3946 Illinois St
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 294-8292(map)
Official website

Bottomline - Authentic style, diverse menu, great bar, wonderful food.

One of the wonderful things about El Comal is the menu. There is a fantastic variety here with so many traditional items that you'll need to go back several times to get a handle on the place. From basic street tacos to Cochinita Pibil. From shrimp to goat. It's not a huge scattershot menu, but it touches on many different things.

To me the food here is delicious and comforting with a great depth of flavor. Both the Cochinita Pibil and the green mole are the best I've ever had. I think this can be attributed to the authentic dishes that are taken to a higher level than most Mexican restaurants. And example - The chicken enchiladas have chicken so succulent and flavorful that it's almost a shame to put more sauce on it. But then you add the green mole and the dish truly shines. Still simple - chicken, tortilla, sauce - but with wonderful flavor.

But more than just a great Mexican place, ElComal also mixes in live entertainment (sometimes) and a real bar. So if you want a quality mojito or margarita with your meal, they have that.

I would advise quizzing the server if you aren't sure. The menu here certainly has something for everyone, but you need to sift through lots of options. Spicy to bland. Simple to complex. If you want to play it safe, get the Cochinita Pibil tacos which are like the taco of my dreams.

I have read that the food service can suffer when the place is packed at night, but I've always gone for lunch, which was fine. Parking on the street isn't a problem, at least during the day.

I'm not a fan of goat. But I tried the goat tacos here. They didn't convert me. So if you don't like gamey, fatty meat, you might want to steer clear. I know that's all me, but so few restaurants serve goat that I'd just like to make sure you know what you're getting.

There are actually two locations, the other being in Chula Vista, but I've only been to the North Park restaurant. Both are suppose to be good.

But over all I really like El Comal. It's a very comfortable sitdown restaurant serving traditional Mexican dishes done very well. The variety of the menu choices really makes me want to go back and try everything.

3627 University Ave (map)
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 584-6244

This may be the best authentic home-style Mexican food in San Diego. If it isn't, it's certainly near the top of the list.

Where to even start.......

First of all, don't worry that you may wildly out of place if you are, like me, a gringo who doesn't know what anything is. They'll be happy to not only give you samples of things, but also to suggest things you'll like (and steer you away from things you may not like). My first time there I didn't even have a chance to order before they'd offered me five samples, all of which were delicious. Not just good, delicious.

Secondly, this is a buffet type place and many entries will change every day. So while I thought the mustard chicken was one of the most original dishes I've had in my life, you'll probably never get to try it. This is a good thing, because you don't want to get bored with this place. It's a restaurant you want to come back to and try new creations. Supposedly there are over 100 recipes in regular rotation here, with about 20 available each day.

Bottomline - If there is Mexican soul food, this is it. Eating here makes me happy. And you'll get food here you aren't likely to find anywhere else. It's honest Mexican. Honest food of the people.

Also, this is home style. That means you'll be eating meat off the bone with just about everything, and there will be plenty of cartilage involved. So don't get flustered when you bite into something hard, because it's suppose to be there. The technique is to suck the meat off the bones rather than just start chewing. Bones = flavor, and you can taste the difference. in fine dining place this would be unacceptable, but here it's part of the attraction. But don't be fooled - Spend a bit of time having the owner talk to you and you'll quickly realize this is a restaurant that cares about food as much as any.

Don't look for tacos and burritos here. It's not that kind of place. What you want here is meat stewed in flavor. Also don't look for the salsa bar, because the food already tastes the way it's suppose to.

I have heard, but can not confirm, that the standard process for this place is to hire Mexican home cooks and then have them cook what they're best at. Thus, you get real Mexican food that changes all the time. Damn fine idea.

Tourist advice - If I was a tourist I would not feel comfortable going to a strange city in a rental car with a map I printed off the Internet and then driving around this area of San Diego. It's not what I would call a "bad neighborhood", but it's certainly not touristy. Having said that, I have *always* felt welcome here and gotten great service.