Cali N Tito’s at La Puerta del Sol

A gem. This place rocks!!! The Cuban and fish burrito are our go toos but you really can’t go wrong. If you want a funky and different atmosphere then this is the place to go. Probably the best place you can go on the east side!!!

Negatives: needs some additional outside lighting for parking lot; also confusing if you’ve never been before to know where to order. Ceiling fans cause a «strobe-​like» visual annoyance while eating.
Restrooms okay. Like the entire building there are unique features throughout.
Food was good. Huge big screen for viewing a football game. Reasonable prices. Worth returning to. Watch out for the kids riding tricycles throughout the building.

Been here lots of times. The food is excellent, The atmosphere is great. People are friendly
Love their fish tacos and the chicken.
Love their dipping sauce and they can make your food spicy too.

The food was good and the atmosphere was pretty cool. We would definitely go there again. Decent prices, especially considering the amount of food they give you.

Glad calin’titos came to the eastside. As great as the original and then some. Very kid friendly. A unique atmosphere. Must go

Best place to eat in athens!
Delicious and we’ll worth your money. I like sitting inside to eat so I prefer this location over the one near 5 points.

Great food awesome environment. I frequent the old location because i love the outdoor byob eclectic vibe it’s smaller and i like that it is small and cozy yet super cool vibe.

This is a great restaurant, food, environment, and serving is just phenomenal. I had the tostones, empanadas and fried yuca with the green salsa. Absolutely authentic and tasty!

Awesome atmosphere and great authentic mexican/​peruvian food. Got Titos burrito with steak and chicken wings

Loved it! We took the family to this location for the first time. All I can say is it was great! The kids had a blast. It was very family friendly in a town full of bars. The food was delicious! I loved the chicken empanadas, and my young ones couldn’t get enough of the plantains! My husband had a Cuban sandwich and said it was awesome. We will definitely return!

Love this place so much. Highly recommend the Big Burrito and their Churros are warm and made fresh!

Chirizo and Egg Cuban! Chips and Salsa are also a great addition. Can’t go wrong with those.
Only thing I wasn’t impressed with was a beer marketing group that was there with not so appropriately dressed ladies rolling a cart around advertising their beer line. I understand some people appreciated it, but there were tons of kids around.

I like it. First of all, the atmosphere is not for everyone. There will be kids everywhere, screaming and playing with all the toys, especially the loud instruments in the corner. That was a little bit iritating, but the food made up for it. The tamale (don’t remember which kind) was simply delicious and the fried seafood platter was delectable. Their yucca fries are even better than their regular fries. The cuban sandwiches are enormous, and the portions are generous in general. There are a lot of good items on the menu and you can definitely get your money’s worth.

Well, I’ve been back to this location 4 – 5 times since my last and less than favorable review, and I’m happy to report that it seems like they’ve ironed out the glitches that plagued them for a while.
Food was tasty, hot and presented with fresh cilantro and sauces. Yay!
They’ve rearranged the place and it’s a bit more comfortable than it was before. Yay!
The giant tv’s are blowing your face off with super high volume anymore. Yay!
Service is friendly and non-​confrontational. Yay!
I’m back to being a regular patron and a happy one at that!

I am a big fan of Cali and Tito’s, so I was intrigued when I heard that they had a new place with indoor seating. La Puerta Del Sol has much the same feel as the original. The interior has the same kitsch decorating, perhaps even more so. The menu is the same. Though their sweet tea seems to be less sweet. Other than the indoor seating, the other big differences are that they accept credit cards and serve beer.
Despite it’s similarities to the original, I still think it falls short. The best part if the original was the outdoor seating, perfect for enjoying some lomos saltado on a cool summer day. It is also farther from the center of town, too far to walk to from campus.

I try not to be harsh when rating places like these, but there a few fundamental missteps that are flying apparent from the your step into the restaurant.
First off, the façade of a nicer restaurant with lots of room/​tables is shattered one you step in and see that this place is basically a deconstructed carnival.
I know Cali n Titos has a «playground» but that’s something that should have probably been kept to that location. The random play area in the center doesn’t belong. It takes up too much and makes the place look cheap. While I did enjoy some quirks like a few of the organ/​pianos near the restrooms, everything else seemed chaotic and underwhelming.
Not being greeted by anyone in the restaurant was also a good indication of the service to come. While the bartender was helpful, after we ordered, we struggled to figure out where to get water/​find seating, etc.
The reason this place gets two stars is because of food. I’m not particularly picky but… Nothing was particularly good out of the burrito, chicken quesadillas, or the variety of tacos. I was especially disappointed with my chorizo. It was so mediocre/​sub par that I only had a bite. It seriously tasted/​looked like it was made out of ground beef instead of pork.
Seriously though… I pretty much always finish my food and this is one the few times in my life I didn’t.
Despite the fact that I live within distance, I doubt I would go again… I’ll try it out in the summer and update the food improves.

