Lena Craft Mexican

I was lucky enough to visit La Jolla for 6 days in June. Twice I ate at Lena Craft Mexican. I found the food delicious, the service friendly and quick, and the prices reasonable. As a Canadian living in a small town, authentic Mexican food is not available. The first time I ate Flor de Calabasa Quesadilla with squash blossom zucchini, queso Oaxaca, sauteed vegetables, black beans, carrot purée, guacamole. It was pretty and delicious. The second time Pes al Pastor sword fish in chile guajillo, jicama slaw, cilantro-​jalapeño aji, pineapple glaze and guacamole with tortilla chips. The taco was also very pretty and delicious, and oh yes a Margarita

What a delicious surprise! We happened upon this place during a quick trip to La Jolla and we were so satisfied! The pulpo and the ceviche were both phenomenal. The kombucha was refreshing and the service was excellent.

Wow, the best meal I have had in a long time. As someone who travels for a living and eats out all the time that says a lot, defiantly order the chocolate mousse, heaven on earth.

Located in La Jolla, God’s gift to coastal California, Lena Craft has good, somewhat unique, Mexican food. We sat on the upstairs porch on this glorious day at the end of May, and probably anything would have been tasty.
Several years ago, Lena Craft would have been fantastic, but Mexican food has had a culinary rennaisance around the world, and many chefs are doing miraculous and innovative cooking. While my Recado Negro Taco with ground turkey, onion, egg, escabeche, etc was succulent and spicy with an utter explosion of flavors, the swordfish taco, was rather bland and tasteless. The Taquitos appetizer was crunchy and very good. Service by Paula was fun, engaging, and informative. Lena Craft is a great lunch spot, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to dine here. The bill came to $ 77.00 with two cocktails, one glass of wine, chips and ice tea.

Yuck. Disgusting and eighty bucks later… I’ve been sick all night and to think my husbands food was even worse. I’m remembering why I did not like the food or traffic out here yuck !!! Don’t do it! Run save yourselves

My crew loved it all — one guy even said it was the best food he’s had of late. I wasn’t quite so enthusiastic.
I thought the food was okay, the interior was okay, the service was good, the presentation was artful.
I’d give it another shot — I did really like the turkey taco I had, and the duck confit taquitos were also dreamy, but everything else was just alright in my book.

This restaurant rocks high end Mexican cuisine! Everything is top notch and simply delicious! We had the Brussel sprout salad and the steak and carnitas and don’t leave without the chocolate desert!

This place is deeeeelish! Admittedly we only had two tacos but they were divine! Organic, fresh, amazingness, some would even venture to say better than Puesto. Service was attentive. Presentation was on point.
A few things would make it better but I’m giving Leña the benefit of the doubt because I want them to succeed. The location isn’t known to be successful, so here you go, free advice:
1. Make happy hour longer, drive trial and get people to stick around. I think it’s from 4 – 6 or so but what do you have to lose by making it till 8 at first?
2. Add live music on the patio, attract the passers-​by
3. Add some flashy paint to make the place look more fun! Perhaps Galaxy Taco would let you relocate their mural since the Shores folks don’t like it.
4. Spread the word. Maybe give the diners at Richard Walkers a dinner coupon or put flyers on cars.
That’s all for now.
You’re welcome :)

This new Mexican eatery is offering cuisine from interior and southern Mexico created with organic ingredients. Some of the items are uncommon items to this side of the border and a few that are more familiar.
I wanted brunch, but my server told be it was not available on Saturdays, but I learned later as a saw a plate of Chiliquilas, that I wanted pass by me to a different patron. Before having knowledge of the mix up, I ordered the taco al la plancha with shrimp and the taco con de jardin or garden vegetables. The tacos were $ 6.50 and $ 5.00.
I first dug into the taco la plancha and the first thing I noticed was that it needed more shrimp, especially at $ 6.50 a pop. It came with only three medium-​small shrimp that did not fill the taco from tip to tip. The shrimp were well cooked and came with a chile del arbol sauce that packed a little heat. The grilled Oaxaca cheese between the two organic blue corn tortillas was very good. I did not taste much of the avocado and peanut sauce, given the taco came with only three little dollops. I was looking forward to tasting it.
The vegetable taco was good and they placed a generous amount of them too. The Mexican zucchini and carrots were nicely seasoned and cooked to a good al dente texture. Underneath the vegetables was a layer of flavorful melted grilled panela cheese. The chipotle aioli had a good smokey flavor and creaminess. They also added some cherry tomatoes that were vibrant in color and added good sweetness and acidity to the taco.
What I really liked about both tacos was the organic blue corn tortillas that they make in house. You can even watch them make them from the dinning room and bar. The corn masa had great flavor and they make them with some thickness so they are very moist and soft, but still have that corn meal texture in them. Very good traditional tortillas.
On this visit, I thought as a whole, it was an A-​Okay experience. Sure I did not get my brunch, and sure the «Plancha» taco needed more shrimp, and sure the I wanted to taste that avocado and peanut sauce more, but they did put melted «Oaxacan» cheese between two organic blue corn tortillas with my shrimp taco and that was keen.

