Santanas Mexican Grill

I made the mistake of going here after people warned me not to go. Horrible greasy food, rude coustomer service, by far the worst taco shop in santee. I’m not sure how or why there still open. I definitely had high hopes for this place, a very big disappointment.

I think many of the complaints come from «customer service» being the main issue. However, I can only comment on my drive-​thru experiences.
I agree that the men working there come off as more laid back and straight to the point, which can come off as «rude» to someone who is just looking to be a snob about the small stuff, but I think its perfectly fine and is just more «easy-​going» and «blunt» about things, especially considering the fact that this place isn’t some sort of fine dining restaurant with waiters who come at your beck and call. The women working there are just overall friendly and nicer, but you got to cut them some slack! Being open for 24 hours is not easy. The mere fact that Santee even has a restaurant like this is a god send, especially for those nights you’re trying to stumble upon food at a weird hour and then you remember that this gem of a restaurant is open and ready to serve. And can I give a shoutout to their DRIVE-​THRU?! Ugh, yes.
The location is behind the town center and upon entering the vicinity, you can find easy parking. Inside is very clean and nicely maintained which is a big thumbs up.
Lastly, you can’t go wrong with their food and prices. Something about their carne asada just tastes of a higher quality of meat. Their fries are one of the best I’ve had. Not salty, very flavorful, generously cut thick, and a large portion. Their burritos are about the size of a forearm and they don’t try to cut corners with the inside contents. The combo plates are delicious and come with a drink. Everything you could ever want in a Mexican restaurant is here at your convenience.
Overall, you will see me coming back time and time again. If I could, I would actually give this place a 3.5 out of 5.

Its too bad the customer service here is horrible. I’d say about 50% of the time we’ve gone here they’ve gotten our order incorrect or the food was horrible or burned. Living right down the street we kept trying them out with much much disappointment! I hate ordering drive through and getting home only to realize our food was made poorly or we received the wrong order. I’ve had to call them multiple times afterwards only to speak with someone who barely spoke english and just rushed me off the phone. The last straw was when my husband got home and realized the drive through employee had kept his debit card. When we called them to let them know we were coming back to get our card they said «well whats your name we have a drawer full of them». I mean come on. When we picked up our card no apology, nothing! They were actually very rude to my husband and acted as if he did something wrong! Needless to say we wont be spending anymore money there; rude, unhappy employees and food thats only good about half the time. I’d stay away from this place because you never know what your going to get

My favorite thing about this location is its location its easy to get in and out and I seem to forget about it being. But with that said I like the food. Never had a bad meal its always clean and usually not very busy. Food comes out fast and employees are friendly. Eat with confidence.

This is our go-​to «taco shop» since moving to Santee. It’s where we go for carne asada burritos and carne asada chips/​fries. If you like your burrito/​chips with a lot of pico de gallo and guacamole (and no beans), you’ll like their version. The carne asada is also good quality meat– I’ve had carne asada at other taco shops where you can just tell it’s a cheap cut. Santana’s is on par in my opinion with Lolita’s.
We’ve only gone through the drive-​thru (which is dangerously convenient) and despite others’ reviews, we’ve never had a wrong order (knocking on wood for the future visits).
They also have a decent beef enchilada plate, carnitas burrito and beef taco plate (husband’s choice).

Really really slow. Their food is okay but the people who work here just play around and take way too long. The El Cajon one is much much better!!!

I like a good flauta or taquito, and this Santanas makes a good. Specifically, they make a great zesty shredded chicken flauta with a crunchy fried flour tortilla for $ 4 and some change.
The flautas were very well made and had that really good crunch with a bit of a moist chew from the inner flour tortilla. To get this just right, the oil had to be a perfect temp and the timing on point. The shredded chicken inside was very flavorful. It was very well seasoned and was perhaps stewed with some chilis and tomatoes. The guacamole on top was good. It could of used a touch of salt, but I took care of that. The cheddar cheese was finely shredded and came with a dusting of white Mexican cheese as well. Given the flautas were made from flour tortillas, they were much longer than their corn tortilla rolled taco counterparts. Great flautas all together.
I tried several hot sauces from the salsa bar and the Salsa Roja made from roasted hot peppers. It not only packed the most flavor, but also the most heat. I have to say, it went very well with the flautas. They offer roasted and seasoned yellow peppers and grilled and seasoned green onions stalks at the salsa bar, as any good Mexican eatery should.
Service was good, and this location also sports a drive thru.

Awesome place as always s! Today is fish tacos, my favorite. Folks here are laid back. When my order got delayed, they offered to refund my order and give me the food still. That’s good business sense. Of course, I declined as they are busy folks. Now these tacos are tasty!!!

The food is hit and miss. Sometimes it is really good and other times it is gross. The customer service is awful! Either they get your order wrong or they make you repeat it several times. If you want good mexican food and good service go a mile down the road to Cotijas and stay away from here.

