Ortega's A Mexican Bistro

Great food, guacamole made to order table side, flavorful tacos, excellent salsa and chips. The skinny margaritas are excellent!! My favorite Mexican restaurant in Hillcrest!!

Tucked away in the corner of a parking lot , this little spot turned out to be a total gem. Cute umbrellas, Mexican tile tables—it's basically the Pinterest board of restaurants. First came the FREE warm tortilla chips (capital letters because my stomach considers them a love language). wit a wonderful red salsa. Not many places take the time to warm the tortillas these days or give them out free. I inhaled those, then moved on to a chili relleno so good it made me want to come back asap. Husband LOVED the Enchiladas Suizas. The server was super friendly, and the red wine went down very easy. Honestly, this place is the neighborhood's best-kept secret... well, until I just blabbed about it.

Had another great meal here, service always great and love the food and drinks. Sat outside on patio and was very nice space.

Overall very good food. The guac table side was tasty, as were the complimentary chips and salsa. Chicken mole was flavorful and so were the shrimp tacos. Margarita was a bit strong until mixed more.

Amazing food and service. We had Mahi mahi tacos and Chicken pippian. The table salsa was fresh and flavorful. Great place hiding in plain site.

We love Ortega's! We meet friends there regularly for the fabulous margaritas, nice ambiance, and delicious food. The staff is friendly and efficient.

I had a reservation. The hostess sat us in the back corner by the bar across from the kitchen door, despite a fairly open dining area with a pleastnt ambiance. In my opinion, the "bar" area should be left for open seating or optional to patrons. One, there was a man passed out on the bar. Two, the kitchen door was open and the sound of dishwashing was LOUD. Three, I could smell the bar rot from the table and bottles clanging in the bar were noisy. All around a poor experience. I have been here before in the past and it was nice. After this experience, I would not return again.

Very nice meal with chicken mole, fish taco and guacamole made at table. The margaritas were yummy as well. David took great care of us and service was perfect.

Best margaritas in town! Add a splash of Pomegranate to their Presido margarita with a sugar rim for best margarita you've ever had! Great staff of people, super friendly!

Love this hidden gem! They have amazing Mexican food. We enjoy their steak burritos, steak tacos, table made guacamole & Casamigos margaritas are delicioius!! Highly recommend if looking for some yummy authentic Mexican food. This restaurant makes us feel like we are visiting Baja, MX. Best in town!

Great food and margaritas. Table side guacamole nice touch. Valentine day prix fix was an excellent value.

had reservation at 8:45pm, didn't get seated until 9:45pm. Food was alright, soup was good and steak was good but the burrito altogether was lack luster and the table side guac was middle of the road basic. the chicken tortilla soup and the chips and salsa was all that could really be enjoyed. The ambience was perfect for valentine's day and the service was great. The food and wait time was what made this sort of not worth it. i will give the benefit of the doubt because it was at closing time and we were the last ones in there. but for valentine's day i was expecting better. an $87.00 bill was not worth the experience. won't be going again, but wasn't the worst i've experienced

I had high hopes for this restaurant when I made a Valentine's Day reservation for 8:30 PM, expecting a smooth and enjoyable night. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Despite having a reservation, we weren't seated until 10:20 PM—nearly two hours later. No updates, no apologies, just an endless wait that killed the mood. When we finally sat down, I was hoping the food would make up for the poor experience. It didn't. The dishes were mediocre at best—nothing memorable, nothing worth the wait. The only saving grace? The margaritas packed a punch, but at that point, we needed them just to get through the night

I found this place on Open table. It was our first time in. We had a reservation at 8pm. It was Valentine's Day. We arrived 745 and they told us they were running behind. When asked how long to wait they said unsure. We waited til 845 and started looking for other places to eat nearby but of course they finally called our name. So almost an hour wait with a reservation. I just don't understand the the point on having reservations if doesn't really apply to real time. Maybe this restaurant should only do reservations on holidays and not take any walk ins. Just saying because we're tons of people waiting outside and inside, with and without reservations. We were waiting in front of the main check in desk for the whole hour and it was such a safety hazard. People's butts were in my face if you can imagine. The food was ok. I thought it would be better. Maybe I came on an off day because the reviews sound way better than what we experienced. I wouldn't recommend this place on a holiday, or Valentine's Day. Like I said, maybe I came on a bad day but I wouldn't come back. There are way more other places that I can eat at with better service and food. Maybe this days food wasn't great because it was so busy.

This was the third time we have been here. It was Restaurant Week so the 3 course Lobster dinner was an even better price! Delicious and generous portions of Lobster and the other two courses of salad and desert. Great service by our very friendly server. Atmosphere is warm, cozy and has a great Mexican feel. One of our favorite places to go!