Casa Guadalajara

As an on campus UCSD student, my mexican food experiences have largely derived from two types of places: 24 hour fast food mexican shops and americanized mexican food. I was always disappointed to go to a mexican restaurant and not find stuff i love, like horchata. Fortunately, i can say Casa de Guadalajara fits the bill of quality mexican.

Casa is a pretty big restaurant that neighbors a nice little bazaar (that is great to wander if the wait is long, which it likely will be on weekends). The interior and exterior is very nice, and decorative. The outdoor seating is excellent, as it is warmed, festive, and has mariachis (i think everyday). They also serve a HUGE basket of tortilla chips. I ate a lot, and it seemed like the basket was still completely full. The food is where its at, of course. I ordered Seafood Enchiladas which were chunky fellas jam packed with lobster, shrimp, and sea bass. I was just sad it came with black beans, but no rice. I also got to steal some stewed carnitas (though not in the stew anymore when they serve it. i can’t recall the real name) that was juicy and also good.

Overall, its a 4.5 star place. Its excellent, but not super duper awesome; it still gets the 5 easy over 4 though.