Colimas Mexican Food

This place was going to be my dinner for the evening as I was driving home from Alpine. All my times visiting east county, I’ve never really taken notice of this place. Even though its right off Main street near central El Cajon, it didn’t seem like that busy of a place. I’m almost certain this restaurant has no connection to the more famous Mexican joint with the same name in North Park. They do sport a pretty big menu here though for a smaller taco shop with its menu board stretching the length of the place along with extras hanging up over the register. The guy who was taking my order here was very nice and able to answer all my questions about what went into every item. The salsa bar (
) only has three styles but allows you to take free carrots, radish, and limes to go with your food. The sauces themselves aren’t very spicy at all and are quite watery and runny. The darker red seemed to be more popular here, as it was almost towards the bottom of being emptied out. All the sauces were definitely on the bland side of things with very salty after tastes. The food did some time to come out but usually that’s a good sign they are making everything as they go rather than warming up things like meat on the grill.
Breakfast burritos are served all day here and they only have one option on the menu. Their burrito (
) here comes with eggs, cheese, fries, along with your choice of meat ham, bacon, sausage. I went with the bacon option and added some beans because eggs without beans is no bueno. The burritos here are quite burly and they use great tasting tortillas that have been grilled a bit. Inside I was treated to lots of eggs, beans, cheese and potatoes. The bacon was mixed throughout the burrito and had plenty of it. I really wish they had crisped the bacon a bit more though, most people like it extra crispy in the burritos. The beans were on the drier side but still were great. Solid breakfast burrito here and I really like the option of getting your choice of meats.
The supreme quesadilla (
) here was quite different than what I was expecting. I never really asked the guy what it was exactly, but figured it may have been a a veggie type of quesadilla. Here they stuff a large tortilla with cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole and carne asada. The quesadilla was monsterly massive in size and completly filled the whole takeaway box up and taking up a bunch of weight in the bag. The carne asada here is decent enough, cut into medium sized strips without much fat and barely any type of grizzle. The meat was flavorful enough that the rest of the ingredients didn’t drown out the taste of the steak. Their ratio of guacamole and sour cream was quite good as it didn’t make the tortilla overly soggy.
This place is decent enough to be a good place to grab some taco shop food. Overall the ingredients seemed fresh, seasoned and delicious. The food was put together well, service was great and you could tell the cook put some effort into making things taste good. The only downfall to this place is the lousy hot sauce they provide, but the food tastes great without it anyway. Average burrito here will run you about six dollars and you get your money’s worth in my opinion. Any extras will set you back about .70 per item though. This taco shop isn’t a late night food run though, they close at 9pm everyday except Friday and Saturday which is 10pm. No drive through, but they do take all credit cards no problems. One of the better Mexican places I’ve found out in El Cajon.

Granted El Cajon has some of the worst taco shops around this one takes first place.
I was with my family and everthing we ordered was just awful. I lived in SD for 30 years
and eaten from TJ to LA and this by far is the worst.
Chile Verde had what look like chopped up pork chop in Salsa Verde sauce, the same
sauce at the salsa bar. Yuck. It wasn’t event stewed. I returned it for a Carne Asada plate
and the Carne Asada was gray and dry with no flavor. My mom ordered a shredded beef
burrito wet and the only thing inside the burrito was shreded beef, no beans, no guac, not
even rice or lettuce. My brother threw his rolled tacos away after one bite.
I live in El Cajon but it is to bad I have to drive to Clairemont Mesa or the Barrios to
get a good mexican meal.

The food at Colimas is amazing! They serve large portions and have great customer service. I had their breakfast burrito with beans, potatoes, eggs, and cheese (no ham) and it was deliciousness! Their menudo on a cold morning is also the best! I am an addict!!!

My order of rolled tacos were so hard I couldn’t even bite them. Their other food might be good but this was my first visit and the only thing I tried. Still on the search for a good taco shop!!!

Had the carnitas chips which were yummy. Standard Mexican fare with super-​friendly service. I don’t normally stop here, but I would if I was in the area again and I was hungry.

