Poor customer service. Food took way too long to be served. There's no AC and music too loud. Food is okay. Not too good not too bad read more

The worst place ,service is terrible owner has no manners and food over cooked 45m wait for our food plus rude service will not recommend this place to nobody, read more

A new Mexican friend told me about this restaurant with food typichal from Oaxaca. As I am not familiarized with the gastronomy of that Mexican area, of course I was very interested in knowing more and try it out, especially the chapulines. They were ran out of these little beats and we ate (3 of us) these dishes to share: tlayuda con cecina tamal de puerco mole envuelta en hoja de plátano quesadilla con flor de calabaza for drinks some chocolate drink that looks like a soup for the guys, and aguas frescas of tamarindo and jamaica for the girls. Very abundant and delicious lunch hour, and yes, as expected, super colorful place, very idyllic Mexican imaginery. Service was very nice and the server let us try a generous portion of a sweet drink made out of pumpkin and cinnamon (too sweet and heavy for me, looked like a meal by itself:). Will come back a Friday night for the music and try out more food. read more

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I felt like the owner is trying to pull a fast one on her "stupid" customers. (She must think we're stupid to serve us alcoholic drinks with virtually no alcohol in them.). I paid $11 for basically a glass of water. When I mentioned this to the waiter who had mixed the drink, he answered, embarrassed, that the owner dictates the size of the shot. Worst margarita of my life! The food was okay, very overpriced. read more

Server was rude, lacks respect. He was not helpful at all. He rushed us to order. Service was extremely slow even though it was empty. Food was warm not hot and it each plate came 5mins apart. We couldn't even eat at the same time. Definitely not worth coming back read more

Horrible service, was overcharged about $35.00. It's not the money is the way they handle the problem.i never write a review but this time I felt I needed to . Automatically they charge 15% for 6 people or more even if one is a baby and is sleeping the while time. Nowhere in the Manu stated this or nor the waitress informs you. Horrible customer service read more

Cockroaches! Please do not go here. I took my family here thinking it would be a good idea however we were all disappointed. The Owner was yelling at customers. The owner did not care about helping out her front staff. The food.. when I asked for a side dish instead of telling me it wasn't available in that size the owner sent out a large dish and had me pay for it. The waitress was running around while the owners as just talking and laughing in the back. When confronted about the issues, she said she couldn't do anything about the roaches. read more

The business owner doesn't turn on the A/C, that's really important here in Escondido,( we get some of The hottest temperatures in San Diego). So be ready to be sweating while eating haha, regardless their prices are high to not offer the A/C as a commodity for their customers. Food is Mexican authentic and it's good. read more

Not a fringe place. This is a yummy mom and pop real Mexican food joint. The server was nice and the cook even said Hi. From the time we sat down to the time we got our food was 10 minutes. The mole was the bomb. Both our meals and the chips and salsa were great. read more

Great food! My go to is the chicken enchiladas with the red mole! Always great vibes when I eat with friends here!

This was a disappointment. The service was slow. The food SO bland. How do you make bland mexican food? El servicio fue despacio. La comida sin sabor. read more

So I am new to the area... I only came up this side because of some weekend classes I am taking at a school nearby. I had to get back to school, so I opted to try a restaurant nearby. I saw El Tejate thinking it says it is authentic Mexican food, and I was excited about checking it out. I walked in, and the host pretty much looks at me like she didn't want me there. When I say that, she didn't offer me a seat, or even ask if I wanted to eat in or take the food to go. I asked her as she is walking pass me, "do you all do take out?" She says yes and points me to toward the register. I get to the register, and the guy is just looking at me, and not saying anything. I finally ask "is there a menu?" He says "oh you want to order" I look through the menu (Everything is in Spanish). That is fine, I speak Spanish, but the assumptions made. I am standing at the register for no less than 8 minutes, and the guy who was at the register had left 8 minutes ago. I finally decided that since I wasn't welcomed there, neither were my dollars. I scooted on to the Italian restaurant next door. I won't go back to that place. I can't speak for the food, but the service was enough for me to say no thanks! read more

