Mama Antonia’s Restaurant

alli willis

The tacos and posole were delicious. Even my picky eater of a son ate his tacos. We came back for more. The waiter seemed a bit arrogant but not to the point where it would deter us for a second visit. It was empty when we arrived so I was skeptical but it turned out to be a great dining experience!!

Really nice spot in Old Town. The service was a little slow, but the staff was friendly and attentive, so it did not feel like an issue. The food came out fresh and the margaritas were really well made. We had been hopping between a few places around Old Town trying different food and drinks, but the chips and salsa here definitely stood out compared to the others. They were fresh, flavorful, and hard to stop eating. The nachos were also very fresh and nicely done with good toppings and flavor. Everything tasted well prepared and not rushed. A great place to stop if you are exploring Old Town and want good Mexican food and drinks.

We went before 9pm and was seated quickly. Our waitress was wonderful. She was friendly and attentive. I ordered the carnitas plate. It was tender and seasoned well. The beans was alright, it was a little on the thick side. The candy shot flight was 6 for $50, which was really good.

They were low on a few items and were slow considering it was pretty empty when we got there. Food was pretty good, but the music/singer made up for it!

Jennifer

We went before 9pm and was seated quickly. Our waitress was wonderful. She was friendly and attentive. I ordered the carnitas plate. It was tender and seasoned well. The beans was alright, it was a little on the thick side. The candy shot flight was 6 for $50, which was really good.

Anna Gonzalez

They were low on a few items and were slow considering it was pretty empty when we got there. Food was pretty good, but the music/singer made up for it!

Ordered carne Asada burrito, was alright, good portion. Great atmosphere though 👌

Alvarado Alastor

Ordered carne Asada burrito, was alright, good portion. Great atmosphere though 👌

This is an eatery in the heart of San Diego’s historic old town. Any food establishment here has the difficulty of managing massive swings of customers throughout the tourist season and the regular season for locals. I don’t know the history of this eatery, but I can tell you from my experience yesterday, it does not serve the market with distinction. The food is on par with what one can find at a street taco shop. The only distinguishing factors is they serve it on a nice plate. We ordered two relatively simple dishes, and they came out very slowly due to an obvious shortness of staff. The servers were very kind, wonderful young ladies who are doing their absolute best to take care of customers. In Old Town, the Mexican food available should be reflective of the hundreds of years of culture and should stand out from other local eateries. Unfortunately, tourist may not know the difference between really good Mexican food and what was served here last night. The food was flavorless and in very small quantities. The guacamole was not freshly made it tasted store bought with more lemon/lime juice than a margarita. The chips were not impressive and were mostly broken pieces. The vegetarian burrito was thrown together with a previously cooked tortilla, stuffed with bell peppers and covered in sauce. The image and the description in the menu mentioned vegetables, not simply peppers. This eatery seems to be far more focused on a place to drink rather than a Spanish culinary experience. For the money $80 I could have fed a family of six buying at a taco shop and received far better food. I do not recommend this eatery.

Carlos Ramirez

This is an eatery in the heart of San Diego’s historic old town. Any food establishment here has the difficulty of managing massive swings of customers throughout the tourist season and the regular season for locals. I don’t know the history of this eatery, but I can tell you from my experience yesterday, it does not serve the market with distinction. The food is on par with what one can find at a street taco shop. The only distinguishing factors is they serve it on a nice plate. We ordered two relatively simple dishes, and they came out very slowly due to an obvious shortness of staff. The servers were very kind, wonderful young ladies who are doing their absolute best to take care of customers. In Old Town, the Mexican food available should be reflective of the hundreds of years of culture and should stand out from other local eateries. Unfortunately, tourist may not know the difference between really good Mexican food and what was served here last night. The food was flavorless and in very small quantities. The guacamole was not freshly made it tasted store bought with more lemon/lime juice than a margarita. The chips were not impressive and were mostly broken pieces. The vegetarian burrito was thrown together with a previously cooked tortilla, stuffed with bell peppers and covered in sauce. The image and the description in the menu mentioned vegetables, not simply peppers. This eatery seems to be far more focused on a place to drink rather than a Spanish culinary experience. For the money $80 I could have fed a family of six buying at a taco shop and received far better food. I do not recommend this eatery.

