Karina’s Mexican Seafood Cuisine

This location is closing :(BUT they have a few others!
Food is authentic, delicious, Mexican seafood.
We had the whole fish zarandeado style and the fish ceviche. Both red snapper, both so fresh and flavorful.
The whole fish especially was so so flavorful and huge. Came with beans, rice and salad on the side. A meal for 4.
They bring tortilla chips and salsa to the table. Pretty good and nice that they do that gratis.
Mango margarita with tamarindo was phenomenal. Drank it so quickly I got a brain freeze… so be careful. lol.
They have live musicians walk through the restaurant who will sing and play for a small fee. Nice touch! If the musician isn’t out they have background music going.
All around really good, always busy and a great vibe.
Almost forgot but their servers are like hooters girls… I think you have to be a C+ cup size to work here and they are all scantily clad BUT not overtly sexual, just kinda funny.

My boss told me to come here, and he’s a Navy Chief Cook also Mexican, so naturally I had to take his advice and sure enough was not disappointed. Great food and staff very friendly

Food was great and the beer was cold! Always get the crab legs and aguashimi! Delicious…
Would have been five stars if not for the huge cockroach running across the floor! I’ll update if any stomach sickness today.

The father/​owner of this establishment unsure is turning in his grave the way his sons are more worried about titties and ass than running the business

We heard a lot about this place so we finally decided to give it a try. We went there for lunch and ordered off their lunch menu. My wife ordered the 2 Marlin fish tacos with rice and beans (she asked for double beans) ($ 10.95) and I created my own combo– a shrimp taco and a lobster and cheese taco with rice and beans ($ 14.95). My wife asked the waitress if the fish was grilled and the waitress said «yes».
While we waited for our order they brought us some chips and salsa. The chips were fresh, however the salsa tasted like it was out of can, very watery and too lemony.
When we got our food, the presentation was good (see attached pics), however it went down hill from there. The marlin was smashed into a mash with some tomato sauce, bell pepper, onion and green olives (who in their right mind puts green olives in a taco??? — It destroyed whatever little flavor the tacos had). There was probably about a table spoon of fish (… that’s being generous). The lobster and cheese taco was awful. There was mostly cheese, so sort of white sauce with about one teaspoon of lobster. The shrimp taco was decent, there were about three small beer battered shrimp with some sauce. This was the best of the three we ordered.
All tacos came on a single corn tortilla which was slightly fried. The one thing they did do right was the beans, they had a good flavor and we’re not of a can.
Now for the waitresses — at least this day they were very average and we never saw smile from any one of them. They were neatly stuffed into black spandex with belts around their waists to reduce the size of their waists to accent their boobs which were firmly supported by a «push up» bra. A little bit too much make up and attitude.
We have had better Mexican seafood at our local taco shop Cotija’s (on I-​15 & Rancho Bernardo Rd) for half the price…
To be fair maybe the more expensive items on Karina’s menu may be better than their «lunch menu», however a good restaurant should serve good food no matter what time of day or menu.
If you do decide to go, hope you have better luck than we did.

I give 4.5 to this location
Food– Awesome! To everyone complaining about the food maybe you should be aware of what you are ordering! There’s several types of Ceviche so make sure you order the correct one before bashing on a dish you know nothing about! My personal favorites are the stuffed avocados, molcajete and Karinas ceviche! The horchata is so good! Try the hennychata!
Staff– Our waitress was super nice and very attentive. The host on the other hand needs to take her cara de wtf home! Very unpleasant, no smile no greeting jst ugly mean mugging face. Smile a lil geez (there’s where my — .5 came from)
Location — overall nice. Dining area inside is on the smaller side. I prefer the Dt décor and environment but the staff here was nicer and more on top of things! Plenty of parking and also patio seating .
Great place to take your date for sea food and mariachi!

We ordered a Campechana and Ceviche mixto. The campechana had no flavor and the ceviche was nasty. They put ketchup all over it. They shouldn’t even call it ceviche. If you want real good mariscos then this is NOT the spot.

La comida no tiene sabor, te sirven el plato a medias, no te llevan nada hasta que lo estás pidiendo varias veces, las meseras enseñan todo, ese lugar parece un Antro! Además todo supercaro! No lo recomiendo para nada, pésimo servicio y la comida repito es malisima!

