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El Tio's Restaurant

4.8 (44 reviews)
Closed 8:00 am - 7:00 pm

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EL TIO'S RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Good for groups
Outdoor seating

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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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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

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Business owner information

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Lizette G.

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1 year 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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1 year ago

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

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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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

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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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3 years ago

Best shake I have ever tasted. The food is amazing, definitely recommend. This is my new favorite place.

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5 years ago

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Ask the Community - El Tio's Restaurant

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This place is so cool for celebrating special occasions…read more We celebrated our anniversary and they gave us a candle with our names on it!! So sweet The interior is so cool - very gothic medieval vibes inside!! We tried a couple of items but specifically LOVED the squash blossom and the crab donut and the duck memelita! The fried chicken tacos were pretty good as well Personally I did not love the fondue - comes with corn tortillas on the side - it's not my favorite style Drinks were great - I tried the guava Paloma and liked it a lot but wish it was a bit more sweet more guava flavor

Four of us dined at Quixote last night. I can see why it takes a few weeks to get a reservation…read more The place is truly magnificent. We ordered about six small plates, and they were all delicious and unique. Hard to pick a favorite. I'd say the shrimp tacos were absolutely incredible. Everything else was packed with flavor and very different than anything you will encounter at any other restaurant. It is special. My only complaint is that the place is so dark that you can barely read the menu. Also, being so dark, you can't get a good look at the food or even see color. And I would think that the food is beautifully presented. We are in our 60s. That might have something to do with our inability to see anything in that low light condition. We had to pull our phones out so that we could light up the menu and check out the food we were about to eat. It does make for a dramatic ambience. There are thousands of candles that add to the experience. But I gotta knock them a point because I couldn't see my food or read the menu without help.

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Quixote - Dramatic dining space!

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Quixote - Cool and dramatic setting!

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Coasterra - main entrance

Coasterra

4.0(4k reviews)
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Made reservations on open table but the space is so big there were still lots of vacancies when we…read morewent for a Saturday lunch. Ordered the crispy calamari, ceviche trio, and ahi tuna tostada. Enjoyed the different flavors of ceviche and was a fan of the super crispiness of calamari. My fav was the ahi tuna tostada. Super dressed up and had a good mix of crunchy, tart, salty, and mildly spicy. The restaurant has a great view of the ocean especially if you sit outside. Our waiter was very friendly and our food came out in a timely manner.

My girlfriend made reservations for Mother's Day for an early dinner since her mom was in town. The…read morehostess were friendly and led us to our seats. The gentleman/waiter handed us the menu and went on his way. Chips and salsa along with waters for the table were brought and then that was when the service of our waiter went downhill. We ordered the ahi tuna and guacamole for our appetizers but the timing for the meal was so off. It was a long wait before the waiter even checked back on us and which is when I asked for a refill on my water and chips. We had order drinks as well. The smoked old fashion was good and the ahi tuna appetizer portion was plentiful. There were some parts of the diced ahi that was a bit chewy. The gaucamole portion was large and it wasn't until I asked another waiter did my refill of water and chips arrive. For entree, we got the scallops with corn cake, a salad and I had the poblano burger. I asked for the burger to be cooked to medium. When the entrees arrived my burger was overcooked with no pink in sight. The flavor of the burger was good but the burger was definitely dry as can be. The corn cake with scallop was interesting it was almost like the corn cake was a croquet that encased a corn salsa. Overall the food was okay but the service left a lot to be desired. The waiter and the end seemed to put up a fake act when the check came. Since we asked for the check it seemed like the waiter was on hyper speed. Overall the view is nice but the food and service did not meet the expectations.

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Coasterra - Skyline & bay views

Skyline & bay views

Coasterra - View from patio

View from patio

Coasterra - Main dining room

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Main dining room

El Tio's Restaurant - sandwiches - Updated May 2026

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