Lolita's Mexican Food

I go between 3 and 4 stars here. The food is reasonably good. I really like the asada fries. Probably one of their best items. The rice is very bland. Mexican rice is usually fragrant and flavorful. I'd give them 3.5 stars if I could. Not a bad place to grab a bit, but by no means the best Mexican food I ever had.

Was out taking a stroll and wanted Mexican for lunch. I had heard about Carmelita's Kitchen de Mexico. Google showed that they were open, however they were closed so I walked across the street to Lolita's Mexican Food. I'm glad I did. My meal was delish. The staff was friendly and assisted me with a great variety of food to sample. Overall Great Customer Service and very clean facility

Lolita’s near Petco Park is a clean and reasonably priced spot for when you are near the park. Being downtown, they don’t have assigned parking so you’ll either need to find street parking which can be difficult or take a ride share. We have been there a few times and service has been hit and miss. Sometimes they are friendly and other times the staff seem more stressed out than pleasant. The Carne Asada is not my favorite in San Diego but it’s always tender and is good with the salsas on the bar. Fish Tacos also not the absolute best in San Diego but decent. It’s a solid choice for reasonably priced Mexican food if you’re in the area.

I recently grabbed some tacos and quesadilla at this venue nearby Petco park. It was very clean, the service was friendly, and my food was great. They had plenty of table seating in their dining area at a lot of space to sit at their bar. I noticed they also had a lot of TVs with sports playing too. Solid food and salsa bar, I’d definitely go back again.

Food looks good but it taste bland. I am only giving it a 3 star because i did like the asada fries.

So close to comic con and right behind the petco park stadium. Excellent price and delicious authentic food! So tasty! It is a bit greasy but that didn't negatively impact flavor. Large portions for the price. Definitely would recommend - especially if you're looking for a place that doesn't break the bank!

Coming back to California I was looking forward to having some good Mexican food. Unfortunately Lolita’s didn’t deliver. Food: 2 stars Value: 3 stars My sister lived in San Diego for a number of years and one thing she misses is the carne asada fries. One of things that I thought I should have while in town were carne asada fries. The carne asada wasn’t very good and that ruined the dish for me. The guacamole was ok and the fries were cooked ok but I found that this dish a fail. The fish taco was pretty bad. Not enough sauce, the tortilla was mealy and not crisp. The fish quality was good but I was expecting a Baja style and this wasn’t anything like that at all. The rolled tacos were ok. Kind of reminds me of something I could get at Costco. Probably the best of the three things I had.

We went after a Padres games, and it was obviously super busy. I definitely plan to revisit when it’s not so crowded to see if the food is any different. Also, I want to try other items from the menu. I’ll say, despite the crowd of fired up and probably mostly drunk customers, the staff was friendly and upbeat. I got a fish taco and a shrimp taco. The shrimp taco was seriously amazing. The shrimp were nice and big, not overcooked, and the seasoning and flavor was great. The fish taco was nowhere near as good. I’ll certainly try it again when the place is less busy but overall the fish lacked flavor and was super mushy.

Great place to watch the Padres game! Such a great vibe , plenty of seating and love the light fixtures!! Came here today, Aug 18 to just relax and wait for my friend to attend the ballgame. Thankful that I was able to find a wall outlet towards the far right hand side of the entrance to charge my phone... Their food is delicious and their food items are VERY REASONABLE !! IF on a tight budget, just order some rolled tacos - which happens to be my favorite food entrée from Lolita's.

I came here for lunch during comicon, and this place did not disappoint. Everything was very well priced (especially compared to nasty convention food) and the online ordering system made it really easy to skip the waiting. I ordered the fish tacos and then the California burrito and everything was so good. It is quintessential Californian, Mexican food and everything was super flavorful and well seasoned. They also have a bar with scallions and radishes, which I really appreciated, and they helped cut into the fattiness of the burrito. Overall, it's a super busy joint and a bit hard to find seating ( the crowds might have been due to comicon though) so I would recommend placing an order ahead of time to minimize wait times.

