El Cilantro Mexican Grill

Jackie, who took my order, delivered top-notch service and delivered amazing food with her team at 3 AM!! Which is hard to get for me and my co workers who works nights. She offered us different spices of chilies, fresh salsa, and condiments. Everything was good and flavorful, and exactly what we needed. Highly recommend!! Jackie delivered top-notch service and amazing food at 3 AM!! Overall the food was fresh, flavorful, and exactly what we needed. Highly recommend for late-night cravings!! 🤙🏼

Our order was taking fast by the beautiful and attentive lady. She addressed our questions with good knowledge of the dish. Food was served quick and warm. Prices are fair.

Edited to add more photos since we've decided this is our new regular spot when we come all the way to town from Julian. The food was absolutely amazing and budget friendly. Unfortunately they didn't have any high chairs or booster seats so we had to hold our toddler between us to eat which wasn't awesome. That part definitely took away from the experience as well as the music blasting so loudly. We will definitely be back despite those things because the food is so worth it.

Since my last review, I returned to give this place another try after letting my friend (who recommended this spot) know about my experience. She was surprised & so I figured, she's never led me wrong so I went back. What a complete turn around. Not sure what they changed but the street tacos were on point, & even though there was a wait the service was great (via drive thru). I figured, A). Long line = really good food & popular place or B). Super slow 🐌 service, possibly errors in orders placed. Luckily, last night it was big A! I'll definitely be going back & get my street tacos fix.

Talitha Walker (Faye Enchantress)

Edited to add more photos since we've decided this is our new regular spot when we come all the way to town from Julian. The food was absolutely amazing and budget friendly. Unfortunately they didn't have any high chairs or booster seats so we had to hold our toddler between us to eat which wasn't awesome. That part definitely took away from the experience as well as the music blasting so loudly. We will definitely be back despite those things because the food is so worth it.

Flavor in San Diego El Cilantro Mexican Grill is one of those places that reminds you why simple, well-made food always wins. From the moment you walk in, you’re greeted with warm, friendly service that makes you feel like a regular—even on your first visit. The food is outstanding. The carne asada is tender, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned, the tacos are fresh and generously filled, and the burritos are packed with bold, authentic flavors that hit just right. Everything tastes freshly prepared, from the meats to the salsas, and the portions are more than satisfying for the price. This is comfort food done the right way. What really sets El Cilantro apart is its consistency and heart. It’s not trying to be trendy or overcomplicated—just honest, high-quality Mexican food made with care. Whether you’re grabbing a quick lunch or feeding the whole family, this spot delivers every time. If you’re in the San Diego area and craving real Mexican food with great service and excellent value, El Cilantro Mexican Grill is a must-visit. Easily a five-star experience.

Used to eat here when I lived in Santee. Left 6 years ago, and was stopping in El Cajon briefly for work. Had to grab dinner at El Cilantro. Didn’t disappoint. The food was amazing as it always was. The owner came out and greeted me too. Don’t skip the Surf and Turf burrito. It’s so good.

Got too meet the owner eric! super nice, hard working, dedicated guy. absolutely love the food here the birria is amazing everything is well seasoned and overall a great cheap place to go too!

I’ve lived in El Cajon for over 15 years, and this is the first time I’ve experienced such excellent service. The store had the best stock, the best customer service, and truly outstanding team members. Thank you for the great experience — I will definitely be coming back. ¡Excelente servicio y muy buen equipo! ¡Ánimo, compa!

Daniel Kuhns

Got too meet the owner eric! super nice, hard working, dedicated guy. absolutely love the food here the birria is amazing everything is well seasoned and overall a great cheap place to go too!

Dhruv vemulapalli

Flavor in San Diego El Cilantro Mexican Grill is one of those places that reminds you why simple, well-made food always wins. From the moment you walk in, you’re greeted with warm, friendly service that makes you feel like a regular—even on your first visit. The food is outstanding. The carne asada is tender, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned, the tacos are fresh and generously filled, and the burritos are packed with bold, authentic flavors that hit just right. Everything tastes freshly prepared, from the meats to the salsas, and the portions are more than satisfying for the price. This is comfort food done the right way. What really sets El Cilantro apart is its consistency and heart. It’s not trying to be trendy or overcomplicated—just honest, high-quality Mexican food made with care. Whether you’re grabbing a quick lunch or feeding the whole family, this spot delivers every time. If you’re in the San Diego area and craving real Mexican food with great service and excellent value, El Cilantro Mexican Grill is a must-visit. Easily a five-star experience.

