One of the best meals I’ve ever had in Encinitas— A must try! This place feels fresh and inspired. You’re immediately transported to a trendy villa in Mexico with an aire of heritage and culture. The owner is from a successful line of restauranteurs in Mexico. It’s clear he knows what he’s doing from the atmosphere to the cuisine. The chips and salsa are delicious, fresh and unique (all made in house). We ordered the Mole Enchiladas and Tuna Tostadas, which were both incredible and would order again on our next visit. Then, of course, couldn’t resist the finale dessert of churros! (Filled with pastry cream with chocolate dunking sauce on the side). The entire experience was an absolute treat and I can’t wait to go back and introduce more people to this local gem.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Churros, Mole Enchiladas
Jacquelyn Lombari
We visit Encinitas often, so when a new restaurant opens, we always like to check it out. Coming from the desert in Phoenix, we’re big seafood lovers, and on a whim we walked over from Modern Times to try Puntamar.
We were greeted right away by Andrew, who took excellent care of us and shared a genuine passion for the food and the story behind the menu. We enjoyed the ceviche, fish tacos, and chicken mole enchiladas, all fantastic.
We’ll definitely be back soon to try the grilled octopus next time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jared
The ceviche, birria, and guacamole were incredible. Only reason for the 4 star instead of 5 was because I think their tortillas and chips were pretty subpar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Lou Castro
Upscale Mexican cuisine is perfect for those who want the bold flavors and unique spices of Mexico and would like to experience something other than the traditional taco shop menu. The atmosphere is family friendly as well as being a good place to celebrate a special occasion. This was my first time visiting and will happily return.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chuck Bouton
We really enjoyed our lunch. Drinks were well crafted and the food was delicious.
I recommend giving it a try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brian Murray
Puntamar is about as legit as youre going to get and goes toe to toe with spots down in Baja. Great location, service and food. Really glad to have a restaurant like this in the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
M Witman
I had the taco Tuesday special and I will be going back to work on the rest of the menu! Great ambiance and excellent service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sabrina Gallier
Very cute place, good vibes, the food is excellent and the drinks are amazing! Corey was super helpful and lovely too. He made all of our delicious drinks but my favorite was the Mezcal Tamarindo. Great service from everyone. Lovely night!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pizza Birria, Bloody Mary Octopus Tostadas
Rebecca Tsang
Delicious food and super friendly service! Also the decor was cozy / romantic and it's a great spot whether it's with friends or your date! I also like how it's so close to the train station, it's convenient for any train riders.
The octopus was delicious, and the churros was freshly and crispy. The portions were quite generous too! Loved the tacos, so flavorful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kody Smith
Update: Just read the response to this review if you want to know how management/ownership responds to feedback. Our group ordered to-go food for a beach dinner with our kids. A member of our party went to order the food and was told it would take about 20 min and that they were a bit under staffed. I really do understand that struggle but wish there was a bit more transparency with the actual wait that ended up being a little over an hour to get the food. The food had great flavor but the portions did not align for the price. There were no sides with the Mole Enchiladas and it was small for $28. The Pizza Birria was the only dish ordered that we felt had the right value for the price. They have good food it was just a let down with the portion size and wait time.
Authentic Mexican seafood. Originated from Mexico, the owner claimed all seafood were fresh from Mexico. We think it out beats the famous Michelin one-star Mexican seafood restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Amazing aquachile, ceviche, grill octopus, fish tacos and great cocktails!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Nick Ratcliffe
Excellent ceviche balanced with the avocado and crispy tortilla. The Al pastor fish tacos were also good, although as a personal preference I want more pineapple to come through. Delicious nonetheless.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kala Nikaido
You have to try the hamachi!! Our server was great for the recommendations too
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eduardo Velez
The food has a good taste, we ordered a Black aguachile, a tortilla soup and 1 order of quesabirrias. It took 1 hour for us to get our food and when we finally got it it seems like they want you to leave fast, they come and ask you if you are done with your plate to many times when it is obvious that we were still working on it.
Black aguachile Very good Tortilla soup good Quesabirrias it says 4 and it’s actually 2 cut in half they were good as well
Overall food very good service bad but could be better if they speed up the process of making the order faster
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Jeremy Hogan
This has quickly become one of my wife and my favorite date night spots. The ambiance gives a feeling of being in Europe or back in San Miguel de Allende. The wine selection from Valle de Guadalupe is amazing and the service is over the top. They even got me to like ceviche!
