Juanitas Taco Shop

Been coming here since I was a child. Total family favorite.
The choice is easy, you can’t go wrong. However, the carnitas burrito is gold.

My fiancé and I were in the area looking for some succulents. We saw this taco shop and decided to try it out. Let me tell you everything was great. I got the shredded beef burrito. The meat was very moist which at many places becomes dry. The fiancé got the California burrito which was good as well. Well worth the trip.

The quintessential California taco shop. Flip flops, surfers, and outrageously good food. There is usually a line out the door, but the service is so fast it doesn’t matter. Everything on the menu is good, so it would be hard to single anything out.

Ordered two pollo asado burritos took the literally 5 mins to cook and serve pretty awesome if you ask me… And they tasted phenomenal.

I’m continually on a quest for the best chile rellenos in the area, must say I was totally disappointed in their rendition of this dish. It was soggy and tasteless which is the best I can say. I’ve not yet tried anything else at Juanita’s.

This is my go to neighborhood taco shop. I’ve been eating here for about 4 years and still crave it on a regular basis. I have a plethora favorites; california burrito, chicken tacos, rolled, tacos, carne Asada fries, but my all time favorite is the flautas aka flower tortilla rolled tacos. Make sure you try red and green salsa.

Was attending an event close by and needed a quick lunch, ordered pastor burrito. Was very good, not excellent but good and super cheap, i’d definitely come back!

A staple of my childhood. Rolled tacos, Carne Asada Burritos, and everything else you need from your late night Mexican joint.

Juanitas is the quintessential hole in the wall taco shop located right off the 101 in Leucadia. No joke, this place is not the least bit fancy and the ambiance is rather east LA’ish. That being said, usually the nastier looking the taco shop, the better the food. This place actually serves some pretty decent tacos; carne asada is good, Cali burritos are awesome and the salsa is rather flavorful. Overall, not exactly a date spot, but a good option to grab a burrito and head to the beach. More like 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4.
Pros–
Food taste
Portions
Price
Location
Salsa
Fast and casual
Cons–
Ambiance
Cleanliness
Limited outdoor seating
Below average service

Fish Tacos=3.5
Burritos=5
I personally did not love my fish tacos, but I have to give this place at least 4.5 stars because my parents, husband and son were all very happy with their food.
My mom got the California and was raving about it. My dad greatly dislikes Mexican food, so he thought, until he dug into the carne asada burrito. Even he could not complain. My hubby ordered some kind of chicken burrito that he said was «so good». My son happily ate his quesadilla. I was the only one that wasn’t super impressed. I compared them unfavorably to Blue Salt Fish Grill’s amazing fish tacos. I think that place spoiled me.
My family was so happy that I would happily eat here again and order something else.

A clean, remarkably sanitary feeling burrito shouldn’t be out of the ordinary, but it definitely is. Most burritos are kind of just thrown together, with questionable ingredients, and even though I rarely have a negative experience there’s always a bit of a Russian Roulette feel to them. I suppose that’s part of the charm.
The burritos here, however, are the complete opposite. The ingredients are top notch, they’re not at all greasy, and they’re absolutely delicious. Both the California and carnitas burritos are top notch. Fantastic.

I always enjoy visiting Juanitas. The restaurant feels like a beach dive which is perfect for Leucadia. The interior is spartan and I can imagine it hasn’t changed much for many years. The folks at the front counter are always friendly and food comes quick.
The food can be inconsistent. One day things are phenomenal and another little more than average. Today’s California burrito came on a bad day and was little more than carne asada and cheese with a trace of sour cream and a couple fries. The carne asada was nice but overall the burrito fell short of what I was expecting. On other visits, I’ve had great breakfast and carne asada burritos. The trick is hitting a good day.
I will be back knowing I will get a decent filling meal at a very reasonable price which is often tough to find this close to the beach.

I had the best breakfast burrito in my life at Juanita’s today. The Taco Shop doesn’t have a parking lot but we found street parking easily. I ordered the Chorizo Breakfast Burrito with potatoes and my BF ordered the Machaca Breakfast Burrito. Both were spectacular. Prices are just like any other Taco Shop, $ 11 for two burritos. They were piping hot, large and delicious. Plenty of seating inside and a couple small tables out front. I can not wait to go back!

