El Comal Mexican Restaurant

EL COMAL HAS NOT CLOSED! The name has changed to Rene’s because the son, who is the chef, has taken over from his parents. They still have the same excellent food.

i miss you guys, youlanda, rene, ruby, and every body there at elcomal, mohammed

This is the best Mexican restaurant around, with the tastiest, most authentic Mexican food around! Also, their margaritas are delicious and actually have tequila in them… most places serve sweetened lime juice and charge $$$. We have eaten regularly at El Comal for about 20 years. We used to have to wait forever to get our food and would see people walk out oftentimes. They regrouped some years ago, remodeled and added better kitchen equipment and so this is no longer a problem.
They made a big mistake in changing the name to Renee’s…just dumb! For us, El Comal is our «Cheers», where everyone knows you by name. It has atmosphere, good service and very hard-​working long-​term employees you can get attached to!
Try it!

Pretty good food but service was so, so.
Did you know they changes their name? Boo!

Pretty good food, service? Meh

Chef Rene has decided to rename the place after himself. so it’s Rene’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, Margaritas are still the best ones in town. Menu hasn’t changed either! Yay! I will still contend it’s the best Mexican Food in San Diego. Avoid Friday and Saturday nights to prove how good it really is (they are super busy, and expect a wait for a table and meal). Go for the food and drinks and good service not the outdated interior. If the servers are lacking, you might want to consider your own attitude when being served before posting it here on Unilocal

I’ll be short and sweet, this place is great! Love the food, love the atmosphere, but and yes there is a but. Great salsa but their chips suck, too hard for my taste. Fix the chips and you will be golden! Nachooooooooooooooooooooo!!! ^…^
2-​14-​2013 — They fixed the Chips problem… YAY!!! :D
FYI — this restaurant is now called Rene’s…

So now it’s Rene’s Bar and Grill? Sad to no longer see «El Comal» signage after all of these years, but the good news: it’s named after the long-​time chef, so the menu is in good hands.

It’s not the «best Mexican restaurant in SD,» from what I’ve heard from others, but it’s pretty good. Everything tastes fresh, and the portions are filling. I usually get the chimichanga combo, and it really hits the spot. I’ve only been here on weekdays, and it’s never really super packed – which is a good thing for me because the service is efficient.
P. S. It is a bit hidden, especially since there’s a tree in front of it that blocks the sign.

Where do I begin? Well I have read some of the reviews here on Unilocal of this place and really have to assume you people either have no clue or went to an entirely different place than I did.
It was Valentines night. I had never been here but with a claim of best Mexican food in Poway had to check this place out and put that claim to the test. Sadly this claim is BS as I could have got more food, faster for less money at the food born illness shack down the street. My expectations were somewhat high and stepping through the door I did like the atmosphere. They seated us right away which was not difficult cause this place had only 4 other patrons. We ordered just tea for the drinks so I am not going to argue with the reviews on this places margaritas. I will say though I’d rather stay home and make my own then come back to this place for drinks.
The waitress brought our drinks and a basket of chips and salsa. After this she could not be bothered so we had plenty of time to get our order straight. We did finally get our order in and got some more tea. We sat for an eternity eating the chips and sipping the tea. My friend who was with me cannot eat anything spicy and loves ranch instead. We could not get our waitress back as she was busy chatting so the bus boy helped us out more than she did. He got us ranch refilled our tea and after 3 baskets of chips our waitress finally returned with our soup. The soup was good but certainly I have had better. Vons signature soups LOL! I was not there for soup though. Our waitress was gone. Could just say we got the bad waitress but I witnessed one of the cooks come out to snack on chips and return to the kitchen. This person also came out again and socialized for a while with the people who worked in the front. Slowly this person walked back into the kitchen and I could only wonder if this somehow was why I was waiting for so long. I did see my waitress several times and she would be talking with her co-​workers and when she caught my glare in her direction would duck back into the kitchen.
By this time the topic of discussion was obviously about our wait and we could not believe that a thin piece of steak could ever take this long to cook. We even had a strange thought that the steak must be really thick. Finally our waitress returned and by this time I was very hungry. The presentation on the plate was great and the food was hot and smelled great. But as you could have guesses there was nothing special about the meat. It was thin and did not fill me up at all. The beans were spread very thin over the plate and over all, the value of this amount of food did not justify it’s price. After the meal I could only think, «that was it?»
Eat plenty of chips if you go here so you can fill up. Drink tea till you are peeing non stop to get your moneys worth. This is not even close to the best Mexican food I have had. You are better off if you are hungry eating somewhere else. I tipped the bus boy but when it was all over knew I would not be returning here. Sorry El Comal but even the good taste could not make up for the pathetic service.

