Pozoleria Dona Maria

I’m going to start this review by stating that this restaurant’s food is from Guerrero, Mexico; with that said I am rating their food purely on flavor and quality and not on whether this is good I grew up eating.
The flavors are ok, meaning that it is edible. Trust me I’ve had food I had to throw in the trash. I ordered my food to go and it was not packaged properly. My food was cold and soggy by the time I got home and I live six blocks from this place.
Sopes: soggy, dry, lacked sauce and cold.
Flautas: in the trash, so soggy I could not even pick them up the to go plate, cold, and the avocado had a black lump of something unidentifiable and a sad soggy chip on it.
Pozole: MEH. I’ve had white Pozole before and this one was just ok, too salty. Ordered one with just meat and one mixed. I was not expecting cubes of fat all over it. The meat is shredded for the all meat and its cut in cubes for the mixed one; never seen this done as normally they are just large chunks that you can identify.
Tostada de pata: NOT IN MY BAG! I called and the woman told me that I had forgotten it! How? I explicitly asked her if EVERYTHING was in the bag. I rod her nicely that I had not forgotten anything and that it was rather never put in my bag. She gave me some bull and told me to go get my tostada at another time. I asked if she could just void the $ 3.55 and she said no. I was a cashier and I know for a fact that you are able to cancel any transactions!
Condiments, salsa, cabbage, oregano, onion and lemons are fresh but they are pre-​packaged and thrown into your bag. Salsa was all over the place by the time I got home after one of the many packets busted. The salsa has way too much vinegar.
Never going back! They can keep my $ 3.55!

Had lunch here with mom on a Saturday noon, service has gone way down with the female waitresses there. Food is still tasty but portions have decreased in size and they give you more broth than meat in the pozole.
Waitresses seldomly check on their tables, and have a rude attitude. They definitely lost a couple of loyal customers, won’t be going back.

Had way better pozole! Sorry but I’ve never had
pozole which the meat was so thick! Yeah it looked good but I am not a fan, won’t be coming back…
We also asked for the tostadas *pata de puerco* …it had mayo with sour cream. ahhhh never had them like that, andddd… i did not like them! No flavor!!!
Let’s talk about the service: ammmm the guy who served us was ok, but the guy on the register was rude! Our first time here and he was in a hurry to have us tell him what we were ordering. didn’t even start with… amm drinks??? He kept looking towards the entrance when people were coming in. yesss while taking our order! Rude!!!
Sorry but no idea what is it that gives this place a 4 stars? What do you guys eat that you put such great comments! I’m mexican and I know how mexican food should taste…
Don’t recommend it!!! I did give it 2 stars for the look of the food and the place but. taste? Nope. service amm nope.

Friendly and great food. Original flavor in everything.

Horrible la. comida su pozole de los mas malo. que e comido
.carne de puerco cocida sin savor. los meseros no son muy amables. el plato donde llevaron mi comida tenia un mal olor al igual la taza del café no lo recomiendo no pierdan su dinero en este lugar.

My wife and I were looking for something different in a Mexican restaurant, you know not just Tacos and Burritos etc.
We found this place on Unilocal and had never heard of a Pozoleria, so thought we would give it a try.
When we arrived it was very busy, always a good sign, and it smelled wonderful. The place is a hole in the wall at a strip mall. We were seated after we caught the eye of one of the 2 waitresses.
I am used to Green and Red pozole but here they have White pozole as well.
We tried the pozole, the potato flautas and the pigs feet. The pigs feet was advertised as a house specialty.
The pozole was fabulous, rich and fragrant. It came with a lot of fixings which means you can make up your pozole the way you like it.
The pigs foot was… interesting. Tasty but probably not ordering it again.
The one waitress spoke english well but the other one never even tried to speak english to us, which is fine, since I also speak spanish.
Prices were very reasonable and the service was attentive and personal.
We really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere was quaint.
If you are looking for something more in your dining experience, and enjoy good food, swing by this Pozoleria.

