Made reservations for 9, arrived at 8:50, was told it'd be about a 20-30min wait. Stood outside in the cold for about an hour before finally being seated. Our server was amazing but they need to not accept so many reservations if they can't handle them and also put a heater outside if they're going to have 10+ people waiting around for an hour.
Jocelyn
didnt get my food until 2 hours after there was basically no servers terrible experience for valentines reservations
gabriela
waited nearly 2hrs to receive our food. our server was busy and kept rushing past us, making it hard to order drinks while waiting for our food. it was busy, but most tables had reservations. people who were seated before us received their food an hour after we got seated, so we kinda knew we'd be waiting. our server didnt acknowledge what an inconvenience it was to wait that long. no apology, no discount, nothing. for the price of our dinner, we would've expected better service.
Michael
Food came out cold and was overall just really disappointing. Our server had nothing to do with our experience she was fine. However, took so long to get food out of the kitchen. The parties sitting next to us thought the same thing. Food lacked flavor and regretted coming here for Valentines Day.
Day
We never got food and the service was horrible we had to wait for over an hour and never got food
Olivia
Had the best breakfast at El Sueño! The breakfast burrito was to die for and the bottomless mimosas were a steal! Definitely will be coming back - our server was awesome!
Silvia
We learned they recently began offering breakfast service and we felt fortunate to get an early reservation because the food was delicious. I had breakfast tacos with added chorizo, and the eggs were perfectly prepared over medium 👌🏼 my husband had a breakfast scramble and cafe de holla.
Shweta
Not vegetarian friendly. We had ordered some appetizers like elote corn, guacamole which were OK. The elote was just slapped on some overcooked corn. We ordered a carne asada burrito without carne and it came with meat. The kids quesadilla order arrived way late, and none was taken care of by the staff. Mistakes are normal but not taking care of them or removing them from the check is ridiculous. The look of the place was cool. We doubt we will ever be back. The only good thing was the Avocado taco dish.
Hector
The food was amazing very flavorful and authentic. Very high quality. The service was unmatched by anything I've had before they were very attentive, I never had to ask for anything.
Carli
Some of the best Mexican food I have had in SD! Trendy, fun restaurant. Great service. Great food. Very picturesque resturant. 10/10
El Sueño had a lovely patio and the small inside was inviting too. our server Alfredo was attentive but not overbearing. we had a specific cocktail request that wasn't particularly mexican and he made it happen beautifully. Complimentary chips and salsas were great. We added a guacamole that came out lightning quick but was not super special. i had duck tacos and my friend had the lobster tacos. Duck was tasty and the homemade tortillas were good. unfortunately the lobster was really not good. my friend only mentioned it near the end of our dinner. i tried it and it was inedible we should have sent it back, it was like rubber. we finished with flan which was also very heavy, not like flan i've had before. overall enjoyed our evening but the food unfortunately was similar to the rest of old town, kinda mediocre at best.
Destiny
I was really looking forward to checking out a place in Old Town I had not yet been to. I was really disappointed. I reserved dinner with my family at El Sueno to celebrate my birthday. The food and drinks were okay, but the service was awful. Initially sat us outside on a cold/wet evening despite full availability of tables inside, we had empty drinks and had to continually ask server for refills when she decided to check on us. They charged me for rice and beans that I didn't order even after I told the waitress I did not order them. Apps came out at the same time as the food despite me specifically asking waitress upfront to ensure apps came out first. No mention of birthday at all despite it being put in the yelp notes. The restaurant was not busy at all so no excuse for poor service. They won't tell you they'll charge automatic gratuity for a group of 6 so I guess there is no point in providing good service. You are better off going to one of the other many wonderful restaurants in Old Town.
Hunterman19
This was our first time (last time?) at El Sueño. We had reservations for 9:00 PM on New Year's Eve. We selected “inside” seating. We arrived there at 8:55 and the place was packed. We were told that because of the rainy weather, everyone was being put inside. We finally got an impromptu table for two right in the middle of a walk way where we were bumped into at least a dozen times (by both other diners and staff), one time leading to a drink falling off the table. The food took forever to arrive and was not hot. The noise level (well before celebration time) was excessive due to our table's placement. Needless to say, we were disappointed. I know that it being New Year's Eve and the weather were huge factors, and maybe an average night would have been different. We did have a wonderful time at a club down the street, and our New Year's celebration was awesome!!!
Lars
One of the best-designed restaurants in San Diego with an incredible vibe. The drinks and food were excellent, and the tacos were a standout. A must-visit if you're in Old Town.
