Ortega’s Bistro

This place can suck my fu**ing monkey balls tasted like complete a**hole. Id rather liick my own sh*t than this dog food

Disgusting!!! Everything tastes out of the can nothing tastes fresh! So disappointed husband and I left kids with mom to have dinner alone and it was a complete failure! I am Mexican and this place is no where near authentic I am shocked because it has pretty good reviews. It’s worst than the worst taco shop you have ever tried even a taco shop is better than this! What a shame to serve MEXICAN food this way. I ordered shrimp taco trio and husband ordered the daily special which comes with steak lobster and beans and also we ordered Puerto Nuevo tortilla soup. Don’t come here unless you want to pay for less than mediocre food (price is not a problem we have spent over 200 $ on dinner) we paid 60 $ for this nasty meal

The food was good and the staff was friendly. I had the steak and lobster while my husband gad the shrimp burrito. Both dishes were tasty and they came out in a decent time.

Walked in off the street and was told, «I’m sorry it may be 20 or 30 minutes» «We’re really short staffed.»
Fifteen minutes later we had our seat, near a window in a quaint corner near the front of the restaurant. It was obvious the table staff were flustered and very conscious of their staffing problem. Apologies ran profusely across a number of tables.
We weren’t in a big hurry, so that gave us a chance to chat a bit before the waiter person arrived, within 5 or so minutes. I only wish other popular restaurants in San Diego were so perturbed over 10 minute or less wait times…
Ok, so onto the menu. We went with the Lobster and shrimp, one of their most-​promoted specials ($ 25ish for Lobster!).
I ordered a margarita drink of some sort. It was amazingly well made, probably one of the more authentic margaritas I’ve had in a while (not watered down, nicely sour and sweet).
The décor is authentic feeling, and solid with that upscale Mexican restaurant feeling. If you look around while waiting for your meal you’ll find quite a few personal touches and Mexican artistry; a rare find in touristville San Diego.
The ½ Lobster and Shrimp (One-​half grilled lobster combined with a grilled shrimp skewer. topped with epazote cilantro pesto and roasted tomato arbol sauce) was boldly fresh, and «properly cooked.»
Finished with our meal, I did something I can’t recall doing in the past 10 years — I was so impressed by the cook, that I went to the side of the cooking area, thanked the cook and slipped him a handful of bills as a personal thank you. «Well done my friend…»

Loved LOVED LOVED THIS RESTAURANT SO MUCH!!! Drove from LA just to eat here and it was so worth it! Great service, excellent food, homemade tortillas, & the best lobster! ! Will be coming back & I RECOMMEND it to all!

My cousin from Hawaii was in town and wanted to eat Mexican food, considering the lack of good Mexican in Hawaii. So I brought her here since it’s a nice sit down instead of heading to a taco stand. Friendly greeting when we walked in. I had never been in before, and the place is pretty big. We sat in the dining area with the fireplace. Nice ambiance.
Our friendly server explained some of the specials and gave us a little time to decide. Although, I did order a bottle of the Malbec since I was familiar with the vineyard. We started with the queso fundido which not many places make. Chirozo and melted cheese dip with tortillas to scoop up the deliciousness. I also tried the chicken tortilla soup, which was decent… a little more brothy than I like. Nadene ordered the chicken enchiladas which she loved. Her fellow flight attendant ordered the steak burrito which was a good size. I tried the chicken mole which as okay. I mean, I compare moles to Cantina Mayhuel’s and none can compare.
Service was attentive and they let us take our time and catch up. I guess we were there for about 3 ½ hours. I would definitely come back. Looking over their brunch menu, I’d like to try their French toast and a mimosita… overall, definitely worth checking out. My only complaint was the loud obnoxious couple dying for attention… LOL!

I came to this place drawn in like a moth to the flame by the highly advertised 24.99 steak and lobster special. I wasn’t a huge fan of it unfortunately, it was kinda like something I might expect at Red Lobster.
This chips and salsa was not up to par, the salsa was more like a marinara sauce then salsa. However, I did really like their tortilla soup Puerto Nuevo style, that was the best thing I tried and I recommend that.
Ambiance wise it’s nice with high ceilings and plenty of space.
Service was semi attentive and friendly. This isn’t really a spot I’ll be coming back to, or recommending. Good steak and lobster inexpensive is a really tough trick to pull off. And I wouldn’t get your hopes up here unless your a fan of chili’s or a El Torito, it kinda has that vibe and quality. Located smack dab in the heart of Hillcrest you won’t find me back, too many other wondrous culinary gems in the vicinity.
Happy eating!

