Cafe Coyote
2461 San Diego Ave
(between Conde St & Harney St)
San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 291-4695
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 7:30 a.m.-2:00 a.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
83 Reviews for Cafe Coyote
Expect a vibrant atmosphere, good service and mainstream cuisine. Don't get me wrong, I love Mexican food, but it did not distinguish itself from other restaurants I've visited. I don't want it to seem like I am singling this restaurant out, but most Mexican establishments fall into this category. Eat, drink a few 'ritas and be loud, no one will care.
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I don't know much about the actual restaurant but...
Tortilla Lady - I LOVE YOU!!! Since I could drive you've been my one constant obsession and I have never tired of you! Sure there are other tortilla ladies but you are the one that makes my taste buds pop!
It is not uncommon for me to drive into Old Town just to get a some tasty tortilla's, grab a Coke and sit and gobble .. then go back for more. Heaven!
Oh mouth watering as I am typing.
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I really don't know how this place stands up to other places in Old Town... but I've been here on three seperate occassions and they were all blah. While their meals are edible they aren't very enjoyable.
Take a pool of the same dishes from half a dozen restaurants (even less) in San Diego's Old Town district and sample those dishes. You won't able to distinguish the style and taste from one restaurant to another. Its almost like the restaurants share the same recipe. So I'd say the food is delicious, but nothing unique to make it stand out from other Mexican restaurants in the same area.
What makes Cafe Coyote stand apart is its lively ambiance. I like the airiness of the high ceilings and how the main restaurant opens to the outdoor patio. There's a certain easiness, comfort, and fun quality to the place.
Another plus for Cafe Coyote is the service. Our waitress was always shadowing our table to make sure we were taken care of even though we told her that we everything we need. Getting the check and processing was a breeze.
By the way, the best time to go to Cafe Coyote is in the winter time when Old Town area is serene and spacious.
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We were in Old Town on a Friday night and decided to have dinner. Most of the places had a wait over 20 minutes and I didn't feel like waiting. The only place that would seat us immediately was Cafe Coyote. I forgot our server's name but she was REALLY GOOD...so I give ups to the service there. As for the food, it was pretty good. I tried to stay healthy and got the salad + tortilla soup combo and my fiance got the carne asada burrito...which was delicious. The only thing that sucked was that our margaritas were a lot more expensive than our dinner! I think they were $11 - $13 each, probably because we chose Patron as the tequila.
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Cafe Coyote has some of the most succulent carnitas I've ever had. Over a hot relaxing weekend, I had it drenched in both red and green sauce, stuffed in a burrito with a plate of rice and beans and a cold glass of Pacifico. The ambiance is great with live music and the waiters hustling and bustling. The food came out in ten minutes and the drink cups about a liter. This is what I call heaven.
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Outdoor seating and live music really give Cafe Coyote character. Order a bowl of tortilla soup, some fish tacos, and a pitcher of strawberry margaritas and call it a day.
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I decided on this place because I was starving and in Old Town. I needed food and knew I was surrounded by shit tourist food. I walked up and down the street, this one had a good sized crowd.
Drinks sizes were HUGE - love it.
Food was just ok - I had 2 shrimp tacos, I really like the margaritas seasoning they put on the shrimp and the handmade tortillas were good. The rice and beans were gross, the salsa was way too watery and the queso was WHITE... um? They serve breakfast and their inside walls are painted super lame.
I KNEW I should have gone to the The Alamo Taqueria.
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Good tasting food, large drinks, not too expensive, nice decor, good service. I would go back.
Since I live near Old Town I visit a lot. This is so far one of my top three.
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Do you want to have a terrible dining experience, feelings of regret, and bland food? Yes? This is definitely the place for you.
