Working at Grossmont hospital as nurses, sometimes we like a weekend treat and order for pick up. We love this place. We haven't anything that wasn't yummy and satisfying. Rolled tacos, bean and cheese and surf and turf burritos are a favorite read more

The food here is ok. Nothing special. I ordered two California burritos which were both served cold. The customer service from a lady cashier was absolutely horrible. She needs to be re-trained on her customer service skills. The cashier was rude and ignored me when I asked for additional hot sauce. read more

They are AWFUL!!! The carne asada fries are disgusting. This does not taste like authentic Mexican food like most taco shops do. I got Carne Asada fries and they are literally SALTY! Who puts salt on their carne asada fries?! It threw me off completely. Absolutely hate this place. I also went to the drive thru and literally did not get a greeting or my order taken until after 5 minutes sitting there!!! Terrible. I would give 0 stars if I could. read more

Vallarta Express - Mexican Near Me - La Mesa, California

I wish I could give this place zero stars. I've given him chance after chance after chance and as a fellow business owner it's despicable how they treat their customers. They can't even get a simple salad right. Gave them a chance to fix it , after many times experiencing the same issue with them and this time they REFUSED to fix my order REFUSED to refund. Reporting to the BBB as well. read more

This is our go to in La mesa! We have never been disappointed. Best carne asada in town... the chicken soup is great and love the beef tacos and micheladas! read more

DO NOT GO HERE. If I could give 0 stars I would. Every time I have gone here, they have messed up something with my order. Literally every time. Their beans are dry. When I ask for them to correct the order, they give attitude and are extremely hesitant. Like your job is not hard I'm not sure why you can't get an order correct making minimum wage. I would much rather drive further and go someone else. Not to mention there is barely any room to sit and the parking lot of horrible and tight. Bad dry food. Bad customer service. I really recommend not going here unless you want to be disappointed after your meal. read more

Food is trash + they need to train their cashiers on customer service and being more polite. My husband was ordering in the drive through and the cashier couldn't hear him so my husband proceeded to say his order a little louder for her to hear and she yelled back at him telling him he shouldn't be yelling.... get a hearing check, hun. 8/22 @ 7:30PM read more

best carne asada I've tasted in San Diego. and if you say otherwise than you're smoking dope

I come here for their nice portions. Today I had what I used to get at a roberto's taco shop. 5 rolls were Roberto sized and carne asada burrito was wrapped with a roberto's tortilla, all tortilla new coke new cook. Awesome place to eat tho. Just think there was a different cook. read more

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The best spot for drunken meals with friends or the perfect burrito with lots of carbs! A great spot that's open 24 hrs so it's always a safe bet. Their food is perfect for late night meals when you're craving something greasy. The drive thru option is SO fast, I'm grateful it has that option in the first place. The menu is pretty big but I usually just stick to burritos, rolled tacos, and carne asada fries because all their other food is just ok. You can never go wrong with their burritos though, they always hit the spot. The employees always seem to be having a good time as well so that makes me enjoy my purchase even more everytime I go. read more

Really surprised at house a business like this even stays open. I pulled up to the drive through for a quick burrito and there was 3 cars in front of me. I ordered a California burrito with guacamole and horchata. It literally took 21 minutes to get to the window and get my food. I know the time because I got a call right after I ordered. 21 minutes to help 3 cars? Best part!!!?? I get to the window and grab my food and burrito is COLD!!super cold while the horchata has warm with no ice. WHAT??! I thought I was being pranked or something lol. Never coming here again read more

Overpriced and gross. The carne asada fries there are almost 16 dollars. Got the grossest Cali burrito I've ever had. The steak was burned but somehow the burrito was cold when I got it with cheese unmelted. There was a giant hair in my food, and also there were hardly any fries in the burrito. My stomach currently hurts after eating here. read more

Just leaving their parking lot, they messed up my carne asada fries and when I let them know and asked for them to make me another one they refused and laughed. How is this place still in business when they treat their customers like this. read more