They claim they have the best French toast in San Diego. Being a French toast fanatic I said «I’ll be the judge of that.» Welp. They got me! Best damn French toast in ‘Merica, people! Also, bottomless mimosas, anyone? Yes please. Also, the service is super friendly and the place has a nice ambiance too. I’ll be back here again for sure.

I’ve been craving for Puerto Nuevo lobster for quite awhile but the trek to Puerto Nuevo is pretty time consuming and expensive by way of taxi. Sure driving your own car is possible but be ready to brave the ruckus of tijuana and the unruly drivers. Many people rave about the lobsters at Ortega’s in Hillcrest. Their website states they own restaurants in puerto nuevo as well. So puerto nuevo dining in convenient and trendy Hillcrest? Sounds good so far! Ortega’s decided to up the ante and offer a new special offer of ½ a lobster and steak or ½ a lobster and shrimp dinner for 24.95. That’s all I needed to hear.
We came here on sunday hungry and ready to devour every last morsel of Ortega’s famed lobster. We ordered both the lobster and steak and lobster and shrimp combos. Chips with salsa was supplied as a complimentary appetizer. Puerto Nuevo tortilla soup, which was part of the combo, came out next and it was delicious with a nice blend of spices and flavor. The main event was next. The lobster looked very tasty. I dived in immediately. There was a lot of flavor to the lobster and I tasted more seasoning then the lobsters in Puerto Nuevo. However Ortega’s lobster is steamed and not deep fried like in Puerto Nuevo. The deep fried method definitely makes the lobster taste better in my opinion so sadly Ortega’s did not meet my expectations on lobster. Great lobster but not mind blowing. The steak was cooked medium rare as requested. It tasted good but not as good as the top quality steakhouses in San Diego but I did not expect it to given the price. The shrimp was plump and delicious. Rice and beans were standard fare. Two large tortillas were provided as well. This combo would be better if a little guacamole was provided like in Puerto Nuevo.
Service was excellent. Patio dining makes it convenient to bring dogs or to people watch the Hillcrest neighborhood. Parking sucks though since it’s hillcrest.
Overall, excellent service and great tasting food and especially so given the new 24.95 special. It doesn’t meet my Puerto Nuevo lobster expectations so minus a star.

We met met with a larger group on a Sunday afternoon at 4 PM, for an early dinner. At this time, only a few patrons where sharing the space with us. I had to call the waiter to get his attention to start taking drink orders.(At first I picked up my phone and wanted to call Ortegas to ask them to send the waiter.) We were told, although it is happy hour, the happy hour prices are not available at this table. What kind of business model is this, were the restaurant is separated between two seating areas and not offering the same deal everywhere? The margaritas, which came from the same bar tender making the drinks for the happy hour area, tasted good. The service was sluggish and dragging. We finally got the food. I made the mistake to order fish tacos. The huge pieces of fried fish were deceivingly large because of the breading which increased the pinky finger size fish nugget 10 fold.
I removed the excess breading. OK, its payment time now. We all shared the bill and put our credit cards in the folder. No so fast!!! The waiter told us that he could not take our 8 cards to split the tab of $ 364. So now we are forced to pay with only 4 cards. The other 4 would have to either pay with cash or double up on someones card. If we had sat at 8 different tabes, they would have to take all our cards or? Perhaps dividing the tap was to much for this waiter, perhaps the laziness of the staff, who knows. Ortegas, please take this review to hard as I feel I will not be coming back for this mediocre service.

Went there last night with with some friends and it was busy for cinco de mayo. Waited across the street at fiesta cantina and had some beers before we got a call for our table.
A serious feeding commenced. First off, they have Bohemia, my favorite Mexi beer. Second, the queso fundido was nothing short of kick ass and their house salsa is fresh sweet and delicious. I’m a mole addict and get pissed when Mexican restaurants don’t have it… they do and it’s pretty damn good. My friend had the lobster, also great. Not Maine lobster level but a solid product considering the lack of claw meat.
All in all I was psyched we stumbled in there. I will absolutely be back.

