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Categories: Seafood, Steakhouses, Mexican [Edit]
Neighborhood: CoronadoAfter several disappointing Mexican food experiences during my recent trip to San Diego, this was my last attempt to get a good chicken burrito.
The atmosphere of Costa Azul was inviting, and the chips and salsa were a good start. The house salsa, mind you, is an interesting blend -- unlike any other salsa that I have ever seen before -- but I assure you the smoky flavor is really tasty.
Now, on to the main meal, the chicken burrito was deliciously stuffed, and the salsa fresca was excellent. The rice and beans that accompanied this fork-and-knife burrito were equally tasty. I did not leave a bite on my plate. Alas, I got the good Mexican food that I was dying to have while in Southern California!
Ok, first off their food is seriously mediocre at best. But I give them credit for their great service and atmosphere. I really can't say much about this place...just bleh. Our waiter was awesome though and I do like the actual restaurant location and outside dining area.
With SO many better Mexican Restaurants the only thing this one has going for it is Location and an alright Atmosphere.
We started with a basket of stale chips and a odd chipolte dip, neither of us liked. We opted for some Salsa Fresca which we subsequently find out we were charged a buck for (which was annoying).
The service was more then slow and the place was far from packed.
And the food was the worst part. The Flat Iron steak was overcooked and came smothered in a nasty blue cheese sauce-(Eww and Why?) the mashed potatoes were bland if not salty. And the Coconut Shrimp plate is put to shame by the appetizer at Outback! Small shrimp pounded and flattened then fried a bit to long with steamed veggies that didn't even come with butter. For $17 a plate this was Horrible! The Calamari was decent and that is the best I can say about the food.
Do yourself a favor and head down the street (towards Hotel Del) to Miguel's- and trust me there is a reason you may have to wait!
This is the Tacos El Gordo for all the blue hairs of Coronado. They probably come here when they want some spice in their life and they're feeling adventurous.
I used to work down the street from this place and whenever I walked by, nothing but old white folks sipping on frozen margaritas and eating nachos.
The only times that I have come here was when I had one of those 2 for 1 coupons. Its not cheap here and the food is only so-so.
Ive never seen this place packed, even on wknds.
Costa Azul was great! went here on a lazy sunday for some drinks as we were walking around Orange st. but the food looked so good we just had to stick around for lunch!
the service was a bit slow (perhaps understaffed) at first, but then it seemed to improve after we had been there a little while. started with the ceviche app which was great, and i ordered the coronado burrito which was MASSIVE. definitely wasn't able to take that thing down in one sitting, but had a great time trying to do as much damage to it as possible.
We went two times this week. We are staying at a Resort in the area.
The servers are friendly. The food is okay. Typical Mexican Resturant food. My grandmother was from Mexico so I know what real good Mexican food tastes like. This is okay for a American Mexican food place. The Restroom was Very dirty so this is why I gave it a 2 star.
If you do not mind the dirty Restroom then add another star.
You know how excited you get when you decide to have an "eat whatever you want" day?? You just think, I am going to gorge myself on mexican and later, possibly, pizza. it is VERY disappointing to know you've spent your day's massive calorie allowance on such absolute disgusting crap.
I ate here once before, and I would have described it as 3 stars. That is why, when I saw the BOGO coupon in the uptown magazine, I decided to go again. No, I thought, it is not wonderful, but it was decent. Who wants to pass up a half-price meal, right?
WRONG. Wrong, wrong, wrong I think I got a cheeseburger last time I was here, so it's pretty hard to mess that up. Maybe that's why I thought the food was mediocre. However, this time I took the plunge and tried one of their Mexican dishes. Oh, heeelllllll no. It was one of the most foul, awful things I have ever tasted. Got the chicken enchilada plate with rice and beans. The enchiladas had no excuse being on a plate. They were properly suited only for a trash can. The enchilada was soggy, filled with DRUMSTICK chicken meat - yes, they used the f'ing drumsticks! It was stuffed with bones, joints, and greasy brown meat. The mole sauce was dried and crusted onto the top, and it was covered in Ralph's shredded cheddar cheese. The rice was overcooked and over-seasoned. The beans were OK. The beer (draft) was warm.
