Cotijas Taco Shop

New employee’s not as attentive. Food no longer good, I get sick if I eat there (laxatives?)

Just FYI — No longer Cotijas. This is now La Casa de Emiliano.

when we first got here, a friend told us that this place was lolitas. We ate the carne asada fries and steak fajitas. It was not all that great compared to lolitas that we had a chance to taste right after this place.

I went to the «Cotijas» on Clairemont Mesa Blvd and found out that they changed the name La Casa De Emiliano. The food is pretty much the same, the menu just looks diffrent.
Since 1996 I have gone to a number of Cotijas and have loved their food, but today I went to get my usual Hashbrown Burrito and found out they changed what was in it. The burrito use to have eggs, cheese, hash browns, sausage, bacon and sour cream. Now it has eggs, cheese, hash browns, chunks of ham (they call it bacon), and sour cream. Sad to say, but I think my days of Cotijas may be over, the «hash brown burrito» wasn’t that good.
The only other thing I tried was the salsa bar, which still had all the same wonderful hot sauce and carrots and onions.

My latest addiction: FISH ROLLED TACOS!
I first had them the day before from the Cotijas on Highland with half of a shrimp burrito (diablo)
I saw on the window at this cotijas they had a special: 3 fish rolled tacos + a shrimp burrito + med. drink = $ 8 and some change
There’s a difference between the shrimp burrito and the diablo shrimp burrito. I prefer the Diablo Shrimp burrito. I don’t think you can substitute the burritos but wouldn’t hurt to ask.
The shrimp burrito in the combo was mostly rice and shrimp. Which wasn’t bad, but not what I expected.
I ate the fish rolled tacos which were DELICIOUS! and half of the shrimp burrito, then dumped the other half of the shrimp burrito out of the tortilla and ate the rice and shrimp.
They have green salsa, red salsa, diablo salsa, and chunky salsa.
Grabbed a couple carrots.
They weren’t busy, compared to Niban next door and they brought the food to us. Which is a PLUS.

Best shrimp burritos EVER!

Got a fajita steak burrito today. Price is good and portion is just fine, not huge but enough to fill me. A little kick from the pepper is good, steaks are sort of shredded instead of cube, can use a bit more flavor. Overall a good place to eat.
oh, although it says free wifi outside, couldn’t really get a connection.

You cant beat it, good food and amazing burritos. Would def recommend. But i never digged their chips. Anywho, good salsa too.

Do not stray away from this order and you will be rewarded with warm fuzzies in your tummy:
$ 4 rolled fish tacos and a $ 2 diet coke or horchata.
then grab some cebollas and spicy carrots, and super hot slasa from the bar. enjoy.
you’re welcome.

Got the carne asada chips, mini tacos (carnitas & adobada), and a horchata.
The styrofoam box was completely filled with chips. There was a healthy dollop of sour cream and a scoop of guacamole along with some beans. I thought the portions were fine as I usually feel cheated with a half box of chips and not enough carne asada.
The tacos were sorta meh because I got a few fatty chunks and gristle. No bueno this time :-(
There was a good variety of sauces and veggie accoutrement at the salsa bar.
I splurged and got the large agua fresca as my drink/​dessert. She filled that cup to the brim with no ice. I was able to enjoy a few pulls of the vanilla-​cinnamon sweetness from the straw while I waited for the to-​go order before splashing some ice from the self serve machine into my cup. Yum.
I’d go back again. Too bad that they don’t have a drive thru window.

I love this place!
1) I love their salsa bar with the marinated carrots & peppers.
2) Their shrimp flour bowl is just scrumptious. The shrimp are big and succulent. Just don’t eat too much of the crunch flour bowl itself — it’s really oil/​fat in disguise!
3) They have beer! Something that a lot of other taco shops in San Diego are missing!
4) It looks a lot cleaner than other places.
5) Minus one star because the cashier lady looks kind of mean and intimidating. I’m always slightly scared to step up to the counter and order.

I was very reluctant to try this place because all the other Cotijas that I have been to (PB, OB, South Bay, RB etc) are disgusting. Those restaurants have always been really dirty and the food was just as bad. BUT this place is so good its a shame that they share the same name. The place was taken over from Anthony’s Fish place a little while ago and the place was completely re-​fitted. Everything is always clean, including the bathrooms. They also have a bunch of LCD TVs up that are playing whatever sport is on: NFL, NBA, college sports etc.
I’m rating this place as a taco shop, that is why it gets five stars. I have had better mexican food, but only at nicer formal restaurants. All the food I have had here has been consistently great and although they don’t have the «best carne asada» or «best whatever», they have the best overall menu. All items off the menu have been better than what I would expect from a taco shop but still with cheap taco shop prices. This is seriously the best value taco shop in town by miles.
To address those complaining about service… ITS A TACO SHOP NOT A FINE DINING RESTAURANT! Geez, all your supposed to do is go to the counter and order your food and pick it up when its ready. But no, this taco shop actually brings your food to you as well, so it’s better than average as far as a taco shop goes. If your expecting to be pampered for a $ 5 plate of food in a taco shop, you are completely naïve and maybe you shouldn’t be living in a big city.
Don’t forget their weekly specials, I usually try something new every week this way and always leave very happy. Their salsa bar is great too, usually has one green and two reds, hot carrots/​jalepenos, and these pickled sliced hot onions that are really tasty.
As long as this place stays clean and keeps the food consistently good, I will be a regular.

