Rubios has great tacos. They are priced right and give you a lot of food. Love the salsa's!!!! The reason for 4 stars is due to the chips and guac. It's 4.99 and you get about 5 chips and a tiny thing of guac. Going forward I will skip the chips they are stale and not worth the price. However I will be back for the tacos and salsa! read more

So I stopped by today to have a quick lunch and was hungry so I was hoping that I would get quick service. Well what I got was a gentleman named Manny. He took my order of two fish tacos of the Original and said do you want rice and beans? I said no just à la cart your two fish tacos. He looked at me and said you know what I'll give you a deal. Out of nowhere just great service that's the way to start a weekend. Thank you, Manny. They were delicious. read more

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Absolutely love this Rubio's in Encinitas. I'm a regular here and it's one of my favorite spots. The staff, the cooks, the manager, every single person is sooooo friendly. They go above and beyond every time. The cooks even come out to say hi. They're seriously so kind. The food is always five stars. Always fresh. Always right. The restaurant is spotless every time I come in. You can tell they really care about the place. It's a staple for my family. We keep coming back for a reason. If I could give more than five stars I would. This week I went twice in a row. Probably not the first or the last I would do that. read more

Love the food, hate the plastic. When eating in Rubio's used to have real silverware, plates and bowls. Now it's just plastic regardless of if you're eating in or taking it out. This is a real disappointment. Regardless this is one of the few remaining Rubio's still around. I wish the management would consider the environment with their offerings. Service was great and the store is very comfortable to eat in! read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

I ordered the longastino burrito. I received the worst burrito ever. The tortilla was raw and cold. Inside was a glop of beans and rice with a few chunks of seafood. The worst $14+ I've ever spent.. read more

Great service, friendly staff and quality food. Great place the whole family can enjoy. Good for pickup or dine in.

This used to be a good Rubio's branch. Now that everything is more expensive one would think that the food will be better and service as well? My shrimp burrito was mostly filled with stuffing like rice and beans and I can barely taste the very small shrimps . Maybe steak would have been a better choice. When the server came by to deliver my order, I asked if some can clean up around the table and benches . She said yes and i waited and after i finished my meal after a good 30-40 mins, still nobody has come to clean up. They used to have a busboy going around cleaning but no more. The cashier does everything now thus the neglect all over . Sad , but this place used to be nice, cozy and clean . I hope Management takes this feedback diligently and see it for themselves. I cane in at 1130 AM even before it got busy... read more

Smells sour dishcloths inside. Takes forever to get food. Order is wrong, portions are small. Staff is friendly and salsa bar is the best. That's is it! Doubt this place will last much longer. read more

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Here's to holiday greetings from the staff at Rubio's in Encinitas, CA, and my server, Cambria. read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - The Hotel del Coronado is a fabulous venue for seaside, ice skating over the holidays and enjoying the scenic Christmas with shopping! - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

Its been a while since I have been to a rubios. I stopped in for lunch and was very impressed with the service, cleanliness, and food! The salsa bar was clean and fresh! The food was fresh and delicious. They had delicious options for vegan diet and will absolutely br back. I would definitely recommend this location. read more

I've never been more disgusted by a meal. I was enjoying my burrito when I bit into something hard--only to discover it was a rock. It completely ruined the experience, and I couldn't continue eating. I get that mistakes happen, but this is beyond unacceptable. A rock/ pebble in my food is a serious health hazard. read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

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We come here from time to time as my husband loves their fish tacos. Last time we ordered... Fish taco combo plate with rice and beans Shrimp bowl over rice and lettuce Everything was fresh and delicious. They're a little stingy about salsas but when you ask for more, they will give it. read more

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Love this Rubio's location The food is always fresh and served hot The manager and workers are very nice There's plenty of room for different size parties You can't forget about the Tuesdays specials where the tacos are a steal. The fish tacos are more expensive than el Pueblo but the quality and freshness is much better here. Their salsa bar is delicious. This location deserves 5 stars. read more