I ordered the Pollo con Mole and it was absolutely divine! Cool atmosphere, great drinks, and the food was just downright perfect! I can’t stop thinking about the flour tortillas, I think I’ll be dreaming of them tonight

I have been hearing about this place from friends and social media. I went to visit last night and the food was amazing! I can’t describe the amazing flavors. I mean EVERY bite was like Oh MY GOD! to say the food was delicious is an understatement. Our server was fantastic and everything is authentic and organic like they say… Farm to table. I drove 3 hours to visit this place and I would do it again. You must experience this restaurant to really appreciate the flavors of REAL MEXICAN Cuisine! The details of the restaurant were so carefully thought out from the drinks, menu and furniture and even the plating and Homemade tortillas! Please go and visit this place you won’t regret it!

My bf and I had an 830 reservation and were a little late, which was fine because there weren’t that many people there. We sat at the bar with Alex. We had to switch to the other end of the bar towards the patio because there was a light that was angled just so and and it was very bright, but moving solved the issue. The servers that were there were very eager to offer up suggestions as to their favorite dishes. Clearly, they love the food there. I already knew that I wanted my bf to try the Cochinita Pibil, a traditional Mexican dish that you don’t see all that often on this side of the border. And I knew that I wanted to try the nopales (cactus paddle) side. I grew up in TJ with my grandma making a delicious salad with pickled red onions, cactus, panela (a fresh Mexican cheese similar to ricotta), and tomatoes, so of course I was curious as to how Lena’s would stack up.
I ordered the tepache (made from fermented pineapple). Waaaay too easy to drink, lol. Not too sweet, very well balanced. Sooo good! My bf had a saison, the beer drinker that he is. We started out with the taquitos with duck, the guacamole, and the panela asado. All were delicious, but I was most surprised by the panela. I’d never had it breaded before, and it was served with a tomatillo salsa, the acidity of which was the perfect compliment to the cheese. The guacamole was delicious, although it could have used a tad bit of garlic, and the chips could have been a bit saltier, but those are trivial observations when the overall quality was so good. And the salsa with the taquitos… we could have ordered a whole bowl of that stuff.
I didn’t try my bf’s cochinita, but he ate it all and loved it. I ordered the aguachile bravo, which is basically a shrimp & scallop ceviche, and a side of the nopales. The aguachile was on point and perfectly spiced (not spicy, but spiced). The nopales were joy in a bowl. I made a nopales salad a few weeks ago, and it was really good. This one was right up there, and I loved that it had the queso fresco, the tomatoes, and the onions. So happy to finally see nopales on a menu!!!
Oh, and I had a paloma, which they make with fresh spices and Squirt (or esquirt if you’re Mexican). That one was pretty dangerous, too. Alex was awesome and we had a great chat about tequila. Oh, before I forget:
Dear Bar Manager: YOU NEED TO GET FORTALEZA IN THIS RESTAURANT ASAP!!!
But really, the staff obviously loves the food and wanted to make sure that we were getting the best experience possible. They were awesome, the food was awesome. This place deserves to be packed every night of the week. We’ll return to try the rest of the menu. Hopefully they’ll have the Fortaleza next time ;)

Surprise find
Pros:
Good food
Good drinks
Organic
Friendly staff
Nice décor
2^nd floor views!
Ok location
Cons:
None

Absolutely delicious Southern Mexican cuisine. I had a pork plate signature dish called Cochinita Pibil. A nice block of shredded tender pork with pink sliced onions sitting in a savory (not too salty, not spicy hot) brown sauce with whole black beans. I think there was some toasted ground coriander in there — very tasty. The Pibil is served with two kinds of fresh organic tortillas and perfectly prepared rice, beans, and plantains.
My food snob buddy loved the craft tacos. This guy has packed away many a taco, and he proclaimed Lena’s most excellent. They looked yummy.
The chips and guacamole are also organic, fresh, and delish.
Yes, it is pricey. You go here to get something different than regular Mexican taco stand food. That being said, you gotta try it at least once. I’ll be back.

