El Camino

I really enjoy coming here. Last week was my co-​workers b-​day and we had a party of 15 people. Our server was great, I believe her name was Kim. I’ve been a server myself before, and I know how annoying it can be with large parties, especially people showing up at different times and separate checks. She was extremely patient and accommodating. I love the food and the whole concept. I typically come here on Tuesdays for their specials and awesome Karaōke. The only area of improvement in my opinion is they seem to take a lot of reservations, and sometimes you walk-​in to an empty restaurant and they tell you that they are booked. I think they should leave more room for their walk-​in customers. I encourage people to check this place out!

If you want «Mexican» food, this is not the place to go. Well… maybe you might think it’s good if you’re NOT Mexican. A bit pricy too. $ 4.00 for a «mini» street taco… WOW!!! A bit snobby at the hostess desk.

The ambiance of this bar is awesome. Love the entire theme and music they played. Bar tenders were short handed though for the amount of people there and therefore took long to get a drink. DJ had issues with the speakers or the sound as the volume kept fluctuating. They have a nice large outdoor patio that carries the ambiance from the inside to the outside. Even the restrooms were in the same décor. So for the ambiance, type of music I give 4 stars. One star deducted due to long wait for drinks.

The food is good, drinks are good and the atmosphere is great. Really cool place on the inside. Great happy hour deals. Been here a few times and I’ll continue to go but it essentially gets a 4 star because I don’t think it’s the best Mexican food and they were a little skimpy when it came to the amount of chicken in my quesadilla. That said, it’s a fun atmosphere!

Best Taco Tuesday in town! I always come here for their taco Tuesday special and happy hour. you cant go wrong with this place at all, very good meat and very good salsas. I always order the carne asada and adobada tacos and occasionally order the chicken ones which are great too. you cant beat a 5 dollar mule and cheap sangria.

Came here later in the evening when the dining choices that aren’t Jack in the Box get limited.
I was sort of pleasantly surprised by the garish, Day of the Dead décor — at least it was interesting, as was the array of dipping sauces and veggies they served up in lieu of the usual chips and salsa.
There was a good variety of menu options, and the enchiladas suizas was a solid version; the ever-​dieting Babygirl was impressed with her fresh and tasty ceviche, and the rest of the party went with the California burritos (steak, fries, and guacamole), which they were happy with.
and sounds pretty good if you like burritos. Not my cup of tequila.
Service was ok and the prices were reasonable.
My only real complaint was the noise. I didn’t realize that it was more of a nightclub than a restaurant, and the drinkers and dancers far outnumbered the diners. Now, Babygirl and her friend had already put a few away, and were delighted. They joined the throng while we waited for the food and danced happily away. Unfortunately, the volume made it practically impossible to talk, and communicating with the waiter was a challenge. The girls had a bal, but I was irritated.
They really didn’t do anything wrong, would just suggest that old farts like me would be happier there at lunch.

One of the best Taco Tuesday deals around and the Carne Asada tacos are freaking delicious. I had to 3 star this place because of the service.
I know this place gets busy especially on Tuesday nights as it should be but every time I’m here the service is lacking big time even with a reservation.
Extended wait times to be recognized by our server to messing up orders. Most likely this place needs new management.

This is my second time coming to this place. Awesome experience the first time. This past Saturday was just a bit disappointing. Good eats… love the atmosphere. Good drinks. Service was really crappy that night. Apparently there was some confusion about how we we supposed to get a table. My friend was celebrating her birthday and we had a a group of 8 – 10 people. Last time we didn’t get a reservation but apparently this time we needed to. So we were put on the list for a table. We were drinking and socializing in the meantime. Three different waitresses came up yo us at different times and rudely «reminded» us that they were holding a table we were standing near (note the place was pretty packed and we were not actually sitting at the table). When we finally got seated they gave us a table that only seated 4 people! But there was a larger table next to us that was not being used
But supposedly that was the «reserved» table.
Eventually we got that table because the guests didn’t show up. We got to order food (which was delicious. .loved the guacamole and mac and cheese nachos!) But out servers were pretty rude and condescending. Something to keep in mind when you have a large party ready to spend $$$ on food and drinks: be kind to the customer!

Went to get a brew and a karaōke song in for Tuesday karaōke. DJ told me that I probably wouldn’t get to sing, this at 11:30PM but he’s taking request from other patrons. The bartender was probably the worst. I stood for a good 10min waiting for a drink but the way she was treating the customers was unbelievably rude. I walked away and watched the night get worse. I eventually left by 12:30 midnight. Definitely did not feel welcomed there.

