El Cilantro

I found this place by accident..looking for another place...So I was on my lunch break I didn't want to spend much and end up not liking the food. So I was very modest and tried 1 fish taco to go. I ate it in my car while driving... I almost made a u turn to get more. They are really good actually delicious to my pallet ! So now every chance I have I go have 3 fish tacos. Delicious!! I've had couple ppl in my office to try and they agree.. Very good. I've also tried the Menudo also no fail.. Very good perfect for a rainy day 😉 Ere the cashier is great. Awesome attitude and of course service. My fam and I will continue to visit until we try everything on the menu... (That is is I get over my fish taco addiction) lol.. Thanks Cilantro.. The atmosphere is relaxed, the Ocassional weirdo that puts odd 🎶 music over all good family place/ great for lunch hour

Delicious foods and salsas are bomb also Hannah is super helpful and kind at front blessed enjoyed going here

THE absolute best tacos in San Diego.

Decided to take a chance on a new restaurant and I wasn't disappointed. They had a lot of different selections on salsa. The staff is really friendly.

I’ve been visiting this place for almost a year now and tried pretty much anything on the menu. Without fail this place gives me an enjoyable experience! Walking through the doors I am instantly welcomed in with friendly tones, the decorations inside are magnificent and give off a more respected restaurant feel. The workers are patient as I figure out what I want and if I’m having issues deciding I know I can always get good recommendations from any of the employees, the prices aren’t high and the quantity of the food isn’t bad either. The quality of the food is extremely good as well, I know whatever I order off the menu I will certainly enjoy, they have not failed to impress me and leave me satisfied. Sometimes the food just looks so I good I post them on social media and people ask me about it all the time and I tell them about here and let them know visiting here is a must.

Food was great but that michelada they make really hit the spot!

So comfy!!!! I found this place while I was waiting for my tire to be fixed down the street. Just happened in and was surprised to find some attractive and comfortable furniture! All the chairs have nice cushions and a nice deep brown stain as well as the tables. The half order of asada fries I got was crispy/tasty and served on an actual plate! They even do Grubhub..

New management! New Deals! 08/2025 update

Great soups, tacos and more. The staff are charming and I’d reccomend trying the chicken foot soup.

Best authentic mexican food in San Diego! Staff make this place what it is, very welcoming to all types of humans⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is one of my favorite lunch spots. Probably one of the best shrimp tacos in SD too.

The Ghetto Burrito. Absolutely massive, but super tasty! Basically a super loaded California burrito but with chicken and pork. Super fire. The staff was super friendly also and the salsas were really good. Will be grabbing one of these for the super bowl!!!

Asaja Irvin

New management! New Deals! 08/2025 update

Anthony Sals.

So comfy!!!! I found this place while I was waiting for my tire to be fixed down the street. Just happened in and was surprised to find some attractive and comfortable furniture! All the chairs have nice cushions and a nice deep brown stain as well as the tables. The half order of asada fries I got was crispy/tasty and served on an actual plate! They even do Grubhub..

connor hoy

Great soups, tacos and more. The staff are charming and I’d reccomend trying the chicken foot soup.

W Be

Best authentic mexican food in San Diego! Staff make this place what it is, very welcoming to all types of humans⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Amar Patel

This is one of my favorite lunch spots. Probably one of the best shrimp tacos in SD too.

Adam Smith

The Ghetto Burrito. Absolutely massive, but super tasty! Basically a super loaded California burrito but with chicken and pork. Super fire. The staff was super friendly also and the salsas were really good. Will be grabbing one of these for the super bowl!!!

Service has always been amazing. Food is so good. I usually get the birria tj tacos. So good. Highly recommend.

This was a first time visit. My brother recommended the place. There were so many good items on the menu, it was hard to choose, but my order was delicious. The establishment was clean and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

The food is delicious, their salsa bar has something for everyone’s taste! Javi is an example of great customer service, very welcoming, friendly & has great food recommendations! We love eating here & highly recommended coming & seeing for yourself , you won’t be disappointed.

Andrew Klotz

This was a first time visit. My brother recommended the place. There were so many good items on the menu, it was hard to choose, but my order was delicious. The establishment was clean and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Ronald Forrest

Service has always been amazing. Food is so good. I usually get the birria tj tacos. So good. Highly recommend.

Raly Meza

The food is delicious, their salsa bar has something for everyone’s taste! Javi is an example of great customer service, very welcoming, friendly & has great food recommendations! We love eating here & highly recommended coming & seeing for yourself , you won’t be disappointed.

