Rubio’s

I have a hypothesis: If we blindfold people who bash on Rubio’s food as inferior, and have them compare and contrast – let’s say – Rubio’s California Bowl with Chipotle’s Burrito Bowl, most would unknowingly describe Rubio’s bowl as superior.
My go-​to item at Rubio’s is the California Bowl with blackened mahi mahi, fire roasted corn, and no beans (I actually double up on the corn). This blows Chipotle’s pricier Burrito Bowl out of the water (pun possibly intended). All the ingredients taste better; perhaps it’s because they’re fresher and/​or perhaps Rubio’s has better preparation and cooking methods.
Their fish tacos may not be as tasty as some taco stands, but Rubio’s are cheaper; you can’t compare a Lamborghini with a Civic (if you want the best tacos, go to City Tacos, but be prepared to pay a lot more). If you want to compare Rubio’s fish tacos, compare with similarly priced restaurants.
The variety of free self-​serve salsa at Rubio’s have also always impressed me. Flavorful, complex and fresh, I can drink the salsa. :-P
Service and hospitality at Rubio’s, not just the one at this location, is also consistently good. Rubio’s is a great restaurant chain.

Always delicious. Fish tacos are a favorite. Sangria is pretty delicious and you get your bang for your buck. I’ve had the fish burrito (very good as well, love the battered fish), California bowl, nachos, and a chicken burrito. Never disappointing, customer service is great, timely, quality food… certainly going to miss Rubios when I move!

Out of the 3 locations at/​near UCSD, this location has to be my least favorite. As soon as I walk in, the cashier is on the phone for 5 minutes. She did not acknowledge my presence, and I was one of the only people in the store.
The food itself was bland compared to the other locations. I love Rubio’s, but the Pacific Mahi burrito I got as well as the complementary salsa tasted very bland. I prefer the other two locations (UCSD and La Jolla Village Dr.) over this one.
A positive is that the interior is very nice and neat. However, the food and service were the worst out of the other Rubio’s in La Jolla.

I know Rubio’s is known for their fish tacos but I ordered the veggie burrito. The veggies seemed like they were from a frozen package and warmed up. The best part of the meal was the chips and salsa bar. This location has nice outdoor sunny patio seating.

I come to this Rubio’s because it’s a 10 minute walk from my apartment, Too many times have I left and come back only to be disappointed that my order was made incorrectly. I always get the same order: Nachos, no sour cream, extra guacamole. Seems easy enough but the first time they mixed it up and put double sour cream and no guacamole, the second time no extra guacamole, and then finally come’s today’s order.
I ordered over the phone because I knew it was going to be busy with lunch. I got there and waited in line and finally it was my turn to pay. They had placed an order for quesadillas instead of nachos. No worries, I’m not dying of hunger, so I go fill up my salsas to go. I take my completed order and walk back home. I begin to eat the nachos only to find after a few bites, there was no more cheese. Plenty of chips left, plenty of guacamole, but no cheese. I was very disappointed so I walked back and explained the issue.
They refunded my money and apologized for the inconvenience. I’ll probably keep coming here because the food is decent when it’s made right. I do enjoy the cleanliness of the restaurant and the salsa bar is always stocked.

We come here every Tuesday for the tacos. Claudia is awesome! Her attention to detail is perfection. Keep up the great work

Lately, I have started to develop a liking for Rubios and has become my quick stop for healthy, light yet tasty lunches. This one was no different .
Nice clean location. Even the salsa bar was spotless. Full marks. The staff was nice and patient. Food was fresh and the staff made no hassle when I wanted to customise something. The portions are always perfect here. Additionally, they had stocked up my favourite sauce here the cilantro –jalapeño one. So brownie points there .
Just a caution. On weekdays, parking is a pain during lunch time because of lot of other restaurants in the same complex

I usually hit up this Rubios if I need something quick at night. I love the food, the staff is sweet, and I always get exactly what I order! Thanks!

The cleanest ran Rubios in the area, they go above and beyond keeping the floors and tables clean. The food always comes out looking just as good as it does OK advertisements. The fish is fresh, and the food is great! Love coming here every single time, the girlfriend insists coming here often.

Great fast service, very clean. Lots of choices for my picky daughter. Plenty to choose from for vegetarian or vegan eaters. Clean restrooms and location is convenient for me. I’ve never had to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes for my order and never had them get my order wrong, and I’ve been a regular customer for nearly 3 years.