For the festivities last night we decided to check this restaurant, they didn’t disappoint I am not a burrito kinda guy but man they sold me, I had the best burrito I’ve ever tasted, from the tortilla it melts in your mouth, it’s gay fresh and homemade it’s sooo good !
Def I’m coming back and now a fan, thanks O cheers

We visited twice over the last few months and both times were amazing. We had been wanting to try it out for quite some time since it is right down the street from our apartment. I’m not sure why it took us so long to try it out.
First off, the décor is appropriate and the ambiance is nice. The servers are polite and very helpful when it comes to questions about the menu. We came for happy hour during the week and then lunch on a Sunday — it was much busier on Sunday than during the week. The margaritas were nice and strong, the refried beans are quite good, and the portion sizes are generous. We ordered the guac and the queso fresca on separate trips. My partner thought the guacamole was very good, but I preferred the queso. The salsa is absolutely amazing. I had to hold myself back so that I could at least taste my entrée.
Overall this is an awesome little restaurant, and we are looking forward to coming back.

A super cute spot! We ate outside since the weather was nice, but you have to be careful with the bougainvilleas since they fall everywhere (even in your water/​margarita hah!) We ordered the mint margaritas, but to us they tasted like normal margaritas so that was a little disappointing. Also the parking is horrendous with maybe 10 spots, max! But the food… really great. We got the guacamole, which they make table side, and the queso fundido (WOW!). My friends ordered the crab enchiladas (they loved it). I ordered the carne asada burrito and it was huge! I could only eat half, but it was full of flavor and avocado :) overall great food but some stuff keeping me from giving it four stars.

The best part of this place is definitely the service! Everyone was very warm and incredibly attentive.
The chips and salsa are definitely the best I have ever had. The chips were nice and crispy and the salsa was thick and full of flavor. They were so good I would’ve paid for them!
I went for happy hour and enjoyed several of their yummy $ 4 house margaritas. I also ordered the queso fundido which did not disappoint.
I highly recommend this place!

I’m surprised by the reviews and rating of this restaurant. We came on a Saturday night and it was dead. That should’ve been our first clue. The service was terrible despite being one of the only customers. There’s much better Mexican restaurants in the area. Maybe we’ll try brunch

Great experience at Ortega’s Bistro. The ambience is rustic and tasteful and feels like a high caliber restaurant on the heart of Baja. The ice-​cold vodka martini to start was excellent. As well as the table-​side guacamole service… very fresh & flavorful. The chicken tortilla soup is one of the best I’ve ever had, and the chicken mole enchiladas have a nice balance of sweet & spicy. Our waiter was knowledgeable and friendly and provided good service. Ortega’s is now one of my regular spots.

Stopped in for happy hour last week. Everything was outstanding from delicious margaritas, chips and fresh salsa, guacamole made tableside by our fantastic waiter Braden, to the Chile relleno and tacos we ordered for entrees. Highly recommend this place!

Ortega’s is the kind of place we periodically like to come to for Sunday brunch when we’ve been out quite late the night before and just need a relaxing, quiet place to chill and nurse our hangovers whilst nibbling on innocuous food and sipping on the hair of the dog, so to speak. I give the place three stars because, while we’ve always had good service, nothing on their food or drink menu really stands out for me. It’s a cute little relaxing place with proficient servers and decent food. Period.

The place it’s self is nice. Loved the décor but service was hit or miss while dining here.
Came for dinner with fiancé a day before Valentine’s Day. It was pretty empty when we arrived 7:30ish or so. We got seated pretty quick and our server arrived fairly fast.
I do have to say our server was good him self recommending iteams from the menu. We were 1^st timers here.
We ordered some appetizers and drinks and after that everything seemed like a drive thru dinner. Everything was soo rushed. Like if they wanted us in and out. In that case I could have gone to a taco shop. Lol
Food was eeehh… I’ve had better.
To all this my experience wasn’t great here. Maybe it was the fact that it was a day before Valentine’s idk… but they could have been more accommodating and let us have more time to enjoy our dishes. Nobody likes being rushed specially while having a nice dinner.
(P.S. the coconut flan was amazing!!!)

First time coming to Ortegas bistro with my wife. Hard to find parking to this restaurtant. Waiter was average, I ordered the carnitas platter. The carnitas were a little bit burned. The beans had a burned taste to them. They had only 1 tortilla with the meal. For drinks the horchata was good. But had way to much ice. Plates were hot as if the food was microwaved. Salsa needed a pinch of more salt. Napkins were dirty.

