Pretty heavy Mexican food. I had a shrimp taco and a beef taco. The corn tortilla on my beef was so hard in spots-- hard but not crunchy, hard like leather-- it was difficult to chew. I liked the shrimp, which had a creamy sauce on it. The tacos had iceberg lettuce and tomatoes on it. It was not better than anything you'd get at a taco shack, but maybe their other dishes are better. I also had the Cadillac margarita, which was good. Service was kind of slow. We were in late and there weren't many people in there-- two other tables on our side, maybe two tables on the other side. The guy took forever to come back and then he only took our drink orders, then took a long time to get our food orders. read more

The food was very delicious and the portions were great for the price. The staff was very friendly and interacted with my two year old even when passing by. He loved it. The cons were that for the two hours that we were there we only saw our waiter three times not including him getting the check to us. I only had one margarita because of it. It took 45 minutes for our food to get to our table. I will say that the place was packed completely which probably attributed to the service cons and there was a gentlemen serenading each table. He sang itsy bitsy spider for my son which was the best. All in all my wife and I agreed we will be going back. read more

Marieta's - Yummy salsa! - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Went here on a date for lunch last Saturday. It's was starting to get the late lunch crowd. We were seated right away at a nice both facing the road. We were brought chips and salsa. This is the best location for the salsa. It's thick, flavorful and tasty! The chips were fresh and not to hard and on the thin side ( I hate when the chips are so thick that you have to worry about breaking a tooth eating them,,,lol). We took a really long time to order. It was a first date,,,, you know how they go! We finally ordered our food. The food came out in a decent time. It was hot, cooked and awesome. My dish was the 1 enchilada plate with rice and beans. Everything was great. I was not stuffed. My date had 2 tacos with rice and beans. He said that he always goes there so of course his food was great. They kept our drinks full without annoying us to much. They left us alone when we were eating our food and only came over if something needed filling. It was funny, they would walk by our table and notice that we needed refills on our drinks or salsa. They wouldn't say anything they would just come back around an refill it fast. There was no need for me to wave down the server with a big red flag, or wave my hands to get them to come over. They were attentive and quick. Also they did not come rushing over when were were done eating to throw the check at us. They let us talk and relax for about 20 minutes. I then had to let him know we were done! lol You guys rock! Thank you for a great lunch read more

Marieta's - Two taco meal with rice and beans - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

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Good solid Mexican food. I had carne asada and an enchilada. Tasty. Wife had tacos and she said that they were good as well. The server was great. He was playful yet efficient. One thing to warn you about is the table salsa is spicy. My wife couldn't eat it, but I liked it. Thankfully they serve beans along with the chips and salsa so she used that as a dip. Overall, it was good. I would go back again when I am in that area. read more

Your basic homey, family run, mexican place with a good assortment of combos. Every neighborhood needs one of these. (Wish Clairemont had one). You know where they bring the plate smothered with frijoles .cheese, rice and the main item, set it down and warn you its hot (meaning its about 450 deg F!) Where you get all the chips and hot carrots you can eat. Without asking. I give them extra credit for their "broiled" treatment on the beans, and the Mariachi guy who is good but not in your face. Margaritas could be a tad stronger but at $15 per pitcher I think we have a bargain here. This is the kind of place that creates a loyal bunch of regulars. I'd be back all the time if it was closer. My friend Debi thinks this is the best place in the world boosting the rating to a 4. read more

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This is the only game in Santee for Mexican food, "formal" anyway. Most fast food places are not only better, but way better priced.. The prices are ridiculous. $19.95 for carne asada, $8.95 for rice and beans. $20.00 for enchiladas suizas and a coffee, plus a tip. I honestly prefer to drive to Tijuana, wait and all, for some good authentic Mexican food. You can eat in Coronado/La Jolla for less. Seriously. read more

I truly struggled to find the machaca in my machaca burrito. 99% bland, mushy filler. Did not eat it. Chicken in husband's enchilada had the consistency and taste of canned chicken. Also no flavor. I guess people go there for the ambiance? read more

I have been coming here since I was in 3rd grade! I am now 24 years old and the same servers are still here and know myself and my family. They treat you Like family here. I love that part. Chips and salsa are always my fav but they have the best! It's the perfect amount of heat. The service is stellar! Never have to ask for refills on anything including beer ;) I recommend the ceviche. It's always so fresh and yummy. I also really love the shrimp soup or fajitas!!! Yes they did close down in the past but I am very loyal to this place and everyone deserves a second chance. Best Mexican food place in east county. Trust me on this one. You will be just fine!!! read more

