Don Rios

So freakin good. Rolled beef tacos… Omg so good… oink oink burrito? Whoa that was freaking awesome. Horchata… mmmm …time for a siesta as i can’t move from the gluttony of it all. And the service was so so nice they go out of their way to be friendly and even offered to let me taste some samples.

I love this place. TJ tacos are great with nice ingredients and flavors. Highly recommended.

I ordered the Fish battered burrito for $ 6.53 a flour tortilla for $ 1 and chicken flautas for $ 4 — We literally couldn’t tell the difference between the flour tortilla and the fish burrito while in the bag. The flautas cold and greasy and soggy. The drive through lady is also so so so nice and pleasant. But the food has taken a down turn. Bummer!

Ridiculous lol. If you want to have someone work the drive through window, could you at least have them understand you?
I first wanted a Carne asada burrito, I asked what was in it, he told me. I asked if he could add cheese… sour cream. and… Then I get cut off with
«What» so I try again «what» like wtf? I asked for no pico, I think it’s gross, he’s like what?
So I said NEVERMIND I want a California burrito, add sour cream no pico. I get my food, cool whatever. Get home and I’m eating. Then… PICO! I just don’t enjoy it, however if I was allergic I would be PISSED because I said I did not want it and I made that clear. Please understand better…

Although this place only has 2.5 stars my husband and I decided to stop here to satisfy our Mexican food craving since it was conveniently on our way home. At 9:30pm on a Thurs night there was a line about 4 – 5 cars deep at the drive thru. We ordered the beef rolled tacos with guacamole and cheese and a carne asada quesadilla. The lady that helped us at the drive thru window was surprisingly very friendly. We asked for extra hot sauce and she confirmed if the amount she gave us was enough. The food was good and satisfied our craving. I would definitely come back here to order the same things.

Damn so good, great food fresh ingredients loved the rolled tacos, i love to eat this place is fown the street perfect snack spot

I ordered 5 rolled tacos with cheese and sour cream. I didn’t know they only offered them in sets of 4 and was charged and extra dollar for the 5^th. Not a big deal but I think he should have told me before just charging extra on my card. But anyways, we were the only people there and there was nobody in the drive thru the whole time we were there. No excuse for the quality of food I received. Dry, old tacos with barely any of the toppings I was charged extra for. Step your game up Don Rios. You are not the only game in town

Don’t eat here! Our enchiladas were cold and flavorless. My tacos poured out grease with every bite and my son’s quesadilla looked like a soggy sloppy joe and was basically inedible. We ended up just throwing it away. Terrible excuse for Mexican food

Worst drive thru ever. First it took 10 minutes for anyone to even answer. Second, it took another 15 minutes for anyone to even acknowledge or greet me at the window. Third, the girl at the window disappeared for 2 – 3 minutes after giving my change back.

This spot is my go-​to. Either a Sonora Quesadilla or Pancho Burrito with beans all day!

First time here today. Fish Tacos are amazing. Salsa is amazing. No complaints on the food.
The service needs a little help. Cashier not friendly at all, bathroom a mess, no soap to wash hands, light bulb burned out etc etc.
But great Grilled Fish Taco!!!

I was very pleased with this place. I must admit, I was a bit concerned when we walked in and it was empty but then again it was nearly 8pm. The gal taking our order was very sweet, even though my fellow dinners wanted to know everything that was on their items and made special requests. The place was older but clean and the food was tasty. Definitely will be back again.

This place wasn’t bad. They have really good tortillas and steak. I got the Cali burrito with guac. I really liked it. It was pretty big too, couldn’t finish the whole thing. I wouldn’t have stopped here if a friend didn’t bring me, but I’m glad he did. Pretty good.

average Mexican food at decent prices that is open 24hrs! The drive thru is fast and the dining area is clean should you decide to eat in. Their staff are courteous and hard working. Don’t forget to tip. I swear by the Breakfast Burrito, probably the best in town within a 25 mile radius. Their salsas are fresh and the salsa bar includes thinly sliced hit carrots and stovetop grilled peppers. The Sodas are refillable but the Aguas Frescas are not. Remember to tip!

This place has gone downhill… Really liked it when it was MXN at first. Now it is Don Rios but still has MXN on pictures on the walls…
We come here because it is convenient (drive-​thru) but their consistency is a big issue.
Last time we were here I got the manchaga tacos. They come in 3 and have pork, egg, onions, and a creamy sauce on them. The 3^rd taco I ate had an egg shell in it. Glad it wasn’t the first or 2^nd taco I ate or else I wouldn’t have eaten the rest.
Husband still enjoys the marinated pork tacos. He gets it with the guacamole on the side (and then I usually eat the guacamole for him).