Found this gem one day when I was desperate for some tejate. The food is absolutely delicious and although the service may be a little slow on some days, they are absolutely amazing. They make sure we have everything we need and that we are satisfied with our meals. For my Spanish-speaking peeps: La comida esta deliciosa. Las tlayudas son realmente increibles y el tejate, que no se diga porque de verdad esta riquisimo. Tambien tienen chocolate calientito que incluye un pan. Si estan en el area, definitivamente lo recomiendo. Es una experiencia unica. Creo que hay dias cuando tienen musica en vivo y cierran como a la 1am, pero tendre que ir a ver como esta el ambiente. El servicio es un poco despacio a veces, pero se aseguran que tengamos todo lo que necesitamos. read more

I"m still dreaming of the mole.... Best. Mole. Ever. In. San Diego. Perhaps the best Mexican food! My better half, who is Mexican, even agrees and says the food is just like the food he had in Oaxaca. Walking in, I felt like I was in Mexico with the decor and little Mexican dolls. We were greeted and seated right away. At 7:30pm there was a pretty good crowd eating at this quaint establishment. Again, very good sign when you see its own peeps eating there. -Enchiladas con mole- Authentic. Flavorful. Not greasy. Heavenly. I wanted to lick the plate. -Chorizo plate with rice, beans and a salad- This was good chorizo, not the greasy stuff you usually find. Never had a salad come with my entree at a Mexican joint but it was good. Rice and beans were good and tasted healthy. -Horchata-I always thought horchata was supposed to be super sweet and grainy, until I had El Tejate's. It was smooth and just the right amount of sweetness. -Memelas- Basically the Oaxacan sopes. Three toasted pieces of masa topped with beans and melted Oaxacan cheese. Kind of like mini pizzas. Soooooo good. I saw a couple comment that it's too slow here. If the food here comes out in say 15 minutes, it's not authentic. If you want quick, go to Alberto's. Everything here is freshly made, which obviously will take a bit of time. So yes, we were probably waiting for 45 minutes, but the cook and our waitress apologized profusely for the wait. At least there's complimentary chips and salsa to munch on. This was very nice of them, but for us, well worth the wait for fresh, authentic Mexican eats. read more

Wow! Just wow... Wife and I came here because after attending the Escondido Tamale Festival yesterday (11/14/15) and not having a chance to even eat a tamale because of crazy 2 hours long lines we seen the booth for El Tajete selling delicious looking tlyucas so we thought we would come try it out. So we read the mixed reviews. The consensus is that El Tejate has really great food but lousy service. I get it, we waited a good minute to get our food but our waitress was super sweet, the owners daughter and though she was busy she did really offer good service. Yes, I had to get up from my chair to ask one of the other waitresses to get us a glass of water but it's really not a big deal because we feel entitled to have services come at our every beckoning? If you expect not to wait awhile for your home made authentic food to arrive then you will get frustrated. If you want to experience some amazing, flavorful and perfectly seasoned dishes then eat here. Our waitress recommended the "parrillada complenta" since it was out first time. Order this if it is your first time eating here, I don't want to ruin it but it serves two and runs $27.99 not including drinks. You can also order it for 5-6 people if you have a larger group. It is amazing, a good combination of different dishes without venturing into to friend incest dishes know for this region of Mexico. Horchata has nuts and a slush of prickly pear which is a must try if you have never had this. So good, it made me shed some tears of joy. read more

El Tejate - The Phoenix rising - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

This is one of my new favorite places to eat in San Diego (area)! I went there for lunch today and was blown away. We started off with some agua frescas that I had never heard of before: chilacayote and tuna (at least that's what I heard them say... it wasn't fish thank god). The chilacayote was amazing!!! It was pretty thick and stringy because it's made from a squash but it has this amazing almost gingery taste. To eat I had a yellow mole empanada. The mushrooms in it were so delicious, it was all really fresh. The tortilla was homemade. I also had a tlayuda and that was super good too; the beans were awesome. Finally I tried the enchiladas with black mole... AMAZING!!! The best mole I have ever had, seriously. It was earthy but also cinnamony. It is well worth the drive from San Diego, I will definitely be back! read more