I still feel nauseous, and it's been 7 hours since eating. Never, ever will I go here again, not even for anything "safe" like a burger. Avoid this place at all costs!!!!!
Costa Azul is definitely geared toward tourists visiting San Diego. The food is good, don't get me wrong, but if you want true San Diego Mexican food, please go elsewhere.
The chips and salsa are very tasty. The shrimp ceviche is good, but not authentic. For my entree I enjoyed the swordfish tacos. Again, very tasty. My mojito was pretty much a margarita with a sugared rim and a few mint leaves thrown in - not the best I've had.
If authentic Mexican is what you are looking for, Costa Azul comes up short - if you're looking for a tasty meal, yeah, Costa Azul will definitely do the trick.
Disgusting food.
This is not Mexican food. The Coconut Shrimp smelled extremely fishy and tasted that way, too. The only thing "Coconut" about them was their shape.
The taquitos were rock hard and tasted like burned meat. My margarita was so chunky I had to sip from the side of the glass and even then it was mediocre at best.
My server forgot about us and didn't remember who had what. She didn't understand our order.
The only thing I ended up filling up on was the chips and salsa, which was like eating cardboard and BBQ sauce. Ew.
Skip this place and head over to Miguel's at the end of Orange. You will save yourself from a nightmare like mine!
I'm different than every one else, because I walked right past the wonderful patio in which they speak of and go straight to the....you guessed it....BAR!
I love to belly up to the bar, have an ice cold beverage and grilled swordfish taco!! The shrimp tacos are good, too. I really, really like the smokey house salsa they give you with the chips. Also, ask for the salsa fresco which is good, they just don't bring it out unless you ask.
I spent last night barfing and on the toilet after eating at this overpriced awful restaurant!!! Why do they call this garbage food?
The chips were greasy and disgusting. The salsa was sitting outside in the waiters corner, not refrigerated, and it was close to 100 degrees out yesterday. I ordered their ceviche (2 tiny tostadas for $9) and beef taquitos with sour cream that didin't taste too good. Didn't finish any of it!!
Just several minutes after not eating the smelly food my stomach cramped !! Imagine driving over the bridge to Point Loma and feeling nausea dying to vomit!!
Horrible experience!! The food was over priced and mediocre. I am a San Diego Native who always drove by but never stopped in, I WILL NEVER EVER eat there again!!
Save yourself the food poisining and skip this place all together.
Our waiter sucked! I really wish he didn't; and I am the first to defend servers since I've done my years in restaurant work...I'm telling you, I tried to make excuses for him, but I would just be lying to myself.
Let me vent about the waiter, then I'll review the restaurant as a whole. Took WAY too long to bring my Dos Equis. Mixed up the food order a bit. My N.Y. steak and shrimp was supposed to come with blue cheese butter (or something like that)...it didn't come out (no worries), I reminded him and also asked for limes...he forgot...finally came by again and I reminded him again (he walked slowly), he brought the butter, and forgot the limes! To end our experience with the guy, he brings us the wrong bill (about $30 bucks cheaper), I tell him jokingly, he brings our bill and says "this is one heavier," but it funny the way he said it...just awkward guy. So the bill is $92 and change...we leave $80 in cash and one card...he charges the card the full total. Now I know that mistake can happen, and usually you can tell it was a mistake...but I swear I had a feeling he was trying to slide it by...I mean, did he really think we left him an $80 tip...C'MON man!
The rest of the story...
We come up and are acknowledged right away (by two different people which was nice). Are seated right away. Chips and salsa and water served immediately. Server showed up late, but whatever, he obviously had his issues. Nice vibe in the place...live band playing (sat. night). A lot to choose from on the menu. A couple of us had seafood items, and a couple of steaks. The shrimp was really good...the steak was a bit over cooked (always frustrating). Margarita was tasty, but the Bloody Mary sucked.