Made reservations for 9, arrived at 8:50, was told it'd be about a 20-30min wait. Stood outside in the cold for about an hour before finally being seated. Our server was amazing but they need to not accept so many reservations if they can't handle them and also put a heater outside if they're going to have 10+ people waiting around for an hour.
didnt get my food until 2 hours after there was basically no servers terrible experience for valentines reservations
waited nearly 2hrs to receive our food. our server was busy and kept rushing past us, making it hard to order drinks while waiting for our food. it was busy, but most tables had reservations. people who were seated before us received their food an hour after we got seated, so we kinda knew we'd be waiting. our server didnt acknowledge what an inconvenience it was to wait that long. no apology, no discount, nothing. for the price of our dinner, we would've expected better service.
Food came out cold and was overall just really disappointing. Our server had nothing to do with our experience she was fine. However, took so long to get food out of the kitchen. The parties sitting next to us thought the same thing. Food lacked flavor and regretted coming here for Valentines Day.
We never got food and the service was horrible we had to wait for over an hour and never got food
Had the best breakfast at El Sueño! The breakfast burrito was to die for and the bottomless mimosas were a steal! Definitely will be coming back - our server was awesome!
We learned they recently began offering breakfast service and we felt fortunate to get an early reservation because the food was delicious. I had breakfast tacos with added chorizo, and the eggs were perfectly prepared over medium 👌🏼 my husband had a breakfast scramble and cafe de holla.
Not vegetarian friendly. We had ordered some appetizers like elote corn, guacamole which were OK. The elote was just slapped on some overcooked corn. We ordered a carne asada burrito without carne and it came with meat. The kids quesadilla order arrived way late, and none was taken care of by the staff. Mistakes are normal but not taking care of them or removing them from the check is ridiculous. The look of the place was cool. We doubt we will ever be back. The only good thing was the Avocado taco dish.
The food was amazing very flavorful and authentic. Very high quality. The service was unmatched by anything I've had before they were very attentive, I never had to ask for anything.
Some of the best Mexican food I have had in SD! Trendy, fun restaurant. Great service. Great food. Very picturesque resturant. 10/10
Restaurantji Recommends
El Sueño had a lovely patio and the small inside was inviting too. our server Alfredo was attentive but not overbearing. we had a specific cocktail request that wasn't particularly mexican and he made it happen beautifully. Complimentary chips and salsas were great. We added a guacamole that came out lightning quick but was not super special. i had duck tacos and my friend had the lobster tacos. Duck was tasty and the homemade tortillas were good. unfortunately the lobster was really not good. my friend only mentioned it near the end of our dinner. i tried it and it was inedible we should have sent it back, it was like rubber. we finished with flan which was also very heavy, not like flan i've had before. overall enjoyed our evening but the food unfortunately was similar to the rest of old town, kinda mediocre at best.
I was really looking forward to checking out a place in Old Town I had not yet been to. I was really disappointed. I reserved dinner with my family at El Sueno to celebrate my birthday. The food and drinks were okay, but the service was awful. Initially sat us outside on a cold/wet evening despite full availability of tables inside, we had empty drinks and had to continually ask server for refills when she decided to check on us. They charged me for rice and beans that I didn't order even after I told the waitress I did not order them. Apps came out at the same time as the food despite me specifically asking waitress upfront to ensure apps came out first. No mention of birthday at all despite it being put in the yelp notes. The restaurant was not busy at all so no excuse for poor service. They won't tell you they'll charge automatic gratuity for a group of 6 so I guess there is no point in providing good service. You are better off going to one of the other many wonderful restaurants in Old Town.
This was our first time (last time?) at El Sueño. We had reservations for 9:00 PM on New Year's Eve. We selected “inside” seating. We arrived there at 8:55 and the place was packed. We were told that because of the rainy weather, everyone was being put inside. We finally got an impromptu table for two right in the middle of a walk way where we were bumped into at least a dozen times (by both other diners and staff), one time leading to a drink falling off the table. The food took forever to arrive and was not hot. The noise level (well before celebration time) was excessive due to our table's placement. Needless to say, we were disappointed. I know that it being New Year's Eve and the weather were huge factors, and maybe an average night would have been different. We did have a wonderful time at a club down the street, and our New Year's celebration was awesome!!!
One of the best-designed restaurants in San Diego with an incredible vibe. The drinks and food were excellent, and the tacos were a standout. A must-visit if you're in Old Town.
Awesome guac, tacos, chips, desserts and drinks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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