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Si pudiera darles Estrella negativas lo aria. Un Groupo de 3 personas y dos niños(bebes) y lo consideran Como large party? Nos cobran 18% de propina y sin avisar?con un tipo de servicio de mcdonalds donde nomas ordenas y te Dan tu comida? Y para el18%? No es justo! Por eso este lugar esta bajo en Estrellas. Pero bueno primera y ultima vez se aprende! read more

Wow. Wow. Wow. Based on food and ambiance alone, this place would get 5 stars. Service mistakes brings it down to 4. The food here blew us away. For a totally authentic Mexican experience, try this place out. Icing on the cake. It is Oaxacan, with different dishes and flavors than most San Diegan Mexican places. We came because we have been looking desperately for a place that made mole near us. And does this place make mole. Husband ordered the chicken plate with black mole sauce. I ordered a chicken mole tamale. The black mole sauce is amazing. To be honest, I believe the last time we tasted mole was a good 4 years ago. I remember it being very good, but it had been home-made by somebody who apparently was a master (this was at a party). Prior to that, the mole sauces I had ever tasted were either too much like a dessert sauce or not chocolatey enough for me. This sauce hit it right down the middle. A touch of sweetness. Definitely could taste the chocolate, the chilis, sesame, with layers and layers of flavors. The tamale was the same, combining the mole flavors with the flavor from the banana leaf. The negatives: 1) First off, many items on the menu were unavailable. This was understandable as I believe many of them were seasonal. 2) In order to try more things, I ordered a red mole tamale but received the black mole instead. I was quite a bit bummed by this, although it means an excuse to come back and try the red mole another time. 3) The server also made the mistake of bringing my husband chicken legs with his dish when a breast was requested (there was a choice). Not a major mistake though. Despite the mistakes, the server was very friendly and attentive. The restaurant is very clean and decorated nicely. Very homey place. We will be back as this was some of the best Mexican food we've ever tried. read more

Food is good, but I don't agree with hidden fees. Now they charge for chips if you ask for more.A tiny container-for 4 grownups isn't enough we ask for more and they never mention a $ 3.99 would cost us the second one. I do think mind paying, but I need to know and I know everything is expensive! read more

Disclaimer, I have been using Yelp for years, but this is the first time I have had a meal so good, I felt compelled to write a review. Bottom line up front, the food here is fantastic! Some of the best, if not THE best Mexican food I've had. El Tajate specializes in authentic Oaxacan cuisine, and everything we had was amazing. Super fresh and flavorful. The owner was very proud that everything was prepared onsite, with no pastes or premixes and it definitely comes out in the flavor. Now the details. El Tejate is unassuming and looks like any of the other 100's of Mexican restaurants in Escondido. Stepping inside doesn't change that impression, don't let that fool you. Once seated, I felt transported 500 miles south of the boarder. The decor, the music, the ambiance was straight out of a family restaurant in Mexico; awesome! That's great, but you can't eat the decor, so to the food. Everything was awesome. We started with the two different banana leaf tamales which are different than the corn husk variety and significantly tastier. Feeling adventurous, we ordered the grasshopper snack which is exactly what it sounds like, a plate of seasoned grasshoppers! If you can get past the idea of eating bugs, they are amazingly delicious and I will be having them again! They have two different types of mole, a red and a dark; both are great! My wife had the red mole enchiladas and I had the dark mole chicken, fantastic! One of my sons had the chile relleno which was cooked perfectly and the other had Botana de Molotes, which was a delicious departure from the norm. To wash it all down, we ordered the agua fresca made with seasonal fruit, in this case passion fruit; they were perfect. Just enough sweet to complement the meal, without overpowering. One minor detractor, the service was a little slow, but the owner appoligized and told me that two of her staff had called in sick, so some time things are out of your control. We were enjoying the food and weren't in a hurry, so it wasn't a big deal. To wrap up, we WILL be going back again and I highly recommend it if you are feeling adveturous and like Mexican food but want to try something different than the standard burritos and tacos you get at most places. read more

