Rafaela&#x27;s Restaurant

This is a hidden gem in Vista! We were looking for a casual restaurant for a relaxing dinner with…read morefriends, and this place was perfect. The food was fantastic, they have an excellent beer menu (and other adult beverages are available too), and our waiter was so fun and helpful. Two of us had the chicken mole - the chicken was perfectly cooked, the corn tortillas were handmade and fresh, and the mole sauce was flavorful and well balanced - delicious. The rest of us had the carnitas, enchiladas and a couple of tacos and everything was exceptional. We will definitely be back soon!

Went here for lunch with a friend for the first time to give it a try. Nothing fancy inside, with…read moreyour basic four chairs and a table set up with a small bar. There were approximately 12 tables in the first section, and it got a little loud as it filled up at lunch time but not bad to the point of annoying. Not sure how many tables in the second section. Our very pleasant server brought us waters and fresh Tortilla Chips with a Black Bean sauce on them and two different hot sauces. Very fresh tasting and enjoyable. We ordered Modelo draft Beers, $7 each. They gave us a breakfast menu, regular menu, drink menu and another menu that I didn't even bother to look at. Too much. My friend and I really like Taquitos, so we thought we would give them a try here since it was our first time. He got beef and I got chicken. They also have pork. For $15, we got five Taquitos covered with some Black Bean sauce, Guacamole, Creme Fresh and Mexican Cheese. They were piping hot when served, crunchy on the outside with a good amount of filling that you could sink your teeth into and really taste. They were delicious, some of the best we have had. By the time we finished our lunch every table in our section was occupied and they had opened up their second seating area too. A consistent stream of "To Go" orders was being picked up all during our lunch. If I could, I would have given them a 4.7-star rating. The only reason not to being a 5 is two things. First, the entry point is a choke point, people standing in and out the front door trying to get in and there are no waiting seats inside so people waiting to pick up a "To Go" order sit at tables and or stand over other diners by the front door. Second the ambience is on the noisy side and basic. For their great food it is not going to stop me from going back and trying some of their other dishes though.

Craft Beer line up for 4/20/2024.

Complimentary beans chips and some awesome sauces

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Rito’s Mexican Food

4.7(43 reviews)

2.4 mi

I stopped in for a breakfast burrito. Place is legit. Service was what I would expect. Friendly.read more

Deep Vista in a strip mall near Automotive spots. Very local. Had a tasty burrito & cold Cerveza…read morewhen I came for lunch. Mainly Spanish speaking crowd. Fairly busy lunch traffic. No prices on the menu?! Small counter w/seats & about a dozen tables inside.

Dining room

Five Rolled Beef Tacos

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Inside dining

Rancho Grande El Toro Mexican Cuisine

4.0(72 reviews)

1.3 mi

I like this place. It's not super authentic or fancy. It's just comforting and low key. I don't…read morereally like table and chairs. I prefer booths, but I don't mind it here. The staff are friendly and accommodating. The restaurant is a little on the darker side, you don't get blinded while you're there. It's not so dark that you can't see clearly. It's a perfect balance I'd say. It's a clean place. However, stay out of the bathroom. I went in there once and it looks like it needs some serious remodeling. I don't go there to use the restroom though. I gave them four stars because of the bathroom, but the food and service are definitely five stars.

Another amazing meal! My wife said the beans were special. The portions are always MASSIVE. I…read moreordered 3 mini birria tacos and the chunks of meat in those tortillas almost moo'd they were so big. I need to visit and eat in person because Rancho Grande El Toro might be one of my favorite Mexican spots in the area.

Clean Empty Dining Area

Two Shredded Beef Tacos Dorado Combination Plate

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Clean Empty Dining Area

Cocina Del Mar

4.7(97 reviews)

6.4 mi

I'm honestly very picky and selective when it comes to restaurants, especially when I see a 5-star…read morerating. I decided to give this place a try for the first time and ordered a molcajete. The food took about 45 minutes to arrive, and I'll admit I was a little nervous because I've had some pretty disappointing experiences with other restaurants in the past. But once the food arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was hot, fresh, beautifully packaged, and smelled absolutely delicious. Most importantly, they followed my instructions exactly as requested, which made a huge difference. I'm giving them 5 stars because they genuinely earned it. The food, presentation, attention to detail, and overall experience exceeded my expectations. Highly recommend giving them a try. I'll definitely be ordering from here again!