Amy Quintana

Decided to take a chance on a new restaurant and I wasn't disappointed. They had a lot of different selections on salsa. The staff is really friendly.

If you come 4/5 times guarantee 1 of those times your order will be slighted in some way or another Ordered carne asada chips to find out they smeared beans all over without asking . I am allergic to beans but they were chill about it Requested I bring it back and by the time I showed up they had corrected my order without the beans Friendly staff and good food for the price I suppose . Things could be better because you can tell that the staff has feelings about keeping Recipes the way they think is good . Which to most of us locals we find one thing or another that we really don't prefer In my case it was beans being smeared on all the carne asada chips All of the torta sandwiches Then I hear people have to pay a dollar for veggies that should be free anyways . Locals know and still Ill pop into cilantro sometimes But if you want real good Mexican food I suggest " Penelope's " a few blocks down El cajon Blvd The service and quality is bounds better than cilantro could ever try to be

Good service, great price on the fish tacos but nothing special about them. Seemed a bit more crunchy but still good.. lil lady behind the counter was a pleasant site and worth the trip

Been there several times. Food has always been great and fast friendly service. Prices are very reasonable. Prices were reasonable. They priced themselves out of my range. $16 for nachos? No thanks.

The staff was friendly and helpful when we weren't sure what to order (big menu). Music was a little loud, though. They have a huge speaker next to the front counter. We got birria tacos which were dry and we forgot to get the consomme because we didn't need it from our regular place in the last city I lived in. But this birria definitely needs consomme. Wasn't bad, but was dry. Also got the taco salad which was crunchy and was good, no complaints. I can say that I really loved their Mexican rice! Dry texture (as in, not soggy) and flavorful, just how I like it.

I stopped in for the menudo rojo. It was a very hot day and this really hit the spot. I’d stop in here again to try something else as my first visit was a good one. Felt like a family run business, though I’m not certain of that. Food was good.

Serena

The staff was friendly and helpful when we weren't sure what to order (big menu). Music was a little loud, though. They have a huge speaker next to the front counter. We got birria tacos which were dry and we forgot to get the consomme because we didn't need it from our regular place in the last city I lived in. But this birria definitely needs consomme. Wasn't bad, but was dry. Also got the taco salad which was crunchy and was good, no complaints. I can say that I really loved their Mexican rice! Dry texture (as in, not soggy) and flavorful, just how I like it.

Me mysel and I

I stopped in for the menudo rojo. It was a very hot day and this really hit the spot. I’d stop in here again to try something else as my first visit was a good one. Felt like a family run business, though I’m not certain of that. Food was good.

Sad to write this review because I loved the older staff and people working here. Just came back to SD after college and although the food is still good, I had a bad experience with a cashier. They advertise 3-10pm free drink included with any purchase of a burrito or combination plate. And they wouldn't give the drink for whatever reason, not believing my mom it says that. My mom then showed the cashier and they tried to say it was just a breakfast burrito even though it says in bold letters "ANY". Then after they went inside she spoke Spanish to the other people eating which then they laughed at us putting in their two cents making me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. This was simply over a drink and we we're just trying to say that the sign says this and that we weren't lying bc she kinda gave that vibe that we were lying to her. Again, I love this place and it's one bad experience but would recommend to order food from here.

The Carne Asada burrito was the worst I ever had no flavor or nothing. The cheese was just simple cheese like not good shredded melted cheese on my burrito. It was just messed up. I will never return. We order a burrito. We are Roll tacos. We order a jarito burrito soda. Not worth it I’ll pay almost 40 bucks for a burrito and roll tacos

Green Martinez

The Carne Asada burrito was the worst I ever had no flavor or nothing. The cheese was just simple cheese like not good shredded melted cheese on my burrito. It was just messed up. I will never return. We order a burrito. We are Roll tacos. We order a jarito burrito soda. Not worth it I’ll pay almost 40 bucks for a burrito and roll tacos

Stealth Lord69

Sad to write this review because I loved the older staff and people working here. Just came back to SD after college and although the food is still good, I had a bad experience with a cashier. They advertise 3-10pm free drink included with any purchase of a burrito or combination plate. And they wouldn't give the drink for whatever reason, not believing my mom it says that. My mom then showed the cashier and they tried to say it was just a breakfast burrito even though it says in bold letters "ANY". Then after they went inside she spoke Spanish to the other people eating which then they laughed at us putting in their two cents making me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. This was simply over a drink and we we're just trying to say that the sign says this and that we weren't lying bc she kinda gave that vibe that we were lying to her. Again, I love this place and it's one bad experience but would recommend to order food from here.