Refreshing break from the typical SD fare.... I grew up in SD and thought I knew mexican food. I was soooo wrong! This place transported me away to somewhere in Oaxaca and showed me things I've never seen before! My husband, girls and I went in-- we were the only gringos and everyone was very friendly and spoke english to us. I was curious about the maguay worms (I thought that fried worms and insects were only served in Asia & Africa-- hello! They also have fried grasshoppers... ended up with the worms-- they are really tiny bits that look like pieces of bacon and it's served on top of some of the best guacamole I've ever had... I ordered a talyuda (sp?) which is basically a mexican pizza (ok, I know that someone from Oaxaca will think this is silly) but it was a humongous handmade tostada with frijoles negros and cheese and chorizo and cesina and carne asada, sprinkled with avocados lettuce, and tomatoes. Hubby had a mixed plate with freshly made corn tortillas.... My only wish is for some authentic desserts-- they only offered cheesecake and jello. (is that really what they eat down south?) BTW, if you're up for some Norteno karaoke, you're in the right place.... read more

If you want to try authentic Oaxacan food then this place is where you want to eat. The staff was friendly and the food was the best. Rice and beans were so tasty. Best cheese ever and mole on point. The meat was tender and flavorful. They have chapulines (grasshoppers) for those brave enough to try them. I can't stress enough how great the food is here. I can't wait to one back. read more

El Tejate - Mmm - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

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The food tasted good, no problem with that, but waitress are just not cleaning after everyone is done eating, or at least swiping the floor, they also clean the tables with a smelly rag, I have Been there more than twice and it has not changed.! read more

There's a lot of pros and cons to this amazing place. I'll start with the food. I own my own Mexican food business and as a chef I can say this place is as close as your will taste regional Mexican food from Oaxaca, Mexico. Going with a con, the food takes long because it's made fresh when your order it. (Take in consideration there is orders before you- lol I would know this because of my own business) Orders can vary from 20 min if it's not to busy to up to one hour on the weekends) this place always has a lot of Mexican people eating here (so they must really be having an authentic flavor to see their own people eating there) On other Pro, one of my favorite dishes is their famous Tlayudas Mixtas. They come with refried black beans, cabbage, three different seasoned meats, avocado, fresh sliced tomatoes. They typically are very crunchy (it's like big tostada!) but you can always ask the waitress to toast it more if you like. Also they always have banana leaf tamales, with mole. I usually always get the black mole because I find it more tasty than the red one (personal preference)! They have a different taste than most corn leaf tamales. On a last con, Customer service is not the best, but Not because they're lazy or rude, I feel they are short handed. One or two waitresses have a lot in heir plate when they have a full house, handling register, handling orders out the window and attending new customers at be door. On the bright side, I definitely always recommend this place, I would just suggest to visit this place on when you are not in a hurry or on a slower day during the weekday. (Weekend is always pack) I'm very sure you will enjoy your food as much I am right now and to many other times I'll visit. I've just found the way to visit my favorite places in town on the not so busy days and when I'm able to enjoy my food at peace. Go out and try them! :) read more

El Tejate - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

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Me and my husband came to eat here and the employees were very rude and super unwelcoming , we had such a bad experience here and very poor customer service! Don't waste your time on coming here read more

The enfrijolada with cecina (pork) was amazing! The staff was kind and the food so savory. My grandma is from Oaxaca and I think she would approve. read more

El Tejate - Enfrijolada con cecina (pork). The tortillas were bathed in the black bean sauce and were so soft. - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

Service was terrible. Very dry and not at all welcoming. We had a to go order and they had forgotten one of our meals. When we called , all the waiter said was what do you want me to do and it wasn't my fault. She started saying she was very busy and that it was the cookers fault. read more

One of the better Oaxaqueño places I've tried. I've only tried La Gordita in Vista where my fav dish, tlayuda which is a big corn tortilla with fixings, is served cold! If that's how u like it, then go for it. Back to El Tejate, food is pretty good. I order the chorizo tlayuda and chorizo torta. Yes, the meats can have more salt than say a steak place but still my type. Service was ok. If u have questions, be careful, cause an older waitress got irritated when I changed my order and started correcting me on the menu to assure me I was wrong. read more