Raad beyto

I’ve lived in El Cajon for over 15 years, and this is the first time I’ve experienced such excellent service. The store had the best stock, the best customer service, and truly outstanding team members. Thank you for the great experience — I will definitely be coming back. ¡Excelente servicio y muy buen equipo! ¡Ánimo, compa!

Andrew McGriff

Used to eat here when I lived in Santee. Left 6 years ago, and was stopping in El Cajon briefly for work. Had to grab dinner at El Cilantro. Didn’t disappoint. The food was amazing as it always was. The owner came out and greeted me too. Don’t skip the Surf and Turf burrito. It’s so good.

Juan Luis Ramos

Our order was taking fast by the beautiful and attentive lady. She addressed our questions with good knowledge of the dish. Food was served quick and warm. Prices are fair.

This place has solod food. I like that they have Mexican coke. And the portions are massive yet cost efficient

Worthy. The food was very good. Fish taco is huge at $1.99. Carnitas, polli, and el Pastor each delivered at only $1.37 each. Wait time indoors is longer. The Mexican music work well. This hole-in-the-wall is definitely worth another visit.

The only thing we get from this place are tacos. They're pretty good, especially their taco Tuesday special. The wait in the drive thru tho is insane. Probably 20 minutes for 5 tacos last time I was there. There where only two cars. I would come more often if it wasn't for that wait.

Food is sincerely very fantastic. I highly recommend that chicken quesadilla with white cheese. My only disappointment is they have a difficult time with honoring their own sales and promotions. Today is Wednesday and should've been 10% off my total and that was not the case as you can see on my receipt. Is it a dealbreaker? No. Am I annoyed? Yes.

Katherine Calderon

The only thing we get from this place are tacos. They're pretty good, especially their taco Tuesday special. The wait in the drive thru tho is insane. Probably 20 minutes for 5 tacos last time I was there. There where only two cars. I would come more often if it wasn't for that wait.

e n

Food is sincerely very fantastic. I highly recommend that chicken quesadilla with white cheese. My only disappointment is they have a difficult time with honoring their own sales and promotions. Today is Wednesday and should've been 10% off my total and that was not the case as you can see on my receipt. Is it a dealbreaker? No. Am I annoyed? Yes.

orell anderson

Worthy. The food was very good. Fish taco is huge at $1.99. Carnitas, polli, and el Pastor each delivered at only $1.37 each. Wait time indoors is longer. The Mexican music work well. This hole-in-the-wall is definitely worth another visit.

The salsa is great, and so are the el pastor tacos. The burritos are ok, I would stick to tacos here. Make sure to check your order before you leave tho, they get it wrong a lot lol

Kevin Martinez

The salsa is great, and so are the el pastor tacos. The burritos are ok, I would stick to tacos here. Make sure to check your order before you leave tho, they get it wrong a lot lol

If I could give 3.5 stars I would. This place is a small little restaurant in the corner of a very busy intersection in El Cajon. I got fish tacos and street tacos and at first sight they look delicious. Once I dug in the fish was over fried and the sauce was plain. I added some of their homemade salsa and gave it some life. The service was very basic; not bad and not great. The STREET tacos price is an excellent deal!!! Other than that the prices are the same as every local place. I will go here again, because it’s close to home.

Twice have I heard the cashiers talking about me, my order. As if I can't hear. Reading the comments, I see I'm not the only one complaining about this.

I’m not one to be complaining and confronting in person at food places and absolutely expecting perfection but I feel like they just slapped everything on :/ I went in the drive thru and waited about 13 mins, its not a fast food place so its normal. Although I was handed the container in a bag but lopsided it shouldn’t have made two of my tacos look like flautas from mexicali with barely any meat… I ate it just to see if it could have just fallen and not have to put a review up out but sadly no, the meat out side of the tortilla is from the other tacos. I paid for 6 tacos and got 4.5 tacos and four tortillas. I kinda of just regret not going to chipotle or McDonalds for lunch. I didn’t get any lime, have never asked for any prior but have received it along with chiles. Just plain sad tacos today

I normally don’t leave negative reviews, but I had a really bad experience this time. I placed a to-go order and was disappointed with the quality of the food. I ordered the tongue tacos, and one of the pieces still had the black outer skin on—it clearly wasn’t cleaned properly. It made the texture and taste really unpleasant. A few hours later, I ended up with an upset stomach. I was really looking forward to the meal, but unfortunately, this experience left me very disappointed. I hope the restaurant takes this kind of feedback seriously.

