Alfonso’s of La Jolla

Really hoping it was good. 3 restaurants have tried here and have failed. we got there at 730. restaurant wasn’t full though they asked for a 30 minute wait. We sat at the bar tables instead. Long story short 9:15 pm. Server onmy checked in once and no food. The group next to us left as it was taking too long for them as well. We gave it over an hour. no chip refill (chips aren’t good so not too dissapointed) not even guacamole order came out. We finally said we needed to leave and she said our Food was next in line to be made. We said we will cancel and got a bill for $ 100 of drinks that weren’t good at all. The ‘fresh lime’ margarita was not fresh real limes btw. We signed bill and left. The proper thing to have done would have been to comp the drinks or give a free entrée discount for ‘the next time’ or even a manager apology. But nothing was done. they were actually quite fine for us to leave. Poor showing for first experience… and to clients the are pretty easy to please… don’t think it will survive long. Ended up and Crush next door.

I first experienced Alfonso’s back when I was in my mother’s womb! Needles to say, 30 years later it has still remained one of my favorite restaurants. I can back to La Jolla during the month of April and was sadden to hear that Alfonso’s had closed its doors. A couple of weeks ago, I heard that Alfonso’s was opening up in Solana Beach! My sister and I came this past Friday and the place was packed as if they were giving away free margaritas and tacos! Given that it was the first day, the waiter had advised us that their ordering system wasn’t working as expected. Although we waited a while for our food we understood the delay given that it was their first day of operation. But in the mean time, we were snacking on the delicious chips with salsa and guacamole. Can’t wait to come back in a few weeks !

Went in for a quick lunch yesterday. Service was nice and efficient. nice to see our server from the Other Restaurant that closed in January in Encinitas. she knows how to serve and support her tables… fish tacos were excellent. hot and fresh. no time for drinks since we were working but will be back for that. Parking is great and easy access. nice layout and great breeze coming through the tables. will be back soon

Our visit was on «reopening day.» The theme of the restaurant has been updated and conformed to more of a «beach city» vibe (i.e. the room is more open to the outdoors and ditched the traditional Mexican restaurant look). We ate on the patio. The menus has also been updated. Didn’t matter to me — I came for the Carne Asada Alfonso which is as good as it has been in a long while. Service suffered a little from the first day kinks. Hopefully, Alfonso will not lose many of his customers from the move/​dark months. Taken as a whole the updated room and food quality bode well for the next 45 years. We will still miss the La Jolla location, but it needed attention and the new location does a good job addressing that need. ‚. -.

They have a lot to do to get the kinks out of the new location. One hour wait for our cold food to arrive. Clearly under staffed and under trained. Hopeful that they get the house in order as it was very clear no one in the place was happy.

Obviously one of the best mexican restaurant with an authentic flavor with a recipe kept secret in the family for generations, the owner is very welcoming and you can feel the positive vibe. He will tell you personally the origin of the dishes that waters my mouth thinking about it… there is something different to choose for everyone, the drinks are also awsome, easy to get you carried away, so DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE bring your designated driver with you. its safer and cheaper to pay for his or her food. funny but true

WORST EXPERIENCE! ICED COLD TACOS, OVER TWO HOURS WITHOUT OUR MEALS, TERRIBLE SERVICE. We were loyal, born & raised Alfonso’s fans from the La Jolla location. Now living in Solana Beach we were THRILLED to try the new location. We made reservations and brought a friend in for her birthday dinner. From start to finish it was ALL terrible. We barely got our drinks, everything from the margaritas to the sodas were off & weird. We were patient because they just opened, we figured it would smooth out. Then we order chips & guacamole with bean dip. Even the GUAC WAS TERRIBLE! we aren’t even that picky!!! We were patient still. Our cokes were flat, our margaritas barely had any tequila. Then the food… our reservation was at 7. We never saw food until 8:47…and when it came out it was ICE COLD. We finally said something and they said «oh our kitchen isn’t working.» UMMMM what? We ended up paying 100 bucks for our terrible drinks, then left without a single bite of real food & walked across the street to CHRUSH. Ten minutes into our delicious meal there we see three parties from ALFONSOS come in – they told us they never got their food, either. WHAT A BAD EXPERIENCE! Save yourself the money & stomach ache (trust me on that) and don’t go. Such a bummer, we loved the La Jolla local.

They just reopened here in Solana Beach after moving from Prospect in La Jolla. This new place it amazing! The restaurant and bar are beautiful and the food is just as good (if not better!) than before. If you’re looking for a great place to eat after a day at the fair or races this is the place to go!

