Achiote

If I could rate the place a zero, I would! My husband and I came to this place and were seated right away and served water BUT they forgot abt us. We sat there 10 mins and at that point I set my timer to see when someone would come and take our order. 15 mins later, wala! someone appeared out of the dark! I will never come here again. Horrible service! What restaurant keeps their customers waiting for 25mins? ughhhhhh!

First off, do not go there on a Sunday morning. Unless you feel like waiting for almost an hour. The food overall is pretty good. I had the torta with fries which was good. Also the chilaquiles with the green sauce was amazing.

I love the coffee!!! I always ask for Alma. She is the best server. Sad to say they are closing next month.

Tried again hoping third time would be the charm. Not so much. I don’t know what the deal is with the people running this place but good grief. Get it together.
Food is overpriced for what you get. The taste of food is good but the horrible service just isn’t worth it. It’s a shame because if the service were improved, I’d go back again.

My wife and I arrived at 1 PM today and after waiting about 15 minutes I checked to make sure our name was still on the list. I was told we would be seated as soon as a table was available when one had been available for almost 5 minutes. Having eaten here many times we placed our order only a few minutes after being seated. We then had to wait 35 minutes for our food which was 2 breakfast plates straight off the menu. We had considered going to The Broken Yolk but instead chose to go to Achiote. Obviously a bad choice on our part which will not be soon repeated.

Definitely a great place to eat AUTHENTIC Mexican food, not your pretend food at a taco shop, great recipes and very reasonable prices, don’t pay attention to the negative reviews, you will definitely enjoy every bite.

Great food and drinks as well as friendly service, even while wearing a Dutch jersey. Perfect location too.

I used to love going here but last few times I went horrible horrible service and good. My favorite queso fundido didn’t taste the way it used to! The worst part was the service the waiter was so so rude. She looked tired of working there but I mean if she doesn’t like her job she can just get another one and give the opportunities to new people. The pancakes were okay but not amazing like they used to. The orchata is still good.
Oh and the server didn’t even bother to being the chips with salsa until I asked for them!!!
Not coming back anymore!!!

Food is great BUT their service is horrible! !! If you’re not Mexican enough or speak Spanish they treat you like crap. Mind you I’m Latina but let’s not forget people that not everyone is Mexican.

Beware of the servers here-​use cash only. While the service and food was good, I got two fraudulent charges on my debit card a few days after eating here. The server must’ve written down my card numbers and tried to purchase two bus passes ($ 75 each).
I know it was the server from this restaurant because I live in LA and this charge was from SD. Also, I used cash everywhere during my stay at SD. As long as you use cash here, you should be fine.

I’ve been to this location many times, and I have to admit that the food is very consistent. It’s consistently delicious. I haven’t been dissapointed yet. In my opinion if there is a half order option get it because getting a full isn’t much bigger. One con is that the communication because spanish is not my native language, so it’s more difficult to order my food then it should be. If you want to go here on a date, or to celebrate something with friends or family I would recommend this place to go if you’re around!

The food and coffee are what you would expect from a decent Mexican place but the experience is marred when arriving at the restrooms. They are dirty, unkept, garbage can overflowing, just gross.
Surprisingly, the lady manager was not shocked to hear of this. She said the restrooms always look like this towards the end of the day. She said woman are just messy. Really? That’s even more upsetting. If you are aware of a cleanliness issue fix it! Don’t ignore it. Achiote what must your kitchen look like?

Great food, tasty and fresh… (Talavera Azul my favorite still) but a good place in case you are far from your favorite place:) nice job guys!

