Horrible service. Went there at 7 pm and they said they only do drive thru. Makes no sense. Hours say 24 hours and they're definitely not. Don't waste your time going here. Food may be good. But not if I can never try it read more

The food is always delicious! However, there is one woman who works the drive through who is consistently rude. Today was the third time in six months in which I asked for a certain salsa in the drive thru and she did not include it in my bag of food. I went inside to retrieve my salsa and there were no to go cups. I asked for to go cups and also asked for her to just let me know next time so I would be prepared to come inside to get the salsa I requested. Today she told me she was out of that salsa. I didn't take it well, I'll be honest, and I told her she consistently does this and walked out. She is not friendly with drive thru customers like the other girl who works drive thru. She gives this otherwise wonderful establishment a bad name. read more

Never going here again. $20 for two fish tacos and a carne asada burrito. Are you kidding me? And the burrito was cold when I bit into it. No way it should be cold, while the tacos were warm. Not a lot of good Mexican food in Case De Oro. Gonna have to drive to Santee or El Cajon I guess. read more

Swung by for a breakfast burrito today and ordered a sausage and potato burrito. When I got home and cut it in half it was French fries, cut up hot dog, and cheese. That's it. No joke. Hot dogs. To be sure what I was in fact seeing was hot dogs, I called the restaurant and asked what they use as "sausage" in their breakfast burritos and they confirmed they don't have regular breakfast sausage, just...hot dogs. Conclusion: if you want a sausage burrito, this isn't your place. If you want a hot dog burrito, then score for you!!! read more

Read: 2.5 I pretty much only go to Santana's when I'm in a hurry and the line for Sarita's (right across the street) is too long. It has a 24 hour drive-thru, and that's a plus when I'm on-the-go. It's not the greatest Mexican food that I've ever had, but I've definitely had worst (interestingly enough, from a restaurant only down the street that's so bad that it doesn't deserve even 1 star - so I can't review it. :( ) I'm a big fan of Carne Asada Fries. Gimme meat, gimme fried potatoes with sour cream, guacamole, and mountains of cheese, and I'm a happy camper. I think it's a fairly simple request, and while the 1/2 order of Carne Asada Fries wasn't entirely disappointing, it was definitely lacking. I think it's flavor. Wasn't bad, but I seriously can't stand paying for something and having a completely neutral experience. In short, the entire dish was just bland on top of bland. The carne asada itself might've had some flavor, but I only caught snatches of this, as the meat was buried underneath flavorless cheese (shredded yellow-orange crayon came to mind), tasteless sour cream, and absolutely dull, unseasoned guacamole. I was cursing throughout my entire meal. Wasn't completely nasty, just a waste. So why two and a half stars and not just one? Because while the Carne Asada Fries made me want to scream, the Carnitas Torta is really actually very good! Maybe I came on an off day for carne asada, but they've definitely got some magic in the kitchen going when it comes to the tortas. The bread was delicious and soft, the crust golden and crunchy, and the meat was full of flavor and very tender. The torta was huge, too - but so good, that even while my tummy was bursting full, I wanted more! You're paying about average price for most Mexican shops when you visit Santanas, but who knows the quality food that you're going to get? I want to try this place again, see if I can get something consistent out of the food. Until then, if you don't have time to try some of Sarita's amazing grub, Santanas could do in a pinch. read more

Santanas Mexican Grill - 1/2 order of Carne Asada Fries. Looks can be deceiving. :( - Mexican Near Me - Spring Valley, California

I've been coming here for years and never really had an issue minus the occasional messed up order, which is no big deal. Tonight I ordered nachos and listed everything I wanted on them, got to the window and noticed "carne asada chips" on the receipt. I asked the girl to make sure there was no carne asada (bc I don't eat it and did not order it) she acted like it was my fault for not saying no carne asada (even tho I literally did not order carne asada chips). Paid $28, got home and there was a box of trash in the bag she gave me. Disgusting. read more

Santanas Mexican Grill - Trash that they put in my bag - Mexican Near Me - Spring Valley, California

Ugh.. my wife and I got food poisoning from the carne asada fries that we had last night. The fries are disgusting, they're soggy, Oily and brown. My kids had the rolled tacos and they were fine. My wife liked this place because the drive through is convenient but I honestly think all of the food is mediocre and there's plenty of better options. I will not eat here again. Change your dang frier oil or there's going to be a lot of sick people read more

