El Take It Easy

Their Sage water is simply the greatest thing ever invented! It is so refreshing and even on a night out of drinking I insist on stoping in at Easy for a couple glasses.
I love the atmosphere here… Dark, quiet with an upscale feel. The servers are all really nice and can make suggestions for you since the menu is always changing.
I love the menu… It’s full of off the wall choices and almost all are made with locally grown ingredients. A neighborhood like North Park really appreciates eateries like these.
Their Sangria is fabulous!

Been here once & only once. Bartender couldn’t get my drink right (michelada). Their spicy chicken wings, tacos & ceviche was ok. It’s an overpriced taco shop… I’d rather go to super Sergio’.

In the 6 times I have visited El Take It Easy, I seriously have hit almost every point on the spectrum of bad-​to-​good experiences.
Unfortunately more than half have fallen on the side of bad.
They had issues, admitted goofing up, sent letters to the neighborhood apologizing, revamped the menu and produced some great interesting dishes… and then apparently hoped that lulled everyone into complacency. Because what they offer now is not that fun interesting stuff. Instead it’s a too-​long list of greasy, blah tacos and a bottle of homemade ‘hot sauce’ that tastes like spciy vinegar. throw in a drink special that is a WHOLE FIFTY CENTS OFF, and you’ve got a recipe for disappointing this guy.
after trying the fish tacos at Linkery (their sister, right?) it made sense to come back here and sample a bit of variety. Unfortunately Linkery’s focus on quality of tacos, not quantity of options has them succeeding at mexican… over their mexican sibling. It wasn’t always this way. Unfortunately it is now.
Hopefully their rollercoaster ride will continue and they will track up to a solid place. But with the ride they have taken me on, i might just pass the next time the mood hits.

ima big fan of alcohol. they do that well here. Ethan is the man and enjoys a challenge. tons and tons o possibilites. foodwise theyre pretty socali. tacos were our lunch choice. i had a pig ear taco. coulda used a bit more pig ears. really tasty slaw sauce. nice texture to the housemade tortillas. i was also blessed with a bite of a grassfed beef cheeseburger. given it was only a bite. the juicy grease sopped up really nice in to the bun which was also a delight. the guts of the place was really open. metal beams held up a beautiful wood panel ceiling (original by the way).
im not a smart man but i know what love is.

There’s a lot of competition for Mexican food in San Diego so I’d expect a place that boasts how everything is made in house to really be on their game. But, everything is just sort of mediocre and overpriced for what you get.
As an appetizer, we had the shrimp aguachile for $ 8. It came in a tiny parfait glass, which was a blessing in disguise because I had a really hard time finishing the app. The shrimp didn’t taste super fresh, and when it’s raw, it needs to be FRESH. The best part about the app was the chips. If only I would have gotten some salsa.
Now the tacos… Street tacos for $ 3.75 was already a bummer for me. And then when we got them, there was hardly any meat and just really bland. The only saving grace was the house made knock off tapatio… which I had to use A LOT OF. I had a Suzie’s Farm (which I couldn’t finish because it was so meh), carnitas (also bland but edible), the braised duck (good, not great) and maxateno (bland bland bland). I tried some of my boyfriend’s tacos and the best one of the bunch was the chili beef.
Our waitress was very pleasant and provided good service. Too bad the food was completely underwhelming. As was the beer list.

Warn a guy before you serve him a drink in a champagne flute ok. I’m from the mid-​west where men are men and drinking from flutes does not fly.
Drink was good though, some sort of infused gin.
Oh and why every bar in America doesn’t have a purse hook for women is absurd. What kind of barbaric land are we living in? I thought this was the USofA.
Not mashing on your marbles too much here, El Take it Easy. I liked your atmosphere, lighting was great. Your bar staff was very attentive. I’ll definitely be back eventually. Maybe I should take a tip from you guys an EL dial it down a notch.nah.

Major Disappointment. Went for dinner and left after our crab something, chips (5) and guacamole and oysters. Honestly, this place has an identity crisis. Trying to serve up-​scale, under-​portioned, over-​priced food, with metal foam chairs from the 60’s and a bathroom with «cleaning rags» in place of towels? Guys, pick one theme and run with it.
There is no other way to describe it than «I felt like I just got scammed».

If you want to be a great restaurant, you need to use the best ingredients, season your food well, cook it properly, price it right, and serve it with a smile.
El Take It Easy seems to think they can get by just on the bragging rights of their farm fresh ingredients. Would but it were, I can not el take it easy on these guys. Across the board, I find El Take It Easy’s modernized Mexican offerings look great on the menu but lack execution on the plate. Underseasoned, overcooked, and served with a smarmy hipster smirk I’d have just as soon smacked off my waiter’s face if it wasn’t socially unacceptable.
Overall, the sorta-​lofty concept-​Mexican of El Take It Easy doesn’t do service to the fine ingredients they charge you for.