SADNESS… I drive all the way from point loma for nothing. Because They are closed for a few wks for Easter break. If it’s for fun that’s not cool but If they closed for religious reasons I do respect people who still honor Christian beliefs. So since I don’t know 2 stars

Bad customer service we were standing at the for 5 minutes and nobody greeted us or at least to let us know they were coming

This is a hidden gem! I’ve tried many, but many pozoles including in Mexico and this comes pretty close to those authentic Mexican flavors in Mexico. This is Guerrero style pozole which is white not red like Jalisco pozole. The Antojitos are simple but flavorful. Love getting their potatoes with cream to go with the tacos dorados o pozole. The pozole comes either with maciza which is a tender meat or surtido with maciza and pigs ears. You can choose the jr size for half the price, the small for $ 9 or the big. The small size is pretty filling. I would recommend getting the Jr size and tryingn one of their combination plates that come with a sope, flauta, enchilada and tostada. The prices are reasonable and affordable for the amount of food you get. This is a family owned restaurant and we should be supporting small businesses.

The Pozole was bomb ! The tacos and tostadas were so yummy! Happy to have found a place close to home!

I can really only review their posole and my goodness is it really tasty. I usually order to go and have learned not to pay with card because the first time I had ordered take out I signed my receipt and thought nothing of it until I checked my bank account a couple days later and realized they had added a tip for themselves. I DO NOT APPRECIATE HAVING BUSINESSES ABUSE CUSTOMERS FINANCIALLY.
I wonder if this is an ongoing issue here.

I’ve searched the County for perfect pozole rojo, without success, but after eating pozole at seven different restaurants, I can report good news: though they don’t served pozole rojo, a visit to Pozoleria Doña Maria, a tiny shop close by the Mexican border, wasn’t wasted.
Doña Maria offers pozole, «Estilo Guerrero.» In some places, this can mean pozole verde, colored green by jalapenos, epizote, cilantro and other herbs and spices. At Pozoleria Doña Maria, it means pozole blanco, a clear bone broth that is rich, but milder in flavor than other versions of the soup.
Having a latitudinarian approach to food, I put aside my search and enjoyed a pozole blanco (surtido). It was the clean-​tasting, substantial pork bouillon you’d imagine a sick farmhand eating to recover his strength, with herbal flavors to keep things interesting. The soup was laden with bits and chunks of pork and was accompanied, of course, by radishes, cabbage and other garnishes.
Because I could and since my waitress offered, I added a side of pickled pigs’ feet, which were smallish but tasty as hell. Later, I ordered a Flauta de Rajas — a rolled taco stuffed with roasted jalapeño; also delicious, and not small, at all.
But my adding on those extras tells the story: Doña Maria’s pozole is delicious, clean and high-​quality, pero no es rico; it isn’t the bowl that gets hard workers through their day.
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Here are the places I visited for pozole since November, in my order of preference:
— La Sierra Café (Highly Recommended):
— El Borrego Restaurant (Highly Recommended):
— Birrieria Don Rafa (Recommended):
— Canela Mexico City Cuisine (Recommended):
— POZOLERIA DOÑA MARIA (Recommended)
— El Comal (Not Recommended):
— Birrieria Y Menuderia Guadalajara (Not Recommended):

Excelentes precios y muy buen sazon, el establecimiento myy limpio con un tipico toque mexicanisimo, los meseros muy atentos y amables.

I called to ask is they still had Atole, the lady was nice and told me that she will double check with the kitchen. She later confirmed they did have some. I live in Bonita which is far from this place.
Upon arrival, my dad got down to place the Atole to go. The lady told him each cup was $ 3 dollars and were 16oz each. So my dad decided to order 3 cups which is $ 9 and equals to 48oz.
She later comes out of the kitchen and tells us the they put it in a bigger container, we didn’t mind… Which is 32 oz (we checked the container when we got home) She ended up charging us $ 9 plus tax. She only put 2 cups of Atole. 16 + 16= 32oz
We order 3 cups.
The worst thing is that the Atole was ice cold. It’s supposed to be hot like coffee or hot chocolate.
They ripped us off, so sad to see how good this place was before.

Up in North County (where I am from), there are no pozolerias that I know of. After I married my wife last year and moved to the South Bay, I began a search for the best Mexican food around. A few weeks ago, my wife was sick and had a craving for pozole like her mom used to make. The first place that we went was Unilocal to see what was close by and the first place that we found was this place. The embarrassing part is that we had been coming to the 24 Hour Fitness in the same shopping center for a few months and had no idea that this place was a pozoleria!
I hopped in my car and drove to the restaurant and noticed that it was packed so I figured that it had to be good. I placed my take out order at the front counter for two large pozoles and the order was ready in just a short amount of time. When I got home, I opened it up and found that it came with tostadas, lettuce, onions, cilantro, limes, and radishes all wrapped up nice and neat. The pozole was really really good and tasted like home cooking! The large pozole was big enough for two meals so we ended up having it the next night too. Fast forward to a few nights ago and my wife and I were planning on inviting her parents over for dinner but we couldn’t decide what to do. We decided on returning to Pozoleria Dona Maria for four large pozoles «to go» and like before, the place was packed! Everything was a hit and we can’t wait for the cold weather so we can order more pozole «to go»!
Thanks for the great food Pozoleria Dona Maria! My wife and I will be returning soon.

