We were in the area and decided to check out their happy hour and it was really good! We went on Wednesday afternoon around 4:30 pm and parking was easy. We sat ourselves at the cantina which was a fairly large area, and were surprised that it wasn't busy. There were a couple of families with young kids-so definitely kid friendly. The colorful papel picado hanging on the ceilings gave it a lively vibe. The happy hour menu was on the tables so we were able to check it out before our server, Gerry B. came. He was really nice and friendly. Chips and salsa were given to us right away. We ordered the fish tacos, carnitas, and house margaritas. The food arrived in a timely manner and each item was delicious! And a great deal! They didn't have anything sweet on their happy hour menu so we ordered the churros and it was a huge dish! It was perfect for sharing for our party of 3. By the time we left, which was close to happy hour ending, it was busier as we had expected, but there were still open tables which was also surprising. Don't know if that was a fluke but overall, it was a really good experience and so glad we tried it! read more

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They have a good happy hour and a great patio. They just need to be a little clearer with drinks. Menu says "house wine" $10, or $6 at happy hour, but it doesn't list what the wine options are. I was trying to get a beer at happy hour prices, and they ran out and needed a new keg. No biggie except I didn't need a beer that much and my friends were waiting. I looked at the open wines at the bar, Estancia and J. Lohr. So I said, ok, I don't need to wait for a new keg, I'll just take the J. Lohr. It was going to be $14, because "it's not the happy hour wine." I don't know how anyone would no, cuz there's no wine list at the bar! Luckily they were nice and priced it at the $6 "this once." But it would be helpful if they listed what wines they have and had it either on the menu, or on the happy hour list ("not premium wines" or something). Anyway, I had fun. Food was decent. It's good that this place is still in Restaurant Row - so much of it is gone! read more

Cocina del Charro - Happy hour specials - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

This is only in regard to Happy Hour in the bar, but it was well worth it. My sister and I walked in and found a seat in the bar. The bar has quite a bit of seating both at the actual bar and at tables including high tops and regular. Very clean and a nice ambiance as well. We were quickly greeted with warm, fresh chips & salsa as well as an order of waters. The waiter was very kind and great to talk with. He gave us just enough time to think about what we wanted and came back. We went with the house margaritas ($6), a few beers ($6), two large beef tacos ($8) and nachos with carnitas ($8). I was impressed with how stuffed the crunchy tacos were and how flavorful the carnitas were in the nachos. The meal was plenty to share with one person. Our waiter great throughout the whole meal so I really appreciated it. For a nice, weekday happy hour with good food, good drinks and good service, this is the place. read more

Mid-afternoon lunch at Cocina Del Charro and given four stars because of the disappointing bar outdoor patio service. The waiter was no where to be found. The hostess had to take our order. Five stars for the flavors in the dishes. Abondigas soup hit it out of the park! So good with rich flavors. It came with Flour tortillas was good and I walked out so full! Next time note to self to get the smaller bowl. The grilled fish tacos were light and not heavy. Rice and beans were delicious. read more

Cocina del Charro - Grilled fish tacos - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

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I have been here several times. My first was for brunch a few years ago. I met a group of friends and we enjoyed it. The rest have been for happy hours with girlfriends. This last time parking was a bit tough they were busy because the weather was nice. A lot of people were sitting outside. We opted to sit in the bar area for happy hour. There were five of us. I arrived a little after some of my friends and a few arrived after me they had already gotten their drink orders so I ordered a glass of wine because I wasn't in the mood for a margarita, but I do like their margaritas. When everyone finally arrived and ordered drinks, we perused the menu and some chose happy hour specials while others ordered off the main menu. The server came and took our orders. I got the shrimp chimichangas, two people got the chicken soup, one got albondigas and another got a molé burrito. The portions are good sized. And we all liked what we got. It got busy and we didn't see our server often. Someone ordered a second glass and we requested water refills. Our water glasses remained empty for a while. We even stopped other servers just trying to get a refill. It really took a long time. We had to flag down a server (not ours) for the check. Lucky they do separate checks which is always appreciated. We gave our payments and again it took some time for them to get back to us.. we just chatted for a bit longer. I would come again because service has usually been better in the past and I hope it will be next time. read more