Service bad enough to SERIOUSLY aggravate me only comes along every so often...but this place has that technique mastered! After waiting 25 or 30 minutes, we were seated, ordered drinks, and then waited about 7 minutes for chips and salsa. When you're starving, that feels like a decade. Finally the salsa came, in a very small bowl. We prepared to try to conserve it for as long as possible, because we knew that getting another little bowl of this rare Mexican delicacy would be tough...if not impossible. It might require some psychological manipulation or creative skills, and we weren't in the mood for either. Waiters were a rare sighting -- like gophers that pop their head out of the ground, then duck back below ground level at the sight of movement or light. Wait though! I looked again at the chips, and realized that conserving the salsa wouldn't be so difficult -- most of the chips were broken into small pieces, so they wouldn't require much salsa anyway. Perfect.
We ordered fresh tortillas / butter / salsa to hold us over until our orders were taken. The tortillas were good...but we got no salsa and no butter. Asked for it though....
I ordered the margarita shrimp tacos, white sauce on the side, and my bf got some kind of fish. We also asked for more salsa, and "that butter...."
When we got the food -- they forgot the white sauce...and still no butter. We did get more salsa, but we were the unlucky 1 out of 5 tables that gets the salsa with the whole canned tomato in it.
How WAS the food, you want to know?
A good restaurant will not use those tiny, unseasoned, baby shrimp...they will use big, flavorful shrimp that will not fit in your mouth in one bite. You can guess what kind of shrimp I was looking at tonight. Little babies, topped with just dry chopped cabbage.
I decided to wait to eat my tacos until I got the white sauce, because it sounded delicious -- was described as "spicy margarita." I asked two different people for the side of sauce. Once, i was ignored, and once, I was forgotten. Third time was a charm though! I crossed my fingers as i lifted this highly sought after sauce to my nose, hoping I wouldn't smell ranch dressing, or pure mayo.
I dropped it on the table in horror, and used what little salsa we had left to cover my tacos.
The fish my bf got, NO JOKE, tasted like complete char. Is that a word? If you were to take your grill, scrape off the black stuff, and eat it, you would have had the fish here.
We paid (and for the first time, i SERIOUSLY considered doing the dine and dash, because it took so long to get the check), and I sadly thought of all of the amazing Mexican restaurants in Old Town, and regretted choosing this one. Was a definite mistake, and I will not make it again.
This is a super cute little Mexican place in old town. It is a great place to bring out of towners when visting. Their outdoor area is a great place to kill an afternoon with a margarita, chips and salsa, and just people watch. I love going there! Food is consistently good and reasonably priced for plate meals in Old Town. They only get 4/5 because I've become a mexican food snob since living in San Diego and it is not THE best, but still pretty good.
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This is on of my favorite mexican restuarants in Diego and especially Old Town. The food is good and the drinks are even better. I really like the service here and is good and they sell strawberry and chocolate tortillas right there on the street. MM good. This is where I take the ou of towners when they want to go eat in Old Town.
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This is a restaurant that I always make sure to visit when I am in San Diego. This is the BEST Mexican restaurant I have ever eaten at. They have amazing tortillas, chips/salsa, margaritas, beans, and rice. Unfortunately, they do not have mole. I would recommend this place to anyone who wants a Mexican meal they will never forget.
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We almost missed our plane so that my hubby could drive back here and get one last cream-filled churro before leaving town. He even begged to get a picture with the churro lady (which we blew up to a 5x7). He drools when he thinks of these churros. Verdict is - go here for the churros.
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Tortillas and tequila are tops
The tortillas are worth going out of your way for. The flavors of these homemade tortillas are cooked in the dough from the quesadila with the cheese and tomato tortillas to the chocolate and cinnamon ones purchased from the sidewalk walk up are all super good.
I got pulled out of the security line for carrying on a giant roll of these through TSA going home, still worth it.
The tequila menu is impressive and the El Patron (The Boss) margarita with fresh lime is generous and very good.
My opinion is many of the dishes were rather bland and average, not much to say about the food.
Location is festive and decorated super cute, fun place to go for drinks and apps.
