Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill

Okay I just want to start off by saying that I love this place and I come here on a DAILY basis, and although today’s experience was not the best, I still want to recognize how phenomenal their food is.
Okay, when waiting in line today the first thing I noticed was the gentleman behind the line «cooking» was actual EATING FOOD WHILE HE WAS COOKING!!! As in, he was putting food in his mouth with his fingers and then proceeding to make everyone’s food. I’ve worked in restaurants for over 12 years having every position from food runner, to bartender, to manager. I know this is NOT OKAY, this is a health hazard and outright disgusting. Also, they weren’t that busy and usually get my tacos out in less than 5 min even on their busiest days. I waited almost 20 minutes until the really nice lady at the register told him to «do the tickets in ORDER!» Aka he was having a damn free for all back there while everyone was waiting for their food!
I still have to give this place 4 stars because they’re always amazing, polite, and food is nothing short of tasty. I will return because I’m addicted to their grilled chicken gourmet tacos, but I’ll make sure I don’t order them when people are eating while putting together my food

Always clean, staff is always kind and attentive, food never fails to deliver. Always tastes fresh!

Not sure what happened today.
Food took over 20 minutes and arrived cold.
Chips were chewy, oily and stale.
Quesadilla was like shoe leather.
Next time I’ll go to Super/​Junior Mex.

The hokey Cancun-​esc feel set up was my first warning but I came in anyways. Clean and acceptable area, orders a shrimp burrito. Got it nicely laid on my plate but looked very bare bones. It was disappointing, a tad bit bland with all the usual ingredients, and I think I’m walking away hungry too. Definitely not coming here, whomever is encouraging 4 stars, is clearly eating at McDonalds dollar menu, yah it’s food, but good? You’re kidding yourself.

This place was fantastic. The people were friendly and the food was great. I would reccomend this restaurant to anybody.

Larry the manager makes this a great place to enjoy your meals. He is so welcoming to each and everyone that passes through the doors. There are moms with strollers and young children in tow, teen-​agers, a dog friendly patio, 2^nd St. employees grabbing a bite, skateboarders, just a pleasant place. Larry is so gracious not only to the customers it’s so heartfelt the kindness and concern he shows to his workers. My favorite dish is the balsamic veggie salad to order. Larry is very accommodating if you wish to make any adjustments to your order.
Just tried the new Tilapia Santa Fe bowl which I really like too! You can’t go wrong here.

Love the food, but the staff isn’t so great. Tania took our phone order and was rude when we asked questions about what was in the burritos. Then, we came in to eat … She had no smile, seemed mad and irritated when charging us. Strange location.

Cannot go wrong with the spicy chicken especial burrito!
I would come here over any Mexican place on 2^nd st. Great service and friendly staff.
Cheers!

I have a newfound love for Rubio’s again. I used to eat here all of the time and I would always get a carnitas burrito but since they’ve taken it off of the menu I stopped coming… until now. I was craving fish the other day and my bf suggested a fish burrito from here. I am so glad he did. The mahimahi burrito is TO DIE FOR and although its a tad expensive $ 8 for a burrito, it’s worth it. I am always satisfied and full. Minus 1 star because the customer service is not on par with what it should be.

I really love all rubios, really. I do. I eat at hem ¾ times a week… But for some reason I always encounter the manager Larry… He always is very fake and rude towards me and I can’t understand why. I have given him chance after chance to try and let him redeem himself from how rude he always is. I can not stand this manager and I will NOT be returning to this rubios!

Bomb shrimp grilled gourmet tacos.

I’m a fan of the original fish taco. Mix their spicy, tomatoey pasty, toasted chile Arbol salsa with the creamy lime sour cream or yogurt sauce, and that against the crispy cabbage, and crispy fish, is a great expression of this classic Baja taco. Rubios sits somewhere between fast food and fast casual.
Every once in a while I just gotta have one.

Sometimes you just want a bean and cheese burrito without cheese! When I first went vegan I avoided Rubio’s, but I recently did some research and found out they have a few legit vegan options. Tons of calories, but tasty and quick.