Good Place. Over priced but I guess they charge for the waitress being almost naked. lol
Food is really good.

I’ve been hearing about Karina’s «legendary» and «renowned» Mexican seafood cuisine for a while, and got to try it last week. Everything was just okay. Most of the waitresses, however, were better than okay, especially in the looks department. They were quite nice to look at — shapely, and *well endowed* with form fitting attire. Our particular waitress resembled Salma Hayek! Scoreee. Wait. What am I supposed to be reviewing?
Meal started with some complimentary chips and salsa. Hooray for free, but boo for stale chips and bland salsa. We got a jumbo shrimp cocktail and house special fajitas (shrimp, beef, and chicken). The shrimp cocktail wasn’t particularly flavorful. Fajitas… flavor was okay. The beef and chicken were a little too dry/​overcooked to my liking, and the shrimp — well, I couldn’t find any shrimp! I just assumed that I didn’t dish any shrimp onto my plate, but while packing up our left overs, I realized that they did forget the shrimp. Oh well, we had already paid.
From a quick scan of Unilocal reviews, it looks like I was ordering the wrong stuff! If I’m ever in the area, and decide to eat at Karina’s again, maybe I’ll try the ceviche and margarita.

So first of all, the waitresses are gorgeous. If you want to go to a place with eye-​candy, it’s kind of part of Karina’s whole theme; hot girls in sexy uniforms.
The margaritas are out of this world. Best I’ve had in San Diego so far. This could be because of the ingredients that this particular restaurant uses makes them or because the tall, tan model of a bartender with long black hair is the best bartender ever. Probably the second one.
The chips and salsa were alright. Service took a touch long, but I love that they are open late. My husband ordered enchiladas with mole sauce and it was sooooo good. I’ve never tasted a mole that I liked. I even ordered a side of mole to go with my rice.
I had a side of rice and beans which were really good. I would have been satisfied with just that. The rice is white with peas and carrots, which kind of reminds me of Chinese-​style rice. It was really yummy! I got the tortilla soup (which, if you’re vegan, know that there is both cheese AND sour cream in it. I had to ask for a new one) and it was very good! Tomato-​based with the very rare bit of corn, peas, and green beans. It’s mainly broth that you adorn with tortilla chips and avocado as you wish, but I am a soup broth person so I really loved it!

Good service, sexi girls, good food
What else is the best restaurant on chula vista
Alway gooo there is very good option

Definitely good Mexican seafood cuisine! All of their ceviche with stuffed cucumber and avocado are delicious! Best ceviche i’ve had and they fill them up! Portions are usually good for two people so prices are very affordable when sharing and totally worth it. Also love their drinks here, specially their new henchatta drink, horchata with hennessy! All drinks go good with their food. Also love their surf & turf plate! I would recommend this place for a good get together for someone’s birthday or going aways since people can share a variety of fine mexican cuisines! The workers are also very nice and love the free chips & salsa the give in the beginning which you can ask for more if you want.

Stopped in from out of town and the food was OVERPRICED and I was literally charged A la Cart for almost everything. My plate was a fancy version of Aguachiles which was Not that Great as in I could’ve made it better MYSELF!!! …pretty rude at the end a Flying Roach landed on our Umbrella I wouldn’t return

I love this place, if you are a SD native you know karina’s is a sucesfull restaurant that brings to us the real flavor of mexican food

Based on what people were saying I was hoping to rate this place higher. Here goes:
Pros:
–gorgeous waitresses in sexy attire
–delicious margarita
–outdoor seating area
–cool looking murals on the walls
–very diverse menu
Cons:
–no happy hour
–overpriced margarita
–no prices on the mixed drink menu
–2 holes on the wall
–broken tiles on the floor
–the front area by the windows is dirty
If you have heard that this is the Mexican version of Hooters — yea it is true. The only difference is this place more serious meal food and not snack or bar food like Hooters. I love the concept and I think this place has potential and I hope management will consider these improvements.

I’ve eaten at this particular location two or three times already. It’s close to Broadway and L St in Chula Vista. The reason for the three stars is because the food is just okay nothing special about it. It’s not horrible but is not great, just okay. Every time I come the service is fairly quick. And the waitresses are usually pretty friendly. On the positive note… The last couple waitresses we’ve had have been very attractive. Really good eye candy here. And that’s the attraction here. It’s similar to Hooters but with Latin flavor. 98% of the customers were male LOL. Overall it was not a bad place to go for a quick bite to eat with the boys.