Meh. Barely. Not great food. Portions not commensurate with prices. Ordered mahi mahi, got tilapia. When asked about it they insisted it was mahi. Mahi mahi is my favorite fish to catch and eat and this was not mahi mahi. It was tilapia or some other mercury infested whitefish of unknown origin. I’m guessing that 99% of patrons can’t identify it and just assume they’re being told the truth. Also got the 3 amigos fajitas, the chicken wasn’t good, overcooked and dry. The carne asada was ok-ish. The third amigo was shrimp. I think we found 3 in there. My advice? Go wait in line at Miguel’s or one of the places in central old town square.

Tim Daines

Meh. Barely. Not great food. Portions not commensurate with prices. Ordered mahi mahi, got tilapia. When asked about it they insisted it was mahi. Mahi mahi is my favorite fish to catch and eat and this was not mahi mahi. It was tilapia or some other mercury infested whitefish of unknown origin. I’m guessing that 99% of patrons can’t identify it and just assume they’re being told the truth. Also got the 3 amigos fajitas, the chicken wasn’t good, overcooked and dry. The carne asada was ok-ish. The third amigo was shrimp. I think we found 3 in there. My advice? Go wait in line at Miguel’s or one of the places in central old town square.

Totally Agree with the other reviews…. This is the heart of old town SD, but the food probably is worst than street taco places…. We ordered the hornades, the potato way too salty, the meat…gosh, too dry to bite…and I don’t want to complaint about the tortilla anymore, taste like the same factory supplies for taco bell … I mean the services are really nice, I’d like to give full 5 stars for the services, but 1 or 0 star for the food, unfortunately.

We had a disappointing experience at this bar. There were several bartenders standing around, but when we asked one of them for a refill, he just stared at us blankly and walked away. Confused, we politely asked another bartender if there was an issue, because we didn’t want to come off as confrontational, we were just trying to understand what was happening. She ended up making our drinks, but when we closed our tab, the original bartender went over and whispered to her, which felt really suspicious. It gave the impression that something shady might happen with our tab. Overall, the vibe was uncomfortable, and it felt like we were being set up for a possible scam.

I got food poisoned, don't order shrimp at all!!! I recently dined at Mama Antonio's in Old Town San Diego and, unfortunately, had a disappointing experience. Although the service staff was kind, they were not very efficient. I had to repeatedly ask for basic items like napkins, sauces, salt, and pepper. The food itself raised several concerns. The shrimp tasted off, leading me to worry about its freshness. The overall taste of the dishes seemed old, and the quality was definitely not worth the cost. Even my cocktail had a strange flavor. Given the abundance of quality eateries in the area, I wouldn't recommend Mama Antonio's. It's a shame because the staff is nice, but the service and food quality need significant improvements. This is a picture of the food we couldn't eat as it was just nasty!!

My opinion of this restaurant is terrible, it includes a pot coffee. First I prepared it with cream and it was cold. Obviously I told a man I think he is a manager, the coffee is cold and the man is not, the coffee is hot, it was a lie. I think the coffee was prepared since the morning when I bought the coffee it was 6 pm. Well, later a girl wanted to remedy it by trying to heat up the coffee. What was done in something like making Frappuccino turned out to be worse. The cream I put on it was horrible, it looked like spoiled cream. Zero recommend that place for coffees.

Komomo Meow

Totally Agree with the other reviews…. This is the heart of old town SD, but the food probably is worst than street taco places…. We ordered the hornades, the potato way too salty, the meat…gosh, too dry to bite…and I don’t want to complaint about the tortilla anymore, taste like the same factory supplies for taco bell … I mean the services are really nice, I’d like to give full 5 stars for the services, but 1 or 0 star for the food, unfortunately.

E M

We had a disappointing experience at this bar. There were several bartenders standing around, but when we asked one of them for a refill, he just stared at us blankly and walked away. Confused, we politely asked another bartender if there was an issue, because we didn’t want to come off as confrontational, we were just trying to understand what was happening. She ended up making our drinks, but when we closed our tab, the original bartender went over and whispered to her, which felt really suspicious. It gave the impression that something shady might happen with our tab. Overall, the vibe was uncomfortable, and it felt like we were being set up for a possible scam.