Our experience in Ortega was not as delightful as we thought. First of all, rice water had too much cinnamon, butter did not have flavor nor did the lobster. Tortilla was hard and cold and seemed it was reheated.

Worst service ever!!! I have gone many times for happy hour and breakfast boy the times they are a changing! I recently went for a Saturday relaxing breakfast it was anything but. We sat outside waiting and waiting after receiving water which I had to get myself. Ordered only to wait another 40 minutes wtf did they go to TJ for the tamale!!! The eggs were an omelet chopped to make it look scrambled. Gross crispy eggs! No chips no salsa and I would expect to wait if busy but only three people in the place come on. Another table got up looking for their food too think they were still hunting the pig for the carnitas. Honestly the food is not good enough for the wait!

Nice place…
Good specials at the bar and they close until midnight:)
Food wasn’t the best but their drinks are ok

Ok. The Presidio Marg. The best. I am extremely picky. These guys use their own line mixture. Not too sweet. Not too sour. Just right. Be careful though. I had 2 and had to stop.
Had the Carnita tacos. Needed salt. But hell like I need to increase my blood pressure. This is on my stop again.
Thanks guys. Had a great happy hour here.

It’s kind of hard to give a complete rating because we did not finish dinner. My fiancé was really looking for a particular drink and so happens this night they were out. We just had the a starter than left. The customer service is great and the chips and salsa was delicious. Very inviting atmosphere an awesome location. We will be back.

Been here a few times. But today they didn’t hit the mark. Our lobster was not freshly made. I know because the table next to us had steam coming out of their lobster. Ours was tough and luke warm. This is their signature dish, Puerto Nuevo lobster. Late afternoon luncheon may be the issue… Valentines Day special not special.

The staff were very courteous but not that interactive with is. Felt as is they were scatterbrained. Food was pretty decent, slightly pricey but decent. A pet peeve of mine is that they where mostly playing bachata and salsa at a Mexican restaurant. Neither of these types of music are Mexican.

Came here for a casual Sunday night dinner with some friends. Ambience is a cute wooden cabin sort of theme with lots of space. Not very crowded.
This is the go to place for my friends friend who always gets the mole chicken enchiladas and says they are the best in San Diego. My other friend got the Huachinango and she devoured the whole thing and said it was delicious. My other friend got the shrimp fish tacos and she said they were up to par with other Mexican places in SD but nothing amazing in themselves. I wasn’t feeling very hungry and I got the chicken tortilla soup and it was good but it was definitely full of meat and very little soup although the meat was very well marinated.
For drinks, my friend got the Mexican soda which was delicious and the margaritas were up to par.

Unbelievable Puerto Neuvo Lobster Entrée was unbelievable. I recommend to everyone. Tasty Margaritas. Great Time. Can’t wait to return and try a anew selection

Love love love Puerto Nuevo style lobster. Haven’t been down to MX in a while, so we have to get our fix where we can. Luckily, we managed to stop in during a small weekend getaway and fill our gobs full of goodness. The tortillas and lobster were great! However, the big standout was the guacamole. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it prepared table side with grilled lime. Pretty great. While the parking was tricky, it was well worth the stop on the way in. If you can’t make it to the original Ortega’s in Puerto Nuevo, make sure to get your longosta fix on here.

I might be missing out on some Ortega’s deep cuts, since I opt for the hard-​to-​find spiny lobster here. On the last two visits, they’ve only had the tail instead of the whole lobster in the grilled Puerto Nuevo lobster special, although that represents a higher percentage of the total meat than in the classic version of this crustacean.
(Caveat: the spiny lobster season ends in February or March, and many restaurants have abandoned it due to high prices, so I don’t know if they ever sub Maine lobsters or just drop this dish. I have spent a lot of time trying to unsolve the mysteries of this market, and Ortega’s loses a point for not responding to my tweet inquiring about availability.)
Spice enthusiasts shouldn’t miss the Puerto Nuevo tortilla soup, and can even enjoy some complementary heat with the unusually colored orange salsa and chips.
They had cards advertising a Valentine’s Day special, which was impressively priced lower than the regular menu prices for the three items listed (the lobster and soup noted above, plus coconut flan.)