Marieta's - Mmmmm my fav - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Walked into the restaurant @9 when they close at 10 with multiple people still seated eating. Advertise that they close at 9 open sign was on and was escorted outta restaurant. What an embarrassment while people are eating. Long time Santee resident and will never come back. Eaten there plenty of times never again. Support local business for what?? Good job Marietas. read more

I've eaten here a couple times a year over for at least the last 10 years. I used to give it a try each time, now I just know not to eat there. A few of my friends loveeeee this place and even know the staff due to how often they go. I go just because they want to meet up there. I enjoy the chips, salad carrots, and a strawberry margarita since I know I'm pretty safe with those. Previous I had things in my food, the food upset my stomach, or the food was just not good. I enjoy Mexican food and my stomach doesn't get upset normally with food. Some of my friends love their food and margaritas, which I swear is just Costco premade margarita mix. Some of my other friends and I can't stand eating there, and pre-eat before we go and drink a cocktail there with our other friends. I also get mixed reviews from people on the place. I personally recommend eating somewhere different and go enjoy a decently priced, okay premade cocktail there. read more

I'm addicted to the lunch special chimichanga: it:s perfectly moist and flavorful shredded beef, lightly fired in a flour tortilla, drenched in Mexican guacamole with yummy lettuce, pico de gallo, and cheese. Yum, yum, YUM! The price is right too: $5.95, until 2 PM. The staff is attentive and super sweet. They are gracious when my gringo relatives come to visit and ask for ketchup and when my son decorates the floor with rice (for the record, I do try an clean it). The hostesses are super sweet in the evenings as well. read more

Before the pandemic their food was very good. Lately not so much. We got food to go a couple of times in the last 4 months and we were disappointed with the quality. I had enchiladas rancheras with rice and beans. My boyfriend had beef tacos with rice and beans. And I really wish they wouldn't make their salsa so hot/spicy. I guess they are trying to capitalize on the drinks. read more

Food is good. Margaritas are what me and everyone else in santee come here for. By the pitchers. After a few of those it always turns into a good time. Also their chips and salsa is very good. Great place to be on a Friday night after a hard week of work. read more

My wife and I visit here probably once a month since we live so close. We have never had to wait for a table. The staff is very courteous and fluent in English and Spanish. If I could have given it 4 and 1/2 stars I would of because I have only had one bad experience at this place. We had a waiter who seemed to forget about us as soon as we were seated. We still saw him walking around, it just seemed like we were dead to him. We ended up asking that another waiter be assigned to our table. Other than that, every other time we have been there we have had impeccable service They have really good chips, salsa, and hot carrots while you wait. They have a full bar and they are not over priced. Those of you who have eaten at other Marietas, like the one in La Mesa will be familiar with the menu, I personally prefer the crane asada quesadilla and the flautas. There is not a lot of parking out in front but there is a lot more down by the gtm and behind the restaurant in the Khios parking lot. read more

Marieta's - Taco with rice and beans - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

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Ate here recently and ordered beef fajitas. Delicious! Enough for two persons to share. I don't live in Santee but will drive here again to enjoy their food. Only disappointing experience was the unfriendly waiter who NEVER smiled and said hardly anything to us. His 15% tip rather than my usual 20 to 25% amount reflected his unfriendliness!!! I recommend the owner of this restaurant give his wait personnel a lesson at how to smile and how to make their customers feel like they are happy they are there!l read more

Food is okay, not great, but good. Some of our friends love this place so we end up there more often than we would choose on our own. The staff is "interesting". I take issue with them not wearing masks during the height of the recent COVID breakout. Also one of the long time servers was right in my face, a few inches away, maskless, to make a snarky comment about one of the other members of my group. He was way to close under any circumstances, much less during a global pandemic. It was kind of creepy and made me very uncomfortable. If I get the COVID,I bet it will be from this guy. read more

Ok, not great. Carne burrito was roughly half the size of any other good Mexican food spot. Mom liked the enchiladas. Chicken salad was big, but super dry chicken and nearly nothing but iceberg.... like 1 slice tomato and pretty much no veggies. May give it another shot someday, but not likely. read more

Service is great, the staff is friendly and very accommodating. The food and drinks are really good, I love the cheese enchiladas. We come here about once a week and have never had a bad experience. read more

Been going to Marieta's in Santee for decades because the food, the Margarita's and service have always been very good at a reasonable price. Happy we can get takeout now as I've missed the food! read more

