Wanted to love but just not a clear concept or strong execution. Aesthetic is nice but honestly, that look is already a bit dated. Music counts when trying to create a consistent theme. Wasn't good just weird and all over the place. Some staff is great others need more training. Asking if our half eaten food is ready to be taken. SO much staff zooming around but not a lot of actual service with assessment/anticipation of customer needs. Apparently, one of the owners was our waiter... he had no clue. FYI your napkins leave lint all over the customers clothing. Food is mediocre at best. Quesadilla was cold. Pulpo was cold and over cooked while potatoes under salted and under cooked. Beet and hearts of palm salad was absolutely tasteless and so basic, like an afterthought. Drinks were just ok. Drink that said it's made with tequila was made with mezcal twice. The prices don't warrant the level of food or service. We probably won't be back. You should check out Wolf in the Woods here in SD and Great White in LA for some guidance on food, service and aesthetic. read more

beautiful atmosphere, great drinks, good food, and the staff was incredibly nice. It was great to see a team that brought real Mexican roots to the restaurant, it felt very genuine! Yes it's pricier and the dishes are "smaller" but as long as you go in knowing what the expect you'll enjoy it! read more

Taste of Mexico City in San Diego. Service was on point, even though they just opened. Ambiance was perfect! Perfect date night spot! read more

Origen - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Loved our experience at Origen! Had some great cocktails and food, the co-owner Alexis was so amazing and fun :)) read more

Origen - Loved the blue crab croquettes, and the ceviche ! Co-owner Alexis is super awesome and has amazing suggestions. - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Wow. Where do I start?? This place is simply amazing. Tanice and Franco are all stars!! The food is INSANE. You will not regret it. I can't say enough good about this spot! Super cool ambiance -- amazing service -- just simply the best. GO NOW!! read more

Good food and nice ambiance but awful service. The server asked us three times what we wanted which made us wait for the food about 30 minutes and at the end brought the steak medium rare while we had asked medium well. This was all fine as they took it back and put it on the grill a little longer. The big issue was when they brought the check and we paid but while signing the check I realized they had charged us $90 for the steak while the price in the menu was $58. When we told them they apologized and said there was a mistake in their system ( to me it seemed like they had done that mistake to everyone). They said they will take the entire item off our bill but after making us wait 20 minutes they came and said give us your email and phone number and we will send you a gift card instead. They essentially tried to steal money ( hopefully by mistake) and to fix it they said oh sorry here is the money we stole from you and please come back again! Update: after my review they immediately reached out to me and refunded the entire bill and apologized for the mistake. Since this is a new restaurant I do understand that things might go wrong and appreciated their quick response and hence updated my review. read more

Origen - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - San Diego, California

Amazing spot. Good was delicious. I recommend the tuna flautas and the tuna tar tar. The brisket was missing some flavor. But everything else was amazing. Drinks and service were outstanding as well. Only downside was that you had to talk really loud. Will come back. read more

Pretentious, over priced, and rude service. Food was terrible, meat was dry, took a long time to get our food and waiter was overwhelmed and was very dismissive. Not worth the high cost. Food needs a lot of work, plates came out cold when dishes were supposed to be warm. Everything was so awful I wish I never went, it was expensive and wasn't worth it. read more

Came here with my sister and everything was incredible! From the service, to the unique cocktail and food menu. I'm truly a picky person and we finished all of our plates. 20/10! Welcome to the neighborhood!! Franco you're a rockstar!!!!!!! read more

See all

This place is PHENOMENAL!! We are both gluten free, and they have so many options. The menu changes all the time and the staff is so friendly. Highly recommended this place!! read more

Origen - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - San Diego, California

We arrived at 6 and the restaurant was mostly empty, yet the hostess that was working at 6pm decided to squeeze us right next to another table. When I asked to move, you acted bothered. Then the next guests got sat practically on top of us too, even with plenty of open tables. Honestly, you need to pay attention and do your job properly. Poor situational awareness and decision making from the hostess. read more

