Rubio's Coastal Grill — Restaurant in Mission Viejo

I used to frequent this location when I lived in the area and was disappointed to find that the quality has went down, yet the prices have increased since I left.

I ALWAYS crave Rubio's since there are no locations where I live now, so I get Rubio's a few times when I'm in town.

I always get the Grilled Salmon burrito with no rice because it is just one of the most perfect burritos I've ever had (that chipotle sauce with the grilled corn and fresh cabbage -- yummm!!). I ordered this with a steak street taco which was pretty d@mn expensive for a "street taco", but I chose to have faith.

Bummer that COVID has wiped out the salsa bar because I used to mix the onion/cilantro mix with the tomatillo and the mild salsas because they need some chunkiness and crunch to offset the wateriness. You can't do this anymore -- you have to ask the employees for pre/half-filled ramekins. There are never enough, and they are unnecessarily wasting ramekins since they are never close to being full.

The salmon burrito was smaller than I remembered, and the street taco was not worth the price. I always look forward to some hot, crunchy chips afterward, but the little bit of chips they gave me (the bag was MAYBE half-full) were not cooked. They were super chewy and gross. I couldn't finish them.

I don't know if I will return anymore. They seem to be skimping and charging more, and I hope it's not the same across the board for all...

The food at Rubio's has never been spectacular, but until recently, there was a certain baseline, satisfactory quality that I could always expect from any given location, especially this one. I don't know what's happening behind the scenes here. The quality of preparation and portion size has declined substantially in the last 6-8 months. Any time I have been served rice, it's been crunchy/stiff, and I suspect it's because they serve the rice that someone scraped off of the bottom of a pot.

Most tables and the floors beneath are dirty at least half of the time I dine in, which is a shame, because otherwise it's a pleasant place to sit down and eat.

Too often it looks like the salsa bar has suffered through a drought. I hate having to bother the front staff to restock.

Service has also suffered--I haven't had mistakes in my orders, but I've been present for several incidents during which frustrated customers confronted the front of house about missing food, and responses were tepid, almost indifferent, which is unfortunate.

The saving grace here is the Rubio's branded citrus jalapeno salsa in the squeeze bottle. Possibly the best salsa in the fast-casual Mexican game, even beating out salsas served at the hole in the wall "authentic" taquerias. Its only real competitors are Baja Fresh's Baja Salsa, Baja Fresh's Pico Di Gallo (the one true pico di gallo), and the Baja sauce at...

I DoorDashed a fish taco plate from this location and discovered what appeared to be a previously used lime wedge inside the box. Concerned about possible food safety issues, I called the store. The manager told me the limes “sometimes get squished from the bottom” but the one I received looked squeezed and dried out. When I explained my concern, he replied, “I don’t believe you,” and was dismissive and condescending. He did not seem interested in addressing my concerns and even refused his last name when I requested it. Even after I mentioned that I have a photo of the lime, he wouldn’t bother to even look at it.

Food safety concerns should be taken seriously, and customers should be treated respectfully; especially when raising legitimate issues. I hope corporate addresses both the handling of food and customer service training at...