We walked in and this place was DEAD. Like... so dead I started wondering, Did I miss a sign? Are y'all even open??" Nobody was in there and I immediately started questioning myself. But after we sat down, a few more people came in and I was like PHEW!!! Okay, we're good. I'm not the only one. Service was okay. Nothing bad, nothing amazing. Now the birria itself was a little on the dry side, BUT once you hit it with that consommé, it comes back to life. Dip that bad boy in there and we're back in business. Overall, I enjoyed the food. Solid, decent spot. BUT MANAGEMENT... We gotta talk about these TVs and projectors. I'm sitting here peacefully eating birria with my FAMILY .....my 5-year-old and 8-year-old ......when suddenly the music videos have women shaking their asses across the projector and people making out on the TVs. Bruhhhhhh I came here for BIRRIA. Now I'm eating a taco while simultaneously trying to figure out how to explain to my kids why the lady on the giant projector is doing all that. I DID NOT ORDER THE SEX-ED COMBO. "Dad, what are they doing?" ME: "Uhhhh... eat your taco, son. Look at the consommé. Isn't the consommé beautiful??" So just a friendly suggestion to management: if families and little kids are eating inside, maybe keep the videos a little more family-friendly. I shouldn't have to explain the birds and the bees between bites of quesabirria. Overall though, the place was good and decent. I'd eat the birria again, especially with the consommé. And if you need somewhere to throw a spontaneous birthday party, baby shower, graduation, quinceañera, family reunion, church retreat, or possibly a small wedding reception... THIS MIGHT BE YOUR SPOT because there was PLENTY of room. You might have the whole restaurant to yourself! Just somebody PLEASE take control of the remote before I come back with my kids. read more

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First time going to a sit-down restaurant that specializes in a birria-based menu, and it was pretty good, but I've definitely had better elsewhere. FOOD: 7/10 SERVICE: 8/10 AMBIANCE: 10/10 FOOD: 7/10 I wish the birria tacos were more toasty and crunchy, as they tasted slightly soggy. I really love how they have a rack for their toppings, which is very clean and organized! Their horchata was one of the best horchata I've had and was very addictive! SERVICE: 8/10 Service was standard, but the waitress was very nice and chill. She did check up on us to make sure our food was okay. AMBIANCE: 10/10 The restaurant was very spacious and clean with huge TV's of concerts being played, haha. I think I still prefer the taco truck experience for birria tacos and have had better elswhere, but it was a nice place to try! read more

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Today is sister-n-law's birthday celebration and she chose this Birrieria. The location is nice enough inside because it has room for a large party to sit together. It wasn't busy for a Saturday afternoon as only two tables were occupied with 3 & 4 persons respectively. All the family couldn't make it so we were only 10 and sat comfortably together. I always look at all the prices first before selecting what I want. Then I compare items and prices for the best value. With a price of $4.50 for one Birria taco alone, I looked for a "plate" value. You know, rice+beans+tortillas. So I chose the Platillo de Birria because it said on the menu that it's served with rice and beans but, only decided in it after asking if it comes with tortillas. It does. I don't need a beer solo, I can forgo the $8.20. So I chose "Agua Embotellada" or bottled water for $2.50 . They brought me a Kirkland 16.9 oz water bottle. Fun fact: a 40 pack of Kirkland water is $4.59. 40 bottles x $2.50 = $100. Profit is $95.00 on a cost of $4.59. Does that sound fair? Next time (if there is one).... BYOB. The star of the show, Birria, was delicious. Good taste. Juicy. The service well, it was ok. Not impressive. And since my bottled water was the last drink delivered, (everyone else ordered drinks, horchata, lemonade, etc.) slow. Fortunately, unlike Eric S.'s review four days ago, the music videos were good Mexican songs. No twerking or making out. I agree with Eric S. there is plenty of room. Parking in front where signs reads Panda Imperial Only Will Tow, is apparently ok as one of their employees said "it's ok to park there. They've never towed. And if they do I'll pay for it". Yup, that's what he said . I get it. We ALL get it. The price of everything is too much here in California. But, where you can, be fair. A 0.12¢ bottle of waster selling for $2.50 is a 2.083% markup. C'mon man! read more

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It was fine, probably not my fav spot ever but definitely good to try it since I was in the area exploring.