I was attending San Diego comicon this weekend and found this a little gem on my way to one of the panels at the San Diego Central Library. It is located right next to Petco Park, and often has a shorter line than the hustle bustle of the gaslamp district. I found that it was often full of people, but not very many lines. The servers are very friendly, very informative, and always checked on how the food was. Keep in mind, that these tacos are not your average in Street Taco state are a little larger. When I asked the person behind the counter, how large the taco were they seem to not know how large street tacos were. Setting my expectations low because of the location I was blown away at the flavors that I encountered. The shrimp were perfectly seasoned, and perfectly cooked the carne asada, though not traditional were moist, and had a tender texture to it. The burritos were also outstanding. And the servers are very friendly in suggesting that I keep my sour cream, guacamole, and salsa on the side if I am taking a burrito for later. And the dining environments had this rustic old-school future however, it was still clean, and they were plenty of seating, considering how busy it was. I really enjoyed this place and came back to get one more meal here before I left San Diego. Highly recommended !! PS some of the local informed me that Lolitas is a relatively famous chain in the area .

We ate here before a padre game.I really like that this is a reasonably priced fast food spot in downtown . That was a nice surprise. Unfortunately the food was on the bland side . It's like they are cooking for people in an hospital on a no salt diet . If you're closely watching your salt intake this is 5 star food for you. But if you're seeking rich layered flavors, you won't find it here.

Lolita's near Petco Park is a clean and reasonably priced spot for when you are near the park. Being downtown, they don't have assigned parking so you'll either need to find street parking which can be difficult or take a ride share. We have been there a few times and service has been hit and miss. Sometimes they are friendly and other times the staff seem more stressed out than pleasant. The Carne Asada is not my favorite in San Diego but it's always tender and is good with the salsas on the bar. Fish Tacos also not the absolute best in San Diego but decent. It's a solid choice for reasonably priced Mexican food if you're in the area.

I don't really like Mexican food all that much but I knew there weren't many food options in the downtown area so we ate here for dinner. I usually get burrito bowls or equivalent at Mexican restaurants. I tried one here with chicken and thought the chicken overall was quite bland and perhaps a bit rubbery. Very little flavor. I don't like having to dunk my food in hot sauce to make it taste good either. The guacamole / avocado sauce was okay not the best, a bit on the more liquid side if I recall correctly. The orange rice was also not that good, very bland by itself. The chips were tasty with the salsa but also insanely hot out of the frier so be careful! Service was fine.

I've heard this place described as "classic" or a "staple" in downtown San Diego. Apparently our daughter frequented this place when attended Comicon a few years back. So we ordered some tacos, asada fries, and as is my custom I ordered the chimi (which I compare to other chimis as sort of a "standard candle"). We had been here before a few years ago, but I didn't really remember the food. My asada chimi was good. Not enchilada style (i.e. with sauce over the top). Rice was not very flavorful. Tacos were pretty good. The asada fries were really nice. If the rice were more flavorful, I would give this a solid 4 stars. As it is, it's about 3.5 stars. But I'll round-up. Decent food. Not spectacular. But pretty good.

Super good burrito and taco!! Portion was really big though the price reflected on that. Burrito was loaded and I was very full! When my friend and I walked in there was a customer causing a scene by the door but otherwise very laid back environment and good for hanging out!

Lolita's, a classic SD joint, and a must-go for all of your California burrito needs. Every time I'm in SD, I make at least one stop to Lolita's, this time I actually went twice given the close proximity to this location right near Petco Park and my hotel in the Gaslamp. I decided to try a couple new things, I've usually opted for the OG California burrito, but went for a 2-in-1 burrito, which I've had before, but decided to go extra fatty and add fries to try to get the best of both worlds. It was a good idea. I've also never tried the shredded beef taco, it was a little greasy but a winner nonetheless. Both were extremely satisfying. Of particular note though was the breakfast burrito with chorizo. I've never ventured into breakfast at Lolita's but this burrito was a winner. I think they use a beef chorizo, which seemed less greasy than a typical chorizo, but you still get that rich flavor that goes particularly well with eggs and potatoes. I'd definitely get it again!

Lolita's Mexican restaurant has been an East Village staple for almost 15 years now.  I've found it to be a good place to get some really good Mexican food before or after a Padres game at Petco Park. Sad to learn today that it will be closing its doors on September 24th.

