Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill

Yoli took my order. Simple and satisfying… or should have been. I ordered three fish tacos and waited patiently for them to call my name. 20min went by and I’m thinking… why am I the only one here without food. I wait for 10min while they wonder why I’m sitting patiently with my sauce. Finally I’m asked what my order is and am told someone else must have taken it. Gary or Greg whatever his name is was complacent. It took 2min to get my fish tacos that weren’t worth the 32min wait. I bought one more taco for my girlfriend and I noticed this guy Gerry make a gesture of «slit your throat» after I ordered. He offered chips, beans, maybe another taco… I declined. I’m the most relaxed chill guy too. It was a simple mistake and no «we made a mistake we apologize» but someone took your order although that was an impossibility considering I was at the table closest to the food hand off area. Won’t be using my actual name here again.

Good place for good mexican food… it can be crowded though, and you have to wait for someone to leave to find a spot.

Made it back to San Diego after years away and first meal was Rubios. It was good back then still good now! 2 taco especial hits the spot!

This Rubio’s is always busy and the wait for the food takes awhile compared to other Rubio’s. On a positive note, the food is hot and turnover is good and the salsa bar is always clean and stocked. I always get the California bowl which is predictable. The fish tacos are a hit or miss. My coworker got hers soggy today but she asked for a new plate and they were accommodating.

Very clean restaurant and everything on the menu sounds yummy.
My husband and I were not «WOWed» by our orders… it tasted pretty bland.
Mahi Mahi fish tacos, blackened
Shrimp burrito with guacamole
We both loved our sons chicken quesadilla though :)
I think we just need to try different things on the menu. This was our first visit to a Rubio’s. The fish in the tacos was cooked to perfection but I am used to baja fish tacos and this was a totally different flavor. I should have expected that, them being cooked blackened and all. Husband said his burrito lacked flavor but the shrimp was cooked perfectly. We also tried lots of the different salsa’s.
I would definitely go back and try different items off the menu.

What can I say but getting back to roots when fish tacos came to San Diego from San Felipe still the best it started in mission bay dr and now sharing all over that’s to Ralph’s dad

Save yourself the time and go to the Rubios located off Fay. Today I waited 34 minutes to receive my order at the villa la Jolla location. What is management doing here? used to come here all the time, and will now avoid it like the plague! The Fay location has Much better customer service as well…

Omg Mexican fast food. WOW. I’m a vegetarian and generally healthy but this is my guilty pleasure. It’s a lot of calories (listed on the menu) but it doesn’t make you feel sick afterwards which often happens to me after fast food. Either of the fish tacos are fab, you gotta add the sauces though– go all out. If you’re new to San Diego like me, you will appreciate this place.

I’ve been here about three times total in my lifetime maybe, and there’s no burning passion that makes me want to continue coming back. There is the Taco Tuesday special for $ 1.50 tacos but I think Rubio’s does better with the burritos, and that’s usually what I end up getting regardless of if it’s Taco Tuesday or not.
A tip: sign up for their e-​mail newsletter! Not only do you get coupons and various promotional items, they will send you something for your birthday! Last time I was able to get an entire three-​item plate for like $ 2 after the birthday coupon. Totally worth it!

Do not go to any Rubio’s. Their fish tacos are very expensive and they are less than half the size of what they once were. I haven’t gone here in quite a while and now I know why– the quality of the food does not match the price.

Tuesday’s $ 1.5 fish tacos here are the bomb. The fish inside is relatively big and goes really well with the sauce. The only downside is that sometimes it’s very leaky and it might get it all over your hands while you eat, but that’s something I can toerlate for some delicious and cheap fish tacos.
I’ve never wanted to write a review about this place because I feel like it’s a chain restaurant and probably everyone knows about their fish tacos. However, I changed my mind after I their California bowl. I got it with mahi mahi and this totally changed my impression of Rubio’s. It’s not just a chain restaurant that I would only go on Tuesdays but a place I would go if I crave for some good fish! The California bowl basically contains everything that a chiptole bowl will have but instead of meat, you get shrimp or fish! Will definitely come back for more!

It’s a chain. Enough said. The interesting thing is that this location actually offered steel utensils which I found interesting. Food was pretty much on par with other locations. When I first searched I thought it wasn’t the chain. Oh well.

I ordered 2 items to-​go from the menu. Nothing crazy.
I knew by how long it took the cashier to type my order on her computer that it was gonna come out wrong.
Thankfully the staff manager fixed it before it came out.
Waited for 10 minutes. Saw my order sitting on the plate heaters for 4 minutes before it got bagged.
Other than that, it’s «fast» food. What can you expect.