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Best buffet brunch I had in a long time! Everyone here is super friendly from the hostess to the server, and especially the Omelette guy! It's a pretty big restaurant. They have many options of seating to choose from. Outside, inside, with music, without music. They have so many choices to choose from. We started at the omelette bar. There was no one there at first, but then this upbeat guy showed up. He was cool, he wanted to pose a lot while I took pictures. I made too big of an omelette because I chose too many ingredients. I made a fruit salad with chamoy and tajin, yum! Then I got ceviche, bacon, potato taco, and enchiladas. That ceviche was so spicy! The salsa they make is also spicy. They have a delicious pozole. Drink choices were excellent. I got strawberry agua, Jamaica, and mimosas. Mimosas are $10 a bottle. They take pictures for free and give you an option to buy if you like them. They give you one freebie with their restaurant advertisement. Which was pretty neat. I'll be coming here on Sundays with some girlfriends next time. read more

Cocina del Charro - Strawberry agua & omelette - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

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I came here for happy hour on a Monday. The restaurant is big and it has a beautiful interior. There is a large outdoor patio seating area. It was not crowded. The service staff were friendly and attentive. The happy hour menu is rather limited in its offering. We ordered carnitas tacos, fish tacos, house margaritas and draft beer. Carnitas tacos (2/5). The carnitas portion is good but the meat is dry. It is so dry that I have to add lots of pico de gallo, guacamole and salsa to make it easier to swallow. Flavor is good. It's too bad that the meat is overcooked. I enjoyed the guacamole that comes with the tacos. Fish tacos (4/5). Fish tacos were much better than the carnitas tacos. You have a choice of grilled or fried fish. Although I was very disappointed with the carnitas tacos because of the dry meat, I did enjoyed the guacamole, the complementary chips and salsa and the margarita. Since service staff were friendly and attentive, I would come back to try other dishes. read more

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I been here a few time for their Sunday brunch. My top three items I like to get here is the omelette with carnitas, pozole, and the crunchy potato tacos? All drinks are included. This place is good for big groups and they plenty of parking. Come try it out You'll be the judge. read more

Cocina del Charro - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

The restaraunt itself is quite spacious. Very nice outside patio. Plenty of parking. The strip mall is in the process of going through a major renovation so it's a little different. The food was O.K. Had a chicken mole enchilada which was a little bland for my taste. Service was initially good but when they got busier , it took awhile to get the waitresses attention. The chicken soup was chalked full of chicken & had lots of goodies on the side. Overall, a little Americana for me. read more

Cocina del Charro - Chicken soup w/lots of chicken - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

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Great ambiance, authentic Mexican food but absolutely terrible service. This place used to be really good but this visit was so disappointing. The salsa tasted like it was from a jar and just tasted like tomatoes with no flavor. Entrees are fine, the enchiladas are always great. Service was so slow, our drinks were empty and we never got more chips when we asked. Our waiter completely ignored us and disappeared the whole time. We had to flag anyone down to come check on us. Really disappointing experience when this place used to be one of my favorite spots. read more

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Superbly inviting atmosphere serving a variety of South-of-the-Border dishes excellently prepared and quickly served by a professional engaging staff. Happy Hour if you get there before I believe 6pm. We sat in the spacious and quiet bar area to enjoy our conversation yet the environment throughout the restaurant was quite pleasant. Will definitely go back when we ate back in town, hopefully soon friends. Mahalo read more

Cocina del Charro - JenJen & Gloria - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

Top notch place and popular. Dog friendly so plus for us, our pooch was with us. Clean and nice friendly waitress. My wife got her go to, the shrimp chimichangas and she always really likes them. And loves sweet chile sauce dipping sauce that comes with it. Always get their Cadillac large margaritas. We both think they're the best. Nice and smooth without a bite to them. Little disappointed that a carne asada burrito is not an option for the 3 item combo (it use to be) so I made up my own combo. Opted for a carne asada chimichanga ($2 more for carne) and a shredded beef taco a la carte. It was great! For our pooch, we had ordered a burger patty, but the waitress was kind enough to tell us the cost is the full burger price. Asked if they had chicken and if that was cheaper, yes. Cashew gave it a 4 paw & waggy tail = 5 stars. He never came up for air! DO get their deep fried ice cream! Huge and so dang good!!! Best Mexican food in North County! read more

If you want to have some good drinks this is the place. The drinks are delicious. They also serve a lot of food. During some nights they have live music. We even danced lol Service was fast and they allowed us to move tables without any trouble. Really enjoyed the environment. read more