Jacqueline Burnett

I got food poisoned, don't order shrimp at all!!! I recently dined at Mama Antonio's in Old Town San Diego and, unfortunately, had a disappointing experience. Although the service staff was kind, they were not very efficient. I had to repeatedly ask for basic items like napkins, sauces, salt, and pepper. The food itself raised several concerns. The shrimp tasted off, leading me to worry about its freshness. The overall taste of the dishes seemed old, and the quality was definitely not worth the cost. Even my cocktail had a strange flavor. Given the abundance of quality eateries in the area, I wouldn't recommend Mama Antonio's. It's a shame because the staff is nice, but the service and food quality need significant improvements. This is a picture of the food we couldn't eat as it was just nasty!!

Emilio Enriquez

My opinion of this restaurant is terrible, it includes a pot coffee. First I prepared it with cream and it was cold. Obviously I told a man I think he is a manager, the coffee is cold and the man is not, the coffee is hot, it was a lie. I think the coffee was prepared since the morning when I bought the coffee it was 6 pm. Well, later a girl wanted to remedy it by trying to heat up the coffee. What was done in something like making Frappuccino turned out to be worse. The cream I put on it was horrible, it looked like spoiled cream. Zero recommend that place for coffees.

We went here on Dia de los Muertos after getting on the list at Casa de Reyes which was a 2 hour wait. We were super hungry and thirsty and decided to give it a try. We should have done our due diligence and looked up the ratings and reviews because we got this place totally wrong. First of all, the line wait was minimal compared to other places, given the day. They didn't look all too busy, but they lacked a true hostess to meet and get people on a wait list or seated. Second, getting a server to get our order was an odd experience. We couldn't tell who was who and once we got our order, we never got a drive by to check on us again. Sonthey are definitely disorganized. Which by the time we were done and wanted to get out of there, we needed to really track them down for the bill. We noticed this was happening to everyone else around us as well trying to pay their bill. Third, the menu included Ecuadorian dishes, plus hot wings. Odd for a place touting Mexican Restaurant. Fourth, the food was flavorless and lacked the true flavors of a Mexican restaurant. Plus not the best portions for the price either. I know most places in Old Town are like this and its quite sad. I know better growing up in a Mexican family, but we were there for the festivities and to support the community. Sadly, right after eating, I wasn't feeling great right after we paid and left the place. I really wanted to let people standing in line when we were leaving that they should try somewhere else. Within 30 minutes my stomach started to bother me and I started getting clamy. Without giving you all the details, I'm glad I went back in time and got into one of their two bathrooms for immediate relief. It was the closest bathroom I knew of. It hit my girlfriend a few hours later and today (next day) she is still feeling sick. The one good thing, was the semi live band. Though we hardly enjoyed them as their break was longer than expected, but at least they have some entertainment. I always try to follow the at least 4.5 review rule for any restaurant because it usually says alot about how they treat their customers and the quality of food. Again, we were hungry, thirsty and we didn't look up reviews since we were simply rushing. I only hope this review helps anyone else make their own decision before visiting this place. Reviews matter, whether you believe them or not. We could've gone across the street to Old Town Cafe. We've been there before and its decent for its 4.4 overall reviews. We probably would have had a better time and experience.

Service beyond slow. There was a total of 3 tables occupied and we sat for 20 min before they remembered we were here. When asked if they have Dr Pepper the waitress said "I dont know." And stared blankly until I ordered a coke. Got my wife's order completely wrong. My enchiladas came out cold. Still sitting here waiting to even pay for 30 min as I type this. Just go down the block to Moguels.

My advice is to walk on by. Wish we had. Plenty of other options nearby to eat, drink, and spend money. The service was embarrassingly poor, the food and cocktails just okay, and like other parties before us, we had to search high and low to get someone to take our payment so we could leave. Should be noted that there were maybe 6 tables total so not busy.

Dude, I went here a month ago. We were seated quickly but took 30 minutes to even put in our order for our table of 3. My girlfriend ordered a mojito and it was terribly mixed. Food took another 30 minutes and we saw other tables getting visibly upset that it was taking a long time to even get an order in or receive their food. Avoid, please just go any where else for good mexican food especially for a dine-in experience. Would have rather gone to a real taco shop.

