Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill

I come here on Saturdays when I have to work at my office and I have to say this place has such great customer service. Everytime I have been here the staff has been so pleasant to deal with even in the short moments of taking my order. I believe a woman who may be a manager is very nice and just from seeing my card uses my name during interactions which I think is a nice touch. I haven’t experience customer service less than fantastic here which will definitely keep me coming back. With that being said, the food is good too and I reccommend the verde shrimp tacos.

Founded by San Diego native, Ralph Rubio, Rubio’s Coastal Grill has become a popular «fresh mex» Mexican food chain with its fish tacos and other Mexican food options. The first Rubio’s actually opened on Mission Bay Dr. in Pacific Beach, right across the street from Sushi Ota!
A college hotspot of mine because of its convenience, our company often caters from Rubio’s for lunch and orders the Deluxe Taco Bar, which includes a build-​your-​own taco bar, plus a few additional add-​ons:
— Tortillas: half corn; half flour
— Tortilla chips
— Serving: grilled natural chicken, steak, beer-​battered fish and shrimp
— «no-​fried» pinto beans
— black beans
— Mexican rice
— Citrus rice
— Chipotle Orange Salad
— toppings: cheese, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream
— salsas: Mild, Roasted Chipotle, Fresca and Picante
— Dessert: churros
The shrimp and beer-​battered fish ALWAYS runs out first, maybe Rubio’s give smaller portions of shrimp and beer-​battered fish to keep within budget. Sometimes it makes me grumpy when I am 5 minutes late to the lunch train and all the fish and shrimp run out! haha!!!
The Chipotle Orange Salad is perhaps by favorite, I think any salad with mandarin oranges just brings out the citrus-​sweet flavor of the lettuce. It also has fire-​roasted corn, Fresno chiles (spicy!), avocado slices, crema and tortilla strips. The chipotle orange vinaigrette is perfect with this particular salad!
The leftover guacamole serves as a health snack in the afternoon for us at work, and we also use the leftover cheese and tortillas to make quesadillas. Some others also mix beans and cheese together for breakfast in the morning! The leftover creations we come up with are countless. We enjoy Rubio’s day at work and each other’s company. Keep up the great work and for representing San Diego-​based corporate businesses!

Best Rubio’s I’ve been to. Really beautiful location, super clean and FRIENDLY! Most Rubio’s staff are friendly, but these guys really seem geniune. After you’ve gotten all your salsas and on your way out the door w/​to-​go food, the friendly cashier guy shouts, ‘have a good day!’
Always consistent great quality. Gourmet Shrimp Tacos have been my go-​to order for years.
Parking lot is busy, but hello it’s Sorrento Valley at lunch time. I always call ahead, and my order is hot and ready.

Solid lunch place. My favorite is the Grilled Gourmet tacos. About $ 10 for two tacos and a side of chips and beans.

I have been to many a Rubio’s over the years and had many a fish taco. They’re not bad, great for the Taco Tuesday price, and anything fried here won’t take you too far wrong. The place is always clean, nice atmosphere, and there’s a wide selection of salsas, a cilantro /​onion mix, and fresh limes at the bar. Still, having come back here after so many years, and at this location, I did have two qualms that popped up.
The first is a problem I’ve always had, the Black Beans are inedible. They’re overly firm, bland, and unappetizing in whatever they’re scooped into. Sure, there’re probably a few people that like them, but typically you see them thrown away often when you’re in groups.
Second, this time around, I got the Classic Grilled Shrimp Burrito. Not all Rubio’s are like this, but this particularly restaurant has an open view of the kitchen, allowing you to see all the food being made. Upon ordering my food, I got watch as they grabbed a bin of pre-​cooked shrimp and scooped a few into my waiting tortilla, before placing the metal bowl back under the warmer. One gets used to seeing pre-​made food at McDonalds and such, but it’s a bit of a disappointment seeing similar methods being utilized at a fish place.
And the taste? It didn’t have that pop, the light crunch of shrimp that you want. The delicate flavor was buried under the char of the grill or whatever smoky flavoring they squirted on it to give it that taste. Everything else was standard, nothing really standing out, except for the price tag. With that $ 10 cost leaving a slightly sour taste, the whole dinner was a bit of an expensive let down, especially considering I was looking forward to having a shrimp burrito for quite a while.
Still, with the prospect of an occasional Taco Tuesday, this place isn’t all that bad.

This is my favorite Rubio’s, it’s so chill. I only come here for Fish Taco Tuesday, and it never gets crazy nor frustratingly busy here. If you live/​work in/​near Mira Mesa or Sorrento Valley & like Rubio’s, this is the store to visit. Closes kinda early at 8p, but it is in a business park, it’s a small gripe when I don’t have to wait in a long line such as the location near the 15 on Mira Mesa.

Chopped Salad with Chicken for the win! Great price for how big the salad is. It’s also south of 400 calories. Score! The quality of Rubio’s salads are amazing and totally underrated!
Love their refried beans as well! This place is clean and the service is great. Be careful of coming during rush hours cause this place can get packed!
For me, Rubio’s overall is underrated. For the prices, their quality of their food is outstanding. This location doesn’t have enough parking during the busy times, so you gotta be patient if you want a fish taco or one of their bomb salads.