First thing you get hit with second you enter the restaurant… BREASTS.
Breasts everywhere. There’s more chi chi here than at Hooters. The waitress’s have a all black dress code that include a Aeropostle polo with all the buttons unbutton and (the ones the have it) revealing cleavage.
Hard to concentrate and not look and I couldn’t imagine being here with my dad and entire family with the obvious elephant (haha) in the room.
I’ve heard good things about Karinas. so today (04÷03÷15) I brought my aunt down to national city for a treat.
They were playing all my favorite reggeaton jams. I wanted to dance and shake it.
Margaritas are well served and stiff. I had a Cadillac that came with a shot of grand reminer on the side. Our waitress had the free chips and salsa flowing and our water refills were on point.
I’ve heard great things about their seafood especially their ceviche. Menu has a very big variety of choices. I ordered the «ceviche Karinas» that was $ 15 and it was more than enough. It came with cucumbers, cut shrimp and avocado. It came very well portioned and was not overkilled with lime. Ask for a condiment bottle of mayo and go to town on your tostadas.
Big daddy splurged and got the «cielo mar y Tierra» for $ 20. Sounded worth it because It was a plate that came with steak, chicken and shrimp. What was served to me was not worth $ 20. Little slivers of meat and a skewer of shrimp. Hello? Is this thing on? You guys were cheapskates on the «cielo» and «Tierra». I’m still looking for it. It was made out to be a well portioned plate on the menu and you guys did not deliver that. A scoop of beans and guacamole on the side and he was not happy or full. I probably have to stop somewhere after this post on the way home to get him something to fill him up. Thanks.
The atmosphere was great, lots of families, and a place for date night with some drinks. For 2 margaritas, three entrees and a fish taco I spent $ 78. It’s good but nothing out of this world. Give it a shot and don’t get mad at your man for looking.

The place is ok, the food is good but not «delicious»
However, their drinks are delicious!!! I would def come back just for the drinks.

the location is off the beaten path and in a mixed-​use building with not much character but once inside, you forget boogie town outside and step into a smart place with lots of space, good buzz, ample tables and gals in very high heels and hobbling along in what seems to be a new-​born calf on stilettos gait… and, showing a good bit and then some, of DD from the tiny, tight fitting blouse tops
so, how’s the food: great and vs. the straight up tacos & tortilla routine, for a change some real good stuff from the sea served by these friendly mermaids
there’s ample ceviche to choose from & this is something very hard to come by in SD vs. back east, courtesy of those great Peruvian dining spots … the cold apps are all sea infused — shrimp, crabmeat, fish and so on… the hot apps too & throw in calamari, red snapper and so on… this is serious seafood — for the mains, you’ve so many variations of ceviche here, be it fish, abalone, shrimp, octopus and some other types — all flavourful concoctions indeed
I opted for Karina’s sig Ceviche — in short, a huge portion that can easily be shared by two — lots of yummy bits and refreshing — avocado, chopped shrimp, cucumbers, cilantro and the sprinkled with a good bit of spicy chile serrano… the little Lady had a real flavourful tortilla soup (big serving too)…
it’s well worth the journey, especially if you have a urge to ‘Mex it up and throw in some seafood with those cold beers’ and give the taquitos, chips and salsa a break
the gals were all friendly, the service good and the place is a kaleidoscope of tasty and well prepared food
Karina’s is a keeper…

Of all the Karina’s, this one is probably my favorite. We come here often to have drinks on their outdoor patio. The music can get a little loud but it just adds to the «ambiente». The ceviche is our favorite, especially the shrimp ceviche. They make a good clamato, not a big fan of their margaritas though. We were pleasantly surprised at their grilled prawns. They are the best, I like the spicy ones over the garlic ones. The service could be quicker but the food is great so I’m willing to overlook that.

No hay tacos de calamar pero si mucho taco de ojo!!!

So, so. Kinda expensive for what it’s worth. I guess you pay more here to watch the waitreses walk around. The foods ok, but you eat better on a roach-​coach, but then again the view here is much better.

DANK
ceviche is good so is the lobster. dank.