San Diego’s Best Mexican Restaurants: Lolita’s Mexican Food
Lolita’s is a small chain of neighborhood Mexican restaurants that has been around since 1984. Most of the locations are in the South Bay area, but we go to the Kearny Mesa location. This is our overview of Lolita’s Mexican Food.
Type: Neighborhood Mexican Restaurant
Locations: Chula Vista (3), Bonita, Downtown, SDSU, Kearny Mesa
Our Location: Kearny Mesa
- What to Order: Fish Taco, Carne Asada Fries, California Burrito, Tsunami Fries (carne asada and shrimp)
- Salsa Bar: 2 stars
- Drinks: Soda fountain, beer, and wine
- Prices:
- Fish Taco $3.85
- Carne Asada Burrito: $6.85
- 2 Beef Taco Plate: $7.95 plus $1.50 for a drink
Under our classification of Mexican restaurants, Lolita’s Mexican Food definitely falls into the Neighborhood Mexican Restaurant category. Your order at the counter, take a number and wait for them to call your order.
We can only vouch for the Kearny Mesa location. This location is fairly large and has a nice outdoor patio. It is slightly more upscale than your average San Diego taco shop. However, the salsa bar is fairly bare bones. Usually, it has two salsas, limes, green onions, and radishes.
What makes Lolita’s Mexican Food standout is the carne asada and the seafood. Lolita’s has one of our favorite fish tacos in all San Diego. They also do an excellent job with shrimp. We love the shrimp burrito.
The other big thing at Lolita’s is their French fries. San Diego is known for its California burrito. This is a burrito with carne asada and french fries (or potatoes). Lolita’s makes one of the best.
In addition to a burrito, another popular San Diego option is carne asada fries. Once again Lolita’s has one of the best. This is not a healthy option, so I get this dish maybe once a year. Almost always I will pick Lolita’s if I want carne asada fries.
Lolita’s is also noted for its Tsunami French Fries. This is the carne asada fries with the addition of shrimp. We have yet to try this option, but can definitely vouch for the shrimp. They also have regular specials which can be a bargain.
The only location of Lolita’s Mexican Food we have been to is the Kearny Mesa one. This seems to be the most popular one and has higher ratings than the ones in the South Bay. We can’t say if this is because of quality or whether the neighborhoods closer to the border are more discerning when it comes to Mexican food.
For tourists, there is Lolita’s Mexican Food downtown location right next to the Padres Petco Park. For this expensive neighborhood, this would make a nice low-cost option to get your Mexican fix.
Fun Diego Family is slowly covering the massive Mexican food scene in San Diego. Lolita’s Mexican Food is one of our favorites in the Neighborhood Mexican Restaurant category. To see our complete overview of types of Mexican restaurants be sure and check out our Best Mexican Food in San Diego guide.