OMG! They reopened in Solana Beach and this place is amazing. As a Spanish teacher I can be a bit critical of Latin restaurants. So when I say A+, they’ve earned it! Above average because:
1. Mom and pop owned (Alfonso)
2. Fresh look, yet still kept the authentic Mexican décor
3. Music is a mix of all Latin sounds (Celia Cruz etc)
4. Ben the bartender is hilarious
5. Alfonso greeted us personally
6. Wait staff is friendly and dressed with a Latin flair
7. Trendy look, has some unique décor with the tequila lit ambiance
8. They have a lunch and dinner menu
9. Lighter, more open, and TVs everywhere.
10. Live music!!!
So excited to have a place next to the fair grounds, I’ll be here after the horse races and maybe make a stop after I finish cycling around the area!

Wow! Opening night and this place just rocks! From Alfonso making certain everyone is happy in a packed establishment, to Miguel Zuniga’s amazing music to Oscar behind the bar serving great food and fun drinks! The fish tacos on happy hour are great as well as the carne. This has immediately become our go to place for Mexican food. We loved Alfonso’s in La Jolla, great food, but this new place as VIBE! We love it!

Great food and location, which is why it sucks that they moved from their Prospect Street location. Good Mexican dishes with beef and pork as well as great drinks. Good luck at your next location

I read that they were moving at the end of March. Went for dinner on Easter Sunday and it was awesome! But actually their last day!
Bummer that they won’t be in La Jolla any more.

Please leave. I wouldn’t mind the mediocre food if the «MUSIC» wasn’t blaring all night. The singers they have can make you throw up the bland mexican food. Moving to solana, hopefully soon.

Their margaritas are so good! Happy Hour Deals are also to die for! Jamie or hostess is awesome! She is very attentive and has great customer service!

Having stayed the night at the Hyatt — La Jolla just this past weekend and/​or not being all too familiar w/​the area — we Unilocaled «Mexican Near Us» and among a plethora of other eateries populated this place.
Note: You’d think w/​the 2 $$‘s being displayed on their Unilocal profile that there would be some sort of contrived ambiance — embodying, I dunno’… some place in Oaxaca or Guadalajara… let alone a patio offering beachfront accommodations.
NOT EXACTLY THE CASE HERE.
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Upon dawdling in, I was all the more compelled to channel my «inner Tyra».
Despite no one — INCLUDING the hostess «smizing» to so much as welcome us to this shack, …it’s perceptible that Alfonso’s has TOTALLY managed to scrabble by for the duration of their tenure… by simply — — - — - «resting on pretty».
Located on Prospect Street within the very epicenter of the ever so charming La Jolla Cove lies this tavern of alleged Mexican descent, bestowing subpar appetizers and conjuring lackluster entrée’s at *PREMIUM* prices.
Ya’ know, I’d honestly be willing to issue the benefit of the doubt to this place’s ridiculous upcharges and chalk it all to «location», yet Alfredo’s doesn’t even offer a view let alone conjure a feeling of your abuela’s «casa» when walking in, rendering that theory completely obsolete.
And Ughhhhh!!!
To further it all,… and I KNOWWW I’m not alone on this,… but DON’T YOU JUST DESPISE when restaurants,…be they Mexican, Cajun, Creole, Thai, Laotian, Korean… or what have you, …allege their food to be «SPICY» —- YET, the chef’s definition of «spice» is nothing more than cayenne pepper and/​or Mrs. Dash?!?
That, is clearly the case at Alfonso’s. –_​_​–
I ordered a «spicy» burrito con camarones of some sort and it left me w/​a sense of absolute regret. There were no more than 5 shrimp inside of this flaccid thing, alongside an over inundation of bell peppers and onions. (sighs…)
With each bite, I felt myself to have wasted more and more of my time.
The chips and salsa, accompanied by stale chips,… were a bit more adequate and served as a backup plan to my meal yet this item alone managed to deduct a good $ 15.95 from my checking account not to mention another $ 20.00 for whatever insipid item he ordered… only for us to leave and commence our forage elsewhere for street tacos!
In conclusion and noteworthy would be the fact that upon paying (we had to wait and locate another server just to do this) and departing, we overheard a few patrons conversing with bartenders, on this place closing shop by month’s end.
«Ay dios mio!!!»
Let the countdown begin…
Perhaps after shutting off their lights, new owners will step in, elect upon adding a 2^nd story terrace offering panoramic rooftop views and IF ANYTHING, perfect’ their margaritas in remembrance of this restaurante’ enganado.
In the interim, you can find us at El Torito —

