder - Interior

Interior

Grove Grinder - Many many Root Beer Bottles.

Many many Root Beer Bottles.

Grove Grinder - Meatball sandwich

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Meatball sandwich

Ben & Esther's Vegan Delicatessen - Veggie Sandwich

Ben & Esther's Vegan Delicatessen

4.6(370 reviews)
1.1 mi•Rolando
•$$

The fact that an all-vegan Jewish deli exists means that dreams really can come true. Ben &…read moreEsther's is doing it right, keeping the spirit of the deli alive in an era when few of the old guard manage to persist. As much as I hate the word "authentic" when used to describe any type of cuisine, they are absolutely doing it right, honoring the classics with more modern recipes eschewing animal products. That means you've got your lox, pastrami, egg salad, matzo ball soup, latkes, knishes, and all the bagels a baker can roll. Many of these are rarities for the average vegan to encounter and a true luxury to have them all under one roof. As a Jewish person who's been vegan for almost 25 years, I've never had many of these specialties made by anyone other than myself. Sinking my teeth into the rye bread-flanked meatless corned beef in my New Yorker sandwich, I honestly started getting a bit verklempt. I truly hope locals know just how lucky they are to have easy access to such delicacies whenever the craving moves them. Please, have another half-sour pickle on my behalf.

Fantastic mushroom burger! They use Beyond Burger patties and the texture is amazingly meaty. I…read morewas surprised by the deep savory flavor they achieved with the mushrooms and the cheezy sauce. Would definitely order again. The burger had a lovely toasted bun and was accompanied by a quarter pickle spear. I also picked up some bagels which were just ok. Parking was plentiful. Service was excellent! Everyone was super friendly and helpful, from the cashier to the cook. They also have a location in Seattle.

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Ben & Esther's Vegan Delicatessen - Inside

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Ben & Esther's Vegan Delicatessen - Turkey-Bacon Club

Turkey-Bacon Club

Ben & Esther's Vegan Delicatessen - Lox Bagel

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El Tio's Restaurant - sandwiches - Updated October 2026

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