I’ve only been here the one time and it’s not because of the quality of food. It’s the only opportunity I’ve had.
This place is tucked in a corner of a strip mall and it it looks like any non-​chain type Mexican restaurant. We walked in on a Friday night and it was quite busy, yet they were still able to find a table for us.
I found the food to be good, the margaritas were great and the service was decent as well. My only complaint is that we had 5 in our party and they crammed us into a booth meant for 4 at best.
Otherwise, a positive experience and I will go back.

The Great — The diet coke
The Good — Didn’t have to wait for seating?
The Bad — The SLOW service for a dining room less than 25% full
The Ugly — The lady bussing the tables that was turning the table cloths over then cleaning the spots with some cleaning detergent
The prices were ok — The server was nice but SLOW — the Booths were falling apart — the décor was gross — and there was a gaping hole in the ceiling amont the fake rafters.
There are too many good taco shops within 5 miles of this place. I say choose better!

Maybe really 3.5 stars. I feel like I need to go back to really calibrate as to how I feel about this place. I had a friend give it a high recommendation… so what the hell?
First of all… it is hard to find. Even if I kinda knew where it is. Their only sign was not lit up at night and it is tucked back into a shopping mall with pawn shops behind Beach Grass Café. There was a glowing neon OPEN sign in the window. By the way, the parking lot SUCKS if you have a lower sports car. Don’t even think about driving it in here. I saw a BMW M3 bottom out trying to leave. Ouch.
The interior is kinda like Mexican from the 70s. Old red naugahyde booth benches, walls were dirty, bathroom smelled like a urinal. The place could use an updating and some new paint.
Food? I felt like the food was sort of Mexican comfort food… the equivalent of down-​home southern cooking. Nothing really interesting… just standard fare on the menu. Good quality food in good portions at a reasonable price. Bound to please most people. Sort of a Mexican Applebees.
I ordered the Albondigas and this indeed was where they shined. One of the best soups around. If I was only grading based on the soup, this would be 5 stars. I also ordered a carnitas taco and it was fine. My GF ordered the cheese enchilada and it was quite tasty.
The chips were meh, but the salsa was quite good. Muy Caliente’
We each ordered a margarita and this in itself was comical.
«Can we get two margaritas?»
«Blended or on the rocks?»
«Umm. yeah… blended»
«Two large margaritas coming up!»
«Wait… large… how big is the large?»
«OH señor… it is not big… small (makes gesture with his hands)»
«OK»
5 minutes later–
«Here are your margaritas, but I did then on the rocks. Much better señor. You will thank me»
«Oh… fine.» I might have chuckled here. :)
And they were quite big. And I was the designated driver. And FYI… it is not easy to pour from one margarita glass to the other person’s margarita glass without spilling onto their plate, causing them to get quite irritated with you since apparently she does not like Cheese and Margarita Enchiladas. I thought she should try it…“here Señorita, I improved your enchilada… you will thank me.” But no.
So… really the service was otherwise very good. The waiter was on the spot, totally ignoring my GF and asking me if señor was pleased. Was the food good señor? Anything else he could bring señor? haha… I liked the guy.
Like I said, I will be back for the soup… maybe a smaller margarita or just get a Negra Modelo and try some other food and see if I still think it is 3 stars.

We had high expectations based on favorable reviews. Seems like the place had its prime in years past. Still has potential, but seems as if it has been let-​go a bit.
Food was decent and the service was average. Chips and salsa are good, guac could use some help. The Spanish rice, (while tasted alright) looked nothing like what you would expect. The rice was more white and puffy, almost an Uncle Ben’s creation (See for yourself in someone’s picture they uploaded on Unilocal).
They seem to cater heavily to the white, elderly population around Poway, so I’m sure despite much competition in the area, (Mexican Food) there is no great impetus to improve. My other issue is the price. For what they charge, I could go to an Old Town tourist trap lavish Mexican restaurant and likely pay less.
Didn’t use the bar, but from our drinks, I think that that is one of their better points. I would go back with friends for a drink and appetizer.
I hate to be to critical without offering up alternatives, so here are a few of my Mexican N.C. favorites;
Oceanside– Anita’s (My Favorite!!)
Escondido– Hacienda De Vega $$
Escondido– Cocina Del Charro (off Quince st.)
Vista– Mariscos Las Palmas (CHEAP)((Friend Raves About))
Final Note; the website is detestable. Pictures of gourmet food (not even Mexican fare??) Very limited info there. What’s the point?