Where do I start with El Take It Easy? I was kind enough to patronize this restaurant more than once and my second and third visits convinced me that my money is better spent elsewhere. The ‘concept’ behind this place is pretty straightforward, Mexican food that has been ‘hipsterfied’ and ‘localized’ to appeal to middle-​class gringos who consider themselves too cultured for anything authentic.
It really seems as though the executive chef picked the menu items based on dishes that sound good to an adventurous eater but don’t necessarily taste great. Things like Goat Tortas and Beef-​cheek Tacos. The goat torta was quite poor, chewy and flavorless meat served on a mouth-​clogging piece of dry bread. The beef cheek tacos were soggy and wet, drenched in what looked almost like a beef-​stock soup. The best thing on the menu is the mini churros with chocolate dipping sauce and that’s not saying much, considering you are paying $ 10 for a couple of tiny overcooked churros and a cup of melted chocolate.
The food and the restaurant concept seem hastily prepared and poorly thought out. This is one of those places that seems to exist solely to exploit the willingness of North Park residents and visitors to pay for overpriced ‘concept’ food. The ambiance and service is what you would expect at a neighborhood mexican joint and the price is what you expect when you go to a nice restaurant with experienced waiters and nice tablecloths. Be prepared to pay at least $ 40 – 50 per person for a full dinner and drinks. Not at all justified in my opinion.
Pros:
–Decent Service
–Decent drink selection
–Good location
Cons:
–Poorly conceptualized and executed food.
–Significant lack of variety in terms of dining options.
–Overpriced, overpriced and did I mention overpriced?

Had heard great things about this place. So decided to give it a try.
What we ordered:
*Pork belly salty and dry cheesy
*Pork and chili has a more herbal taste. Chili/​bell pepper taste comes though
*Pork ears were sweet like honey.
*Shrimp puffs. Taste like Asian shrimp ball in hotpot. A bit firm.
Overall food was meh. Was good but nothing to write home about. Come here for the ambiance, not the food.

2.5 stars
came here to meet with friends for drinks and heard a lot about their «gourmet» tacos. Someone ordered a few and said the spicy pork cheek was the best. I followed suit and ordered 1 pork belly and 1 spicy pork cheek taco. They were really tiny. The spicy pork cheek was good but not worth the $ 4 price tag for 2 bites. The famous pork belly taco that everyone talks about was forgettable. I make my own pork belly all the time. This was no comparison and you got so little meat and another 2 bites for $ 4. Cost me $ 10 with tip for 4 bites of food and i was still hungry. All the menu items seemed over priced. I get that its local fresh and all but i’ve still seen cheeper farm to table in SD, but i guess this is more of a bar than a restaurant.
Staff was helpful, attentive and pleasant, I saw them juicing cactus pears at the bar and asked what that was used for, he let me try a small sample. They use it in some drink. It was rather tasty and interesting. They were also able to run separate checks and bring them out at different times when requested by different people. + half a star for service.
I did see a couple who must have been on a (very awkward) first date at the bar. They weren’t talking at all, she’s flipping thru her iphone, every once in awhile someone asks a question with a quick answer and no conversation to follow. Dude, coffee might have been a better choice than a bar. Good luck to you.
food 3 stars
value 2 stars

Bomb. Good drinks. Can’t wait to try more.
Favorites (in order): Suzie’s Farm Taco, Gobernador, Pork Belly Taco

A fan of their location, design, food and ever changing menu. I love that they have visiting chefs on Monday evenings (1^st of the month I believe?)
Dined on 8−18−12
Really just stopped in here because it was WAY too hot to have coffee across the street at Caffe Calabria.
Didn’t enjoy the flies on the patio but luckily I had a fan to bat them away. It didn’t bother me too much because well, I was outside. Flies live outside too.
Started off on a great note when the bottle of cold water arrived and I tasted the hint of SAGE. Remember, I’m a savory lover and thus cold water and sage brought a smile to my tired body.
I also loved that they had a drink on the menu that I had just created myself the night before. Red wine with diet coke — sounds crazy right? Well, there are no more limits on drinks anymore folks so get out of your glass house now and then and try something new. I however added a shot of vodka and it was refreshing and powerful. What the heck I was going to walk to Sea Rocket later that night for dinner so I could have a powerful drink. It was good but no need to add the shot next time cuz it’s just not my value to spend $ 16 on one drink.
My friend enjoyed the Cubana.
Food wise I just tried their yellowtail taco — $ 4. I’m glad I did, I love their homemade corn tortilla, unlike anything I’ve had in SD! Served with yellowtail sashimi and grilled peaches and whole corn kernals. I’d have it again in an instant.
Now, have a sweet tooth? They have a GREAT DEAL with their grilled pound cake came with wonderful fresh cream and fruit and enough for four people to nibble on !
I look forward to trying out more dishes in the future.

