Ortega's A Mexican Bistro

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!

We visited Ortega's for Restaurant Week Dinner. Having been to the various Ortega's in Puerto Nuevo, Baja, we were hopeful that this Ortega's would be comparable so that, when we had a craving for a lobster dinner, we could avoid border lines, added auto insurance fees, etc. We were very optimistic upon arrival as the restaurant provides a nice ambiance. Our server was initially attentive and personable. All of our drinks were great ( kudos to the bartender!). Tortilla soup was just spicy enough and very tasty. Our entrees were...meh. Lobster was as dry as could be, steaks were tough (but cooked med rare as requested). Shrimp was mediocre. And then our server seemed to vanish. Finally got dessert (flan was good) and then waited and waited for our check. We were there for 2 1/2 hours total.

It's been quite some time since I've been here, but will definitely try to make it back more often.
The food was wonderful, as was the service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Lobster, Crab Enchiladas

Great food and great service!! Portions were filling and Jamaica was yummy!! If you have room, get the flan. Definitely coming back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Coconut Flan, Shrimp Tacos

I never knew you could get Ortega's from Puerto Nuevo right in San Diego! Great lobster, rice, beans, tortillas, and margaritas. Table side guac was awesome, loved it

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Lobster, Chips and Salsa, Rice and Beans, Guacamole Made Tableside, Puerto Nuevo-Style Tortilla Soup

My Boyfriend and I ate here on 8/23/24, around 7:30pm-ish. We were greeted right away and we asked for an outside table. The ambiance was very nice and romantic with the outdoor lights and intimate table for two. The host, brought us chips and salsa, and took our first drink order; which was brought out fairly quickly. Cesar was our server, and I noticed he was also bartending. This made me appreciate the teamwork between the host and server, in the beginning, until Cesar came to greet us. Cesar, even though having to make drinks, I assume for the restaurant, was still attentive, friendly, and on point with the drinks and serving us. The food was really good. It had lots of flavor and the portion was pretty big. We ordered the Shrimp Enchiladas, and the Chicken mole, and lastly for dessert we had the Coco flan.

Pros: no wait time, parking available-no charge, server was friendly and on point, food and drinks were good, as well as, portion and price.

Con: I would have liked it if the server told us his name without me asking for it; so the switch from host to server would have been more understandable.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5