El Rincon Restaurante — Restaurant in San Diego

El Rincón is San Diego's closest full-service Mexican restaurant to our border with Tijuana and it does not betray its location. This restaurant, run by the Alaniz family from the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, is easily a "top 5" Mexican restaurant in San Diego.

The crown jewel of Chef Silvana Alaniz's menu is her "Carne en su Jugo," consisting of beef stewed in a broth of its own juices, with chopped pieces of smoky bacon, accompanied by a peppy salsa verde that wants to both tame you and love you. Each bite of this cherished family recipe brings with it an overwhelming feeling of having made excellent life choices.

One choice that is made easy for you when you dine here are the complimentary "Chips and Beans" ("la pareja especial en El Rincón") placed in front of you upon being seated. This is not the place to worry about over-indulging on tortilla chips and spoiling your meal -- I could happily leave El Rincón having eaten nothing but this initial course. The stewed, savory beans are pervaded with the essence of pork and sprinkled with queso fresco, yet they manage to deliver all the heat you would expect in a table salsa, having been spiked with chiles de árbol. I challenge anyone to find a better version of this given away for free.

Other standout dishes include the "Guisado Chuleta de Puerco," a plate of buttery bone-in pork chops and skillet-fried potatoes covered with a loud green sauce that will rip through your mouth like a tomatillo-smothered scythe, and the "Bisteck Ranchero" with its beefy ribeye steak doused in a mild and tangy salsa roja with stewed tomatoes and soft grilled onions. Both dishes are accompanied with a scoop of garlicky rice, refried beans, and fresh corn tortillas from a local supplier in Barrio Logan. Of these two plates, I prefer the "Guisado Chuleta de Puerco," which may be the second best dish on the menu.

If you could only order one thing and you want to sample both of El Rincón's red and green sauces on the same plate, you should consider the "Huevos Divorciados," a plate of sunny side-up eggs paired with both salsas, each egg separated by a mound of refried beans and queso. This was a dish I ordered upon one of my early visits here, and it ensured I came back again the next day.

Last but not least, El Rincón serves superb tacos. At most other places, the "Tacos Dorados" at El Rincón would be the best thing you could order. They are called "dorados" because they are deep-fried until they have golden tortilla shells that glisten with manteca and shatter upon being bit. As with other taco dorados found in Jalisco and elsewhere, the vegetables, salsa, and "crema" are served outside of the taco, with the meat inside. I order mine with shredded beef (carne deshebrada) which fries up in the tortilla to a similar texture as pork carnitas, the juices and flavor of the meat seemingly sealed in to be released and savored when chewed. The tacos are served with a bowl of "Caldo Chilango," an enchanting chipotle-infused chicken broth with rice that may not cure COVID-19, but works wonders with the common cold.

Prices are reasonable, with all entrées in the $10-$14 range and with cheaper breakfast options also available. Bilingual table and counter service is provided by the friendly and earnest Alaniz family, and the overall atmosphere of the operation I would describe as diner-like; It is a clean and colorful space with a relaxed personality in the morning that turns into a bustling dining room...

I am visiting San Ysidro for business and I came across El Rincon. I was craving Mexican food and I knew I was going to find a great meal and I definitely did! For starters, the place is inviting, the atmosphere is warm and it definitely feels authentic. The staff super friendly and attentive which is a plus specialty because I went during lunch hours! I ordered Huevos Divorciados with extra egg and a cafe the olla. We don't have a place in my city that offers cafe de olla and it was so good! They serve chips and beans and they were very tasty, it is a good way to poke at your taste buds! The dish was phenomenal, the salsa Verde was delicious and with the right acidity and the red salsa rich and smoky. The beans were on point and the tortillas were fried as they should be. Many places do not understand that frying the tortilla is a must to have a good Huevos rancheros / Divorciados. After I was done (quite quickly because it was so good, I cleaned the plate! Lol ) I started chatting with a beautiful couple that just got married.... They are in their mid 60s!! We had a great chat and I mentioned this because the atmosphere invites you to socialize and have a conversation with the other patrons. Prices are excellent and we'll worth it! Got up and I came across the owner who earlier I notice her walking around and saying high to the customers! Asking how is everything and if they needed anything else. That speaks volumes because it is obvious she cares a lot about her customer's satisfaction. Super friendly and she thanked me for eating at her. I left feeling appreciated and valued. This is my place for Mexican food when I come to San Ysidro for sure! Thanks for a...

"Carne en su jugo", these words are legend in our household.

About once a year I write a google review, let me tell you how the legend started. A few months ago on a Saturday evening, I had waaaay too much to drink. Sunday morning rolls around, hanging onto my dear life, looking for a place with soup. Never heard of carne en su jugo but it looked amazing so that's what I ordered.

Soup gets here, perfectly locked in a plastic container and saran wrapped, I was already impressed because a lot of other places put in the weak knees container and end up breaking half way here.

Then the soup. One of the most surreal experiences I've felt in this lifetime, going near death to alive by this amazing soup. I couldn't stop eating, I didn't want to stop eating. But it had to end.

My fiancee is not much of a soup person as me. I've tried many days to convince her to order here so I could get the soup again. After many failed attempts, we got an opportunity. But I couldn't convince her to try carne en su jugo, she instead got caldo de res. Both my carne en su jugo and caldo de res arrived and she throughly enjoyed her caldo de res and I finally got that carne en su jugo again. I offered her a bite of my soup and she accepted.

My heart broke that day. She couldn't stop eating my soup. The gentleman that I needed to be I traded for the caldo de res and let her finish my food. But I was in.

We now have a tradition. Every Saturday night we take lots of shots just so that when we barely wake up the next morning, the first words out of our mouths, "Carne en su jugo". We don't even like drinking anymore but we just can't give up reliving that surreal Sunday...