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    Cocina Tex-Mex

    4.5 (64 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 7:00 pm

    Cocina Tex-Mex Photos

    COCINA TEX-MEX ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Dogs allowed
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Cocina Tex-Mex

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    Menu
    David M.

    Must stop friendly, clean & good homemade food. We stopped here for a quick bite while camping at the mountain. Potatoes were so good just the right amount of cheese. Not sure but I think the tortillas were home made they were super fresh and food. This place is clean had picnic benches to eat outside with a tarp for shade. You order your food and they bring it to your table. Everyone here is friendly and the prices are not bad.

    Breakfast
    B B.

    Breakfast and the staff was wonderful and the food was wonderful and I would highly recommend this location

    Tacos
    Meg D.

    You cannot get more authentic! Ordered 4 tacos and it was a mistake because its not the mini tacos! It was delish though, very tasty & flavorful. Imagine a truck with a resto set up on the outside. They even have a restroom, its a porta-restroom but its there. Over all, i enjoyed my dining experience. Staff is great, much much more than a food truck and the food was absolutely authentic.

    Chorizo breakfast burrito

    My favorite chorizo breakfast burrito and best salsa. Staff is very nice and service is fast!

    Lengua and Cabeza Tacos (top) Carne Asada Taco Plate (below)

    this place rocks !! sincerely the hidden gem of Valley Center. Great little spot with nice seating in the shade, and the guy at the counter is very friendly. If you're looking for the most bang for your buck, with great quality Mexican and American food, this is the place. The street tacos are really good, and the lunch/dinner plates are a great deal. And all of the burger/sandwiches (which are HUGE btw) come with fries and a drink for $12.99 !! Please come through and support this place, it's always busy when I drive by and deservedly so!

    Covered outdoor patio

    Fantastic food, friendly, quick service, and a cute flower-filled outdoor patio. Can't wait to come back!

    a parking lot
    Marcus F.

    Locals breakfast/lunch spot that offers "tex-mex" cuisine out of a permanently parked food truck. What is Tex-Mex? Well in Texas it's puffy tacos and shredded orange cheese on everything. In San Diego it's called "Chili's". This food truck defines it through several "classic" tex-mex burritos that have unique ingredient combinations. Most of these could still be classified as "SoCal" taco shop offerings. I wanted to like the food at Cocina Tex Mex but the quality just wasn't there. This is Valley Center, not Del Mar, I totally get that but basic food preparation and quality was missed. The biggest issue was that the meat (asada) was of poor quality. Full of untrimmed fat and gristle which some pieces were 100% chewy fat.. Basically the stuff you cut off and toss out if you BBQ asada at your home. I understand it's cheaper to trim your own meat but that only works when the bad stuff is removed. Three of four burritos had issues with large pieces of fatty meat. The second issue was food temperature. Even though they were busy with customers, the rice and beans were luke warm. Same with the asada. Also the rolled tacos were fried too long and had a minuscule amount of meat inside. Clearly not one of their better days. * Service was friendly * Nice fruit stand next door * They did included a medium hot roasted pepper with each burrito. * Nice tortillas

    El Paso burrito
    Chari M.

    We have been coming here 4x now since we moved here end of December. Friendly service each visit. We have enjoyed burritos by them, they are generous on meat amount in burritos! First visit I've tried their Tex-Mex burger, it's good but not to point I'll come back for, their burritos is what brings us back as well as their service. We love both their El Paso and Apache El Paso burrito - the creamiest guacamole with cilantro is amazing with their pork! We wish they could have option to add pineapple, even chorizo mixed in would be amazing, might just be me as I loved both burritos and wish I could combine them together into one haha) Apache burrito - both Carna Asada and chorizo is so good, rich in flavor in their chorizo and not greasy at all! Tempted to try their breakfast burrito next one of these weekends!

    Here. Eat here!

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    10 months ago

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    3 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    10 months ago

    Their breakfast burritos are AMAZING. Service was super friendly too. A great choice that will definitely hit the spot!

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    2 years ago

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    11 months ago

    Best, tastiest rolled tacos I've ever had! Portions are well served and food is reasonably priced.

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    3 years ago

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Food is excellent and service is great and ambiance is beautiful as it depicts an outdoorsy and country vibe!

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

    Good family run business in this awesome community. Good service and a nice place to sit down by the lake.

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    5 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Business owner information

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    Alberto S.

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    Page 1 of 2

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    Cenote Grill

    Cenote Grill

    4.3
    (951 reviews)
    8.4 mi
    $$

    I've been coming to lunch here for a few years now. I get a craving for their poblano soup, and I…read morehave to, have to, have to order it. Usually a cup, sometimes a bowl. I honestly haven't tried too much on their menu because I can't finish their generously portioned entrees after a cup of the poblano. I usually go for one of their salads, the Asian chicken or the spinach salad. Or I'll get a la carte street tacos, the chicken or pork. I like the salsas that come with their complimentary chips. To this day I can't decide between them. The salsa verde has more of a kick but not too much heat. The salsa rojo is milder and thicker with nice flavor. Lots of retirees in the area coming to dine. It can get busy, especially Thursday and Friday lunchtime, and then you have to be patient for your food. Lisa in the front always has a sparkle and a kind word, and Guillermo remembers my drink order.

