Casero

Robert Tercero

Jamie always goes above and beyond with a smile she seems to enjoy her job. She’s always in a great mood and I’ve only been here five times. She makes me feel very welcome. I will tell my friends and family to ask for Jamie as a waitress. Great atmosphere awesome food great location.

Taylor Jordan

Casero is hands down one of our favorite Mexican spots in North County! The food is always fresh and flavorful, the margaritas are top-notch, and the atmosphere is so inviting. The staff makes you feel genuinely welcome - they remember faces, greet you with a smile, and treat you like family every time. It’s the kind of place you can come for a casual dinner or bring friends to celebrate. Always a great experience!

It's a cute little addition to the Bressi neighborhood. Free warm chips and entrees ranging from$14 to $18. Although, watch your teeth on the chips. They are unexpectedly thick and hard/crunchy. The biggest complaint is that it's not relaxing to dine here. The acoustics are terrible because of all of the concrete surrounding you from the floors to the ceiling. Everyone is shouting to hear each other over all of the other guests in the restaurant including the screaming kids. Perhaps it's more civil on the patio? Seating and service was swift. Ask for the jalapeno pineapple margarita, it's got a nice kick. By the way, they charge that stupid 3% surcharge. I still don't get why we have to tip 20 to 30% when a restaurant is not only paying their servers $15 an hour but now charging us an additional 3% of all checks.

I only had happy hour so it's based on that. I found the food ok but I have a lot better at similar style places thus the mediocre rating. These places that try to "fancy" taquerias, have to be exceptional for me to rate high. For me, this was not that. The bartender, Cruz was great. Very outgoing, customer oriented. The vibe is nice with the inside/outside option so you can can take advantage when the weather is good.

First Visit, Sat at the bar, people sitting in either side of me uninterested in conversation (talking amongst themselves). Prefer friendly conversation at bars. Sunday at 4:30pm They start all night Happy Hour at 5 on Sundays. Got the Casero Margarita at 5:10pm and the Baja Fish Taco (didn’t love it—fish fried in old grease—you can tell by the color). Guacamole was delish (unfortunately ordered before HH, but it’s only $1 off at HH). Chips and Salsa is pretty good—tried the green and the spicy in addition to the house. Margarita was ok. Looks like a nice atmosphere in the dining areas. Bar was ok—seats not that comfy. Parking not bad—shared with several restaurants and businesses.

Delicious tacos!! The drinks were pretty good too. I had the birria, the cochinita, and the Baja fish tacos and they were all very very good. They have a spicy house cocktail which is yummy! It is not on the menu, so you have to ask for it. Their tacos and salsa are pretty good too. All in all, this was a good experience. The parking lot can get full pretty quickly, so I would recommend parking on the side of the grocery store

Erin Kelley

I only had happy hour so it's based on that. I found the food ok but I have a lot better at similar style places thus the mediocre rating. These places that try to "fancy" taquerias, have to be exceptional for me to rate high. For me, this was not that. The bartender, Cruz was great. Very outgoing, customer oriented. The vibe is nice with the inside/outside option so you can can take advantage when the weather is good.

Joyful

First Visit, Sat at the bar, people sitting in either side of me uninterested in conversation (talking amongst themselves). Prefer friendly conversation at bars. Sunday at 4:30pm They start all night Happy Hour at 5 on Sundays. Got the Casero Margarita at 5:10pm and the Baja Fish Taco (didn’t love it—fish fried in old grease—you can tell by the color). Guacamole was delish (unfortunately ordered before HH, but it’s only $1 off at HH). Chips and Salsa is pretty good—tried the green and the spicy in addition to the house. Margarita was ok. Looks like a nice atmosphere in the dining areas. Bar was ok—seats not that comfy. Parking not bad—shared with several restaurants and businesses.

Pranjali Sharma

Delicious tacos!! The drinks were pretty good too. I had the birria, the cochinita, and the Baja fish tacos and they were all very very good. They have a spicy house cocktail which is yummy! It is not on the menu, so you have to ask for it. Their tacos and salsa are pretty good too. All in all, this was a good experience. The parking lot can get full pretty quickly, so I would recommend parking on the side of the grocery store

Jill Adler Ski Play Live Publishing

It's a cute little addition to the Bressi neighborhood. Free warm chips and entrees ranging from$14 to $18. Although, watch your teeth on the chips. They are unexpectedly thick and hard/crunchy. The biggest complaint is that it's not relaxing to dine here. The acoustics are terrible because of all of the concrete surrounding you from the floors to the ceiling. Everyone is shouting to hear each other over all of the other guests in the restaurant including the screaming kids. Perhaps it's more civil on the patio? Seating and service was swift. Ask for the jalapeno pineapple margarita, it's got a nice kick. By the way, they charge that stupid 3% surcharge. I still don't get why we have to tip 20 to 30% when a restaurant is not only paying their servers $15 an hour but now charging us an additional 3% of all checks.