We had a party of 6 and went here for their brunch and bottomless mimosas. The food was awesome! Unfortunately, the service and the bottomless mimosas were horrible. I had to keep asking for another glass of mimosa, at $ 9.95 there should have been some champagne in there. I also asked our server for a
Napkin and he brought me a napkin that you place a cocktail on. Kudos to the chef! Thumbs down on the service and their bottomless mimosas!

Really good! Not mind-​blowing, but really good food, great service. The were «out of» the brownie so I didn’t get dessert but the chicken mole was really good and their corn tortillas were excellent too.

We stumbled upon this place late at night when nothing else was open. I’m glad we did. It was pretty good and the service was great. With almost 1,000 reviews I thought I would have heard about it before but sometimes the best places slip away.

I used to come here all the time when I worked at UCSD in Hillcrest because its location was walking distance from the office. Despite my negative experiences, we kept coming back because of a decent happy hour and its hard to say no to chips and salsa and margaritas or beer! But I always thought the food was mediocre and once there was a disgusting bug crawling on our table. Another time I found hair in the gauc. At the time when we told our waiter there wasn’t much of a response, just a short apology. Now that I am not working at UCSD anymore I wouldn’t ever return. I think you can find significantly better options with better parking and better quality food.

I don’t know how I’ve never reviewed Ortega’s before given how much I love it and how often I go. It used to be within walking distance of my SO’s old apartment so it was an easy jaunt for brunch. The complex that it’s located in is tiiiiiny. There is only one direction through and only two spots are all-​day spots, the rest are 15 min spots. I would recommend parking either in the metered spots on the streets or the 2 hr spots (also on the street) a little further down the road.
There is a small patio section in front which faces the main street so you have a good view of the bustling Hillcrest neighborhood. Said patio is dog-​friendly. Otherwise the inside is quite spacious but a little dark unless you’re seated right by the window. I personally prefer sitting outside unless it’s too cold (and how often does that happen in San Diego?). Service is always friendly and almost always quite quick. They start you off immediately with some chips and salsa. I’ve tried the Carnitas Hash and Eggs, the Chorizon con Huevos, and the Chilaquiles con Huevoes (with added carnitas). All of them have been delicious, with my favorite being the chilaquiles. These plates come with enormous portion sizes and huge, generous chunks of carnitas or chorizo. I prefer the refried to charro beans if only because I like to mix in half a gallon of hot sauce. I sometimes wish they would offer corn tortilla has their flour tortilla doesn’t taste as good as El Zarape’s, but it is really a minor detail. In addition to that, we’ve also gotten the cerviche (both shrimp and fish version) — the shrimp version is all right. It’s not bad; I’m just not a huge fan of the concept of using shrimp. The fish version is fine, my SO says it’s a bit too acidic for his taste and I personally just prefer our own homemade version. I do like that they serve it with cucumbers and carrots in addition to fried tortilla chips. And tableside guac is pretty good (but it’s also quite standard and hard to mess up).
Their drinks are pretty yum. The pomegranate margarita is a bit meh, but the mango mint and especially the strawberry mint mojitos are yum. Also, most importantly, Ortega’s is the only place I know of in the area (so far) that does brunch deals (namely bottomless mimosas) on both Saturdays and Sundays at about only $ 10. It’s been the most affordable places I’ve found to get gently sloshed on the weekends. And although I haven’t been, I’ve heard their late night HH deals are also pretty amazing. This is great place to go for brunch and I will definitely be dropping by to check out their late night menu.

Well its nice to be able to get Puerto Nuevo style lobster in San DIego without having to go across the border… Ive been to Ortegas in Puerto Nueveo many time so I was absolutly jazzed about comming here.
Pros:
1.Beautiful setting inside and out realy gives a very relaxed atmosphere.
2. The lobsters are delicious and taste just like south of the border
3. The staff is great taking the order and getting the food to the table
4. the happy hour is fantastic!!! great drinks ! and the rice is so yummy
5. The tortillias were home made YES!
Cons:
1. ok Im a stickler for good beans, Im mexican and I know what refried beans should look like and taste like these were well… they looked like someone put them in a blender?
2. the rice and beans portions were very small to say the least come on its rice and beans hahah
3. Same thing with the salsa very small pertions you have to keep asking for more
4. parking is terible but hey you are in the middle of Hillcrest not much you can do about that right , enjoy the walk lots to see =)
Will I go back? OH YES I will …

Friendly service, clean and fun atmosphere, and delicious food.
It’s everything a restaurant should offer!
The first time I tried Ortega’s was more than 10 years ago on a business trip. This Hillcrest gem continues to delight my palate even though San Diego (and Southern California in general) has so much great Mexican food to offer. It’s not your local hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican joint; it’s clean, hip, and authentic in the best ways possible!