The ambiance of the place really makes this place unique. I love the old Spanish feel from the outside to the inside of the building.
Large booths decorate the inside, while the back patio offers a nice view of Little Italy and airplanes over your head offer a little extra random noise that makes you giggle. Often times, there is a DJ hitting all the jams.
Came here for brunch with a large group, and the service was really slow. It was to the point, where you had to raise your hand or go over to your server to get attention. It wasn’t busy at all, since it had just opened.
The food was okay. I had the «El Breakfast Burrito» which was eggs, black beans, cheese, bacon and cilantro potatoes. I would have appreciated some sort of sauce for this, as it was dry without it. Luckily, the table had the complimentary chips and salsa so I used that. There was also barely any bacon in the burrito. My friend, who ordered the same thing actually had no bacon in his for some reason. It tasted fine… but I’ve had better breakfast burritos. It’s hard to screw one up.
El Camino is definitely a great place to hang out, grab a drink and jam but if you are looking for a quality meal you may need to consider other options for brunch.

Loved the atmosphere, the décor, the music. (Omg the music! 90’s hip hop and R&B) What ruined it for me was the service. Shameful.
Friday night bartender with the short blond hair in the back outdoor area should be FIRED. Extremely rude and inattentive. I understand being busy. I don’t understand being rude — especially when the customer is patient and cordial. No need for that.
Being a 10-​year veteran in the food service industry, I have the utmost respect for people in these roles and I am extremely sympathetic to being slammed. I get it. It was the rudeness of the bartender and her lack of a sense of urgency that I could not fathom. I’m not sure how she has a job. Each time we went up to the bar to order drinks, it was at least a 15-​min. wait time before we were served or even acknowledged. That in itself is unacceptable — but that I can handle. It’s when the bartender finally approaches you to take your order and does so in a rude and annoyed fashion.
She began to take my order and then left in the middle of it. I was… confused? So a few minutes later, I said «We’re ready when you are.» I genuinely meant it. She yelled back «Yeah, well I’m NOT ready.»
Umm…EXCUSE me?!
So you mean to tell me this whole time she acted like she couldn’t see us but the moment I said we were ready, all of a sudden her awareness level peaked and she could speak a sentence to us?
When she finally came over and took the actual order she acted like she was doing us a favor. She even spiced it up with an additional slew of smart-​ass comments and had the nerve to call me passive aggressive. (I had commented that what she said was out-​of-​line and then proceeded to order my drink — REALLY, dude? Since when do businesses hire employees to speak to customers like this?) What a lovely piece of work, that bartender.
As a San Diego resident, my friends and I will definitely not be celebrating anymore birthdays or Friday nights (or any nights) here for as long as we have to order drinks from Mrs. Personality.
El Camino, let me know when you tell her BYE.
I will happily return and update my review.

I absolutely love this place. Lots of character, planes overhead, and delicious tequila Mexican mules.
I was trying to eat light. So I got the Ceasar salad with shrimp. I’m thinking it wasn’t so healthy only because it was lip smackingly delicious. There was subtle heat in the dressing and the shrimp were phenomenal.
Our server was very sweet but I felt like drinks took a long time. Luckily, they were well worth the wait. The décor is wonderful year round but extra special for Halloween/​Dia Los Muertos

Why did I not know about Taco Tuesday here before this week? You can get $ 2 street tacos and mix and match between carne asada, mahi-​mahi, camaron asada, chicken asada, al pastor, or rajas. The other option is ½ off the taco plates which comes with 4 of the same tacos with rice and beans.
On Tuesdays they also have karaōke, I’m not sure what time. It wasn’t going on when I was there which was probably around 7pm.
I’ve been here a couple of times, but never for taco tuesday. The place has indoor and outdoor patio seating as well as at the bar. I love the way it’s decorated inside! Makes you feel like you are in Mexico. The service has always been good and I’ve never had to wait long to be seated.
Will definitely make this my new taco tuesday go to place.

I’ve been here a couple times, mostly for Taco Tuessay, and every time has been a pretty good experience.
They have a pretty good Taco Tuesday deal. Any plate of 3 tacos for $ 12, plus drink specials including $ 5 margaritas. The taco plates come with 3 of the same tacos – you can mix and match but it costs extra.
They also give you a section of several salsas, which I enjoy.