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I very much enjoyed the ambience of this restaurant. I greatly appreciated the beautiful architecture, live music, and friendly staff. We came for the Sunday brunch buffet to celebrate the Christmas holidays and the restaurant decorations were beautiful and festive. For the price, I felt the food, beverages, and dessert that they offered had a decent selection. I really enjoyed the pozole, omelet station, and paella. My favorite dessert was their flan. I would recommend this restaurant for families and groups as a great place to gather and eat. read more

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Food is always excellent. Servers are friendly & on their game. We go several times a month & love it

Went here on a Sunday night while visiting for the weekend with my boyfriend. We were greeted right away and after the hostess quickly cleaned a table we were seated. The main dining area appeared fairly full, so we weren't sure what to expect in terms of timing, but the service ended up being one of the highlights of our visit. Our waiter was attentive throughout the meal and checked in consistently without hovering. We were offered complimentary chips and salsa and he even brought out a spicier salsa for us to try, which we appreciated. I ordered the chicken suizas (green chile chicken enchiladas) with rice and beans, and my boyfriend had the mahi mahi ceviche with rice and beans. The kitchen was out of tostadas for the ceviche, but our waiter proactively offered alternative options. Both meals were good and the mahi mahi ceviche was especially unique and fresh. Given how busy the restaurant was, we were impressed with how smoothly everything ran. Based on our experience, I'd absolutely recommend this spot for the attentive service and overall value. read more

The food was delicious and good portion size. We did have our days mixed up thinking it was Friday and it was actually Saturday. So we were ordering off the happy hour menu thinking we were saving money. The server didn't even give us a heads up that happy hour is M-F only. I thought that was kind of disappointing from just a customer service standpoint since we were clearly pointing to the items on the happy hour menu when ordering (the only reason I gave them a 4 star instead of a 5). Regardless the food was tasty but now also made sense why our 2 carnitas came out as a full dish with rice and beans. Everything was hot and came out somewhat quickly. All staff that came by our table were friendly and attentive. We sat in the bar area and had a blast plus love music. It wasn't packed which was surprising. Overall it was a great experience and we'd go back. read more

Cocina del Charro - Fish tacos - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

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I ordered enchiladas suizas and it arrived hot, covered in a supposed tomatillo sauce, but.. both the chicken and green tomatillo sauce were completely bland. I gave my wife a bite, and she spit it out--saying there was absolutely no flavor at all. Tomatillo is normally spicy; this was anything but. Chicken, in Mexican dishes, are often boiled with onion, garlic, and salt ... but there was zero flavor on this dish. Hesitant to return. On the other hand, the patio ambiance and the service were excellent. read more

Cocina del Charro - Bland chicken enchiladas with bland tomatillo sauce. - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

I have to bump up my review for all the people in the bar. Cocina still has its issues in the dining room from slow service to getting my chicken taco order wrong 3 times bringing me beef before getting it right. However the crew in the bar always kills it (shout out especially to Carlos and Fernando) and makes sure we're taken care of. Which is why we try to mainly come and sit at the bar. read more

This place is our go-to sit down Mexican restaurant in the Esco/SM area. Ambiance, 5 Food 4 Service 5 The service was excellent. Our server Kyle was phenomenal! Attentive, friendly, energetic, courteous and had a great attitude. He was an impressive professional server. Great service makes a lot of difference. It changes a dining experience from OK to ... Grrrreat! Thank you! I made a combination of chile relleno and enchilada. My food was a bit bland. My hubby liked his carne asada burrito, which was pretty good size. I liked the salsa which was mild and tangy, not too spicy. It was a nice relaxing place to enjoy a Saturday dinner. We will be back! read more

Cocina del Charro - Chile Relleno & Chicken Enchilada with rice and beans - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

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I had friend ms visiting from out of town and they wanted good Mexican food with a full bar and TV. It was a Sunday and we for got that they only served Brunch until noon. The server was great at talking to their manager and we were able to order off the regular menu before noon. The Bloody Maria's we had were delicious, the food was really great and authentic. We sat in the bar so my friend could watch golf and they changed the Chanel so he could watch the tournament. I can't say enough about every person we came in contact with. read more

The food here is incredibly valued for what you get with the Sunday buffet. Soo many options that are all super tasty. I enjoyed everything I tried except for the (crab) enchilada? They have a variety of options for the food buffet such as your traditional american breakfast (pancakes, bacon, sausage, omelet bar, fruit) and they also have mexican favorites such as beans, rice, chilaquiles, potatoes and chorizo, etc. Would come again for the food and drink prices! The service itself was okay. The gentleman refilling our water was super attentive and friendly but our waitress was a bit slow with service but it was also super busy so that could've been why. We did have to sit outside which wasn't the greatest ambiance, otherwise there would've been a wait for table so expect that this place gets busy! Defintely worth a visit!! read more

