Food in Tijuana

[Captain Solo]

To StRoberts.

Very nice link, but missing a tour of the world-famous La Zona Norte with her the luscious, sexy chicas. Hehe.

On Taboada South of Tacos El frances shows this Mariscos Negro Durazo. The seafood looks delicious and portions look huge.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/mariscos-negro-durazo-tijuana

La Perla has gone down hill the last few years. I hardly see customers inside even on weekends. La Perla's menu is small without elaborate Mexican seafood dishes and the portions are small, very small. I hate it.

My favorite seafood place is Titos, a chain with 1 place on O'Campo and Calle 6, convenient on the way in from the border to El Centro. It has a large menu with some exotic and delicious dishes in huge portion, low prices, served with cold beers. A 35-peso shrimp taco would fill me up. The shrimp coctele in a large goblet full of large fresh shrimp is 90 pesos or $4. 50. Even my picky Japanese wingman was impressed. Every guy I introduce Mexican shrimp coctele to would fall in love with it and have to have it every visit.

You can have seats at Tito's bar looking into the kitchen where they prepare elaborate dishes. They always have half dozen large sea bass grilled over charcoal in front of the place.

Look at those pics.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/mariscos-ti...uana?osq=titos+mariscos.

"Crossing South Travel Show"- I like this TV program on the KPBS channel. Host Jorge visits restaurants and places of interest in Tijuana, Rosarito, Ensenada and Baja. For example here is video link "Taco tour" (Birria tacos, Tacos Franc and Kokopelli tacos) http://crossingsouth.com/videosmaps/taco-tour/ Here is a link to webpage and all videos http://crossingsouth.com/videosmaps/.

[Jim0129]

I usually eat about 10 fresh and whole habaneros a day, typically in one meal. Where is a safe place in Tijuana where I can buy habaneros? Walmart or an open air market maybe?

If you want them fresh you can find them at Mercado Hidalgo, it's an open market, its in the rio zone, just ask any Uber driver or Taxi driver to take you there.

[StRobert]

"Crossing South Travel Show"- I like this TV program on the KPBS channel. Host Jorge visits restaurants and places of interest in Tijuana, Rosarito, Ensenada and Baja. For example here is video link "Taco tour" (Birria tacos, Tacos Franc and Kokopelli tacos) http://crossingsouth.com/videosmaps/taco-tour/ Here is a link to webpage and all videos http://crossingsouth.com/videosmaps/.

[Flyer47]

I usually eat about 10 fresh and whole habaneros a day, typically in one meal. Where is a safe place in Tijuana where I can buy habaneros? Walmart or an open air market maybe?

[Phordphan]

Thanks for the info about Sanborns. How much do they charge for the buffet / brunch?

Just FYI, Sanborn's tends to have just about the worst food available in Tijuana. It's not that it's done badly, it's just this side of flavorless. Imagine a low-end Denny's, food-wise. That's not a super-great comparison, because I like Denny's from time to time. I never, ever, eat at Sanborn's.

You'll be hard pressed to find a buffet of any sort serving what you ask, I. E. Numerous Mexican specialties. There are a few breakfast buffets at hotels that cater to gringos. Hotel Pueblo Amigo has a rather nice one. Villa de Zaragoza has a small one, but it's fairly decent. However, if you're looking for a Vegas-style buffet there aren't any. There are a few Chinese food buffets around town, but that's not what you're after. Any buffet you find serving Mexican food (other than previously mentioned) will often be substandard, poorly prepared and many times cold from neglect. The only one I can recall offhand was one in a restaurant in Plaza Rio called California something-or-other. I went once with a GF, food was horrible, never went back, and it failed some time later.

A buffet doesn't seem to be a cultural thing in Mexico. For one, they are hideously expensive to produce due to food wastage. I think that's a big reason why food in a buffet there tends to sit far too long before being discarded. And so much of buffet food has to be something that can sit in a steam table. So, think enchiladas covered with some glop.

In any case, you'll be far better served to set your sights on some finer dining. There are hundreds of good places to eat in Tijuana, serving "real" Mexican food that you'll never find anywhere else. The phrase Baja Med has been seriously overused, but the concept is valid. Baja has an amazing cornucopia of different foods, from meats, to fresh seafood, to amazing produce, to top-notch wines. Just about any restaurant specializing in this sort of 100% locally sourced food will be worth a visit, with the top two, IMO, being Mision 19 and Corazon de Tierra. CdT is a bit far if you're coming for only a couple of days. But M19 is well worth the visit. If you're a member you can PM me with any preferences and I can probably make a recommendation.

[Travv]

Dropped in there for a late Sunday breakfast and to watch the soccer game on their TVs. Waitress recommended the Egg enchiladas with bean sauce and since I had the Machaca with scrambled eggs the last time, I went with her suggestion, along with some hot chocolate. Big bowl of fresh salsa and a bowl of habanero hot sauce and chips and large platter of three egg enchiladas with bean sauce arrived. This restaurant has been around for years and caters to American taste. Free parking outside and next to the Jai Alai palace on Revolucion close to the Ticuan Hotel. Overall, I preferred the scrambled eggs with machaca and corn tortillas to make scrambled egg tacos with salsa, but the egg burritos were good too. (FYI, The egg enchiladas I believe are called the Estilo Toluacan with bean sauce if you want to try them yourself).

