Casa Guadalajara — Restaurant in San Diego

Horrible Mexican food. The beef fajitas were bland. The flour tortillas fell apart too easily. The beans, rice, and salsa needed more flavor. I like that the beans are 'de olla' and not refried and pureed. But they were still bland. The guac was awful; I could hardly taste the avocados. I had to add salt to the salsa; it was so bland. If I had a wedge of lime, I would have squeezed it into the salsa along with the salt. I like to take the fajitas, vegetables, beans, rice, and guac and make a big burrito with them. I couldn't because the flour tortillas fell apart too easily; they were on the verge of being soggy. The cocktails were good, though. But we will not be back. And we can get good cocktails somewhere else. The cluttered decor on steroids made this place look like a combination of a Mexican gift shop, antique store, museum,and a haunted house. I don't care about the decor, I care about the food. Decor is for tourists, not for locals of SW United States. If you want great food with unpretentious decor, try Tommy Bahama Restaurant, Bar & Store in Palm Desert, California near Palm Springs. ago, I used to frequent a terrific mom-and-pop Mexican restaurant in Palmdale, CA, called Speedy Joe's. Best beef fajitas and salsa I have ever had. Very flavorful. It's been years since I last went, as I no longer live there, so I'm unsure if they still have the same manager or cook. I'm a Mexican food cook who learned from my Mexican Mom. She would not dare serve such bland food as I got here. I make my own chips, salsa, and guac. My chips are hard and crunchy; my salsa is simple yet very flavorful. For my guacamole, I only add salt, diced onions, and a little bit of my famous salsa. The main flavor of my guacamole is avocados, and it is not overpowered by adding foreign, funky ingredients (like lime juice) that detract from the flavor of avocados. Being in San Diego, I can't believe how busy your restaurant was (on a Wednesday), knowing that the Mexican food you serve is sub-par. At least the beef fajitas had no pink in them; we Mexicans tend to like our beef nearly well-done — no pink! I did like the generous portion of vegetables on the beef fajitas plate. I love cooked vegetables. You need to go to the San Fernando Valley, just north of LA, and visit the taco stands, try their beef tacos and salsas, and get their recipes. That's what I did. Along with what my mom taught me and the terrific recipes I've picked up here and there, and by making them my own, I've learned how to make some very flavorful Mexican food. By the way, I would like to thank you for your very level-headed and kind response to my original bad review. I could tell it was not computer-generated since you addressed my specific concerns. But, alas, I will still not be back. Thank you...

My fiancée and I ate here on a recent anniversary trip to San Diego, and found it to be REALLY good!

While in the Old Town area, this spot is a bit off the beaten path, more on the outskirts, close to the Old Town Transit Station (easy walking distance). It’s a popular restaurant for sure, and they don’t take reservations, unfortunately. There is a waitlist on their site — but not a standard reservation system. We went to late lunch/early dinner on a Sunday afternoon and there was a short wait — maybe 10-15 minutes (we were told 25-30, but it was much faster).

The restaurant is expansive, featuring indoor and patio seating. I definitely recommend the patio, as inside is festive and VERY loud, often with a full house and live music being played. The patio was comfortable, clean, and had heat lamps and table umbrellas offering plenty of warmth and protection from the sun as well. Really nice patio space!

Chips and salsa is served right after you’re seated, and it’s good — it’s “traditional” salsa, not too chunky, not too thin. Not too spicy, either, which was nice. The chips were thick and we salted them before eating — too bland, otherwise.

My fiancée had Carne Asada Tacos and after adding the accompanying pico and guacamole, they were very tasty. The carne asada chucks were big and the portions were generous — but the meat wasn’t as flavorful as we like (which happens more often than not with carne asada at Mexican restaurants). Again, once everything was combined, the tacos were yummy, so she was very satisfied with her meal.

I had the Guadalajara Taco Salad, which was very flavorful and very good! The cilantro lime dressing was fantastic and the chicken was plentiful and perfectly seasoned/cooked. The presentation was beautiful and we were both very happy with our main course choices.

Dessert was flan, which I’m not a big fan of — but my fiancée said was very good and ate most of as we relaxed and enjoyed our time on the patio.

Service was good here and very friendly. The pricing was fair, considering where this restaurant is — places in Los Angeles charge just as much or more and aren’t nearly as good. So the pricing here is solid and not a rip.

If we were San Diego locals, we’d definitely frequent this spot! And we absolutely recommend it to anyone visiting the...

What a fun restaurant! Great drinks and food all surrounded by a festive good time, oh yeah, this place was just a blast to enjoy!

We were sat super fast as the place is massive with loads of indoor and outdoor seating. Heck, even parking was a breeze. If you cant get into the main lot there is plenty of street parking. We went on a busy Sunday afternoon and had no problems.

It seems that everyone working here loves what they do. Our waiter and support staff were all so accommodating and super nice. Also within moments of being seated we were greeted with chips and salsa, come on, that's love right there. From first dunk into their flavorful tomato salsa Casa Guadalajara reminded me of the old school Mexican restaurants I'd frequent when growing up and living in Phoenix. If you've ever been to Garcia's Las Avenidas you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

What we drank: Rolls Royce Margarita's! These were so tasty, first round went down so quickly we ordered a second. Was feeling real nice! Highly recommended and no headache the next day.

What we ate: Started with their Queso Fundido Con Chorizo. Melted cheese covered with chorizo served with freshly made flour tortillas, my gawd! The tortillas was so delicious, cannot recommend enough.

Entrees included there off menu Pollo Fundido. Because of the pandemic they have a much smaller menu than what you see online. The Pollo Fundido is now of menu but if you ask really nicely they can make to for you though honestly, it was just okay. I was hoping it would be like the legendary version from Garcia's but not even close. Was a chicken burrito covered in jalapeño cream sauce, kind of bland. What wasn't bland were the Enchiladas Trio. 3 overstuffed enchiladas all covered in 3 different sauce. The weakest one was the red enchilada, the sauce was so salty! The spunky green enchilada however more than made up for the red one.

Overall, we had a great time and look forward to sipping a few more of those Rolls Royce Margarita's paired up with Queso Fundido Con Chorizo!...