I really hate complaining about places but when they take forever in the food is nasty I have to do it I order a carne Asada burrito And he was perhaps the worst burrito I've ever eaten I've been there a couple of times and I was already disappointed but decided to give it another try and again very disappointing won't be going back and I guess I'll just stick to my regular taco shop by the way I was 15 minutes on the drive-through waiting for my food read more

Whenever I'm in the area to do errands, this is the place I stop by! Their excellent customer service is always top notch. My favorite order is the carne asada burrito. The meat is always cooked to perfection. But don't get me started on their rojo sauce. It's one of the best in San Diego. Always a pleasure stopping by this location read more

Vallarta Express - Carne asada burrito - Mexican Near Me - La Mesa, California

Ragging!!! If it was not raining I would go back but a smart old lady once told me, "Driving in the rain upset invites death!" By the way, isn't rain just God peeing on us?!?! The world may never know. read more

Vallarta Express - Layers with cheese and guacamole but very little meat. - Mexican Near Me - La Mesa, California

Worst service ever. The lady at the drive thru degraded us and made us feel unwelcome. This location is really hurting their name and we won't be coming back. read more

I love this place and it is my go to taco shop, but tonight changed my mind. I ordered a surf and turf burrito and to my surprise there was a quarter of an avocado with the skin at the bottom of my burrito and the whole time I ate there was no avocado or guac that I saw. I don't understand how someone could have missed this giant piece of avocado. The cooks should be aware of what is going into your food. Very disappointed in the lack of carelessness in preparation in the food. read more

Vallarta Express - A quarter of an avocado with skin on it at the bottom of my burrito! - Mexican Near Me - La Mesa, California

Food is always decent, but the person on the drive up window (Sat 2/13 6:15pm) is about as rude as you can get. Might want to remind her that customer service is as much a part of the restaurant as the food. read more

Bad customer service, great food. Will return. Thank you!! I got the carne asada fries and they were really good.

Because of COVID-19 I had to move out of my apartment in Del Mar and am temporarily am staying in La Mesa with my mom... And she is a A religious Vallarta express eater. I've never been there in person but I haven't gotten food from them via Postmates, GrubHub, etc. and I have been very very disgusting to say the least... I think when you order a taco or something like that the meat, cheese, lettuce, everything should be put into separate containers so you can put it together at home because by the time it gets to my house, which is only a five minute drive from Vallarta express...... I take one bite of the taco or whatever I order and it's soggy. Every single shredded beef taco I bought-- I cannot eat it I spit it out multiple times and I feel bad because my mom has paid for that food and I've never gotten anything that isn't wet like I just got rolled tacos a couple days ago and they were all in a nice container, I specifically said please put guacamole, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, everything but rolled tacos on the side because it gets to my house and it's soggy and I cannot eat it. I'm a texture person and anything wet, meat w/ gristle--meat that has water coming out of it; Makes me nauseous, fearful of food poisoning, and just never to eat from that restaurant/chain/fast food ever again. The only thing I can eat from there, are chips & salsa (that's IF the salsa is on the side.) I've also ordered rolled tacos many many times with everything on the side but the rolled tacos and I've had a way better Mexican food. We live in Southern California, we are known for that. Tacos Urapan down the street from me is amazing (The quality has gone down over the years but those are the real/authentic Mexican street tacos) However, I would rather eat Taco Bell every day for every single meal for the rest of my life, instead of ever getting a meal from Vallarta express ever again. They do not follow directions and your meal comes to your house soggy, wet, or just missing an order completely/the wrong order. read more

This place is shit . The location has nothing but ignorant ass employees that are rude as fuck. Save your self the bullshit and drive to the on location. Not worth it at all.three times they messed my order up . Not once did they even apologize. Mind you this was in one visit . read more