The BEST Mexican food restaurant in Old Town San Diego! I love the ambience with live music, great staff and of course great food. On the weekend be prepare to wait for 2-3 hours during dinner time.
This place is great if you're looking to have lunch on a weekday, or go out to dinner with some friends and have some beers for an occasion. Fresh tortillas, good food, nice location. Cerveza por favor!
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We only stopped by here on Memorial Day during lunch time to pick up some of their caramel-filled churros for $2 each. I was surprised that there wasn't a line even for the take-out line. The churros were still hot and crispy! I'm used to churros being crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. These were crispy on the outside and a bit hard. Maybe they were stored for too long? They didn't taste as fresh as I expected. Still yummy though! The caramel isn't that sweet - the sugar on the outside is sweeter. Something I would definitely try again. And next time, I'm going to get fresh tortillas too!
the quality of the entree's are so so. not worth the price when san diego is filled with hole in the wall gems of culinary magnificence.
HOWEVER,
their margaritas are huge, their large tortillas are fresh and soft, and their fried ice cream is a high calorie delicious dessert.
maybe if you drink enough of the margaritas, and listen to enough of the mariachi music, you can close your eyes and pretend that what you're eating is delicious authentic mexican food.
tequila is magical like that.
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This past Sunday I went to Old Town for breakfast. A restaurant with fresh tortillas was a must.
Like several other establishments in Old Town, Coyote has traditionally dressed women preparing fresh tortillas on an open patio along the sidewalk. Immediately, we knew this was our place.
The restaurant has two sides and is open air. We chose to sit outside, and given that it was a relatively cold day, the heat lamps warmed us nicely. The menu was fairly extensive for breakfast, and included most every imaginable Mexican specialty.
The girlfriend, her sister and I all opted to get the same thing: carnitas with two eggs, beans and tortillas. It was a simple choice, but it was fantastic. The food was hot, tasty, plentiful and cooked as ordered. The tortillas and the homemade salsa were especially good... so good in fact, that I would have been happy filling up on them alone.
I'd rate the serve as average, as we had to wait a ridiculously long time to get our check...and an equally long time for the waitress to process the credit card.
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Pretty much your typical Mexican restaurant in Old Town, with some perks that make it my go to place.
1. You never have to wait long for a table. Really. Like you know how it gets super busy with tourists in the summer? We still eat here and don't have to wait long, because the geniuses at Cafe Coyote have put tables everywhere, like they probably have unisex seating in the restrooms when it gets busy.
2. Sangria. Yum. Big goblets of it, little fruits swimming enticingly.
3. Wonderfully fresh chips. And salsa. 2 of my favorite foods.
4. Portions that make 2 meals, like all good American Mexican restaurants devote themselves to.
5. Flan that is sooo good. Apparently not as good as my friend's mom's flan, but still quite tasty. You can also get on their mailing list and get free flan coupons. Free=good.
Other places just haven't been as good, and I've tried a lot of them.
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The wife and I went to Coyote when we were told that a table at Fred's across the street would take about an hour. At Coyote we were seated within about 5 minutes. That was a big plus. The restaurant is huge with plentiful outdoor seating. I guess that is the secret to the short wait. The Cadillac margarita was pretty tasty. That was about it. The food was very bland. We went through half a bottle of Cholula just to get some flavor and spice in the food. I was very disappointed. Other than that, the atmosphere is nice (wandering mariachis can get a little annoying after a while though), the salsa is not bad, and the drinks are tasty. Fresh tortillas sold on the street are a nice touch as well. Bottom line is good for drinks, not so good for the food. Eat somewhere else and knock back the margaritas here.
Only 4 stars because it was kind of pricey. Pitchers of margs were $28 so you can find better deals. Quality however is good.
The salsa is good. Tortillas made fresh; you can get them from the street too. Outdoor patio seating. We had the Fajitadilla, really good.