Came here for Taco Tuesday. $ 3 dollar beer and margaritas and half priced taco order or $ 2 dollar a la carte tacos. :)
I’m going to be honest, if you don’t like noise, definitely don’t come here on a Tuesday. I haven’t been any other day so I can’t say how those are. I walked into a dimmed Mexican theme restaurant. The décor was something aiming towards the traditional day of the dead, sort of. I liked it a lot.
The noise, well, that was coming from the karaōke singers. Lol! Some good, some, well, passionate. Everyone sang along and cheered the brave singers on. Great place to bring a group of friends but definitely not a date spot (unless you absolutely don’t want to converse). Won’t be able to hear each other. Sign language, a plus.
Tacos were just ok. But let’s be honest… Taco Tuesdays are about the drink specials. At least they are for me. Haha!
I would definitely go back and bring all my friends. And then I’d sing to them. Off beat off tune but with lots of love and conviction. :-D

Great décor and patio, though a little dark inside for my preference. The mole fries are strangely yummy. I would definitely order them again. The Caesar salad is super spicy… I ordered it with shrimp which was great. The dressing was a bit too spicy for me, so I would get it on the side next time.
The salsas and dips served with chips at the beginning of the meal were interesting to try out. The sangria was fair, too much ice and not much beverage after you account for the diced up fruit.

Lured in by the awesome happy hour prices.
$ 3 for margaritas, beers and sangria with a list or $ 5 apps. The margarita was barely cold and was in the tiniest glass I’ve ever been served in my life. 2 sips and gone. I understand that it’s only $ 3 and its a special, but you are much better off just spending the $ 5 for a regular sized margarita. I did really like the seasoning that they put on the rim of the house margarita which made it a little more enjoyable. The beers are definitely a good deal. We had the $ 5 happy hour special appetizer; mole fries which we added chicken to for $ 3 which made it an $ 8 app (not a great deal). They were tasty though.
For entrees we tried the surf & turf burrito and the mahi mahi tacos. After hearing about all the amazing mexican food in San Diego, we were extremely disappointed by the blandness of our meals. With the amazing kick to their salsa and dips, we expected great flavor and we didn’t receive it. The mexican street corn was the only thing that was popping with flavor.
The service was pretty good & the décor in this place is very cool so we may return for some nighttime fun, but I would assume that you could get some amazing mexican food in the area and this just isn’t the place. With that said; I need recommendations!

El Bruncho!
This is an awesome brunch location. The chips and salsa alone are to die for, they serve endless mimosas, and the food portions are more than generous. I haven’t been here at night, but it seems like it has potential to turn rather sweaty and crazy… I think I’ll stick with brunch :)

Ok so I just HAD to write another review. I had called in a head of time to make reservations for a table of 4. Must I say, the guy I spoke with by the name of PATRICK had thee worst customer service. Once he answered the phone he immediately said pls hold. He then got my info and sounded like he hated his job and as I was asking another question (what was your name?) he hung up on me and didn’t even give me a chance to speak. I called back and got him again. I told him I wasn’t finished speaking and that he hung up on me and he was very combative and gave attitude over the phone. I asked for his full name and he questioned me why? Horrible guy and should be fired. Luckily I still went in to have dinner despite his terrible service.
When we went to finally have dinner, we had quite a few servers who looked lost. We didn’t feel welcomed and they barely checked up on us. We asked for water a couple of times and took a while to get. Don’t get me wrong, this place has awesome food which is why we came back but the service definitely is uninviting. Idk if I would recommend this place to anyone anymore.
This place needs better people with great customer service who are actually willing to work and they need to get rid of all the other lazy people.

Every time I come here for the late night dancing and drinking… I feel like I lose a part of my classiness…
I call El Camino where you go in Little Italy to get sloppy because you tired of that superficial shit elsewhere in Little Italy. El Camino does keep it real. You won’t see the handle bar mustache guys, the dressed up Vegas wannabe girls, expensive drinks or even snobby people. You come here for cheap drinks and to get down and dirty… With that being said… it does get ghetto here. I’ve been here for the past 3 weeks… and man oh man. It sort of look like it got mixed up in Little Italy from Chula Vista, lots of Flips. My Filipino friend said he saw all of his high school buddies! lol. And he even called it ghetto!
Girls & guys wearing Jerseys with no shirt under, baseball caps, girls dressing like boys, first time I’ve seen baggy pants on boys AND girls… oh man… long t-​shirts til your knees (looked like PJs)…I swear I didn’t think clothing places made baggy pants… or that people still sag their pants and wore long t-​shirts. I thought that was a thing of the past? It just got way to ghetto for us… Maybe they should put a slight dress code… I said slight, they don’t need to be like KEX or Ironside, but you know, a little bit better so it don’t scare off normal people. Cuz I think our group is a mixed crowd and we were turned off and left.