Chef Roberto Alcocer's Oceanside Baja-Mexican — the first Michelin 2-star restaurant in San Diego County, a tasting-menu format drawing from the Valle de Guadalupe, and a dining room inside the Missio...
95
2
Las Cuatro Milpas
Mexican / Sonoran · Barrio Logan
Operating since 1933 — a Barrio Logan Mexican institution that's been run by the Estudillo family for four generations. Handmade flour tortillas sold by the dozen, chorizo and bean plates cooked in th...
91
3
Romesco Baja Med Bistro
Mexican / Baja Med · Bonita
Chef Javier Plascencia's South Bay Baja-Med flagship — the Tijuana-defining chef's SD outpost, a Valle de Guadalupe-forward menu, and one of the rooms that defined Baja Med cuisine for the region. A r...
89
4
Puesto La Jolla
Mexican / Tacos · La Jolla
Puesto's La Jolla original — the melted-cheese-on-the-tortilla format that has turned Puesto into a multi-city California chain. La Jolla Village patio, Mexico-sourced produce, and a mezcal program th...
88
5
Lola 55
Mexican / Tacos · East Village
Modern East Village taqueria — nixtamalized-masa tortillas made in-house, al pastor off a proper trompo, brisket tacos that draw out the stadium-game crowd. One of East Village's most-referenced casua...
87
6
Galaxy Taco
Mexican / Tacos · La Jolla
Chef Trey Foshee's (George's at the Cove) La Jolla Shores taqueria — handmade blue-corn tortillas pressed and griddled in-house, regional Mexican fillings, and a beach-walking crowd that turns the pat...
87
7
Oscar's Mexican Seafood — Hillcrest
Mexican / Seafood · Hillcrest
The smoked fish taco that has become a San Diego legend — charred mesquite-smoked fish in a handmade tortilla, spicy salsa, and the line that forms by 11:30 a.m. on any given day. The Hillcrest locati...
87
8
Tahona
Mexican / Mezcal · Old Town
Old Town's mezcal-forward modern Mexican — a deep agave list, chef-driven small plates, and a courtyard that puts SD's Old Town scene in a much more grown-up register than the tourist patios next door...
87
9
Quixote — Lafayette Hotel
Mexican / Modern · North Park
Quixote at the Lafayette Hotel — one of the restaurants inside the buzzed-about Lafayette Hotel reopening, a modern-Mexican program with an open kitchen, and a North Park dining room that anchors the ...
87
10
Super Cocina
Mexican / Guisados · City Heights
City Heights' guisados cafeteria — steam-table line, daily rotation of 20+ braises and moles from across regional Mexico, and prices that haven't caught up to what the cooking deserves. A San Diego ch...
86
All 50 Mexican & Tex-Mex Spots in San Diego
TJ Oyster Bar
Mexican / Seafood · Bonita
86
The Taco Stand — La Jolla
Mexican / Tacos · La Jolla
86
Coasterra
Modern Mexican · Harbor Island
86
Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop
Mexican / Tacos · Mission Hills
85
El Zarape
Mexican / Tacos · University Heights
85
Hacienda de Vega
Mexican · Escondido
85
Carnitas' Snack Shack — Embarcadero
American / Mexican Fusion · Downtown / Embarcadero