One of the best meals I’ve ever had in Encinitas— A must try! This place feels fresh and inspired. You’re immediately transported to a trendy villa in Mexico with an aire of heritage and culture. The owner is from a successful line of restauranteurs in Mexico. It’s clear he knows what he’s doing from the atmosphere to the cuisine. The chips and salsa are delicious, fresh and unique (all made in house). We ordered the Mole Enchiladas and Tuna Tostadas, which were both incredible and would order again on our next visit. Then, of course, couldn’t resist the finale dessert of churros! (Filled with pastry cream with chocolate dunking sauce on the side). The entire experience was an absolute treat and I can’t wait to go back and introduce more people to this local gem.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Churros, Mole Enchiladas
We visit Encinitas often, so when a new restaurant opens, we always like to check it out. Coming from the desert in Phoenix, we’re big seafood lovers, and on a whim we walked over from Modern Times to try Puntamar.
We were greeted right away by Andrew, who took excellent care of us and shared a genuine passion for the food and the story behind the menu. We enjoyed the ceviche, fish tacos, and chicken mole enchiladas, all fantastic.
We’ll definitely be back soon to try the grilled octopus next time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The ceviche, birria, and guacamole were incredible. Only reason for the 4 star instead of 5 was because I think their tortillas and chips were pretty subpar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Upscale Mexican cuisine is perfect for those who want the bold flavors and unique spices of Mexico and would like to experience something other than the traditional taco shop menu. The atmosphere is family friendly as well as being a good place to celebrate a special occasion. This was my first time visiting and will happily return.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We really enjoyed our lunch. Drinks were well crafted and the food was delicious.
I recommend giving it a try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Puntamar is about as legit as youre going to get and goes toe to toe with spots down in Baja. Great location, service and food. Really glad to have a restaurant like this in the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had the taco Tuesday special and I will be going back to work on the rest of the menu! Great ambiance and excellent service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very cute place, good vibes, the food is excellent and the drinks are amazing! Corey was super helpful and lovely too. He made all of our delicious drinks but my favorite was the Mezcal Tamarindo. Great service from everyone. Lovely night!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pizza Birria, Bloody Mary Octopus Tostadas
Delicious food and super friendly service! Also the decor was cozy / romantic and it's a great spot whether it's with friends or your date! I also like how it's so close to the train station, it's convenient for any train riders.
The octopus was delicious, and the churros was freshly and crispy. The portions were quite generous too! Loved the tacos, so flavorful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Update: Just read the response to this review if you want to know how management/ownership responds to feedback. Our group ordered to-go food for a beach dinner with our kids. A member of our party went to order the food and was told it would take about 20 min and that they were a bit under staffed. I really do understand that struggle but wish there was a bit more transparency with the actual wait that ended up being a little over an hour to get the food. The food had great flavor but the portions did not align for the price. There were no sides with the Mole Enchiladas and it was small for $28. The Pizza Birria was the only dish ordered that we felt had the right value for the price. They have good food it was just a let down with the portion size and wait time.
Food: 2
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Authentic Mexican seafood. Originated from Mexico, the owner claimed all seafood were fresh from Mexico. We think it out beats the famous Michelin one-star Mexican seafood restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Amazing aquachile, ceviche, grill octopus, fish tacos and great cocktails!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Excellent ceviche balanced with the avocado and crispy tortilla. The Al pastor fish tacos were also good, although as a personal preference I want more pineapple to come through. Delicious nonetheless.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
You have to try the hamachi!! Our server was great for the recommendations too
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food has a good taste, we ordered a Black aguachile, a tortilla soup and 1 order of quesabirrias.
It took 1 hour for us to get our food and when we finally got it it seems like they want you to leave fast, they come and ask you if you are done with your plate to many times when it is obvious that we were still working on it.
Black aguachile Very good
Tortilla soup good
Quesabirrias it says 4 and it’s actually 2 cut in half they were good as well
Overall food very good service bad but could be better if they speed up the process of making the order faster
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
This has quickly become one of my wife and my favorite date night spots. The ambiance gives a feeling of being in Europe or back in San Miguel de Allende. The wine selection from Valle de Guadalupe is amazing and the service is over the top. They even got me to like ceviche!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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