Recommend for a group or a date, and....there are Mariachis!
Large selection of tequila, so there is something for everyone.
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Had their ultimate margarita which was good and the service was okay. The food kinda overpriced for what you get...had the Pollo En Salsa Verde which just tickled my stomach.
I ate here on a sunny day sitting outdoors and it was pretty neat. Every store in Old Town that day was packed with people but it added a little something to the atmosphere. Our waitress was very polite and she kept checking up on us asking if we needed anything. I ordered a quesdilla along with a side of fruit salsa. This place is pretty good but I've tried better.
Ok... SO I went here 2x's in 1 day. I went this past Saturday for Breakfast and for lunch. I came here with a friend cause OLD TOWN is the place we always hit first whenever visiting San Diego. WE ordered a Tequila Sunrise.. yea @ 9AM in the morning! lol. We had to, there were other people already drinking, plus it was a mini vacation. I ordered the fruit side and egg whites. My friend ordered the side double stack pancake and eggs. The food was simple and delicious and filling. We left a little buzzed and went to our next destination.
When lunch came around, we were still feeling like Mexican food. (We really didn't have Mexican food for breakfast) So we saw their homemade tortillas from the morning and decided lets get some! We headed back that way. The place was busy, so we headed to the bar. We ordered another Tequila sunrise. I ordered the black bean soup and my friend got the tortillas. The Black bean was very delicious. Basic, but I was sooo hungry that it definitely hit the spot.
I recommend the place. The service is wonderful. The food is great and the atmosphere!
The food and drinks are adequately priced.
I went to visit Old Town to view the cemetery and the Whaley House. Decided to stop for a quick bite to eat. I noticed that almost every damned restaurant in Old Town makes fresh FLOUR tortillas, but I wanted some fresh CORN tortillas. This gringo wanted some authentic Tex-Mex food.
Sadly, I didn't get it. I ordered the steak fajitas, which I'm sad to say tastes better at Don Joses or El Toritos (the real Americanized Mexican restaurants). They mis-advertise when they state that they have FRESH flour and corn tortillas. What they should say is that they have fresh FLOUR, STORE BOUGHT corn tortillas. Damn them. Who eats flour tortillas?
They also put mushrooms in the skillet, which made the fajitas taste even worse (I do like mushrooms but not in that combination). Rice was plain, beans tasted old. Even the chips were cool to the touch and the house salsa could easily be beaten by PACE picante sauce (which is disgusting also).
So why 2 stars? Well, because the waitress (Kim) was very courteous and had a nice MILF body (I just love older women). And they had a decent enough lemonade. On second though, maybe those 2 stars really were for Kim only.
I'm sure they could make decent margaritas if their fully loaded cantina across the way is any indication...
...so go if you want to drink margaritas and look at a nice MILF Kim. Other than that, yuck.
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I'm sort of embarrassed to admit that I enjoyed my time at Cafe Coyote. With all the "authentic" taco stands on every other block of San Diego, it's a little humiliating to be duped into paying twice the average price, for a below average burrito.
But of course, aren't we all suckers for presentation? I buy into the mariachi band playing at my table, the pretty margaritas, and the overabundance of red ceramic tiles. You know it's Mexican when red ceramic tiles are involved.
The food is just okay. My roommate was pleased with the decent vegetarian options. As for me, I ordered a California burrito, which was a mistake. Only a greasy corner taco stand can give you the CA burrito you're looking for. Cafe Coyote's carne asada was made of pathetic little morsels of meat. And the burrito was just carne asada and fries.
My excuse for going to Cafe Coyote is that I had out-of-town visitors, and Old Town is just one of the stops you have to take tourists. Next time I'm jonesing for a California burrito, you'll find me at my local taco stand.
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So many Mexican restaurants to choose from in Old Town San Diego! But I guess I happened to choose this one. It may be because the line was a bit shorter than the others and I was hungry.