Loved the options on the menu. I tried the chicken rolled tacos with guacamole. A bit on the dry side and the portion was smaller than expected. Would be a good appetizer. The tacos were large, so not the street tacos you're used to with authentic Mexican tacos. I liked the salsas and radish condiments you can grab to your liking. Overall decent quality food, but there are better options in the area.

I've heard only good things about this restaurant so I was so excited to try it out! I got the surf and turn burrito and it was so yummy. they even had a sauce bar, and I was very grateful for it. I recommend everyone should try this place out! I will be back again to try out more entree items!

I popped in for a quick lunch. My friend from the area had recommended the California burrito, so I went with that and a side of guacamole, plus rice and beans. The burrito was large and tasted good - the guacamole was a good choice to provide something to cut the heaviness of the rest of the food. The rice and beans were okay, but you can skip if they aren't your thing and you wouldn't be missing out.

According to a 7-year old, the kids bean and cheese burrito seemed delicious. Both the cheese enchilada and chicken enchilada were prepared well, with the 11-year old favoring the cheese. However, since he is only 11, take his opinion with a grain of salt. Personally, I tried the tostada with shredded chicken, but it wasn't as flavorful as I anticipated. The cheese nachos were disappointing as well, as the cheese wasn't even melted. On a positive note, the service was excellent.

Thank you to the closing crew at this location last night (08/15). We left the Padres game and booked it to Lolita's, my favorite Mexican food of all time. We got to the door at 8:56 and the man at the door said we could order to go only. Perfect, that is exactly what we wanted! I walked straight to the counter trying not to waste any time. I placed the order and was about to pay. The nice woman that took my order asked for my name (for the order) and I jokingly replied "annoying last minute customer". She smiled and said "you still have two more minutes". I realized as I was placing my card in the machine to pay that I wanted to change one thing. The woman was very nice and changed my order. This is where it went slightly south... She was explaining to the cook about the change and I could clearly see he was agitated. I was second guessing myself for walking in the door and felt bad for placing an order. The man that was closing out the register was very vocal about his disapproval and slamming things around. I understand the frustration, but had any one of those people just told me the kitchen is closed I would have been on my way. I have never felt less welcome in an establishment where mind you, there were still patrons eating in the dining room (they were still there even after we left). When our order was ready the woman who took our order brought it out to the table where we were sitting and I thanked her again. We left with our bag of delicious Mexican food from Lolita's and drove home. I was really hoping that the quality of the food would not suffer because of the timing of our arrival. You wouldn't believe the pleasant surprise we received when we opened our meals and they were perfect and delicious!! So thank you to the staff. Thank you for giving us a delicious meal despite your frustration. Please know that you made this family of 3 very happy even though we appeared to ruin your night. Sometimes that extra 10 minutes or 30 minutes (because I know you probably had extra cleaning time) can make a world of difference to your guests. I hope this changes your outlook on how you present your feelings when there are patrons still in your establishment!

Second Time i have ordered potato rolled tacos with guac and no cheese...to get home to find out they are beef. Had to toss them out and I'm never eating here again. NOT vegan or veggie friendly.

Glad this place is closing down! Overpriced and ridiculously small portions. Small burritos. Super skimpy on the guacamole on their rolled tacos. They just give you a small spoon full. If you order 5 rolled tacos, there is no guacamole on the 2 outer tacos. Greedy Farfan family I guess ain't rich enough yet. They need to cheat their customers out of food that they paid for. Also if you have a complaint and want to return the food. They won't give you your money back!

This is always our first stop before the ballgame and never disappoints. Gigi helped us at the bar today and she was so friendly and provided outstanding service! The food was delicious and they had awesome music and drink selection.

How can you be so close to Mexico and yet get enchiladas so wrong? The tortillas were undercooked, the chicken was questionable. They drowned it in canned sauce. The beans definitely came out of a can and they sprinkled it with shredded cheese from the grocery store. The only thing good with the enchiladas combo was the rice - and the beer because it was canned. The service was awesome, staff is friendly. You're better off going somewhere else if you plan on finishing your entire meal.

