Wendy's

This was our second time at Duke's, and once again, they did NOT disappoint! Everything was…read moreabsolutely amazing--from the Keila fries to my chicken sandwich and my boyfriend's burger. Every bite was delicious! Of course, we had to get milkshakes to go, and our absolute favorite is the strawberry shake! the death by chocolate one is a close second!!! It's seriously SO good! The food, quality, and overall experience make this place a 10/10 for us. We'll definitely be back again, and I would highly recommend Duke's to anyone looking for a great meal!

Duke's Old Fashioned Onion Burgers has become a pretty popular spot in La Mesa. Every time I've…read moredriven by, there's always a steady stream of people coming in and out, so I figured it was finally time to see what the hype was about. They also rotate fun milkshake specials, and when I visited they had an Apple Pie Milkshake that sounded really good. I just wasn't in the mood for something sweet that day. I kept it simple and ordered the Single Onion Burger ($13.95) with mayo, ketchup, and lettuce, plus an order of the Original Fries ($5.75). The onion burger is made with fresh ground beef that's smashed with onions on the grill, and you can customize it with toppings like lettuce, tomato, pickles, jalapeños, cheese, mustard, and ketchup at no extra charge. Bacon is available for an additional charge. The restaurant itself was really clean, and I appreciated the self-serve condiment station stocked with ketchup, spicy ketchup, ranch, plenty of hot sauces, and to-go containers. The fries ended up being my favorite part of the meal. They're fresh cut and double fried, coming out piping hot with a crispy exterior and fluffy center. The portion was also super generous. They packed so many fries that they were spilling outside of the container into the bag. Paired with the ranch and spicy ketchup, they were honestly worth ordering on their own. The burger was a little more disappointing. The patty was overcooked, which made it pretty dry. You could even tell by the color that it had spent a little too much time on the grill. Since I usually keep my burgers pretty simple, there wasn't much to balance out the dryness, so I found myself dipping almost every bite into extra ketchup and ranch just to add some moisture. I can definitely see why Duke's is a neighborhood favorite, and I still like the concept behind their onion burgers. It just didn't completely satisfy the burger craving I walked in with. I'd come back for the fries without hesitation, and I'd be willing to give the burger another shot hoping I caught them on an off day.

It's at the entrance

Garlic Parmesan Fries

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Single Onion Burger 10/10

Carl's Jr

2.1(123 reviews)

Google Please update…read morethe hours of operation for this business I am with the company Carls Jr and this location opens at 7 AM Monday through Friday and closes at 10 PM on Saturday it opens at 8 AM and closes at 9 PM and on Sunday it opens at 8 AM and closes at 9 PM thank you

Ordered through the app for dinner tonight. Restaurant was clean, parking plentiful, employees…read morefriendly, our food was ready and waiting! Our burgers were still warm, everything tasted fresh and were put together so well that everything stayed in place. Great experience.

Dining room

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Habit Burger & Grill

3.3(399 reviews)

The food at this La mesa hobbit is always The Services…read morealways very nice We first tried to order from the yaunt, which was kind of slow We put our phone number in and never got the receipt. But the food was very good. The ambience was very nice

Tasty burgers are served here and they crank out the food quickly…read more Parking is tight here during the week because chic-fila shares this space and the weekends are very busy here so get here before the lunch rush. I get the char burger with cheese, fries, fried green beans and a drink makes for a very satisfying lunch. My wife gets the bacon burger without the bun both items were cooked perfectly and were delicious! They had a new passion fruit drink that was new to us but they have the standard fountain drinks. I didn't order it but they had a new double char burger advertised as you walk in. There are kiosks when you enter so they have the technology. There are plenty of indoor tables and outdoor tables. The staff is friendly and the place is clean. The AC was turned on high, I ended up getting our jackets from the car. This is one of my favorite burger places in town. Sorry, In-Out-Out, you are not my first choice unless I'm recovering from the night before. Enjoy!