    Cenote Grill is a casual Mexican grill decorated with stack-stone pillars and lighted topiary. It…read morehas a busy take-out counter, regular table service and ample complimentary parking. The menu was varied and the food was really good. The Thai chicken burrito was large and very tasty. My husband had a combination plate and said it was the best enchilada he's ever had! Complimentary chips-n-salsa was provided with not one, but two different salsas! The service was slightly slow, but friendly. The menus were a little sticky and there was food splashed on the wall at the table and a used napkin under one table. They seem to have a loyal local following of regulars, particularly an older crowd. We drove 15 miles to exclusively visit this restaurant as it had been on our list for a while. We would return if we were in the area. If their service was a little quicker and the cleaning was a little more sparkling, they'd get the extra star. (April 2026). Helpful?

    Photos
    Counter
    Counter
    Shrimp Burrito in Spicy Sauce
    Shrimp Burrito in Spicy Sauce
    Chicken teriyaki bowl

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    Chicken teriyaki bowl
    Jilberto's Taco Shop

    Jilberto's Taco Shop

    4.1
    (116 reviews)
    7.0 mi
    $

    This is the saddest news ever. This is the only local sit…read moredown restaurant and their food is the best. They have the best machaca in the world, their salsas, party trays, chicken enchiladas, beef tacos, shrimp diablo plate, ceviche tostada, chicken quesadillas, carne asada plate, rolled tacos, el jefe rolled tacos, birria tacos, everything there is so good. This is a huge loss to the community. We are so sorry to hear this and we hope you know how much we love and appreciate you up here. PLEASE BUILD A NEW ONE WITH A DRIVE THRU. The community needs you. We will all come and help build it. Please. Don't leave us.

    The lady and I are definitely taco shop connoisseurs, so we can be very discerning from place to…read moreplace. Most know that one taco shop normally does not excel in every single thing on their menu. And we have our favorite spots for certain menu items no doubt about that. Over the years staying at the nearby Harrah's resort, I have been sent to this taco shop several times. Never had anything but great burritos, plates, and friendly service from here! The chorizo plate is my personal favorite but honestly I really haven't found anything we didn't like. I feel like we have tried a good cross-section of the menu, breakfast, rolled tacos, asada and more. It has all been very well prepared, good portions and great bang for the buck. I have them at 4.5 stars overall for the 6-10 times visited, which I'll round up to 5. No other taco shops around nearby to compare them to, but they have been very good to us. By the way, we've also been to the other two locations nearby in Valley center and they're exactly the same, just as awesome!

    Photos
    Menu with current prices 2/24.
    Menu with current prices 2/24.
    El jefe rolled tacos
    El jefe rolled tacos
    Jilberto's Taco Shop

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    Cocina del Charro

    Cocina del Charro

    3.5
    (632 reviews)
    9.1 mi
    $$

    We had the Sunday Buffet. Everything was tasty. Enjoyed having an omelet mage to order. The…read morecheese enchiladas seemed raw in that the tortilla was dry and cold. Otherwise, desserts and other options were very good.

    I would give this restaurant zero stars if that were an option…read more From the moment we walked into Covina del Charro in Escondido, the experience was disappointing. The first impression matters, and unfortunately, neither the host nor our server greeted us or welcomed us with a smile. The atmosphere immediately felt uninviting. Our server, Juan, seemed like he was having a bad day. We ordered a flight of margaritas, and my partner ordered a Modelo beer with a Tajín rim on the glass. Even that simple request wasn't done correctly. The margarita flight was also very disappointing--the flavors were unbalanced and, in my opinion, some of the worst margaritas I've had. The complimentary chips and salsa didn't improve the experience. I requested the green salsa, but it was honestly one of the worst salsas I've ever tasted. I politely mentioned it to Juan, hoping he might acknowledge the feedback or offer an apology. Instead, he brushed off my comment and walked away without addressing the concern. Throughout our meal, the service remained inattentive. We rarely saw our server, and he never checked back to see if we needed anything or whether we were enjoying our food and drinks. Good customer service can often make up for an average meal, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case here. Overall, the lack of hospitality, poor service, and disappointing food and drinks made this a restaurant I cannot recommend. I hope management takes customer feedback seriously and invests in improving both the quality of service and the dining experience.

    Photos
    Cocina del Charro
    Chips and salsa
    Chips and salsa
    Seasonal Margarita Flight

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    Seasonal Margarita Flight
    On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina

    On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina

    3.5
    (768 reviews)
    11.4 mi
    $$

    I ate @ On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina Escondido during the Wold Cup game: Mexico vs…read moreEcuador. First of all, I was actually able to be seated, a big plus during a World Cup game, secondly: the service was excellent without any waiting time. The inexpensive tacos were tasty despite it being taco Tuesday: price was excellent !!! As a bonus, the standings on the World Cup were displayed, "a major bonus!!!" I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone although, it's a bonus during World Cup games.

    "As a Medicare Agent in North San Diego, I often host events with friends in the senior market…read morearound Escondido. I really enjoy eating at establishments where the staff is friendly and memorable, and I always try to leave a review when a restaurant truly stands out. I have eaten at On The Border Mexican Grill twice in the last month with groups of 20+ friends, and we had an absolutely excellent experience. Sarah was our server on both occasions, and I am so grateful for her attention to detail and prompt service. Everyone in our group was thoroughly impressed with her expertise--in fact, her fantastic service is exactly why we returned the second time! I will definitely be back again knowing that my friends are in such good hands. The food was excellent, and the entire restaurant staff was incredibly welcoming. Highly recommend dining here and asking for Sarah!"

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Happy hour chicken rolled tacos
    Happy hour chicken rolled tacos
    House Margarita

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    House Margarita

    Cocina Tex-Mex - mexican - Updated July 2026

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