Adrianne Nirvana

I’m not one to be complaining and confronting in person at food places and absolutely expecting perfection but I feel like they just slapped everything on :/ I went in the drive thru and waited about 13 mins, its not a fast food place so its normal. Although I was handed the container in a bag but lopsided it shouldn’t have made two of my tacos look like flautas from mexicali with barely any meat… I ate it just to see if it could have just fallen and not have to put a review up out but sadly no, the meat out side of the tortilla is from the other tacos. I paid for 6 tacos and got 4.5 tacos and four tortillas. I kinda of just regret not going to chipotle or McDonalds for lunch. I didn’t get any lime, have never asked for any prior but have received it along with chiles. Just plain sad tacos today

Samer Sh

I normally don’t leave negative reviews, but I had a really bad experience this time. I placed a to-go order and was disappointed with the quality of the food. I ordered the tongue tacos, and one of the pieces still had the black outer skin on—it clearly wasn’t cleaned properly. It made the texture and taste really unpleasant. A few hours later, I ended up with an upset stomach. I was really looking forward to the meal, but unfortunately, this experience left me very disappointed. I hope the restaurant takes this kind of feedback seriously.

El cilantro has a decent fish taco they serve, and that’s why I come back. Tonight I ordered my taco Tuesday special, but the special part was not applied. Furthermore, I did not receive the entirety of my order. I probably confused the cashier when I gave my order and had her repeated to me, but it seemed like she understood. It would have been nice if she had have taken a A few seconds to double check the order because simply put it was a hot Mess. I had two different orders which were all tossed in the bag in various quantities in extra boxes. Finally, I don’t feel like I could go back and raise too much trouble because I did not receive my receipt, so I can’t go back and point to it. I took my bag of disappointment. Home made my apologies for the mess, next time I will put my car in park, shut my motor off as sit right at the window and verify what I ordered is what I received just like I have to do at any other apathetic fast food place like I do at any given KFC (used to be good). My heart goes out to the owner who has to deal with this circus daily. You’ve got a good product not a good system and often times questionable employees. I guess this is how food service goes in today’s fast paced life style.

It was recommended by a colleague and they look great, however all the meat was pretty bland, barely any onions or CILANTRO which IS the name of the establishment AND key for good tacos. Super oily but not the good flavor lard, instead a bland tasting oil, but the worse part, their buche tacos they don't chop at all which will literally make you choke as you're trying to chew it. The texture is very gammie... Tacos El Gallo up the street blows them away by miles! They're a little bit more expensive but oh so worth it!

I bought 3 quesabirria tacos, each for almost $7 and they’re not even birria. No consomé included either If you want birria this is not the place to go.

With the new management, sure the place might look a bit more aesthetically improved, but some of the foods changed to a cheaper quality. I been ordering basic bean and cheese burrito here for a couple of years and I just got it recently with the new management, they switched from white pepper jack or around that quality cheese to basic cheedar cheese. The tortilla is smaller and dryer. The only thing improved from food is their corn tortilla is soft. The only place that i would go for their bean and cheese is no longer i place i can go. I need to find a place that doesnt use cheap cheese

It used to be really good, but ever since new management came in it's been a mess. Not only is the quality inconsistent, but they seem genuinely lost. They've messed up 2 out of the last 3 orders I've had since the change. I've ordered through GrubHub, drive through, and inside the restaurant. The staff is nice though but eeeeeh

Diana Garcia

I bought 3 quesabirria tacos, each for almost $7 and they’re not even birria. No consomé included either If you want birria this is not the place to go.

I don't know if it was on that specific occasion but usually the tacos are good there. They tasted as if the meat on the cabesa tacos was old. I got sick and so did my husband the smell of the meat and taste was off. Unfortunately I won't be visiting again.

So I order birria ramen. We wait for about 20 minutes so my food was cold I came to told the cashier about it and she was super nice about it try to fixed the problem but the cook aprovech me and say next time I will give you boil food. I just like my soup to be hot i wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable for him to be mad no happy at his reaction

Edith Lopez Mendia

I don't know if it was on that specific occasion but usually the tacos are good there. They tasted as if the meat on the cabesa tacos was old. I got sick and so did my husband the smell of the meat and taste was off. Unfortunately I won't be visiting again.

Aleida Carrillo

So I order birria ramen. We wait for about 20 minutes so my food was cold I came to told the cashier about it and she was super nice about it try to fixed the problem but the cook aprovech me and say next time I will give you boil food. I just like my soup to be hot i wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable for him to be mad no happy at his reaction

Shantelle

It used to be really good, but ever since new management came in it's been a mess. Not only is the quality inconsistent, but they seem genuinely lost. They've messed up 2 out of the last 3 orders I've had since the change. I've ordered through GrubHub, drive through, and inside the restaurant. The staff is nice though but eeeeeh

They gave me a cup of Green sauce.. that was clearly used by someone else before me it had chunks of meat inside so I just threw it away. I’ll never be coming back here again after that move 😂 All around mid.. nothing really stands out. I guess the convenience is what keeps them running. 24 hours and Mini tacos are pretty cheap at $2 a pop everyday.

