My friend and I went there on a rainy weeknight in February. I know I'm late to write this review, but in my entire life, there have only been two times I have walked out of a restaurant, and this was one of them. When we walked in, the restaurant had several patrons, but there were tables open. It was around 7:00 PM. We assumed it was slow due to the weather. When we walked in, it did have that bathroom smell that some restaurants have. No big deal. There were a few people at the bar. The hostess was very polite and greeted us. We only had to wait a few minutes for them to clean a table. The hostess took us to a booth. We sat down and we're very thirsty. A server brought us chips and salsa and said our waiter would be with us shortly. We waited a while and saw a server walking around and talking to all of the customers. He seemed like he would be very pleasant....until he came to our table. We asked him what margaritas he recommended. He picked the menu up off the table, slammed it back down in front of my friend, and pointed at the menu. He said, "it's right there." I started to say what I wanted to drink and he cut me off and said "I'll come back when you're ready to order." We watched as he left the dining room and he could hear him laughing and talking to other customers. Almost 15 minutes goes by and he never came back to our table. We got up and left a few dollars on the table and walked out. Terrible first and last experience. I could care less if the food is good or not. The service he provided was absolutely horrible. And I know that restaurants are understaffed, but this was not the case since he refused to take my order. It was embarrassing to be treated like that in front of other customers. Seems like a lot of people that have been going there for years are writing good reviews. But it also seems like a lot of people have had bad experiences with the customer service. Hopefully, management will speak with their employees about how to treat people with kindness and respect. read more

Every time my family and I have gone to Marieta's we've never left disappointed. The staff makes us feel as though we are eating with family and the food is always full of flavor! Great atmosphere, great food, generous portions and great service. read more

I remember when I first came here as a kid. My parents took me and my 2 brothers here, and I really love spicy stuff. At a certain point after coming here regularly almost weekly or every 2 weeks as a family, I was known by everyone there as the little guy who would drink the red salsa from the salsa bowl for the chips. I would be crying because of how spicy it was, but I couldnt stop. It was just too good. Sometimes you couldnt tell if I was laughing or crying too, or both :) I have been here only a few times in the last 5 or 10 years, but everytime I come it still feels the same... like home. Family. Childhood memories. Excellent staff and customer service, some of the same great people still work there too even 25 years later from when I first went. Love you Marieta's read more

The Santee location is the best! Great mexican food. All of it. Chips, salsa, fajitas, queso fundido, chile rellanos-But the BEST: margaritas in all of San Diego. You will not be dissapointed! read more

My food was literally burnt. I order a hamburger and the bun is burnt. They knew this when they put the patty on it but gave it to me anyway. read more

Marieta's - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Great place to meet friends and have a relaxing time. Food is very good and the margaritas are great. Great service and very friendly.

First time at Marieta's. What a surprising and delicious find. The Carne Asada was grilled to order (perfect medium rare) and the Chicken enchiladas were fantastic. A huge upgrade from the dismal slop that passes for food at other local Mexican establishments (Santee/Tierrasanta). Excited to return. read more

The most vanilla Mexican food you will ever taste. Totally flavorless. It was so bad we couldn't stop laughing. I should of known better when we walked in, the place was packed and there wasn't a single Mexican in sight, only old white people with no taste buds. Two stars for service and décor. read more

This review is for the busboy Pedro. He is so sweet, and polite! Great kid!!!! Great customer service! Thank you Pedro! :)

We've been going to Marieta's in Santee since 1987. Why? We like their excellent food, (tacos, enchiladas and burritos are out favorites), with the best salsa (spicy or mild) and chips anywhere. Also the staff members, Felix, Pedro, Louis, Roberto, Monaca, Naomi, Crystal, etc., have been there for years, are very friendly, and accommodating. read more

Great food served hot--super hot! The plate must have been in the oven with my lunch special taco. The salsa was flavorful and really hot. I guess that's the word for this place Hot Hot! The house margarita was so good, and not watered down like many places I've been to. Don't let the outside fool you. This place is good. read more

Marieta's - Lunch special - tacos - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

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*****Edit So we went back in and the charge for $3 to share a plate is no longer a thing. Huge ++++ I will be back I believe this place had great potential. The food is good. Prices are a bit too high. I do come here often until the last time I went I realized that they started placing stickers on all the menus " +$3 to share". And for that they lose a star as well as respect. Times are tough for not only businesses but also consumers right now. I take the time to come support this company but get charged and extra $3 just to share a meal with my wife. An unnecessary up charging that is down right disrespectful to the patrons supporting you and helping you stay afloat. For this we won't be coming back to support when us as consumers aren't supported when lowering our cost to share a meal while supporting. About 12-13$ for a chicken quesadilla or chimichanga +$3 (25% the cost of the entree) for sharing really makes a difference right now in this economy. We also buy the $10 bowl of guac. After that we feel bad to take it out of the tip so the business made a bad call that takes away from the employees tips. Bad business call in my opinion. Another star off due to finding rolled up straw wrappers under our chips in the basket. This can only happen if they are giving us another tables basket of chips that weren't finished or B they dump unused chip baskets in with the container of chips in the kitchen. Either way it's disgusting and a big turn off with cleanliness here. The place is outdated and needs some "TLC" Hours could have an hour later closing time on the weekends. Overall they have good food but really need to work on the charging money for people to share a plate as that doesn't cost them more money so why should you charge the customer? Also fix the cleanliness issues. read more

