The service was great and the staff were friendly. The ambiance was nice and dark, but a little loud. Overall, the food was quite amazing and I especially loved their duck carnitas. The crab donuts were unique too, but my favorite was the duck for sure. Their guacamole had a very generous amount of lime, salt, and spice which made it very delectable. The rib-eye was yummy when paired with their queso, but I personally thought the seasoning of the steak itself was a little underwhelming. Yummy, nonetheless, but I ate much better steak at home. On the plus side, their drinks were insanely good and I ended up speeding through 3 of their cocktails. Highly recommend if you want to eat somewhere boujee! read more

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We tried this place while staying at the Lafayette, the restaurant looks amazing and has cool vibes. The staff was polite and generally helpful. My biggest issue was with the food and drink, everything we ate was overly sauced/salty and not very edible. I ordered the ribs and they were slathered in a not so tasty bbq mole type sauce, they tasted like salt. The pineapple pico de gallo was the only thing that was good on the plate. My wife had the squash blossom and she found the filling and sauce to be heavily salted. I ordered a rum/mezcal drink and it tasted like lime juice. My wife had wine which was fine. All in all cool place but their food is pretty terrible. Maybe the other drinks were better? I won't be back until the food menu changes. Go for the ambiance. read more

wow wow wow. what a beautifully dark and seductive space! I can't even picture the old red fox in here even though it was! the long dripping candles were so enchanting (and a little scary...i tied up my hair). My friend Cinna B was celebrating her bday at the Lafayette which included a dinner reservation here. the menu was so enticing! there were 4 of us...we opted to get the cheese fondue to share then each picked a another small plate of our own. I had a couple drinks...wow...so damn good! i don't know what was my favorite. they were all so intricate and unique. can't wait to come back and explore more of the menu. read more

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I just came to Quixote (and Lafayette) for the first time last night for a work Christmas party. Let me tell you, Lafayette during Christmas is BEAUTIFUL! They have done such an amazing job into decorating, you can tell how much thought they put into it, and the results are incredible. Now, Quixote is its own vibe. Very gothic, very sexy! Now YES, it's dark and YES I used my phone flashlight to see some of the menu... but dark is the whole point of the restaurant!!! So just be prepared for that and don't let it deter you from going..... Here is what we got, shared plates amongst 20 people and I'll share my favorites at the end. - Guacamole and Salsa - Lentil dip - Tamal - Squash blossoms - Lamb Belly -Ceviche The lamb belly, Ceviche and Guac.... Outstanding!! I just want to eat them all day long lol. For drinks, I got the Motomami and Vernitas Green. Personally, my favorite was the Motomami, I felt the Vernitas Green, with the mix of sweet and spicy, was too overpowering. If you haven't been and you're able to snag a reservation, go!! If not just walk into the lobby to enjoy the Christmas decor and maybe grab a drink at the hotel bar! read more

Service was great. Ambiance was everything youd want from a gothic cathedral themed restaurant. The red lights, candle, plates, cups, menus, and tables conveyed a particular attention to detail that you can appreciate in a restaurant. As for the food, it was good. I would come back just for the atmosphere. read more

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Great place with a lively ambiance! We came an hour before our reservation and sat at the bar. It was packed but eventually we got a seat. The service at the bar was great. Better than when we got our table actually. The food was good. You get 3 options for the main main meal and the rest are small bites. We chose to do small bites to try a little of everything. We got Chrissy chicken tacos, grilled shrimp tacos, beet salad and lentil spread. Everything was great! The chicken tacos is a fried tenderloin and the tacos were easy to eat. The shrimp tacos were a bit more difficult to pick up and eat. Lentil spread came with pita chips. Not sure how Oaxacan this is but it's on the menu and it was good. read more

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Excellent ambiance with low lighting and methodical music. While the menu is by comparison to most, abbreviated. It has everything on one page. What we liked best was that most app plates were shareable for two. This gave us the opportunity to try several different items. The service was spot on, never had a need but the server did not hover. Our first visit to this establishment but, it will become one of our regular favorites. Definitely recommend reservations as it gets busy early on! read more

Had the best dinner at Quixote, which was the cherry on top to an amazing one night stay at the Lafayette. The restaurant is dark and moody, perfect for a date night or nice dinner with friends and family. The space was built using materials from an old catholic church in Mexico, creating a unique experience with dark wood, church pews and stained glass windows adorning the space. Highly recommend the Tasajo (dry aged ribeye) that was the star of the show, which comes with tortillas, charred avocado and green onions, salsa and dressed herbs on the side. Was cooked to perfection and big enough to share between two people with a guacamole appetizer. Go early or stay late to check out the various other bars at the hotel -- the gutter, lou lou's, the lobby bar or the pool bar! read more