Just ordered a california burrito the tortilla is hard and its all just french fries and its dry to eat yuk 2 bites of meat and tiny bit if cheese it costs me 16$ for a french fries burrito , ill never go there again and it took 20 min in line very disappointed they used to have chimichangas, but not anymore she said the menu chamged over a year ago but its been about 4 months since i got a chimmachanga there so she lied to me as well. Not very friendly girls working there . I DO NOT recommend eating here !

This place is absolutely horrible. They did not have fish tacos as advertised. Paid $18 for shrimp nachos that had about 6 tiny shrimp on top of the big pile of hard chips. No beans. Sloppy and terrible.

I ordered Carne Asada fries on the drive-through when I got home. There is no meat just fries very small. I got charged $35. If there is zero star, I’ll put that

They tried to bury my belly with the Birria... Beef not supposed to smell like ceviche.. Or fish.... But aye the asada is really good 😊

The adabada burrito used to come with fires and pork. The new Management changed up the burrito and it’s horrible.Theres really dry and crusted rice into the burrito with weird combinations and the tortilla wasent even heated up or any of the sort. The sauce is also not as good as the old management.

I hardly review unless it's absolutely outstanding or absolute trash and my goodness this is one for the trash pile! Just believe that the average three stars that they currently have is more than generous! First the lady with the glasses, taking our order tonight, was rude right off the bat when she was taking out order. Maybe given the time she works (graveyard shift) she has had to deal with disorderly customers but then this isn't a job for her ! Not to mention we were very polite! So the service itself was enough for us not to come back, BUT THE FOOD!! Absolutely disgusting!! I couldn't believe it! The tortillas were cold literally breaking apart how uncooked the tacos were! The cabbage was beyond bitter it was inedible! And the fish tasted strange. If we lived closer and it wasn't so late we would have gone back and asked for our money back! Safe to say we will NEVER come back to this place!

I went there last night and order 3 roll tacos the girl was rude, I didn't get napkins or a fork and she didn't ask me if i wanted salsa, my tacos didn't taste good. I said thank you to the girl when she give me my order and she ignored me. First time there and I am not going back.

I order 12 adobada tacos and 6 tacos de carnitas. The adobada tacos were good but when it came to the carnitas, it was horrible. The carnitas were bitter and sour, the smell wasn’t there due to all the other ingredients but when I took a bite out the tacos I had to spit it out because it tasted rancid.

I never leave bad reviews but this was honestly my worse restaurant experience in a long time. We called about 10 minutes ahead to place our order we ordered a few tacos and ended up waiting over an hour inside the restaurant for our food. We watched countless people order and get served before us even orders larger than ours. We watch the employees watch us the whole time waiting for our food and didn't even bother to ask what our order was or how long we've been waiting when we finally got our food we checked our order before we left and they ended up shorting us almost half our order and we had to go back in to get it.

They forgot to include all items in my drive-thru order. The food we did receive wasn’t very good either, the beans were pasty, the carne too salty, rolled tacos barely have meat and the guacamole was watery.

To start off, I don't know why they don't pick up the phone.It's so unprofessional.I know it gets busy, but after calling like four times and no pickup, that's really unprofessional. My wife and I just got out of the hospital today my wife suffered a allergic reaction to avocado after I repeated myself more than three times to the drive through lady.Then, no avocado on my food.And for some reason, she had the audacity to add guacamole to the food.After I asked to not add any to it. As we were driving back home up north, my wife started choking on her food.I thought maybe she didn't chew right?But that wasn't the case. The reason I keep on calling the establishment is because I don't live a few minutes away.It's actually a couple of hours down over here.I want to know who's gonna pay for the hospital bill.And for the days I was off of work due to the stupid incident that we had because of a responsible people that can't listen. It's either you guys pay for the bill.And the days I had to take off or we could have a lawyer, take care of this matter.You guys don't want to pick up the phone, so you guys might want to read this review because i'm sick and tired of people not listening. The food was great before.I don't know what happened that the restaurant has gone to S H I T. And to end up the review, you guys left a portion of the avocado seed in the guacamole, and my molar chipped. If you guys can please contact me.I would really appreciate it because I know damn well.You guys don't want a lawsuit on your back and more when I have the evidence to go through with it.So please find a way to contact me.I really appreciate that.Have a great day