Here’s all you really need to know: get the Paloma cocktail and the carnitas rolled burritos on Sundays and you will be a happy camper. Seriously. Mouthgasm, SO good.
(The pork belly tacos are pretty tasty, too.)

You know how if you date someone named Bitchface, and it ends badly (for example, she hypothetically mails your stuff back to you so she doesn’t have to see your ugly mug again), you really have no desire to date anyone named Bitchface ever again? [Well, maybe you should have taken the name Bitchface as some sort of sign, but I digress.]
El Take It Easy is my Bitchface… it is WAY too similar to Barrio Star (
).
BOOOOOOOOOOOO BARRIO STAR. DON’T EVER GO TO BARRIO STAR!
El Take it Easy serves REALLY expensive tacos (that come in pairs) that are SUPER small and come with no sides. I think all the tacos are relatively the same price, yet you cannot mix and match. I don’t get this… but it seems like something a Bitchface would do.
Some possible advice for El Take it Easy to become less Bitchface-​y:
(1) Reduce the price of your tacos by about three to five dollars
(2) Serve your tacos with some rice and/​or beans and/​or back massage
(3) Make your tacos bigger
(4) Let people mix/​match tacos that are the same price or charge like a $ 1.00 or something
(5) Create some sort of slogan such as:
«El Take It Easy — We Hate Barrio Star Because They Are Assholes.» or
«El Take it Easy — Our Tacos Are Big For Children and Little People.» or
«El Take it Easy — El Take Two Bites to Finish.» or
«El Take it Easy — Our Small Portions Won’t Make You Queasy.»
On the other hand, unlike Barrio Star, El Take It Easy had a VERY nice waitstaff, and I had a SUPER delicious Old Fashioned that had Mezcal in it.
I don’t know if it’s you, El Take It Easy… or if it’s me. If you end up mailing me my toothbrush… I think I’ll have my answer (Bitchface).

My first experience with pork belly tacos began here this past weekend. Luckily, they were amazing so that my suspicious pallet will not be hesitant to try some of the dishes I’ve always been a bit scared of in the future. The vibe was laid back, but definitely a hipster chic atmosphere. Pricey, but a good value for the level of fare, I’d say.
The french fries with aioli were also amazing. Not a bad place at all!

Interesting bar/​restaurant.
There’s outdoor patio seating, then as you walk in there’s a bar area and indoor seating. It’s dark inside, and at the time, there was an extensive menu of specialty drinks and food items.
The server was really nice and informative in their menu offerings. I opted to try their Grass-​Fed Beef Cheek Taco.
I was expecting the beef cheek to be super tender, but that failed to deliver. It was chewy. It did have a little kick to it, which I didn’t care for. Also, it’s a street taco size, so you can gobble this baby up in one bite.
Ah yes, the mandatory grat charge. We were notified that any extra «tips» would be donated to charity.
Really?!

I just found a new lunch spot for Sunday’s!!! Pretty harsh reviews on here, I am glad I waited for Jay to redo the menu, drink offerings and specials. I popped in here on Sunday after being completely ignored at another place where I am a regular. One other person was in here, not sure what is up but Rancho’s which has similarly priced food was packed.
I haven’t eaten here since they opened, I wasn’t impressed back then and avoided The Take something held me back from writing a review about it, now I am really glad that I gave them a second chance. Jay has sent out several survey’s on improving his businesses and I think that he really «heard» his customers.
Hot guy serving me food, I had the melted shrimp tacos and the very, very luscious butter lettuce house salad. I enjoyed a couple of strawberry infused sparkling wine cocktails with my food. I was pretty full and I had a 2^nd course. The food was very, very good, I am craving those shrimp tacos now.
I recommend this place, ignore the older reviews on here especially the one where the guy brings his girlfriend to «carbo load» here before a run… LOL! If you recently gave this place a bad review, I have nothing to say to convince you otherwise but to those of you who haven’t come in a long time, give this place another shot. I and my two stomachs are glad that I did ;P!
Portion sizes are purely subjective, I hate when eateries give you too much food, it’s a waste. The second course menu for me was more than enough food and I had worked out for an hour and walked up to The Take.
I will most definitely be back, I don’t like crowds in my neighborhood so it will be a Sunday thing for me again. Next time, I am planning to try one their zany beer cocktails, the spicy one! Olé’
Nice work Jay!

