I am going to get straight to the point and strictly rate this place off of their food because let's be honest, that's what we're all going there for. This was the blandest Mexican food I've EVER eaten in my life. I've lived in LA and SD my whole life so I know good Mexican food. I ordered the Carnitas plate. The Carnitas had no flavor at all. Barely any salt. You can tell the meat was stewed, which at least the meat wasn't dry, however carnitas should not be mushy. Carnitas should be crispy either by frying or braising in the oven. The beans tasted straight out the can. The rice had a light tomato flavor, but once again, bland. I'm a spice head, and they only offer one salsa. The salsa was extremely mild. They should definitely offer more than one salsa. Oh, and my food was barely warm. I was pretty disappointed being that we just moved into town and we don't have anything in our kitchen yet. I'm sorry, I will not be returning. If this place is a reflection of the Mexican food being offered in town, I'll be sure to cook from home for now on. And so not to be completely negative, the workers were very nice. Wishing this business the best with their returning clientele. read more

I don't usually eat pork but when I do it's the adobada burrito at Jorge's. Their salsa is actually spicy too. I always add beans because I'm a Bay Area girl used to beans in all burritos. Their Chicken soup deserves a medal for healing the community. Great staff are the owners who've been behind that counter the 18 years I've lived there. Sweet and efficient. read more

Best soup I've ever had. Period. The owner is kind of a Soup Nazi and if you try to modify your order you may get a sigh of annoyance, but I take that as someone who takes his cooking very seriously and is a good thing. read more

The worst service ever! First they didn't want to serve us breakfast and it was before the cut off time 11:30am. It wasn't because they were out of ingredients, it was out of just plain laziness. Then after they messed up our order, the owner would not own up to his mistake made in the kitchen/ register. Instead of easily making another burrito he said it was my fault. read more

Only been there once for a chicken and rice burrito. Driest burrito I have had. When they said chicken and rice that is all that was on it...no pico de gallo, not anything. 3 stars for not misleading the customer. A bit of a disappointment. That being said, I have heard the soups are amazing! Perhaps they should advertise as a Mexican soup restaurant only. Too bad I am not a soup guy. read more

Just like the original location with all of the same items and taste. Get the chicken soup on a cold day and be glad you did. Get it Texcoco style (spicy) for a bonus treat. It will cure your cold. read more

Jorge's chicken soup is definitely worth a try. I always get not spicy because I'm a spice wimp but either way it's delicious! I actually prefer this location over the one on El Camino Real. The service is better and there is more seating. My husband loves the chile relleno burrito, too. Definitely a quality Mexican place and a great way to end an afternoon at the beach! read more

Chicken soup = good Tacos = no bueno The tacos may be decent but...you have to pay additional price for all the extras (i.e. guar., etc.) which then makes the price go up. Its' not very pricey, but it's the principle and the nuisance (thinking you are paying one price but ending up paying 30% more). If you go, get the soup. read more

This place was great and being a real dive just adds to it. The Cali burrito was awesome, with real potatoes and my favorite thing here thus far. Their Chicken soup was good, but nothing out of this world to me. It was really packed at lunch, but still fast service I'll definitely be coming back again and again. read more

4, with an extra star for the friendly service! I stopped by after taking a dance class at the nearby studio 429 because it smelled so good when I walked by. Ordered the standard california burrito and a carne asada taco and the chicken soup. I thought I had ordered it spicy, but when I tasted it there wasn't as much of a kick there as I'd expected. Still, it was flavorful and there was plenty of chicken and avocado in the soup. Thumbs up for a really good twist on chicken soup! The taco and burrito were less remarkable, and I thought that the burrito was slightly on the dry side. Definitely get the chicken soup, and ask for extra salsa--it definitely has a spicy kick to it! I'm definitely grabbing dinner here after class again! read more

The chicken soup is absolutely the best I've ever had! The broth is so tasty and mixed with the avocados, chunks of chicken, rice and parsley adds that much more flavor. Soup comes with choice of corn or flour tortillas. Def would have this ever week if I could. read more

If you're feeling horrible, you can choose to go to the Scripps hospital across the street, or save a little money and hassle and enjoy this wonderful version of that famous remedy - chicken soup. Jorge's is outstanding! Encinitas is getting very competitive when it comes to chicken soup and we who like to eat well are winning! This compares very favorably to Raul's and is a little different than El Cortez (who have more veggies) and is also different than La Especial Norte (who have a tremendous selection) Friendly, family-owned place. You don't come here for fancy surroundings, but instead for the food. read more

