Carnitas' Snack Shack - Embarcadero — Restaurant in San Diego

Ive been eating at carnitas snack shack for years at the North Park location. Was my go to carnitas place even before triple D showed it to the US. Sadly it seems the quality has taken a hit, at least at EMBARCADERO. Mind you I've been to this location several times with no complaints.

They closed the one I used to go to (and the rumors have begun about what happened) so we decided last night that we were gonna go get our carnitas fix downtown.

We went to order and it seemed the lady couldnt hear us without us screaming... probably could've told the rest of the crew standing around to quiet down.

I ordered my triple threat wed, 2 tacos for my girl and 2 orders of fries with that delicious bacon ketchup (only reason to get there fries).

1st I was told to go to the bar and get my beer that I paid for at the counter which is fine except they dont even talk or have an order sent there so I stood there for 5 min while the lady is counting money in the register. Someone finally walks up and asks me what I want and I said I ordered a beer at the counter so she asks what beer? Either way didnt care that much.

I walked to the opposite side where my girl is sitting and our food had arrived. Look down and I see my fries but no ketchup... like where's my bacon ketchup... only reason I got 2 fries was the ketchup... the lady comes back and says we're out do you want ranch? Ah no why didnt the lady at the counter tell us that... I asked when they ran out she says a few hrs ago. Mind you its 6pm and maybe 15 ppl there, 10 for drinks, so why didnt they make some more.

Then I look at my triple threat and the bacon is burnt, the schnitzel was like a big mac patty (tiny for all of you that dont eat McDonalds) and they tried to overcompensate with a pile of dry carnitas. I lift the sandwich up to see the bottom bread is ripped in 3 pieces. I know what this sandwich is suppose to taste like and it was a sad version. The tacos were a little better but still dry and by then I was fed up and I didnt care. I looked online and apparantly the original owner no longer owns the brand or the restaurants. I'm gonna have to try the new restaurant that the original owner changed it to I guess but really disappointed.

Sadly this isnt the 1st time this happened they had another location in del mar and I almost decided never to eat at any location after eating there. I wasnt surprised when that location closed.

Maybe look into the quality and experience before you lose more clientele like me. I've been to EMBARCADERO a bunch and never seen it so empty at dinner time.

The fact is there are so many restaurants in San Diego and a quality reputation could make or...

I've ate at the shack a handful times, including the original location in NP and at Petco and it's usually pretty good. However there was much to applaud here. We ordered my usual Triple Threat Sandwich, a delicious sandwich built with a crispy pork schnitzel cutlet, carnitas and 2 strips of bacon (laid across each other so it looks like 4 slices) topped with a pepperoncini relish and finished with their house aioli on a soft brioche bun. This was definitely not as good as usual but it wasn't the disappointment of the day. We also ordered the taco box, which comes with 4 tacos and a side carnitas nachos. The nachos were cold and the "cheese sauce" was already getting hard. We ordered 1 carnitas, 1 steak and 2 fish tacos. The fish was flavorful but very dry, the steak had large strips and we're extremely chewing, you had to really tear into them and it took a long time to chew. Thankfully the carintas taste good and was tender as it should be but was again cold as well. The garlic Parm fries that came with my sandwich were also very cold, they tasted a bit garlicky but very little garlic was actually seen on the fries and the parmesan cheese was dry and seemed old. Even the margaritas we ordered were just ok and the Mai Tai left a lot to be desired. This was the worse experience we have had here. The original location was still the best location. Even the menu at the embarcadero location was not a good as the other locations. Hope they turn it...

Wow! Mediocre to bad food and service all around! I live two blocks from the Marina where this place is located which is right on one of the most beautiful parts of the Bay in San Diego.

I arrived at opening on a weekday and was promptly and actively ignored by the bartender. When she did finally come over, I ordered two entrees and a side of tator tots with garlic, which I ate part of at the bar and the rest I took to go, so that I could try a couple of things including the carnitas tacos, and the fish tacos (which are okay; probably the best part of the meal).

Unfortunately, while the food seemed made well and was fresh, the absolute subpar taste and pathetically bad service made it feel like a complete tourist trap with overpriced ripoffs of local favorites. Maybe if they weren't in San Diego where you can get an excellent taco for three bucks anywhere, they might be able to stand up to a little scrutiny with regard to the food, but after the complete disregard for anything resembling decent service by the server/bartender who couldn't be bothered even though there were a total of four people at the bar that day, it's a no-go for me.

It's highly unlikely I would ever return or recommend this place to anyone. Do yourself a favor and walk down the street a bit to The Crack Shack for excellent chicken or Tacos El Gordo if you want...