First the drive thru is excruciatingly slow. I complained and they had the lame excuse that some food takes longer to cook. Fine, then make arrangements to have those customers pull over to the side and take other orders. My fish burrito was not appetizing, rather cold because the other customers in front of me took so long. On another occasion I ordered the food from inside and the chicken burrito tasted bland and leathery; I was suspicious of the origin of the meat... Won't ever go back. read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. Food is mediocre, but the service is so horrible I cannot justify giving them a single cent. I recently ordered several burritos, one of them being a breakfast burrito with no meat for my sister who is a vegetarian. We got home and her burrito had meat in it, so I took it back. The lady at the cashier HAD THE AUDACITY to argue with me over the fact that I said "no meat" but did not say "no bacon" WTF do you think no meat means?!! Honestly every time I've gone here there is either something made incorrect, something missing, or just flat out horrible service. Such a disappointment for a local spot. read more

The one thing that is consistent here are the order inaccuracies and terrible customer service. On top of that customers pay more than the usual taco shops to endure both. Last time I came was Thursday february 27th at about 9:30pm. I ordered a simple cheese quesadilla with a side of sour cream, ask for red sauce as usual. Pay for my order which was $10 Get home and have the complete wrong order. A cheese enchilada, beef taco, rice, beans and green AND red sauce. There were only my car and another behind me so I dont know how they mixed ours up. Geez. I call and Mariella (sp) tells me she gave me the order for the car behind me. Of course she'll put my name down to have that order replaced. I even spelled my name 3 times for her. I call ahead today at 7:02pm before I head over and was told by what sounded like the same girl that my name was NOT written down so she would not own up to their mistake and replace my order. All this for a $10 cheese quesadilla and side of sour cream ? You dont have to tell me twice to take my business elsewhere. No problem read more

One of my favorite places food is always bussin. However, I will say that Lima beans and peas don't belong in Spanish rice

horrible. girlfriend was starving right after giving birth so i decided to doordash this taco shop in the wee hours of the morning. food was cold. meat was cold and slightly red. cheese fresh out the fridge not a slight bit melted. only cooked tortilla. definitely wont be eating here again. Came with a empty container of sauce with no lid. read more

Vallarta Express - a hand holding a burrito - Mexican Near Me - La Mesa, California

I ordered a fish burrito and it was very good but what I can't get over is paying three dollars for a small Horchata that is simply ridiculous!!!!! read more

This is like the 4th place this week where the food is not the problem but their execution. If you say you are open 24 hours then be open 24 hours. This is like the 3rd time I have come after work ( I work late hours) and they tell me that they are closed. Apparently they do this every night for what ever reason but don't you are open 24 hours. Took my business to another taco shop that is in fact open 24 hours. read more

This place is one more example of what's wrong with today's taco shop. Little by little, these mediocre shops have raised prices and lowered standards, so much so now that the typical San Diego taco shop that used to represent what was great about our city is now almost nonexistent. I was charged $8.20 for a carne asada burrito which was substandard, and $3.15 for a side of fries, fries that come frozen and are then deep fried and served soggy. WTF...almost three and a half dollars for a pile of s***. It's beyond comprehension to me. So, Vallarta Express can kiss my a**! read more

Got two burritos and both were terrible. Insides were cold and lacking flavor. I got a veggie burrito and it didn't have any beans, lettuce, or pico de gallo. Only peppers mushroom and eggplant? Very unpleasant. read more

Came here late night to get some food since most of the other restaurants were closed. We got the Carne Asada chips and I loved them. The carne asada was tender and had a smokey flavor to it, and it had a lot different flavor compared to other restaurants. Food was great and I will look forward to coming here again. read more

So I honestly needed to calm down before I posted this and in the interest of a honest review. I've been to other locations - mainly the Miramesa one. Good Mexican food, high quality ingredients. So naturally I was excited to have this open up in La Mesa. Every time I've been there it's been pretty slow and ALL of the workers are confused by your order, needing to repeat it over and over again at the drive through. So I thought maybe the drive through mic isn't good... drive up to the window and nope, every single person I talk to is completely confused. The last 3 times we've ordered - they took down our order wrong and got defensive when we asked to correct it. Looking at the other reviews, I see this is a common thing to happen. So, if you want good Mexican food - yes this is a good Mexican food joint... but be sure to set aside an hour of your time to make sure you can explain your order 10,000 times, have a little argument, point out obvious things on the menu that they didn't know existed and get your food 30mins later... when no one else is ahead of you in the drive through line. Good riddance. read more