3 drinks and 4 entrees came out to $92 and change.
If you're in Coronado, I would think if you had a better server its not a bad place to hit up. Grab some drinks. I like the outdoor set-up as well.
I wish I could give them a better rating, but the 2 star "meh, i've experienced better" description on Yelp is right on.
Marwan doesn't lie.
The menu was all over the place, mexican/steaks/seafood, i always find thats easier to pick something when I'm in an indecisive mood. I actually had fish and chips at this establishment that were pretty good. Ryan enjoyed his fish tacos enough. It was kinda quiet, we went on a Sunday afternoon. The wait staff was very nice. The chips and salsa they served before the food was good, I always have to be careful not to fill up on chips! So how were the fish and chips at the mexican/seafood restaurant? Pretty good! I was having a weird craving, I don't usually eat fish and chips but it hit the spot. It was a decent time on a nice day and am not opposed to going back.
Americanized Mexican food with inconsistent food quality (got sick one time) that draws mainly tourists. Being locals, we know of so many other local favorites that we haven't been back in awhile. A better choice for Mexican is Mexican Village on the bay side of town.
Coronado for Mexican food? hahaha
You can't really go in here with high expectations. We had combination plates. A taco and a quesadilla with rice and beans. Flour tortilla taco and a greasy quesadilla is expected, and that's exactly what I got.
I'm not going to bitch about it, because you can't come here expecting any better. The rice and beans were surprisingly decent. There was no cheese on the beans, whoa! I had a "La Paloma" (grapefruit, sweet and sour and tequila). Stiff drinks here. I was buzzed off of one.
Total amount: $21.50 for lunch. Yes, it is expensive.
My friend said that when the two greengo dudes opened up this place they brought a chef from Oaxaca, but it's very apparent that the dude probably got deported along with his recipes.
The one lonely star is for the very cute Mexican waitress and the outside seating.
Ok... So here's the catch.. Not horrible, but not worth the price.
Service was fine, good atmosphere, and it was great sitting outdoors on a sunny afternoon... However, I go to restaurants to eat, and unfortunately, Costa Azul left me wishing I had ordered something else. I had the Fish and Shrimp platter which came with fries.. but the fish and shrimp were also fried, which meant my stomach did not feel so great after the matter...
My roomate had the Tilapia Miguel and although the fish was great, rice and beans were bland.
Wouldn't recommend the sangria either. It was more like grape juice really.
Maybe it was because everywhere else in San Diego was so damn hot today, but dinner here was just what the doctor ordered. For some reason Coronado managed to stay about 20 degrees cooler than the rest of the county (and especially my oven of an apartment), so stepping out of the car and into Costa Azul was perfection.
One tasty Mojito, friendly waitress, and yummy 1/2 rotisserie chicken later, and I was satisfied, cooled off, and dreading going back home. My friend agreed... we sat around as long as possible after our meal to soak up the breezes and ice cubes before driving back up north.
Do me a favor and don't pretend like all the restaurants in Coronado are authentic and/or amazing, ok? Lick up a few grains of salt, and enjoy the food here for what it is.
I love it when I am pleasantly surprised! I went into this place expecting the gross "mexican" that is stuffed with black beans, cilantro, and cabbage. Instead I got really good food. It might not be as good as the dirty little shack on the corner mexican food, but for what it is I loved it.
I got the enchilada plate, one chicken one cheese, and I really liked them. It was a lot of food and it was perfectly seasoned. The red sauce on top was especially good, not to overpowering like they can sometimes get.
What I really loved though was the Mojitos! They were so delicious, especially on that hot of a day. They actually tasted like mint instead of just rum (this is a very surprising concept for many a dumb bartender).
I would agree with the others that for lunch this place may be a bit over priced but for dinner it was great.
This is on my top 5 list of places to hit when I visit San Diego. Its the perfect post-beach chill-out spot to sit outside for great mexican food and people-watch over cocktails. The employees are super-friendly and the service is great ... one of those places where your water glass is constantly filled up - love that!