Finally visited Cocina Del Mar after always seeing it popup on Yelp or Google Maps. Our defacto…read morego-to standard for Mexican food has always been Mariscos Huatulco. They have the best molcajete and fajitas around, at the best prices. We are here just to see if Cocina Del Mar is better. Long story short: it's not. However, their ceviche is AMAZING. Best ceviche I have had in north county San Diego outside of Dija Mara (which has the best ceviche in the known universe). It is extremely fresh and not overpowered by acidity, fishy smells or rubbery shrimp. The ceviche here is legit. Great. AND ONLY $10 (for cameron). If you order anything here, get the ceviche first. I'm anxious to try their aguachile now. We also ordered the fajitas ("suprema" with chicken, steak and shrimp). Fajitas did not come out sizzling at all. I have never seen this before. Also, there were only two shrimp. The steak/carne was bland and dry. Not great. Wife ordered the Sopes (3) and mother ordered the Enchiladas Cameron. The sopes were okay, but a bit bland. Wife had to salt everything on the plate. The enchiladas had a sauce my mom said was too sweet. She wasn't a fan. For all three dishes to be a miss is completely strange considering the sheer number of 5-star reviews. I want to believe. We must have come on an off-day, but the place was busy. Quite a few larger parties were here, so this place is popular with the natives. We also grabbed a Model and a Corona. Only $5 for the beers! Total for everything came to $117.64 (with tip). I would absolutely come back for the ceviche and to give them another shot by trying a different dish. I snapped pics of the menu so you can see the latest prices. Check it out.

Table seating

Sopes

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Cerveza Suprema - $5

Tolin's Taco Shop

4.6(121 reviews)

1.2 mi

OMG so so good California burritos (we got carne asada and…read moremy son likes one with chicken) Carne asada fries And the young lady that works there is so friendly and accommodating

Solid spot! First time just happen to be in the area house shopping. Got hungry looked up some…read morespots. Spelt based off pictures. Man that was a great burrito. My GF had the fries. I left with a smile. Small spot but gets the job done. Recommended.

2024 menu. Size options for asada nachos/fries! I wish this was the norm.

Cali burrito and all 6 salsas

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Asada fries

La Perla De Michoacan

4.5(39 reviews)

3.9 mi

I went with my family and tried the aguachile, grilled fish tacos, asada tacos, and consomé and…read moreeverything was absolutely incredible! This was genuinely some of the best mariscos I've ever had. Every dish was prepared with care and packed with so many delicious flavors. The portions were very generous, and the service was friendly. We enjoyed everything and will definitely continue to be loyal customers. Highly recommend!

Horrible customer service. We waited over 10 minutes at the window while staff were clearly there,…read morebut no one acknowledged us at all. We were the only customers no line, no crowd yet still completely ignored. Not even a simple greeting. After standing outside the truck for that long with no response, we decided to leave without ordering. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to try the food, so I can't speak on its quality. However, the pricing is on the higher end pricing. As for the atmosphere, parking is very tight and the setup is outdoors, which made the wait even more uncomfortable. Really disappointing experience.

Small parking lot shared with liquor store next doors

Homemade Habanero, spicy mayo and chipotle sauces

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Truck and seating

Taqueria Chabelita

4.4(75 reviews)

2.2 mi

Yummy little taco shop in vista, the cashier was very friendly & welcoming! I tried a quesabirria…read moretaco that came with the broth it was delicious & a crunchy beef taco which was just ok didn't have too much flavor I also tried a bowl of menudo and that was extremely flavorful and yummy! I'll be back to try more items

Delicious and Authentic Mexican food in Vista! Feels like someone's abuela made it with love! The…read moreMachaca Breakfat Burrito, queso birria, and chile relleno were the stars of the show the last time I went here! The dinner specials are always unique and delicious! Their sauce game is on point!!

Birria broth

Menudo, queso birria, taquitos, guacamole, and machaca breakfast burrito

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California Burrito

Las Brisas Mexican Cuisine

4.2(152 reviews)

2.5 mi

We had been to the previous San Marcos location and enjoyed the food. They are no longer there. We…read morejust discovered this location and had a very tasty dinner. Order at the counter & they bring you the food to your table. Food wasn't spicy but flavorful. Would have liked a little more heat. Heard the burritos are yummy. Will try those next time. Friendly service. Family run restaurant. Lots of parking in their lot. Off the beaten path in the Ocean Hills area. Local clientele.

