Cenote Grill

My family and I hail from Virginia. We are doing a 7 month trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific… And back… We have fallen in love with Cali, and the people, who are so kind and helpful! Recently made it to Half Moon Bay, and the Pacific… We are in Escondido, and wanted authentic Mexican… Saw CeNotes, and my teenybopper nieces went crazy. They have been to Cancun, and knew what a Cenotes is, having swam in an underground one. We took a chance… what a great place! Authentic, as Mexican can get! Fresh, flavorful… And a lot of food! Might stay in Escondido just to eat here every day! Friendly, accommodating staff that you can tell love their job. The night we went, fell in love with the lobster bisque, the complimentary chips are great, as are the fresh salsas served with them! Sonoran Enchiladas, were so good, I’ve been here three times, and can’t stop ordering this dish… Will eventually «try» to break the addiction, and order something else… I know it will all be as crazy delicious as my addiction is! I’m gonna have to order to keep in the freezer for the way back East:-(Out of 10 this place is an 11.

OMG this place is bad. I was hoping for some «authentic“ish mexican food but boy was I wrong.
The food was bad. I ordered Huevos rancheros, the beans were canned beans and the rice looked disgusting. The eggs were a nice consistency but were layed on top of some Frito’s corn chips. The red enchilada sause tasted more like marinara sauce (clearly from a can as well). My wife ordered a Cenote burrito and it resembled a sorry Chipotle burrito, same storty bad ingredients and pork was really dry. i ordered the my kids the childs cheese enchilada plate and it was the usual cheese in a corn tortilla but it was covered with the unappetizing enchilada sauce.
We had ordered one order of the childs plate but the server brought out two, dont know why he assumed we needed two but I didnt want the food to go to waste. We ordered black beans with white rice but got pinto beans with spanish rice. The server also brought out the kids plates a good five minutes before my wifes and my plate.
We asked for some to go plates but after a quick glance at my wife I knew neither of us was going to touch the food later on.
I dont know how this place gets 4 – 5 stars. This is the most unauthentic mexican food I have ever tried.

Came here for the first time last week due to the reviews on Unilocal.Wanted a nice sit down Mexican place.
Ordered a combo plate with street tacos and taquitos.
It was pretty good, not amazing but not bad.
A nice solid Mexican palce, I’d come back for sure when I’m in the area!

My family and i come here often, and we love the food! There is a cozy feel about this restaurant, and everyone seems happy to be working there. All the girls are so nice!
We will be back!

Weird little place. First thoughts.
Weird staff. Second thoughts.
Check out the picture I posted! Last thoughts! Whhaaaaaaaoohhhhygoossshhhhhhthisisthebestplaceeve­ragghhhhhhh!
Yea I have found my Mexican Food soulmate.

Chips and salsa were no bueno. food was just okay. the soda machine that should be in the kitchen area was right next to our table, weird. Service was good. I just didn’t fall in love with this place, unfortunately. I live soooo close too. I was unimpressed.

Decent food. Good service but always a wait. Pricing is higher than necessary for what you get. I haven’t tried everything so can’t suggest anything yet but there is always a wait so there’s something good about this place. The food isn’t anything I feel I can’t get at other Mexican restaurants like Anejos. If you e never been is say go and hopefully you get a delicious dish I just haven’t found it yet.

I’ve wanted to try this location for ages, and I’m glad I finally did. It’s a nice clean location that has friendly service, and good food. I decided to try this with my girlfriend and we’re very happy we did. We’ve actually been twice, so this will include all of our food.
1. Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad $ 11.95
Romaine lettuce, corn, black beans, red and green cabbage, salsa fresca, cotija cheese, olives, avocado and crispy tortilla strips tossed in a cilantro lime dressing. Really tasty salad. I enjoyed it a lot and we even had leftovers as the large portion is a pretty good size.
2,Burrito Fresca $ 8.95
I chose the charbroiled carne asada with red and green cabbage, salsa fresca, guacamole, sour cream and assorted cheeses. The carne asada was cut well so it was super easy to eat. Very tasty, and easy to eat with your hands.
3.Any Three Sopes $ 12.5
Three fried fresh corn masa bowls topped with choice of charbroiled carne asada, pollo asado, braised pork carnitas. I also chose Spanish brown rice pinto beans, romaine lettuce, red cabbage, corn olives, assorted cheeses, salsa fresca, guacamole and sour cream. Very tasty. I hadn’t ever eaten a sope before, and it was great. The masa was fresh, warm and it was like it was covered in a salad with the different meats beneath. Very good!
Ask if they have tiramisu ($ 5.75). If they do, it’s worth it. Ours was made about a day earlier and it’s the freshest I’ve ever had. It was espresso laced pound cake layered with a chocolate mascarpone mousse and shaved dark chocolate. Way lighter than I expected too!
Note: they close between lunch and dinner for a few hours so pay attention to the time so you don’t miss your chance to eat here.
For a healthier take on Mexican food in a nice location, this is the place.