I’m sitting here so frustrated and then I look at all these reviews and wish I had read them before. Bad…real bad. No service at all as I am waiting here still to pay my bill and it’s been 20 minutes. The food came fast but was not good at all. Huevos Rancheros and enchiladas all had no flavor. Never saw the server and had to waive him down just to get a refill. For the location, this should be packed and hopping but it sure is a disappointment for Old Town San Diego. There are other restaurants right around to try before. I type slow and am still waiting.

Bill Serna-Gonzalez

I’m sitting here so frustrated and then I look at all these reviews and wish I had read them before. Bad…real bad. No service at all as I am waiting here still to pay my bill and it’s been 20 minutes. The food came fast but was not good at all. Huevos Rancheros and enchiladas all had no flavor. Never saw the server and had to waive him down just to get a refill. For the location, this should be packed and hopping but it sure is a disappointment for Old Town San Diego. There are other restaurants right around to try before. I type slow and am still waiting.

L Porchas

We went here on Dia de los Muertos after getting on the list at Casa de Reyes which was a 2 hour wait. We were super hungry and thirsty and decided to give it a try. We should have done our due diligence and looked up the ratings and reviews because we got this place totally wrong. First of all, the line wait was minimal compared to other places, given the day. They didn't look all too busy, but they lacked a true hostess to meet and get people on a wait list or seated. Second, getting a server to get our order was an odd experience. We couldn't tell who was who and once we got our order, we never got a drive by to check on us again. Sonthey are definitely disorganized. Which by the time we were done and wanted to get out of there, we needed to really track them down for the bill. We noticed this was happening to everyone else around us as well trying to pay their bill. Third, the menu included Ecuadorian dishes, plus hot wings. Odd for a place touting Mexican Restaurant. Fourth, the food was flavorless and lacked the true flavors of a Mexican restaurant. Plus not the best portions for the price either. I know most places in Old Town are like this and its quite sad. I know better growing up in a Mexican family, but we were there for the festivities and to support the community. Sadly, right after eating, I wasn't feeling great right after we paid and left the place. I really wanted to let people standing in line when we were leaving that they should try somewhere else. Within 30 minutes my stomach started to bother me and I started getting clamy. Without giving you all the details, I'm glad I went back in time and got into one of their two bathrooms for immediate relief. It was the closest bathroom I knew of. It hit my girlfriend a few hours later and today (next day) she is still feeling sick. The one good thing, was the semi live band. Though we hardly enjoyed them as their break was longer than expected, but at least they have some entertainment. I always try to follow the at least 4.5 review rule for any restaurant because it usually says alot about how they treat their customers and the quality of food. Again, we were hungry, thirsty and we didn't look up reviews since we were simply rushing. I only hope this review helps anyone else make their own decision before visiting this place. Reviews matter, whether you believe them or not. We could've gone across the street to Old Town Cafe. We've been there before and its decent for its 4.4 overall reviews. We probably would have had a better time and experience.

Phillip Rhodes

Service beyond slow. There was a total of 3 tables occupied and we sat for 20 min before they remembered we were here. When asked if they have Dr Pepper the waitress said "I dont know." And stared blankly until I ordered a coke. Got my wife's order completely wrong. My enchiladas came out cold. Still sitting here waiting to even pay for 30 min as I type this. Just go down the block to Moguels.

MikeWS

My advice is to walk on by. Wish we had. Plenty of other options nearby to eat, drink, and spend money. The service was embarrassingly poor, the food and cocktails just okay, and like other parties before us, we had to search high and low to get someone to take our payment so we could leave. Should be noted that there were maybe 6 tables total so not busy.

Anthony Le

Dude, I went here a month ago. We were seated quickly but took 30 minutes to even put in our order for our table of 3. My girlfriend ordered a mojito and it was terribly mixed. Food took another 30 minutes and we saw other tables getting visibly upset that it was taking a long time to even get an order in or receive their food. Avoid, please just go any where else for good mexican food especially for a dine-in experience. Would have rather gone to a real taco shop.