Our first time here, and we were completely flabbergasted by the terrible service from our server, Paulina. As soon as we arrived, she refused to let us sit in the shade and sent us all the way to a corner, supposedly to be "close to the cook," even though the entire restaurant was empty. Just two minutes later, some men walked in, and she accommodated them by letting them sit in the nice location they wanted. We were never offered water, and if it wasn't for the cook, we probably would have never received anything at all. This was a clear display of what felt like discrimination and racism. We will never come back to this restaurant again. read more

I would give them no star but i had to but at least one , i give them that because today 08/23 @11 am my son and his friend went to order food at a pop up el primo birrieria had at the apartment complex and they never recieved their order , when thay order they were told 20 min and they went after the 20 min and were told 3 more min minutes by 12:55pm they didnt receive anything so they decided to just cancel the order and get their money back because other people who ordered after hadgot their orders before and after waiting almost 2 hrs they didnt had my sons order that is just ridiculous , just because they are teanagers doesn mean they had to be ignored. read more

Food is great the employees are all nice and they keep the place clean and tidy. The food is delicious and serving size good. read more

Birrieria El primo - Specialty Food Near Me - Chula Vista, California

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*Great service *casual ambiance *weekends has some wait times *food is great I still love coming here! This is one of my favorite birria spots to come with the family. Take out is also great if you prefer to eat a home it's always packed well. read more

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Good food however these people are very racist. Let me explain. I have gone here several times and I have always felt out of place by the staff. Slow to serve us, don't check back on the table. I thought it was me until today. Walked in to no acknowledgement. It was busy but many open tables. Ignored by the servers, they just kept cleaning tables while we stood in the doorway. This was confirmation of what I suspected all along. So if you are not Mexican, don't come here, plenty of other options in the South Bay read more

Menudo smelled really bad and tacos had too much salt . Servers did not ask once how was the food but they did notice that the food was not being eaten. read more

Sherlyn made experience pleasant and was everywhere. You can tell she takes pride in her job. The Birria was great as it was recommended to me by the car audio place down the street while I wait. read more

What a horrible experience my family and I had this Sunday after mass. We were told to wait 15 min. While they cleaned a table, we waited 20min. The waitress asked the owner if she can sit us at a table he was using to do accounting. He told her no to wait for that table to be cleaned (20min.) I me tinned doesn't he have a back office! I walked around the restaurant and clearly seen 7 tables clean and open mind you I was in business hours. Best believe I spoke up on this issue with him. He dropped the cellphone and told me hold on I have a table for you. I'm like really man almost half hour and many open tables you offer this when I call you out on this. Pathetic that's what I get for trying a new place when clearly Fernandez is the only place to go to. (It was closed) I usually would understand more so running a restaurant years back. read more

There was a roach in a frame I let them know and they were trying to act like nothing happen since there was a influencer recording they didn't want to make it a big deal we didn't even receive any type of discount. read more

Birrieria El primo - It was in those frames where the roach came out - Specialty Food Near Me - Chula Vista, California

First of all, im not the person who write reviews but ill do it. I don't even have an account here in yelp. Horrible experience with Nancy's service. She always seems annoyed with what she does. We simply decided not to go back. The birria isn't the same as before: it's too salty. I don't recommend this place if you don't want to get a bad rap. I wanted to give it another chance and we ordered takeout and they didn't send me any vegetables. Bruhh fr? I won't go back for sure! read more

I was in the area and craving for some Mexican food. This spot did not disappoint, food was delicious and it was served within 10 mins. I guess I was lucky that service was fast after reading some of the reviews. I like the idea that they bring each table tacos condiments/toppings. read more

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This was my go to spot for birrieria, but after my last order I think it is time to abandon this place. Ordered a large order of birrieria and it was super salty. I normally like my food salty but even for me the salt was a bit to much. The beans are normally good, but this last order they tasted like they were burnt. This is the 2nd time in a few months I have been here and the food was salty. Not sure if the cooks changed or the recipe changed, but it must call for 2-3 cups of salt not tablespoons. As far as dine in i do not know because I always order to go. read more

