Great food! Came here on a whim when I wanted something a bit more fresh and healthy after spending the day at Belmont Park. I ordered the ceviche for me and blue corn street taco for my son. Both were great! My son wanted another taco so I purchased a second one. My daughter had some of my ceviche and ended up eating most of it. She's asked multiple times since then if we can go back and buy it again. The cashier was super sweet and friendly. I didn't see her for several minutes when I waited at the window to order, so I wasn't sure if they were open, but thankfully they were. Keep in mind that the Yelp hours are incorrect. If the window if open, they are likely open to serve. Prices are reasonable for the area. Highly recommend! read more

The tacos are really small (only $3) and yummy, I loved the grilled fish! The shrimp ceviche was okay - the shrimp itself was good and the avocado too, chips were salty, it just wasn't super strongly flavorful/amazing but not bad. Next time I want to try Carne Asada but the Al Pastor was alright too. read more

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Me and my husband came here today, traveled from Arizona just to have their tacos and they are closed. A complete joke this place is. No hours posted, no sheet, nothing on their website. They even have their screen on. read more

El Jefe - Sign on but told they are closed. This is silly! - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

Terrible. They mixed all the tacos together and they all fall apart. Horrible. Bad service and bad food.

Ashley greeted me with an awesome smile and a clean environment, the service was quick and the seating outside is the view that I look for when cruising the boardwalk. Lifegurad tower 14 is the place for a cold IPA. read more

El Jefe - What a view. - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

Great tacos, great view, fairly fast service. Can't ask for better on the beachfront. Walk up and get some for yourself. read more

El Jefe - Carne Asada tacos with a view! - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

Fast, tasty tacos & great little spot to sit to people watch - right off the sand! We had pastor & carne asada and both wee delicious! read more

Tried all three types of the tacos and they were very good! The fish taco did have a slight fishy taste towards the end but still good. The worker at the window helped us choose items based off of popularity, very helpful. We got to sit right in their little table area which is right in front of the beach, perfect for people watching! read more

El Jefe - Carne, fish, and el pastor taco - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

Not clear about what time they close. We came here twice before closing and they shut the place down. This place sucks ass

Went on a Friday afternoon and there wasn't a long line. Food came out quick. They were very generous with the meat! read more

El Jefe - Carne and chicken tacos - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

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On a Friday afternoon, place was poppin! Right on the beach next to Belmont Park, no seating but we were able to find a table around the corner to eat! Took a minute to get the food but the fries were really good and the toppings and carne were so fresh it was like I was back in Arizona!! (These were able to feed 2 people) read more

El Jefe - Carne Asada Fries (without the guacamole) - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

I love the location and the servers are good. The food, however, IMO, has gone downhill. They no longer have the loco hot sauce and the quality of the tacos just isn't what it used to be. The carne asada taco I got was bad. The meat was cold, tasted like it was cooked a few hrs earlier. sorry... read more

Be aware that the great reviews here no longer apply!! This place used to be great. We vacation in San Diego often and this was our go-to for lunch on the beach. This week we came and the entire storefront has been changed ("upgraded" to be shiny and modern, but really it just lost its Mission Beach charm; it looks out of place) as well as the menu, and the tacos are now 1/3 the size of what they used to be. Even considering the tendency for street tacos to be small, these are the tiniest. They still taste okay, although I personally think the switch to blue corn tortillas was a downgrade, but they no longer sell the chicken or carnitas options and for what you get it is now outrageously expensive. We spent $60 for four people and still all left hungry. I'm wondering if they changed management and whoever is running the place now doesn't understand that if something isn't broke, don't fix it. We were all really disappointed. read more

Probably one of the worst places to get a taco or carne asada fries. For a city called San Diego why are they putting out tacos so far from their origin flavor. I ordered both trying to cut my losses and the fries were a 5/10 and the tacos a 2/10. The fries were salty and so was the steak. The only cheese was cotija and that is naturally salty. The portion was too large for the environment and should be a portion about half its size. Who needs an entire order of these fries in a beach setting? At least offer a half order because they are too much and too salty for one person. I order one of each taco and at one bite into the carnita i put it down. It was the driest carnitas ive ever had. I travel to Mexico a lot and make my own as well and these were pretty bad. All 3 tacos were just horrible. Period! To add they were too big. I doesnt usually complain about a serving size too large but if they shrunk the serving size to a normal street taco while making the food taste better w these prices. The fries were $11 and the 3 tacos were $8. Most any Mexican restaurant will serve you a fantastic meal at these prices. This place just isn't it. read more

El Jefe - Carne Asada fries. Shareable with 2 or 3 people. Its salty. - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