El Tejate - Chorizo torta. Yum! Bread thickness is just right. - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

The customer service and the reviews for this place speaks for itself . This place is terrible . The sanitization is super bad . The owners and employees could careless about the restaurant. It USED to be good . 0 out of 5 now . Sucks read more

These place is far from we're I leave, but the food is really delicious is ok to drive those 30 mnts, anything you want to try (eating) is at A+ price is good for what you get, understanding how the place looks for the pandemia but I believe every restaurant is running low on team members, try to assist you the best they can, thank you for by there and provide these delicious food. read more

Service is terrible! My husband my sister and I walked in nobody greeted us we sat down and waited 10 min to get our menu. The chips we got were stale we ordered 2 tortas oaxaqueñas and a tlayuda mixta and also 1 tamal. 2 half liter cokes and a water. My husband received his tlayuda but not his water we also never got napkins. I waited 21 minutes and did not receive my tamal. I understand there was more customers but the waitress didn't bother to check up on us until we had finished our food. I've been here before and the food is very delicious and even the service then was great I don't know if the owners changed or what's going on but this visit was truly disappointing! When we were ready to pay we asked to see what she was charging us for and the tamal was not on the receipt (I had clearly ordered it) I wasn't going to pay for something I didn't receive so she probably realized and deleted it before we asked for the receipt. Food is great just the service needs to improve.‍ read more

My husband and I came here on a Saturday for date night and were extremely disappointed. From the service to the food, everything was lacking. We arrived and I'm the inside only had a few small groups dining and one larger group. We stood and waited to be seated for 7 mins, which is fine but all of the waitress and hostesses just kept walking by us without even acknowledging our presence. We were finally seated with no menus or drink orders. Another 7-8 mins later and we got menus and our drink orders take which was a water and a Jamaica. By the time we got our drinks we were ready to order our food. I ordered MOLOTES - Fried corn dough rolls filled with potatoes, chorizo, covered with lettuce, beans, cheese & avocado. When the food came mine was missing the beans, cheese and avocado and the Molotes were dry. Prior to that my hubby and I cheered our drinks and his water was hot.. I mean no ice and straight from the hot side of the tap water.. when we asked for ice we got a dirty look. They never came back to check on us either. It was clear they were catering to the other patrons who were fluent in Spanish. Other people came in after us, didn't have to wait to be seated and got cold drinks right away. Overall very disappointing and we will not be back! read more

Came here because we usually eat at Ali baba across the parking lot. The food is good the service horrible. They are polite enough but the wait time is bad and the order was for 6 people and only five meals came out.....uggghhh. Would I come back.......nope! read more

La ultima vez llegue a comer llebava unas aguas de sabor fue el motivo por el cual no quisieron venderme para comer dentro del mismo ya que no lo permiten ingresar bebidas y no se me hace justo que afuerza tengas que consumir las bebidas del establecimiento era cliente frecuente pero esta vez fue la 1ra y ultima vez que voy si vienes caminando y traes agua por las altas temperaturas que hace y quieres pasar a comer como le haces?? No lo recomiendo. read more

I don't know how to feel about this place, the food is amazing. I love the cheese that they use it's very cheesy! The salsa they serve with the chips is so delicious as well, it could get spicy after a while but nothing I couldn't handle. We got seated right away and got our order taken after we got our drinks first. The food didn't take long as well. The only reason why I wouldn't give this place a 5 stars is because the lack of service. Although they get your food right away, they don't come and check on you to see if you need refills or if there is anything you need. I needed water and I waited till I almost finished my food to get some water because we had to flag down the lady. Once we were done with our food again it took foreverrrrr to get our bill, I was honestly about to just leave some money in the table and walk out because I had somewhere to be but I want to return to this place in hopes that their customer service will get better. After waiting for a while to get our check I just kept lookin at the servers and they were just talking once the lady saw I kept staring she came over with out bill. One of the servers was literally texting as the were bringing food out. One hand the plate the other his phone that's a whole level of multitasking and unprofessionalism. Food is great but please either get more servers or give better customer service! read more