Best shrimp tacos I've had so far. Nice place, chill, chic. Nice outdoor patio area. Great happy hour, all day Monday and my server was great, thanks, Jaimee. I have had the other tacos and they aren't as good as the shrimp in my opinion, lack seasoning. But, I'll be back.

First time visiting here, several times for my family. The venue is very comfortable and calming from the outside seating to the inside seating. The wait staff needs better training and how to listen to customers. I asked several times for extra plates, since they didn’t observe how many people and how many plates were on the table. After several try’s, I got a little snippy with the young waiter and told him to “just bring us more plates.” We had ordered family style tacos of chicken, beef and pork. I found the chicken dry and tasteless. The beef and pork were more seasoned and moist and were more enjoyable. We did order drinks, which didn’t come until after the food was put down. All the tortillas are hand made right there behind the kitchen windows by an expert tortillas maker. Even the chips are made from their homemade tortillas. A real plus in my book. When you order family style, a tray of all the necessary ingredients to build your own tacos are brought out. The guacamole was on the bland side though. The salsa they serve is nothing like what most Mexican restaurants serve. Theirs is a dark salsa, somewhat like a Chipotle but bitter. I did not like it, neither did the seven children we had with us. To score Casero one out of ten, I’ll give it a seven. Before you go, look 👀 below 👇 and tap the thumbs 👍 up.

Barry Bernstein

First time visiting here, several times for my family. The venue is very comfortable and calming from the outside seating to the inside seating. The wait staff needs better training and how to listen to customers. I asked several times for extra plates, since they didn’t observe how many people and how many plates were on the table. After several try’s, I got a little snippy with the young waiter and told him to “just bring us more plates.” We had ordered family style tacos of chicken, beef and pork. I found the chicken dry and tasteless. The beef and pork were more seasoned and moist and were more enjoyable. We did order drinks, which didn’t come until after the food was put down. All the tortillas are hand made right there behind the kitchen windows by an expert tortillas maker. Even the chips are made from their homemade tortillas. A real plus in my book. When you order family style, a tray of all the necessary ingredients to build your own tacos are brought out. The guacamole was on the bland side though. The salsa they serve is nothing like what most Mexican restaurants serve. Theirs is a dark salsa, somewhat like a Chipotle but bitter. I did not like it, neither did the seven children we had with us. To score Casero one out of ten, I’ll give it a seven. Before you go, look 👀 below 👇 and tap the thumbs 👍 up.

The chips and salsa were absolutely delicious, and the mezcal margarita was outstanding—I highly recommend it! The esquites were incredibly flavorful, and the corn tasted perfectly fresh. Deon, our waiter, was pleasant, attentive, and made the whole experience even better. I highly recommend this place!

We have been going to Casero for years and always enjoyed the food and drinks. We visited the restaurant a few weeks ago for take out now that it's under new ownership, and man it's not the same quality food. I order the same thing every time (surf and turf burrito) and it wasn't good. A lot of smaller portion, tons of spanish rice instead of protein, tortilla wasn't grilled, the overall taste just wasn't the same. So disappointing because I really loved this place.

Used to love this place! We would come a few times per month. Recently they changed owners and seem to have made some changes. Being that this restaurant is in a very family friendly neighborhood, I was a little surprised that they got rid of their kids menu altogether. I was still able to order a kids meal for our daughter, but the sizes/quantities were cut in half. My husband and I each ordered our usual two tacos and those weren’t the same either. Just kind of feels like the new ownership team instructed the kitchen staff to cut costs by reducing sizes, ingredients, etc. Pretty disappointing since this has been our favorite place for a few years now! Hoping this is just some transition issues and that the new ownership team is able to turn things around because we loved Casero!

We used to go here every single week, but unfortunately once the management changed, the food quality/amount went down and the prices went up. We are so dissapointed because it was our go to dinner spot, but the menu has changed drastically. For example, the shrimp ceviche is pretty much a salad now with a few pieces of shrimp and cost us $20. The previous menu was perfect and did not need to be changed.