My husband made an online order. When I walked into the store I was greeted very kindly by a woman who asked if I was picking up. When I said yes and gave my name another woman that was with her (Cindy) blurted out that she would let me know when the order was ready. I sat and waited even though my order was already supposed to be ready according to my online receipt. There were 2 bags sitting under the "order online pick up here" section with ready to go food. Now having waited 20 minutes she says my order name out loud and grabs the 2 bags that had been sitting there. I responded with "so my food has been sitting there the whole time?" She quickly said, "yes sorry about that ma'am " with no remorse. When I confronted her about it she said "it was only there for a few minutes, with attitude and a demeaning smirk, and that there was a lot going on. I was offered something for next purchase but at this point I was in disbelief that she seemed to have an attitude with me. And to top off my interaction with her my steak nachos had zero to little steak. Not sure how this locations runs with someone so rude and incapable of just acknowledging you let my order sit there the entire time I was waiting. read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Steak nachos - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

Just ordered tacos and the tortilla was stale, the shrimp was gross and over fried, there was no sauce and just very poorly put together. If this is what you need to resort to stay open, just follow the other locations and go out of business. Terrible. I will never eat there again. read more

Thank you Brad. I completed that form and appreciate your response and wanting to make this right. read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

Just had their Elote corn side instead of chips on my shrimp taco plate and OMG.... it was fantastic. Do yourself a favor and swap out that side. Only wish is was a bigger portion - next time I'll order TWO!!! read more

I'm very tolerant and flexible when it comes to service in a restaurant. I understand that things happen and I usually just flow with it, but Rubio's in Encinitas deserves one star. At 5:19 on 10-23-22, my wife and I placed an order at the register. 25 minutes later my wife inquired about our order. She was told that Door Dash orders were filled first and that they would get to ours shortly. In other words, people who aren't even in the building get served before customers who have waited half an hour? My wife happened to see her salad sitting on the counter behind the register and the employee then asked the cook about the rest of our order. He said he was working on it. My wife returned to our table and within a few minutes, they brought our order to the table. My three tacos and beans were ice cold, as if they had been sitting out for half an hour. We didn't complain, because we couldn't afford to spend another half hour waiting for them to remedy things. We ate and left. This morning, I'm running to the restroom every few minutes. Most likely thanks to Rubio's. Guess where we will never eat again? read more

7/10. You can't really mess up the simplicity of the menu but it is pretty pricey for food that can be bought someplace else

Sticky tables.. count on it. Everytime i visit i just got the one table, nope! yet to be here without a sitcky table. Directions for corrections.. Use a clean rag for cleaning the tables. End result not sticky tables. Happy customers. read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

27 minutes. That's how long it took for us to get our dinner at 6pm on a Tuesday. Not making it up, I checked the receipt because I thought maybe they had lost our order. Food was good and they got our order correct but the wait was too much. They should have told us if they were that backed up. Really felt sorry for the woman ahead of us with 3 kids under 5 who probably thought this would be a break from dealing with dinner. Instead 3 screaming squirming hungry kids...yay not good. Hard pass on this one. read more

So many things wrong that could be fixed!! The total was a whoping $41.00 dollars which is at least two hours of labor work at minmum wage. 1. I asked for NO chipolte sauce/no mayo due to alegries and I told her twice, both tacos came with chipole sauce. 2. I asked for 2 chicken and 2 steak street tacos and i got only 2 chicken tacos. (she should be fired because now you lost money of two tacos) . I paid $5.00 for quac and chips and I got a stale bag of chips that fits in a child's hand, no value for the $5.00, Chips are cheap be liberal with them, charge more for the avacado but give plenty of chips and people will come back. Chips were STALE, use best oil and throw out Stale Chips. Really bad. When there are 100 Taco Shops in the area you really should be more careful... or perhaps you just don't care. I will probably spend my hard earned $41.93 elsewhere. If you want to make it right, pay me back my $41.93. since we couldn't eat the mayo and chips were stale and the steak tacos were missing. read more