Highly recommended when you want a solid burrito before a baseball game. Line was pretty big, which was expected 2 hours before a game, but was able to order and get my food in less than 15 minutes. Only real downside was the lack of any real waiting space to sit in while your food is ordered, but this is more than likely due to space in downtown being at a premium. Overall, if you're gonna be watching some baseball, get a burrito and have a good time.

Overall, I was not very impressed. I ordered the California burrito from their best sellers portion of the menu, but it just didn't do it for me. I was expecting an explosion of flavor surrounding those crunchy French fries, but it was a rather dry burrito. I would recommend getting a super burrito or something with lettuce, pico and guac, then adding fries to it. I did like that the restaurant was very clean though.

Went to a Padres game and stopped here for a quick snack. High energy busy spot. Right across the street from the stadium so it was pretty busy and packed so wasn't the quickest service but understandable. Seating is first come, first serve and you order at the counter. "Small" carne asada fries were pretty good and definitely not small lol. Fish taco was definitely better than chicken

This is a great place for lunch...I had the beef rolled taco plate and the meat just melted in my mouth. Price was not bad. Only thing I didn't like is the shortage of tables/eating space(that is why 4 stars). I went before dinner crowd, and was able to find seating, whereas my friend and her husband went there for dinner and there was no where to sit, so they took their food back to the hotel. I love they have salsa bar too. As for Service, my hubby went to order at counter, while I sit at table. I did notice that no one cleaned the table after someone leaves...we had to clean our own table. But food was yummy. Oh yeh, if you want side of chips, you have to pay for it...not like Sharkey's where it comes with your meal...I guess because Sharky's is a big corporates that is why. But. Yes...I would come back...food is not boring.

While in San Diego one of my friends always recommends Lolita's for their asada fries and cali burrito. This trip was the first time I've been able to visit and luckily for me it was within walking distance from the hotel I was staying at. Conveniently located next to PetCo park, Lolitas serve a very nice Breakfast burrito and their Cali burritos is a definite must. Since my visit was during the morning I didn't want to order too much food so I can enjoy lunch some where. I gotta admit, although each burrito looked small, they were packed with fillings and goodies and it did ruin our lunch plans. (even splitting the two burritos between two people) Parking: paid lots in local area VERDICT: Rinse and repeat

Awful never eating here again!I came here yesterday evening before the baseball game started. I'm a pescatarian/vegetarian. I ordered rolled taquitos (potato kind) with rice and beans to go to take to the ball game. I started eating my food when I got to my seat. The first rolled taco was good. When I took a bite of the second one it had a different taste to it. I look at the other half of the rolled taco that I bit into and it had chicken. I had accidentally swallowed a small piece but was able to spit out what I had in my mouth onto my plate. I literally got nauseous from eating meat and had to go to the restroom and threw up. I hadn't eaten or even touched meat in 4 years. My stomach was upset for the rest of the night!!! The restaurant is too rushed in doing their work that The result is sloppy and missing up your order. I threw away the rest of my food. I'm disappointed especially spending $15 on a plate! Not worth coming here, nor the best hype place! Save your money and go somewhere else if you want good quality food and service! Your food will be messed up in order. You may think this sounds stupid for what happened but you're messing with people's health when you mess up they're order, that it can traumatize.

Tearfully saying goodbye is a complete understatement for this place. I have so many memories of lunches here with friends, colleagues, and family. This place was THE place to go for some amazing food, smiling servers and just an all around vibe. Wish I could say this is the place to go, but sadly the location is now closed. I don't know all the others Lolita's locations measure up, but this one will always be my favorite!!

Awful. Period. Stop accepting Door Dash orders when there is an event at Petco Park. Worst ever. Waiting almost an hour. 2 Dashers time wasted too. Can't even get a refund. Never eat here again.

Excellent Mexican food in a bright, airy, clean comfortable spot next to Petco Park. A great find! The burritos, tacos and enchiladas were all freshly made, tasted good and served pretty quickly. As is often the case, the freshly made tortillas bring it all together with the other quality ingredients. Service was friendly, courteous and efficient with our order being 100% accurate. Nice job, Lolita's!