I also have to say they have the best Mezcal Mule anywhere!!! Marco makes the best ones!!! They are all good, though. Their Chicken Tortilla Soup is my favorite in Hillcrest.

Best place ever! There salsa dips are so delicious! And there tacos and burritos are jus amazing!
Very flavorful authentic Mexican food :)

TL;DR– great service, great food, can’t go wrong!
Ortega’s is amazing! They have an amazing selection of traditional Mexican dishes including some amazing seafood dishes. When I want Mexican food in Hillcrest I automatically go to Ortegas. I don’t even think twice about it! I’ve had their Mole, their Huachinango, their queso fundido, their chicken pipian, and their shrimp tacos. I would also try the fresh table-​side guacamole. ALL amazing! Their service is also impeccable. The bartenders are fun, and make great cocktails! I recommend the pomegranate margarita (if they still make it lol). All in all, amazing restaurant! You can’t go wrong here!

Trying to find a parking spot was a little difficult being that it is on a busy street. It took a couple minutes of circling around to find a parking spot. Ate here on a Monday night and there wasn’t a lot of people there so we sat down right away. The service is pretty good they greeted us right away and gave us our drinks quickly. I ended up ordering the steak tacos with beans. The tacos were really nice and the steak was cooked just right. The cabbage that comes with the tacos was nice and crunchy and had a nice little spice to it. Pretty decent axis for the price!

For certain you need to stop here. Lovely neighborhood. Lovely people. Quaint little bistro you would not know was there unless someone (me in this case) told you to go there.
I sat outside and enjoyed the company of a few patrons at a half dozen tables. Yes, yes fresh guac mixed table side. A «cute» touch although the recipe needs a little pizzaz. The guac, clearly fresh, lacked enthusiasm and was only slightly above average. That said, I couldn’t stop eating the crap. However, that happens with me and any chips and salsa and or guac.
I had the carnitas on the recommendation of the server. The chopped pork was beautiful. Beautiful. The best part of the meal, save the four fellas sitting across from me. The meat was thick, juicy, and lightly seasoned. The home made tortilla was delightful. The beans, normally my favorite part of any meal, took a third place finish. It took me a few fork-​fulls to enjoy them. This was a different recipe that I was not used to. In the end, the bowl of beans was clean. Last on the list and hardly worth mentioning except to say find a new recipe for the rice. I know I know. But it is like ordering steak and potatoes but the potatoes suck… It ruins the steak too.
So there you have it. My five cents for what it’s worth. I suggest you stop in at least once and try it yourself.

I still like Ortega’s, but just a little constructive criticism for the bar:
The margaritas on our last visit were not good. I ordered The Presidio, a cadillac margarita. There was so much sour mix in it that I couldn’t drink it and had to send it back. Another customer at the bar also ordered the same thing and had to send his back as well. I ordered the standard margarita afterwards and it wasn’t good, either. It was characterized by too much soda water. I couldn’t taste any tequila in either of them. Sad when you order two margaritas and walk away with absolutely ZERO buzz.
The guacamole still remains some of the best I’ve had out. My entrée, the Ortega’s Steak Burrito, was also delicious and flavorful. The complimentary salsa this time around, however, tasted like tomato sauce. The flavor was terribly muted and lacked spice.
Hopefully this was just an off night.