This is another view of the interior of the restaurant from the counter where you order looking toward the street

My chicken sandwich is in the foreground, and it was indeed good, with two burgers on sesame seed buns seen in the background

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This is one view of the interior of the restaurant looking from the counter where you order out toward the street

Costco Food Court

3.4(96 reviews)

1.7 mi

Not sure why everybody's going bananas about the chicken tenders. They are too bready for me…read more Love the hotdogs, the icy coffee drinks and the pizza. Who can beat the price? I still wish they did offer the combo pizza as well as the vegetarian pizza, but I don't think that'll ever come back. The service is fast, considering how many people are ordering. I Like the tables available for dining. They keep the dining area clean.

Can't beat the convenience and price at the Costco food court. It's a tried and true place for a…read morequick and affordable meal with options at a variety of budget. The staff is quick with the food orders but there always seems to be a long line of people waiting for pick up. The food court is a chaotic place and the ambiance is loud and busy with families and kids grabbing a meal so be patient and enjoy!

People waiting b/c the service is awful

Pepperoni pizza slice

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BFF Burgers Fish and Fries

4.2(241 reviews)

I went here after work for a double cheeseburger. I had read the reviews, and they were very…read morepositive, so I took a chance--and I must say, I was very satisfied. Everything was fresh, and the service was fast and friendly. I definitely recommend this place if you're in the mood for a hamburger.

I went on an adventure trying to find a new lunch spot. I found this place on Yelp as Janna's…read moreBurgers, Fish, and Fries and the map took me to the Aztec Food Hub. Using the street address I was taken to Grossmont Center. The signage indicates this place is called BFF Burgers, Fish and Fries. I was feeling lucky today. So I ordered my fried fish with onion rings and paid $1 upcharge. The problem with onion rings is they range from not good to great. With fries they are usually fine. White fish was fried in a tempura batter infused with herbs. White fish had a mild flavor and was nice and moist. Batter was crunchy. Onion rings were mostly crunchy except the batter was too thick so some parts of the batter were not transformed by the frying process into crunchy goodness. I didn't like the flavor of the herbs in the batter which distracted from the fried onion flavor. Service from the guy in charge was friendly and efficient. My combo was $12.99 which is a great deal. I'd order the fish again but not the onion rings. Doing further research I found they are also listed on Yelp as BFF Burgers, Fish and Fries. So that's the story on my lunch adventure.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Fried Zucchini

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Jack in the Box

2.4(97 reviews)

1.4 mi

We did a mobile order for drive thru. They were efficient with our order. Although, the tacos were…read moreridiculously greasy. I expect them to be greasy but when the grease is leaking through the bag it's not good. The fries and mozzarella sticks on the other hand, were freshly made and served perfectly. Our mobile order was expected to be ready at 9:30pm but we waited at the drive-thru window for a while.

They could improve order accuracy. I ordered two "Grilled" chicken sandwiches. Got some sheet…read morecalled "Cluck" chicken sandwiches. I mean grilled and fries are a pretty obvious difference. Fucking idiots.

Kiosk not working

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El Azteca Taco Shop

4.1(497 reviews)

1.9 mi

My fiancé comes a lot and I'm usually the one to come pick it up, the service is always really good…read moreand the staff are incredibly nice. the food had always looked good and the prices are very reasonable, to give it a shot I decided on the California burrito, it was one of the best cali burrito's i've ever had, only wish it also had some sour cream, the salsa's are perfect spice level and the ambience feels so authentic and cozy that it's impossible to not want to come back, this is definitely going to be one of my go to spots, highly recommend 10/10

