What I remember most about my 2 weeks in Oaxaca is the food I ate and the mescal I drank. I know I visited 3000 year old ruins, but they really just interrupted the delicious meals I still dream about. I really didn't think it was possible to have the same experience outside of Mexico, but I have been proven wrong. El Tejate brought it all back in the full technicolor and quadraphonic sensory overload that blew me away once upon a time. Mole in the EEUU is so often a greasy overly sweetened chocolate mess. Here, the first thing I notice is the great quality of the chocolate, then the layers of flavor and aromas that peel off- peanuts, almond, chilis, sesame, cinnamon, and more I can't quite place, but they all come together so harmoniously. Chorizo from other parts of Mexico (and a given in the US) is also often a nasty greasy mess. El Tejate's isn't greasy, but definitely not dry, and has fragrant spices to make it feel lighter than it probably really is. It transported me to the chorizos at the grilling food stalls at Mercado 20 de Noviembre in downtown Oaxaca. Every small detail that makes a difference in flavor is given attention here. Jesus christ, even the plain rice made me stop and think: why does everyone else get such a simple thing so wrong? I ate one dish, some chapulines, and a chocolate-almond drink that was great. And I can't stop thinking about it. There's at least 20 more dishes I can't wait to get back to. read more

Probably one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in all of San Diego and that's saying something, considering the fact that we have like a billion of them. Have you ever had fried grasshoppers and worms? Well, try it here, they're actually pretty good. Not too many Mexican restaurants serve the kinds of food this restaurant serves. What's also surprising is, not too many Mexican restaurants in SD serves "Mole," which is the most Mexican sauce there is (it's been said that 99% of Mexicans has eaten a Mole dish in their lifetime) I love the fact that whenever I'm here, the waitress speaks to me in Spanish and I respond back in Spanish (they don't know that I'm 100% Asian, Filipino to be exact. Those Spanish classes in college really paid off). They have all kinds of mole here such as rojo (red), negro (black), amarillo (yellow), verde (green), etc. My favorite is negro or the black one because it's sweet. I love their "enchiladas de mole negro." Also, their "tlayuda con mole negro" is the bomb. Tlayuda is a popular street food in Mexico. It's literally a Mexican version of a pizza. Order their chapulines (fried grasshoppers) and add it to your tlayuda and you'll love it. Trust me, that's how they do it in Mexico (the southern part of the country especially) Definitely recommend coming here if you wanna experience another side of Mexican cuisine read more

I didnt really know what to expect when i looked at the menu. I couldnt understand anything, but at the same time everything sounded good. The waitress was really nice and helpful and took lots of time explain what everything was to us. I really like the yummy oaxacan cheese! For dinner we got the sample platter thing (cant remember the name) and it was so good. There was so much food, three of us split it and we had food left over. It was such a good price too, for a dinner for four it was about $40! i would suggest this place if you are feeling adventurous read more

Terrible service, only one cook and two waitress. Orders were backed up and customers including ourselves were a bit disturbed by the lack of attention and organization. Orders were starting to be placed at the wrong tables. We waited and waited for our food to be served. FINALLY a second chef arrived. The Bathrooms where overflowing with papers and the toilet seat was broken. To top it of my whole family got food poisoning. The whole nine yards body aches, fever,vomiting and diarrhea. NEVER GOING BACK. read more

We love this place. We live in Escondido and are always looking for a different place to eat, El Tejate is a great place to have real authentic Oaxcan food. I would highly recommend this place, live music with a full bar. It's family oriented and welcomes everyone hom is willing to try something new. read more

