Birrieria Don Rafa

This place is not worth the one star! This was, by far, the WORST birria, I’ve ever had. I can’t believe I just spent $ 50 at this place. I’ve had better res at my local taco shop, and for half the price.

The food here is good but the service is awful. EVERY time I’ve been here they’ve managed to mess up my order. I’m always really understanding but EVERY time! I’m going to have to find a different birria place because I can’t deal with how bad the service is.

very bad miscommunication & gives out wrong information… one of the girls here are pretty dumb… she didnt acknowledge or care about asking me whether i want maiz or harina tortillas and wanted to charge extra!!! to top it off they forgot to add beans to 3 of my orders!!! who does this??? make sure orders are correct. bad customer service. last time i order from this place :)

The birria is really good, i always go for the tacos and the quesadilla ahogada, their salsa is really hot, so be careful. Service is always good.

I love this place! The birria is bomb, and the place is always clean. The staff is friendly, proffessional and look their best every time I come in.

Because I’d previously enjoyed several meals at Birrieria Don Rafa, including Birria de Chivo (goat); Quesadillas Ahogada (a sort of beef stew quesadilla); and several antojitos; and since I knew Don Rafa makes both menudo and pozole; I made the run on a recent Saturday morning, down Broadway in Chula Vista, searching for the best pozole rojo in the County.
People line up to get into the place on weekends, so I made a point of arriving early, which proved smart. I enjoyed my coffee and waited for my meal, while folks stood on the sidewalk out front, kids running around, and Don Rafa’s waitresses switched to that funny walk-​run they do when things get busy.
The floor manager did a great job of managing tables and the crowd; the kitchen did its part; and my food arrived in a reasonable amount of time.
My pozole was very good, but not great. It was loaded with hominy and included two patas (pig’s feet) and some espinazo (spine) in the bowl, but, as was the problem at other places I tried in my quest for the best, Don Rafa’s broth was thin and watery.
Properly prepared, the red chile, corn and pork soup/​stew helps farmers and construction workers get through the day, when the day is against them. I don’t work nearly as hard as those fellows, but I do love pozole, and I encourage our local cooks to spend the time required to get it right.
Simmer the fat and bones, I say, to break down their collagens, releasing gelatin into the water and developing a super-​rich, elegantly smooth soup that when chilled, incidentally, has no fat on top, but jiggles like Jell-​O.
It seems that many places, Don Rafa included, rush their pozole, which is probably more efficient, saving the restaurant time and money, but those kitchens’ shortcuts shortchange their diners.
The good news from my recent visit: Don Rafa’s table offers an outstanding, fiery salsa, and I purchased a side Taco de Chivo, the simple wrap all buttery and sweet, still and always the best thing on the menu.
In other news: my waitress, Ilse, was charming, fast and funny, and as I noted on the photo I posted of the way she arranged my table, I believe Ilse to be the most organized waitress in Chula Vista. Check the photo and tell me I’m wrong.
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Here are the places I visited for pozole since November, in my order of preference:
— La Sierra Café (Highly Recommended):
— El Borrego Restaurant (Highly Recommended):
— BIRRIERIA DON RAFA (Recommended)
— Canela Mexico City Cuisine (Recommended):
— Pozoleria Doña Maria (Recommended)
— El Comal (Not Recommended):
— Birrieria Y Menuderia Guadalajara (Not Recommended):

para empezar no Ivamos a Este lugar… Ivamos a «aqui Es Jalisco» Pero como estaba tan Lleno, acabamos en Este lugar… La birria no, nos gusto nada estaba salada y aparte Es muy Caro $$$ el servicio Es pesimo las meseras estan en otro mundo menos Alli… Las tortillas llegaron cuando la birria ya estaba fria … Y aparte nos cobraron de mas… Nosotros no recomendamos Este lugar!!! Tendre que regresar a «aqui Es Jalisco»

One of the best Birria spots in town!!! The Birria is authentic and served in many ways. The customer service is good even when it gets packed on Sunday’s. The salsa is extremely spicy!!! I constantly bring new friends to discover this place, they all love it!

This place is AMAZING! As soon as we walked in we got treated really good by the waiter, made it feel like a home environment. Our waiter, Angelica, did a great job in taking care of us. The food… Let me just leave it at this, it’s my first time in Chula Vista and I’m DEFINITELY coming back for more! Best quesadillas I’ve had in a long time!

Extremely unorganized. Ive been coming to this place since their tiny location in Chula Vista. I keep coming back for the food but the service is always bad and extremely unorganized. The waitresses are always running around like chickens with their heads cut off but not properly attending customers, leaving tables dirty for periods of time as well as customers waiting to be seated or to have their orders taken. Its always been this way. The last straw was ordering beef with eggs for my husband who doesn’t eat pork… he was given ham with eggs. I can see myself coming less and less.

This place is a hidden gem. The menu is small but everything on it is just like I would get from grandma. Try the tacos and move on to the rest. **CAUTION: The salsa is very spicy. Use at your own risk.** Don’t let the sign intimidate you. The salsa is very spicy but oh so good.