Another good taco shop in East County. this place reminds me a little bit of Los Panchos over on greenfield. for those of you who don’t know panchos, it just so happens to be nascar driver Jimmie Johnson’s favorite taco shop. But back to colimas — this place has pretty loaded burritos, a big menu, and the prices are fair in my opinion. It’s kind of hidden though so pay close attention when you’re driving so you don’t just fly right by it. Once you find it though, I think you’ll enjoy it. Another thing I like about this place is the hot sauce thet have two different red sauces and one of them really has some kick. It seems practically impossible these days to find hot sauce that’s actually hot. this place has it down. Enjoy

I rarely take the time to post online reviews for local establishments but this place is worth it. I can’t speak on the majority of the menu, but the Del Mar burrito (fish & shrimp) is absolutely delicious. There are so many HUGE shrimp in this burrito it’s almost ridiculous. I order it every time and it’s consistently awesome. Service is great and they’ll bring your food to you, whether it’s to go or not. The salsas are meh, except for the darker, spicier one in the small container, but none of them are very hot. The only thing that I could really suggest needs improvement would be to add some chips to the salsa bar, but that’s insignificant really.
The breakfast burritos are OK, but the Del Mar is the king at this joint. Try it. If you don’t love it you’re probably not human.

Three and a half stars for me, but a close 4! This is so far one of the best adobada burritos I have had in El Cajon. It was so juicy it even trenched the tortilla with favor, and packed with a taste. It wasn’t dry at all, which I can’t stand when they over cook it. I got my eye on some other foodies on their menu, so I’ll definitely be back soon.

Colimas is a decent taco shop. It’s much better than Santana’s across the street. Whenever I see, «this place blows,» in a review, I run the other way. And today, I ran into Colimas.
The service is personal and kind. The restaurant itself is not A/C’d, so get food to go on a hot day.
Got the Cali Burro and fish taco. The burro was good with a decent balance & ratio of meat to fries & tortilla. It all tasted fresh and of big portion
The fish taco is really a taster @ the bargain price of $ 1.25. Go to Rubios instead for a great fish taco on the run during taco tues.
The salsa bar is respectable and maintained. Fresh, marinated carrots await you. The establishment looks clean and maintained.
All in all, not a bad taco shop to be in. No more, no less.

I was told to meet here for a little lunch meeting yesterday and I must say, not a bad little taco shop. Well, not bad, but not great either. Plop this place in the middle of Boise and Guy Fieri would be there faster than his hair gel could dry, but in SD it’s simply middle of the road.
The shining star of this place has got to be the gentleman behind the counter. He was chatty, asked how my afternoon was going and didn’t make me feel rushed even with a little line forming. I deviated from my norm and ordered a carnitas taco salad, which was loaded with meat, lettuce, rice, beans and topped with sour cream and guacamole. No skimping on this puppy! For about $ 7.00 it wasn’t a bad deal but the whole time I was eating it I kept thinking that I wish I had a carne asada burrito. Ugh, so much for being healthy-​ish! Err, not healthy at all.
Solid selection of salsas at the help yourself bar and don’t be shy when filling a little plastic bag with the pickled carrots. If/​when they run out, that nice guy will run out and restock it with more.
Will be back when in the area to give some more familiar menu options for a test drive!

Do NOT eat here! Not if you actually like guacamole. Let me start off saying I NEVER complain at a restaurant. Until now that is. I offered rolled tacos WITH guacamole. They only put guacamole on a fraction of the tacos. I figured it had to be a mistake. I moved aside the salad & showed the lady how little guacamole with put on it. All she said was sorry, that all we put on it. In the picture of food I circled in red the amount of guacamole that was put on it. I won’t be back. It’s just 3 something in the afternoon & I hadn’t eaten at all yet. Feeling disappointed. BOOOOOO Colimas Mexican food place! NO bueno!!!

I know its hard to swing a dead cat in San Diego without hitting a good Mexican place. I ordered the surf and turf Burrito. She totally messed up my order. What she brought me was the surf and turf yule log. I took one look at it and said «can you cut this in half and put the other 5 lbs in a to go box». It was freaking huge. Anyway, she was a real nice lady and the food was great, the only reason I am doing 4 stars, is because i’m not a huge fan of the hot sauce. But that’s a pretty petty and subjective reason at best.

This was my 2^nd time at this restaurant, but the 1^st time was years ago. This place was just ok. It wasn’t super great and it wasn’t that bad either.
I tried the Bandido burrito: carne asada, black beans, sour crème, jack cheese, lettuce, and rice. All of these ingredients didn’t blow me away. It was just ok. Not good enough to go back.

