Yucatan Grill — Restaurant in Seal Beach

Edit July 2025: Found out they serve breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 2pm. Delicious machaca and eggs. Yes, the bar is open 🍸. Again, 5 stars.

I was down on seal Beach main Street. I thought to myself why don't I ever eat off Main Street? I was on my bike, so I rode around a bit, and I found a Yucatan grill.

First impression, the regulars were joking with the waiter how their appearance had brought in all the extra people. My point is that if the first thing you notice is regulars who love restaurant its a great sign. In the time I sat here three or four new groups came in all talking to the staff as if they ate here regularly.

For a Mexican restaurant in Seal Beach area, I rate five stars. I can't think of a better Mexican restaurant unless I'm driving at least 15+ minutes away.

I opened with a margarita. The Yucatan Especial. It's the house Margarita. Enjoyed it and thought it had an excellent balance of tequila to mix. The mix also wasn't over sweetened and I think that separates it from a lot of other restaurants.

Chips and salsa were served immediately. The salsa has a bit of a fruit flavor in the background which I am guessing is a bit of the Caribbean influence of the restaurant. I love salsa and I devoured multiple cups of it.

I asked the waiter for a recommendation. He asked me if I was looking for something substantial and I said yes. Ended up ordering the Conchinita Pibil. Having no idea what I was getting, I ended up with a fantastic plate of meat served in a banana leaf that had clearly been seasoned and cooked with love. It's reminiscent of fajitas. You'll get a plate of rice and beans and tortillas to make your own delicacy.

Only due to trying to provide the best review ;), I decided to try another margarita. I went for the El Patron. I wasn't sure it was going to be worth the extra $2 but then they showed up with slightly better tequila and fresh squeezed orange juice to round out the margarita mix. It was quite good. Nothing wrong with the house marguerita but I found where my extra $2 went and it was worth it.

Meal was huge. Could easily split it with someone and we'd both be filled (don't forget Margaritas and Chips n' Salsa). Don't know if I'll bring my wife or girlfriend back.... Relax, just kidding.

Overall I enjoyed my experience. It cost me more than say Mario's (Springdale in Huntington Beach) but that money increased food quality and service. For this...

Came here at the recommendation of my coworker. Unintentionally, my girlfriend and I came on a Taco Tuesday. It was incredibly busy, and they looked understaffed. Despite that, the service was prompt and friendly. Special shout out to Hailey for working a huge zone with grace.

Yucatan Grill has great Taco Tuesday specials. $3 standard tacos and $4 Caribbean tacos. There were other deals, but I can't remember them at this time. My girlfriend and I tried all 3 of the Caribbean tacos and a lobster enchilada. Each entree was a healthy portion. 2 entrees are plenty for one person. The mahi-mahi is juicy (for lack of a better term) and well spiced. The Jamaican jerk chicken is spicy, like really spicy (Imagine smothering chicken with Tobasco sauce. Not that flavor but that level of spice.) The cochinita was my favorite by far. I'd liken it to Mexican barbacoa with the cleaner taste of pork underneath. The lobster enchilada isn't like your standard Mexican enchilada, but it was fresh and flavorful. We topped those off with their pomegranate mojitos, which at $12 aren't the cheapest but are definitely worth it. (They're served in beer pint glasses, so they aren't small.)

Still a little on the pricy side, but a great value if you keep in mind that 2 tacos were more than enough for the...

I stayed across the street and this place was always busy, so I thought I would give it a shot. Ugh, I wish I hadn't. We were promptly seated and then ignored. No chips, no water nothing for 15 minutes. Another couple was seated after us and got chips and salsa as they sat down. The Ronettes to us so we thought maybe we would get chips and salsa, it still took another five minutes until we actually had to wave somebody down to help us. The person we wave down said it wasn't his table but, he would help us. Ordered drinks chips salsa and guacamole, got it very quickly and then ignored for another 15 minutes. Finally was able to order just a taco and a bean tostada. When our food finally came out, and it took about 30 minutes, the taco is great, the tostada ended up being a full size taco shell salad. Realized it was my fault, as they don't have regular tostadas on their menu.they have cheviche tostados, just not regular tostadas. But thought the server would have understood when I said a plain bean tostada. We ate, wait about another 20 minutes after we were done to finally get the check. Should have walked out when we were ignored in the...