Pokez Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in San Diego

I have so many regrets about the experience. It was, bar none, the single worst dining adventure I have ever had. I did get cussed out by the manager, and I'm really disappointed that I was bullied into paying for for the most vile slop that has ever been placed in front of me after he chased us for a few blocks.

I'm pretty sure he advised me, after he had my cash in hand, and was safely on the other side of the street, that he would "kick your ass, homie". Here is how it all happened. We were incredibly excited; it's a vegetarian themed Mexican restaurant, which is right up our alley. We got bland, unsalted, room temperature chips that were fried in rancid oil, with bland salsa. We should have taken the cue, but we were starved and the menu looked good. We ordered - I got huevos rancheros, Frenchy style (bed of fries), and an a la carte relleno. My girlfriend got a relleno and a mahi taco.

The food took painfully long to arrive - we were practically ready to run out of there just based on others that arrived after us getting their food first. Our delightful server, by his own admission also the manager, came out after 20 minutes and explained that there was no mahi. We agreed to a shrimp substitute, but then he came back a few minutes later to mention that a piece of mahi had been found - in retrospect, somewhat disturbing, but we still rolled with it. Finally, the food arrived. each relleno was on a plate that was hotter than the food. The peppers were essentially raw, the batter was just meh, the cheese in the middle was unmelted, and the ranchero. My God, the ranchero. Given that it was the only sauce / alleged flavor on either of my dishes, it was critical. It was also flavorless masa flour slurry with a pink tinge. Truly disturbing and actually gross. The taste of the egg yolk was the last thing that just put paid to my appetite. It was very unpleasant. Also - I didn't get my Frenchy style - I got a massive side of bland rice. My girlfriend's mahi taco was equally unnappetizing, with way too much white glopsauce, which she identified as mayo. The manager vehemently denied the existence of mayo and declared that he eats those tacos every day (this was when he was shouting at me in the streets), so his rudeness is compounded by poor taste.

At this point, with our hunger ruined by the food that hovered between disgusting and inedible, we made the dubious decision to leave without waiting for the check. we each ate a few bits of relleno, my main plate was virtually untouched, and she had a few bites of bad taco. The tab would have been 23 ish and we left 12 and walked. In hindsight, we should have stayed and had it out, since that was ultimately in the cards, but at the time and now I feel that the 12 was 12 too much and I dislike telling people when they've failed so completely but were, up until then, friendly. As we were walking a few blocks away, bemoaning our luck and discussing how rotten the food was, the servermanager caught up with us and demanded that we return. We said that we wouldn't go back, and the swill that we were served was not worth paying for. He told us he would have followed us anywhere we went and that his job was to hound us for cash. We argued for a few minutes - he had a threatening posture and headed us off, but responded that he wasn't threatening me when I accused him. Repeatedly we asked to be allowed to leave and walk away, and he said he would follow us until we paid in full. Finally, rather than return, I gave him a 20, which still hurts. The guy got 32 on 23 for garbage food. I should also have taken a picture - what we were served had absolutely nothing in common with other posted pictures. Maybe I should have called the police, but I was not sure who was in the wrong. I don't mind paying for food, and this was by far the cheapest place we have eaten at in SD, but when I'm served lukewarm trash, it doesn't sit well with me. I would recommend diving into a real restaurant's dumpster before returning here.

Silver Lining - the water was tasteless too,...

I thought Pokez would be at least a 4 star experience. It's been about a year since I've been, so hopefully they changed things. But this is one of the few restaurants I will never visit again.

When we dined: Evening/Nighttime

Seating: Self-seating didn't bother me much but was expecting to be greeted by someone at the front of the entrance instead near the back.

Cleanliness: The floors were a bit dirty, and several tables weren't bussed.