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Anthony the bartender was great! Very attentive, knowledgeable about drinks and food on menu. Made for a great few minute conversation here and there as well. Ambiance was dark and lovely. Cathedral vibe. We only ordered what was similar to a hummus dish which was delicious. Drinks were tasty. We def want to come back! read more

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Came here last week, loved it so much that I came back again. I'm now sitting at home in a food coma because I enjoyed it a little too much. Compliments to the chef! The apps are all small portioned. They are tapas. Some are a little more filling than others. Personally, I was a big fan of the lentil spread. My best description of it would be a Mexican style hummus. The braised lamb belly was cooked perfectly! This was a big portion and should be shared. It comes with tortilla and can be made into tacos which I liked. Now for the star of the show... the Flan. It was so good last week that I was bugging my husband all week to go back. Of course we ended the night with another flan. It is a little dark and loud in the restaurant. I didn't mind it at all. It's a vibe. If that's not your vibe, be warned. read more

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I love the gothic vibes of this restaurant! Located in the Lafayette Hotel. We came in for early dinner & sat at the bar, where they serve a full menu. Oaxacan Fondue: This is a delicious appetizer to share with 2, but honestly, I could have eaten this all by myself. The fondue is super creamy & flavorful. Horchata Cocktail: I forget what this the real name of this cocktail is, but it tasted like a boozy horchata! read more

First time here and it really impressed me! First off, love the gothic moody dark vibes. You really feel like you've been transported to a different place. But it's not only the ambiance that is great! Service and the food was fantastic. Our waitress was super helpful explaining the menu, giving us recommendations, and helping us order the right amount for the two of us. We loved everything we ordered. I started with the regular margarita and it was delicious. We had the guacamole, and it was very fresh, a generous portion size and had a subtle kick. We also had the tostada (loved the peanut addition and the fish was fresh), octopus (outstanding! The mole was spicy and delectable), queso fundido (sooooo good, loved the truffle addition, I could live off this), and the lamb large plate (tender and flavorful lamb with a hearty and yummy mole sauce). We left the meal truly stuffed. Definitely will be back!! read more

This is a visually stunning place. There is so much to look at and the vibe is trendy. However, the food left much to be desired. For the price, not worth it. You can get much better Mexican food elsewhere. The service was okay. It's tapas and they front loaded us after we asked them to pace our plates out. They make you put the whole order in at once which worried us but they promised it would be paced. We were sat at a very small table and 3 of our plates came at once. There was no room for them and one ended up getting cold. Recommend to look at! read more

Quixote - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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Quixote is a Mexican (Oaxacan-inspired) restaurant located in the Lafayette Hotel (North Park area of San Diego, CA). The restaurant opened in July 2023. One of my foodie friends invited me there within the month it was open! Quixote is located inside a decommissioned Catholic church (from Mexico) and reconstructed to showcase dark wood paneling, rough cobblestones that dot the entryway, flickering Santa Maria candles, rich stained-glass windows and baroque pews and banquettes surrounding the pulpit-inspired bar. It was beautiful. Honestly, I remember telling my friend that I feel like I'm getting into trouble because I'm having a cocktail in a church. Hahahahahaha! It was also hard to hear, I felt like I also had to talk really loud for her to hear me. Foodwise, amazing! Between my friend and I, we ordered 2 Mezcal cocktails and the Tasajo (Dry Aged Ribeye). Delicious! Cocktails - https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=hxvExlb6_ljBcS5hfYmf8A&userid=NvUeb5G_mSSxgKhEE_Hueg Dry Aged Ribeye - https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=b96drVE8-WCmMduCdN0p9g&userid=NvUeb5G_mSSxgKhEE_Hueg ENJOY!! read more

My wife and I dined at Quixote restaurant last evening with some good friends. The ambiance is amazing and the only lighting are candles! While the place is noisy, it has a cool vibe. Jesse was our server and his advice and service was five stars. Each dish that he recommended was amazing. I highly recommend not only the restaurant but see if you can get Jesse assigned to your table. (Also, the entire hotel is something to be experienced! It is over the top impressive!) read more

Everything here is amazing. Some of the best shrimp tacos I've ever had! My husband is a huge fan of the crab corn donut. The fondue is a must! You can't go wrong with anything. The vernita green cocktail is soo good, not too sweet and has a little kick- really well balanced and unlike anything I've had before. Just order one of everything if you can! (Joke) read more