This was my fav place. Went tonight and three strikes--food was awful, portions significantly…read morereduced, and took over 30 minutes at 5:30 pm to get two carnitas street tacos and enchiladas suizas. One of customers asked if ownership had changed and lady behind counter said yes. I am super bummed. The carnitas was awful. It wasn't shredded and it wasn't charred crispy. Beans and rice--bland and beans were too mashed. Enchiladas suizas--the chicken was good. The sauce wasn't. Just a super drag after a bad day. Now I have to find a new Mexican place.

1st customers! Yahoo!

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Evaga Lounge

4.7(299 reviews)

7.3 mi

Delicious, authentic food! Highly recommend! Everything was made fresh to order. Owner was very…read morewelcoming.

Delicious food, very quick with the orders, and very friendly staff. Highly recommend checking this…read morespot out.

Shimp Fried Rice

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Double shot extra añejo CaliFino tequila!

Craft Coast Beer & Tacos

This place in San Marcos is CRAFTed and curated to perfection. We used to come here when it was…read moreRip Current. Even though that closed this place was a nice surprise in its venue takeover. You order at the Bar counter for your Brew & for the tacos. The food is made at their permanent fixture food truck outside. The tacos are amazing and generously portioned. The Birria was my favorite! Carne asada was good too. The staffers are nice and ready to serve. There is high communal and individual table top seating inside and sports playing on the TV. Picnic Bench tables out on the front patio are & close to the food truck. It's pretty busy but worth the little wait for your tacos to be done. So sip sip while you wait for the buzzer to go off! Looking forward to our next visits here.

Terrible, terrible, terrible. Waited over an hour for tacos. At this point is doesn't even matter…read moreif they are good or not. Save your time and grab food somewhere else if you really want their beer. Oh and then by the time they finally gave us our food, they forgot three items we ordered and proceeded to say "you didn't order those" So on top of being slow, it's sh*t service, and crappy people.

Inside seating

Polo asada taco and birria mulita

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Ranch Water and Seastar

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13 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Oct.30 1.

4 years ago

The traditional aguachiles are spicy, but I don't eat spicy food and they were able to make them with just a little kick which I truly enjoy. The guachinango filled with creamy seafood was delicious with handmade tortillas and big enough that I still had about half of the plate when I was full. read more

Rita M.

1 year ago

They rolled tortillas with a tiny spread of meat, if any guacamole, Water down in his Store purchased. enchiladas are horrible. Informed the waitress, and they still just send the full bill without a discount...left the food, and I refuse to come back here again read more

Cristian C.

1 year ago

Muy buen restaurante para convivir con tu familia o pareja excelente ambiente y muy sabrosos platillos , y excelente variedad en bebidas y excelente servicio ,lo recomiendo y los cocineros 10=10 read more

Lupillo E.

10 months ago

Excelente servicio se los recomiendo Comida lo mejor de lo mejor 100% Vengan aquí cosinan comida Mexicana como posole, menudo , tacos , burritos, ceviche de pescado,camarones ,Mojarra etc read more

Leidy B.

1 year ago

The food was really good and big portions we got the molcajete and the fagitas and included handmade corn tortillas, the restaurant was really clean and the waitress was really friendly. read more

Olivia M.

1 year ago

If you're looking for authentic, delicious, and dependable Mexican food in Vista, Rafaela's is the place to go. Highly recommend!

Daniel B.

1 year ago

Recomendado muy buena comida , buen servico , buen ambiente familiar , comida echa al instante , con sabor a casa

Moises T.

10 months ago

The enchiladas I ordered were delicious and the staff was also very kind. Would recommend to anyone in the area!

Theresa C.

1 year ago

Enjoyed my tacos on Taco Tuesday of carne asada and chicken tacos were delicious salsas were all delicious too

Joseph C.

197

8 years ago

Food, outstanding, very clean .nice area of vista. Only thing,is you sit and wait for your food. And wait,

Alondra A.

1 year ago

Great service and amazing food! Servers were kind and respectful. 100% recommend to others.

Abelardo V.

1 year ago

Muy buen servicio y muy buena comida , buenas tortillas hechas a mano, excelente ambiente

Evee G.

227

304

4 years ago

I loved this place so much and the food and service was great as well. Affordable place

Rafaela's Restaurant - mexican - Updated September 2026

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