When it comes to Jay’s restaurants, I feel like I’m stuck in a bad relationship. I keep waiting for things to get better, keep thinking that if I give it one last shot I won’t have my heart broken yet again.
But alas, as is the case with most bad relationships, it’s an endless loop of pain and disappointment.
Mind you, I’ve met Jay a few times and he’s a very nice guy. And I support what he’s attempting to do — break the mold and create a restaurant that focuses on in season food straight from the farm. Which is just fantastic. But unfortunately the execution fails from, well, start to finish.
I decided to give El Take It Easy a shot after writing off The Linkery a while ago. I’d seen they were doing classic cocktails, and I of course love classic cocktails. So with the same level of excitement that one has when an old flame calls up for a date, I sat down at the bar ready to be blown away.
And that’s when you realize the first problem. The layout of the bar is bizarre beyond belief. There’s a tight V-​shaped portion to it that would seem to make it near impossible for most people to walk to the tip of the V to talk with customers. Then there’s a low-​top portion of the bar that seems like it’s situated on another planet. And the décor seems to be going for a 70’s feel (like Nunu’s), but it doesn’t come off nearly as cool.
Upon being seated at the bar (a wide open bar on a Friday night I might point out), we were greeted by the bartender who gave us water. OK, +1 for the EZ.
Then the bartender left never to return. There goes that well earned point.
The *entire* reason my wife and I sat at the bar of a restaurant that is striving to have great cocktails was to talk with the bartender. I’m not overly interested in the 5 – 10 drinks that are on the menu. I want to know what the bartender has been playing with, working with, really likes, etc. In short — I was looking for custom-​crafted drinks based on my tastes, which is what you get at any great cocktail bar. Alas, I was going to leave unfulfilled there.
Moving on…
We were then greeted by a server. You’ll notice I didn’t say «our server». Like the other Jay restaurant, EZ does a built-​in 18% gratuity, and all the servers play a zone defense. Granted, they don’t play it well… In any event, trying to salvage any hope of having a conversation about the cocktail menu with someone that worked there, I asked about one that intrigued me — the moda vieja, which features both bourbon and mezcal, a combination I’d never seen before. I asked the server, who responded flatly, «Well, it has a lot of alcohol.» Sigh.
We’ve hit rock bottom and we’ve started to dig…
But I’m not going to give up on this place yet. I’m determined to have give this place every last chance. I’m going to like this place if it kills me, damnit.
We order our drinks (I stick with the moda vieja, an easy daisy for my wife). It was at this point I realized the server was right in her description of the drink — it had a lot of alcohol. No real character despite the combination of mezcal and bourbon. It was just alcohol. Sigh.
No matter — I’m not giving up hope quite yet. Let’s try the food!
We ordered the stone crab & avocado salad, the fish tacos and the rabbit taquitos. The rabbit taquitos tasted like, well, taquitos; when you have a thick, deep fried shell it doesn’t allow any other flavors to really stand out, so you don’t actually taste the rabbit. The salad was rather bland, and the fish tacos… well… I can’t remember a single word about them so I’ll go with forgettable.
Yup. I’m done. Check please!
But, of course, that took quite a while as well because, as I mentioned, while the servers play a zone defense, they don’t play it well. Which leads me to my last major point… I don’t mind that Jay wants to charge an 18% gratuity. I really don’t. But the problem is that an 18% gratuity only works if all the servers are great servers, which none of the servers that we dealt with that night were. They know that have no incentive to provide better service, and it shows.
I tried. I really did. I gave it everything I had, and I was not going to be deterred from having a great night until I was finally beat into submission.
I guess it’s time to write off El Take It Easy as well. Which sucks. Because I really wanted to like that place. Really. This bad relationship must come to an end.

El Take It Easy.
Northpark
Thursday October 14, 2010
2 Stars
Just don’t go there more than once. The place looks sick except for the kindergarten artwork. Plus it’s a sister restaurant to the Linkery, which is the only reason I will to try El Take It Easy. However, the whole experience was subpar. The waiter took 5 minutes to open a freezing cold bottle of Nero D’Avola Arancio Siciliy 2007 – it was super awkward and I was two seconds away from doing it myself. Everything on the menu sounded good so we tried a bunch of things.
1. Grilled Padron Peppers $ 5 = No Flavor at all
2. Sautéed Chicken Spleens $ 5 = Decent Flavor and Texture, but there were tiny.
3. Chicken Nuggets, Mole $ 11= Tasted like a fancy McRib, but on the dry side
4. Rabbit Tacquitos $ 7 = Not bad, made fresh, and the guac-​pepper sauce was tasty
5. Lamb Cazuela with Fresh Tortillas $ 10 = only thing that you should order if you go there. The lamb cazuela is the reason, I gave this place two stars. It was absolutely delicious.
Lastly, I still hate places that add 18% gratuity to your tab because it gives no incentive for the wait staff to try.