Food: Not authentic Mexican food at all. The food was bland and the salsa was watered down. I suppose they are appealing to more Americans than Mexicans. Also, the chips I received were stale. When I asked for a new batch of chips, the waiter said, "the chips are made fresh everyday." So, the cooks here I'm guessing make the chips in the morning only? The waiter, slightly begrudgingly, went to get me a new batch of chips, and that batch was surprisingly also stale! Some waiters just say they're going to change the chips, and then just bring you back the same ones. Maybe that's what he did, or all the chips here are just stale by that time.

Atmosphere: This place gave me the creeps. It's very cultish with stickers of pentagrams here and there with other religious items. The owner may practice Santeria. It wouldn't surprise me if they perform their ceremonies here. There's just really a dark presence here, I haven't got that feeling in any other restaurant. The bathroom was fashioned in the same way. This place could honestly be a set for a horror film if they wanted it to.

Service: Poor service at the tables. I received silverware with food still stuck to it. I asked for another set. The waiter gave an attitude like he really didn't want to give me another set. But, he soon after did. And what do you know, this next set of silverware also has food on it. I figured most of the silverware is dirty, and the waiter is going to show attitude again, so I just cleaned it myself. The wait time for food and drinks also seemed to be twice as long as other restaurants I visit. It wasn't busy the night we went though. I had the sense that the waiter didn't really care to be there; it would have been nice if he could have struck up a small conversation to brighten up our experience a bit. Probably the only pleasant experience about this place was the checkout at the register. The waiter is the one who went back to the register, but he was much friendlier at the end. He actually finally struck up a conversation here that lasted for a good minute or so. Don't know if it was genuine or because he wanted a good tip.

But once my father and I left this place, we both said that this was overall one of the worst restaurants we've been too. Just wish our whole experience could have been like our experience at the register.

I don't like giving 2 stars for places I visit, but our experience was just plain bad and I'll...

Pokez was a very guaint old style Mexican restaurant: The interior was a panoply of beautifully varnished woods - with some of old style Mexican high top bench seating that reminded me of my travels throughout Mexico decades ago; the same types that I've seen in American eateries of the 40's and 50's era. The music varied however, while I was there they played some swell old time 60's and 70's style rock and roll music ; they also play a variety of different tuneful styles, including Mexican cultural lyricisms. I thought the free chips and salsa were distincty their own creation and the food was excellent; I've eaten at a number of Mexican food restaurants everywhere and I thought that their food had it's own creative flair with it's own special panache (I had a #5 combination plate; it came with rice and their own style of beans as well as a nice "chili releno," a cheese enchilada and a big taco and the cost was well within my boundaries @ $$.) I thought that the shredded beef used to make my taco was quite originally flavoured. Pokez has a number of vegetarian style specialties too, and from the photographs that I've seen posted, everything sure looked good.They title themselves as a "vegetarian style" restaurant. My server was guite polite and she pointed out to me that Pokez had been at the same location for many decades, which would be a peremptory sign of their admiration, not only by their frequent clientele however, but by visitors such as myself too. My experience at Pokez was most relaxing and pleasant; for some reason - near the end of my meal - my mind drifted off to the land of 'Poke'mon. Hey? Maybe there is a Pokez Poke'mon? The artistic creations on the outside of Pokez were awesome in their own way:Taken from the once intolerable scrawl of "taggers,"who once used cans of spray paint - some still do so - to scribe their inimical "gang style" logos on everything from the walls of buildings,to fences and windows,etc.: A few have since taken their efforts to a much higher level of aesthetic and refined artistry - which now grace some of the most beautifully designed buildings in the world : To tell stories of long extinct cultures that date back to the Aztecs, Mayan and Inca Indian tribes that flourished over a few thousand years ago,as well as of their own attainments and anecdotes of misery that still mirror their culture in today's world. Note: Whenever I spend my time reviewing any place, I generally don't bother spending MY TIME evaluating any locality that doesn't score 3☆'s or better. Although I generally don't imbibe, they offer a small selection excellent ice cold beer and also wine too END OF...