You can't judge a book by its cover - nor even by its location. El Tejate in Escondido sits in a small strip mall in Escondido, with a very unassuming store front that emphasizes karaoke. There is nothing Mexican or Spanish about the entrance which was probably an insurance office sometime in the past. Ah, but once you are inside you realize there's a little bit more to this place than you first thought and perhaps the words Gastronomie Oaxaqueno on the sign outside actually might mean something. The tables and chairs are an interesting blend of the Spanish colonial style common in the city of Oaxaca and a modern, somewhat sleeker style, Descriptively you wouldn't expect that to work but it does and in fact it reflects the general style of this little gem. Mexican food in So Cal tends to be much the same no matter where you eat, with the tostadas, burritos, tacos, and enchiladas really having a very similar flavor profile. You're not going to find that here. What you will find is a wide range of mole sauces that include negro (with chocolate) red and yellow. Each has a unique, well balanced range of layered flavors none of which overwhelm and all of which linger on the palate. I ordered a pork tamal in the mole negro sauce. A tamal is the singular form of tamales and the dinner is just one, very large, portion of one of my favorites done very differently. The filling is inside a really big, very thin corn tortilla which is wrapped in a banana leaf rather than the more common corn husk. The mole negro is dark, rich, complex and slightly sweet with interesting chili flavors that aren't too hot. Easily 10 inches by 5 inches, the tamal is large enough that you don't really need the sides, but I ordered it with rice and black beans topped with a creamy Oaxaqueno cheese. Absolutely delicious. The total? $6.50. My wife had chicken enchiladas with a red mole that was smooth, with a superb range of spices. Often in Mexican food "spicy" is a euphemism for "hot" Not in this case. Like the mole negro the mole rojo satisfies with a great range of subtle yet distinctive flavors that include smoky and piquant. This place is only about 10 minutes from us and there are several items on the menu that you just don't see in the average Mexican restaurant. And with prices this reasonable we plan on eating here often. One tip. I'm impatient and get irritable if I have to wait for my food. I had read more than a few reviews that mentioned this place as being really busy and with a long wait. They have music and karaoke on Friday nights so we went in at 5:30 on a Thursday and the service was friendly and fast and dinners were served within ten minutes. read more

The only reason I didn't give the restaurant 1 star is that the mole enchiladas and chip salsa were good. The fajitas, on the other hand, were not. Also, the bathrooms are just disgusting. Even sitting on toilet paper is worrisome. The service is mediocre and integrity questionable. I decided to try the place for the first time because I saw a coupon of theirs in the Entertainment book. I presented the coupon immediately to the server upon sitting down. However, when it came time to pay, the owner took off only a couple of bucks saying he longer accepts Entertainment book coupons. I responded that I had let the waiter know I had the coupon and he said nothing. His only response was that the waiter didn't know. Needless to say, I am never going there again. read more

Authentic Oaxacan food: tasajo, tlyudas, mole, tamales in banana leaves and much more. I was in Oaxaca six months ago and the food at El Tejate was a trip back. Very authentic and delicious. I had a tlyuda and my wife had chicken enchiladas with mole negro. Both were flavorful and delicious. Service is also authentic... the waiter takes your order, brings your food, and then disappears. The table is yours for the evening and it becomes difficult to find the waiter. That's Oaxaca. Sit back, eat slowly, and enjoy the music. This isn't about table turn, so don't complain. The only real criticism is that there was only one salsa, where in Oaxaca there would always be 3 or more. The kitchen staff seemed to have a lot of fun and was laughing and smiling. This is real Mexican food. I will make many happy returns. read more

Very delicious authentic Mexican food. This is a good family owned restaurant that gives very good food with large proportions. The prices are not bad either. I would recommend this place of you are in the area and want good Mexican food. read more

Meh. Wasn't that great. But that's the way it goes with most Mexican places in North County. I've resigned myself to the fact that if you want great Mexican food you need to go to LA. Especially for Oaxacan food. I would rate El Tajate a "C" compare to Oaxacan Places like Antequera De Oaxaca In LA who get an A+. The difference in the Mole is like night and day. The Tamales at El Tejate were just OK, but nothing great. Once you have had the "real deal" nothing else will do. read more

Came here with a couple of people last night, food was definitely good. I had the black mole which was REALLY good just like people say. Homemade corn tortillas also very good. Everything is made to order. Only complaint is that all the adults had their food and we had to wait awhile for the kids dishes to come out. Things can get pretty disorganized and wait staff doesn't seem to be very experienced. All in all though it was good and I'll be back. read more

Customer service is one of the worst one around town very rude waiters and they take a really long time to give you your food honesty besides the food that was some what ok everything else was not .. won't be returning to this place that's for sure read more

Worst experience ever!!!! Waited about 25 minutes until someone came to take our order.... Then waited another 20 minutes for our drinks.... Finally To top it off we waited a good 45 minutes for our food to come out!!! I had to cancel my sons order because he fell asleep waiting... The food is really good as always... I don't know what happened to this place if it changed owners or what? Because this place use to be full of customers and enthusiasm. Now it's just empty and has really bad service... Don't think we will be coming back, sucks because we use to love this place! read more