My friend had a gift card that she wanted to use here so we decided to come here for lunch on Saturday. It’s probably the most casual restaurant on Prospect. We decided to sit in the patio facing the street. The tables and chairs are plastic lawn furniture with a table cloth over it. Our table was a little warped in the middle so had to make sure you placed your drinks on the table correctly. They served us chips and salsa while we looked at the menu. The chips were very stale. I asked the waiter if they were new or old chips and he said it was new, so I didn’t make a big deal about it. We just didn’t eat it.
We ordered Corona-​ritas (corona + margarita), which was very refreshing. How can you not order a drink with an upside down corona bottle hanging over it?! So yummy. We shared the chicken enchiladas and the carne asada quesadilla. I’d say it was pretty standard Mexican food. Quesadilla was good and the enchiladas came with rice and beans, which were also good. I believe our bill came out to $ 44. We also used our 15% Unilocal check-​in deal.
The staff were very nice and accommodating. It wasn’t overly busy at noon on a Saturday. Street parking can be a bit of an issue on Prospect, so we parked at the public valet across the street for $ 10.

Whether you like Alfonso’s food, or not… if you’ve been here more than once, you probably have some great stories to tell (or secrets to keep;). I do…
Dropping into La Jolla for dinner with a friend, got there early to take a stroll and check out the view, when I passed Alfonso’s, I was taken back to 20 years ago when Alfonso’s either started or ended our weekend nights out. I hesitated going in, then just thought, what the heck, I’m on vacation, I need an Alfonso’s margarita!
Nothing much has changed décor wise, still feels a little scruffy, but in a good way, if that makes sense. More authentic, like actually being in Mexico ;). Any who, I make my way back to the bar, Pedro greets me within a few minutes, makes me that good olé’ house margarita and a giant glass of water, offers chips and salsa (which I declined– even though I remember they had amazing salsa!) Chatted with a few people who were visiting California and with the bartender, Pedro. He seemed familiar but I thought, well, no way… yes, way, he’s been at Alfonso’s since the late 70’s! back in the day, he was a busser and now he’s the bartender, I like that.
So, the reason I’m so glad I stopped in? Alfonso’s lease is up and they’ll be moving to an undetermined location likely around the end of October… Glad to have one more memory and a great margarita in this legendary spot. Get in there, and have a nibble, I’m sure something swanky and hip will show up in Alfonso’s place… makes me a bit sad… sigh.

Pretty good food, great location. I think the ambience is much better than the food. The patio is closed and secluded, but there is also a rail out front if you want to people watch. The margaritas were pretty strong, and they have lots of different premium tequilas to chose from.
I thought the enchilada suizas were good but did not stack up with the usual places I go. My wife really enjoyed her grilled fish however. The guacamole was also good, but one size smaller would have been nice, the order was huge! The quesadilla was pretty good too.
If your in the mood for a margarita, I would recommend the millionaire margarita. The billionaire margarita had way too much orange juice, a splash is sufficient for my tastes. I couldn’t taste enough lime.

In La Jolla for the weekend and we were looking for a snack since it was too early for dinner. We came upon Alfonso’s and decided to give it a try. We were seated right away. The waitress was friendly and got our drinks quickly. When they served us chips and salsa I was confused by the look of the salsa. It didn’t look like a normal chunky salsa. I gave it a try and it may not have looked normal, but it was THE most amazing salsa ever! I don’t know what they put in it, it’s definitely different, GOOD different.
We shared a plate of the super nachos, which were amazing! My husband said they were the best he’s ever had! Chips, cheese, chorizo, chicken, steak, beans and jalapeños! My gosh they were good!
We’d recommend Alfonso’s based on the service and what we had! Excellent!

Where do I start? From the location, to the food, to the drinks, to the service, Alfonso’s is the best Mexican restaurant around! It’s Conveniently located near the beach, la Jolla cove and there are tons of cute little shops surrounding it. I have been a regular here for years. And honestly after traveling to a variety of different states and countries, no one can beat this place.
The staff there are so friendly and welcoming. And for the most part ‘The Alfonso’ is there to greet and seat you! He kind of reminds me of he most interesting man in the world lol.
The chips are fresh and are made there at the restaurant the salsa that goes along with it has the perfect amount of spice and flavor. Some of my favorite items are the potato flautas aka rolled tacos, the tortilla soup (that’s only served on Fridays) and the veggie version of the La Jolla burrito. Oh and the bean dip is AMAZING!
And to top it off, they have the best margaritas ever! The Cadillac and pomegranate are my favorites. Im getting thirsty just thinking about having one!