Princesa Taco Shop

Best Tacos in SD.
This place is amazing. They are only open Friday and Saturday but at farmers markets around town 3 other days a week.
Simple clean food. I’m very sensitive gluten free and never had an issue here.

The second star is a mercy star. I had the single worst meal I’ve had ever at a restaurant in this place. And a very strange experience too. Fish tacos were a heap of half-​cooked (that’s generous) tilapia. No other ingredients. Fish burritos? A bunch of uncooked fish on a cold tortilla. Yum. I suspect that something unusual was going in the night I visited because other folks have given 5 stars. The woman who served me had zero ability to communicate and could not add (or say) numbers and so we had to guess how much we owed her — no exaggeration. We showed her a number on a calculator and she said something in a way that signaled neither agreement or disagreement so we gave her twice as much and left. It’s like someone with no knowledge of food wandered into an abandoned restaurant and started taking orders mashing together ingredients randomly into disgusting uncooked heaps. Even my 6 yr old was revolted and refused to eat her cold and dripping wet bean and cheese burrito. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

Wow. Um…
Unlike any «restaurant» experience I’ve ever had. We walk in (on a Friday evening) and there are two guys waiting for their food, but we don’t think anything of it, because that usually happens in restaurants.
There’s only one woman working whose English isn’t too strong, but whatever, it’s a taco place, that’s okay.
We waited a half hour for six tacos. I’d imagine the guys in front of us were waiting equally as long, if not longer. Sure she made everything fresh, but she confirmed what they wanted and what we wanted like… a million times and because what we originally ordered was too difficult to understand, we just ended up ordering what she DID understand.
The tacos were okay, but there are no prices on the menu and the whole operation seems like it’s a front for something. Really, really weird. Do not recommend. Don’t let the high rating fool you.

This place is amazing!!! I think they’re only open on Friday Saturday and Sunday.
If you get in here when they are open, you’ll find some incredible tacos. They’re clean, basic and aren’t all flashy, but that’s why they are simply the best tacos in north park.
City taco is pretty good too! But man I can’t help but go to this place.
Btw, the guy who sells agua Frescas has some of the best juices. Check him out, try a sample, it goes perfectly with the tacos :)

¡Holy spicy salsa!
I stumbled in after a long night out with my über and my drunk friend waiting outside. I HAD to have some bomb Mexican food. The owner was so nice and welcoming, despite me being a hot mess.
The carne asada burritos were made to order. They were so good that I bought three. And even one for my über driver!
Love this hidden gem already. Hasta lavista baby

DJ Taco is the bomb. Just ask for him on the outdoor grill. Tacos are muy bueno. Burritos are excelente. Tamales are delicioso. Very nice people. Open late. Great food. Chips, salsa, pickled carrots, cucumber salad included. Go here now.

I love this place when we go out in north park. Open late night on weekends. Authentic & delicious!

Amazing tacos, tamales, homemade salsa and burritos. Place is bomb! I met Maria the owner who makes all the food, she’s just as nice as the tacos! open late and has a TJ street tacos style which makes it that much more authentic. you won’t be sorry

First time I notice the place it was 2 pm on a Thursday they were closed this happened at least 2 more times. I walked by one day walking back from Salsa Fiesta stuffed full of burrito and some guy is standing outside undressing me with his eyes and creepily offers me a burrito. I politely decline but felt semi violated by the looks I was getting.
Still I had to know, you know that saying curiosity killed the cat? It was killing me so I came back I read on here they opened only Friday and Saturday it was a late night weekend joint. This however turns out to not be true. Anyway I show up on a Saturday late afternoon and it was closed. Wtf? I drive by Sunday afternoon I see the door open and actually got excited and parked. I walk into 5 – 6 employees sitting around with a griddle in the middle of the place. It was odd but before I could proclaim what I wanted they state they are in fact closed. I was like so what exactly are your hours?
Closed Monday open Tuesday thru Sunday 3 pm to 3am. I am baffled it’s 4:45 pm on Sunday which means they are open right? I say ‘ok so you are closed right now’? Yes they replied. I scratch my head and leave.
So today at 5 for dinner I go again and FINALLY they are really open this time. The pervy undress me with eyes guy is working and oh so friendly. Another guy is working sitting down bored I give them a hard time about being REALLY open this time he remembered me from last weekend of course said they were at Hillcrest farmers market and tired so they closed. The other guy proceeds to ask me if I am a teacher I tell him no. He asks again 5 minutes later I replied again ‘no I’m not a teacher why do I out look like a teacher u had?’ he says ‘no I just thought u were’. (wtf)
I feel like there is some weird vortex going on here and I am in the twilight zone. I was really excited to see a chili relleno burrito on the menu so I ordered it. The Pervy guy then let me pick out 2 of the chili rellenos he pulls from a tray in the fridge. I ask ‘how old’ they are he says a ‘couple days’ old. I don’t really believe him and i am now having regrets. I want FRESH chili rellenos he guarantees me they are good. Anyway I had come this far so I decide these better be freakin good after all this. Sitting dude asks me again ‘so you’ve never been a teacher you look familiar’. ‘No dude I have never been a teacher maybe you have seen me around town I walk around a lot’.
There was no cash in the register when I went to pay my $ 6 with a $ 20. He said the owner never leaves cash? Ok well luckily I had exactly $ 6.
Long story longer the burrito tasted a bit of stale fridge like they need to store the rellenos better but was SO FREEKING GOOD anyway damn I want one again with fresh chili rellenos but that would be like catching a unicorn on Narnia in a labyrinth on a leap year.
They had one salsa, green it was also excellent. This would have been 1 star but the food made up for it. They are at the Escondido farmers market on Tuesdays as well as hillcrest on Sunday by the kettlekorn