Eating at Marieta's is always a great time and the food and service is always quality. My family typically goes to the La Mesa location because it is so close, but we ventured out to the Santee location and were not disappointed at all. We had a very large party since we were celebrating a birthday and all of the staff was super accommodating to our large party and made sure we were sat and ordered in a reasonable amount of time. The chips and salsa here are super addicting! The chips are so crisp and pair so nicely with the spicy salsa. For dinner, I ordered the number 3 which is an enchilada and rice and beans for 10.95. I upgraded my enchilada to beef for an additional .75 and it was so delicious! You get a lot of food with your meal, and it was the perfect amount considering it was the first thing I had eaten all day. The beans have so much flavor and are so good when they are mixed with the rice and enchilada. The beef has a really good flavor and you can tell it is made with terrific ingredients. Be sure to share a margarita pitcher with someone, they are fantastic! read more

Marieta's - Enchilada with rice and beans - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Very good service, excellent food and great margarita Monday. The place is clean the crew is very polite and very attentive and the food is great. Come on over and enjoy! read more

Food was delicious!! Loved the service of the staff, it was great!! The Mariachi had amazing energy and authenticity. Waiters have such a positive attitude. Our order only took a short time and it came out steaming and delicious! Definitely will be back!! read more

Food was pretty good. The place itself is cool looking. The food is a little pricey for the amount you get. I paid a little over 12 bucks for 4 rolled tacos and rice and beans. I could go to my local Albertos and get 12 rolled tacos for that much. What i didnt like. Our waiter never once came to see if we needed anything. Actually the bus boy was more helpful. He was the one we ended up going to when we needed anything. I hope he gets part of the tips. Over all probably won't come again, and i hope our bus boy gets promoted. He was a very nice kid. But we did what was right. We tipped the bus boy good and only left a little for our waiter. read more

Can always count on our meal to be great. The service can improve some, but overall I totally recommend this spot! read more

Marieta's - Warn chips & salsa - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

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Craving Mexican food. This place does not have the best Mexican food. I order the green enchiladas suizas, they were ok nothing special to them. I'm Hispanic and grew up cooking authentic Mexican food. I can tell you, that I can make better enchiladas than the one I order. It was Friday night and did not feel like cooking that's why we decided to come here. The margaritas were very good as well as our waiter. Our waiters was very good on top of his service. Hey, but don't let my review discourage you from trying this Mexican restaurant. I suggest you give them a try and judge on your own. read more

Marieta's - Mexican Near Me - Santee, California

Nope, we won't be back. Food is high priced and mediocre. No refills on regular drinks. I asked for a regular margarita, brought me a large fine, charged me for a large, it was in a regular glass. Saw the table next to me receiving the same in actual margarita glasses. I wonder what they paid? Its my birthday. We've lived in Santee since 2014. I'm sorry to have sought decent Mexican food at this location. I've been WOWed at other locations. Not here. Don't waste your money. read more

Me an a friend went for lunch. Had to wait 20 minutes to get a server. Not many people around for lunch. Will go somewhere else next time. Used to be better but seems they don't care if you wait. read more

I been coming here for the last 15 years great place for tacos, fajitas, margaritas Clean and great service read more

Came in for a late lunch on a Saturday was seated then the waiter came and took our drink order 2 margaritas then disappeared for a while. The busboy brought chips and salsa when we order our dinners I ask for a glass of water and was told "only one drink at a time" by our waiter, I thought he was kidding but I never got the water. Food was good but service could be so much better read more

First time trying out this place, was looking for some good fish tacos and a great margarita. This place definitely did not disappoint. So good I had to order another one. Thoroughly satisfied....definitely will return. read more

Went here last night for dinner. Very authentic Mexican food and it was delicious. Or server was incredibly courteous as well. I recommend eating here for good Mexican grub! read more

The food was good, but it wasn't good enough to make up for the terrible service. Expect to wait a long time. It took 5 minutes after sitting down before we got our drink order. We asked for extra bean dip (they charge for the second one), and waited for ten minutes. The owner or manager came over and we told him we'd ordered more dip. He took the dish and never came back. We waited at least 45 minutes for our meals to arrive. When they did, we asked again for the dip and finally got it. My husband asked the busser for some napkins. He nodded and kept sweeping until he reached a table that had a place setting. He brought it over and tossed it on the table. When our waiter finally came with the extra bean dip, he also tossed it on the table! They act like they are doing you a favor. So even though the food was good, we felt miserable. I would not recommend this place to anyone. read more

Went in for a nice dinner and margarita because I like the food. I had been in LA all day so the idea was some good food on the way home and then home to rest. Arrived at 6:10 pm, food arrived over an hour later. No joke I was watching the time and let the waiter know. Several other tables came, ate and left. Also the food was warm, not hot except for a cheese enchilada which was devoured quickly. Generally good food and just a little on the slow side on prior visits. 1 star for food not being hot and unreasonably long wait. Probably won't go back as there are so many other options in San Diego for good Mexican food. read more