Good people, good food, good margaritas, excellent, courteous service. Highly recommend. read more

Marieta's - Entrance - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Our family loves Marieta's! If the food wasn't enough to keep you coming back (IT IS), the incredibly friendly service is the icing on the cake. I recently walked in to inquire about catering a small get together and Martha was beyond helpful. She walked me through the most popular options and helped me figure out what to get for 15 people. Our order was ready on time and he feasted on 3 different fajita options and some delicious cheese enchiladas. We'll be living off of leftovers for the next week at least! read more

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I can't wait to go back. Great place. Great food. Respectful and kind to all patrons. Enjoy!!! read more

Quality of food has declined substantially. The $15.95 chef salad is a small deep fried tortilla filled with bagged ingredients like canned chicken and precooked shrimp. The fresh bagged salad greens mix was nice. It's nowhere near the cost. Will not order again. read more

I can always count on them to have excellent chips, salsa, drinks, and shrimp al mojo de ajo. So delicious. My husband's choice is the chili Colorado plate. read more

Nice Little restaurant, where the servers are males dressed in pants and a vest with white shirts. The food taste like your mom cooked it. Very wholesome and authentic and delicious. Warm Chips and Salsa given at the table. read more

Marieta's - Beef Taco, Chile Relleno, Rice & Beans - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

The quality of food was terrible... just terrible. Tested and smelled funky. Save your money McDonald would've been a better choice and I don't like McDonald. read more

Food is amazing. Every bite was full flavored wonder. The shrimp and chicken fajitas tasted fantastic. Very soft and juicy. The burrito was the best I've tasted in Santee. The cheese enchilada was so good and chewy. The cheese melted in my mouth. The plates were empty so quickly! Of course had to get the tasty fried ice cream for the ending taste. Was not disappointed. It was delicious. Cool and creamy with only a bit of crunchiness. I highly recommend it. I just wish the wheelchair accessibility for the door was better. It be was too heavy to open with my chair and has to keep calling restaurant to open door read more

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Its been awhile since I have reviewed the best Mexican restaurant in Santee....probably the best Mexican restaurant ever IMO. Not much has changed. They still have the best chips (El Pollo Grills chips come a close 2nd) and salsa in SD. Their salsa is reason enough to come here over most places. Prices are excellent! I came here today for lunch with my Mom, Aunt and their friend. Lunch specials are only $5.75 and that comes with entree, rice, beans etc. For 4 of us, with drinks after tax and tip it was only $40.00. $10.00 a person for a sit down Mexican food meal with drink and tip is a steal nowadays. Service is always friendly and the crew always remembers you. I have never had a bad meal here. The carne asada burrito is excellent. The beef/chicken tacos are excellent (I have been keen to their chicken more so lately....they cook their beef with lots of celery...ask Chris B about that one lol.) Whatever you choose will be good...I promise. Um...thats about it. I will be back again and again. read more

Marieta's - Chicken Chimichanga lunch special. $5.75. Hell of a deal. - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Food was great! The server was energetic. Their drinks are strong though which some people may like. I had to get a side of coke to dilute the Long Island while I drank it and after one I was good. It can get pretty loud depending on the number of families there so I had a bit of sensory overload, but for a first experience there it was great! read more

Me & my family have been going here forever, I can't even tell you the first time I actually ate here. I've always enjoyed the food here but got the California burrito for the first time and it was not good, at all. It sadly ruined my in whole experience here and I probably won't be coming back again. read more

Marieta's - California burrito - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Good olé feel good Mexican food!!! Great Chicken Tortilla soup!! The wife and I needed some good Mexican food and stopped here to try it out. We were not let down at all. Good beans, rice, tortillas, chicken dishes and shrimp dishes. Highly recommend for that dependable feel good Mexican food. read more

Honestly I don't yelp, ever. But I'm am actually beyond shocked with my experience I had tonight. I am all about supporting businesses during this crazy COVID times, and please don't get me wrong I work in the restaurant industry and also get the other side of being very understanding to certain circumstances on the employees behalf. However tonight my boyfriend and I arrived at 7:10 and were told it would be a 20-25 minute wait, so we said no problem and put our name and phone number in and proceeded to go back outside and wait. 8 minutes later we received this text message. Talk about feeling so awkward and unwanted , so obviously we didn't want to go sit down after receiving that message. I'm just so shocked at this customer service and quite frankly have never heard of this happening to anyone before or experienced this myself before. read more