This birria is so full of flavor. Love the way it is made. Orders can be a bit skimpy though. Not enough meat & a lot of broth in the orders. Beans were not fresh this time we ordered :/Agua de coco is alsooo very goood!!! read more

This is the best birria here in San Diego, we always order the large order for family gatherings. The ambiance is amazing, the ladies are always so nice and friendly, they offer different dishes I definitely recommend this place to anyone who is craving birria read more

My favorite spot in Chula Vista for micheladas. Nothing beats that first sip feeling the morning after a night out drinking, and the best part is they make them to go! Call ahead to avoid the wait and add an order of their tasty birria while you're at it. #noregrets read more

Birrieria El primo - Michelada to go! - Specialty Food Near Me - Chula Vista, California

Me and my parents come here every once in a while and the food is amazing. The flour tortillas are soft and homemade always try to come early on the weekends to get some homemade Menudo as a beverage. My wife loves to get their coconut Horchata it kinda sounds weird, but it works amazing. I can confidently say whatever you pick from this place you will not be disappointed. read more

No paper seat covers and no toilet paper at women's bathroom. Micheladas are WAY overpriced. It's mediocre place to eat at best. Overpriced for what it is. They always want cash and will charge extra if you pay with a debit. read more

Service is horrible besides they dont accept debit card just to get away without paying taxes so they tell you to go to atm next to cashier and atm charges $3 for a withdraw. read more

This place is a solid indoor birria joint in Chula Vista. I'm from Sydro so I'd only ever ordered Birrieria el Primo from the foodtruck next to Grocery Outlet, but I was with a friend in the area and we decided to try their in store location. When we walked in, there was waitresses and they sat us and took our orders. I just went for the classic tacos, meanwhile my friend opted for a regular taco and a quesataco. They brought us out chips and salsa to start munching while we waited for the food, and the sauces were very tasty and seemed fresh. The food came out shortly, although the tortilla wasn't very "dorada" despite us both asking for our tacos that way, but this birria never makes me sick "nunca cae pesada" and I like that it isn't as greasy as some others that I've had in SD. It's a solid place, and I love their use of repollo in their tacos, that's so Tijuana birrieria Si, La Libertad, if u know u know realness and it adds such a nice pop of color and complexity to the taco. For drinks, we didn't do too much and just stuck to some sodas but they do have cafe de olla which definitely warrants a try. The tacos weren't as hot as I would've loved them to be which was a bummer since they usually come out piping at the food trucks, but for being indoors and having ac, i can't complain too much. The inside is a bit weird, because they have scenery painted on the windows as they're blacked out on both sides, and the decor is flashy and intense, but it's a nice eating experience and I enjoyed having my meal indoors. Also thank god they accept apple pay, I saw so many reviews talking about them making you pay in cash, and honestly it's true there is an ATM inside the building, but we were able to use tap to pay with no problem and the bill wasn't ridiculous, but definitely not the cheapest birria place in SD. God knows if they made me pay in cash I'd be livid. But, OVERALL DAYGOEATS CERTIFIED only because this is the mother store to the food truck and it's good, but ima still be hitting up the food truck first. read more

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This place would definitely be a 4 or 5 Star. However depending on who your waitress is, their debit card machine might not work. Then they'll force you to use the ATM which they conveniently have on site, and it's not a bank atm, so they charge you a fee, and then your bank will charge you a fee. You end up paying 6-7 dollar premium in their premium prices. So make sure you have cash... I found it kind of shady... read more

I only chose to give this place 2 stars because the food was good but the audacity that this place has to NOT tell customers BEFORE ordering that they are cash only is ethically wrong. There are no signs in front of the place stating that. Since they blind side customers by telling you AFTER you try to hand them a debit card and your FORCED to pay an ATM fee, makes me wonder what they're are doing on the side that they may need to hide. Not coming back. There's plenty of delicious Birria in Chula Vista. read more