Wow! I can’t believe I never knew bout this place! To start off once you walk in you get that Mexican grandma kitchen cooking smell, it reminded me of when I was a kid & went to grandmas to eat on Sunday’s, I loved it! And instead of chips & salsa they give you little fresh warm tostadas with salsa which were very good. Now there pozole, well it’s on point! I got the mix one with chicken & meat it’s made to almost perfection. The flavor in it was so good I didn’t need lemon or salt at all. I did add a little green salsa to give it a little spice. The maiz in it is real good & bigger then usual which I liked.
But that’s not all they got! I also had there tostadas De Pata (it’s pork meat) & I loved it. My kids had beef flautas (roll tacos) & they enjoyed them so much I had to get them more & they were real authentic roll tacos & big. They really love the shredded beef in them. My wife got a combo that came with a Sope & green salsa chicken enchilada & a beef tostada, she usually never finishes her food so I was hoping she didn’t again so I can help her eat it, but not today. She finished it all! She liked it all her fav was the chicken enchilada. I saw they had menudo & mole chicken enchiladas, gonna have to try that next time.
It’s hard to find a place the whole family likes but I’m glad I did with this place. The place was real clean & the service good, the cooks are real fast. They got a big tv so you can watch a soccer or sporting event. I really liked the pictures they have hanging around of Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata & Mexican soldiers from the Zapata days it almost makes you feel like you’re in Mexico at a Mexican restaurant. It’s real authentic Mexican food so bring you’re nana & tata they’ll love it! It’s worth coming here, I’ll be back for sure!

The service is bad and they don’t have pozole every day they don’t have chicken sopes they don’t have all the drinks in the menu bad bad bad service

Fresh, delicious, mouth watering pozole when you’re in the mood. The restaurant is small, but service is quick. The rest of the menu is just as good, from sopes to mole it is all good. This is a must try if you have not.

Not all pozole places measure up to my high standards but this place does (just like mom makes). The flavors at right on point, servings are generous and service is fast. The large pozole plate is enough for two people and the flautas are really good (just eat them fast or they’ll get soggy).
Their aguas frescas are also good but I was disappointed to learn there aren’t any free refills for them (which kind of makes sense because they’re home made and you can taste the craftsmanship. I don’t think they take reservations so just hope it isn’t too busy. There was a line out the door for the whole duration of my meal.

Fantastic in almost every way. Especially the price!
Kind of a dump — but this is what it’s supposed to be. Very authentic and the salsa is actually spicy! Love the way the chips are small circular fried tortillas. Just fun! If I can find this place again, I’ll definitely be coming back again soon! Awesome!
The only downside was the service. Not too engaging and had to flag them down for the check, flag them down again for change. Just could use a little more cognizance. Unlike perhaps a lot of people that may go there — this was not the main event in our day, you know?

The place Is. ok, The waiter was cold and aloof, place was not busy at the time I went.;(It was 1:30pm) she never came back to ask If I needed anything. The posole was ok. I did buy a tostada and it was good. The salsa verde was very good.

Sooooooo awesome. The pozole is the bomb!!! Highly recommend it. Everything was delicious. We also ordered the Combination platter (1 sope, 1 flauta, 1 enchilada) a tostada de pata, and tacos dorados platter. You MUST come here.
The waitress Lupita is so nice too. Makes you feel welcome.

Bueno, para empezar este lugar tiene una muy buena reputacion por sus pozoles, desafortunadamente para mi, el dia que fui se les Acabo todo. El pollo y Otras cosas del menu, como el flan… etc, etc… mensaje del dia, vengan el la MAÑANA.

riquisimo el pozole, las salsas están X, la atención regular, el lugar esta agradable.

No le recomendaria a nadie este lugar. Llegamos a las 7pm y no avia grano para el pozole, el pozole lo sirven super tibio la carne de la tostada y el zope muy fria recien sacada del refrigerador! La unica razon por la que le de doy una Estella a este lugar es por la enchilada verde que me comi estaba muy rica de hai en fuera no tengo nada bueno que decir. Jamaz volvere