Cocina del Rancho — Restaurant in Solana Beach

I've been coming to this place 1-2 times a week since I discovered it several months ago. It's pretty close by, has a quirky, local feel, and I usually enjoy their margaritas and veggie nachos. Recently I'd discovered their chicken tortilla soup and was ordering a cup of that as well. Early on I would order a margarita with a grand marnier float, and they were $19, which is okay but not a bargain. Recently I had shifted to a mid-level tequila with no float, and the price was usually $16. Last week I went and ordered a cup of soup, veggie nachos, and two margs; the bill was $66+ before tip. I didn't process it until later (usually I stick with one marg, so the extra half a marg probably caused the delay!). Tonight I ordered my usual cup of soup, veggie nachos, and one marg skinny, and the bill turned out to be $40 pre-tip because I got upcharged $5 for the "skinny" ($21 for the marg-- apparently agave and lime juice are expensive). I questioned the bill since the last two times the prices were significantly higher, and the manager (who has for some reason never seemed to like me) confirmed $21 is the correct price for a regular skinny margarita. I'm pretty sure I've never in my life paid that much for a margarita, and it doesn't feel reasonable, so I have to say goodbye to my favorite Mexican place. I'm bummed, and I'll miss a couple of the staff there (Luis in particular is awesome), but it just...

My family lives just up the street so we have been coming to this shopping center and this specific restaurant location for many years even when it was another Mexican restaurant with different ownership and a different name. It’s just as good now as it was in the past and can honestly say Cochina Del Rancho is worth visiting no matter where in San Diego you are from. They take reservations or you can do walk-in and inside is very large with many different seating options as well as a room in the back for private parties. They also have a large bar with tons of drink options and a huge menu filled with all sorts of great dishes. Being that it’s in a shopping center and a quiet part of Rancho Santa Fe there is plenty of parking spaces so finding a spot will never be an issue. Our server was very polite and everything that we ordered came out quickly.

For this visit, I started with the Queso Fundido and really enjoyed it although the portion size is very large. It’s more than enough for a party of four so if you are solo, I would not recommend ordering it unless you are very hungry. For my entrée, I chose the Chicken Mole Enchiladas, and really enjoyed them. The mole had some great flavor and the chicken was cooked just like I like it. Overall, a great Mexican restaurant in a beautiful part of San Diego and I would highly...

We had the lobster tacos. It was horrible. The lobster was rubbery, fishy smelling, and dry. The chips tasted stale, the salsa bland and not spicy at all. The rice and beans good and that’s all we ate. The albondiga soup adequate but there was too much rice. That should be served separately and with cilantro and lime, not enough vegetables and the meatballs were tiny and tasted old. On the positive the waitress and hostess were kind, inviting, welcoming but the food sadly was horrible. I’d go for drinks and maybe try appetizers or a salad for the atmosphere, but not sure 🤔 They need to taste all their dishes and see what the cook is putting out to their customers. Note: they did graciously take off one of the lobster taco plates $26 as a courtesy and did apologize to us. It was our first visit, likely our last. I felt bad for taking my elderly parents there for my step dad’s 88th birthday. I should have...