Update 4/6/08: minus one star! I was here last weekend ... what the hell happened to your chips?! they appeared wet! no, not oily ... I know (and secretly embrace) chips fresh from the fryer ... these were actually room-temp and wet looking! um, gross ... and shame on our waiter for telling us that they are always are like that. I know this place better than my childhood home and you, Mr. Waiter, are clearly new to the party. get it together, Azul!
I knew that I struck gold when I saw the Yelp sticker in the door - however, I had no clue that I would be embarking on a culinary adventure that involved pork-crack.
What the hell is pork-crack, you may ask?
It's the carnitas ole platter that they serve there. Juicy, lightly seasoned, and a whole lotta love, this platter did not mucho sucko. My wife also had the chicken chile relleno - not a bad choice either.
I must concur with other reviews that the rice and beans were so-so - but I must say the guacamole wasn't bad at all. Would I go back again? Sure. Would I say it's the greatest Mexican food ever? Well, I'll let you know after I go 15 miles south to the border and eat in TJ. But that's for next trip.
Although I must say that having a veggie burger on the menu might throw you off as being one of San Diego's Finest Mexican Restaurants, this restaurant is a great place to go on a weekday or weekend afternoon after baking in the sun on Coronado's beaches. The perfect combination at Costa Azul consists of their chips & salsa, a Coronado light (ooops, I meant Corona light) and some tasty carne asada or burrito! I highly recommend sitting outside, relaxing and enjoying the nice weather that San Diego has to offer. Dont expect to rush the waiters or staff...just chill and relax!
Alright...I have to edit this review. I went here last weekend with a friend of mine and the chips were soaked in oil! Not a fan. When we asked the waiter, he said they always come like that...hate to disagree buddy, but I have been coming to this restaurant longer than you have been a waiter there and they are not usually like this! If the owner can here me now...I suggest going back to the old way of serving chips sans a pound of grease!
I wouldn't recommend going there paying full price, but they take the entertainment card, and with that its a pretty good deal. (The card I used was from the PGH book, not SD, apparently the cards are the same in every city.) The good thing about this place is we had a large group, and there was something on the menu for everyone. The food generally was OK, but the drinks, especially the margarita were nothing special.
Mexican food is never my first choice, but I do love their salsa fresca and margaritas. I also love that you can sit out on the patio and watch everyone walking by (people watching on Orange Avenue is great).
Mojitos on the patio on a warm afternoon! Ahhh! Just stopped here for an apertif on a summery May afternoon...and based on the experience will come back again for a full meal. The Mojitos were deliciously refreshing and just perfect! The usual Mexican restaurant staple Chips and Salsa were good too - the salsa very flavorful without being too hot.
Good Mexican food. Friendly staff. Prime Orange Avenue location means it's fun to walk there and back which is good since parking can get iffy. Especially in the summer months when the Attack of the Arizona Escalades descends on the Crown City.
I really like this place.
I have been on several occasions and it is a good place to eat, hang out and people watch in coronado. it's located in a pretty prime spot on the main drag(Orange av) so one can soak in the cali sun and sip on margaritas whilst watching the tourists find their way around.
they have chips and salsa, like most mexi restaurants, but their salsa is just the right amount of hot.
unfortunately i only order one thing there and it's theire version of fried coconut shrimp. it's super tasty and the dipping sauces are AMAZING! like stick your finger and scoop up the rest kinda good! i always have to order an extra thing of sauce. my parents came here too and had the steak and it seemed alright. standard rice and beans, nothing too spectacular. The margaritas are good and sometimes stiff, but i suppose thats a good thing. great bar area to kick and watch the big screen.
if youre looking for a slightly "nicer" mexican restaurant, choose this place. it's also next to a really good bookstore that carries great international fashion magazines.
This is no taco shop. When on the island this is best place for rice/beans and a burritos. Thats is what I always get. The appetizers are very good also. The staff is very nice with always a couple cute girls working. Never a bad day in Paradise but then again a few of their great Margarita's don't hurt much either.