I used to like Rubio’s when I could get a whole wheat tortilla on a HealthMex style veggie burrito, and I kept hoping they would add brown rice, which even chains such as Panda and Chipotle have. Instead, they went in the wrong direction and eliminated whole wheat tortillas when corporate, in its finite wisdom, revamped the menu.

I eat here nearly every day so I love the food! I continue to eat here because of the high quality of the ingredients, the predictability of the food (always good) and the reasonable prices. A hint: call in advance to order your food for pick up and avoid the line.

this branch has got to be the nicest and friendliest branch i’ve ever encountered. Went in to pick up my lunch today and was immediately greeted by friendly staffs (all smiles and shouting HELLO!)
prior to arrival, i have already called in to place an order and when i got there it was already ready for me (which was about 10 min). the condiment station was super clean, no messy salsa dripping on the counter. As i was getting my salsa, i can hear the staffs saying HI and Bye to each customer (that put me in a great mood). of course when i left a girl shouted «have a nice day! thanks!» so nice! i love a restaurants with friendly and happy staffs!

I came, I saw, I ate. Today’s lunch was more of a hit and run since I only had 30 minutes. The place looks newly remodeled which was a nice surprise. The line moved quick. I ordered my steak burrito and they gave me a number. A few minutes later they brought my food to the table — NICE!
Rubio’s is making an effort to better the place which I applaud them for. Real plates, real silverware, and they deliver the food to the table. The food itself is good (for Rubio’s) and consistent. Great for a hit and run lunch. Enjoi!

I love coming here in the evenings. It’s standard Rubio’s fare. But, this particular shop is located in a business area. So, while packed at lunch, at dinner time and on the weekends there is never a line, there are plenty of tables, and the wait is always short for your food. The staff here is super friendly and polite. They keep the store spick and span. It’s just a short drive down the hill for anyone on Sorrento Valley Blvd, much faster than trying to fight your way up Mira Mesa Blvd in traffic to the restaurants near Camino Ruiz. Definitely worth a stop.

Rubios is your typical chain restaurant. BUT, they do fish tacos really well. I think their fish tacos are better here compared to other tacos that I’ve eaten at 4 – 5 Star restaurants, and that is saying a lot.
My usual go-​to is the original shrimp burrito and classic fish tacos. What sets them apart I think is their salsa bar. I am obsessed with their hot picante sauce and drench it over my tacos. I typically call in my order in advance before picking it up to avoid the lunch rush.

This chain location is anything but a typical chain. Everyone here is always friendly, they always get the order right, the food is always amazing; fresh fish, great guacamole and always really clean. The bonus is even though they have crazy, crazy rush from 11:30−1pm during the week, you can be in and out in less than 10 minutes. You cannot beat this place for burritos and tacos in a concrete jungle.

I come here a lot for lunch. It is very busy from 1130 to 130. They do a very good job here and never had my order messed up. Even though I order whole grain tortillas on the burritos and ask to hold the white sauce all the time. I think their chicken is mediocre but I like their salmon and shrimp burritos. I also like the roasted veggie salad. It has a lot of roasted vegetables and yummy avocado.

I ordered catering service from this location for a work event and they were very helpful. I saved 15% by ordering directly from them instead of going to a third party vendor. We ordered the taco bar for 10 – 12 ppl and it was enough to feed 10 ppl with a bit of left over. Overall a successful work lunch as it was interactive and filling.

I have finally reached my breaking point with this Rubio’s. They regularly get orders wrong, don’t provide the required utensils with takeout orders and the staff is grossly incompetent. This is the worst Rubio’s I’ve ever been to.
I was just put on hold for over ten minutes while trying to place a simple take-​out order. (Enough time to drive all the way there while on hold). I walked it to find it basically dead in there. Ridiculous. What were you doing? Thanks for completely wasting my time and gas.
I will NEVER go to this Rubio’s again. Congratulations, you have lost my business forever due to your repeated demonstration of your complete incompetence.
TERRIBLE! EMBARRASSING! DESPICABLE!!! PATHETIC!!!

Oh so yum! My Mexican fix — done!!!
I ordered the Grande Bowl — this is not on the menu — but they know what this is. I also make modifications to make it Vegan.
It’s on a bed of shredded cabbage
Mexican Rice
Black beans
Salsa fresca
No chipotle sauce
No cheese
No meat
Substitute –meat for grilled veggies.
Sub — Cheese for sliced avocados
And done! So fresh, so yummy.
They are also great with the lunch crowds — fast!

Do not open your Signature Fish Burrito. .I repeat: Do not open your Signature Fish Burrito. Not only is it a sloppy and unappetizing looking mess, but where’s the fish? So not worth the nearly $ 7! (See pictures)

Had my business lunch there today. Fast and easy. Adequate room, booths, pretty clean, some tables had to be cleaned off but there is also a quick turn around. Your typical rubios. Consistent. One had a shrimp burrito and loved it. Good size, came with chips. The other had the two fish taco plate. Lots of food with rice and beans.
I had a mahi mango salsa taco which is pretty tasty. You won’t get full with one but a good hold over for a few hours. The salsa bar was stocked with choices and they now have two more hot choices. One green and one red hot sauces. Loved that option since their normal sauces are not hot enough. What can I say. They are consistent and for fast food a great quick lunch option.