Going down hill?)-; You served me A Grilled Gourmet Shrimp taco plate, but the food was lukewarm, and the tacos had an unappealing grey color overall. The corn tortilla is supposed to have cheese grilled onto it, but it was barely cooked here, and didn’t have that toasty texture which I’ve enjoyed at other Rubio’s locations. This was my worst visit ever to this location. The beans were lukewarm as well.
On a previous visit, I enjoyed the Ancho shrimp burrito on the whole wheat tortilla, and it was tasty with the avocado and sauce.
The Gourmet grilled shrimp taco with cheese grilled onto the corn tortilla is normally my fav go-​to item, but your kitchen ruined it this time. When it’s cooked right, it has plenty of flavor, and I like to add the green tomatillo salsa and the jalapeño citrus hot sauce.
I’ve also had problems at this Rubio’s with the fish taco especial being mushy. How is fried fish mushy?!
This Rubio’s shares the parking lot with Whole Foods Market. It’s also near a Flame Broiler. I’m tired of being disappointed at this location of Rubio’s.
The tables on the patio were dirty as well, and the bathroom was out of soap.

I give pretty much all of Rubios locations 3.5 stars, as the menu, food quality and restaurant layout are pretty much always the same. I like that they have seasonal menu items. Sign up for their email club and you get lots of coupons too.
–I mostly get the Balsamic and Roasted Veggie Salad with Shrimp. the spring mix is fresh, there is a generous amount of plump, deliciously grilled shrimp and warm, the warm veggies (bell peppers, onions) are perfectly grilled, the corn nicely fire roasted and a few strips of avocado which are always ripe. I haven’t had the dressing on this since I always top it with my favorite Chipotle Salsa!
–I also love the beef street tacos with delicious shredded seared beef and guacamole that I top with tons of cilantro/​onion and Chipotle Salsa. I always get it with a side of spring mix which they rarely charge for!
its usually the service that sets them apart. the staff is usually pretty good at all locations, but at some they are outstanding; speedy, more knowledgeable and go out of their way to make you happy and customize your orders. (and somewhat the location/​parking).
–the staff at this particular location is the friendliest and most knowledgeable of any rubio’s i’ve been to. they go out of their way to make you happy, cater to any special request without a problem (I always get a side of mixed greens with my taco and they are one of the few locations that knows exactly how to ring it up (for free, btw) and doesn’t question me when I order it) and are very efficient.
–the parking can get tricky certain nights and it can get a little busy during peak times (especially when ucsd is in session and its taco tuesday) but I’ve never had a problem finding parking or a seat. it is pretty roomy and has a great outdoor seating area.

Rubios Fish Tacos was once THE place to get fish tacos and other Mexican fast food. Credit has to go to Rubio’s for bringing fish tacos to the American palate. They were the first chain to offer these delightful treats.
That said, their fish tacos are nothing to be excited about anymore. The prices have gone way, way up, and the quality has gone down at the same time. Rubio has tried various things like lobster tacos, etc. in an effort to appeal to the gourmet crowd. But none of these have been very good, I rarely eat here anymore.
The last fish tacos I had here were heavy and wet with white sauce, sparse in the amount of fish, and wrapped in tough corn tortillas. The tacos were literally dripping all over the place, and I had to salsa to give them a real flavor.
I’m not sure what Rubio’s can do to get back to the good product they used offer at a significantly better price. It’s a tough business, and the price of food has gone up everywhere, especially fresh fish.
The bottom line is that the food is edible, and I do dine here when I have no other option.

CHUN P’s EXPECTATIONS VERSUS REALITY
Season 6, Episode #2
See photo… pretty darn good! Especially when its only $ 1.50 on Tuesdays! I ate 4 of these tasty tacos.
But $ 2.89 full price? No thanks…

Everything went pretty well at this location. The food was good and the service as well. The salsa bar could of use a little attention and after they observe me snapping up some picture, they got to rather quickly, which was good to see (
). I ordered the Regal Springs Tilapia tacos with a side of black beans and chips, with unlimited helpings to the salsa bar of course (
).
I asked for the fish to blackened because it bolds more flavor for an already mild and slightly muddy flavored fish as tilapia and they delivered. The tilapia was well cooked, nicely blackened, and tender a mildly flaky which tasted very good coupled with the green tomatillo sauce (
). The chipotle sauce had very good flavor with a very mild spice and it went well with the mild fish (
). Good grilled fish tacos and I would order them again.
The black bean were well cooked but very under seasoned. I appreciated the cheese they sprinkled on top, but it was not enough to cut through their blandness (
). I mixed in some salsa to help them out. The tortilla chips were good and had a nice crisp to them.
The girl who brought my food to me was Leticia who was quite nice. Good grilled fish tacos, but don’t forget to season those black beans peeps.

Two words: Fish. Tacos.
Must try in San Diego. Cheap and quick for that post beach snack :)

Taco tuesdays! $ 1.50 on their original fish tacos after 2/2:30pm! They have decent fish tacos here for the price. For a franchise, it’s actually not bad. Although I would rarely crave to this eat place, whenever I’m feeling lazy or want to go for some cheap decent fish tacos, I’d come here. Else I’d just skip the taco entirely and eat fish at home or some other seafood joint.
Just like how I would occasionally give in to McDs, I do the same thing with Rubios.