Your locally loved taco shop that's always booming, especially around dinner time. El Azteca Taco…read moreShop keeps it simple. Quick service, fast food, cheap eats. No frills, no thrills, just solid Mexican food. There's a reason it's been a local favorite for over a decade. If the regular menu prices aren't cheap enough, Taco Tuesday makes it cheaper. Who doesn't love mini tacos after a long work day. Especially $2.10 tacos. The plaza has decent parking and even when it's busy, you can usually find a spot. Most of the surrounding businesses are quick stop places, so you will find parking fast. Inside, there's a large menu board and plenty of seating, though most people seem to grab takeout. There's no salsa bar. When you order, the cashier asks how many salsa cups you need and tosses them into your bag. Taco Tuesday offers six meats: adobada, birria, buche, carnitas, cabeza, and pollo. Again, $2.10 (+tax) Up front, I would skip the adobada and birria. On past visits, both came out a bit dry and needed a lot of salsa to bring them back to life. The flavor was there, but texture matters. Everything else is solid, but the real star here is the buche. This is what keeps me coming back. Ever since I tried their buche tacos, I compare every other buche taco to them. It's super tender with a slight crisp on the outside. The flavor is rich without being greasy. The salsa they give pairs perfectly with it and the freshness of cilantro and onion pulls everything together. At $2.10 plus tax per mini taco, it's hard to complain. I will say tortilla consistency can vary. Sometimes it's sturdy, sometimes it breaks easily, and occasionally they double it up BUT the buche makes up for it every time. Now, it's not perfect. This visit, the carne asada missed the mark. Previously, it was tender and juicy. This time it was dry and chewy. Even with pico and guacamole, it was hard to chew. No amount of salsa helped. The horchata was also extremely sweet. It tasted like straight concentrate from a mix, almost overpowering. My four stars are definitely for the Taco Tuesday deal and the quick, friendly service.

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Horchata

McDonald's

1.8(266 reviews)

Got the demon hunter meal and it was okay. They forgot to include the sauces in the meal which was…read morereally disappointing.

I did a mobile order for fries & McDouble. For pick up in drive through…read more Cashier not friendly. Didn't greet me just opened her sliding door and said "you want a receipt". No greeting no thank you!!! I drove to 2nd window to get my food. Fries weren't hot and tasted like they'd been sitting there too long. Burger was not hot and looked sloppy. This will be the last time I come to this McDonald's. Clearly don't have quality standards. I guess since I worked there as a kid and the standards we had back then aren't the same. Very sad.

This was the amount of fries that came with my order. Come on now.

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Inside seating area

Vallarta Express

2.7(563 reviews)

1.7 mi

This was my first time trying this place. I got some super fries with carne asada. The fries…read morecould've been crispier. The meat was good but a little overcooked. I wish there was more guac and it was more seasoned. $22 for mid carne asada fries. Salsas were good and luckily I like spicy because my friends couldn't handle it. There are definitely better places.

How do you rate a restaurant where the food is typically fantastic, but can never seem to get…read moreeverything you ordered into a bag. What if they get the right number of items but incorrect items? Mistakes happen, no doubt. I understand that as well as anyone. They happen at Vallarta a disproportionate amount of the time. Literally more often than not. We've always went back through the order at the window with them just to make sure, and still would find items missing when we got home. I've advised them before that having a sharpie at the packing station to check off against the receipt would probably serve them well. All of this is known, and in and of itself, despite the real frustration one feels when this happens once, much less dozens of times, it would not lead me to updating with a one-star review. What did happen is that, the last time they forgot my order of rather expensive guacamole, we called. The phone rang for sometime before being picked up by a gentleman we believed to be the owner-- clearly a cell phone, and he was not onsite. We told him what had happened. He apologized, like one does, and told us to just let them know the next time we went through the drive-thru and they would replace it. He took our name. That was that. Except it wasn't. When we next went back through the drive-thru, we reminded them of our missed guac, and they refused to honor the owner's promise. Beyond that, they became rude and hostile at the idea. Obviously, we canceled that night's $50+ order and left. We have not been back. We used to go in once or twice a week. Maybe the message was not relayed. Possible. It does seem to me, however, that if your error rate is as high as there's is-- and it's not like they don't know this-- instead of arguing with the guest that has come back to your establishment anyway, you should probably bend over backwards to accommodate them. They used to make up for their horrible order fulfillment with friendly service and pretty darn good food. As the service tent pole fell, so did the tent.

Dine in

Carne asada fries

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Dinning area

Los Tito's Mexican Food

3.1(442 reviews)

1.9 mi

This place was amazing! My first time and the women at the register was so nice and greeted me with…read morea smile! Not just that when I had originally placed the order of 2 carne asada Tj tacos over the phone she was still super nice on the phone! But back to the tacos there, they were amazing!! So delicious and so full of flavor! The best part is they came with a topping of onion and cilantro with guacamole! Also when you order these tacos you get free limes on the side. Other places don't bother offering or you have to ask , but at Tito's I didn't! I will be coming back there all the time not to mention they're 24/7! I loved my meal there!