Really 3.5 — they had good food, and it felt like Old Town style but in very quiet Poway. It’s in the back corner of the little shopping mall, so was kinda hard to find at night.
The lower rating is because it smelled a little like sewer/​bathroom/​kitchen. I ordered the snack plate — topes, betos, chimichangas. Was yummy but not healthy! Husband had the carnitas and liked it. They serve free chips & salsa (of course) which were good too.

I have heard so many great things about this place. When I went to experience it myself, I was sooo disappointed.
The inside looks like it needs a make over and hasn’t been cleaned in months. The food is not that great. The booths are very small and I’m not a very big person. Overall not a place I expect to visit again.

Overall I really enjoyed this restaurant. It looks like a typical Mexican restaurant, but I found the food to taste fresher than most places I’ve been to. I agree with the other reviewer that the Enchiladas Del Sol are great. The service was very good, though they accidentally got the pill wrong (by a few hundred dollars). However, I think this was likely a rare innocent mistake (I hope), so I didn’t hold it against them. My family and I will definitely be back.

Oh El Comal. How I wanted to give you four stars, but alas, it was not to be. Not that this restaurant did anything wrong to come by their 3 stars, but I am picky about Mexican food. There is nothing I like more than fresh Mex, but cheesy, standard Mexican food, I despise. El Comal is nothing but standard fare Mexican. The rice was good, but nothing special. The tamale was nice, but much too cheesy. Same for the refried beans. The only thing fresh on my plate was a small pile of iceberg lettuce. This is the type of Mexican food, I left behind in Texas and don’t ever need to eat again.
There are a few things that lift this restaurant above average. The atmosphere, the service and most of all, the margaritas. Now, that is one damn good margarita. It wasn’t cheap, but it was huge and it was strong! One margarita gave both of us the tipsies, and although small, I don’t consider myself a lightweight when it comes to drinks.
The atmosphere was great too. We could tell this was a place frequented by locals and well known to the staff.

El Comal never ceases to AMAZE me every time I go there. This hidden gem of Poway will keep you coming back for more. Hidden within the pawn and consignment shops is a sign hidden from the street, the delights that await you behind the door are sure to make your taste buds water.
They’ve had them same server there for at least 15 years, and he provides the greatest service with a smile. The margaritas are tasty and the chips and salsa do not disappoint. They have so many GREAT dishes there, it’s really hard to pick one favorite. There’s the Chile Colorado; delicious serloin strips smothered in a mild chile sauce with tortillas rice and beans. Or how about the Topes; mini-​chimichangas with pico, sour cream and guac. A MUST try is the Taco de Comal, it’s a tostada, but folded in half like a GIANT taco… it’s bigger than your head!
I can’t say enough great things about this restaurant. El Comal does not disappoint!

We’ve been to El Comal quite a few times, and I always leave satisfied and stuffed.
Of the handful of Mexican joints that I’ve tried on Poway Road, this one is my favorite. The ambiance is typical of Mexican restaurants; tacky and colorful décor with low lighting. There is a roomy bar area with flat screen televisions, and the dining area is large and quiet.
El Comal’s food is authentic and delicious, and the portions are large. I don’t branch out much with my Mexican dinner selections; I usually get cheese enchiladas, beans and rice. Boring, yes, but very tasty at El Comal. The salsa is also very good — spicy with a slight smoky flavor, and the chips are thin (my fave), toasted, and nicely salted. I didn’t order a drink at my most recent visit, but typically, the mixed drinks and margaritas are poured strong. The bartender is nice and joins in on our laughs from time to time.
Service is very good, friendly and attentive. I normally eat here with a group who shows up on a weekly basis, and the service staff all know them and their tastes. One woman likes a special «secret» salsa that the bartender brings to her as soon as she arrives. The waiter is funny, has a good memory for their usual orders, and quickly accommodates special requests.
This is a wonderful little gem that must be experienced if you’re in the area. It’s located in the sketchy strip mall that has all of the thrift stores, but don’t let that scare you off.
Oh, and there’s a long story to the woman’s bust statue at the front of the restaurant… ask and maybe someone will tell you. :)