Good carne asada burrito -- not greasy and decent meat. I must admit I was not a big fan of the chicken soup. But, this place is still a strong 4-star hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint. CASH ONLY! read more

Jorge's Mexicatessen - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

Legendary Mexican food! My wife and I hit up Jorge's once a month, every month. We're not creatures of habitat, but when it comes to eating Jorge's...we order the same thing every time because it's consistently amazing. 1) Spicy Chicken Soup 2) Crunchy Beef Taco The best!! Jorge's is one if the greatest Mexican good joints in North County San Diego...and that's saying a lot considering the heavy competition the have. I back this spot 100%! 5 stars:) read more

I don't get the hype.. There are so many other places around here with better everything. The staff is no friendly at all (in fact they get mad if you give them 21 bucks on a 10.54 bill. They don't seem to understand you did that to get a bigger bill back).. The salsa is not very good at all and no spicy either.. They are very opposed to any alterations you want to make to your burrito and if they do they make sure they find every little surcharge to make it happen.. The chicken soup is pretty good, but nothing that blows the competition away.. read more

Definitely my favorite Mexican food in Encintias...and it's right near my house! Lucky me. Amazing chicken soup...that's a give. But pretty much everything else in there is tasty. Chicken burrito. Tacos. The Wednesday special is nice...quesadilla and chicken soup. Don't call. They don't answer the phone. read more

I ordered a tostada grande. With beef it was pretty good on a scale from 1 to 10 I give it a 6. The salsa, however is just way too spicy and I like spicy salsa. The service was good and preparation time was very quick read more

YUM YUM YUM!!! Absolutely delicious food. I love their breakfast burritos. Everything is clean and people are so friendly.

Went for 2 large containers of their Mexican Style Chicken soup to feed my cough and cold. It's perfectly seasoned, spicy and loaded with real chicken, rice and fresh avocado. They also have gr8 burritos, plates and tostadas. But the soup is my standby "cure" for friends who are ill. read more

This is my go-to place for chicken soup when I'm feeling under the weather. Their tacos and burritos are delicious too. I'm so happy it's within a short drive to my house. read more

Yum!!! This is a great little place in the Vons shopping plaza across the street from Scripps. Please try their beef tacos, OMG, crispy guacamole shredded beefy deliciousness! Of course their chicken soup is great as well as their California burritos and the cheese quesadillas. Salsa is HOT and will bite the back of your throat ... just the way I like it, YES! Both of the gentlemen that run the place are very kind and friendly. The place is always clean but sometimes crowded because it's the BOMB! read more

Love this place. The chicken soup is the best!! Beans are flavorful. Reasonable prices.

Seems to be an on going trend that the owner and people working here are so difficult to deal with that it simply is not worth the effort to go. My family and I have been going here since they opened and they Always ALWAYS mess up some part of the order. And when you try to tell them they deny it. The last time I went ( which will be the last time I go) they charged me for two taco that I didn't even order; then didn't even give them to me!! The old man and his brother are too old to keep up and too stubborn to have anyone else work the registrar. It's suspicious that they only accept cash and over charge customers. Maybe they just wanted a free lunch on me. Whatever it is I will get my soup fix at Lourdes in Cardiff next to mar vista liquor from now on. read more

Best damn chicken soup I have ever had. It's not close. I go in there and challenge myself to try different things and I've never been disappointed. The staff is friendly and inviting and the ingredients are ALWAYS fresh. I honestly can't say enough. On a good day you'll catch Jorge himself cooking or running the counter. These guys are definitely into making you fat and happy. Highly recommend. read more

I had the Mexican style soup. It was fantastic! Get Price and service. Only wish I knew about the lunch special before I ordered. But I will return read more

Came here because there was no other place to eat when I have early appointments at Scripps. I been here twice and the food is fresh, however...can make slight improvements. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Chilaquiles. However, it should come with sliced red onions, cilantro, cheese, topped with sour cream. The chilaquiles here, is just tortilla chips (which has a great crunchy texture) red sauce (I'm Cuban so I can't get down with Chile's that are too spicy so great for my taste buds lmao) and an egg on top. Just that. It needs a little more than that... like mentioned above. The beans were awesome, I like that it didn't taste like it came out of a can! The rice...is ok. I prefer it with a little more Sazon (what we use as a spice) but it's ok.. The part that really kinda sucks...as a Mexican Restaurant, how can you NOT HAVE horchata!! I wanted my breakfast with a nice Horchata to wash it down with. That kinda sucked for me as I am pregnant with twins and of course crave certain little things ha ha. Overall, great customer service...just the chilaquiles need a little more to it than 3 ingredients. read more

Simple hole in the wall mexican, California was solid, some of the combo meals are pricey though.