Looking for late night drunchies? Or just starving and everything else is closed? This place is decent for such scenarios, but not a place I would come during the day when I have more options.
I’ve had their rolled tacos, carne asada mush quesadilla, and TJ tacos. You can’t really go wrong with rolled tacos. I found the mush quesadilla to be the best thing on their menu though. It’s a quesadilla with mushroom and your choice of meat. At first, it sounded gross to me until my boyfriend had me try it. The TJ tacos were decent. Their carnitas isn’t that great, and to me that’s a big deal for any Mexican establishment. I’ve had a breakfast burrito from here once before as well while it was still called MXN and it was the worst breakfast burrito possible. If I were to come back here again I’d stick to the carne asada mush quesadilla. Only good thing going for them and their prices.

Disgusting. Horrible. Expensive. Unsanitary. Their tortillas are small and stale, and are filled with soggy limp French fries with burned eggs. What’s worse is that the bacon was almost raw. All for over $ 5.00. Vile

I am a fan of the veggie burrito here. They have a list of options (beans, rice, potatoes, cheese, guac, lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms) and you pick 4. I’ve never been to an MXN so I don’t know if this is standard? I got a bean, potato, guacamole, and grilled mushroom– yum! I felt full and satisfied after it.
Also, the salsa bar was actually great! They had about 7 different salsas I think, plus yummy salted hot peppers on the side, and carrots and radishes.
Would recommend for vegetarians and vegans (it was nice to order the burrito I wanted without feeling like a jerk asking for all the sour cream and cheese to be removed. I did not ask if the beans were vegan, though).

We just moved to poway from Los Angeles and found this one night when we were starving. We’ve been back now at least once a week.
Pros–
The staff is amazing and are great with kids
Drive thru
Bomb food
Cons–
None
A good, cheap, easy spot

DON RIOS (previously MXN previously Santanas) …
I feel bad for this company as they seem to have an issue with identity huh.
The menu is pretty much the same as before but with a few new additions.
We ordered (to go):
DEEP FRIED FISH TACO $ 2.69
The deep fried cod (?) tasted alright but instead of using cabbage (as stated on menu) they used lettuce that day for this particular taco. I personally don’t think lettuce works with a deep fried fish taco. I prefer crunchy cabbage on my fish tacos but that’s just me.
CARNE ASADA BURRITO $ 6.49
We actually liked the carne asada as it wasn’t too dry and had a nice flavor to it. The salsa tasted particularly fresh and the flour tortilla was wonderfully soft and chewy.
LA PAZ BURRITO $ 8.49
The burrito wasn’t massive by any means and kinda looked unsubstantial. Fortunately the shrimp tasted pretty good and I was happy that it didn’t taste rubbery (from over cooking).
CEVICHE TOSDADA $ 3.75
It’s prepared with shrimp, tomatoes, onions. It’s placed over a medium size tostada chip that’s been smeared with mayonnaise (never seen that before but I heart mayo so who cares). The ceviche is then topped with slices of fresh avocado. I really enjoyed this ceviche as it tasted so incredibly fresh and well prepared.
½ ORDER OF CHIPS $ 1.29
Still fried to order — love love love
SHRIMP COCKTAIL $ 8.25
It might sound strange but it almost tasted like a refreshing light cold tomato broth with shrimp & cucumbers & avocado. It was particularly magic when I would get all three of those items together on one spoon, add a dash of tapatio on top, then eat it.
CARNE ASADA TACO $ 2.69
The carne tasted beefy and like it was just butchered. No joke. The Mexican salsa and guacamole made this taco even better. Each bite was surprisingly very good.
CHICKEN TACO $ 2.69
I don’t know if the Zeus of Mexican cuisine struck me that day because this grilled chicken taco tasted beautiful. The dark chicken meat tasted tender and nicely seasoned.
So yeah I must admit that I was happily surprised how much I liked Don Rios. The staff changed I believe so questions to them about items can be a bit lost. Every item is still made to order so expect a wait. They also have a drive thru so wait times can equate to In-​n-​Out status. The receipts still say MXN so I think Don Rios is still transitioning. So not sure if other MXN locations will be Don Rios in the future?
If you enjoyed MXN before, I think you’ll still like Don Rios. And if you didn’t enjoy MXN before, I’d still recommend trying this place out for their ceviche and shrimp cocktail dishes.