Old Town Mexican Cafe

I used to love this place. I went back here last week and didn't even make it past the host stand. The hostess called my table, so I got in the line to the host stand. From the time it took me to get in line and get to the front, about 1

Out of 5 Stars:
Food: 1
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 2

By far, the worst salsa I have ever tasted. Think of water with a hint of tomato

Tortillas are great.

I ordered the carne asada dinner and had to send it back because it only had the flavor of burnt, dirty grill.

I definitely do not recommend this restaurant.

Out of 5 Stars:\r
Food: 1 \r
Service: 2\r
Atmosphere: 2\r
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By far, the worst salsa I have ever tasted. Think of water with a hint of tomato\r
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Tortillas are great. \r
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I ordered the carne asada dinner and had to send it back

Our family has been going here for years. We take all our visitors here.. It has great food, great atmosphere and fresh homemade tortillas. So so good!

My husband and I were originally enticed by this restaurant because of its homemade tortillas which is not something you find in every Mexican restaurant but the food itself was pretty lousy.

I ordered the fajitas and the chicken meat (which was ALL white meat) had absolutely ZERO flavor, the guacamole and salsa were tasteless, and the margaritas were ridiculously watered down.

Love Old Town, love spending time there but we will not come back to this tourist trap! This place gives authentic Mexican food a bad name.

That's the only reason this place is in business. Anyone remotely familiar with mexican food will find this place mediocre. The service is awful, the wait is not worth it.

First of all, remember where you are. This restaurant is in old town and caters mainly to out-of-towners who probably won't be back soon. The service is absolutely terrible and the long waits are not worth it for the quality and taste of the food. Take it from a local, if you're looking for good mexican there are lots of other places besides this.

I don't go to Old Town much but this is the place we eat when we go there-

It has a festive atmosphere and very good margaritas.

There are too many tourists but the fish tacos are pretty good and I always have a good time there.

This place has not changed a bit from serving some of the best and authentic Mexican food in San Diego. I've always try something different every time I come in and also my favorite of course and I have never been disappointed. But my favorite is the Margarita. It looks kind of deceiving at first because it comes in average wine glasses, but believe me I know the difference, it is tasty and very smooth. Only for Connoisseurs. Try it.

My wife and I were visiting from Houston, TX, and we actually felt we'd be dissappointed coming from a state who's Mexican food is the best in the land. However, we were greatly suprised with OTMC!!

The tortillas are fabulous and served too hot to handle, Texas could learn a lesson from these babies. We had guacomole and ceviche as starters and both were outstanding. Having been to El Agave two nights before where the avacodos were hard as green pears, we were concerned but ordered anyway. It couldn't have been better! The ceviche was very good, but not excellent. It contained only white fish (like the munu stated), but had great flavor and plenty of fish, unlike those that try to strech it by adding too much tomatoes and onion.

My wife designed her own plate with a chicken enchallida, a cheese enchallida, and a tostado. She was extremely impressed and didn't leave a morsel. I had the carnitas platter; unlike Texas carnitas it didn't have any sauce served on it, but the pork as tasty as it was.

After two margaritas each and the meal described above we walked out for $65 (including tip), feeling we had just finished a meal fit for a "Mexican" king. Two nights before we left El Agave with a $144 tab, and not nearly as impressed with the food quality.

Again, this comes from a couple of Texan's who eat Mexican food in restaurants at least 3 times a week. Next time in San Diego, we'll have OTMC on our agenda for a couple of nights.

Great location in the heart of Old Town. The food was delicious and the prices very reasonable. The service could have been better but I'm sure that was because it was so busy. Will definitely go back!

We went there on a busy Saturday night. Although we had a 40 min wait, we grabbed drinks and snacked on chips to pass the time. In the end, the food and experience was well worth it. The spinach enchilada, also with mushrooms and squash, was relatively light (for hearty Mexican food standards) and tasty. The waitress was attentive, and they even had a live guitar/singing duo come play (for tips). I recommend trying this place. And don't forget to order a churro for dessert!