So disappointing! We were so excited to order from here. First they had crazy loud rap music where I couldn’t enjoy my time. They undershot the time on the food by an extra half hour and I was on my work lunch break. They didn’t have half of what we ordered, and told us 20 after waiting that they didn’t have part of the order even available. It was such a bummer the food looks good.

Service was quick. Very disappointed in the carrizo torta you can taste the flavor, but there is so little carrizo you feel like you're eating flavored bread? Please think about putting more meat on the torta. Thank you.

We come when we get a chance. Today we got the worst cashier only heard half of our order, then has family outside with cats and was holding them and even the cook told her to wash her hands and she didn't. We asked for a rag to clean table, she said there are washing. Sadly not coming back. Where's the old crew that cares??

I went here on 1/5/23 around 9:50PM. I ordered a supreme breakfast burrito without beans. When I got home, my burrito was just lettuce, tomato, cheese and crema. I went back and both the cook and cashier said they’ll fix it. I got home and the burrito was the same thing with just added potatoes. I had to go back A THIRD TIME and asked for a refund. The front cashier said she isn’t allowed to give refunds and her boss would. I told her that isn’t right, but she insisted she couldn’t. She then took a picture and supposedly text it to her boss saying I would be contacted the next day. It’s been two days, I’ve had no response for the supposed boss and still have not had any compensation for a product that I paid for and didn’t receive. In my perspective, that’s larceny. This shows that 1) the owner/boss/manager doesn’t trust their employees to handle minor issues, which apparently the can’t since the order was continually wrong and 2) the owner/boss/manager doesn’t care enough about their business or reputation to reconcile a simple mistake. That be the case, I’ll dispute the transaction with my credit card and leave reviews here and on other sites so that future customers know how Cilantros would prefer to operate.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would... First of all the place is disgustingly dirty, roaches all over, rats in the back...that probably explains why I got food poisoning... I had a Cali burrito from here and about 4 hours after eating I was exploding from both ends. The only positive part of the whole experience was the cute counter girl who works at the front she was very helpful and made sure I was tended to in a friendly and professional manner. All in all I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy.

I haven’t been here in a few years, pre-COVID days, and after this visit, never again. Customer service is terrible, cheer up girl. I didn’t mind the the lack of knowledge or the lack of customer service skills… what I did mind was the food… disgusting. Menudo was over cooked, menudo meat was slimy. Caldo de res, overcooked! Fries, c’mon, how do you mess up the fries?!?! Please, fix that refrigerator, your drinks are warm. Definitely won’t be returning or referring anyone to this joint. So disappointing. I didn’t take any pictures because I just left the food and walked away.

I called to order some soup because I’m not feeling well and called ahead of time and they said sorry were closed I said u close at 10:30 and it was only 9;30 she said sorry we have an issue in kitchen than I went and I seen them hanging out and I said are you open and the guys were laughing and said sorry were closed it’s Sunday very u professional and lied to me I wouldn’t ever go there again and the owners are so nice these people made them look bad

Worse place to eat, do not eat at this place the tacos are disgusting, the place is dirty the staff is horrible and the food is overpriced, I complaint to the cashier about the taste of the tacos and she didn't even acknowledged or apologized, I paid over 35 dollars in food, it's a waste of money.

I have never spit out food before. We stopped through El Cajon and thought we’d give this place a try. The tacos were disgusting, no flavor at all- and the enchilada sauce tasted like burnt chocolate mixed with tomato sauce. If you actually care about eating good Mexican food, don’t waste your money.

At 10 PM I ordered chicken, carne asada, and shrimp tacos (1 of each) and a jamaica. They did not taste very good but that is not why I am leaving this review. I am currently awake at 3 AM leaving this review after having extreme abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting for the last 2 hours. I have eaten at plenty of Mexican places and been to Mexico many times. There was something wrong with the food.

Rolled tacos got my son and wife sick. Weakest part about it. Cilantro tacos shop denied the putrid meat. The stench of the rotten meat was unbelievable. Don't risk it. I wouldn't post this if it wasn't true.

TJ style mini tacos 6.99 for 3 plus $1 per bag of sides? Carne Asada was salty but no flavor. The Lengua wasn’t even on the menu but my wife inquired and they happen to have it so she tried that. Tastes like it was cleaned right I’ll give them that. Overall, go to this place if you run out of options and really crave for tacos but be prepared with your own lime 🤣🤣🤣

Ordered the fish and chips and they literally gave chips gotta love the disrespect on ur own birthday lol. To add insult to injury it's a 50 cent charge to use card. If you want real el cilantro service go to the one in IB on 13th st. Horrible service flies every where and they had a fan blowing dust on all the salsa. Please do not spend money here if you value good food and great customer service go else where. This is boycotted for me and my family.