I’ve been meaning to try this place for months now, especially after chatting with a random father at the park one day. He confirmed that the chef at Cenote used to work at Mr. Taco. Well, I loved Mr. Taco. until one day, the food suddenly went downhill.
We arrived at 4:45pm and just beat the dinner rush. How do I know? It was quickly packed within 10 minutes and there was a huge line outside when we left.
We ordered combination #1 (grilled fish tacos) and #2 (tacos al carbon). Plus, a kids cheese quesadilla. Both dishes were very flavorful and huge. I couldn’t finish mine, but I put forth a really great effort.
Chips and salsa are plentiful while you wait for your food. Servers are all friendly and work hard to keep you happy.
We’ll be back!

I call this a hidden gem. This place is in the middle of a neighborhood but it has some tasty dishes that will get you coming back for more.
My mom lives nearby here so I often take her here. The tilapia plate is generally her thing. I comes with a creamy sauce and rice/​beans.
I love that dish but also enjoy the carne asada dishes.
No matter the dish, they give more than enough food. The beans here are excellent and I don’t normally even like beans.
Food wise: I recommend the fish.
Service wise: they are friendly and always give you extra chips and salsa.
Ambiance: gives you the feel of a nice big restaurant but the location has a neighborhood vibe
Price: for the amount of food, the prices aren’t bad.
Happy eating.

This restaurant is easy to spot from the street. Parking was a bit tricky due to the small lot, but I was lucky enough to find a spot.
The restaurant doesn’t have nearly enough indoor seating, so we had to wait awhile before being seated. It was somewhat loud due to the small space, but it was still possible to have a conversation without straining too much to hear.
I got two fish tacos, which were very good (although not the best I have ever had). My friend got the buffalo chicken burrito, which was very Americanized and I don’t think he was expecting that… so he seemed a bit underwhelmed.
The wait staff was very friendly, and overall I had a good experience. If I am ever in the area again, I would come back.

My family and I came here for lunch after seeing all the amazing reviews.
We ordered:
* Poblano Soup — it was okay. Not spectacular but not bad either.
* Chile Relleno Burrito — good but stuffed with beans (meaning less meat).
* 2-​item Combo — Enchilada and Chile Relleno. Wife loved it.
* Sangria and an Port Chronic Amber
The staff, particularly our waiter, were very nice. The restaurant was very busy for lunch on a Saturday. Only one open table left. It’s quite loud inside when full so keep that in mind if bringing a sleeping baby or Grandpa.
Overall, I really expected to be wow’d but I didn’t feel as though the food rivaled any of the half-​priced taco shops sprinkled around town. Maybe I’m missing something. I’m a foodie and expected the food to match the Unilocal rating. Interesting side-​note: all the patrons were Caucasian. No Hispanic customers at least on this visit. Being half-​Mexican myself, I know we tend to gravitate towards the more «authentic» flavors and décor.

best chile rellenos ever!!! We went back twice while we were in San Diego. if im ever in the area again i will definitely be stopping by again.