Wow recommended by my friend and this place is amazing! The bean dip and enchiladas suizas ( green ) amazing flavor I ordered the vampire margarita blew my mind. I love Mexican food ( I am Mexican) I will bring my mom tomorrow I know that dip is going to be her favorite. Husband ordered nachos w carne asada and from an Irish man he loved it. Service is excellent thank see u all tomorrow read more

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I've eaten at this restaurant before, and the food I've tried has been good. We had our company party here and were provided with a private space to celebrate. For the event, we pre-selected a buffet that included rice, beans, salad, carne asada, carnitas, and salmon. Many in our group mentioned that the carnitas were much better than the carne asada, so I chose the carnitas, and they were quite good. For dessert, I tried the flan. Based on this experience, I would prefer ordering individual entrées over buffet-style dining, as the individually prepared dishes taste much better. The service is fine. There should've been more than one person to handle the drink orders for a big group. The server actually did her best! read more

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Their Sunday brunch buffet is hands down, phenomenal!!! Wide range of dishes to choose from!! They also have hand food for toddlers.. took my dad & my oldest grandson this morning & it was worth it!!! Go hungry so you can try all the dishes!!! Service was 10/10!! read more

Great happy hour, but the HH margarita isn't very good. It is too sugary and no alcohol. Chips and salsa were decent. The best item is the shrimp chimichanga which is a pretty big portion for HH. It comes with a tangy sauce. I also ordered their chile relleno a la carte but should've skipped it - it was soggy and had no flavor. The chile relleno at Mi Guadalajara is 10x better. Service was pretty good - there were so many people in the bar and they handled it well. I got extra napkins and a refill of water fairly quickly. Yikes, their chardonnay was un-drinkable! Had that fake vanilla oak flavoring. Good HH but there are better ones in the area like Love Boat sushi or Pizza Nova. read more

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5 out of 10 for me that day! Too busy with few servers The servers pay attention to the guys buying beers read more

We celebrated my birthday with the family on Sunday, 4/26. There were 11 of us for brunch. Our server Alex provided excellent customer care to us along with her other tables. She made my celebration most memorable. The food was very good, with many options available for my picky grandkids. We look forward to gathering together again at Cocina del Charro in San Marcos. read more

A group of us went here for happy hour and everyone enjoyed their meals. I had the albondigas soup and it was delicious. Great service from our server and prices were reasonable. read more

Cocina del Charro - Albondigas soup - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

I've been here many times with my family, never had bad service until tonight for Valentine's Day. Food was good, band was great, it was just the service that was disappointing. We avoided doing the annoying thing of asking for things one at a time and yet the workers always forgot something. Maybe it would help to write things down instead of just quickly verbally responding without actually remembering to do it.. I'm sorry but I'm a former server and I typically give so much grace -- it was just an upsetting experience. The server never came back to check in during the meal and then the busser and another staff member came in after each other multiple times I guess in attempts to help the server out, maybe he was too busy now but it was nearing the end of the night and many tables were clearing up, but we told them every thing we still needed at once like to go boxes, a refill, the chips the server never brought but I swear they were bringing things one at a time and then some never came. At that point it just felt disrespectful. So after waiting maybe another 10 minutes for a to go box and a bag, I got up to ask someone at the bar and funnily enough it was our server, who was about to bring out a cocktail to another table, that ended up noticing me and grabbing those last items for me. Maybe it was just an exhausting night, I don't know but I just think it was all preventable. We're locals and always loved this restaurant. Just disappointed. read more

This is a very delicious Mexican buffet. It's been here for a lot of years. Everything about it is good.

I really like the food here, my go to is the Chile Verde.. it's always good and the service is always great!