Order never ready when I arrive for pick up, never.

Jacob Pangan

TJ style mini tacos 6.99 for 3 plus $1 per bag of sides? Carne Asada was salty but no flavor. The Lengua wasn’t even on the menu but my wife inquired and they happen to have it so she tried that. Tastes like it was cleaned right I’ll give them that. Overall, go to this place if you run out of options and really crave for tacos but be prepared with your own lime 🤣🤣🤣

Jonatas Rauzer

Order never ready when I arrive for pick up, never.

Ant t

Ordered the fish and chips and they literally gave chips gotta love the disrespect on ur own birthday lol. To add insult to injury it's a 50 cent charge to use card. If you want real el cilantro service go to the one in IB on 13th st. Horrible service flies every where and they had a fan blowing dust on all the salsa. Please do not spend money here if you value good food and great customer service go else where. This is boycotted for me and my family.

Do not recommend this place. The place is dirty. And the food is not good. We ordered breakfast burritos and when I picked them up I noticed how dirty the counter area was. The credit card machine had food all over it. The area behind the register was a mess. When we tried the burritos the potatoes were burned and under cooked. Not sure how this happens. There was hardly and meat in the burrito and we were charged $2 for sour cream that we didn't get. When we returned the $10 burritos they would not give us a refund. Don't waste your time and money on this place.

My husband and I recently ordered the shrimp ceviche with tostadas and a mixed seafood cocktail that included shrimp and octopus. Unfortunately, both dishes were disappointing. Neither had any cucumber, which is a standard and expected ingredient in ceviche and seafood cocktails. Instead, we received mostly tomato, onion, and a small amount of shrimp. We called the restaurant to ask if there might have been a mistake, and the response was very dismissive. The cashier who is usually there..Just said she would let the cook know, without offering an apology or any attempt to make it right. For menu items at a higher price point, you expect both quality and good customer service. Sadly, this experience was enough to convince us not to return. The lack of care in the food and customer service was disappointing.

Cilantro used to be awesome but it’s awful now. Food quality is poor. Tastes terrible. Completely gave me the wrong order today through the drive through. I ordered 2 cali burritos & rolled tacos. I received a breakfast burrito, a torta & over cooked rolled tacos that were hard chew. Stay away from this place. Had to go back, still got the wrong order & place is dirty inside! Not to mention they took back the food that was wrong… after we took it home. What are they going to eat?

Prices are out of control! $19.98 for a burrito with rice, beans, and carne asada. Menu says $13.99 but then they charged me an extra $4.99 for carne asada… on the menu it says your choice of meat, it did not mention it’s an extra 5 bucks for steak lol what a scam

Sasha K

Cilantro used to be awesome but it’s awful now. Food quality is poor. Tastes terrible. Completely gave me the wrong order today through the drive through. I ordered 2 cali burritos & rolled tacos. I received a breakfast burrito, a torta & over cooked rolled tacos that were hard chew. Stay away from this place. Had to go back, still got the wrong order & place is dirty inside! Not to mention they took back the food that was wrong… after we took it home. What are they going to eat?

Sonia Chavez

My husband and I recently ordered the shrimp ceviche with tostadas and a mixed seafood cocktail that included shrimp and octopus. Unfortunately, both dishes were disappointing. Neither had any cucumber, which is a standard and expected ingredient in ceviche and seafood cocktails. Instead, we received mostly tomato, onion, and a small amount of shrimp. We called the restaurant to ask if there might have been a mistake, and the response was very dismissive. The cashier who is usually there..Just said she would let the cook know, without offering an apology or any attempt to make it right. For menu items at a higher price point, you expect both quality and good customer service. Sadly, this experience was enough to convince us not to return. The lack of care in the food and customer service was disappointing.

Lisa Bereczky

Do not recommend this place. The place is dirty. And the food is not good. We ordered breakfast burritos and when I picked them up I noticed how dirty the counter area was. The credit card machine had food all over it. The area behind the register was a mess. When we tried the burritos the potatoes were burned and under cooked. Not sure how this happens. There was hardly and meat in the burrito and we were charged $2 for sour cream that we didn't get. When we returned the $10 burritos they would not give us a refund. Don't waste your time and money on this place.