I understand Valentine’s Day is a busy day for them and try to get as many tables in but it was way too full a restaurant overbooked with tables right next to each other could not even hear your own conversation even harder to walk. Definitely will reconsider going back the only plus for this place is their food but even the service was rushed. To put the cherry on top they automatically charged 18% gratuity simply unacceptable
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Tulga B
Reasonable price in the area. Had chicken soup which was really good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Khalil Robinson
Amazing Food, Drinks, and Vibes at El Sueño!
We had an incredible dining experience at El Sueño! Everything we ordered was packed with fresh, bold flavors, and you could truly taste the quality of the ingredients.
We started with the guacamole, which was clearly made with the freshest avocados, perfectly seasoned, and absolutely delicious. The tostada bites were the perfect mix of crunch and flavor—definitely a must-try!
For our main dishes, we had the queso birria tacos and shrimp tacos with beans and rice. Every bite was bursting with spices and depth, making it a true flavor experience. You could taste the care that went into every dish.
For drinks, I tried the Cenote Water, which was incredibly refreshing, and finished with the Tropic Like It’s Hot, a beautifully balanced cocktail with fresh-squeezed ingredients that made it the perfect way to end the meal.
Beyond the food, our waitress Madi was outstanding—attentive, professional, and genuinely welcoming. Her service made our experience even better!
And let’s talk about the music—it kept my feet moving and my stomach happily digesting, adding to the fun, energetic atmosphere.
If you’re looking for a place with amazing food, fresh ingredients, great drinks, and fantastic vibes, El Sueño is a must-visit. We’ll definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nidia Bolanos
Mailee was our server today and this gem was found through Tik Tok. Place is super cute in Old Town San Diego. The Entradas (appetizers) were delicious the food was bomb and the churro and ice cream dessert was yummy. Drinks are so good. Def 100% recommend, we will be coming back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa's, Street Tacos, Rolled Tacos
Jennifer Bailey
The atmosphere and vibe was very fun and aesthetically pleasing. The salsa sampler that comes with the chips (and if free with your meal) were very good. The margarita was good and the service was ok. I had the fish tacos and although it had good flavor and were filling, it came out Luke warm. The fish was mahi-mahi and was extra fishy, which usually isn’t a good sign. But the flavors and ingredients tasted great together, overall. This was a social media find, but I’m not sure I’d rush back. Glad we tried it though!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Ashley Greene
I should have known to walk away when we were seated immediately on a Friday night. There are so many places in Old Town to get better Mexican food. You’re basically paying for the upscale decor and the photographer who tries to take pictures of you for “free” the second you sit down. Do not say yes to the photographer, she’ll come back with your photos in a frame and try to upsell you on a photo without their branded advertising all over it. I’m not a fan of being pulled from my food and conversation twice to be sold my own photograph.
The salsa and chips were pretty good, however the main dishes my friend and I got lacked a lot of flavor. The food is honestly forgettable, and for the price there are plenty of places in Old Town that will satisfy you more.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Maggie Wright
Server was rude from the start. She answered our questions with attitude. She did bring my table bday shots which was nice but overall our experience was awful. A photographer comes to your table, says it's free and then tries to get you to pay for the pics which are about $10-$40 in price. I think that's insane lol. The food took 30, almost 40 minutes to get. Our server barely checked on us during that time. The food and drinks were good but it's not worth the wait for food or attitude from the server.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Agustina
Delicious modern Mexican food. Must get tortilla with honey butter and enchiladas!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Hot Plate Enchiladas Suizas
-Forever JD-
Everything was just perfect! Delicious food, nice and kind staff, I'll definitely go there again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
__
Semi decent mix of vegan options, would have liked to taste more of the tempeh in the tempeh tacos. Nice variety of tasty salsas to go with bowl of chips. El Nino margarita was tasty and mild on the booze. Loved the decor with plants, wood, and bar atmosphere highlighted by tiger painting. Up tempo mix of EDM kept the vibe high.
El sueño was a disappointment. We ordered the shrimp tostadas, which had a very strong almost unbearable fishy smell. I also ordered the lobster tacos, which were very salty and had way too many ingredients. Needless to say the lobster was rubbery. The saving grace was the octopus and the chips and salsa. The atmosphere is also chill, but I don't think I would be returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Brenda Del carmen
Really slow service. Food wasn’t really good but drinks are strong. A nice gentlemen ended up helping us after he saw we weren’t helped for quite some time. He was really nice and friendly. Probably wont be back though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Weston Prudell
This place I left so happy. The grilled octopus was next level and lobster tacos were money with the tortilla you dream about. Both green and red actually spicy salsas. Brought the puppers too! Taking out of town family here from now on.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa's, Lobster Tacos
Ian Van Tuyl
The Dinka and food where very good. I had fish tacos, guacamole and a variety of salsas and my daughters has a kids quesadilla and Carne Asada quesadilla
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa's, Grilled Fish Tacos
Kaylee Killebrew
Went here for an appetizer and a drink with a friend. The atmosphere was great, the decor and bar area were clean and colorful, great music too!
I ordered the Elote and the Quesadilla (super simple but wasn’t too hungry) the Elote had incredible flavor, kinda awkward to eat, but the presentation was gorgeous. I would eat it again 100x no matter how messy it was. I also ordered the cocktail “tropic like it’s hot” if you like pineapple and coconut then this cocktail is for you!!
I ordered a second drink, and unfortunately our bartender forgot about it. When it was time to close out, I asked her if she could take it off since we hadn’t received it, she ended up giving us a free one.