I wanted to like Ortega’s. They always seem to have open tables, which is great.
Now I see why.
It seems like they are trying to be an upscale Mexican style eatery, but neither the service nor the food elevates the experience to make it worth the cost.
Their taco Tuesday? If you buy an entrée– which start at around $ 15– you can get $ 2 margaritas. If the tacos were cheap or if we could mix-​n-​match, this might be worth it. We opted for a couple of appetizers and full-​price margaritas instead.
We were a group of 16– celebrating a birthday out in Hillcrest. We stopped into Ortega’s around 10pm, hoping for a light meal and some reasonably priced drinks. I asked our waiter if we could split the check at the very beginning, so he could easily keep the different tabs separate. He said no. (What? We are now one of three tables with anyone eating…) Ok, so then will they accept multiple credit cards? He says yes. Which is good, because otherwise we’d need to get up and leave– who has ample cash with small bills on them anymore?!
We all order drinks. My $ 7 house margarita was meh, so after that I switched to beer. The tortilla chips were served warm with tasty salsa. The tortilla soup was decent, but $ 8 for a meager portion.
When the check does arrive, another member of our group is told they’ll only accept two cards. Again, we are a group of 16. At this point it’s 11 pm and we’re the only people left in the place. Our waiter leaves without saying anything to us, so a different waiter tries to sort our situation out.
There was one manager-​seeming type around. He was kind, and constantly smiling. Even after one of our party told him we were disappointed that they wouldn’t split checks and hassled us over payment options, he was still smiling, but didn’t really have anything to say.
The building itself is nice and clean. Parking is a pain, so we opt to walk to this neighborhood when we can. The food is fine. But for the prices they charge, I expect excellent service or stellar food or drinks. I’ve given Ortega’s a couple tries, but next time I’ll go to Betty’s or Fiesta Cantina where I can expect cheap food at cheap prices with friendly service and split checks, instead of a hassle for overpriced foods.

wonderful restaurant! it looks like a cute cottage on the outside, and the inside right when you walk in is gorgeous! nice high ceilings with an intimate feel. definitely a lot of seats and space available.
a basket of chips and 2 cups of salsa was brought right to our table when we sat down. really good salsa! i ordered the Ortega’s mixed green salad. it was offered as either a half or full size plate ($ 6 and $ 9, respectively). i wasn’t too hungry so i ordered the half. it was really good! very light vinegrette with slices of avocado, black bean and corn salsa, grilled slice of tomato, slice of cucumber, and a slice of carrot. i was very content with the amount of food i ate and nothing felt heavy. definitely will come back to try more delicious food!

Service was very so-​so. We didn’t get served water and I had to ask for water after I realized that another table who just got seated I would say 10 minutes after us got their water immediately.
They served complimentary chips and salsa and surprisingly the chips were pretty hard indicating that they were freshly made. They didn’t ask or bother to replenish the salsa though as there was a lot more chips than salsa provided.
I ended up ordering the Carnita lunch plate. Basically it was an assemble your own burrito at this point as they served fresh flour tortillas on the side. There were some pieces of Carnitas that they actually good tasting with the right texture but I would say more than half of it was unfortunately very dry, stringy, and tough in texture. That was a little disappointing. I really enjoyed the rice they served though and that came as shocking as I usually don’t enjoy the Mexican rice served but this one was cooked perfectly and had the right seasoning.
I also got to try the Carnitas breakfast plate which was more or less the same as the Carnitas lunch meal except with some scrambled eggs cooked on the side and unfortunately the eggs were overcooked and not that great tasting.
I was going to order the Puerto Nuevo lobster but at $ 39.99 it’s a little too costly to consume for a lunch meal. I went to Puerto Nuevo (aka lobster village) before and it wasn’t as costly.
Service was so-​so and the food was just okay, not the best I ever had that’s for sure. Not sure if I would come here again though. Did not leave that great of an impression. Does not live up to the 4 star review unfortunately for me. Had high expectations based on Unilocal reviews but sadly was left unimpressed.

Great appetizers and attentive bar staff make this a nice place for happy hour.
We started out with the queso fundito and guacamole, and planned to share the portobello quesadilla… but never got that far.
The Cadillac margaritas were on special so we had to give them a shot, and we were pleasantly surprised… no shortcuts here! Plenty of tequila and a great fresh lime flavor.
The queso was lovely and filled with grilled onions, peppers, and spicy chorizo. Corn and flour tortillas were provided, both handmade and wonderfully hot.
Ortega’s guacamole was fresh and flavorful, and made at our table, and was a wonderful dip for the fresh hot corn chips served with complimentary salsa.
By the time we were making our way through the guac and queso we we quickly realized the large portions were going to outpace our stomachs and had to put a stop to the quesadilla that was yet to be made.
$ 6 premium margaritas, $ 6 queso fundito, $ 3 guacamole… unable to eat the quesadilla… priceless!
I’ll plan better with my stomach real estate so I can review other delights, so I will surely be back… this one makes the list!