But this Cafe is huge! It has multiple rooms and patio areas.
They have a very extensive Tequila list. I ordered a Fruit Margarita and the fruit of the day just so happened to be Mango! It was excellent! The chips and salsa came out just as we sat down at our table. The salsa is pretty spicy. I ordered the Baja Combo which is shrimp enchilada and fish taco. It was good, especially the shrimp enchilada. The food here was not expensive at all.
The service was alright. Our waitress was nice, but the busboy seemed so rushed and wasn't friendly. It took some time for our food to come out, but good thing there's chips and salsa!
It was a good try. The food wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't amazing.
THE ORDER:
Carnitas plate
Perfect 4 two margarita
2 tequila shots (sorry can't remember the names)
YIPPEEE:
Perfect 4 two margarita's did come in a nice big pitcher
Served 5 glasses
This place is gigantic
Lots of patio seating for people watching
BOOO:
All the food was very salty
& carnitas dry
Service was mediocre
we weren't ignored but our server was sooo BUSY
Made a small mistake on our order which was fixed quickly
Asked for xtra salsa which never came
Huge tequila selection - But not an easy choice
Broken down only by Reposado, White, Gold, or Anejo
No further explanation of flavors or their unique qualities
Hand made tortillas - better at Fred's across the street
Cafe Coyote, like other old town mexican food cantinas, is hard to pass up when you walk by and see/smell the fresh tortillas being made in the window. I tried the carnitas here too, and while not as tasty as Zocalo, it was tender and served with all the right stuff. The tortillas were indeed superior and the bar here seems more festive and laid back fun. Bartender Kenny set me up with a Tezon and fresh squeezed lime on the rocks so no complaints, nice if average sized selection of fine tequilas here. I'm sure this patio is great for sharing margaritas and fun stories during normally sunny San Diego weather.
Tortillas. Tortillas. Tortillas.
Made hot and fresh, add a little butter and salsa, roll it up and you've got a crave worthy, mouth watering, roll-o-heaven. Ah yea.
I'll probably always equate these hot little beauties with San Diego- eat them right there on the bench nearby- they're best had within a few minutes of coming out, and you can watch the tourists pass and people watch. Even though I'm a native San Diegan and Old Town is largely tourists, the tortillas alone make it well worth the trip even if you've seen everything 10 times.
I cannot tell you enough how incredible these street gems are, and two-for-a-dollar, the best deal EVER.
I used to come here for happy hour all the time when I worked down the street- it's nice to sit on the terrace, order margaritas (half priced) and have some tortillas. Sometimes, even now I'll still make the trip down over 30 minutes just to get some dollar tortillas which I think is testament to the almighty carb.
Edit Addition: Although Fred's has 3-for a dollar tortilllas across the street, don't be suckered in. Cafe Coyote is the original, and they are thicker and better.
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I tried the chicken and it was the best chicken i ever had, i also had a strawberry and berry smoothie it was superb and was served in a cute glass.Ive only had it once , but i would come back anytime!
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Average mexican food with an average taste and even less fullfilling effect. What's up with not having Horchata?
On a Tuesday night, I recommended Old Town for a post-run dinner and drinks. First thought was Fred's Mexican Cafe for its Taco Tuesday specials, but we weren't going to wait 30-45 minutes. So, we look across the street to Cafe Coyote to replenish our reserves. We were seated promptly out on the large patio, a great people-watching location.
I typically avoid any Old Town Mexican place, but we were freakin' hungry. The chips and salsa were standard fare. The menu is quite large with so many options, variety of Mexican beer and margaritas galore. I ordered a Cafe Coyote margarita and the Uno combo. I liked that the margarita came in a large glass, but the actual drink left me desiring more.
The food came rather quickly, I'd say within 7 minutes. The portion sizes are huge. When it came down to my first bite, I was rather disappointed (or maybe this was expected). The entire dish was bland. Where was the spice? I didn't even see my burrito and chile relleno underneath all that cheese and sauce. I should have asked for a bottle of Tapatio at that point to douse my food in it.