I love the Santanas chain of Mexican Restaurants, I first discovered the one on Rosecrans (In the Pioneer Chicken building) around 1990. My friend had tried the California Burrito and was raging about it. I tried it, and it took a while, but it really grew on me, and now 20 years later I still enjoy them. Over the years they have opened many more locations, Morena, (there is a new on in the old KFC, down the street from the old one next to Circle K, I wonder if they will keep both) PB, El Cajon, Washington St, Etc. I moved to Spring Valley from La Jolla in 2001, and had to go to the El Cajon or Morena (I didn't realize there were ones in Rolando until recently). Then around 2003 they opened one in Casa de Oro, in an old Der Wienerschnitzel building painted white, and I joked to the guy there that he just increased the value of my home, but he didn't get it. They are all over the city so I'm sure there's one near you. My favorite is still the California Burrito, but sometimes it's not hot enough ( the fries sit in a big bowl and are room temp). Second I like the Machaca burrito, nice and salty and hot since they cook it when you order it. They have great Tortas too, never a stale bun which can ruin it. Their red sauce is one of my favorites, which amazingly is the only reason I go to certain Mexican places. The Carne Asada Chips are terrific too, very good when you are in the mood for something crunchy. Tostadas are excellent too. I've foisted my love for Mexican food on my family: My wife loves the Tecate Quesadilla with Carne Asada and the sour cream and guacamole on the side. My 8 year old son loves their rolled tacos , my 7 year old loves their plain chips with a side of beans, and my 6 year old daughter loves their Quesadilla with a side of sour cream. Somehow they have terrific Coke/Pepsi and the best Lemonade anywhere, often with sugar on the bottom mixed with the sour pulp - heavenly. For some reason though, their ordinary beef taco sucks, I don't know why. So avoid that to prevent getting a bad first impression. For beef tacos I like Robertos, Rosaritos (La Mesa) and El/Old Campo way out in Jamul. Together all these little things add up to a great place I eat at 3 or 4 times a week. I grew up on Robertos in the early 80's, going there at 1 am from UCSD is a memory I treasure. I also liked "Los Siete Burritos in PB, they were the only ones open 24 hours. The Mexican food business exploded after that, and now we have so many great selections, and the Santanas chain tops my list. read more

It was quick for two fish tacos and a quesadilla. Was about $14 and change. The tacos were good but the quesadilla seemed smaller than other places, but it is lent ant tried not to order meat! The service was polite and I am glad they wore masks! read more

Santanas Mexican Grill - Mexican Near Me - Spring Valley, California

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The picture speaks for itself... a long strand of hair!! Are you serious?? This is beyond me. There's no way on earth it was my hair, my hair isn't even that long and no one is around me in my cafeteria.. never again. read more

Santana has fantastic food, but is not very English friendly. The employees seem to only understand the most minimal amount of English which can be difficult when trying to explain a complicated order or if reporting a mix up on the order. despite that blemish, this is my favorite local taco shop. open 24 hours a day AND a drive thru. so convenient! some of our regular dishes that are amazing: fish tacos, cheese enchiladas, bean tostadas, carne or pollo sada burritos or nachos. their quacamole is without additives like onions or salsa, which my stomach appreciates. they are friendly despite the language barrier and again, 24 hour drive thru! read more

Santanas Mexican Grill - Mexican Near Me - Spring Valley, California

The most disgusting food I've had in a long time. The flautas were soggy and the chicken tasted super off. The cheese was hard like it had gone bad. The salad both smelled and tasted like chemicals? It was bizarre. I was too afraid to eat any of it it and had to throw it all out. read more

This Santana's is a great "go to" drive thru - open 24 hours and it's got a pretty good carne asada burrito. I have to admit it's a hop, skip & jump away from Sarita's (which late at night is very busy) so if you want to get out of your car and go there...that's your decision. I am pretty happy to get quick service & pretty good food too! read more

Well, I wasn't thrilled that a 2 fish taco plate was over $11, but it was freshly made and my 5 year old loved the tacos. It filled us both up. This visit was about the convenience of the drive thru and a taco shop craving that needed to be satisfied. In that regard, our needs were met. We also had a grilled chicken taco, bean tostada, and jamaica in our order--all of which were decent. The employee that helped us was polite. I appreciate people working through these hard times to make take out easy. read more

Love Santana's!! Been obsessing over their carne asada fries but 1/2 carne asada 1/2 adobada would totally post a photo but was too excited and just dug right in. read more

Unbelievably disappointed in the fact that the establishment which taught me the joy of Mexican food has turned into such utter dog s***. It's truly baffling how much the incompetence and laziness of a staff can so severely ruin someone's dining experience, and quite frankly their whole day. Their food surpasses being forgettable, and transcends into being a miserable experience akin to an episode of Fear Factor. I'm truly let down. I've stuck my neck out defending this taco shop countless times from its many critics over the years. But the weight of supporting such a fugaze has become unbearable. What hurts even more is that the fix is so simple. Just cook the french fries. Stop lazily slapping in raw potato into your orders for the sake of getting your already dwindling customer base through the drive-thru as fast as possible. Even asking for the carne asada fries "extra crispy" only slightly introduces any structural integrity or softness to the french fries. But throwing in the whole f***ing spud was the last straw. Goodbye Santana's, I will miss the fond memories I've had eating here in its prime. read more

Santanas Mexican Grill - "Carne Asada Fries" .... - Mexican Near Me - Spring Valley, California

Cali burrito hardly had any flavor. Definitely not worth $9. The bottom of the burrito was practically all oil...

