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Antojitos Colombianos Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Mexican Restaurants Latin American Mexican, Latin American [Edit]
2851 Imperial Ave(between 29th St & 28th St)
San Diego, CA 92102
Neighborhood: Grant Hill
(619) 237-0396
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
5 reviews for Antojitos Colombianos Restaurant
5 reviews in English
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Review from Christina A.
San Diego, CA
1/26/2012
On my way down Imperial Avenue in search of a cheap haircut, I noticed the signboard in front of the restaurant. Antojitos, derived from the original meaning of little whims or cravings, means appetizers. Then, the spotting of a Colombian flag.
I stared, disbelieving, as a birdwatcher who first spies an exotic specimen that has been whisked across an ocean.
The restaurant's owner Javier Rodriguez did not appear windswept however. He immigrated to New York years ago, then settled in San Diego after stays in other cities. The idea of opening a restaurant came to him in a prophetic epiphany after his father died last fall. He leased out a Mexican restaurant and kept on cook-waitress Anahi Maldonado, and together they put together a menu that includes both Mexican and Colombian specialties.
In the latter column, Bistec a la Criolla, Sobrebarriga Sudada, Arepas, fried plantains and the gut busting Bandeja Paisa. On the Mexican side of the menu, you'll find chilaquiles, tacos, burritos and the like, as well as off-menu specials that were mentioned like mixiote and ceviche served in a coconut.
Folkloric art from each country hangs on facing walls of the restaurant. Javier gets Colombian ingredients from connections in LA, so everything we tasted (empanadas and arepas) was very authentic. He's also promised to try to make me vegetarian empanadas. I'm excited to try them.
Antojitos Colombianos, the best Colombian restaurant in San Diego. The only Colombian restaurant in San Diego. -
Review from Jennifer S.
Murrieta, CA
5/18/2012 1 Check-in Here
Moved here from NJ with my husband and I'm so excited we found this place! My husband is Colombian and we were in search of some amazing food like back east. I love this place and is so upset it is quiet a drive from us. The people are super friendly. Can't wait to go back !
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Review from Steve M.
Alpine, CA
5/8/2012
after watching a movie called "Entre Nos" about a Colombian family living in New York and watching the wife cooking empanadas I decided I needed to try authentic Colombian ones. After searching on Yelp for empanadas I decided to try out Antojitos Colombianos Restaurant. My wife who is Polish born and raised and I drove the 30 miles from Alpine and all I can say is the reviews were right on. The owner is friendly and the food and service are great. Just don't expect an atmosphere like a fancy restaurant. We plan on returning to try out different dishes and the empanadas at $1.50 each are a great bargain.
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Review from lili d.
San Diego, CA
Food is great, I love their enpanadas. I also like the fact that they sell obleas, since I seem to run out of fast and are left over with arequipe. The service is fast and friendly. I give it two thumbs up.
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Review from adam g.
San Diego, CA
4/22/2012
These are five shining stars for a very small, family-owned and wondrous restaurant in my neighborhood. Working-class Barrio Sherman, right on Imperial Avenue, next door to a big Salvadoran place (decent food, very rude service) and a street full of different kinds of Mexican places, most of them great. What Antojitos Colombianos lacks in size in makes up for in authenticity, service and heart. I've never been to Colombia but I have come to appreciate food from those regions in Latin America that have heavily tropical influences. The ingredients and spices in the food, and the way they are prepared and served, invokes the history of a proud people infused with African and Native Indian as well as European elements. Colombians speak Spanish but they don't seem Spanish at all, and only a little like Mexicans. Similarly, Colombian food evokes Cuba and Puerto Rico, and even Brazil. Everything, from the fried yuca (like French Fries with a doctorate), to the tender beef "sobrebarriga" and melts-in-your mouth "lengua" (beef tongue) with a light saffron sauce, to the crispy "pasteles" and the glowing green "lulo" juice, whipped up fresh on the spot, makes the air suddenly smell like jasmine and its easy to imagine flocks of parrots overhead. Then again, this close to Balboa Park, maybe that really is parrots flying over the restaurant, but I am always too fascinated by whatever new discovery I am making on my plate. My buddy had the specialty of the house, a Colombian meat-lover's mixed grill, and the owner, a very gracious man, brought him a special espresso on the house to celebrate his first time trying Colombian food. That's the kind of class that gets my attention -- and my business. Every time I go to Antojitos Colombianos, I am treated like an honored guest and fed like a hard-working father coming home to the family. Forget fake ethnic food (Olive Garden, Chili's) and let's support the hard-working real people who are coming from far-away places and are willing to share their food, their culture and themselves with us. !Que Viva Antojitos Colombianos! !Y Mucho E'xito!