Super delicioso y abundante platillos comida preparada en el momentos en lo ordeno y no es congelado o microwave todos Los vegetales frescos y crujientes las tortillas recien hechas saliditas del comal

We come here all the time! Love the food (Granted we get the same thing everytime) and the staff! Awesome people and very kind to us. Little pricey but the portions are pretty big!

Your typical Mex Place. Nothing special here. Food is OK. I tried this place several times and I do think their Burritos are huge.

I don’t understand all the 1 and 2 star reviews. This is a pretty good mexican place. The prices are meh, but the one worker there is always helpful.
I am almost addicted to California Burritos (the popular carne asada, fries, and guacamole burrito) And this place makes them the absolute best out of all the California Burritos i’ve had. The burritos themselves too are MASSIVE. You could save the other half and it would be another meal.
The other thing I LOVE getting here is the Surf and Turf burrito. (Shrimp, hot sauce, and Carne asada.) BOMB! the shrimp is very good.
Great little place. The hot sauce is amazing too. There’s a little «hot sauce station» to the right of where you order.
Okay, now i’m hungry. Time for lunch.

Best roast pork burrito around IMHO but the rest of the menu is meh. If you order the carne asada fries or chips make sure ask for real cheddar cheese or you will get the fake nacho stuff. Workers are very pleasant and helpful

I came by here to get a carne asada burrito and a small lengua street taco. The carne asada burrito was $ 4.65 and the street taco cost $ 1.25.
The burrito was average to slightly larger and size. (
) It was good, but it could of used some salt and the meat was a little on the dry side. The guacamole and the salsa fresca were good. It was not the best carne asada burrito I have had, but it certainly was not the worst.
The lengua street taco was fine. It had a nice amount of moist tender lengua. (
) The onions and cilantro and a bit of their salsa went well with the taco.
The salsa bar, (
) had seen better times. It appeared that it got hit hard during lunch time and was not replenished. The red salsa was okay. It had a burnt flavor, and the green sauce was spicy but needed more flavor.
The food was descent, but with a little more TLC and attention to detail, it could be a lot better.

Food is mediocre at best and over priced. The hot sauce, which makes or breaks a taco shop meal, is also mediocre.

Had a not-​so-​good experience here today that will keep us from coming back.
This was probably our 6^th or 7^th visit to this local taco shop in the last 2 months. Each time we spent between $ 15 and $ 20 on takeout with today’s being $ 22.00. When we offered our Visa debit card for payment the owner/​manager (?) asked the familiar question, «atm or credit?». We offered her our usual response, «whichever is cheaper for you.» For those who don’t know, merchants are charged a percentage of the total charge for credit card purchases that they pay to the credit card/​processing company (usually between 1.5 to 3%.) They also incur a charge for atm/​debit transactions. Oftentimes, the atm/​debit is a lower charge than that for credit transactions, so that’s why we answered her question the way we did.
Her response back to us was that she was charging us 50 cents extra regardless of which option we chose, atm/​debit or credit.
Wow! We’ve all seen minimum charge signs posted at merchants or notices of surcharges like this that would be applied to small transactions, usually under $ 10 (although such surcharges are illegal in the State of California [Cal. Civ. Code 1748.1(a)] for credit transactions and surcharges and minimum charges are against both Visa and MasterCard merchant service agreements). This also came as a surprise to us as we had never been assessed a charge at any of our previous visits though we had used the same Visa/​debit card each time.
When we explained this to her and noted that this was a transaction in excess of $ 20 and that we had become frequent customers she simply shrugged her shoulders as though she couldn’t care less.
As our order was already being prepared, we quietly informed her to «please charge us for the food that we ordered and keep the food. We will not be back.»
The only explanation she offered was that they had hired a security company because they were receiving so many stolen atm card and credit cards and that the fee was to cover their cost to them. What a load of guacamole! Unless the «criminal» using a stolen atm card also knew the PIN, the card would be useless as an atm card. Also, adopting the practice that so many southern California merchants do of asking for photo ID (which our card states in the signature line, btw) would also go a long way toward cutting down this problem for her.
Alas, it’s too bad for us and too bad for her and the restaurant. The food is really quite good but fair is fair and there are many other establishments that don’t abide by such policies that we can choose to frequent. Hopefully, this restaurant will recognize this as a problem and change their policy so future customers (and Unilocalers!) can avoid our experience.