If it wasn't for the food they would get 1 star. The service is absolutely terrible. I was flabbergasted. The "owner" screamed at me when I had my voice calm because we had a disagreement about the "more than 6 people tip" I'm sure 3 2 month olds don't count!!! The food is okay but please, order to go. read more

Only place I've ever had Oaxacan food, but man....way better than any other typical Mexican food restaurant. You can tell they really take pride in their recipes and making a great dish. Pricing is fair. I've recommended this place to a lot of people. read more

Very bad experience. Takes about an hour and half to just get food after ordering on a Saturday. And even for drinks. And even after having a full 10 ppl table seems that request a divide tab apparently it's too hard of a job. I do not recommend. read more

These people are VERY RUDE!!! MY experience was the worst! they take forever to serve you, didn't get chips and salsa until we asked for them and we went the day of the a boxing fight so after they seated us they said very rudely you HAVE to spend $100.00 WTH! I would have left but my honey already started drinking and didn't want to rush to another spot to chill and drink oh and the food is alright not worth the over prices!! NEVER COMING BACK!!! read more

Visited after reading yelp review. Really authentic Oaxacan cuisine. Liked the tejate drink very much. The tasajo was tender and the beans and rice were delicious and freshly cooked. It was during lunch time. They had people but my food arrived after a reasonable wait. read more

Best tamales in California! Sweet pork in mole, wrapped in banana leaves. The masa is smooth (not grainy) and tender. Everything else is good, but nothing beats these tamales! read more

The food from this place is good but the service is so poor. .I will never come to this place again. .I got here at 5:20 and after an hour. I got what I ordered. . read more

The food is pretty good. Many of the food items do taste like Oaxacan food. The plates I would recommend are the tlayudas. They have mental with different meats, but I prefer the tasajo one. Plenty of flavor and will definitely satisfy your hunger. Although the food is not bad, I really have to complain about the customer service. It has gone down my a lot. Few years back I remember going there often and would get nice service but now the food takes ages to come out. If you only have 1 hour to eat, it's definitely not best place to eat. You have to wait for someone to come out and take your order, wait a long time to get your order, and even wait more time to pay for your food. I love hot chocolate and coffee. But even that can take 15 minutes to come out even with you being the only client. A few times I've gone with my wife and family and had to change orders because they "did not have" the plate available. "We don't have coffee any more" "there is no atole" "I will owe you the nopal, we don't have any". I have gotten many excuses for not getting my food. I say excuses because when the person who serves goes back to ask the cooks, I have actually hear them say they did not want to prepare the item and tell the server to say they have ran out. I have no doubt that if they were to reduce the time it takes the food out and increase their customer service I would give them at least a 4. read more

this place is awesome- read the review of olga s - extremely accurate. i ordered what she suggested and this place is unbelievably awesome. next time i'll try the grasshoppers and also a hot chocolate with bread for dessert. read more

Beautiful food and people. The horchata brought me back to life. Words can NOT describe how amazing the black beans are...it was nostalgic moment, for a minute I was reminded of my grandmother and her cooking. I love the mariachis-totally made the experience super awesome with'a sprinkle of smiles read more

We came here to try oaxacan food out let me just say this was a horrible nightmare for us . The mole was not great at all it was sour and I have tasted oaxacan mole if I am not mistaken it is suppose to be semi sweet . The prices are outrageously overpriced for what you get . The place is very colorful,but the owner was on the phone so it took us ages just to get service here not to mention the owner was rude to us just such a nightmare will not be returning here ever. read more

Stopped by on the 3rd of July, 11:30 ish, seemed busy, not the tables were full but servers seemed overwhelmed. We ordered the TORTA OAXAQUENA, with Chorizo, Homemade Beans and tons of flavor we also ordered the Chile Relleno, recommended by the owner as their speciality dish. To our surprise the plate was and Chile was large and filled the plate! It was tasty and more that enough for two! We really enjoy ourselves here, the wait for for fresh made food is worth it! read more

Came here to eat some bugs! The restaurant boasts authentic Oaxacan cuisine, and it seems to hit the mark pretty close. Unfortunately they were all out of crickets when we went, so we had to stick to meal worms. They were served over guacamole. Apparently they get flown in already dehydrated from Oaxaca. Once dried, they are so small that you don't really notice them...they just add a little crunch to your guac. So, the worms left a little to be desired, but I'm looking forward to trying the crickets one day. I also had mole enchiladas, which aren't easy to come by, which I thoroughly enjoyed. read more

