Cotixan Mexican & Seafood

Unilocal reviews by David Lujan
Who: My whole family, wife and kids
What: Lunch on a Sunday
When: Sunday afternoon around 2pm
Environment: Drive thru
How’d they do: The drive thru was fairly quick. We orders for 7 people and didn’t feel like we had to wait at all
Recommendations: I had the chorizo burrito (which they serve all day) and it was genius. It wasn’t greasy at all but had a very rich chorizo flavor stink and a great balance of cheese and eggs. I would recommend this burrito for sure!
Pros: Quick food and highly like on Unilocal.The quesadilla was done very well too. The qua ample sauce it came with was very tasty and the tacos were very good too!
Cons: Not everybody that ordered loved their food. My wife and daughter got the cheese enchiladas and didn’t enjoy them. The cheese wasn’t all the way melted so the tried to warm them in the microwave but it didn’t seem to help. Also the hot sauces they gave have no label. My son found out which one was «scorching» real quick. That wasn’t a pleasant moment for a 9 yr old.
My tip: Try it for yourself, but if your going through the drive thru don’t order anything you wouldn’t normally get in a drive thru… I.e. Like enchiladas. Also, if your a chorizo fan then try out the breakfast burrito. It was done just right!

Cotixan is making solid Mexican food with hearty portions for a great price. It’s pretty typical of most local fast food Mexican restaurants with a heavy trade in burritos and carne asada fries. They are open 24-​hours, have plenty of parking and an easy drive thru. I’m pretty sure they may do half their business late night at the drive thru. Service has always been friendly and orders come out accurate.
The food is good if not particularly inspired. What may be lacking in creativity is made up for in quantity. Their version of carne asada fries, Cotixan Fries, is a portion large enough to make a meal for a family of four… my two boys and I had left overs after our last attempt. I have had several of their burritos and they all were tasty. I think their Super Breakfast Burrito and Carne Asada Burrito were the standouts.
If you’re hungry and looking for some good comfort food, this is a great choice.

I have given this place many tries in hopes they would eventually live up to the standards of the other locations but sadly im disappointed once again. I always order the same thing, vege supreme with fries and potatoes and every-​time both the potatoes and fries are cold as ice. How hard is it to leave them in the fryer for longer??? seriously step up your game. Last time i brought this up the cashier and the cook he showed me attitude and my fries were STILL NOT on point… please please cook ur food

This place is lit! Open 24 hours… they have the best red salsa ever its creamy and it’s either spicy or extra spicy. They serve menudo and breakfast all day everyday. Bean and cheese burritos are bomb they use manteca to refry their beans. Portions are huge food is always fresh.

The food here sucks… Full of lettuce and cheese… Looks are not everything… And the horchata is from a soda fountain… The salsa was terrible… Never going back… Have lived most of my life next to the boarder… I know good Mexican food and this is not it. Cotijas is way better. Just saying!!!

I love this place and am sad to say this. But today I bought a bean and cheese burrito. I received my food and took it home to eat. I ate it until I bit down on something hard. There was a piece of plastic in my beans. I was very upset because I love this place. This ruined this for me and will never buy food from here again. Disgusting!

Terrible service. Good food. I probably won’t come here again because of the be service, but thanks anyway.

This is one of my favorite Mexican joints in San Diego so far!
I have had the chicken California burrito as well as the crane asada burrito. Although my go to is the bean and cheese burrito.
Every time I come here the food is fresh and great quality, very consistent! Not to mention the burritos are so huge it’s very rare that I finish the whole thing.
The drive through is great and the employees are nice. My least favorite thing is the driveway getting out of the parking lot, but you manage!
Also the Orange salsa is the bomb! Ask for extra orange sauce, they are very generous!
Mmmm so hungry :)

Fish tacos are amazinggg! If I had to choose my favorite food citizen fish taco would be top 3 no lie! Red hot sauce is spicy and different than most red sauces – kinda creamy and smoky

My favorite carne asada fries! They’re California burritos are also excellent. You get a bang for your buck here.

This location was not as good as others.
The chicken was really fatty (other locations are super tender delicious).
The food was barely warm and the cheese wasn’t melted at all in my burrito or beans.
Disappointed with this place.

Standard Mexican food for a good price. They give you a lot for your money. Unlike Roberto’s which seems to have smaller and smaller portions. Salsa’s are standard good quality salsa but nothing memorable e.g. Jorge’s salsa (amazing).
Try the pollo asado burrito. Good stuff.

We’ve been to this place three times. Despite asking for no sour cream on our burritos *each time*, they flood them with sour cream.
I won’t be coming back.

Sooo good! They are usually the only business open by the time I’m off work. Get the Carne asada fries, bring a friend! Unless you can totally finish it all by yourself. This place is bae!