Really disappointed. It was 35 dollars. They forgot cheese in my bean and cheese burrito, the beans appeared to be old. The quesadillas were very soggy even tho we asked for well done. Over all bad experience. Sucks to get the all the way home and realize it's wrong. Won't be going back for sure. Over priced and pretty bad food read more

if I could give this restaurant a zero I would. I went the other day through the drive-through and picked up a large order. I realized they did not give me any lettuce, so I stopped and went into the restaurant. I asked for some lettuce and I was told that I would need a receipt. So I went back out to my vehicle and bought and all the food but there was no receipt. Only the paper with what I ordered. I said, is this good enough. He said no I would need a receipt to get some lettuce. I said they did not give me a receipt. All I want is some lettuce. He said he could not give me any lettuce without a receipt. I was starting to get upset at this point. He told me to calm down and I told him to calm down. I said all I want is some lettuce. While this was going, on all the other employees were just standing around dumbfounded. I said again all I want is a small amount of lettuce. And I was telling the other employees too all I want is some lettuce. And then they started to discuss amongst themselves whether they would give me any lettuce. Finally, they gave me a small container of lettuce. Worst customer service I've ever encountered. I will never go back again. read more

I am a frequent customer here as I love the food here. Called ahead and ordered Cali burrito, Carne asada burrito with extra guac and sou cream, steak chimichanga and christian fries. Got home, checked everything and saw that i did not get the christian fries it was only normal carne asada fries. I was looking forward in trying to their christian fries. Oh well I guess I will have to wait next time. read more

Horrible horrible food. I went to the drive though window after a long day and ordered a pollo asado burrito. I bit into the COLD burrito and the dry chicken. Not a good combination. People are not dumb. They know if food is not fresh, unheated and sitting for a long time. That's not the worst part. I called them immediately to let them know just in case their cook is not experienced, but the man on the phone said to me "ok, is that all." I told him please don't do this to your customers and he said "anything else" The man spoke good English when he took my order, so my conclusion is that they really don't care and that is worse than having horrible food. I thought I found a new taco shop but I am going back to my favorite in Santee, Cazadores read more

Mediocre at best...over priced Americanized cold food. Only thing good is that the carne asada meat tastes like it had been previously grilled. I ordered a carne asada burrito no guac add sour cream and cheese. EVERYTHING in this burrito were cold! My husband ordered a number 2 plate. An enchilada with no melted cheese on top and inside COLD...this was an expensive choice for a taco shop and wasnt good at that. I suggest that anyone seeking stick with the local hole in the wall shop, much better food there! read more

Vallarta Express - Mexican Near Me - La Mesa, California

My husband and I come here often. I'm a huge fan of their chicken soup and their shredded beef tacos! I do think they should have two dollar signs, because this place can be very expensive! We generally can't leave under $30 if we each order a drink, so that kind of sucks. I love their beans, and their Carnitas quesadilla is very flavorful, but basically sits in a pile of grease/juice so the bottom quesadilla can be pretty messy. The Cesar Chicken Burrito is very good if you eat it there because it can get mushy and weird if you wait til you get it home. The only thing I've had that isn't good, is the Buffalo Chicken Burrito. The chicken was dry and the lettuce wilted crazy fast so it wasn't good... Their red sauce is bomb.com!! I love that stuff! They now sell beer, so that's a plus!! We will continue coming here as always. I took a star off due to how expensive they can be and due to some of the food not being great. They are way more expensive than most Mexican food/taco shop places. But it won't stop me from hitting the place up every so often! read more

A classic. After reading these reviews I was looking forward to the rude service, but I couldn't find any. All I could find was good food. Fresh fried chips. I always get the chicken enchiladas with green sauce, but you can get whatever you want. No pressure ;) read more