The Villa on Grand — Restaurant in Escondido

We stopped for lunch on a Saturday. Be advised that at the moment there is major construction on the street in front and you will need to dodge barricades, but go anyway! This is a place where you order at the counter and they bring your food to your table. We gave service 5 stars although there really is not much to it. The atmosphere is very nice, everything is clean and new and enjoyable. However, the raison d'etre of a restaurant is the food and we found it very bland. For starters, the chips are great, well seasoned and hot, but not included. Get them anyway. There are a lot of burritos on the menu, but not really anything that you would call vegetarian. And the burrito especial was good, but unremarkable. We also had a a shredded beef tostada with rice and beans. The beans were extremely bland. The rice not much flavor either. I was surprised that the shredded beef also was very bland. You are given four hot sauces to try and only the next to hottest had a good flavor. The two mildest ones were very bland and not hot at all. Even the hottest, which we think was a habanero, was just spicy without much more flavor. We really try to support local businesses and so regret having to generously give this a 4 star rating. We hope they will take our...

The restaurant’s decor is charming and elegant ambiance that immediately caught my eye. The service was attentive and friendly, enhancing the overall experience. The food was ok it gave me vibes of a regular fast Mexican taco shop quality it had a lot of taste of oregano on the salsas but overall ok a little pricey for the quality of food but I was disappointed to see it served on disposable plates with plastic utensils. While this might be practical for some, it detracted from the otherwise upscale feel of the place. Overall, if you're looking for a beautiful setting and don’t mind the disposable dining ware, this place is...

So delicious! My husband and I have been here a couple times and loved it each time. We’ve had several of their tacos, but our favorites are probably the queso, carnitas, and grilled shrimp (although everything was good). I’d also highly recommend the chips (served fresh and hot with a yummy seasoning) and guacamole, and the refried beans are a must. Honestly, we haven’t had anything here we didn’t like.

The service is also great. While you order at the counter, they bring your food to you and always check in to see how things are.

Parking: the construction on grand (Jan 2025) is NOT blocking the restaurant. It’s very...