So I’m giving this place 5 stars just on my first experience here… I will follow up with subsequent experiences and I hope they are just as great as the night I just had. First the service is on point. I was greeted with sincere smiles and a welcoming attitude. Dinner started off with chips and salsa so we opted not to order an appetizer and boy was I glad. My partner in crime ordered the Chile relleno with carne asada burrito, wet style with half green half red sauce. I ordered the Chile relleno burrito as well, but with carnitas with green sauce drizzled over the top. Oh my goodness! These bad boys were glorioualy monsterous. The carnitas had so much flavor, the poblano pepper could be tasted in every bite as well as the cheese used in them. BEST CHILE RELLENO BURRITO EVVVVEEERRR. So people who hate trying new places in fear of wasting money fear not I say cause this place is well worth it. YOU SHAN’T BE disappointed. As far as the wait time. I can see why that might be an issue since it’s a rather cozy spot, but our wait time was a mere 2 minutes, maybe we just got lucky, but the service is great, glasses stay full and the chips keep coming.

The worst «Mexican» food ever… but if you like guacamole and sour cream, this is right up your alley. Just smoother it all over the food brought to you and you will be fine.
That being said, good beer menu (standard Mexican beers), great service, bad food.

The pupusas. Yum. (Cheese are my favorite, but beef and chicken are good too)
The poblano soup. To die for. Perfect amount of spice.
The carne asada chili relleno. Spicy deliciousness. Yum!
Chips and salsa are good. I prefer their red salsa over their green salsa. Though when I get a burrito enchilada style, I prefer their green sauce over their red sauce.

The portions are huge and the service is awesome!
All the food looks and tastes delicious! There is always a steady flow of take out orders but plenty of people who dine in as well. Not a huge restaurant so you definitely get the down home treatment here.
I’ll definitely be coming back for more delicious food next time I’m back in town.

I’m a first timer here at Cenote, so I relied on the Unilocal reviews to choose a dish.
I went with the Ranchero Burrito. This thing was gigantic! It was carna asada with black beans, served wet and topped with sour cream and lettuce. It was really good and very filling.
If I’m ever in this area again I would come back.

Found this on Unilocal.Had it bookmarked for some reason because of a magazine article for best chile relleno in SoCal.
Food is delicious and huge proportions. They do not skimp on anything. If your not gonna be super hungry be prepared to split a plate.
This is a must if you are in Escondido and can stop by, best Mexican food so far outside of LA.

Today a friend invited me to this treasure of a restaurant and I will absolutely be back. It’s relatively small and they are quite busy but we only had to wait 5 – 10 minutes for a seat. Plenty of time to look over the menu since I had never been.
Once we were seated we received chips and salsa right away and they took our drink orders. Not to start a review off on a negative note, but this was the only part of my visit that was not exceptional. Their chips and salsa were just average. The chips actually tasted store bought and maybe a day short of fresh. They weren’t horrible, but I have definitely had better chips. The salsa was a bit of a disappointment. The red tasted a little sweet almost like it was ketchup based. Really odd. It had just the faintest bit of spice to it, but far from any traditional red sauce I’ve experienced at other Mexican restaurants. The green sauce was just that… a green sauce. Completely flavorless and no spice to it at all.
Okay, that was the bad; the rest was incredible! My friend had the Chile Relleno Burrito and I had the Carnitas Plate. The presentation alone for the Chile Relleno Burrito was amazing. It’s a huge burrito and she ordered it with the sauce on top. The burrito was covered with the sauce and decorated with thin drippings of sour cream (see pictures). I had a bite of the burrito and I know what I’m having the next time I’m there! Again, it’s quite big and she was only able to eat half and took the rest home.
My Carnitas Plate was also a masterpiece when presented. There was a generous portion of the most tender and flavorful carnitas accompanied by a large scoop of guacamole, sour cream, black beans and Spanish rice. I had it with flour tortillas but you can also get corn or mix them. I was so hungry that I finished my entire plate but it’s a large meal.
They were very attentive to our needs and refilled our drinks quite frequently and even after we were done eating and had paid the bill. I understand they are very busy at times and don’t take reservations. All I can say is it’s worth the wait! I will without a question be back and want to tell my friends who live in the area about this place.
My only disappointment was the salsa. The red sauce was far sweeter than it was spicy and there was nothing to the green sauce. I was really surprised given the quality of the rest of the food. Please make some ‘real’ red sauce that is actually spicy. The chips were disappointing as they just tasted like something bought in a store. They weren’t horrible, but again, have had much better at other Mexican restaurants.
Overall, fantastic restaurant!