With San Diego being the mecca of Mexican food that it is, anyone who opens another Mexican Restaurant has an uphill battle against them. Lena attempts to separate themselves by aiming for the high end and providing a fine dining experience with quality ingredients. I get the feeling they’re pretty confident of themselves seeing that their menu online has the disclaimer —
«Each menu item is carefully curated, alterations to the ingredients will compromise the integrity of the dish. We will accommodate for any food allergy, but we kindly ask to refrain from making any alterations to our menu»
Well ok, I’m not picky or allergic anyway, so let’s see what you got Lena!
Ordered the Taquitos (Duck confit filled), and two tacos, the Arrachera (Skirt Steak) and Plancha (Shrimp with an avocado peanut chile and grilled oaxaca cheese sandwiched between another tortilla). Everything tasted very good. Duck confit was moist, the shrimp was succulent and crisp and the avocado peanut chile was right up my alley. The Arrachera was the highlight though, you can tell they are using top quality beef, it just tastes different. Definitely my favorite. Though, definitely a «savor the flavor» kind of place. You’re not going to get big portions and it is pricey for what you get (say $ 25+ per person). Still, I was happy with the taste, I’d better be for this price right?
The outside patio overlooks prospect street and offers a very nice ambiance, though, I like the décor of the inside as well. They have windows to look into the kitchen on the way to the restrooms and you can see the wood they use for their wood fired oven. I thought it was a treat to the nostrils to get that woody smell!

I couldn’t wait to check this place out, and it didn’t disappoint. I had the shrimp enchiladas — made with a poblano chile sauce that was so good I wanted to lick the plate. Also amazing were the shrimp tacos — all tortillas are handmade on-​site. They’re fantastic. Great atmosphere and a friendly, knowledgeable staff rounded out a fantastic dining experience.

Great concept — organic mexican food. I recommend trying a few different things — we did duck confit taquitos, guacamole, salad, mahi mahi taco. All were delicious. Service was just OK, but good ambience and concept.

Great flavor, amazing drinks, large patio with great view and I love the music. Great experience, will be back for more. As my son said «finger licking good»!!

Delicious! My favorite dish was the Tlayuda dish (I think I spelled that correctly) which was corn tortilla flatbread with a variety of super fresh veggies that got roasted in their wood burning oven. There was an amazing cheese on the dish as well. I love all the Mexican food that San Diego has to offer but this is on a different level! Fresh. Organic. Non-​GMO.
The drinks were awesome too. So unique — they have cocktails I haven’t seen anywhere else in San Diego and I’ve love a good cocktail so I’ve tried a bunch all over. Staff even showed us their fresh made ingredients for the drinks. Could totally taste the difference — it wasn’t all sugary or have a chemical aftertaste. So refreshing.
You can just tell that this place cares about the food and ingredients they put out.
Staff was attentive and friendly.
Just tried this place last week and we already have reservations to go back this week!

Probably merits 3.5 stars but not really 4 stars.
The lower rating (to be fair) likely because they have just opened and clearly have
some service issues to work out.
Restaurant is on Prospect, upstairs above Richard Walker’s pancake house and across from Coldstone. This location has unfortunately seen a number of places come and go.
Hostess very pleasant and gave us a choice in seating. They are not packed yet but again to be fair, have just opened with essentially no fanfare or advertising.
They have a nice patio overlooking the street but they should consider obtaining heat lamps if they are allowed in accordance with the fire code. It was cold inside the restaurant with the sliding doors to the patio area open. Would not want to sit outside unless there are heat lamps.
Restaurant décor is pleasant although minimalist. Seemed noisy despite not being crowded (acoustics not great). High tables over by glass enclosed kitchen look like they may be worth trying in order to watch kitchen staff in action while you dine.
Opening service encounter poor given no server for almost 10 minutes. No one knew who we «belonged to» server wise. Server never cleared extra silverware nor brought water we requested (we flagged down a busboy for help). Female server was pleasant but not attentive. Spent a lot of time hanging out at the bar. She should have been checking on us regarding the very long delay in receiving our meals. These are training issues that can be easily fixed.
Lena margaritas were decent.
Chips and guacamole were pretty good.
Dinner order took a very long time despite not many diners. Don’t know if it was the complexity of the dish (large piece of Mary’s farm chicken with a tasty mole sauce) or an inexperienced staff that accounted for the wait. Given the long wait, the chicken dish was not that hot temperature wise.
The two shrimp (Planchas or something like that) tacos were pretty good although a little spicy for me.
Corn side dish was a little watery but ok.
Rice and beans that came with chicken were tasty.
Owner (Andre) came over to chat. Super nice guy. I really do hope this restaurant catches on and would like to try it again when they have their service functioning at a higher level. Food items seem generally interesting and an obvious effort in obtaining high quality items is noted.
Menu items are moderately priced.
Parking in LJ… The doctor (Notorious MD) doesn’t have to tell you.
I think they may be capable of a 4 or 5 star review but they’ve got a little work to do.
I hope they succeed.