What to eat in San Diego
Baja soul with surf-town swagger: San Diego turned the humble taco shop into a temple of carne asada, crispy fries, and fresh-caught fish.
Five dishes. Zero regrets.
California Burrito
The city's signature burrito: carne asada, french fries, guacamole, sour cream, and cheese wrapped in a giant flour tortilla — no rice, no beans, the fries are the starch. Born in San Diego's -bertos taco shops in the 1980s, it's practically unavailable anywhere else in this true form.
Try it at: Lolita's Mexican Food in Bonita (a claimed birthplace) or Roberto's Taco Shop, the 1964 drive-thru institution
Carne Asada Fries
A mountain of crisp shoestring fries loaded with chopped carne asada, melted cheese, guacamole, and sour cream — a late-night masterpiece that originated in San Diego's Chicano community in the late 1990s.
Try it at: Lolita's Mexican Food, which claims to have invented the dish
Baja Fish Taco
Beer-battered whitefish in a warm corn tortilla with cabbage, crema, and salsa — the San Diego street food that launched the nationwide fish-taco craze after Ralph Rubio brought the recipe home from Baja in the 1970s.
Try it at: Rubio's, the chain Rubio started as a Mission Bay walk-up stand in 1983
Rolled Tacos with Guacamole
Crispy, tightly rolled taquitos stuffed with shredded beef or chicken, drowned in guacamole and hot sauce — the quintessential San Diego taco-shop snack, ordered by the half dozen and eaten by hand at 2 a.m.
Try it at: Roberto's Taco Shop or any classic -bertos counter around town
Tijuana-Style Adobada Tacos
Smoky adobada pork shaved straight off the vertical spit onto handmade corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, and guacamole crema — the border-crossing taco experience, just like the taquerias of Tijuana.
Try it at: Tacos El Gordo in Chula Vista, the Tijuana-born taqueria that opened its first San Diego shop in 1998