The food (that we actually received) and the atmosphere were great. Unfortunately, the service was terrible—mainly due to how incredibly slow it was both times we visited since the new ownership took over. On our first visit, we agreed to sit outside on a very cold night because we were told there were heaters. The heater near our table didn’t work, so we asked if we could move closer to a working heater or go inside. The hostess said that would be fine and told us she’d be right back—but she never returned. Instead, she continued seating new guests at tables with working heaters. Eventually, another family got fed up and left, so we took their table ourselves. Even then, it took an extremely long time for just two of us to get drinks and appetizers, and our dinner order was never taken. When our server finally came back, we asked to check out and ended up getting takeout down the street. Two weeks later, we returned with a friend and had nearly the same experience—very long waits for drinks, food, and service overall. During this time, we noticed the owner and friends hanging out and having a good time while customers waited. We had enjoyed this place before the ownership change, but we won’t be back unless things improve or ownership changes again. It’s a shame, because the restaurant has a lot of potential.

Erik Miller

We have been going to Casero for years and always enjoyed the food and drinks. We visited the restaurant a few weeks ago for take out now that it's under new ownership, and man it's not the same quality food. I order the same thing every time (surf and turf burrito) and it wasn't good. A lot of smaller portion, tons of spanish rice instead of protein, tortilla wasn't grilled, the overall taste just wasn't the same. So disappointing because I really loved this place.

Hope Reneé

We used to go here every single week, but unfortunately once the management changed, the food quality/amount went down and the prices went up. We are so dissapointed because it was our go to dinner spot, but the menu has changed drastically. For example, the shrimp ceviche is pretty much a salad now with a few pieces of shrimp and cost us $20. The previous menu was perfect and did not need to be changed.

Carl Cummings

The food (that we actually received) and the atmosphere were great. Unfortunately, the service was terrible—mainly due to how incredibly slow it was both times we visited since the new ownership took over. On our first visit, we agreed to sit outside on a very cold night because we were told there were heaters. The heater near our table didn’t work, so we asked if we could move closer to a working heater or go inside. The hostess said that would be fine and told us she’d be right back—but she never returned. Instead, she continued seating new guests at tables with working heaters. Eventually, another family got fed up and left, so we took their table ourselves. Even then, it took an extremely long time for just two of us to get drinks and appetizers, and our dinner order was never taken. When our server finally came back, we asked to check out and ended up getting takeout down the street. Two weeks later, we returned with a friend and had nearly the same experience—very long waits for drinks, food, and service overall. During this time, we noticed the owner and friends hanging out and having a good time while customers waited. We had enjoyed this place before the ownership change, but we won’t be back unless things improve or ownership changes again. It’s a shame, because the restaurant has a lot of potential.

Natasha Beveroth

Used to love this place! We would come a few times per month. Recently they changed owners and seem to have made some changes. Being that this restaurant is in a very family friendly neighborhood, I was a little surprised that they got rid of their kids menu altogether. I was still able to order a kids meal for our daughter, but the sizes/quantities were cut in half. My husband and I each ordered our usual two tacos and those weren’t the same either. Just kind of feels like the new ownership team instructed the kitchen staff to cut costs by reducing sizes, ingredients, etc. Pretty disappointing since this has been our favorite place for a few years now! Hoping this is just some transition issues and that the new ownership team is able to turn things around because we loved Casero!

“I hope the manager sees this review!!!! After considering visiting the restaurant and trying the food for a long time, I finally decided to go for dinner yesterday. The first thing I did upon arrival, while waiting for my table (for two), was check the menu on Google. I was swayed by the photos customers upload, but I didn't know they had changed the menu. Anyway, as soon as the waitress (Roxy) arrived, I asked her, and she had no idea what was on the menu and had to go to the kitchen to ask the chef. *First flag 🚩 The drinks arrived after 20 minutes. *Second flag 🚩 The appetizer arrived 30 minutes later, and she never brought us napkins and cutlery despite asking twice, and I had to ask another waitress. *Third flag 🚩 When the food arrived, I asked the waitress for salsa, and she never brought it. Another 20 minutes passed, and I had to ask one of the assistants, who was very kind, by the way, and he brought it to me right away (a young man with dyed curly hair). *Fourth flag 🚩 *five flag 🚩 and every time I asked her something, she forgot. I think she was more worried about appearing in the video they were filming at the front door promoting the food than paying attention to the customers. I must say she is friendly, but she lacks experience in customer service and needs more training to provide better service. I know that sometimes they want to have young employees to give the place a good appearance, but they forget the most important thing, which is the experience customers want to have in a restaurant, besides the good taste of the food. Unfortunately, we won't be returning to that place because I just read the reviews, and I'm not the only one complaining about the bad service, despite it being a nice place.