The tsunami burrito was versus delicious and flavorful...really this place is 3.5.. the food is good but not great.. something was amiss with the super rolled tacos...... the byrruto had a good amount of meat, but the tortilla was thicker tgan I thought it would be

Food had no flavor meat was tuff and hard it definitely wasn't tri tip beef stay away beware not good food waters down Mexican food I see why this location is closing down

Do not order doordash or any app online ordering. THEY WILL MESS UP YOUR ORDER. They can't read CORN gave me flour tortillas. That flour tortillas was hard I had to steam it. I had ESPECIAL include rice and beans. Their beans another story so gross looking and very dark color like hard poop emoji. This is not good authentic Mexican food place to crave for Mexicanfood. I won't be ordering again its so unsatisfying eating their food just not gooooood taste. Better stick with La Lomita in National city if ever want mexican food

Decent Mexican food that's more on the "cleaner" side (AKA less greasy). My boyfriend and I came here to try the adobada tacos and down a couple of beers. Parking was kind of hard to find, so we walked about three blocked before coming here. Service was pretty fast, and food a little pricey. The tacos were BIG though. I would come here if I was in the mood for something on the "healthier" side.

I don't know what was happening on the day that I went (1/5/21) but the moment I walked in there, it smelled like a dead body... it smelled so bad. My boyfriend said he didn't even want to speak or open his mouth because the smell was just so so bad. I mean the cashier was super nice so customer service was good but the smell was just absolutely AWFUL. The tsunami chips that my boyfriend got were really really good. The combo plate with 3 rolled tacos were just okay. The rolled tacos were just meh and the ends were really hard. The beef inside was super clumpy and I really did not like that. The beans were just okay and there wasn't any seasoning or anything special about it. The rice was also just nothing special and the carrots inside was just smushy. I don't think I'm ever going to come here again.

By far my favorite taco shop in town! This has always been my go to place before heading into a ball game at Petco Park and still in the off season for our Padres I have to stop by to get my carne asada fries fix! I've gotten to try so many different things from here as a frequent visitor as a Padres fan and you can not go wrong with anything on the menu! My go to has always been the carne asada fries or the surf and turf fries if you're feeling fancy!

I was really disappointed with this. I had heard great things, but this was a severely underwhelming burrito and quesadilla. This place was on so many lists as a great burrito, but it was truly mediocre. The tortilla was dry and flakey, and the contents of the burrito were dry and separated. The quesadilla was soggy and had an off flavor to it. I had such high expectations, but this was truly not what I had hoped for.

The food and service here was great. The creamy cojita sauce was delicious, it was for my salad but I dipped everything in it!

Love Lolitas and the customer service. I usually get a California Burrito and this time I got 3 rolled tacos. The tacos were crunchy and was good, it had guac and parmasan cheese. My usual spot to go to now!

Doesn't look like much when you walk past, but the food is delicious. Some of the best food we had our entire trip! For a quick meal this was amazing, but you can also stay awhile. Beautiful, clean interior & the staff is welcoming and helpful. Very very clean & beer on tap which is amazing, here we have a mexican coke & modelo on tap. The cali burrito was my favorite, the meat was cooked to perfection & the cheese was oooey gooey. Perfect amount & tasted very fresh. I even loved the beans which normally I'm not much interested in! A must try in San Diego. We walked from our hotel. Not far from Petco Stadium!

Mini burritos not very impressed, $10 dlls for something that looks like it came wrapped in plastic. Nothing special about the flavor or quality, just a smaller burrito, bland and more expensive. Allot of flour tortilla and less meat.

NOT RECOMMENDED. I planned to take my out of town visitor to a classic mom & pop Mexican restaurant near the hotel where she stayed downtown. This "family restaurant" was actually a chain: boring, sterile, order at the counter, no frills...like no chips and salsa...just put the burrito on the plain pressed cardboard plate (the only thing good about it-no styrofoam). Not even a sprig of cilantro. Uninspiring salsa bar-tasteless green or read salsa, green onion stalks and radish slices-punto!) The "carnitas burrito" was just mushed together meat. TINY plastic cup for water. I brought my computer since we were planning to check some things on line during lunch. I thought at least this more upscale looking place would have internet...BUT NO!!! I was embarrassed that I had not done my research on this place for the one meal we had together. I wish we had gone anywhere but here ... like a mile away to Barrio Logan for GOOD authentic Mexican food.