This place was horrible. Now I see why they don’t serve dinner anymore.
I came here on 02/​12/​2014 for breakfast because I’ve seen this place get really busy at the San Ysidro location, but never been to Achiote. So, I thought I should bring a friend and try it out. Wow, big huge mistake.
I’m not sure if it was breakfast or on a Wednesday morning that maybe I need to feel crappy to start my day here, but here were the down falls:
Food:
multigrain pancakes: Great that they serve multigrain pancakes, but hate it how they would serve a burnt pancake under a perfectly cooked one. We let our serve know that it tastes burnt and obviously looks burnt. She tells us, that’s the way it comes out. She apologizes and offered us to try it with pancake syrup because we need to cover the taste. Irony anyone?
Caldo de Tlalpeno: I love trying new things, especially foods I never heard of. Think of it as a chicken soup with hominy, shredded chicken, sliced carrots, potatoes, tomatoes corn, chayote and zucchini. Sounds like a healthy meal right? Eh, not really. It’s very bland, you can hardly taste the chicken, veggies are still raw, nothing is seasoned, and unevenly chopped potato cubes.
Service:
Friendly and attentive, but when I told them about the pancakes and caldo de Tlalpeno being inedible, they didn’t fix the problem. They asked my friend and I to either have them take it away or put it to go and ordered something else.
Atmosphere:
It was loud and busy. People were having a birthday party and we were seated right next to crying and whiny infants who obvious need to go to bed or do not want to be there.
Cleanliness:
The restaurant itself is actually clean, so that’s something positive.
Price:
small portions, pricey, and not worth your money. I will honestly say, I wished I had a coupon (there is one in the community guide). Overall, I know I am being harsh, but I know this place will be closing soon.

I’ve been here a few times and had excellent service and delicious food. The people are very cordial and I love the ambiance! I do have to say it’s rather enjoyable if you want a nice meal out with friends, family, or for a small get together.
Unfortunately this place has closed. There’s a Denny’s in its place

You have to try to Mexican Coffee! Great drink. Do not add sugar it is already super sweet!

Just because I like the service, the food and ambience!
The service was very cordial and somehow speedy. I’m at a Mexican restaurant so for me to expect this Chilis/Applebee’s service is quite unfair.
The food was good, the portions were on point.
The music and the ambience are very chill and set the tone for a peaceful talk and enjoy your time while you are waiting.
If you want fast service there is a Carl’s Jr. Around the corner.

I was wrong. They are not closed but have reduced their hours to only breakfast and lunch. We had breakfast here and it was absolutely delicious.

Came here for mothers day and it was a mess! We got there at 11:30, didn’t get seated until 12:15 and didn’t get our food until after 1:30.
The good thing was that they kept the chips and salsa coming (they’re both extremely addicting). They also kept refilling our Mexican coffee (SO GOOD)!
But when we finally got our food (chilaquiles verdes, chorizo con huevo burrito, and nachones), we were full from the chips and the food was just okay. Definitely not worth the wait. I would not come back again especially when there are so many good Mexican places in San Diego.

I’ve eaten here quite a few times. Even so, I’ve never been disappointed with the service nor the food. When I come here, it’s not crazy packed and I just want to order the whole menu. But that would require multiple stomachs to fit all that food. These portions are so big that I never have room for dessert. That’s unheard of with me! I always make room! But I am never able to here. You will definitely have some left overs because you may get full off of their complimentary chips and their salsa verde (medium spicy-​slight sour).
My bf and I came here and ordered the Chilaquiles Verde lunch-​dinner time. That is by far my favorite Chilaquile verde anywhere! I love the sourness of the green salsa verde sauce they have, they have this yummy green rice, and their beans are pretty good! That’s coming from not being a bean eater. The only thing is, I wish their chips would stay crunchy.
Punoz is amazing! It’s chopped carne asada, chopped bacon, and melted creamy white cheese sizzling on a hot skillet. It comes with their delicious beans and tortillas. That is just amazing if you are a meat lover.
I’ve tried their lunch special, Chamorro, (it’s not the typical mexican dish that i’ve ever had) which is slow cooked braised pork (huge chunk) with chorizo sauce and their rib eye with beans and mixed veggies. Both are pretty delicious. Their meats are tender and the chamorro was falling off the bone with no knife required!
I also tried their chilaquiles mole, I’m not a huge mole fan, but their mole is pretty tasty. I still prefer the Chilaquiles verde. My friend who ordered this dish, wished he ordered what I told him to get, the Verde!
I also really like their Motif. It’s very pretty! It makes me feel like I am really in a beautiful Mexican-​Spanish country. Their bathrooms are clean and I love their faucet.
Bottom line is, this is a hidden gem. I definitely recommend this place! E-​mail me if you have had other Chilaquiles that is better. Thanks.