Origen — Restaurant in San Diego

Our party of 4 enjoyed this new Mexican restaurant in Hillcrest! Making a reservation online was a bit confusing as it gave you about 4-5 different options. I ended up booking a regular table for our party. Just a heads up that the “communal table” is a booth that can fit a larger party (around 6-8 maybe?)

Environment/Service: -Loved the aesthetic and decor inside! Apart from the communal table, there were many 2-4 person tables inside, a few 4 person tables on the “patio” (which is still technically inside by just by the open window. -Service by Edgar was great and our food and drinks came out fairly quickly.

Food: Their menu is meant to be shared family style and is separated by seafood and meat dishes. We ordered mostly seafood items but I wish we ordered more meat dishes.

QUESADILLITAS DE SHORT RIB ($18/2 pieces): my favorite dish of the night. The short rib with the mole on top of the little quesadilla tasted great together.

AGUACHILE VERDE ($27): served with tostadas; I enjoyed the spiciness and the overall flavor of the dish but that shrimp was just too raw for me and I unfortunately couldn’t get past it.

CEVICHE DE SALMON CON LECHE ($24): served with tostadas; this one I enjoyed and would get again.

PULPA A LA SALSA MACHA ($38): octopus; again, this one was a texture thing for me. My husband who regularly enjoys octopus said that he enjoyed this dish.

PLATANO FLAMEADO: served for the birthdays in our party. 2 pieces of plantain in caramel sauce with nuts. So good!

Overall: I enjoyed the ambiance and the concept of this new restaurant. I’d love to come back next time and try more of their...

WOW WOW WOW! This restaurant is bursting with heart and incredible flavor. If you're considering a visit, stop here—don’t even glance at the menu. Just go there and enjoy the surprise of flavors and the warm, welcoming, and cool ambiance.

The best way to describe Origen is "authentic." It’s not one of those tourist trap pop-up spots you hear about on a reel just to be met with influencers and lack of flavor—Origen has the vibe of a hidden gem you’d discover while traveling. I highly recommend it to anyone eager to experience a fresh take on flavor, beautifully presented dishes, and a passionate, welcoming team of young, bright owners. Hearing the excitement and passion in their voices about life and their favorite dishes was truly heartwarming.

The flavors? Absolutely mouth-watering. We were caught off guard by how amazing everything tasted and the great spice/heat! Anyone who rates this place less than five stars is crazy and missing the point of this incredible new spot. The restaurant just opened a month ago, and the chef and team are already killing it!!

I’m already dreaming about our next visit to relive these amazing flavors. Please support this fantastic new spot—we need more heart-and-soul restaurants like this to thrive!

We ordered (in order of our favorites): Tartar de Atún ⭐️ ⭐️ Flautitas de Atún Ahumado ⭐️⭐️ Ceviche con Salmón ⭐️ Tiradito de Res ⭐️🌶️ Platano Flameado 🍌⭐️

All of them were exceptional, and we can’t wait to try more! Amazing job by this team to excite our palette and love for finding a new spot...

An Incoherent Mess

Disorganized from the start. There were too many people piled up at the entrance and no host in sight. The LED lights kept flickering throughout the meal. The room echoed so loudly it was hard to hear anyone at the table.

No water was brought until I asked for it on the server’s second visit. First visit took 20 minutes, and then probably 20 minutes between each other visit. Time from order to delivery of our drinks was 32 minutes. The menu looked like it was trying to be designy but was poorly printed and hard to read. The photos on the wall looked like shutterstock and were glass printed; very dentist office-core.

Our only distraction was a bunch of SDSU chicks loudly yelling about their evening and blasting a vape. Three staff members stood around talking while many guests were left waiting for any direction whatsoever. My margarita was served in a piping hot glass straight out of the industrial dishwasher.

Two cocktails were brought to our table by mistake before anything we actually ordered. The waiter also brought our food to the wrong table and we had to notice to call it out. The woman two tables down from us ordered chilled wine and the waitress brought it out with her hands wrapped around the bowl. (??)

Super nice plates though, felt amazing. Maybe this spot is proving the rule that if one of the first things you see on their instagram grid is ALD/Emily Oberg-core merchy merch hats...