At the end, I was stuffed as I never cease to finish a plate unless the food is completely inedible. The prices weren't outrageous, the atmosphere was festive for a weeknight, and service was adequate. Would I come here again? It wouldn't be my first choice, maybe only to have drinks and an appetizer, that's about it.
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I'm torn about how to rate this place.
Food was better than average for a Mexican place, but how do you stack it up when you're in San Diego? There's taco stands everywhere that are just as good (but don't serve alcohol or have mariachi bands play at your table).
Chips were good, the salsa was hot but not great for starters.
I ordered the California burrito. I'm not exactly sure why it's California, because carne asada is pretty Spanish to me. Maybe it's the French Fries that are in it. But there are lots of taco stands that serve carne asada fries too. Ok so the one thing that was kind of weird about this thing is that they serve is in a flour tortilla. But it's like store bought. And my friends are getting these gigantic freshly made tortillas with their meal. What the heck? Plus since my crappy flour tortilla was falling apart, I divulged in many a fresh tortilla instead. Awesome. I ordered a side salad with balsamic. They brought me a vinegarette that looks a lot like barbecue sauce. Tasted pretty interesting. Good, but it looks like barbecue sauce. Two of my friends did complain about the carnitas being too salty and too dry. I forgot to snag a piece before the server took it away. Darn.
So we got to the place just before the dinner rush and service was slow. They only had one server for a party of 11. We were asking the busboys to bring us more water and chips and salsa. It was pretty ridiculous. I'm knocking one star off for that.
If you go, give yourself plenty of time to find parking. The area sucks because it's a tourist trap being it's in Old Town San Diego. No deductions for that. It's unavoidable.
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Bad, bad, bad Mexican food. My enchiladas weren't fully cooked, and the meat was bland. My friend's pork burrito was extremely salty. I gave this place two stars because the atmosphere is cool and the drinks are reasonable - a huge margarita for $11.00. I'd go somewhere else to eat, though.
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This is an ode to my short reveiws ( maybe? referring to a back handed compliment, that I feel quite sure was in my compliments).
You don't totally suck Cafe Coyote, but your food kinda does. Your margies, sorta good..Best part, your awesome views of insane tourists.
Muchas gracias.
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SUCKY-MOTO!!!!
What a sham.
Rats, foiled again!!!!
Normally if I am craving menudo and want to hit up OTMC next door. All of the restaurants are packed w/tourists so you lose all the way around w/every place being packed.
However, having a friend visiting this weekend who wanted to skip town early, and seeing how OTMC was packed, the girls made the call and took a table at Cafe Coyote.
WHY I THINK THIS PLACE SUCKS -
*our server reminded me of the babysitter on the Simpsons(voice provided by penny marshall). She was horrible. Put aside the bad attitude and millions of party miles on her face, she just wasn't really around. Our busboy took better care of us.
*No chips or Salsa. We were told that they wouldn't have chips until 11am.
*Out of Menudo - it was only 10am - and NO menudo
*THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED AT OTMC*
Yeah, I'm pretty sour.
I'm pretty mellow and understanding when eating out casually but this whole experience really sucked!!!!
One star- for the Tortillas.
However, they charge you for the extra tortillas so I want to take the star back.
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In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
Translation: In a neighborhood of overpriced tourist traps, the one place with semi-normal prices wins the coveted 3rd star.
The food itself was okay, but not great. Jalapeno cheese sauce is so not worth it, and the enchilada sauce was like drinking a jar of chili powder. The carne asada burrito was pretty bland for something that is supposed to be filled with carne asada, not just grilled meat.
If you're stuck in Old Town and don't have the dough for a nicer place (like El Agave), Cafe Coyote can hold off the hunger pangs for a few more hours.
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