Great food! N people Going 4 18 yrs ! remember chickens on rotisserie n the window! Said to myself there not going to make it. With 4 chickens turning around! Ha ha tortas are soggy but yummy Salsa to hot 4 me except on rolled tacos for some reason! Would b nice George if u could make a med salsa 4 us! A part of my retirement has gone 2 u. Ha ha Lov steveps fish tacos great# read more

The Best Mexican Food! My favorite north county location by far if not all of San Diego. Shrimp Fajita Burrito- ridiculous Tortilla Soup- amazing. Comes with huge chunks of fresh avocado Also, they are one of the few Mexican places with a hard taco that is huge. And the guys there are so sweet, so nice, and you feel like giving them your business is a good thing regardless read more

The chicken soup is delicious and the owner was super sweet! Highly recommend this little hole in the wall.

The San Diego Lifestyle is encapsulated in every bite of a Jorge's California Burrito.

Best chx soup in the universe. My all time favorite place. Excellent service and amazing food. Ive been a customer since you were on el camino real! Jorges soup is #1 and will always be my go to:) only thing they could do to make me happier is build one in san Marcos. read more

The owner of this restaurant is an arrogant mean old man, I decided to inform him that my order from last week was not cooked all the way and it was actually cold and he told me not to worry about it just to never order that before, he proceeded to tell me that he wasn't going to do anything about it and that if I had called him right away maybe he would have offered me to fix it. I told him I wasn't asking him for anything I just wanted him to know so that he can pay attention to what he serves he got really upset at me and told me again not to worry about it and he was not going to do anything about it. I asked him if he was the owner and he said yes and I said I'm just telling you for your own benefit and he told me he didn't care and I told him that he should retire because he has a really bad attitude and he says ..yes I know!!! This restaurant has become rich just from the employees of Scripps Hospital across the street, but he's not about to please anyone he just doesn't care. I just had my last meal at this place. read more

Came here for lunch while visiting my mom in the hospital next door. I love Mexican food so it was a no-brainer to choose this over the subway next door. Subway would have been the better choice. I got the cheese enchilada combo and a small soup. The soup was good, a little bland, but the best thing hands down on the menu. My daughter got the California burrito and carne asada tacos. My enchiladas were cold and bland, the rice and beans were cold and bland too. My daughter said her food was "ok". I paid with my debit card and the guy gave me 70 cents change... huh? I paid with a debit card. He mumbled something about minimum charge however my order cost $28....? Mediocre food, barely warmed up doesn't satisfy my craving. Throw in the fact he stood there eating at the cash register and we won't be back. Disappointed. read more

Good service, clean restaurant, very reasonable prices. Food is better then your normal Mexican joint

What you'll notice about most of the reviews on Jorge's they all rave about the chicken soup and "yes" it is true this soup is the fountain of youth and does very well seem to have some healing properties to it. I have many a friend and family member who can attest to that. And, "yes" it is true that is may be some of the best chicken soup any taco shop north of the San Ysidro crossing has to offer. Although, the senoras in the cocina at La Especial Norte on the in Encinitas would care to differ. And, "yes" it is true that this restaurant is well run, managed, owned, and very clean. Sopa de Pollo aside, the biggest reason I cannot just blindly give it a 4 or 5 star rating, solely based on the fact that the chicken soup heals the sick and cures the blind, is because after the infamous soup everything else I've had at Jorge's so far has been very pedestrian up until this point. And the sign does not read Jorge's Incredibly Amazing Chicken Soup shop...no...it reads, "Mexicattessen". A store where delicate Mexican foods are sold would be the direct translation. Now I haven't had everything on the menu, but I have had the carne asada burrito, California burrito, chicken taco, the chicken enchilada combination plate, and their carnitas burrito, some of the many choices we've all grown to be accostomed to living in San Diego. And each is serviceable, ordinary, typical, and what I've come to expect from most taco shops in and around San Diego. There are two things I seek out when rating a "taco shop" the quality of the meat, and the quality of what is placed inside of the burrito or taco shell to go along with the meat, and then finally how it settles with me later that afternoon or evening. In the case of our friend Jorge, the good news is the food tastes above average, and it doesn't linger with me hours later (that is unless I add onion to my tacos). But Jorge's just never attempts to "wow" me. It doesn't take my taste buds anywhere new and different, and many of their dishes are not unique. Jorge's Carne Asada- It's moist, fresh, lacks flavor, and has no personality. Jorge's Carnitas - If carnitas are done to perfection is should melt in your mouth in it's own juices. Jorge's does not do this, and it lacks in spice (a bit more garlic, onion, and a few variations in pepper needed in that cooking process). Jorge' Chicken- It's pretty darn good, tender, it does have flavor (although I still believe it needs a little more help here), and it's dependable. But that's a whopping 1 for 3. It's hard to recover from there, and once again the guacomole and pico de gallo are not bad, but nothing to write about either, perhaps I'm still stuck on the fact that the meat that is already in the middle of the early stages of digestion didn't floor me with an appeal I cannot resist. Come on, Jorge, I want to be an "awe" by the variations in spice, flavor, and undeniable quality of what I'm tasting! Thus, I've decided Jorge's should stick with what it does very well, and that's soup. How about Jorge's Cocina de Sopa...and make it a place everyone must go, because the soup is something to write home about Afterall, all of the best small restaurants focus on doing only a few things well, you my friend know soup. read more