Had a very good carne asada burrito here yesterday. The burrito wasn’t huge, and could’ve definitely used another dollop of guacamole (hence the 4 stars), but otherwise was quite good eats. I’d been on a burrito losing streak of late, so I was happy to snap it. Of course this brings up the dilemma of should I go with what I know and eat confirmed 5 star burritos, or continue to seek new and delicious taco shops? So far is has been the latter, which has produced a few major bombs, but I guess I’m just too curious to stop.
Back to Cotijas though — they have a fantastic salsa bar. A hot salsa that is actually tasty? Wonderful. And the green salsa was also good, as were the limes and hot carrots. The prices were right, and they have some good combo deals as well. The seating area inside is nice and clean, and you can grab a burrito after stocking up at Wallyworld in the same shopping center, as a nice two-​for-​one.

Try the Point Loma location. I can’t guarantee that the «lady at the register» will be any friendlier but, the food is ALWAYS top quality.
CARNE ASADA QUESEDILLA. Also, the chicken rolled tacos are very nice.

Meh, not the worst, but nothing to write home about. Unlike the other locations, they are real shady with the amount of fish they put in their burritos. They load them up with cabbage and barely put any fish at all. This really bothered my wife more than me. She also didn’t like the guacamole in there. I thought it was alright, but it just needed more fish in it. It’s good for the price $ 3.99, or with very good rice and beans for $ 5.
Decent salsa bar, good little five rolled fish tacos for $ 3.99 deal, as well as some pretty good beef and chicken rolled tacos. Other than that, I can’t say to much about this place other than the fact that the lady that works at the register always seems to be extremely grumpy and rude. The San Ysidro and Rancho Bernardo locations are so much better. It looks like the one in Tierrasanta might be pretty good too.

Tonight was our second time coming in to Cotija’s and for me, this visit was better than the last. On my first visit, I loved the taste and freshness of the fish burrito that I got but was a little disappointed with the abundance of fish. Rather than there being a bunches of fish in there it felt like a single line of fried fish was laid into the burrito.
This time, I ordered two pollo adobada tacos in a combo plate. The tacos were huge and piled with pico and guac densely from end to end. The prep staff at Cotija’s must be masters of their craft, because a majority of the fillings managed to stay in the tortillas. The chicken within the tacos was great as well.
The g.f. got the standard crispy chicken taco combo plate and right before she finished the plate, mentioned that the tacos reminded her of Chevy’s tacos. Interpret that label as you may. She’s a Chevy’s fan so they must have been good.
All in all, Cotija’s gave us a satisfying meal today and they’ll be getting another visit from us in the near future.

Since Lolitas was closed for renovation I decided to check this place out. I’m giving this place 2 stars because the service sucks.
I don’t know if the cashier was having a bad day or what but she needs to learn how to crack a smile, greet and thank the customer. You would think that a new business would try a lot harder.
On to the food, the fish taco was actually pretty good but stay away from the pollo asado burrito. Someone got too giddy with the salt shaker. ugh! Is that hard to make good Mexican food?
I’ll be back Lolitas… where good food and customer service counts!

This Cotijas combines great taco shop food with a slightly more upscale décor, as it took over the Anthony’s Fish Express spot. I had had good experiences with the food at the Cotijas in Rancho Bernardo, and was not disappointed with the quality here.
I got a chicken chimichanga combo. This felt like a regular sit-​down mexican restaurant chimi plate, with sour cream, guac, and cheese on top, and lettuce and tomato on the side, along with rice and beans. They kick it up a step with a sprinkle of cheese and a few chips with the beans, and actual veggies in the rice. The whole plate filled me up and was quite tasty.
My wife got a two taco combo plate and was pleased with her beef tacos in the hard shell. She’s not much into taco shop cuisine, so her being pleased is a good sign.
Salsa bar was well stocked and clean, with good salsa.
Taco shop prices but better than the regular taco shop experience. Thumbs up!

It’s probably a little too early to give this place five stars, but that doesn’t mean I won’t go there eventually. I already half went there, but this one is fairly new and they are still working a few kinks out. I like Cotjias, I got turned onto it in high school at the Santee and Lemon Grove ones. This taco shop chain seems to have improved itself over the years.
I usually test these places by their rice, beans, and tortillas. All three are a definite pass here. The restaurant itself is big, new and clean which is nice. There’s plenty of choices and the specials are a pretty good deal. I most recently got 5 fish rolled tacos combo, less than $ 4 and tasty. Also tried a bunch of the mini tacos and the tortas; I’m a fan.
The salsa bar could be a little better as nothing is spicy. I’m not sure if this place is open late night, I put it in the lunch rotation though. Check it out if you want some dirty mex in the Clairemont Mesa area.

I went to Cotijas while on break from work to taste the food and because it’s new in the area. I got 3 of the dollar fish tacos and salsa from the salsa bar. The fish tacos were GREAT!!. You get alot of meat and nice size tacos as well.
Fish Tacos — $ 1.00
Combo Meals — $ 5.00
Cotijas Taco Shop — Priceless!
Go try it out…