La Puerta — Restaurant in San Diego

I was looking forward to trying this place given the high reviews online. I made a reservation in advance & let them know it was for our anniversary. Parking wasn't terrible, we found street parking a couple blocks away. We got to the restaurant and unfortunately waited 20 mins past the reservation time before we got sat. I did ask for a booth in advance, so was disappointed when we didn't get one. They also did not ask us if we were celebrating anything / did not acknowledge the note in the res :(

Anyways, the server eventually comes by and asks me (specifically me) what I wanted to drink. I responded that I was personally fine with the water. The server did not ask my partner what he wanted to drink, just said "okay then I'll be back soon for the food orders" and walked away. Did not even look at my partner. Which was a shame since he actually did want a drink. So that was odd and rude.

At this point, my partner was feeling a certain way, and asked me if we should just leave - I said no, since we waited this long so let's just stay & see.

Once the server returned to take the food orders, we ordered a burrito each & placed his drink order at this time. We were asked if we wanted chips & salsa to come out, though unsure if it was complementary or not - so we said no.

It honestly took a while for the food to come. It was about 30 minutes after we placed the order. We got the burritos wet but my opinion is that they were way too wet. Such a deep pool of sauce that it almost didn't fit on the plate and spilled.

I took a couple bites before I realized my burrito had beef. I was so alarmed. I am Indian and don't eat beef for religious reasons. So I was appalled. Though, I understand how mistakes can happen.... I waved the server order who confirmed the burrito was indeed messed up. I was a bit disappointed that they did not seem more apologetic & offer to comp the order, or offer a drink etc. At this point, my partner and I decided to leave and not wait for the new order. We left cash on the table to cover the soda & left.

It was unfortunately such a terrible experience. I wish I could give less than 1 star. I am telling all my friends to...

Absolutely awful experience after having had nothing but good experiences several times. This is enough to make me want to never go again. And certainly never recommend. I called at 540pm to place a take out order because I have a $100 gift card. Spoke to a very nice gentleman who is a manager. He took the order and said it would be ready for pickup In 20 minutes. That would be 6:00 p.m.. I show up at 6:15 and can't find my order anywhere. I asked them to look in the back again and after 10 minutes she showed up and said it wasn't there. Told me to call the downtown location because maybe I placed it there. I told her I'm not an idiot and I know exactly where I called. So I called the downtown location and they didn't have it. As I'm walking in my car I thought....I might as well just go back and ask for a manager to talk to about this situation. She goes to the back and after 5 minutes shows up with manager who has my food in hand. It is now 6:30 p.m.. 50 minutes. And good thing I trusted my gut and went back one last time. I'm pretty sure I'm not going back. Especially after I just used the entire gift card. It was bad enough experience. Too many other great restaurants to try. It's a shame because I really loved this place and took a lot of clients there along with family and...

Make sure when making reservations, you don't confuse this site with their downtown location. Parking is a challenge. There is a small pay and park lot, next to Leftys Pizzeria, that has maybe 8 stalls. First impressions (and looks) are nice. Retro celeb's pictures and artwork line the tables, menus, and walls. They can accommodate small to large parties. Food wise is where i think they lack. My wife and i shared their Pastor Fries. It was more like fries; rolled around with sautéed peppers and onions, with melted cheese, a big dollop of Gaucamole, and a small piece off pineapple. The Al Pastor was hidden below the Guac. But, it looks like it was applied, like garnish to a dish. Or, it looked like ice-cream sundae, with a very small amount of sprinkles. It wasn't worth the money, and neither was their mixed drinks! Even their street tacos (carne asada) looked like ground beef. As being, a Butcher for 20+ years, I found it interesting to see ground beef and not slices of steak for Carne Asada. So i won't be going back. You'll find better food at a local taco shop. If you want a great dining experience, or have a sit-down meal, go...