Rubio's has been on my radar since I started college in San Diego. I have eaten hundreds of fish tacos and burritos at about a dozen Rubio's over the years. Fish tacos run high on the list of my favorite foods. In recent times the marketing department has sought out to change things. My head says, "don't fix it if it ain't broken" and that is the advice that I offer. Back in the day the prices were comparable to taco stands throughout this fine city. They offered grilled or breaded products and traditional combos. The newfangled menu explores using media buzzwords like habañero, mango salsa, chimichurri sauce, grilled corn, bacon,and the oh so popular bowls for the low carb crowd. Marketing teams elevated the allure of the menu while simultaneously sneaking in higher prices under the radar. Feeding a family of 4 is going to run over $40 without beers. I am glad that they removed the "margaritas" from the menu, calling wine with sweet and sour insulted the concept of a margarita. But the classics have held strong through their transformation and I can still count on my trusty fish taco hitting the spot. Who can not resist a beer battered deep fried piece of fish complimented with crunchy cabbage and bonded together with crema and fresh salsa? Fish tacos are the hero of the menu. They catalyzed the success of Rubio's which drove rapid growth of the fish taco craze that swept the nation in the past few decades. I still love my fish tacos. On Taco Tuesday you can snatch them up for a buck and a half. If you want the grilled taco then be prepared to pay about 4 bucks for a small taco that can be eaten in 4 bites. It breaks down to a buck a bite. This location does not have the perfect balance of flavor to substantiate what they charge so my visits have tapered off in recent years. I was served stale chips and the guacamole in my burrito was ice cold on my last visit. I l still love my fish tacos and will continue to visit Rubio's in a pinch. read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Fish burrito, nice presentation - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

Three stars in appropriate. A Rubio's is a Rubio's. I used to like their traditional fish tacos, but an employee confirmed several years ago that they changed their recipe or cooking style...it was something...and now I can't eat it anymore. On this particular day, I was craving Rubio's, but not their fish tacos. I saw tilapia burrito on the menu...done and done. Ordered it grilled, came with chips. The portion size was large. I could've easily taken some home, but I was starving. It was a bit spicy, but delicious. This location is clean and the condiment bar was fully stocked. The cashier who took my order was pleasant, as was the 'runner' who delivered the food. If I'm in the area and craving Rubio's, I'll stop in. read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Grilled tilapia burrito - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

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This location is great and they have a wonderful cashier named Manny. He is friendly and goes the extra mile to get your order right and any special requests to your order. Very impressed with his thoroughness and delightful personality! Thank you Manny! read more

I wanted to update my old review. Things have changed, and we have frequented Rubios many times in the past few years, and the food is amazing. Whatever they did worked! read more

I love Rubios but skip the burritos. The price is ridiculous and the burritos are puny. Chipotle, near by is a much better option. The fish tacos are very good here. I love their fish tacos. The salsas and churros are also really good here. read more

Bottom Line: Tasty Mexican inspired cuisine but this particular location tends to be less kept than others. I guess I am old school because I miss the Rubio's that was Ralph Rubio's "Rubio's." I enjoyed eating street tacos on paper plates underneath thatched palapas and watching fish swim in tanks. But, that was probably before Mill Road Capital purchased the company in 2010. A lot has changed since then. Some say that the food isn't as high quality but for me the most noticeable difference is the vibe which has continued to evolve in the last five years. The most noticeable changes to me are (1) renaming of the restaurants to Rubio's Coastal Grill, (2) swapping out the unique Baja decor for mainstream, trendy decor and (3) serving meals on real dishes rather than paper. Anyway, for anyone who is new to Rubio's, none of that will matter so lets talk about logistics and food to help you determine if this is where you want to hang ten. The logistics here are that you order your food at the counter and can either dine in or get it to go. With the new system, if you are dining in, then they give you a number and will deliver your food to you. (Admittedly, I like this better than the old days of having to listen for your name to be called.) The Coca-Cola soda fountain is self-serve and stopping by the salsa bar is a must. My favorite is the roasted chipotle salsa. As far as food, even as the menu has been tweaked over the years, I have not had anything that I didn't like. Things I enjoy here are the original fish taco, chicken quesadilla, health mex burrito (now called "H-Mex Burrito") and chicken tortilla soup. Rubio's has always had bottled Mexican beer and in recent years they have added some of the San Diego Craft Beers (at least in the SD locations) and Sangria to the menu. This particular location has always seemed neglected over the years. As other Yelpers noted, this location isn't the cleanest. The interior has been remodeled but they still don't seem to have enough staff to clear tables. I think a lot of confusion came into play when Rubio's went from paper plates to real dishes. People aren't sure if they are supposed to buss their own dishes, which I think they are. Busing your own dishes has its own issues too because you have to scrap your plates while looking at other people's food scraps and then place your dishes in the disk bucket which can be awkward and overflowing. It's really not how I want to end a meal. read more