Marieta's - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Delicious! The chips and salsa are yummy, a nice amount of spice too! I got the tostada salad with shredded beef and added pico de Gallo, and my friend got the green chicken enchiladas, we both demolished our food lol! My tostada salad was amazing!!! I'll definitely be back here in the near future! read more

Delicious ceviche ..the margaritas are awesome !!! food was excellent !!! service service was super great!! Been coming here for years this Mariettas is the best! read more

I can't believe I've never reviewed this location. This was our go-to spot when we lived in Santee (for over seven years), but I guess I started writing online reviews long after we left East County. At any rate, their salsa is still king. You can order a pint (or more) of the salsa to take home with you. We've done that on more than one occasion, and while it's tasty on first sample, it does get much hotter the longer it sits in your fridge. This restaurant is a popular spot, so you sometimes have to wait a bit for a table. They've expanded a little since we lived out that way, but the interior is still pretty much the same. The service can be a little iffy, depending on which waiter you get. There are times when they're friendly and smiling, yet there are times where you get the surly one who looks and acts for all the world like they'd rather be anywhere else. The food is usually very good, flavorful, and comes out fast (hardly ever enough time to finish the chips and salsa and ask for a refill!) I love the Chile Colorado and the Pollo Ranchero (the chicken meat is juicy and the sauce that they cover it in is slightly spicy.) Their enchiladas and flautas are good, as are the carnitas. They have some good combo deals, for those times when you can't quite decide if you want an enchilada or a taco. Everything comes with rice and refried beans (and all the chips and salsa you can handle!) The prices have steadily shot up over the years, but I guess that's to be expected. But just know going in that you're likely going to drop over $40 for dinner for two. read more

i tried to eat just the hamburger after I took it off the completely blackened, burnt bun and the hamburger almost burned also and hard as a rock. totally inedible. I realize this is a Mexican restaurant and didn't expect a top of the line burger but I didn't expect it to burned to a crisp. we ordered to go so I could not return it. I will never go back since they think so little of their customers that they would serve them black burnt food. read more

If you like good Mexican food, this is a good place to go. The green chili Colorado burrito is my favorite and it is pretty big...I only managed to eat half. The chips and salsa are good and they also serve a dish of fruit with it. Very nice combination. There is a bar area that is separate from the dining area; it's located up front by the entrance and it was pretty loud with people laughing and shouting super loud...my first thought was that there were some heavy partying going on in there. The dining area has tables that can be put together to accommodate a large party. There are also booths that are nice. You gotta try the churros...they are really good, but be careful, the filling is pretty hot! The service is good. The guys bussing the tables are pretty good at keeping your water glass and chips and salsa filled. read more

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The service was horrible and the drinks are weak. Sat in the bar and had to ask for more chips and sodas. Did not finish our dinner due to being very salty. Over priced!! read more

Cool spot...first time here. I was really impressed with the staff...seems like everyone is family and they treat the customers like that too. Food was good, we had the carnitas plate which was great, tacos and a tostada (there were 3 of us) all tasted great. Fish taco tasted good but a little mushy. Food took a while but worth the wait, we'll be back. read more

Food is always amazing & the drinks are even better!!!! Beef fajitas is a plate for 2 for sure! read more

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I've lived in Santee or close by since 1996, I had never ate at Marietas, I've gone there for Hapoy Hour but never ate, until last night, I have to say I was pleasantly pleased with the service and the Food, I'm in shock that I never ate there before. read more

They have great food and a good atmosphere! 4 stars because it's also pretty expensive.

First time tonight on a Tuesday. Was pretty quiet. The staff is so nice and most importantly our food was amazing. I had a taco, enchilada combo and he had the carne asada. We can't wait to come back to try more. read more

It's a minimum of 5.95 for a single person so that means one taco is 6.25. At the end, the waiter presented with one check. When I said we are separate check he said that since it wasn't disclosed that we couldn't separate the check....he didn't want to do the work since they closed at 8. I do not recommend this place. It's a scam for the prices of the food they were serving which was subpar and the b.s excuse of not separating check. Because the check was over 100$ an 18% gratuity was added which would be understandable if it was one check not separate checks. Once again, I do not recommend this place. read more

Was here last night for Valentine's Day and a argument broke out in the bar with racial slurs flying across the room without masks people are not seeded every other seat owner was called and did absolutely nothing about it not even spoke to them or made them leave. The food is great servers are great except for Louis very rude left us sitting for 30 minutes read more

Love the fresh salsa and chips ! Still the same since I was a kid . Food was delicious and drinks was on point . This location was very clean and had awesome service . Will definitely go to this location again . read more

Marieta's - Chilaquiles with Carnitas and a fried egg . Very yummy - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

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There's a sign on the door stating that they're CLOSED by order of the Department of Environmental Health for vermin infestation dated April 30, 2014. I'm thoroughly disgusted and will never go back!!!! read more

Marieta's - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California