El Tejate - Tlayuda and memelitas - Mexican Near Me - Escondido, California

Holy Moleeeeeee! This is the best frikin mole I have had! (Don't tell my mom I said that) Really though, if you are looking for authentic Oaxacan food, you have to try this place. Everything is prepared fresh to order, so wait time might be a little long, but well worth it. Can't wait to go back for some of that tasty mole. read more

I came across this place after just moving to the escondido area and after a day of house work me and my dad felt like some siete mares soup (7 seas seafood soup). I initially tried to view the menu online and either user error or website error i could only view a small menu so i called them and confirmed they did indeed offer that soup. Now i know that this place specializes in Oaxacan food and the items on the menu looked really really good (minus their "delicacies" which you will know what im talking about if you read the menu) but i was set on my soup. I had read somewhere that everything is made from scratch so i understood that it may take some time to come out. While we waited we were given some chips and salsa. The salsa was very good, definitely homemade and very spicy. When our soup came out i was impressed with the crab legs popping out. While eating it i quickly realized never to eat this in a white shirt. All of the seafood comes in it's shell including the shrimp (heads included). So breaking everything open was not an easy task. You have to work for this soup but IT WAS REALLY GOOD. everything on their was very tasty. The fish was a tad hard to come off the bone (it may have been frozen). The corn tortillas are obviously homemade and also very good. I dont even like corn tortillas. It was cheaper than another place i went to but this was better and more of a homemade experience. I will go back again for the soup and other things. On a side note. We had to ask twice for water and finally got water after our food was served. We also ordered a horchata with melon which was tasty (get it as a dessert). This place may not have a soap dispenser or paper towels in the restroom and someone may have been cutting the beef in the back next to the restroom but i was in the Marines (so is the owners son as i am guessing due to his bootcamp photo on the wall) so eating at a place that may not sanitize every inch doesn't scare me but it was worth noting to you hypochondriacs. read more

All right, I'm going to say that this is probably one of my favorite restaurants in Escondido. Hands down some of the best Mexican food I've had in San Diego--and it only happens to be Oaxacan. Walk in, and you can already tell you're going to have a better dining experience than usual. Finely decorated tables and walls, warm, lively colors, and a staff that isn't your typically smug, indifferent wait staff. These guys are the real thing: chef, owner, cook, server, all there--some crossing over to share the burden--but for genuine service from real lovers of food. Freshly made horchata that you can taste! No powdery taste, and not too sweet. I had the cesina plate. The meat was delicious and just the right amount of moisture to keep me going! Even the rice and black beans were treated delicately--I felt so healthy and happy all at once! A friend had the chicken with black mole. Moist chicken breast, and a sauce that was thick and flavorful without that cheapening sweetness I sometimes expect around here. Not a fine dining restaurant. Definitely casual, although you pay for quality food (about $10 per plate). You'll find yourself here if you want an atmosphere and meal that are one and the same: memorable and inviting, with the distinct and traditional taste of Oaxaca! read more

Somebody should've noted that the Escondido location is currently closed for remodel. A sign says the Carlsbad location will take off 10% if you mention the sign but who's going to make that commute unexpectedly... anyhow I can't wait to try the food and see the "new" place read more

About two months ago I traded in my raging obsession for Tex-mex and and Tejano food and moved to SoCal. I never realized that I would soon fall in love with Oaxacan food and call it even. Okay so I still crave flautas and the green sauce at La Tapatia but I've come to terms with my loss. My boyfriend actually introduced me to this place and since then I've nonstop asked about our next visit. In our visits here we've had the tlayudas, mole, empanadas, camarones, and the tamales. Everything has been amazing! Yes, the service can be lacking at times but the food is worth it. In addition the atole and the speciality Horchata are worth checking out! The food all tastes really fresh and the regular patrons only verify how authentic the food is. Drop by if you're in the neighborhood! read more