Perfect spot for a date night... Lovely, cozy interior. Great menu, we had narrowing it down to what we knew we could eat--ended up with the tartar de atún and pulpo a la salsa macha. The octopus was excellent, loved the warm salsa macha. But the tuna was even better--hit so many great notes--subtle, tangy, sweet and salty. We kept oohing and ahhing over it. Our amazing waiter, Cesár, helped us choose a smoky & non-smoky mezcal to pair with both those dishes and he did NOT disappoint. I will be thinking about the mezcal for a while. Cesár you're a real one. Fantastic service, great food, would go again to try more dishes! read more

Honestly, this was my third time here and it was just meh. I was really disappointed in how small the servings are for the cost. I love the concept, the space itself is gorgeous, drinks are good, service is good. The food tastes good, but the portions are so small... $3 for a side of chips? Which included like three individual chips. One taco was $20? Unfortunately I don't see myself coming back here anytime soon. read more

the service and food was amazing you have to try the ceviche de salmon con leche de tigre de jamaica!!! the place had great music too

Definitely a must for Mexican seafood. The food is flavorful and super tasty. The place has a modern, yet cozy "baja" feeling. The service was great from the hostess to the waiters. Make sure to order drinks first because the food comes out super fast! We were 6 people and ordered every small dish on the menu to share which was great. Don't expect the typical ceviche, Tuna Tartar, Clam Chowder or seafood "Flautas"....... They all have a very unique and delicious twist to them! I'm already looking forward to our next visit. Thank you "Origen" for a great dinning experience! read more

This restaurant is deceptive. Their website, Google, Apple, and social media indicates they are open until 11pm. We showed up at 9:50 on Thursday and they were not seating anyone else. Online it notes they close at 10:30 so we planned to eat quickly and then go out. We specifically planned to eat here late because we wanted to go out later in the neighbor. read more

Origen - Hours - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Great ambiance, but food was average. They brought out the wrong item. Which wasn't a big deal, but I would have thought they would comp some or all of it. Not worth it imo. read more

Amazing dinner at Origen with my wife! The food was incredibly fresh and delicious, and the drinks were just as good. Huge shout-out to our server Juan Pablo--friendly, attentive, and made the whole experience even better. Can't wait to come back. Our favorites were the camarones a la plancha & the quesadillitas con mole! read more

Honestly, I went on Valentine's Day, and considering all the hype and how in-demand the service was, it was beyond extraordinary. We waited about 10 minutes even though we had a reservation, but it never really felt like a wait because they invited us to the bar. I still don't understand how they managed to deliver such great service on such a high-demand day. It was honestly the best Valentine's I've had -- the food and the atmosphere left absolutely nothing to be desired. Amazing place; I highly recommend it for both locals and visitors. I'll be back a thousand times. It has definitely earned a permanent spot on my list. read more

Beautiful and lively restaurant. We enjoyed all of our dishes and cocktails. Excellent service. It is so nice to see the owners actively working and mingling with the guests. This restaurant is firing on all cylinders! read more

Went in last minute as party of 8. We were seated quickly at a high top at the bar area. Food was solid. The mole was the star of the show!! So different and flavorful. The margarita was refreshing. Service solid. Would go back. read more

We had an awesome time at Origen! The food and drinks were delicious, the Mezcalina is one of the best mezcal drinks I've ever had. And the service was excellent, JP was attentive and great in helping us decide what and how much to order. Can't recommend this place enough! read more

Alexis is the best server! Cute place for a girls night- good drinks worth the price and food is good

The staff here are so friendly and gladly provided their recommendations. The menu is limited and more of a sharing/tapas menu with some entree options. Downside is parking but otherwise I would highly recommended. read more

The food was amazing and out of this world. The staff was friendly, perhaps a bit over the top, but we could forgive that. We have to take away 1 star because we got 6 dishes for 4 people at the waiters suggestion. They all came out within 5-8 minutes of being ordered. It ended up making us feel like the experience was rushed and it was hard to savor the food. We will be back but we will order one thing at a time so we don't feel rushed, have to eat several dishes simultaneously and feel like our experience of being out for dinner and drinks for cut short. read more