Quixote - Crab corn donut - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

Was stopping by just to check it out maybe have food or a cocktail ended up with an app an entree and 2 cocktails. Ron was super knowledgeable and gave a great example for what proper service should be like. The chef also crushed it with the best food in the company so far that I've tried in my opinion. Great space will definitely be back to try more food and drinks CH is doing amazing things with amazing people, congrats to the entire team there. read more

Went during lunch on a weekend, place filled up pretty fast around 1pm. Was not expecting it to be quite dimly lit. It had a beautiful romantic atmosphere- better for date night than a Lunch with family and friends. read more

Quixote - Guacamole with chicharrón, queso fresco, and crudités. All very yummy. Also had the ponché drink - pretty strong - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

Luis is THE MAN! Amazing service and experience. He made our experience incredible. Highly recommend. Ask for Luis. Good guy

Gorgeous restaurant that looks like the inside of a gothic cathedral. The food was not only delicious but had such a colorful, vibrant presentation. Service was excellent and the food came out as it was ready, tapas style. read more

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OMG!! THE FOOD IS OUTSTANDING!! We ordered almost all the appetizers. 2/10/24 My girlfriends and I make a reservation at 9pm, it was late but so worth it. The decor is great Very authentic, like you are in Mexico. The service was outstanding! Joshua out waiting was great, very helpful and knowledgeable. We ordered 4 appetizers, Ceviche, my favorite Crab donut, amazing Memezita, delicious Pulpo, delicious Beet salad, very good. The drinks were delicious too. Overall it was fantastic!!! We all loved the vibe and of course the food. read more

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Such a cool vibe. I always love a flipped church into a bar or restaurant but Quixote is a whole new level. The drinks were great, food was abut pricey but easily shareable. Amazing time! & stop by Lou Lou's next door if you get the chance. read more

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Really cool restaurant because of the decor and ambiance here. They have incredible attention to detail, and the whole atmosphere is incredible. I am glad I was able to experience this place. The food is good too, and they had a pretty eclectic menu. In my opinion, some of the dishes were not with the cost. The service was alright. We were warned a head of time that the drink will take a while. It took like 20 minutes to get a round of shots for the table. Drinks are pricey, shots were $15 a piece and the cocktails were $16-20. They were pretty good though. The experience I believe makes this place worth it. read more

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The ambiance is beautiful and very romantic- great date place! The food and service were excellent and timing of service impeccable

From the decor to the service and food, place is nothing but amazing! Highly recommend going here, you will not be disappointed!

This place is definitely a hipster location where people are coming in not just for the vibe before the aesthetic. There's an area where you can eat upstairs which they call heaven and there's also an area downstairs which they call hell. The food was delicious, but it's more of a tapas type of location and not a full on dinner. I feel that this location benefits from being so close to all the other bars that it's almost like a one stop shop for college kids and locals. We had great service in the sense of we were continuously being checked on however, chips and guac were delicious and the drinks were heavy-handed but good overall I definitely think this is a place that you should go visit however, if you are in your 40s or above, expect to see a lot of younger college kids. read more

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Entered from the lobby so I felt lost as to where the hostess was. When I did find the hostess, she had ignored my party for a few minutes and was extremely rude. When I asked for a table for 2 without a reservation saying it was my first time, she was very rude. There's no waiting area, she said "you're more than welcome to wait at the bar for seats to open up." Logistically a mess in my opinion. The bartender also did not mention they had a few items unavailable from the menu before we ordered and made a rude look when we ordered. Despite the terrible service, I will say that the food was amazing. The Tasajo was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The guacamole we got with chicharron, which I would recommend. And the pulpo had the perfect texture, not overcooked. read more

