Food in Tijuana

[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.

[BayBoy]

To Bayboy.

If you want a buffet with wide varieties of Mexican food, try Sanborn's on Revo and in Rio Plaza shopping. It's about 2,3 miles from la Zona, $3 taxi ride. Buffet food are usually bland, cold, tasteless and below average in quality, but you can sample all varieties here.

Sanborns Tijuana.

Av. Revolucin 1102, Centro, 22000 Tijuana, b. c, Mexico.

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 did see Tabule. I have big chunks of blue fin tuna in my freezer just waiting for the right occasions and good companies.

The coffee place was closed with chairs stacked on tables. Pretty sad really.

I think Tijuana outside of La Zona Norte is very nice, slow, relaxed, safe, civilized and cheap, a nice place to live in with or without the pretty chicas. Looks like you moved to Tijuana. Would appreciate you write up more about normal life in Tijuana.

The coffee shop is the Cafe de la Flor, I think they have three locations in the city, also try "La differencia" a mexican food place in zona rio.

[Jim0129]

I love it. The best I ever had is at Tio Pepe's. It's in a residecial area behind the ice place on the free road, Maybe a $5 cab ride. It's an institution in Tijuana.

They also have their own tequila in a cask that they fill bottles with. My neighbor drinks it and he hasn't fallen over dead yet so it must be OK.

If you get down to Rosarito go to El Nido's for a steak cooked over a mesquite fire. Baked potato over the fire and tortillas (harina) made by a moma-san while you watch (also over a fire.) People come in just of pick up a bag of tortillas. Cost about half of a good steak dinner in the US. They have quail eggs for breakfast.

Are you talking about the birria and tortas place? They have steak there??

[Jim0129]

Went to Pampa's and I was a bit disappointed. The meat was good, but not great. The other problem is that they only have to 2 or 3 waiters to bring the meat around so the service was slow.

It depends on the day of the week and the time of day you go to. On weekends its always full and since its a buffet the food moves fast and is always fresh, you also have to wait in line to get in or make a reservation on the weekends.