Rubio’s is a pretty nostalgic place to me because there is a Rubio’s in the student union of my alma mater. I would always eat at Rubio’s when I was craving «Mexican» food and was feeling too classy for the other alternative nearby «Mexican» food joint on campus (Taco Bell). But after my college days (long, long ago), I stopped eating at Rubio’s. In my opinion, there just is too much good authentic Mexican food in Southern California to be eating at these fast food chains.
However, I was walking on 2^nd St. today and was feeling pretty hungry, yet didn’t want to spend more than $ 15 on a meal, so I decided — hey why not, I’m gonna go to Rubio’s. When I arrived, I saw a big «Taco Tuesday» sign and that’s when I knew that this was just meant to be. Seriously, Taco Tuesday FTW. Regular fish tacos are $ 1.50 and especial (some extra guac) fish tacos are $ 2.00 after 2:30 PM on Tuesdays. Although not authentic (it’s Rubio’s for Pete’s sake), they are pretty delicious for only $ 1.50. The taco is very generous in size — it’s not a dinky little taco like many places offer on Taco Tuesday. You get deep fried fish with cabbage and some sour cream with your choice of flour or corn tortilla. The fish is deep fried (of course it’s gonna be good) perfectly. Not greasy at all. The salsa bar here is also pretty impressive for a fast food joint.
I think one of my new favorite 2^nd St. pastimes is getting 3 tacos for under $ 5 on Tuesdays. My love of Rubio’s has been rekindled.

How can you beat $ 1.50 fish tacos on Tuesday? The fish tacos here are huge and I’m not just talking about the tortilla, the piece of fish fills the tortilla! The fish is so fresh!
I got the two fish taco special which included chips, beans and a medium drink. All for under $ 4.50! I love their beans, not sure if they make them in house but they taste like it! Yummm
Plus you get all the salsa and limes you want! Not doled out one slice at a time.
Restaurant is clean, staff is very nice. A definite go to on 2^nd Street. Did I mention they serve beer?
Go get yourself a fish taco and a beer and enjoy people watching on 2^nd Street.

Very friendly staff and great food.

Great location. Fast and friendly service. Always good food. I really respect Rubios for generously supporting the Friends is the LA River!

Great location and even more great food! After a nice dinner, you could just walk out and take a stroll to take a look some shops around the area. The customer service here is awesome. Everyone is friendly and really strike up a conversation with everyone. It’s very family friendly and clean. As expected, it gets pretty busy around dinner time but no matter how long the line is, you never have to wait more than 5 minutes. The only thing I could complain about is the price since it’s a bit pricey for me. Good thing I came here on a Tuesday since their original fish tacos are only $ 1.50 each! I will definitely come back to this location again!

I had tried Rubios a long time ago, and remembered that their tacos were pretty delicious. So, the boyfriend and I headed down 2^nd street to try this one out. It was nice and warm inside with six or seven tables. The woman at the cashier was super funny and friendly. We ordered the fried fish burrito, the gourmet shrimp taco, and 4 tacos (it was taco tuesday!)
We seated ourselves and helped ourselves to the salsa at the salsa bar. They had 4 different kinds, ranging from mild to spicy heat. There were also pickled vegetables, cilantro and onions, and jalapenos. I went for the green sauce and added cilantro and onions on top.
Our food came out, and we watched the waiter carrying our food wander around a bit throughout the restaurant. We waved him over because we counted four tacos on the tray, but he didn’t come. He went back into the kitchen with our food, and came back out, looked around, THEN saw our number 52 and placed it on our table. Everything was pretty fresh looking and steaming hot, except two bites into the shrimp taco, we realized there was a long hair. We thought it could have been one of ours, but the hair was UNDER the cheese, so it probably fell in while someone was making it. I went over to the cashier and let her know and she immediately apologized and gave me a new one later! Very nice.
The burrito was pretty yummy, although the guacamole was only at the last two bites of my burrito which was really lame because i love avocado. Ah, well. I’ll come back, but request more guac.

They serve beer!
One of my favorite places for tacos! The original fish taco is a classic that I’ll usually get plus one other taco. The 2 taco plate combo is nice with chips and beans. Beans are a bit on the bland side for me so i’ll mix in some of the verde salsa for pop.
My current favorite tacos here is the Original Fish Taco (hand-​battered fried w/​corn tortilla), Mango Habanero Mahi Mahi (grilled w/​flour tortilla) and the Atlantic Salmon (grilled w/​corn flour).
During Fall/​Winter time, they have langostino lobster tacos and burritos. pretty good also. but i wish they could add a few more pieces of the lobster. the cabbage overpowers it a bit so you don’t get to fully taste the lobster.
Salsa bar is pretty good, but sometimes I want a bit more heat so I’l grab the bottle of Diablo sauce. So good!
They serve beer! Beers and tacos. mmmm!
Service at this location has been friendly and attentive every time I’ve gone. Sometimes bringing your order to the table and occasionally offering to take your tray/​trash. Very cool.
*Don’t forget to sign-​up for the Beach Club for more discounts and a free original fish taco on your birthday!
a solid 4 stars… 1 less star for pricing, gets a bit expensive when you’re really hungry. :P but there is taco tuesdays $ 1.50 for the original fish taco starting at 2:30pm. Did I mention they serve beer?