[Captain Solo]

To Artistype.

That's a nice link.

Search under seafood or mariscos in El Centro had no listing.

Search under tacos brought up a few places. Tacos El Franc seems to worth a visit. It's on Taboada South of Costco, corner Hidalgo, about 3,4 miles South of La Zona. It has all sorts of meats, tongue and tripe ect cooked different ways. It's worth getting out of the gritty Zona Norte for lunch then a tour of the Mercado Hidalgo.

Wonder if other goodies are also listed in this site.

Someone posted this link on a website away from the mongering community. It works like a local search engine for restaurants in different Tijuana neighborhoods. I played with it a little while and think it might serve a few of the members here.

http://toptijuana.com

[Artisttyp]

Someone posted this link on a website away from the mongering community. It works like a local search engine for restaurants in different Tijuana neighborhoods. I played with it a little while and think it might serve a few of the members here.

http://toptijuana.com

[Jim0129]

I'm glad you mentioned Sanborn's, I thought they had a buffet from looking at their website. My first choice is a Mexican buffet and then a Brazilian buffet.

Real Inn Hotel has a really nice Mexican Breakfast Buffet on weekends, just show up at the lobby and they'll let you know where the restaurant is.

[Jim0129]

I can vouch for this one. I was the only non-local in there, very busy. I stayed in an AirBnB a couple of blocks away and that was my nearest restaurant. I'm not sure if it's only open for dinner though. Definitely not breakfast.

Tacos El Frances is a taco stand, well they grew so now its an establisment, they open in the afternoon, I don't know if they have birria tacos in the morning.

[Simmer]

Tacos El Frances (Playas).

I can vouch for this one. I was the only non-local in there, very busy. I stayed in an AirBnB a couple of blocks away and that was my nearest restaurant. I'm not sure if it's only open for dinner though. Definitely not breakfast.

[BayBoy]

If you are going to try Sanborns, the best day is for their Sunday Brunch. There is a Sanborn's on Revolucion by the old Jai Alai Sports Palace and Caliente's across the street due South. The Sunday Brunch was better in my experience because they had a huge selection of fresh juices of all types and fresh steak. You picked the steak you wanted, told them how you wanted it cooked, then they would bring it to your table, plus the usual hot buffet plus hot soup, salad, and selection of pies and deserts. Also Sanborn's has a monthly ice cream special. Usually flavor like Blueberry or Papaya that they make themselves. You'll have to ask the waiter what the monthly flavor is if you want to try it.

Thanks for the info about Sanborns. How much do they charge for the buffet / brunch?

[DrMcNaughty]

Is dope! One of my faves anywhere in world! Local took me to taco stand w best al astor tacos ever. I don't remember name, just how to walk there. The ceviche w shrimp is the bomb at azul.

[Travv]

If you are going to try Sanborns, the best day is for their Sunday Brunch. There is a Sanborn's on Revolucion by the old Jai Alai Sports Palace and Caliente's across the street due South. The Sunday Brunch was better in my experience because they had a huge selection of fresh juices of all types and fresh steak. You picked the steak you wanted, told them how you wanted it cooked, then they would bring it to your table, plus the usual hot buffet plus hot soup, salad, and selection of pies and deserts. Also Sanborn's has a monthly ice cream special. Usually flavor like Blueberry or Papaya that they make themselves. You'll have to ask the waiter what the monthly flavor is if you want to try it.

I'm glad you mentioned Sanborn's, I thought they had a buffet from looking at their website. My first choice is a Mexican buffet and then a Brazilian buffet.

[Jim0129]

I've been looking at this thread expecting good reports from people who have been coming to Tijuana for years now and I couldn't believe that the only reports that I see are for places right next to la zona, get out of your comfort zone PEOPLE! The tacos at the corner of HK are NOT the best in Tijuana! They maybe be the only ones you've had in Tijuana but they are NOT the best! You're giving information about your breakfast on the restaurant right next to HK? Really? The seafood place on the pedestrian walkway between la zona and the border? Really!

Tijuana has gone thru a gastronomical revolution and you didn't even noticed, this is Anthony Bourdain talking about Tijuana in San Diego a couple of years back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAKap0W8sSU

Start by trying these restaurants:

El Taller. (BajaMed in Zona Rio).

La Diferencia. (Mexican in Zona Rio).

La Telefonica (food truck place).

Tacos El Franc (Zona Rio).

Tacos El Gallito (Otay).

Tacos El Frances (Playas).

Casa Placencia (In front of las torres).

Palominos (Sonora Style Steak, Zona Rio).

La Espadaña (Mexican Style Breakfast).

Villa Saverios (BajaMed, Zona Rio).

The most adventurous of you went to Caesar's on Revolucion, and I think that you ran back to your hotel room right after.