The real deal. There are a few of these wonderful restaurants hidden throughout the county. This one may be the best.
If you want a real California Burrito or a huge plate of Carne Asada Fries then this is the place.
I just started Unilocaling today and I just had to talk about my experience here. Mexican food is what I live on, and I couldn’t live without my 2am trips here…

My wife LOVES this place. We have never eaten in, but driven to pick up several times. The food is good and absurdly plentiful at low prices! The salsa is hot and spicy — I love that! I always have either chilli relleno or carne asada and both are good.
At these prices you cannot go wrong if you are hungry, don’t want to cook at home and don’t want to break the bank!

I must admit to being a little prejudiced against this place. Driving by, it always seemed to be a bit pretentious (for a hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican dive) to me with all the vibrant gloss that catches the eye. Mix in a bad date that demanded we come here so long ago to taint any desire to come back and this dinner and review have been a long time coming. And I have to admit, I am very sad I did wait until now; Cotixan is pretty damned good.
Having put my quest for a good fish burrito on hold for a bit, I figured the time was nigh to try once again and Cotixan caught my girlfriend’s eye after driving around with a sleeping toddler for the passed hour. He woke up hungry and ready for dinner and we picked up some fare to take home and enjoy.
Their Fish Burrito is easily the best one I’ve had as of yet. The fish is well battered, not too salty, with a fresh taste. They mix in a good, crunchy slaw with not too much salsa. But, the best part is the sauce they drizzle on it; smoky and lightly spicy, it’s a great take on what is normally a sweet and creamy that balances out the salt, beer battering. All wrapped up in thin tortilla that didn’t soak through with juice because they took care in making sure things weren’t too greasy or overly coated in that delicious sauce.
My lady fair had the Carne Asada, finding it juicy and fairly well cooked without too much gristle or chew to each bite. It came with pretty good tasting guacamole, though it was a little thin.
Our son had a kid’s Cheese Quesadilla that came with french fries. The quesadilla was basic, no meat shredded inside. The fries, on the other hand, were pretty gross. Easily out of a frozen pack, they were obviously fried in the same oil as the taquitos, giving them a similar flavor that didn’t mix well with the potatoes.
We topped it all off with a helping of Chips and Guacamole. This was a massive portion of freshly cooked chips, that were not greasy at all, coated with cheese as well. These were very tasty and quite filling. My only qualm is that guac, which, while having a good taste, did feel a little over processed. I kind of like a good chunk to it, where the avocado isn’t pureed down, and maybe a sprinkle of salsa and cilantro along with it.
Definitely worth coming back again, though I am sure a better fish burrito does exist out there. While I think the best will probably have a pure and sweet cream sauce, this spicy and smoky one will do just nicely for the time being.

Cotixan is an awesome 24hour taco shop located in east Encinitas off of the busy El Camino Real. This place is always pretty crowded but having it so close to home is a gold mine! Latenight taco shops are freaking great and Cotixan is well above average as far as the taste and promptness. My favs here are the rolled tacos with guac or the California Burrito w/​chicken. Mmmmm. Food is always great and the ordered is rarely messed up. I usually do the drive-​thru but there is also a nicely appointed dining area inside.
Pros–
Food
Service
Quality
Salsa
Location
Drive thru
Cons–
Drive-​thru time
Green sauce

Pros.
Cool staff, nice restaurant, good location, 24hr., Large portions while dining in*
Cons.
Irregular portions (drive through portions are half the size*).
Machacka burrito made me sick. (Wasn’t drinking)

The orange salsa.
Get it.
Buy it in bulk!
No, seriously — you can buy a large container of the stuff for less than $ 2!
Cotixan has swiftly become my favorite southern California Mexican fast food restaurant because of the orange salsa. Thank goodness that it is open 24 hours a day. I have found myself visiting Cotixan after hours on more than one occasion. And I’m not the only one! This place always has someone driving up to the drive-​thru sign. You will less commonly find folks eating inside. If you go for it, know that they have a nice sized salsa bar. But do not take the orange salsa from the salsa bar — it’s not as fresh and the flavor doesn’t have the same complexity and depth as the packaged salsa, which is kept in the refrigerator.
Anyway, yes, the carne asada is hugely flavorful and delicious here.
The tortillas are wonderfully balanced — in size and in flavor.
The beans carry a depth of flavor I haven’t come across in the region.
The sizes are massive.
The prices are very, very, very reasonable.
But, really, it’s the salsa. People rave about the the breakfast burritos and lose their minds over the carne asada and also the al pastor fries. But glory be to that beautiful, bright orange concoction! If only they would offer the to-​go samples in a larger container.