The night shift is the best employees you got the best of the best workin here. Working thru such hard orders. Thank you guys so much especially Martin he was the best. Rubin also was amazing. Thanks guys! read more

This place is good, when they take the time to cook the food! So idk whose training you guys but you gotta let the fries fry and get crispy, not that soggy stuff, take the time and do it right. Btw this is a recurring at all santanas obious who ever the kitchn manager doesnt care but hey what do I know..... 4/17/2018 They changed the fires to the point were dont get crispy....lost a customer to a real taco shop read more

Y'all don't even know about their surf and turf Cali, that stuff fire with the lobster shrimp and fries plus the chipotle sauce omg. Other than that parking is atrocious, restaurant itself small small, and the staff bruh don't get me started. First off the older woman taking my order looks nice but it changed i think it's cause i changed my order togo or maybe it's cause i used the restroom before ordering and my friends stood their cause it was my treat for that day. Needless to say Ill be going back 3 times a weeek read more

Santanas needs to review their menu prices. We were shocked when we picked up our food and found out that their prices were not the same as listed on yelp. That was very misleading and false advertisement. The food was still very delicious but I don't believe that a taco shop should have the same prices as a sit down restaurant. read more

I come to this place pretty often & today was my worst experience here. I ordered the beef taco combination plate but asked for "soft taco" instead of "crunchy". The drive thru lady told me that they couldn't do that because the tacos already come "crunchy" and as she's telling me this I'm looking at the drive thru menu with pictures on it and right next to the combination plate I ordered there's a taco plate with "soft" tacos. Like how hard is it to swap a crunchy taco shell to a soft taco? Then finally when asked if I wanted salsa, I tell the lady red and green please and what does she do? She hands me my bag of food with just red salsa...and she closes the drive thru window. So I wave my arm up to get her attention and had to ask for green salsa. On top of that as I'm waiting for my food, another drive thru guy comes up & asks me if I've paid already... read more

Look. The rolled tacos in a cup are amazing. But second time in a row I was given no hot sauce?!. Two different workers. Whats the deal?. Its almost criminal. read more

The food was good, I have previously went many times. The TJ tacos were amazing before the past 2 times. But the past 2 times I have went there was a hair in my food. I don't think I'll be going any time soon unless they change their hygiene habits. read more

Used to be awesome! Now EVERY time I go lately, THREE times in a row over 4 days, at one point in time..my order is wrong. Carne asada burrito...Substitute sour cream for guacamole and add cheese and dont get any of them. But! They sure make it a point to charge me an additional $6 for these items. Twice i just added the sour cream and cheese from my own fridge. Rediculous..I stopped going thru the drive thru because of this. Decided to order inside to make sure u was getting what i order and what im charged for..NOPE! I opened my burritos before i left and Same problem. Even tho i made it a point to mention the order issues i had been experiencing..The older lady is the one messing up the order every time. I honestly think she charges for missing ingredients and pockets the money..I saw the cross contamination that was going on..no gloves, no masks, cook was touching EVERYTHING in sight and then bare handedly putting ingredients on food. I guess he realized he made a mistake on an.order. but instead of tossing it, he dumped the contents back in the food containers and used the SAME tortilla to make a diff order..WTF!! When i mentioned the cross contamination and asked that he wash his hands before preparing my order, both cooks and cashier looked at me like i was out of line..This place used to be amazing..But, I'm done going here. Price increses unjustified. No cleanliness or regard to the fact that there is a pandemic, botched orders constantly..charging for items u didn't ask for and not giving the ones u did ask and paid for..definitely skimming going on here..sad smh read more

This place started out great! Excellent and fresh food, delicious salsa bar. That is what made them unique is the salsa bar. Now that's gone because "the gringos don't like it hot" is what I was told today. So they give me what they have and it's hotter/inedible than the flavorful salsa bar they used to have. The other thing is 75% of the time they mess up the order. Tonight I ordered a carne asada burrito with meat only and when i get home and open it up to put the salsa inside, it was full of tomatoes and cilantro which I can't stand (cilantro). It's 9 bucks for the carne' asada burrito which I threw in the garbage. I've had it with them. Seems like nowadays 9 of 10 restaurants are mediocre at best. Learning to stick with what we know delivers a good meal and the rest of the time eat at home! Bummer! read more