We have been going here for years and the food used to be amazing. Under new ownership the quality has significantly gone done. We usually get the fajitas and the meat was not good quality and there was very little flavor. The service was also poor. Pretty disappointed since this was our favorite Mexican restaurant in the area.

I wish I could give this negative stars because this place deserves nothing. Called ahead and no one knew what the taco Tuesday deals were or happy hour- isn’t that your job to know if you’re answering the phone? Nonetheless arrived and said there was a 10 minute wait. After 10 minutes one of the 3 hostesses said they are just cleaning our table and should be 10 minutes- I was like another 10 minutes? Then someone stepped in and said table was ready. Why is your staff so confused? We get seated and we wait. No one brings water. No one greets us. I even witnessed a server go by another table and ask if they were ready to order. The said we already ate we are just waiting for the check- I gasped how are you so confused you don’t see all the empty plates on their table? Then another server brought a glass of red to a table and it wasn’t even theirs. Everyone was just confused the entire time. Guests and employees. We wait another 12 minutes and no one even glances at us. We just got up and left- and again no one even noticed or said bye. To the manager- you really need to check in with your staff and business. This was our first impression and we will never go back and I’m actually so disturbed by how poorly this business is ran that I’m going to tell everyone I know. Do better.

This place is a complete joke. I posted a review weeks ago complimenting the bartender on Yelp. Went back 9 days ago and had horrible service. For some reason now I can't post on their yelp page about it so here is what my family went through. Went in with my family after having an amazing experience with the bartender a bit ago. Come to find out she's not here and neither are the other friendly and helpful staff that were. I don't know who took care of my family (or tried to) but he was confused and irritated the whole time. We asked for a different server and was rudely told no that we can just go somewhere else? We were already middle of our meal so we finished and left immediately! We won't be back till there is a new restaurant in this location. From how much of a mess it was, it'll be soon. Wish I knew where the bartender went too

Shannon

Came in excited to eat only to be ignored for 15 minutes after being sat at our table. No one cared to check in, take our drink order, or simple greet us or say they’ll be with us shortly. Ended up walking out because we simply were not helped. Very poor first impression and will not be returning. Owners do better if you want to keep your doors open.

Chris

Since new ownership, this place has gone downhill QUICK. The tacos used to be tasty and loaded, now it seems like they are trying to cut costs and increase margins by lowering the quality of food and portions you get. Our server continued to come up to us to ask if we received our food after 45 mins of waiting.. maybe go in the back and check where the ticket is at? Aside from the decline in service and food quality, the "owner" replying the way he is to the other reviews is pretty unprofessional and the nail in the coffin on our decision to not return to this location. I mean really.. the so-called owner of the business is going to reply to someone and say "Dont be that guy!" Lol, okay buddy.

Greg

This place is a complete joke. I posted a review weeks ago complimenting the bartender on Yelp. Went back 9 days ago and had horrible service. For some reason now I can't post on their yelp page about it so here is what my family went through. Went in with my family after having an amazing experience with the bartender a bit ago. Come to find out she's not here and neither are the other friendly and helpful staff that were. I don't know who took care of my family (or tried to) but he was confused and irritated the whole time. We asked for a different server and was rudely told no that we can just go somewhere else? We were already middle of our meal so we finished and left immediately! We won't be back till there is a new restaurant in this location. From how much of a mess it was, it'll be soon. Wish I knew where the bartender went too

Ilana Javed

I wish I could give this negative stars because this place deserves nothing. Called ahead and no one knew what the taco Tuesday deals were or happy hour- isn’t that your job to know if you’re answering the phone? Nonetheless arrived and said there was a 10 minute wait. After 10 minutes one of the 3 hostesses said they are just cleaning our table and should be 10 minutes- I was like another 10 minutes? Then someone stepped in and said table was ready. Why is your staff so confused? We get seated and we wait. No one brings water. No one greets us. I even witnessed a server go by another table and ask if they were ready to order. The said we already ate we are just waiting for the check- I gasped how are you so confused you don’t see all the empty plates on their table? Then another server brought a glass of red to a table and it wasn’t even theirs. Everyone was just confused the entire time. Guests and employees. We wait another 12 minutes and no one even glances at us. We just got up and left- and again no one even noticed or said bye. To the manager- you really need to check in with your staff and business. This was our first impression and we will never go back and I’m actually so disturbed by how poorly this business is ran that I’m going to tell everyone I know. Do better.