The food, service, and hospitality were amazing! My friends and I ordered the Flautitas de Atún Ahumado, Ceviche de Salmón, Short Rib Braseado en Salsa de sus Propios Jugos, and Pulpo Zarandeado. Every dish was a 10/10! Our server was very attentive and took excellent care of us. I'm already looking forward to my next dine-in experience! read more

The drinks and food were absolutely outstanding! I had the aguachile verde, ceviche de salmon con leche de Tigre & carnitas de cerdo I loved the vibe, great energy and atmosphere. I'll definitely be coming back! read more

We had such an enjoyable dinner! Roger took great care of us... from recommending dishes to checking in throughout the meal. We were nervous about the shared tables but it was actually very pleasant and comfortable. Highly recommend the short rib quesadillas and banana dessert. Enjoy! read more

Fabulous, creative dishes and attentive and friendly service. Love the atmosphere except it can be very noisy which is why I'm giving it only 4 stars which is unfortunate because everything else was stellar. read more

See all

The food and the ambience is really good. It's on the pricey side, but the food makes out for it. Very delicious.

Food: Fideo seca con camarones y chorizo and the flautitas de atun were great. Nice flavors, well prepared. Quesadillitas were ok. Mole lacked depth and richness. Croquetas, camarones al ajillo and pulpo were bad. Croquetas were mushy. Camarones had no flavor at all. Ambiance: Loud! We couldn't hear each other speak. I started getting a headache after a while. My watch gave me a loud environment warning! Service: front of house is not being run well. Waitress didn't know we were seated. She couldn't pace our courses. Overall poor experience. Many better choices in North Park. read more

Such a fun take to this side of town. César was the best and so entertaining. Would go here again!

Juan Pablo and the rest of the crew was very attentive and very kind. The food was 10/10 as well. Highly recommend coming here

Loved the sopa azteca, the Santiago dessert, and our server franco ! The music was fire, I appreciate JLG on the playlist

I love this place! the food is unreal, fantastic vibe and great service. Will be back!

The experience here was on another level. Every taste brought me home, from the food to the drinks. Loved everything about this place, definitely made me feel proud of my roots as a Mexican. They're truly all a family working together to make you feel welcomed. Best experience ever, can't wait to go back! read more

Cesar Papi was an amazing bartender. From the second we walked in, he made us feel welcomed. He made our experience unforgettable. He is an absolute goofball. Come and hang out with him! 11/10. read more

Dining at Origen was a memorable experience from start to finish. The entire staff is incredibly attentive and welcoming -- they truly make you feel at home. The atmosphere is warm, and you can tell there's a lot of heart behind everything they do. We shared several dishes at the center of the table, and each one was better than the last: we started with flautitas de atún ahumado, followed by tiradito de res, croquetas de jaiba, and sea bass, which was the catch of the day -- simply outstanding! We ended with a postre de plátano that was the perfect sweet finish. We highly recommend the mezcalinas -- creative, flavorful, and very well crafted. Huge compliments to the staff and management for their exceptional service and hospitality. Origen is definitely a place we'll return to again and again. Highly recommended! read more

This place is so cute and I love the outdoor surf,sand,sun vibe they have going! Our server recommended that we share a couple of dishes so we got the quesadillas de short rib, the tartar de atún, and a side of broccoli and cauliflower. The tuna tartar was amaaaazing. Highly recommend! The quesadillas were just okay (deep fried with lots of cheese) and the veggies were a little bland. I got the margarita and my husband got the carajillo. To me, the margarita was just a simple margarita- nothing special. I thought it would have more of a tangy/spicy taste with the pineapple and Serrano but I didn't taste it at all. The mezcal kind of overpowered the drink in my opinion. The carajillo was amazing though! Such a nice coffee flavor with a little sweet foam on top. Definitely worth ordering! We will be back to try more soon :) read more

Origen - Margarita and Carajillo - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Great food and outstanding service! Our waiter, Alexis, was attentive and friendly, making the experience even better. Will definitely be back! read more