I have always seen this place since I grew up around this area. I usually go down the street to the competitors but I wanted something new this time and it was raining and this was the only drive-thru mexican restaurant. I tried calling and placing my order, but no response. I called about 4 times to make sure, and there was nothing. I even called while in the drive-thru to see what was going on and they didn't even have a phone in the place!!! The food was dry, the service was bad, and the girl working there seemed as if she was just there because she had to be. I will not go here again, especially since there are two restaurants of the same food right across the road. Nobody in the drive-thru and nobody in the restaurant gives a meaning that this place is not very good. read more

Santanas Mexican Grill - Mexican Near Me - Spring Valley, California

I like there food but this is the second time they have given me the wrong burrito at the drive thru. I'm sure they would replace it but I don't have time to go back and wait some more. They should label all the food on the wrapper so it's easier to catch without having to bite into it. read more

Terrible. I've lived across the street for 2 years and would come often before I knew better when I fiesta moved to the area. However, the food got worse and worse each time so with 3 other taco shops within 2 blocks, I stopped coming. So after dishing this place for a couple years, I finally came back since I had my kids and a long day so didn't want to get down or cook and needed the drive-thru. How could a simple quesadilla go wrong is what I thought. Well.... as soon as they handed me the bag I just got this big whiff of burned tortilla. Opened the box and sure enough, totally black. Circled back through the drive-thru and showed them. So they made me another one. Opened and checked, looked fine, so I went home. NOPE! It also looked burned and gross but was turned inside out so it looked normal on the outside. At this point it was too late to pack up kids in car seat again just to go back. So I call and the girl said the manager had made the second one and that she'd get him on the phone. I heard the manager say he didn't make that one and he had told the same guy to make another one. I said well he either made another one and burned it too or gave me the original one, but either way the cook turned it inside out so I couldn't tell. I told them I took pictures so they could see. They did tell me to come back tomorrow and get my money back or get a new quesadilla. No thanks! I'll just get my money back and continue to stay away. read more

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I spent over $20 on a Carne Asada burrito and some chips in guacamole and the food was so salty I couldn't eat it. So disappointing and a waste of money. read more

Customer service here is horrible. Please do not yell into the mic over somebody as there talking. Please take orders politely. Do not make it seem as though your doing someone a favor by eatting here. My time and money will be spent some where else. There fries are gross. There potoes that are not peeled and probably sitting in water all day to soften , i suppose. The potaoes fries have a hard center after frying . Suggesting they are not cooked because they are still wet. Never again go any where but here . read more

I eat here 2-3 times a month. I love that Santana's makes their California burritos in the classic style (carne asada, pico de gallo, cheese, and fries only). The menu is classic SD taco shop fair. Carne asada fries are HUGE and delicious. The service is so-so (once received $14 in singles for change without even a comment/apology from the cashier). PRO TIPS: -Go inside and get your own salsas and fixin's from the bar (ask for plastic containers if you are getting take away). They only offer two salsas (red and a roasted green) from the drive-thru. -If you must drive-thru, only do it if there is one car or less in line. Service and quality control will be terrible if the drive-thru is busy. Suck it up, park, and walk inside to order. read more

Food undercooked....disappointed that it has not been resolved after being addressed multiple times. Kind of pricey for the quality of you being served... take your chances for finding out. read more

Recently moved back in the area... although I got bad reviews of this restaurant/taco shop, I took the initiative and still went by to order food. Worst mistake ever!! The was under cooked. read more

I never write reviews but eating here broke my heart. I used to go to the one in Linda Vista all the time years ago - favorites were the quesadillas (especially quesomush but the others too), the California burrito, and the Achiote chicken. I live out of town and tried to relive some memories. Ordered a California burrito. Disgusted at the first bite. It tasted like fish. Few more bites and I figure out it's the fries. Santana's fries were always soggy but it was forgivable. This time they were completely undercooked and clearly fried together with some fish. And the two of us ordered the same thing - it isn't the cheapest in town so it was a total waste. They gave us free chips and beans...Was it an apology? read more

This place is decent for the price, it's convenient and the hot carrots are usually decent. I personally like the salsa verde here and the one that looks similar to guacamole. I usually get a bean and cheese burrito with rice, rolled tacos, or a flying saucer (basically a taco salad). They are consistent, that's for sure. The staff is as you would expect, they do not greet or say goodbye/thank you, but they are consistent as well and efficient. read more

I usually like this place but not sure what I took a bite of. Short and spiky plant or wood inside of my bean and cheese burrito. Found it on my last bite otherwise I would not have eaten it. :( very disappointing read more

Santanas Mexican Grill - Not sure what the heck this is but it was in my bean burrito! - Mexican Near Me - Spring Valley, California

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Had the carne asada fries. They were average . plentiful. But this location is only a drive thru. And the cashier was rude. I wont return. read more

Carne Asada Fries are always undercooked and crunchy/raw and they have dirt on them...

This place is delicious! It was clean and the staff was very friendly. I had a quesadilla with mushrooms and it was the perfect size. Will definitely go back. read more