OMG! I cannot believe it has taken me 27 years to try birrieria! It is so deliciously amazing! So, if you are like me, you are probably wondering, "What is birrieria?" It is tasty, tender pieces of beef. Perfectly marinated. It is not spicy. You can eat it as a soup because it comes in broth or you can take out the piece of meat & make a taco. The restaurant gives you plain corn tortilla or deep fried tortilla, & toppings. Quesadilla de harina: Yum! I love how they fry the cheese. Horchata: Very creamy! read more

The Micheladas are delicious, My order was chilaquiles verdes with arranchera, the meat was very salty. I thought it was my food but my boyfriend order the chilaquiles rojos. Mind you he is a salty lover and did say his food was also salty , my mom order the birria tacos and she also thought it was salty. Great customer service just the food was very salty ! read more

Food is ok... Drinks came after the food was ready Customer service sucks, wasn't told they only accept cash till I had to pay read more

Food is awesome,,,but customer service is bad and the waitress are in a bad mood, music is too loud and they only take cash!!!!

Food is good but customer service is horrible! Took forever to take our order then messed up our order. Never came back to check how we were doing and I was waiting to ask for a refill but she never came. I had to go to the counter to ask for my check because she was avoiding our table it felt like. Even when I asked for my check it took another 20 minutes and me asking another server for me to finally get my check. I would understand if it was busy but there were only 2 other tables besides mine. I won't be back read more

This restaurant has the worst customer service. It just gets worse. The waitresses are so rude, they don't know the menu. Prices went up , food quality went down. Will not eat here again. read more

This place is garbage. When they first opened, they were definitely worth the five stars. They only get one now because yelp requires at least one. The service has gone down, the quality has gone down. I won't come back The experience leaves a bad taste read more

These tacos are so good! You don't even need the consume' because they're so juicy. I also love the fact they give you the pickled red onions and limes on the side. Service has been good all the times I've gone, quick. It's cash only. I am very picky about flan and theirs is so creamy and delicious. read more

Very good food but the day i went there several items on the menu were out.!I don't know if this is the norm but it is frustrating when you crave something from the menu and they don't have it. The service is not very good, they employ these young girls that have no clue of what customer service is. Ambiance for me is too noisy, music is too loud. The worst thing to me was they don't take cards, only cash! and they don't tell you when you order. Thank God I had enough cash to pay. read more

The birria tacos are so bomb especially when you get them dorados y con el consomé the miches are fire I love this place

I honestly feel like staff is rude, and that's the biggest ice breaker for me. It's a big discrepancy that they do not disclose it's cash only when sitting people at the restaurant. Not to mention the waiter didn't say anything UNTIL we walked to the register to pay. The waiter asked us if we wanted to order anything else, then as soon as she turned before walking back to the kitchen she said sorry it's close. Not even giving the chance or even being sympathetic about it. Food was okay, minus the fruit flies all over. Definitely wouldn't come here again. read more

I went hour before closing, the birria was not made right, taste like it was made in tomato sauce not chiles and spices , the tortillas not made in birria consome, they give shredded cabbage which doesn't go with food , and birria was not gd and price was high to top it off . read more

The quality of the food is good but it also has to do with the customer service you receive. Which it needs a lot of help! No one acknowledges you when you walk in. The look that the waitresses give you it's like if it's a competition or looking down at you. They just look upset like they're miserable. Not a welcoming place. It makes you not even want to return. read more

Birrieria El primo - Specialty Food Near Me - Chula Vista, California

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10/10 ! Food is amazing ! Love the environment, desserts are amazing , must try green enchiladas

We came here for the first time on a Thursday afternoon. It was recommended by a good friend of mine and we are hooked! We came for the birria and it was amazing!!! My husband and I both ordered birria tacos, blando and dorado. The meat was so flavorful and juicy! The service was great and they made sure we had everything we needed. The ambiance was quiet and very clean, but we were the only ones eating at that time. They do only take cash and there is a sign at the front desk that states that clearly when you walk in. The hostess also mentioned immediately that they only take cash when she sat us. We were aware of that already and made sure to bring cash ahead of time. We will be back again soon and will bringing more family next time! read more