Santana’s Mexican Grill

Nothing beaats a burrito from this place between the hours of Midnight and 9AM. MMMMMMM… Carne Asada Burrito…

I only had the California burrito, but it was EXCELLENT. At 5 bucks, and 1 pound, a BARGAIN! I’ll be back…

Stopped in here a couple of times for some grease quotient to fend off the Sake blues from the night before. Every time we get the Chorizo Burrito with cheese. Split it is big enough for a quick breakfast especially if you are adding tons of salsa and their delicious avocado sauce. Almost make felling a little fuzzy on Sunday morning worth it!

I think they should have changed their ingredients and cleaning people instead of changing their name. This place is major yuk! DO NOT EAT HERE. I am a SoCal girl and this is not mexican food… maybe McMexican at the best: (

MXN should be WTF. What is going on here? They change the name and suddenly, everything changes to yuck. Would not eat here again, as the quality of ingredients and cleanliness is lacking. Many other taco shops who do it up the old fashioned local way are still out there and deserve a chance. PLEASE bring Santana’s back.

It is a place I go regularly with coworkers. I have had several of their menu items, but I always come back to getting the California burrito. They have perfected the California burrito and would highly recommend just getting this. The burrito is packed with fried potatoes, carne asada, and is very large. So bring an appetite and leave your calorie counter at home. Most of menu items are served in large portions. I enjoy their salsa bar, offering many different kinds of salsa I would pour into my burrito.
If you are looking for just the California burrito, try Santana’s.

The Mexican shuttle bus driver for our hotel suggested we go here. It was a little too greasy for my taste. But I knew I was in San Diego and there was a guy there who took his wife and told her stories of his youth that this was his spot and so on. It was cute. We went in 2008 while staying in San Diego on our way to Hawaii. Would I go back? Probably not but it was a nice little treat and hit the spot but as I said a little too greasy for my taste. We both had burritos.
We were a little afraid in the neighborhood since it was so dark. Being from NYC it is hard for us to get used to things being closed down and so quiet. But other than that it was a nice little break. It had a great San Diego vibe.

It’s a hit or miss at this place. And I usually fall into the co-​workers recommendation to go to this place on a weekly basis. And if we work on the weekends, it is a necessity to go on both days.
Don’t get me wrong. The burritos are great… when the meat is cooked right and when there is no fatty residue added. They just love to add slash strategically hide that extra fat inside burritos to bulk up the burrito because people can’t see it.
But when it comes to carne asada chips or fries, do they add the fat? Nooooooooo, of course not. No one wants to see the excess fat or grisel on their food. Carne asada fries are great. Put some tapatio on it, a little salt, and you get a San Diego-​Mexican dish.
Also, they recently upgraded this place. They used to have a smaller place only a couple of blocks away, where parking sucked, and they only had a few tables. Now you can eat inside, and there is plenty of parking, and you can take as many pre-​made sauces at the counter. Coolness!!!

Delish. There is a bunch of stuff on the menu which makes it a little hard to navigate, but the helpings are more than ample whatever you choose. I went with a grilled chicken burrito and it pains me to say it was a little shy on the veggies (since I support eating animals all the time).
Great standby, but will never top the secret places you find on small streets in San Diego — the ones where you’re a little apprehensive about what you’re being served and if it’s sanitary, but are the most delicious.

OK first off and foremost, I am loyal to Cotijas (yea I declared my loyalty to a small taco shop chain.)
The service at this Santanas is so-​so and the salsas are watered down or bitter, but this place has one item I keep coming back for. THE FREAKING CARNE ASADA CHIPS ARE AWESOME HERE!
For approximately $ 7.50 you get this gargantuan feast of meat, cheeses, beans, guacamole, sour cream, and some pico de gayo (for color). Check out the photo I uploaded to get a gander at something pretty amazing. For me, its something about the portion size and the combination of flavors. Yes other taco shops serve carne asada chips, but this hits the nail on the head when I am on Rosecrans with a rumbly stomach and only a ten spot to my name.

$ 3 for a taco? No lock on the bathroom, no towels not even TP. The taco crumbled as soon as I picked it up. Two stars for the good marinade on the chicken, but otherwise, I know SD has better.

There are now two Santana’s on Rosecrans Blvd.
I stopped into the new one today.
We have a winner here and it is without a doubt the WORSE Carnitas Burrito I have ever had in my entire life!!!
No question about it this one will be permanently etched in my memory for mucho decades.
Maybe the other stuff like the famous California Burrito are good at this place or maybe the older Santana place is better but this carnitas burrito was just AWFUL!!!
First of all, they doubled up on the tortilla when they wrapped the burrito to make it look larger.
What the ^%$&&&???
I could give a damn if it looks bigger just give me some quality ingredients and cook it so it isn’t like as hard as Dean Spanos’ head or even worse Norv Turner’s!!!
This burrito had small cubes of very hard overcooked, dry, and flavorless pieces of pork that were tasteless and useless.
If i owned a dog maybe he would like it, but i wouldn’t risk driving him home in the car in case he had to poop!!!
A tiny bit of guacamole and a small amount of tomatoes that were cut very small were inside.
The jamaica was really watered down.
Overall maybe my worst experience in any taco shop and my fellow San Diegans you know we have tried maybe hundreds of them!!!
I have eaten a few times at the old Santana’s and only ordered the carne asada so maybe they don’t do carnitas very well at all.
I don’t know but I am going to stick with Super Cocina and La Fachada and Tacos German for now…
Now excuse me while I try to put this memory out of my brain forever!

This place has the best California Burrito
Reasons why:
Let’s start on the outside. The flour tortilla is to die for, nice and floury goodness, the kind that melts in your mouth when you bite it, yum
The carne asada is full of flavor and juicy goodness, not nasty fat pieces here
the salsa and guac are also very flavorful and perfect, this makes the burrito
Most Important: fry status
If its one thing i hate, it’s when the fries ruin it. These fries are cooked to perfection, not too soggy not too crunchy just perfect.
Many say its to big to eat it all, but I have no problems with that.
This Santana’s location is a bit small with seating for maybe up to 10 people. Drive-​thru is quick and its so close to the beach that it’s not a problem to grab your grub and go park it at a nearby beach.
Y-​U-​M-​M-​O!

The best California Burritos and Carne Asada Fries are at Santana’s.
Hands down!
After a weekend of binging on California Burrito and Carne Asada Fries, I have come to the conclusion that Santana’s is the place to go until someone else proves me otherwise.
For those who don’t know what a California Burrito is, lemme explain:
— Carne Asada
— Pico De Gallo
— Shredded Cheese
— French Fries
All wrapped together like a marriage of perfect harmony. More perfect than Brad and Angelina. Every bite is like a sweet symphony of greasy, meaty, potatoey goodness melded together in a harmonious balance that only Mozart with the help of Beethoven could have composed. Yes, it’s that good…
And then there are Carne Asada Fries. French fries covered (and I mean covered, like an obese chick laying on top of a midget covered) with Carne Asada, cheese, guac, pico, and sour cream. What more can you ask for?
Unfortunately, these thing are a San Diego staple and rarely found in Northern Cal. There are a few places in random locations but none come close to Santana’s. None.
I would advise all to come to Santana’s and stop wasting time everywhere else!