The food is half way decent but the customer service is absolutely horrendous. I ordered one Buenos Dias Burrito. The guy who barely said 2 words when I did place my order told me it was 5.93 at the window. Literally 10 minutes later I got my order. I pulled away and went home. I open my bag and low and behold there are 2 of the same burritos in it. Then I thought to look at the reciept, to which there was not one in the bag. I went on to my banking app and there was a charge for 5.93 at 09:56 and another for the same amount at 09:57. I called back and asked is there policy to charge people twice for a there mistakes? Because it’s just myself, I didn’t order nor did I want another burrito. The response I was giving was, «uh huh, well you got 2 so we charged you for 2». So apparently they will make you your order, twice even though you didn’t order it and charge your card 2 separate times to pay for it. Needless to say I am disputing this charge with my bank come Monday.

I would give 0 if I could. I ordered my hubby a California burrito with pollo asada, got carne. My fish burrito was mushy, tasteless, and disgusting. The tortillas are very powdery on the outside. The best part of our meal was our side of beans. That is pathetic. Not to mention the food was darn near thrown at me through the drive through window. They should just close up shop. Go somewhere else. $ 20 for 2 burritos and a side of beans, wrong order, and crap food. I feel cheated.

Bad customer service, but the Chicken California burrito is too good! Well-​recommended.

Came here for lunch on Sunday after my workout and pedicure. Greeted with a smile and hello which I found very pleasant. I order the bean burrito with guacamole only. You really can’t mess up a bean burrito unless the beans are dried out. I did inform them of my Dairy allergy and to my surprise they took it very seriously. I like the food and the salsa bar was nice with a big selection to choose from. I didn’t ask for much in the way of food goes so I all I can say is YUM! Will definitely come back to try something else on the menu.

This place has the worse customer service in Mexican food places in Santee. Every single time we go there, the employees screw up our order. Even if we ask for items or ask to omit items, like pico, they get it WRONG! It is so frustrating when you pay for something and either don’t get it or get something else you never ordered.
Tonight my boyfriend and I ordered a surf and turf with no pico, a fish taco, 4 rolled tacos with everything (cheese, guac, sour cream and lettuce), 4 ice and beans. Instead we got beans, 4 rolled tacos with guacamole and cheese, corn tortillas, and amazingly, the surf and turf burrito with no pico. Usually they screw that up and don’t take out the pico. It’s only because I reminded the employee who took our order, that we didn’t want pico when we drove up to the window to pay, otherwise I guarantee it would have been in there. How hard is it to type in what is ordered and how hard is it to read what is on the ticket!!!
I will not visit this Santana’s again, without a) repeating my order twice, b) having them repeat it back to me and c) checking the food once I receive it.
They are lucky their food is good. And yes, it is the only 24 hour Mexican place in Santee, unfortunately.

1^st: It took FOREVER for my food. 2^nd: I asked for my guacamole on the side and they put it inside my quesadilla. 3^rd The quesadilla was filled with white cheese that was melted but had become cold and almost hard, like it had been sitting out for 20 minutes before I ordered it. I’ll never come back again.

4 stars instead of 5 because I don’t like their carne asada. When I come here, I get Pollo Asado and it’s awesome! Their burritos are great, their nachos are awesome, and so is their guac and hot sauce. Their rolled tacos are perfect and have shredded meat in them instead of ground beef like some people use. Both the red and the green hot sauces are amazing. Plus, I love that it has a drive though. Estrada’s is one of my favorite taco shops, but if I’m closer to Santana’s or can’t get out of the car because of kids, I go to Santana’s.

Ordered a California burrito and let me just tell you. IT SUCKKED!!! Was supper greasy and the French fries were not cooked. Not impressed at all!

My favorite mexican food ever. !
I love adobada california burrito. It Is the only place with natural fries. Salsa bar is awesome. And they have the best breakfast burrito in the town. «Buenos dias burritos is the bomb» !

It is such a shame to give this review, considering the carne asada is very good, but as of late, the portions have been very inconsistent in size or quality.
I went late one night last week, and received a well sized portion, but the meat was scorched in my burrito, and on my fries.
Came back this week during lunch to almost no meat on my burrito and fries!
I also asked for a small amount of sour cream on the burrito. The burrito had so much sour cream on it that it was leaking through the tortilla!
For the price, I’ll find another shop.

When I first started going to this place I thought «This is my new Mexican place». However, as time has gone by, about a month since I first at there, the service and quality have been going downhill. Orders get confused, something tastes like it was fish-​fried when it wasn’t meant to be fish, very oily food, extremely slow service, and more. It’s not always like this, but it’s been ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ lately.
I’m hoping things pick back up and get to where they used to be. In the meantime, I have to give this place a two.