Located inside the Lafayette Hotel, Quixote is a really great restaurant for any and all occasions. Do be warned though that this place is pretty dark, as in "pull out your phone to see the menu" dark. It added to the aesthetic which one of my friends called "vampire chic." Reservations are highly recommended as this place gets booked without question, no matter what day of the week it is. And for good reason. Food was great! Menu was simple, but packs a punch. Our server suggested a few dishes we could all try (tapas style) and we just added the lamb belly [$63] as our main entree. The lamb belly was great! Enough to feed a party of 6 gals with a few pieces of meat left over. It was served fajitas style with tortillas and all the fixings. Really soft and cooked perfectly. The small plates we all tried were: -Crab Corn Doughnut [$21] just as good as it sounds. This was a table favorite! Basically crab wrapped in dough that was deep fried. - Squash Blossom [$15] was something different than what we've tried. Really interesting flavors here, could go either way for people - Ceviche [$17] Yum! I've had better ceviche though, so not my favorite. - Memelita [$15] Duck carnitas was also interesting. I like duck in general but this may not have been my favorite rendition of duck. Still worth a try, though! Quixote is a Mezcal forward bar and we all found out that night that Mezcal is not really our cup of tea... or liquor I should say. We did try several of their cocktails and none of were really too thrilled about it. Overall, this place gets a 4/5. Definitely trendy and the vibes were good. read more

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Food, drinks, atmosphere, service everything was amazing. Came for my birthday and was impressed by the quality of everything! If you like Oaxacan food, def try this place! The fish was soo buttery and sauce it came with was delicious. We also ordered the beet salad, tamal, and tacos. This is a perfect date night spot, it can get busy at night so make a reservation if possible or you can sit at the bar if there's room. The Lafayette hotel has many other bars to keep the night interesting. read more

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Everything about Quixote is different than something you've had before, and it's worth a try for those who like something new. The restaurant itself feels like you're eating in an old gothic cathedral; and I loved it! It's located in the Lafayette Hotel and can be accessed from both inside and outside of the hotel; it's smaller in size and was busy so I do recommend getting a reservation. The hotels jazz club brings a huge crowd, so plan your time accordingly. My only criticism is the seating arrangements. The tables were too close together, and every time someone got up we had to guard our drinks and silverware so nothing was dumped over. And at times it felt less intimate when you can hear other tables conversations very clearly. We had a drinks at the bar before sitting and the bartenders were very attentive. They have an extensive mezcal menu, but can make a signature cocktail for everyone's taste. The drinks were all creative and unique. Our server was honestly such a cool guy. He was so real with us and also very informative and helped guide us through the menu. My husbands favorites were the crab corn doughnut, and the bay scallop black cocktail. I loved the memeilta; which is a duck carnitas black mole. We shared a whole grilled fish that was perfectly cooked. They flavors of these dishes are Oaxacan-inspired; with a creative play on more classic dishes. The food alone is worth a visit and a revisit to try the rest of the menu . The restaurant is beautiful, the drinks were delicious and the food was fantastic. read more

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The tacos are the best thing on the menu. My friends and I shared multiple small plates. Most of everything else is decent but not worth ordering again. I do enjoy the ambiance and the servers are very nice! read more

Like always Quixote did it again! So amazing I took a friend for her birthday celebration, her first time in Quixote she super loved it , the food was mesmerizing, the flavors so delicious. We had a few dishes . Amanda was so attentive with us and sent her a birthday flan with ice cream. Maggie our server also was so nice and was always making sure we were doing ok. Caro ,and Lynette in bar took some Mezcal's to our table and explained the origin of the agave and mezcal . Chris also was very nice and served me red wine. Thank you to all the team of Quixote for always being like family to us. Always will go back. The ambience was beautiful good music friendly people. read more

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I want here for Friday night dinner date. We were running late looking for parking, so I called to let them know we were running late. The lady said it's fine she's made a note of it. Upon arrival, we were a total of 20 minutes late from regular reservation time, despite calling to let them know, the hostess said we had given up our reservation. It was a little frustrating of experience, but they we're able to see this within the next 15 minutes. I didn't allow this taint my experience. The ambience of this restaurant is like an old Cathedral Church. With stain glass windows, and even a Spanish style Church structure behind the bar. I was very impressed by all the details they put into the decorations of this restaurant. It is truly a must experience place! I will say their menu is semi-limited. Most of their dishes are tapa style, with three main entrees. The most popular dish was Lamb, which they were ironically out of. This is quite disappointing because I was set on ordering the lamb. Since they are a newer restaurant I'll give them some grace that they are probably still trying to gauge the volume of food they need to order. But it is a Friday night at 8:00 p.m. and they already ran out of one of their most popular main dishes. Nonetheless, everything else we ordered was pretty good. My favorite was the squash blossom. I would go back, but maybe just for drinks. There is a bar connected to the hotel as well, which I think I'll try next time! Also I would recommend ubering if you're going on a weekend night. Parking was definitely on process. They do valet at the hotel but it's $38. So if it's worth it to you to drive your car and pay that much go for it! read more

