Mision 19 — Restaurant in Baja California

Mission 19, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Tijuana, is a well-known favorite among foodies visiting the city. Located in an unassuming office complex in central Tijuana, it’s a hidden gem that surprises with its upscale and modern décor. The sleek, contemporary atmosphere sets the tone for a fine dining experience, and I genuinely appreciated the ambiance from the moment I walked in. However, despite the restaurant's prestigious reputation, there were a few hiccups during our visit that prevented it from being flawless.

Upon arrival, we encountered an issue with their digital menus, which weren't working for the first 30 minutes. This left us sharing a single hardcopy food menu, which was manageable but not ideal, especially when they were pushing us to order drinks without a drink menu on hand. This felt a bit rushed and annoying, as we wanted time to look over our options before making any decisions. When the digital menus finally started working, we ordered cocktails, and I must say, they were well-crafted and enjoyable. However, since we were a group of five and all opted for tasting menus with wine pairings, the cocktails took a back seat to the wines paired with our courses.

As for the food, there were several tasting menu options, and I was tempted to go for the larger one. However, one of the courses included oxtail, which I don’t eat, so I settled on the six-course menu. The meal began with a tuna parfait that was fine but not particularly memorable or inventive. The subsequent courses were generally good, but there were some missteps. In particular, the risotto stood out for the wrong reasons—while I understand that risotto should be al dente, some of the rice was undercooked to the point of being hard, which detracted from the overall enjoyment of the dish.

Thankfully, the meal ended on a high note with two perfectly cooked pieces of filet mignon. They were tender, flavorful, and portioned just right, leaving me satisfied by the end of the meal. While the menu overall had its highs and lows, I would say that for a Michelin-starred restaurant, there were moments where the execution didn’t live up to the expectation, particularly with the risotto and some service aspects. Despite these issues, it was still a fun and enjoyable evening with friends, and the restaurant certainly has potential to deliver a more consistent experience.

In conclusion, Mission 19 is still worth trying, especially if you’re a foodie interested in exploring Tijuana’s fine dining scene. The atmosphere and certain dishes lived up to the hype, even if a few elements fell short. While they weren’t performing at their highest level during my visit, I remain optimistic that future diners will have a smoother experience. Given the reputation and overall vibe of the restaurant, I would still recommend giving it a shot, as it has the potential to impress on a...

Five stars.

So the trek to Tijuana is very daunting. Why would I go out of the US to eat dinner? Because Chef Plascencia is worth it. It's an easy and comfortable taxi ride from the border. Top 5 minutes. It's in their restaurant row which boasts cleans roads and nice sleek architectural buildings. The restaurant itself is nicely decorated and gets quite full so make a reservation. The menu is daunting as its all in Spanish so just be clear with the waiter if you don't understand Spanish and he'll have some English ones available.

We enjoyed the chef's tasting menu which consists of six entrees for $60 US dollars (if i remember correctly). Six?!? It sounds daunting but the flavor of each dish makes you want more and leaving you are full but still want to eat more. For starters you get a ceviche with diced scallops which were layered with avocado, crema, onion, cucumber, and tortilla chips. I would come back to Mision 19 just for this dish! It's just delicious. The freshness of the ingredients wow. Next, you get grilled octopus and its the best octopus I've ever had. It's cooked perfectly and not rubbery. Just so sad that i finished it all and had none left. Possibly my favorite dish here. Then you get a taco-like dish which consists of a shredded suckling pig on a crepe like "taco". Tender and very flavorful. The fourth dish was a mushroom risotto with shavings of truffle. It was very rich and filling. Probably the time you start to fill like "OMG i have two more dishes i have to finish?" Then a beef tongue with bone marrow purée. Just when you think you've had all the best dishes this comes out. In one bite it was gone. Yes that good. For dessert, we had an ice cream brownie which was warm and just perfect to end the meal.

Every piece of dish that came out of that kitchen was amazing. Even the bread options were tasty. The service was on point and their selection of drinks from wine, cocktials to tequila was definitely top notch. Definitely worth the trek and will be wanting...

Mision 19 is a perennial favorite among foodie visitors to Tijuana. It's located in an unassuming office complex in central Tijuana. The decor is very modern and upscale feeling, and I genuinely liked the atmosphere. There were, however, a few hiccups. For one, their digital menu wasn't working for the first 30 minutes and they brought over one hardcopy food menu to share - fine, except they wanted us to order drinks and then tried to make suggestions without having a drink menu available which honestly felt pushy and was annoying. The electronic menus finally worked and we ordered cocktails - the cocktails were very good, but since we (were a group of 5) all wanted a tasting menu with wine pairings we continued to just drink wine that came with the food. There were a few different tasting menus, one that had more courses - which I was tempted to get, but because one of the courses was oxtail and I don't eat oxtail, I opted for the six course pairing. I am writing this review a week after the meal and can't remember all the courses, but the meal started with a tuna parfait thing, was ok, but not super original. The rest of the courses were pretty good, I didn't love the risotto because some of the rice was actually way too hard and undercooked (while I understand risotto should not be mushy and a good risotto should be on the harder side, there is an art to cooking the rice and they didn't seem to have it down). The final course were two small but appropriately sized pieces of filet mignon which were delicious. All in all, a nice experience with friends, but for being a fine dining establishment they definitely were not performing at their highest level the night I went. Regardless, I do encourage anyone interested to give the...