It's been about 12 or so years since I worked nearby and would frequent this shop at least three…read moretimes a week because of how good they were. Recently moved back and tried again today. What happened!? I ordered three rolled taco meal. The tacos were tiny, hardly any meat, beans were dry and bland and so was the rice. Not the return I was hoping for. Two stars for the aguacate salsa.

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Hundreds of millions of reviews are posted on Yelp, and our automated recommendation software works in the background to showcase the reviews that it …

15 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Mark C.

Elite 26

481

1600

3 years ago

Captain 619 reporting in. Our revisit to Wendy's in Spring Valley did not live up to the positive experience we had just the day before. Unfortunately, our encounter today with an older, somewhat irritable customer service representative left much to be desired. During a simple transaction for two large Frostys, my wife and I requested for one of them to be topped off, as it was not filled to the top. Surprisingly, the employee at the window cited a new policy that prohibited such requests, despite having done so just the day prior. It was puzzling, especially when there was clearly space for more ice cream in the cup. We opted to not argue, even after showing her the uneven cups. As a final disappointment, when we requested our receipt, it was carelessly tossed on the ground. It is disheartening when establishments fail to meet the basic standards of customer service and product quality, especially over something as simple as filling a cup to the top. Wendy's lost two loyal customers today due to an easily avoidable situation. read more

Leo H.

189

319

14 years ago

I often order a couple plain baked potatoes (I am vegan) and though it is a small order I get good fast service. Only complaint is I ask for plain and I often get tubs of butter, sour cream and pepper. Today I received 7 tubs of butter substitute and three tubes of sour cream. I twice said , "two plain baked potatoes w salad and mustard only. She even repeated it at the window when she handed me the bag. I know they are trying to be helpful but "plain" amd "only" are pretty clear words. I hate to see the waste. read more

Sarah B.

5 years ago

Repeated the same question 3 times. Then she had a different chick get on the mic. & she straight up ignored me too. LOL Why yall think you better then somebody. No no bitch you still the one serving me my food. Hahah Shannon on the receipt but you pull up to a Shanaynay!!! Fuck this place!!! read more

Chelin F.

2 years ago

The food is not the problem. The biggest problem there is safety. Doesn't help that a pot dispensary is across the street. One of the patrons that looks like a tweaker tried to start a physical altercation with me. Go through the drive thru and not dine in. read more

Don A.

8 years ago

Full of homeless people stink like hell. Constantly coming in getting free sodas using the water cup sit and watch TV shaking because you're so high. Stairway or plug your nose would not take my children there. Will never go back read more

Jack S.

4 years ago

Needed breakfast before watching a youth ice hockey game at 7:00 am. The billboard proudly announced breakfast at 6:30. There was no one at the drive through and the doors were locked at 6:40. Way to go! read more

Michael P.

103

9 years ago

It's either the people who order from here are literally mentally challenged or the people who work here are, either way the is the some of the worst fast food service I have ever experienced in my life read more

David D.

111

3 years ago

Horrible horrible woman working the drive thru 5/5/2023. ..................................................................................

Christina E.

435

2 years ago

The service here is by far the worst I've come in contact with. I don't come here often and the past few times have been horrible

Carl A.

11 years ago

Longest wait time anywhere for anything of all time. However, the food is always amazing....which is the only reason I return.

nic n.

9 years ago

They forgot my burger, again. They forgot my burger, again. They forgot my burger, again. They forgot my burger, again. read more

Hannah L.

7 years ago

I ordered today here and the food was good and came out fast, very happy with the fries.

Les F.

106

14 years ago

Poor service. Very slow. The place was not all that clean as well. Food was average.

Chris A.

13 years ago

Good food, extremely slow service. That's all I have to say about that!

Ronald D.

15 years ago

They were a little slow with my order but the food was great.