This is an embarrassing title for "Mexican food". We live in the building attached to Lolita's and we've been here all of 4 times in 4 1/2 years. Lolita's is terrible. Some of the absolute worst Mexican food in San Diego. For some reason their name got hot and people love this place. I am convinced their other locations must be amazing, the downtown location is a nightmare. Avoid at all costs. After 2 years I decided to give them another try. They're so close and convenient, I want it to work. Check out this quesadilla, no cheese, 1 shrimp and some white sauce.

If you want flys in your drink this is the spot food is ok not the best and seeing this made me completely disgusted to the point I was paranoid checking my meal every 5 seconds. Won't be back

Hello, I'm not normally one to critique but the customer service at this location was absolutely terrible. I felt disrespected and ignored. I almost felt like I did something wrong but I absolutely didn't! I ordered 2 burritos for online pickup and when it says ready for pickup, I head to the restaurant. Upon arriving the lady is taking some woman's order. Once they're done I tell the employee I'm here for pickup. She says it's not ready we haven't received it. I show her the details and she appears to BARELY START ON MY ORDER! Keep in mind this is 45 minutes after ordering. Well I stand there waiting and more and more people keep coming in. They all get seated and are even getting their food at this point. The lady is avoiding eye contact. I've been at the restaurant 25 minutes at this point. I decide to wait in line to ask if my order is ready, as soon as I get to the front, SHE LEAVES AND GOES TO CLEAN TABLES. She spoke to the 5 people in line before me. I finally decide to walk up to her and she says "I just got back from my break I don't know what you want me to do". Maybe some customer service? Another 10 minutes goes by & I finally get my order after waiting at the restaurant for almost 40 minutes for them to make my food on top of 45 minutes when I ordered. I'm almost scared to eat it because they may have spit in it. Regardless, I just wanted to tell you all my experience and hope you try to fix it. I didn't catch the female employees name but she seemed to be the only female working on 5/31/23 around 10 am. Thank you and I'm looking forward to your response! Best regards, Brian

What an awesome little joint in the heart of San Diego! I was craving nachos one afternoon... thank you, Yelpers, for leading me here! I walked over from our hotel, ordered at the counter, took a seat along one of the window counter bars, and sat down. The menu and food options looked so good that I ended up ordering tacos, too. (Note: nachos and tacos were too much for me to finish by myself!) The tacos were crispy tacos, which is exactly what I was looking for. Note: some of the tacos, depending on the meat selection (I think), come in soft shell. I appreciated the quantity of cheese! ;) There is a salsa bar next to the soda machine, so you can dress your taco up however you'd like. Super close proximity to the ballpark, so I can see it probably getting crowded before or after games? Food was VERY reasonably priced for the area! 2020: 5/100

Extremely sad to see Lolita's leave. East village will miss them dearly. Their employees were like family.

Good food great service. Friendly staff and clean location. Beer, soda and aguas frescas. I love it there!

The Chorizo burrito was well made, the service was quick, although my group was the only ones in there at the time. I would eat there again.

We needed a mini vacation and headed out to SD for the weekend. First stop for a late lunch? Lolitas! I had a Carne Asada salad and the hubby had his all time favorite, Carne Asada Burrito. Food was excellent. The customer service was great. No one was in the store, so no problem physical distancing. We grabbed our food to go. We sat out in the truck and ate before heading to the hotel for check in.

I live in Northern California, but our Mexican food doesn't even compare to San Diego's. I was visiting the area for a few days and had Mexican food each day of our trip so I could get my fill of it. Lolita's was one of the places I tried, and it was one of the best burritos I've ever had! Their prices are good, especially being near a baseball park, and their tortillas are phenomenal. After eating my veggie burrito ($5.39 and included guac!), I regretted not buying more from Lolita's. Next time I'm in the area, I'm definitely coming back!

This place should be be "called "Mexican-ish" food. The carne Asada Boo-rrito sucked. If you are coming from another place where they don't have decent Mexican food then go ahead and try this and Taco Bell or the tacos at Jack in the box. You will be ok if your expectations are just low enough to call this fine mexican food. Overpriced and nasty food. I recommend going to another establishment that has not gotten so big that they just care about profits. Bye bye bye Low-lita Mexican-ish food.