Of ALL the Mexican food places in Santee,this is the ONLY place my Mom would eat Mexican food from. She's a little picky, Me? Not so much. She likes to tell people that "Marween will eat anything ,even dirt,if you put salsa or hot sauce on it", A whole clan of us dined here after Ash Wednesday church service. They were very gracious in accomodating us. As soon as we were seated, they brought the warm chips and salsa,and drinks Great salsa.. I ordered a small margarita,that was enough for me. No need to get all plastered,we just came from church. Umm, the margarita was a tad sweet. For our musical pleasure,some random guy was walking around plucking his guitar,singing what he thought was good mariachi music. I had the cheese enchiladas with rice and beans. Good,not great. Everyone else had fish tacos or fish burritos. I've had them before,and they were okay also. We all had their fried ice cream and that was great. What I was really jonesing for was one of their massive chimichangas,and shredded beef tacos...But since it was Ash Wednesday,no meat for that day. I asked my Mom how many stars she would give,out of 5 stars, she said 5.. Confession: On my way back home,after we dropped them off at their house, I stopped by and got BEEF chimichanga and BEEF tacos to go.... F*ckn A,, they were AWESOME! HELL 4 STARS! read more

This Marieta's is pretty good. The service was attentive and the margarita special for Tuesdays was great! $4.95 for flavored margarita's, only problem is that they were so strong I couldn't tell I had ordered a melon margarita, so I tried a mango... same thing. I don't usually complain about strong drinks... My liver is a CHAMP and I like em strong! But, when I have something flavored I would like to be able to taste that and not just choke on the taste of tequila. The chips were warm and the salsa was good. Food was prepared quick and was good but nothing to really go on and on about. When I have really enjoyed myself is at the Marieta's in La Mesa. Mariachi's liven up the atmosphere at that location and they have the most delicious shrimp enchiladas! I love the sopa de camaron at both locations and overall I was pretty pleased with my meal and the service. read more

I went here only once and the service wasn't great, and food was god awful...I got sick to my stomach. I see its got better reviews now...so maybe i'll try it again some day...but for now its not on my list. read more

I've been coming here for a while now and the food, service, and quality has stayed consistently delicious. You get seated right away, chips and salsa are served almost immediately, and your drink order is taken. I don't know what those chips and salsa are made out of but they're oh so good! You don't even need to ask for more- they bring it to you! I always try and make it to their lunch special from I believe 11-3pm (I could be wrong on the time). My favorite is the chimichanga plate, your choice of beef or chicken and it comes with bomb rice and beans. A huuuge plate only costs $5.95. They have other plate options such as tacos or burrito. All of it is gooood. I've also tried their Sunday brunch with unlimited champagne. Not bad. Give it shot, I love this place. read more

Since I grew up in Santee, my family and I frequented Marieta's pretty often. Their prices are affordable and the food is good. It's not the best Mexican food I've ever had, but it is good. They have the best chips and salsa! You don't get it automatically, but if you ask for it, they will bring you a green salsa and hot carrots with the regular chips and red salsa. The green salsa is the best! My favorite entrees there are: Chile Colorado, Enchiladas Suizas and the combination with a beef taco and a cheese enchilada. They have a great Sunday brunch too. For $12 you get food and either a margarita or unlimited champagne. There margaritas are decent, but strong! If you find yourself in Santee and want some good Mexican food, you should enjoy Marieta's! read more

Went here on recommendation of my fellow Yelpers, since I was looking for a new (NON-chain) place to try around Santee. I've driven by this place hundreds of times, and just assumed it was going to be no bueno (probably because of it's proximity to a gas station and a shitty dive bar). Hey, I never said I was smart... Everyone is spot on about the chips/salsa... they are MMMMM-MMM GOOD. I ordered the enchiladas ranchero, which arrived flanked by the best rice and beans I can remember having. The BEST. The enchiladas themselves were alright. Not the best, but definitely not the worst either. My dinner partner got the enchilada/ beef tamale combo, and oh man did he scarf down his noms... Altogether a very delicioso meal. We will definitely be back again, at least once more... I've got to plan ahead better, to save room for the fried ice cream! read more

Out shopping in Santee on Sunday and decided late lunch at Marieta's. I have found my replacement for that mediocre place they call Por Favors. Hubby order the Carnitas and they were cook perfect. I had the cheese enchiladas and they were creamy and yummy. The beans were fantastic and not stale like other places. The chips and salsa were fresh and delish. The service was fantastic...my only complaint is that the Mango Margarita was too sour for my taste buds. A definite must come back on a regular basis for us. read more