I work in the industry, things happen all the time, the way this bartender fixed this mistake made the experience better. I will be coming back 100%
(Btw perfect date night spot out on the patio, or friend happy hour by the bar)
I understand Valentine’s Day is a busy day for them and try to get as many tables in but it was way too full a restaurant overbooked with tables right next to each other could not even hear your own conversation even harder to walk. Definitely will reconsider going back the only plus for this place is their food but even the service was rushed. To put the cherry on top they automatically charged 18% gratuity simply unacceptable
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Reasonable price in the area. Had chicken soup which was really good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Amazing Food, Drinks, and Vibes at El Sueño!
We had an incredible dining experience at El Sueño! Everything we ordered was packed with fresh, bold flavors, and you could truly taste the quality of the ingredients.
We started with the guacamole, which was clearly made with the freshest avocados, perfectly seasoned, and absolutely delicious. The tostada bites were the perfect mix of crunch and flavor—definitely a must-try!
For our main dishes, we had the queso birria tacos and shrimp tacos with beans and rice. Every bite was bursting with spices and depth, making it a true flavor experience. You could taste the care that went into every dish.
For drinks, I tried the Cenote Water, which was incredibly refreshing, and finished with the Tropic Like It’s Hot, a beautifully balanced cocktail with fresh-squeezed ingredients that made it the perfect way to end the meal.
Beyond the food, our waitress Madi was outstanding—attentive, professional, and genuinely welcoming. Her service made our experience even better!
And let’s talk about the music—it kept my feet moving and my stomach happily digesting, adding to the fun, energetic atmosphere.
If you’re looking for a place with amazing food, fresh ingredients, great drinks, and fantastic vibes, El Sueño is a must-visit. We’ll definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mailee was our server today and this gem was found through Tik Tok. Place is super cute in Old Town San Diego. The Entradas (appetizers) were delicious the food was bomb and the churro and ice cream dessert was yummy. Drinks are so good. Def 100% recommend, we will be coming back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa's, Street Tacos, Rolled Tacos
The atmosphere and vibe was very fun and aesthetically pleasing. The salsa sampler that comes with the chips (and if free with your meal) were very good. The margarita was good and the service was ok. I had the fish tacos and although it had good flavor and were filling, it came out Luke warm. The fish was mahi-mahi and was extra fishy, which usually isn’t a good sign. But the flavors and ingredients tasted great together, overall. This was a social media find, but I’m not sure I’d rush back. Glad we tried it though!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
I should have known to walk away when we were seated immediately on a Friday night. There are so many places in Old Town to get better Mexican food. You’re basically paying for the upscale decor and the photographer who tries to take pictures of you for “free” the second you sit down. Do not say yes to the photographer, she’ll come back with your photos in a frame and try to upsell you on a photo without their branded advertising all over it. I’m not a fan of being pulled from my food and conversation twice to be sold my own photograph.
The salsa and chips were pretty good, however the main dishes my friend and I got lacked a lot of flavor. The food is honestly forgettable, and for the price there are plenty of places in Old Town that will satisfy you more.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Server was rude from the start. She answered our questions with attitude.
She did bring my table bday shots which was nice but overall our experience was awful.
A photographer comes to your table, says it's free and then tries to get you to pay for the pics which are about $10-$40 in price. I think that's insane lol.
The food took 30, almost 40 minutes to get. Our server barely checked on us during that time.
The food and drinks were good but it's not worth the wait for food or attitude from the server.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Delicious modern Mexican food. Must get tortilla with honey butter and enchiladas!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Hot Plate Enchiladas Suizas
Everything was just perfect!
Delicious food, nice and kind staff, I'll definitely go there again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Semi decent mix of vegan options, would have liked to taste more of the tempeh in the tempeh tacos. Nice variety of tasty salsas to go with bowl of chips. El Nino margarita was tasty and mild on the booze. Loved the decor with plants, wood, and bar atmosphere highlighted by tiger painting. Up tempo mix of EDM kept the vibe high.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa's
Restaurantji Recommends
El sueño was a disappointment. We ordered the shrimp tostadas, which had a very strong almost unbearable fishy smell. I also ordered the lobster tacos, which were very salty and had way too many ingredients. Needless to say the lobster was rubbery. The saving grace was the octopus and the chips and salsa. The atmosphere is also chill, but I don't think I would be returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Really slow service. Food wasn’t really good but drinks are strong. A nice gentlemen ended up helping us after he saw we weren’t helped for quite some time. He was really nice and friendly. Probably wont be back though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
This place I left so happy. The grilled octopus was next level and lobster tacos were money with the tortilla you dream about. Both green and red actually spicy salsas. Brought the puppers too! Taking out of town family here from now on.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa's, Lobster Tacos
The Dinka and food where very good. I had fish tacos, guacamole and a variety of salsas and my daughters has a kids quesadilla and Carne Asada quesadilla
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chips and Salsa's, Grilled Fish Tacos
Went here for an appetizer and a drink with a friend. The atmosphere was great, the decor and bar area were clean and colorful, great music too!
I ordered the Elote and the Quesadilla (super simple but wasn’t too hungry) the Elote had incredible flavor, kinda awkward to eat, but the presentation was gorgeous. I would eat it again 100x no matter how messy it was. I also ordered the cocktail “tropic like it’s hot” if you like pineapple and coconut then this cocktail is for you!!
I ordered a second drink, and unfortunately our bartender forgot about it. When it was time to close out, I asked her if she could take it off since we hadn’t received it, she ended up giving us a free one.
I work in the industry, things happen all the time, the way this bartender fixed this mistake made the experience better. I will be coming back 100%
(Btw perfect date night spot out on the patio, or friend happy hour by the bar)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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