TOP FAVORITE MEXICAN RESTAURANTS IN SAN DIEGO

 

I am so excited to finally share my favorite Mexican restaurants with you! I recently shared my San Diego Restaurant Guide (see here) but didn’t include any Mexican restaurants because I knew I wanted to do a separate post on them since Mexican food is clearly our favorite and go to places here in San Diego!

The Taco Stand

Located in Encintas and La Jolla

Hands down my favorite Mexican place to eat in San Diego! If you are in the mood for tacos this is the place to go! I have tried the Al Pastor, Carne Asada, Baja tacos. The Carne Asada fries are hands down the best ever! And don’t even think about leaving without ordering the churros! Dip them in their frosting and you will be booking your next trip back to San Diego. My husband loves to order the Carne Asada burrito, which is also pretty tasty! If you love Mexican Street Corn you will have to try theirs too. I love it!
A little tip with The Taco Stand. La Jolla is a lot smaller, the lines will be out the door if you go during normal eating hours. Try to go at 2-4 after lunch and an early dinner.
They don’t have much seating inside either. They do have extra tables outside for more seating.
The Encinitas location has a lot more room to eat, the lines will still be longer but not as long as La Jolla. The sad part about the Encinitas location is they don’t have a churros machine, so at this time the only place to order the churros is La Jolla.

 

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Freds Mexican Cafe

Located in Old Town

If you follow me on IG stories you would know that we come here A LOT! That’s because I can’t quit their nachos! Visiting Old Town is also one of my favorite things to do, so when you do, be sure to stop at Fred’s and get their Nachos with Chicken. They are big, so prepare to share with someone else! To be honest this is all I get when I go. I can’t help but order these every time. Brandon however has gotten a little more adventurous and loves the Fajitas and the Carne Asada Tacos which are both good!

 

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Lucha Libre

Located in Mission Hills and North Park

Not only are the burritos amazing, but you are in for a treat with all the fun decor they have with Luchador masks. If you call ahead of time then you can reserve to dine in at their Gold Champions table at their Mission Hills location or the fighters ring table at the North Park location. I haven’t actually ever done this because you need to call 24 hours in advance but still go to enjoy the food! I order the Surfin’ California burrito. I will usually order it without the shrimp but love that it comes with fries as a fun twist to your typical burrito.  Brandon gets the Surfin’ California too!

Photo found on yelp

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Taco Bar

Located in San Marcos

We love going to this Taco place because one it is always delicious and two it is super close to where we live!
I always get the Carne and Pastor tacos here.
I think it obvious that we love and live for Tacos here in San Diego

Photo found on yelp

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Casa de Bandini

Located in Carlsbad at the Carlsbad Forum

I don’t think you’ll be surprised to hear that we order the Tacos. Get the Soft Taco Sampler! It’s delicious.
I have also ordered the Tamales and the Chicken Taco Salad.
Brandon of course orders the Fajitas here!
Don’t forget to order the Churro Dessert, comes with ice cream and is so good!

Photo found on yelp

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TJ Tacos

Located in Escondido

Surprise, Surprise! More tacos!
I am sorry if you aren’t a taco fan. I am sure there are several other items to order off the menu at all these places. Just know they are very popular and of keep in mind that all these places have high ratings for all their food, not just tacos.
Here I order the Taco de Asada and Taco de Adobada (spicy pork)

Photo found on yelp

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There you have it! Our top Mexican places to eat in San Diego!

Every Mexican place we go to I am sure to order Edison a side of beans and rice and he always pounds them! Some places will let me order a half and half beans and rice for the price of one side!

After writing this post I realized that we are pretty stingy and only go to the same Mexican food places over and over again. We found our favorites and stick to them! We better start venturing out a little more to find more favorites!

 

xo, Camilla

 

Feel free to pin this image below to use as a reference when you travel here!