I have to start with the positives. The fish tacos were amazing and for the price the size of the filets and the quality it was top notch. Throw in a soda and some salsa it was a perfect 5 star lunch for about $9. I'm deducting 2 stars because the carne asada taco I got on the side to try was the worst I've ever had. Zero stars. The meat was cold, tasted a day old and was fat and gristle. I couldn't even finish one bite. I wish I'd stuck with just the fish tacos and when I go back that's what I'll do. read more

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It was ok. Got 2 fish tacos for $13. It Took awhile for the food to come out. The tacos pretty much fell apart by the second taco, but it did taste fresh. read more

These were some of the best tacos I've ever had, minus what I ate in Mexico of course. I got the pollo tacos, my husband got carne asada. We both added different add-ons and shared. This is located on the beach side of the boardwalk, we had to ask for directions to get here because we came in the Belmont park side. There aren't any convenient tables to eat at, we walked back around to the Belmont park side and sat at some tables over there. We would definitely come back for more tacos! read more

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I love this place, but as pictured below it says "12Pm-Sunset." I walked up 15 minutes before sunset & they were closed. I walked up to ask when they close since they clearly don't close at sunset and the lady wouldn't open the window to answer my question. read more

El Jefe - The picture shows: "Hours: 12PM-Sunset" - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

It has been a long time since I have had restaurant food that was this bad! I got the chicken, carnitas, and carne asada tacos. Every single one of them was dry and the flavors were just off. The red salsa had no detectable spice and was almost reminiscent of ketchup. My wife had the fish tacos and, while there was a good amount of fish and it was nicely cooked, the flavors were just a little bit off and the lime in the crema sauce was too overpowering. My daughter had the carne asada fries, which were decent, but again the flavors were just not quite right. read more

Great food amazing service you are missing out if you don't visit this spot. You must ket tacos

Best fish tacos and salsa ever! Everything about our food was fresh and flavorful...the salsa was sooo yummy. The horchata was also very good. I wish I would've ordered more. Too bad there wasn't sitting space to enjoy the food read more

I gave it three stars simply for the convenience of it being right along the beachfront and accessible for me when I randomly felt hungry. Also because the girl working was nice and everything looked clean. However, the tacos... it's a no from me dawg. I didn't try the fish tacos so maybe those are favorable but I tried the carnitas, carne asada and the pollo and all three had dry meat. I had to add two salsas on top of the tacos and it still didn't taste much juicier. Also they only have flour tortillas I guess, and anyone who likes tacos know corn tortillas is where it's at. read more

These tacos hit the spot! Had two Carne Asade tacos and they went great with watching the sunset at Mission Beach.

Delicious fresh made hot churros to enjoy in the sand with the ocean breeze hitting you! Their tacos are huge and reasonably priced at 2.50 each or 3 for 6.50 and range from carne asada, carnitas, fish and shrimp. They have shrimp cocktail, carne asada fries and REAL AGUAS FRESCAS! Not made from powder!! We've had their fish and carne asada tacos, churros and horchata that I now literally crave and NEED when we visit San Diego and go to mission beach! The girls that work there are super nice and friendly always happy to answer any questions you have. They don't have seating so you'll have to enjoy your food to go, standing up with the little breakfast bar type area they have or in the sand- you're on the beach!! So why not!! Their tacos are 2.50 each but well worth $5 for the amount of meat they put in them!! So next time you're on mission beach stop in, you won't regret it...unless you're like me and live hours away and can't get your fix everyday!! Covid-19 update 7/5/20- all staff members are wearing masks- no gloves which I am good with as long as they are washing their hands it is better than gloves imo. Can't wait to go back for that warm fresh churro, refreshing horchata and amazing tacos on the beach! read more

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Best fish tacos I have ever tried I always try to find better ones but these are definitely the best one thank you for making tacos and never stop making tacos read more

El Jefe - Fish tacos - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

I really love coming here with friends! Food is great and our server Ramon is awesome! We will definitely be back soon

I was coming here 2-3 times per month since the pandemic and it was awesome! They had a drive through taco stand. However, they recently almost doubled their prices. The tacos don't justify the new prices. The location is awesome though and nice to enjoy some food and a beer on the boardwalk. read more

Very yummy! Lime cream is really good but they're also great without. the prices are comparable to all the local restaurants read more

El Jefe - Carnitas taco - Tacos Near Me - San Diego, California

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not happy with my food , fish tacos had no flavor ,both me and my wife enjoy trying different taco places all over califorina and this one was not very good for its location . i wish we when to another restaurant . read more

OMG! Total surprise of a solid taco. Had the fish and beef and am going back for more before I leave. Best Pico I have ever had! Well done El Jefe! read more