Casa De Pico - La Mesa, California

N C.

Love the big margaritas, and the musicians were very, very friendly. The food was great and the server and the service was great. Thank you so much.

Jamal C.

Didn't have a wait to be dined inside, I did opt for a table by the bar. Service was very good. Renaldo was attentive and extremely helpful. The chips were nice and warm with the perfect amount of salt. The salsa was a big miss for me. Definitely could use a lot more spice to it, or any for that matter. Ordered the Child Verde with flour tortillas. The pork in the Chile Verde was not as tender as I'd like but the chili verde sauce has some good flavor to it. The rice and beans are what you would expect, nothing note worthy. The homemade tortillas, not pictured, were the star here. Biggest downside to this place is definitely the prices of the entrees. They are about 20% more than other Mexican restaurants. If I do return, it would definitely be for the tortillas.

Jesus S. M.

Great Mexican quisine, we usually go to Mexico for Mexican food. Not anymore. This place has it, and it's good tasting food. They make their own tortillas, giving their food a better taste to it.

Lorna L. E.

This place has such a beautiful, authentic atmosphere. The food is delicious and always fresh. They have handmade tortillas and their salsas are very flavorful. The waiters and staff are friendly and make the experience that much more enjoyable. The restaurant itself has such a beautiful design and decor inside and out. Highly recommend dining here.

JustaMe_Al

I ordered the carne asada burrito ($20.95) and my husband ordered the two taco ($18.95) combo plates. Although there were huge chunks of steak in my burrito, it was bland...Even needed salt. Went well with the salsa that they serve with the chips, though.

Jake K.

My family and I have been coming here since they were located in Old Town.

I also frequent their two other locations, one still in Old Town, the other in Encinitas.

Unfortunately, my family (and everyone I would bring here) will most likely never be back again to any of their restaurants after the latest experience, which sadly was the culmination of several mediocre to poor outings there.

I ordered take out today and was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. I arrived a few minutes beforehand to make sure I got the dinner as fresh as possible.

I was told they were just waiting on one out of the two items I ordered. Ok, cool, sounds great.

After 20 minutes of waiting, after a few unsolicited updates about a busy kitchen, and continuing to “wait on one dish,” I asked for the manager who said they would check on my order. I was told they were going to remake everything and it would take 2 minutes. They forgot about it, essentially.

After 5 or so more minutes of waiting, I asked for a refund as I didn’t want to wait any longer and was already well behind schedule.

The supervisor, Jacqueline, took about 5 minutes to refund my order, despite me saying I wanted to leave, seemingly just spitefully taking as much time as possible to delay even getting me my money back.

At no point did she offer anything, or even apologize, and when I asked why that was the case given the level of service, she just gave me a blank stare and said she was going to offer something, but I asked for a refund and now I’m out of luck.

She basically let me know that she could have done something (despite at no point offering), but is choosing not to despite wasting an hour of my time with waiting and 30 minutes of driving.

I doubt I’ll soon forget the glazed over, almost dead inside (you know that empty stare) look of contempt. It was as if there wasn’t a single strand of care about the situation in the slightest, with that type of response and behavior apparently normalized. It’s a rare thing to see that sort of detachment from any level of normal service industry empathy.

Mistakes happen, but utter disregard for an hour of a customer’s time is a clear sign that my 35+ year long relationship with this restaurant ownership group is over.

There’s no reason overpriced Mexican food is worth the bad attitude, terrible customer service, and cold entrees.

I’m tired of defending this place, the nostalgia from what it used to be is too worn out. It’s just not worth the nonsense to pay almost $50 for two undersized items sitting under a heat lamp for 20 minutes while they figure out what they’re doing for the better part of an hour.

All in all, one of the worst take out experiences imaginable. To leave without the food and without even an apology? It’s a joke.

I wouldn’t risk it if I were you, try something more authentic, or of better value, or really any place that values your service beyond giving you blank stares while metaphorically shrugging their shoulders at ruining your night, as if that’s just how things operate around there.

Receipt is attached to verify. The $5 tip on two items maybe wasn’t enough and offended their sensibilities with take-out tipping, who knows?

Goodbye Casa De Pico, you were sliding by on being mediocre, but mediocre with attitude and inconsiderate behavior just doesn’t cut it anymore!

amber E.

Delicious and wonderful setting that shows the Mexican culture. This place has a full bar and also indoor/outdoor seating. They have mariachis that play music and you can specially request them. We got the been chimichanga and some other items. They greet you at the table with chips and salsa. You can request spicy. This place is colorful and beautiful with lively servers. A must place to visit!

Gabriel T.

I thoroughly enjoyed my plate. I had the Carne Asada Tampiquena. Everything was perfect. Just like my grandma made “homemade tortillas.” I’m from Texas and I enjoy TexMex and this is the closest thing I’ve enjoyed in California. I would rate this as the “Best Mexican Restaurant I’ve been to in California in the last 30 years.