I am so upset that I give this place a chance! I feel like I wasted 53 dollars on food that was not seasoned or good. I ordered adobado/ carnita fries being charged 4 dollars extra for the meat, menudo, 12 piece wings half lemon pepper and buffalo, 3 tacos, etc. All portions were extremely small and my fries were basically all fries. The cashier that took my order didn't have any kind of happy personality or could give us answers to questions. I am a first time customer and never experienced horrible food like this. Once I got home and start eating, the food didn't have seasoning and my fries were awful. Im upset I spent so much money for awful service and food. I want management to know how this restaurant is operating and make appreciate changes. I am a big fan of carne asada fries and usually go to my spot twice weekly in lemon grove. I decided to give this place a chance listening to my wife and boy did I make the wrong decision not to stick to what I know. I love to give restaurants chances but I made a mistake coming here. Something needs to be done about this place. I am angry!! I have to throw this food away, can't even finish it it's sobad.

I had a napkin in my food and the lady apologized on the phone and when I got back to the store she told my fiance she couldn’t get a refund, then it was only a refund for the taco THEN they said they can’t give us any services anymore. Like we wanted to go back though! Doesn’t care about the customers cause if they did, THERE WOULDNT BE A BALLED UP NAPKIN IN MY TACO. WAY TOO MANY GERMS GOING AROUND AND THE FACT THAT THE KITCHEN WAS RUDE AND DIDN'T APOLOGIZE, They deserve to be shut down. Period

Aaron Jackson

I am so upset that I give this place a chance! I feel like I wasted 53 dollars on food that was not seasoned or good. I ordered adobado/ carnita fries being charged 4 dollars extra for the meat, menudo, 12 piece wings half lemon pepper and buffalo, 3 tacos, etc. All portions were extremely small and my fries were basically all fries. The cashier that took my order didn't have any kind of happy personality or could give us answers to questions. I am a first time customer and never experienced horrible food like this. Once I got home and start eating, the food didn't have seasoning and my fries were awful. Im upset I spent so much money for awful service and food. I want management to know how this restaurant is operating and make appreciate changes. I am a big fan of carne asada fries and usually go to my spot twice weekly in lemon grove. I decided to give this place a chance listening to my wife and boy did I make the wrong decision not to stick to what I know. I love to give restaurants chances but I made a mistake coming here. Something needs to be done about this place. I am angry!! I have to throw this food away, can't even finish it it's sobad.

Samonah Betts

I had a napkin in my food and the lady apologized on the phone and when I got back to the store she told my fiance she couldn’t get a refund, then it was only a refund for the taco THEN they said they can’t give us any services anymore. Like we wanted to go back though! Doesn’t care about the customers cause if they did, THERE WOULDNT BE A BALLED UP NAPKIN IN MY TACO. WAY TOO MANY GERMS GOING AROUND AND THE FACT THAT THE KITCHEN WAS RUDE AND DIDN'T APOLOGIZE, They deserve to be shut down. Period

If I could give this place zero stars I would, I've ordered birria ramen from quite a few places and it was always consistently good, there's however was horrible. Bland and unflavorful, literally looked like they took top ramen noodles and threw them in with some beef with a bunch of fat on it. Not even the broth tasted good, worst ever, two big thumbs down

The food was old and cold. I went there and ordered food... It seems the cashier didn't prepare what I wanted anyway... I ordered a California burrito, and the second order wasn't what I wanted, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was the burrito itself; it was cold, stale, and just cheese and mayo, like it was from another customer's order or a returned order because the restaurant makes mistakes with orders. This isn't the first time I've bought from them and they've made mistakes, but this is the last time because the service is terrible. The cashiers need to pay more attention, and if they don't understand a customer's order, they should ask for clarification….

France Federk

The food was old and cold. I went there and ordered food... It seems the cashier didn't prepare what I wanted anyway... I ordered a California burrito, and the second order wasn't what I wanted, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was the burrito itself; it was cold, stale, and just cheese and mayo, like it was from another customer's order or a returned order because the restaurant makes mistakes with orders. This isn't the first time I've bought from them and they've made mistakes, but this is the last time because the service is terrible. The cashiers need to pay more attention, and if they don't understand a customer's order, they should ask for clarification….

yaretzi flores

I order 12 adobada tacos and 6 tacos de carnitas. The adobada tacos were good but when it came to the carnitas, it was horrible. The carnitas were bitter and sour, the smell wasn’t there due to all the other ingredients but when I took a bite out the tacos I had to spit it out because it tasted rancid.