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3 years ago, When my mom had dementia, the manager gave my mom a new order without asking her to pay. (since then Mom has passed). My friend had lactose issues and they remade her taco without charge. They aim to please. I have lived here 25 years so I have seen alot of staff come and go but I appreciate their hard work and effort and tip accordingly. Always check your bag at takeout /delivery. I have had issues with salad dressings or not enough salsa. I LOVE their lemonade and Mango ice tea. Bathrooms are 50/50 most of time clean, occasionally an issue. They are receptive to taking care of it, though so again Thank you for doing a great job!! read more

Rough time ordering food at the register today. I wanted a combo plate with two mahi mahi tacos with no onions. If I eat onions I love you too! Stomach feels like I ate a pack of razor blades. The cashier had no idea what tacos I could choose from or what the ingredients were in each taco. And for some reason, "no onions" was translated to "no cilantro and no onions." After waiting 15 minutes for our food, both tacos had onions plus we had a side of onions and cilantro. Advice to management: Don't put your least experienced employee on the front line with customers. Make sure employees understand the menu and know how to perform data entry before letting them operate as cashier. read more

Very good fish tacos! Plates/portions are scalable and flexible, staff friendly. Kudos to the young server who was quick on her feet and as fast a bolt of lightning! Prices reasonable even in our inflationary economy. Dining room clean, well kept. read more

Not sure what is going on here but they messed up our order and charged us for extra. Also took like 15 min to get our order. Kind of an odd experience tonight. Off to the Taco Stand next time! read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - This was supposed to be our fish taco with avo and cheese. Very greasy too sadly. - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

For the price of this lobster bowl, I would expect to have the same number of little lobster pieces as the picture on their website, which has 18 or so. Mine had 8. Wow!! So disappointed. This is the Encinitas location. (In the pic, my bowl shifted in the car, I did not touch anything when I opened the lid). read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Their advertised pic. - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

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Sad to say that I ordered three tacos on grub hub as well extra sides. No salsa that's kind of how I judge the many many taco shops around here. Super disappointed. Do you need to request? It wasn't on the menu options. Won't order here again. read more

I have been going to this Rubio's for years & years. I can't honestly say most experiences are excellent. I went 1/2 before closing and needed help ordering to get $5 off I was emailed earlier and could only get it by ordering online. Keep in mind the man working not only refused to help me but when I got irritated he said he would refuse me service. Needless to say I didn't get my discount and will go elsewhere going forward. Lose a long term customer based on one tired or not caring employee. read more

This place needs serious help. I can't believe the way my food was served on a filthy bowl (see images attached). It was hopefully just the chefs hands getting stuff he was cooking with all over the bowl, but wow it looked disgusting and unappetizing. I'm just hopeful this is all it was, surely they're not reusing bowls without washing them? read more

Rubio's Coastal Grill - Mexican Near Me - Encinitas, California

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Made the mistake of eating outside on a recent visit. An employee was cleaning a table near me and the spray he was using went all over me due to the wind blowing. Pretty unappetizing. I ordered a two taco plate and the refried Pinto beans that came with it are the most plain tasting thing I've ever had. Zero flavor and zero salt. Just no flavor whatsoever. The tacos were OK but overall I cannot recommend this location, it's not up to Rubios standards. read more

I tried a bowl during my lunch. I wanted to try something new since I always get the delicious fish tacos. The quinoa bowl was surprisingly delicious. My expectations weren't high. The only thing is that for $10 I would expect it to have more quantity of food in it. The bowls are the same size as the poki bowl down the street and for the same price the bowl gets filled to the top. That's why I gave it 4 stars. But you can never go wrong with their famous fish tacos. The service was amazing. For lunch hour the employees were productive and were so kind. 5 stars for the service. They never disappoint. read more

Hello Ralph. I us love this location but last Friday night, 8/28, I ordered a bowl with grilled Mahi. Usually the nice sized piece of fish is grilled to perfection, moist and tender. This time I should have taken it back (but I was on a first date). The fish was maybe a 1/4" thick and hard and over cooked-like Jerky. Please check in on this store as it is the closest to my home. Thanks! Signed 30 year Rubio's lover! read more

I always enjoy Rubio's! This location is closest to our home but oddly it's the one I eat at the least. This evening I stopped by for some carryout and it was pretty busy. The entire team was hard at work but the guy at the front counter named Luke was seriously hustling. Answering phones, packing orders, running the register... all at the same time while still being friendly and courteous!! He was seriously doing a great job so I had to give some recognition to Rubio's great food but also Luke's great service! Well done! read more