This was actually our 2nd visit, and we wont be going back. While our server was friendly, the food was not very good this time around. We actually took a friend because we where very happy with the food the first time . I actually sat in what seem to be the patio/extended area, which felt like they didnt know where to seat us. Our guest ordered the specialty carnitas plate, the biggest disappointment.

Old Town Mexican Cafe has great food at great prices. It gets pretty busy so you might have to wait a while for a table. They have great margaritas as well.

Every place in Old Town is Mexican food because that was the background of it, but this is the best out of all of them. They serve a great breakfast, though I recommend them for lunch. It is located right in the quad, and sitting outside is lovely in the summer.

So the wait for a table is longer than ever herebut the tortillas and the fresh margs are absolutely worth the wait. Last time we were here was a cousin's birthday: We had eight people, 4 pitchers of margaritas, never ending guacamole and ended up making friends with all the people at neighboring tables by the end of our dinner. I've been going here since I was a kid, and have yet to be let down by food or atmosphere.

My friend recently came from out of town, and wanted to get some Mexican food. We had heard that this was the place to take people, so we checked it out. The Menu is pretty big, and our server was very friendly. However, the food we got here wasn't anything mind blowing by any means. We actually talked to some police officers who said most tourist go there, and if you can, check out something else. I guess we'll know better next time.

I am a New Yorker who visited San Diego this past Labor Day weekend. I love Mexican food and was looking forward to going to this restaurant since I had heard very positive things about it. The burritos were inedible. Absolutely nasty. The only good thing about them was the fresh tortilla. I ordered a veggie burrito which had uncooked beans, some shredded velveeta-esque (i.e. not fresh) cheese, and clammy lettuce. The restaurant looks like its out of Disney and its filled with tourists, so beware - this is not the fabulous Mexican food that you thought you'd get so close to the border. I also had to wait about 45 minutes to get a table, so imagine the disappointment. This restaurant is in Old Town which is filled with alternatives that are lesser known but probably much better.

Overrated. After several stellar reviews, we were really excited to visit the restaurant, supposedly some of the best Mexican food in Old Town San Diego. However, Carnitas, the house specialty, was awful (tasteless and fatty). Another special, Carne Asada, tasted like charred beef. The restaurant would be great if you go for margaritas, chips, salsa, guacamole and their insanely fresh tortillas...otherwise, skip it.

You can only make reservations for groups of 7 or larger, I believe, otherwise the wait can be up to 2 hours for a group of 4, especially on busy Friday and Saturday nights. I would recommend in that case to put your name down and walk around scenic old town, or go during lunch when it is less crowded and shorter wait. The homemade corn and flour tortillas are the best in the area, way better than other places that claim they have homemade tortillas. There is also mouthwatering rotisserie chicken you can see basting in the large windows next to the women you can see busily making the homemade tortillas. Their ceviche is also quite good, as well as their carne asada and carnitas sets. Parking is also best in the public free parking lot about a block away from the restaurant.

Me and my husband love this place we've gone once for our anniversary and will be going again for our upcoming anniversary. Nice atmosphere good mexican food and margaritas to die for!

Homemade tortillas, yummy margaritas, great salsa are just a few of the things that make this place great! Add on low prives and great atmosphere and you have one awesome resteraunt!

OTMC is a San Diego institution located in the heart of Old Town. There is a bar connected to the restaurant that specializes in margaritas. There is usually a very long wait on weekends but it is deifinitely worth it. Tortillas are made by hand on a large grill located in the front of the restaurant which can also be seen through the front window. The house specialty is the carnitas.

Old Town Mexican Cafe seems to be the most well known and loved Mexican restaurant in San Diego. The atmosphere and neighborhood are good in addition to the food. It can be extremely crowded on Friday and Saturday nights. The biggest challenge is driving into Old Town and finding parking during the busy season or special events.