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The ambiance? Chef's kiss. We walked in and immediately thought, "Yes. This is going to be good." Then... we met the hostess. We had a 9:30 pm reservation and checked in on time. She told us she'd be with us "in a minute," which turned into a 15-minute performance art piece involving transporting one (1) glass at a time to a nearby table. At 9:45, two guys walked in and were immediately engaged in a full social catch-up while she held our menus like prized artifacts. Eventually, we interrupted the conversation to ask if we could... sit. Once seated, it took about 10 minutes for anyone to acknowledge our existence, followed by another 15 minutes to receive water. We briefly considered whether this was an immersive "patience-building" dining concept. To their credit, once service actually began, the food was good. However, a highlight moment came when my friend ordered a virgin margarita and received a lemonade. When she pointed it out, the bartender informed us they "don't make that here," which is impressive considering it's lime juice and vibes. Final verdict: beautiful space, solid food, but front-of-house service that felt like it was running on vibes and vibes alone. Would absolutely come back for the ambiance--just maybe after eating a snack and hydrating elsewhere first. read more

Came here on Sunday night for my brother in law's birthday and we all left very happy! Great food and great service. The decor of the restaurant is a dark, gothic Catholic vibes, although another portion of the restaurant is more of the "angelic" side with more lighting and white marble walls, although no one was seated there when we walked by on our way out. As our waitress explained they are a mezcaleria so I started with the Vibras cocktail which had great smokey flavor. We shared several dishes: Guacamole-amazing, fresh, bowl is much deeper than it looks initially Oaxacan fondue-delicious mix of Oaxacan cheese and truffle oil. We had the chorizo on the side because not everyone at the table ate pork but it was still delicious without it mixed in. Mixed it with some guac too which added even more flavors Beet salad-fresh citrus flavors with a little hazelnut crunch Squash blossom-was good, literally only one blossom though but our waitress warned us of this Crisp chicken tacos-very delicious, with a spicy kick from whatever is in the Mexican ranch sauce on top Chili garlic shrimp tacos-these were amazing, really loved the cheesy tortilla they were served in. Each order comes with 2 tacos Tasajo-cooked perfectly, and not too fatty or salty like some ribeyes tend to be Flan oaxaqueno-for dessert, was such a unique flan with pepita seeds on top. Our waitress said they had won best flan in San Diego, and I can see why. It was not too sweet, with more subtle notes of caramel. All in all, it was a hit. The only negative is parking absolutely sucks, we circled for almost 20 minutes before caving in and paying for valet, but it was only $15 for the night so nothing too crazy. read more

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Service & ambience were outstanding but we (8 of us) were not impressed with the food. I personally tried the fried chicken tacos & did not care for them. read more

The food here is literally some of the best restaurant food I've ever had and I'm a professional chef. Great variety, amazing flavors 10/10, dine here now! The drinks as well were amazing and the aesthetic is so cool. read more

Quixote - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

THis place is CUTE. But so dark. Do not expect to take the best photos here. The place is bustling! Highly recommend a reservation, you can come early but its unlikely you'll actually get sat early. But I suggest you get here early and grab a drink at one of the many places available in the Lafayette or across the street. You can also explore the recent renovations. The service was great. Attentive but not annoyingly. I highly recommend the shrimp tacos if they're on the the menu. Crab corn donut was a miss for me. read more

Quixote - Shrimp tacos and crab donut - Mexican Near Me - San Diego, California

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Food is not worth the price. I was unexpectedly disappointed with my visit. While the ambience was nice, it was overly dark--so much so that I had to use my phone light to see, which was frustrating. The service was excellent; the staff were very friendly and attentive. The food, however, fell short. While the plating and presentation were creative, the flavors were unimpressive and lacked the expected quality. I wouldn't recommend it for dining, but it could be a good spot for a drink and maybe a small side dish if you're just looking to pass the time. But it's over priced. read more

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The hotel and it's bars/restaurants are stunning. Food, not so good. Quixote for NYE was a letdown..1st time dining there and definitely, the last. 4 below average appetizers and 1 dessert to the point of being afraid to order entrees. Ensalada exotica sounds like a delicious salad! If you like coleslaw, you'll love it. So much hype on the crab doughnut, that's if you're a fan of cold crab salad with a small hot softshell crab on top.If you're going to serve Pulpo, you'd better have a chef who knows how to cook it. Overcooked and chewy doesn't work for me. A word of advice to management: hire a top chef and don't have a thousand people standing around the hostess area and bar waiting for tables and leaning over diner's tables. Have them wait outside or in the corridor. Huge disappointment! read more