Friendly staff. Good food. The Health Mex burrito and the Big Burrito Especiale with Steak are delicious. This location renovated the front lobby area which is nice. The restaurant is always clean. If they are busy you will have to wait a bit.

They were seriously 4 minutes from closing and still took my buddy and I in and were super happy about it and amazing to work with! Cheap food and they give you a ton! Chipotle has found its main competitor!

It tastes exactly how I was expecting it to. It is as equally good as any other Rubio’s I’ve been to. This isn’t a bad thing. Rubio’s has been able to achieve consistency. And it’s delicious. The fish tacos aren’t life changing but they are definitely mood altering. I left happy. I left satisfied.

I have been to this location several times. I only come in on Tuesdays after work because they have the original fish tacos for $ 1.50 (Taco Tuesday special). It’s is never busy and the staff is always friendly.
I like the whole get in quick eat and get out. Whenever your food is ready they drop it off at your table. There is seating inside and outside. I’ve never ordered anything other than the tacos but my food is always ready within minutes. I also really like their salsa bar. It isn’t anything special but the salsas are great. I love mixing the chipotle sauce in wih the citrus jalepeno.
If you want quick, tasty tacos and great service come to this Rubio’s location.

Food was good but nothing special. I came here for business and thought I’d try a casual place for fish tacos.
I have learned that the mahi fish tacos are not too great — missing a lot of flavor and the tortilla was a bit too flaky. It was average, not good but not bad.
The shrimp burrito was good, appreciated the girl at the counter’s recommendation.
Salsa bar is good, but nothing to really write home about. It feels like a fast food place with restaurant prices, so might as well go somewhere with a little more to offer.

Can’t go wrong with this food. Fresh and delicious. The tilapia tacos are so good, same with the tilapia salad.

I give pretty much all of Rubios locations 3.5 stars, as the menu, food quality and restaurant layout are pretty much always the same. I like that they have seasonal menu items. Sign up for their email club and you get lots of coupons too.
–I mostly get the Balsamic and Roasted Veggie Salad with Shrimp. the spring mix is fresh, there is a generous amount of plump, deliciously grilled shrimp and warm, the warm veggies (bell peppers, onions) are perfectly grilled, the corn nicely fire roasted and a few strips of avocado which are always ripe. I haven’t had the dressing on this since I always top it with my favorite Chipotle Salsa!
–I also love the beef street tacos with delicious shredded seared beef and guacamole that I top with tons of cilantro/​onion and Chipotle Salsa. I always get it with a side of spring mix which they rarely charge for!
its usually the service that sets them apart. the staff is usually pretty good at all locations, but at some they are outstanding; speedy, more knowledgeable and go out of their way to make you happy and customize your orders. (and somewhat the location/​parking).
–this location is conveniently located in a quiet strip mall so parking is always easy and its rarely busy. its also pretty roomy.
–the staff is super nice, friendly, quick and handled my special requests without error.
–they had an outstanding brownie that I hadn’t seen at any other Rubio’s… it was the usual brownie with a layer of thick caramel and then a layer of chocolate ganache. I would go to this location just for that brownie!

I really love Rubios! Their fish tacos are crave-​worthy and always good. I usually order a bean and cheese burrito, taco especial, or tortilla soup. All of which are delish!
The problem with this location that I experienced recently was the lunchtime rush. Came here on a weekday around 12:30, and it was crowded (as expected). Although what was unexpected was the extremely long wait to get our food! It seemed like they were unprepared to handle the rush — which is unusual since it’s in La Jolla near so many businesses. As it is a fast food spot and I’ve experienced much faster service at other locations, I was expecting our food to come out a lot faster than it did. We waited for about ²⁰⁄₂₅ minutes before our food came out, which didn’t leave us much time to eat before we were to return to work.
Other than the long wait — the food was just as good as any other location. Soup was hot and the taco was nice and overstuffed. Will probably come back here just because it’s near work, but will have to plan in the wait time to my next trip.

My favorite is the grilled Atlantic salmon burrito. The employees are also really friendly and helpful at this location. The line moves fast and it’s a clean restaurant!

I haven’t been to rubios in a very long time! So when I was up to order I ask what are the best two tacos they have? The lady in the front said «depends what you like, what kind of fish do you enjoy»… She recommend a few she liked which help me with my decision. She also asked if I wanted to do the bean and chip combo (it isn’t too much more)
Great fast food and wonderful service! Nice and clean tables and salsa bar, bathrooms were well maintained. I will be coming back soon!