Everytime a come to San Diego I’m in search of good fish tacos. I’ve found some really good places and today it’s time for Juanita’s. The Unilocal reviews were overwhelming. Anyways, we walked here and as we walked there is a tiny little parking lot. Maybe 5 spots so when full all you got is street parking.
The place is so tiny as you walk in just a counter with three tables, on the side are more tables and then there are four tables outside so not a lot of options.
I ordered the fish taco and a carna Asada burrito. This fish taco is batter fried with lettuce, pico del Gallo, and some white sauce. It was really good. Very tasty. Enjoyed it. Don’t know what that white sauce was but really brought the taste out. The carne Asada burrito seemed a little bland at first but once I got through half the burrito then there was guacamole and pico de gallo which really bought out the taste. So overall the taco and burrito were good but I have had better at Taco Surf and Oscar’s.
My son and nephews got the #1 Combo which is two tacos, beans, and rice. They loved the tacos and they got chicken and beef tacos. You have to specify hard shells if you want that otherwise they will give you soft shells. They all gobbled them down and one of my nephew’s said it was so good. They loved it.
I would say service was good. They took our order at the counter but didn’t really smile or anything. Very business like. Very busy. The food came out really fast and was surprised cause there were so many people there. They really do pound that food out fast.
This is a nice little dive joint with good food and fast service. I liked it and would mind coming back again.

This place is the Unilocaliest in encinatas and it was open early with breakfast burritos. I say yes. I got the burrito with chorizo. It is a pretty solid hefty burrito and you can definitely splitskies with someone. Its loaded with cheese, eggs, and chorizo and just add a dab of that sauce cuz it spicy. Opt for this place rather than Dennys nearby haha

Holy moly. Stop here get a California Burrito and thank me for making you stop!!! DO NOT FORGET GREEN AND RED SAUCE!!! The parking lot behind the building is small, there’s and entrance to the right of the building.
The refills aren’t free for horchata. But it is super tasty and isn’t overwhelmingly flavored with cinnamon. We also tried the carnitas tacos and chorizo tortas. They were AMAZING as well. GO EAT THERE NOW.

This is a very good mex place. They are a bit greeezzzyyy but its expected. They’re very quick, have many options to choose from and are very very low cost. I wish they had tamales though, that would be awesome!!! I had 2 street tacos and they were pretty good for only $ 1.50. I then had a chicken burrito and added potatoes and cheese and pico to it. My only disappointment is they didn’t have black beans or any other bean type option. They dont have a salsa bar but have a container for carrots and stuff things but i never have those so if you like them then ya know what it be. They also offer up a water dispenser and cups.
I’m sure this place is great for hangover food.

I’m really into:
The breakfast burritos anytime of day
The carne asanda fries
the Guac
The rolled tacos
That they’re open late
The green sauce is bomb
Generous portions
Reasonable prices
The fish tacos are a’ight if you eat em ASAP. I don’t recommended them to go. All the crispyness I love about them mushes up in a matter of minutes on the plate. They don’t use Styrofoam containers (good) but even on a plate with foil the steam kiils the dream.
The service is super friendly, they DO take cards now. There is 4 parking spots in the back of the building that are tough to get in and out of, but parking none the less as that neighborhood is always packed.

Honestly one of the best, if not the best, California burritos that I have tasted since moving to San Diego almost five years ago. The ratio of carne asada to fries to cheese to sour cream to guacamole was practically perfect. I managed to eat about ¾ of my burrito before having to throw in the towel.
My only wish is that burritos were available in smaller sizes for people like me who just physically can’t hold that much burrito in their stomach. It was so good that I hated to throw the last bit out but I don’t believe that guacamole or sour cream reheats well.
This restaurant may look like a little hole-​in-​the-​wall but it’s a great example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Yum!

There’s a reason why there’s always a line out the door! Cheap and delicious food.
Ordered:
California burritos– Freaking amazing. Solid burrito with asada, fries, sour cream and guacamole. None of those filler rice and beans here. Two bites in I knew I wanted another burrito. I’m drooling thinking about it. Hard to find such amazing SoCal mexi food in the bay. The tortilla was warm and fresh. Flavorful and moist asada was jammed next to a bed of crispy fries. Seriously must try.
Rolled tacos (taquitos) — need taquitos on a bed of lettuce and tomatoes with guac and cheese sprinkled on top. Were the taquitos as amazing as the Cali burrito? No. Is there any thing else that can top this Cali burrito? Probably not. Standard rolled tacos to me. The shredded beef inside seemed a bit dry to me, and it wasn’t anything memorable about it. The fiancé though, grew up in these puppies and he loves them.
Jamaica Olè drink– Standard fresca. Delicious to me.
Orange Bang drink– I didn’t try it, but the fountain said it was «whipped». Not really sure what that meant considering it came from a syrup fountain tap. The fiancé claimed it was a fake tasting orange drink.
Get the Cali burrito. That in itself is worth it. During our trip, the bathroom seemed like it could have used a clean up and a lot of the tables were not bussed by the patrons or the employees. A lot of the tables, chairs and floor were covered with pieces of shredded cheese or lettuce that were left over by messy kids and adults who can’t clean after themselves. Just keep in mind this is a hole in the wall and not some sort of fine dinning establishment. For the two of us we spent $ 12 on our meal. Can’t best that!