Been coming here for many years, lately for the Sunday brunch. Recently we tried the regular breakfast menu and were very pleased. Fair prices, generous servings and they come with refried beans, potatoes and fruit. Several items also come with extras that many places would charge for, so we didn't have to do any paid add-ons. For example, with the omelettes you can have however many veggie options you want plus cheese and a meat choice, with sour cream, avocado and salsa already included. Costs less than half of the buffet price for adults and there's items which are not part of the buffet, so it can be a good option. read more

Cocina del Charro - Weekend Breakfast Menu (photo from February 2026). This is different than the brunch buffet. - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

I've been coming here since it was Acapulco. It has had its ups and downs, but it has found it groove again. The patio area has been updated and is great spot for lunch or summer evenings. What I've discovered is the live music in the bar on Saturdays. The guys rock and the place has great energy. The food is really good. Better than before. Had the garlic shrimp, Cameron's de Ajo. And they were top notch. Of course free chips and salsa and good service. Although they do get busy in the bar area. A hidden gem for San Marcos that has too many big corporations and need more places like this! read more

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My husband and I are regulars to Cocina and have noticed an overall decline over the past three visits. On our visit this past Saturday night we went to the bar to eat, however we sat for almost 10 minutes with no one coming to bring chips & salsa or take a drink/food order, so we went to the restaurant side (the bar was NOT busy at this time). We were greeted and sat right away and the service was pretty good, however it seems that the may be buying lower quality meat because my husband orders the same thing most of the time (carne asada a chimichanga) but he has been disappointed the last several times with chewy gross meat. My tortilla soup was okay. It seems it's time to find another good Mexican food restaurant. read more

Avoid! Huge disappointment! Zero service, greasy reheated food, overly watered down drinks. Still think you'll give it a try, continue reading. We have looked forward to trying this place out but after today I wonder who is writing these reviews? We were so exited to take our Peruvian friends here and our friends from Mexico joined us as well, and all our kids. What a huge disappointment! $300 and we all left so incredibly disappointed with this place. Please do not think this restaurant is representative of Mexico. It is NOT! The gentleman who showed us the buffet was great, I think he was the manager possibly. We were seated by a lady and the waiter came to take our orders. Some of us wanted buffet and some ordered from menu. Waiter left mid sentence, it was the strangest thing. Two more wanted to order but he took off and didn't return. We waited a while. As he passed in the distance we'd wave and he'd see us but keep going. He only had taken 1/2 the ppl at our table order. The kids meal came but it was incorrect. The messed up a simple quesadilla. Hungry we tried a bite, almost no flavor yet had a sour aftertaste, that one bite we realized something was off with it. Still the waiter ignored us. We were still waiting. Oh and the carnitas taco AVOID it! Dry chunk of grey meat, no flavor, no nada, dry meat in a tortilla for $12. What a waste. Waiter never returned to take the rest of our orders so the rest of us decided to try the buffet since it was our only option if we wanted to eat. One stayed at the table in case he did return. He didn't. He never did. We waited for 30 mins! No one came to help us. So we had to ask another worker for help. The worker said he wasn't a waiter but would find us paper towels. We had no napkins etc. The other worker was working near us but not with customers, but we just wanted anyone to find someone who could bring us water or napkins or someone we could order food from. But he wasn't the one and didn't care to find who was. Can't fault him. It wasn't his place to go find our server. Finally we saw another waiter so we asked him. He was so nice, he offered to redo the kids meal that our waiter got wrong. Our waiter who disappeared had glasses, (our bill later said his name: Noah). We explained we'd waited so long and waiter never returned and ignored us each time we tried getting his attention, that some in our party decided not to eat anything here. Truly We should have done the same. But we were still hopeful and since we had no way to finish ordering our other plates we wanted, we tried the stuff on the buffet and nothing was as worth repeating, most was actually gross or flavorless. read more

The food is always good. Alberto took great care of us. The atmosphere is warm and comfortable. It's easy to relax there.

We went for their Brunch and it was amazing. The service was fantastic and th food was delicious.

Pretty good food. I had the quesadilla Jose and the margarita flight. The chips and salsa were great. Quesadilla did have pico inside. I would say for an appetizer could feed up to 5 but for one it's not a huge portion. I did share with my husband. Margarita flight was tasty with a good presentation. My husband got the chile verde. Did not look appealing. But he enjoyed it. We will be back to try the brunch sometime. The service was a little odd. I think the waitress did not understand English very well. I don't have anything personal against that, it is a Mexican restaurant and I'd prefer it to be authentic but she couldn't even understand our orders. My mother in law asked for tacos a la carte with cheese in them. The waiter thought she said beans. When my mil corrected her that she wanted cheese on her tacos not beans the worker said yes the beans have cheese on them. Ok whatever but the tacos came with no cheese and the bill came with a $4 charge for beans that weren't actually asked for. Not cool read more

Cocina del Charro - Quesadilla Jose - Mexican Near Me - San Marcos, California

Their Sunday buffet is a must. Too much stuff to try all. Everything cooked well and flavorful.