It was not bad! surprisingly. i thought it was going to be a beer and chips joint, much like what you'd get in TJ, but i was pleasantly surprised. Not the best mexican i've had. but in a gringo 'hood like Coronado, it was plenty good enough. Chips were good, salsa was hot, guacamole tasty. Pozole soup was warm and cozy. Ceviche was so-so--don't get that. Very friendly service.
pretty good mexican restaurant.
service was good, the food was good.
also they have huge outside seating which is along side of the street where people probably take a look at what you are eating while they are walking..didn't really bother me though.
this review is for their happy hour.
the only thing happy about the happy hour were the mojitos.
untasty happy hour food. we were starving and barely ate a third of it. we did, however, finish the entire basket of chips.
Great Mexican food, friendly bar with good margeritas, large patio to see and be seen. The place is big enough that you can often get a table when Miguel's Cocina has a long wait. (Prices are a little higher here!) The service and food are very good and the local owner oversees the operation very well. Yea, the parking ...dinner on a week day would pose no problem
Good place to go for magaritas! They make everything fresh here. The bartenders here are awesome, friendly fast, and good service. The food is all right. But I'd rather go for Happy hour or just for the drinks.
My wife and I had a latish Sunday dinner here, and were quite pleased. We were seated promptly and our waiter was attentive without being intrusive (seems like they may have solved the wait staff problems some earlier reviews alluded to). The salsa they served with their chips was quite good - flavorful, but not too spicy (thumbs up from my wife, I would have been happy with a little more heat!). We each had a burrito from their Specials menu (both with carne asada - fabulous!) - very generous portions and very tasty! We chose a beer from their small selection on tap and their house margarita (the Costa Rita) - the margarita was tangy and tasty with their home made sweet and sour. I thought it was fine, my wife would have liked a tad more lime in it. The guacamole was fresh and flavorful as well. Dinner, tax and tip came to just under $40. Recommended for good, reasonably inexpensive food!
I've eaten in every Mexican restaurant in Coronado and IB, and most in San Diego (OK, not most, but a heck of a lot of them, including dives that I wouldn't enter without a bowie knife) and this is easily the best. If you are looking for a simple American-style combination plate, try Taco Bell or Mixican Fiesta. This is a Coronado restaurant, with all the problems inherent in that, namely parking, price, and tourists.
It may take awhile, but you can find on street parking on most nights, although Friday is tough. Compared to Miguel's, you don't have to wait an hour to get in here, as there are a lot more tables and a HUGE patio. (I've grown weary of being too drunk to eat by the time they call your table at Miguel's) The patio is great--right on the main drag with plenty to see, and in the summer you can get some good sunshine. Inside is fine, especially in the bar section so you get your drinks sooner. Main dining area can get loud given the tile floors and plaster walls.
The bar has a decent collection of drafts, and some surprises in liquor. Pretty limited tequila selection, but for margaritas I don't like to waste the good stuff. The bar staff are very efficient, so you don't have to wait too long.
Now, for the food. I have had the flat-iron steak about a dozen times and have never been dissapopinted. Get it with the spicy shrimp and you will have a meal to remember. Next choice is whatever fresh fish they have--swordfish, tuna and mahi-mahi usually--and try it vera cruz style, or simple grilled. I have had it overcooked, but rarely. Other good choices are the lobster when they have it (Puerto Neuvo style and reasonably priced for San Diego), lobster burrito, carne asada, and fish taco (a bit pricey). Sandwiches are pretty darn good, hamburger and pulled pork are best. And the Pozole is excellent.
Now I'm Jonesing to hit the patio and fire down some shots and Bohemia. See ya.
Lunch Specials
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Thanksgiving Day Buffet!
San Diego, CA
Neighborhood: Coronado
Category: Fast Food
Neighborhood: Coronado
Category: Mexican
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Category: Mexican
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As a fan of the fish taco , I'm on a never ending…
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