I stopped here because it was the closest place to stuff my face with some sort of cheese after leaving a Doctors appointment across the street at Scripps (in which they told me I need to lose weight. Cut out cheese? NEVER I SAY!) I was going to go to Subway, but this place nextdoor caught my eye. The decor is horrid, but who cares. I was reading Yelp reviews while waiting on line and all I see is SOUP SOUP SOUP. So, I got a small spicy chicken and a beef taco, just as backup. The taco was just ok. Based on the reviews, I thought the soup was going to have magical powers. But alas, it is just chicken, rice, broth, salsa fresca and avocado. Tasty, absolutley, but not the best I have ever had and not anything I can't make at home. The service was meh. It was lunch time, and Jorge was working the register by himself, as well and calling numbers and packaging to-go orders. He seemed a little overwhelmed. I also got corn tortillas with my order instead of the flour I asked for. Seems like he could use some more help up front. I would like to try this place again and give the California Burrito a whirl. read more

Super delicious food! The chicken soup is good. However, I typically get their crispy chicken tacos. They are might tasty and chock full of chicken, lettuce, guacamole. I don't know that I've really ever had one bad thing. The price is right as well. And Jorge is a great guy! read more

love this place. Grandma is in the kitchen cooking and preparing every time I go. I have only had and only will ever get three things: 1. Large spicy chicken soup. Has that oodness you only get from slow cooking whole cuts including bones. Silky texture, lots of flavor while still brothy. They add a bunch of avocado. Do yourself a favor and ask for extra cilantro. 2. Chile Verde burrito. They know how to cook this correctly and it shows. The pork is always spiced appropriately and is soft and juicy. Ever get chile verde and the pork is dry? not here you won't 3. Chile relleno burrito. Flavorful pepper, hand stuffed with a healthy serving of cheese. The batter is tasty, and even moreso when fried and stuffed in a burrito! The beans are delicious, esp considering I never order beans from Mexican joints. They have the right mix of cumin, cayenne and cinnamon to make them a great co-star to the dish. Are other items good? Probably, but as you read my reviews you'll see I pick the thing I like and stick with it. As long as you don't go every day they'll remain as tasty as the first time. Old guy owner? If you're nice he's nice. Yes, he is particular when it comes to handing out extras, but if you eat all the salsa in the ramekins he'll gladly give you more. Some of my friends have been denied extra salsa b/c they leave half of it in the container. I agree with old guy! waste not want not. read more

I wanted soup one day because I was sick with running nose. I turned to Yelp for help since I am still new to the area and needed guidance. I search for soup and Jorge's Mexicatessen came up. I thought why not, it is conveniently located right off the freeway, and it is on my way home from work. They have two locations, one off El Camino Real and the other off Santa Fe. My co-worker suggested the SF location because it has a bigger parking lot. I decided to call in my order for pickup. The phone just kept ringing and ringing, at both locations. I got there right before 5 pm, and I was already the 5th person in line. Do people here eat early or what?! In any case, I ordered the yelp-winning chicken soup, carne asada quesadilla, and two fish tacos. I turned around after paying and there were about 10 more people in line! This chicken soup is no joke! I later realized there might've been more people that day because they have their soup special on Wednesdays. I ripped open the bag and opened up the soup as soon as I got home. I even burnt my tongue in the process of downing this delightful soup. There were large chunks of chicken AND avocado . The quesadilla was really good and not greasy at all. I went back the following week to get another order of soup, this time spicy. It was flavorful and had a nice kick in the end. I highly recommend going there especially for soup and everything else for that matter. I also recommend going there on a Wednesday to take advantage of the soup special. read more