When I came back to Athens to visit my friends and see campus again, I had to see this new joint! Gotta say, it’s definitely an improvement. Looks wise, space wise, and just… almost everything wise. I really think the owners sat down and wrote down the cons of the S Lumpkin location and tried to fix them with this new place.
… and they achieved it :) All you UGA grads who left Athens somewhat earlier than 2012 (for me it was 2012), you have to come back and really see what’s up with the new Cali N Tito’s!
But NOTE: I had no phone signal whatsoever when I was in the building. Like… none. I had to step outside to finish up some business emails. That’s really the only con I see here.
Parking — from the looks of it, I like it! No more cramming into spaces/​trying to hunt down spots. Woohoo! #happyface
The building itself is HUGE. When I saw it… I kind of was in awe, haha. It’s nice. Inside is even better.
BONUS: WE CAN USE OUR CREDIT CARDS!!! I hated using cash during my undergrad years.
To be honest, I can totally see the inside space be used as a club haha. Or maybe a place to rent for parties. It’s great! In general, it’s a major improvement. They’ve got cool tables, neat TVs, and even some bikes for kids to ride around. I wouldn’t mind bringing my future kids here one day if I came back with them. It is kind of darkly lit though — well maybe b/​c I went for dinner. regardless, I’m a fan of this place.
Food — great as always. Love Cali N Titos. Nom Nom.
All you folks IN Athens right now, I’m jealous!

I have to agree with Jason. I love Cali-​n-​Titos on Lumpkin. The food is fantastic and so is the staff and the atmosphere. I have tried the east side location twice and the quality /​taste of the items that I had were just not up to the Lumpkin locations standards. I didn’t like the atmosphere as much, too.

Meh. I’ve been a long-​time fan of these restaurants since the days of Caliente Cab, and I had high hopes when exploring the eastside location for the first time last night. To put the positives first, it’s a really nice space, with plenty of seating, air conditioning, and stuff for kids to play on.
The downside was the food. Tried the Lomo Saltado (usually such a treat at the Milledge Ave location!) and was really shocked to get a pile of huge, rubbery, pale curls of chicken mixed up with soggy fries and enormous chunks of raw onion, all doused in an overly salty (soy-​sauce based?) thin brown sauce. No additional sauces on the side, no wedge of lime, no garnish. It looked and tasted like something Applebee’s would call «Lomo Saltado». (It wasn’t cheap, either!) I was so surprised that I thought that perhaps I’d annoyed the counter staff somehow, but someone else’s came out shortly, and it looked exactly the same. This really is the dish they’re serving.
I would say it might be just that dish (in which case, fellow Unilocalers, avoid it!), but my dining companions ordered the tacos (again, a reliable standard at the other location) and they were off, too– the beef taco was a pile of livery, over-​marinated beef chunks, cooked to chewy plasticity, the pork cottony, but more or less acceptable.
I might go back, hoping that this was just an off-​night, but as of now I’m really puzzled. If this is a deliberate choice to change the recipes, it’s a bad one. If nobody’s minding the store, it’s time to start. Right now, it doesn’t look like this kitchen has much interest in the food.

I have been a huge fan of the Rubios’ restaurants since I first tried the yuca at Caliente Cab. It’s not just the food; the atmosphere makes me feel feel as though I’m on a mini-​vacation in South America.
This new Cali-​n-​titos is no different. The parking lot is surrounded by palm trees and crushed shells. Upon entry through the large wooden ornate doors, you’re surrounded by South American art displayed in shelved windows, more palm trees, flags from around the world, beautiful and artfully crafted wooden chairs and tables, and some of the usual whimsical items dangling from the ceiling, the most unusual of which is what seems to be a gigantic toy plane with flashing lights and all!
We took our menus from the hanging clothesline and placed our order before carefully selecting our table by the beautiful fountain in the center. I ordered the Tito’s big burrito and the chicha morado (Peruvian purple corn beverage), and my husband ordered the veggie quesadilla. I enjoyed my burrito although it didn’t come with the sauce that it usually does, so I asked for the habanero sauce to add a little spice. The quesadilla was a little too salty, unfortunately, but the chicha morado was delicious! Nice to see that they also now offer some alcoholic beverages!
The service was a little slower than what we would usually expect for Cali-​n-​titos especially considering they weren’t very busy, but it’s still new and a different set-​up, so I’m confident it’ll get quicker.
Overall we had a great experience and we will definitely visit again. Looking forward to seeing what else La Puerta del Sol has to offer in the next few years.