Sooooo good! We were just walking by and came across this place. They had a grill, tables and chairs set up outside, and Maria was so helpful and inviting. Complimentary chips and salsa! They are there late hours (I think til 1am?)I will defiantly be back :))

This is an interesting place because they are only open Friday’s and Saturdays evenings starting at 5 PM till very late. The other days, they are a various farmer’s markets around town. Well, I came in on a Saturday evening and I was in the mood for some carne asada, so I ordered a trio of mini carne asada tacos with all the fixings for $ 6. I thought it was a little steep for $ 2 a piece.
The meal started off with complimentary corn tortilla chips and salsa which were quite good. (
) Now the trio of tacos were good, but not great (
). First of all, the meat was not as tender as it should of been and it did not have that nice mesquite flavor that T.J. style taquitos are so famous for. Also, the meat would of benefited from seasoning as well. The guacamole was pretty good and have good flavor, but what I enjoyed the most, was the house hot sauce they made for the tacos (
). It had great flavor and certainly packed a good punch when it came to heat. Good hot sauce. I appreciated that they double wrap the tacos with two corn tortillas.
They also make fruits cups with chili powder and salt, tamales, chile rellenos, and a variety of other tacos. As for the rating, I am settling for a 3.5 stars because that salsa was very good, but I have a feeling they are much better, so a revisit and update will be warranted.

San Diego is awash in incredible Mexican food. You know the type — either brightly lit like a hospital, or dark and dim, though not stylishly so. Amateurish paintings of the Mexican flag or a stereotypical desert mural are musts, and the air hangs with many dozens of years of accumulated flavors, which have been encouraged to stick to the walls. Like a Belgian geuze, fresh smells of meat linger with the old, creating that wonderful iconic aroma of San Diegan Mexican food. But there’s so many choices in the area it’s hard to say where one should go to get their calorie bomb for the day. Thanks to the tyranny of choice, I prioritize one quality: newness. Have I been there? Even the best Mexican place yields politely to a new one. I never know when I’ll find a new favorite, but more importantly, I want to use inexpensive ethnic food to feel well traveled and wise. And so I came to Princesa, which is startingly close to where I live, and equally startingly mysterious. My roommate, who has lived in the area longer than I have, intimates that this particular Mexican restaurant has been through several incarnations, including a few phases where it seemed the thing never opened. However, one night we were walking buy with both boredom and appetites on our minds, and luckily, the lights were on and the one table was empty. Upon entering you’re greeted with a beautiully minimalist design. Above the register is an arch, on which the menu is boldy and brashly painted. A smattering of food items are listed, and without prices. This is what they make, and if you REALLY want it, you don’t ask how much it is. Don’t worry, the prices are reasonable, though the burritos seem to be a bit pricier than their –Berto’s counterparts. The star of the menu is the tamales. Do you enjoy the sensation of molten lava incinerating your oral orifice? Get the chili and cheese. Prefer your sensory organs intact? Go for one of the carnivorous flavors. Once ordered, our cashier got to work, apparently cooking from scratch. Behind the register counter is basically an ordinary kitchen, with a dining room table, a refrigerator, and all the trappings of basically what I have back in my low-​income Californian dingbat. And like a kitchen at home, the food turns out to taste truly homemade. Gone are the obvious sacrifices to the American palate — puddles of grease at the bottom of a burrito, sour cream forming an unhealthy portion of the core of a burrito, etc. Instead, you get a bag full of affordable, fluffy, delicious tamales, served with a generous side of the homemade salsa. This is Mexican food that belongs well outside the typical sphere of Berto’s food. This is different, and it is good. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to predict when this place is open, and when it is closed. But if the planets align just right, and the moonbeams strike the mystical pendant, unlocking the doors and filling the kitchen with the warm and welcome smells of Mexican food, I highly encourage you to go in, wait out the cooking process (for good things take good time sometimes) and enjoy yourself.

Delicious fish tacos and drinks! Great service! The salsa was spicy and really tasty and the tacos came with chips on the house. Credit card was accepted.

Great fish tacos, amazing tamales, and good salsa! I think I am addicted :) it’s cash only so come prepared.

Really good fish tacos! Fresh fish and veggies! Good salsa and the service is great. Go here every Tuesday night:)

We enjoyed a very good carne asada burrito on our recent visit to Princesa. The owner is a very nice guy and patiently answered all our questions, as we were curious about the operations and his recent renovation. I hope this business continues to be successful.