Wendy's - burgers - Updated October 2026

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Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers

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Let me just say this was the best experience I've had at a fast food place! The manager, Fran ,…read morewent above and beyond to make sure my family and I were taken care of. He made sure we had everything we needed while we enjoyed lunch in their extremely clean dining room. Thank you Fran for making this experience memorable, we need more people like you in charge of restaurants!

The french fries were borderline soggy, and the chicken pieces were small and not that tasty like I…read moreexpected Coleslaw was not very good. The best thing about the $20 combo I got is the Diet Coke and the sauce. This was the first time I had tried this place and was so excited when I drove by to see there wasn't a line. Not a very good deal for your money.

Wienerschnitzel

3.0

(47 reviews)

This place and I go wayyy back. Decades of those chili dogs and corn dogs. I still crave them…read moresometimes, knowing full well the damage it can inflict. Ok, it's not bad, just sorta bad for you. Can't be that harmful, right? They did a switch to chicken dogs many years ago. Is this a healthier option? Don't know. Parts is parts. That's what I've heard at least. Some photos are from many years ago and yes prices have increased. You can upgrade to a beef dog on most items. I seem to not really have an issue digesting this stuff, although I never eat more than one. Have a tendency to eat healthy in mornings then not so much later in the day, works fine for me so far. I come here on craving-based visits and just park out front and order at the mini-window. Here we get corn dogs, mini corn dogs, chili dogs, fries. Dipped cones and root beer floats too. Most recently the Chicago veggie dog. I don't know why, but the drive thru seems to take really long. Don't do it. Walk up to the window and order. Get 'er done. Much better this way I feel. I'll admit 4 stars is generous but they are quick and consistent. Somehow they are slightly above 3 stars no matter. One of their advertising campaigns a few years ago was the claim they were the "world's most wanted wiener" Oops. What? They abandoned that eventually of course.. I even have a pic of the sticker below. No longer available. Hmm but I do wonder, what would that be like??!!

Guilty. I've eaten here a few times since living fairly close by and what I'm about to say (type)…read moremay sound like blasphemy, but I go ahead and say/type it anyway. The food sucks. Sure they're trying out new menu items all of the time but the few versions of the hotdogs have been pretty crappy. I'll take Costco any day of the week and the only thing that does make me stop by here every so often is the ice cream. I like mixing the Oreo and also the Reese's shakes and it's a decently priced sweet treat. The price is right and it's a quick way to satisfy my sweet tooth.

In-N-Out Burger

3.9

(426 reviews)

In-N-Out is by far the "crème de la crème" of top tier burger joints! Their unwavering commitment…read moreto fresh, never-frozen ingredients is unparalleled. They don't use freezers, heat lamps, or microwaves. Patties are made from fresh beef (100% USDA), and produce is delivered fresh and prepared daily. I love coming to this location to get my fix on fast-food! The menu is simple, affordable, and delicious! Staff are always friendly, helpful and welcoming. My go-to is the double-double animal style (because why the hell not), and animal style fries! On occasion I will also order the Flying Dutchman (secret menu) on a bed of animal style fries (FIRE!!!!!). Something about the crisp edges on a soft bun elevates my dining experience every time!

#1. Getting in and out TO the place is near impossible because on and off busy freeway exit is…read moreactually the restaurant's entrance. (Bad City Planning) 2. Used to get good burgers here when I order inside. NOT TODAY, July 5, 2026. Because I ordered from Drive Thru since few cars ahead of me..and no parking place nearby. See below for my $10.01 XL drink and Double Double order with extra pickles and onion, K and M instead of their sauce. No Combo because fries are always cold in drive thru A. Meat was sparse, dry, flavorless and cold. B. Tomato was 1/2 a slice that looked like it was near rotten. C. Cheese looked like a spread not a slice. D. No Ketchup and/or Mustard as requested instead of spread. Worst I have ever had Anywhere. This was going to be my traditional American Burger on this 4th of July weekend. What a disappointment. Could have had better at Burger King or Carl's Jr around the corner. What a disappointment. Won't be back.

Chick-fil-A

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