I went here on a recommendation, and it turns out this place is one of the most authentic Mexican restaurants in SoCal. The staff was friendly, prompt, and more importantly, the food was awesome. I would highly recommend you top by and pay this place a visit. read more

I drive to this place all the way from east county every few weeks , the drive is worth it , food is amazing and authentic southern Mexican style , highly recommend the tacos, empandas, and tlayudas. Also their chips and salsa are the best read more

First time hear the staff is very friendly, speak english, and very attentive to the customer. The food is really good we had a mixed tlayuda and it's enough food to share with three adults easy... read more

Good food but not worth my money! My fiancé & I were the only two people there,I understand why, & we received no service, she never came to check on us or ask us if we needed anything , no refills & the drinks that are overpriced so a refill would of been nice. They shouldn't call this place a "restaurant" if there technically is no waiter/waitresses ! The salsa was OK, I've had better. My chile relleno was good but not something I would come back for. My husbands enchiladas con mole was great. But I am not going back nor am I recommending this place to anyone simply there is better for the same price & that is why. read more

Rodrigo was an incredible server. Honestly one of the best I ever had. The food was super authentic, and very tasteful. The food came out nice and hot. The time between it coming off the fire and onto our plates and in front of the table seemed like no time at all! It was such a warm and friendly atmosphere. I have to recommend to anyone who finds themselves in the North County area and looking for a real meal. read more

Food is good, they've raised their prices, quite a bit from the times I started going. Althought the food is good, the service is Horrible!!! The owner is nice and attentative but the staff there is unprofessional and their service leaves a lot to wish for. I don't care how good the food is, as long as I get good service. read more

The food is fine (they had tejate yay!). They brought handmade tortillas which is always a plus. I ordered a kids taquito meal for my daughter, I am not sure about the cream topping though (it is sweet as opposed to sour, maybe in an attempt to make kids eat them?). The memelitas are tasty and the beans and rice are so good! The service, where can I start? Went there on a Sunday afternoon. When we arrived the restaurant was semi full and only one person waiting tables. We sat down around dirty tables and in a table that had crumbs that we cleaned ourselves. Slowly more wait staff started arriving but the service was still slow. It took 5 minutes for the waitress to give us menus, 10 minutes after that to get our drink order, and another 50 minutes to get our food! People were complaining left and right about the slow service. People not getting their food, or not being charged and wanting to leave. It was a disaster. I enjoyed the duo that was singing mexican songs though, they came around our table twice and they were very professional. If it were not for them I would have lowered the rating to two stars. read more

They have great food habing been to this state I must say I can c myself there. And I know the sons owner but there staff is not up to par

The tamale was huge and delicious, authentic good food. The only hard part was having to translate the Spanish, but they had plenty of pictures to guide you through picking a good choice on the menu. Will be going back food was delicious. read more

Oh my First Review ever :D Ummm Me and my pops are from Oaxaca and heard through the grapevine that there was an authentic Oaxaca restaurant in Escondido. so we go and damm this place is close to Oaxacam\n as you can get. its obvious this is a hidden treasure in esco and the truth is el tejate is the place to go for Oaxaca food. they have champulines and the stretchy oaxcan chese (bomb) and chorizo from oaxaca. idk how but it taste like itss from oaxaca. they take a bit to make everything but i think the tortillas are fresh. and the service is sometimes a lil rushed. but i luv it. best beans every and the truth is the food is really authentic. read more

Ok food could be improved!! We came on a Sunday afternoon it took almost 2hrs to get out food the service is extremely slow and waitresses need training on how to ask people if they need a refill... Not what we were expecting on a Sunday dinner... 1-10 on their lack of customer service I rate them a 3 don't go if your hungry and aren't willing to wait for hrs for your food read more

Best Mexican food ever! Service wasn't that great what a shame. The food rocks!!

They had no mojarra and chocofan the day i finally decide to go plus the food really didn't have flavor :'(

I had lunch here today with my well-travelled friend who will be returning again to Oaxaca next month. I had the mole with chicken legs which is served with rice and freshly made tortillas. Chips and salsa were served before the meal. I have eaten here several times and never been disappointed. The mole is smooth, well-balanced and very flavorful. I love the fresh tortillas to dip in the sauce. The service is very good and if you will speak Spanish you will feel like one of the family. read more