San Diego has absolutely no shortage of Mexican restaurants. You can pretty much find one anywhere. Historic Old Town is no different. It’s the oldest place in San Diego (oddly enough not home to the oldest people. Looking at you, La Jolla…) It has culture, theatre and the 10th most haunted house in America . Directly across the street from the Whaley House is Old Town Mexican Cafe, where Scooby, Shaggy and the gang can enjoy a margarita after running from Yankee Jim with the Harlem Globetrotters. As for me, I brought my own gang of rag-tag ghost hunters:
Abby-Swim instructor, Disneyland buddy, Stresses about making food for my other food-savvy friends
Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many
Harry-Wise guy, master of the grill, loves camping for some reason
Kasey-Rocky Horror performer, Coffee wife, Occasional Drag King
Ky-Rocky Horror performer, Disneyland enthusiast, Roommate of Brad
Sean-Former “Ambassador to Spain”, Halloween spookster, A picky eater like me
The first place you notice about Old Town Mexican Cafe is it’s big, crowded and LOUD. Not the place you wanna bring a quiet dinner date but the party atmosphere is pretty contagious. In what can only be described as the ultimate reward from the universe, we happened to be dining at Old Town Mexican Cafe on National Tequila Day. Yes. That is a thing. Actually everyday is national something day. ALL OF THE MARGARITAS FOR EVERYONE!!! Abby had the Patron Margarita, which she called “effective”. It’s important to note that Abby had already been there for a while when we arrived and was at a point in her Tequila Day celebrating where we probably could’ve gotten her to dance on our table with her skirt over her head with minimal fuss. Ky had the Mango Margarita. Kasey had the Strawberry Margarita, which she found to be lacking a fair deal of flavor and was essentially “The flavor of red”. Harry got the 1800 Cadillac Margarita, which he called “awesome”. Aimee ordered a Midori Margarita, which she also said was good but lacking flavor. I had the classic margarita (blended). The margarita was tasty and effective and totally worth the pain I had to endure from a bad reaction to lime juice with my medication.
The menu is big and they’ve got a wide array of Mexican and American food to choose from. I would love to meet the sad tourist that would come here and have a burger, but I digress. Abby ordered Mexican Shrimp Cocktail, which is served almost ceviche-style and she enjoyed. Ky and I both had the chicken and rice soup, which was hearty and good. Possibly not the best choice for a hot July day after a Margarita, but I like food so there’s that. I also ordered the 3 Lobster Rolls. I’ve seen these done elsewhere but they always seem to have black beans in them, so that was a deal breaker. I’m happy to say that while Old Town Mex’s Lobster Rolls were not the greatest thing I’ve ever had in life, they DO NOT have beans of any kind in them, so this was a tasty victory.
For main courses Abby had the Fish and Lobster Enchilada, which she loved. Sean had the two Enchiladas combo with one chicken and one pork enchilada. While he mentioned he wished the chicken meat had been cut smaller for an enchilada, he said it was tasty and the pork enchilada was perfect. Ky had the Steak Azteca (Marinated steak stuffed with jack cheese and green salsa). Ky said the steak was amazing but her rice was gross. The salsa had some serious heat to it but she really liked what it brought to the steak.
Harry ordered the Mariscada (Marinated shrimp and halibut with lime juice, onions, cucumber and avocado). He said it was a nice light flavor. Sort of like having a plate of ceviche. He wished the cucumber could’ve had a bit more marinade but no other complaints. Aimee got the 1/2 rack of Mexican style ribs. She said that these were probably some of the best ribs she’s ever eaten. High praise from our Southerner. They are prepared rotisserie style and are served with no sauce but Aimee insisted it wasn’t needed. Also delicious were the home made tortillas served with the dish.
Kasey ordered the Beef taco and Tostada Combo. She described the dish as “standard sit-down Mexican restaurant quality” and was creeped out by the crust over her beans. I had the Chicken Verde Enchiladas with rice and no beans. I thought they were good with a nice spicy sauce. I’ve had better enchiladas elsewhere but these were pretty solid and not super expensive. It was a good meal.
For good measure, we ordered one of the few desserts offered, Churros with Vanilla Ice Cream. These weren’t exactly a showstopper in concept, execution or taste but they were good enough. While Old Town Mexican Cafe is a fun place with a great party vibe. I think I would come here more for the bar food and drinks. Not that this is a bad thing at all.
Further reading: http://www.oldtownmexcafe.com/
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