Hacienda De Vega

I really wanted to like this place because of the raving reviews I had heard from when they were in Escondido but the food and hibiscus drink was VERY underwhelming. Food was very bland, this is definitely food catered more to the Caucasian population of San Diego. Portions were also underwhelming, especially for the price paid for a burrito. Some places deserve a second chance but unfortunately Hacienda de Vega is not one of them for me. Also the chips were NOT good.

We went to hear the band BUT it was packed outside. We decided to eat inside 1st & put our name in for a table outside when available. Neither my husband nor I had been here before. I asked for a shredded beef taco, they don't have it, so I asked for a ground beef taco, they dont have that either, so I agreed to try the shredded pork taco. The meat was very good & seasoned well. My husband asked for Chili Verde or Chili Colorado, they didnt have either so he tried a new dish, Sabana Invierno & had rice & beans. I usually share some of his rice & beans but these looked terrible, lots of pea & carrots mixed in (see picture). His meal he said was OK he said but everything looked plopped on his plate. No color no style. Also as one other reviewer mentioned the chips looked bought at Costco. We were given seats inside between a service area, the bathrooms & by a tree. We saw several people come by that we knew (there for the band) & they stopped to say hi, while we were chatting, a older waitress wanted to walk by us, there was plenty of room but insisted on giving us a small shove to get out of her way. She did this 3 times. Very snotty. If this is a "runway" to the servers place TAKE THIS TABLE OUT. So after over a hour I never got the call that our table outside was ready, so we walked out & found several places, we stayed & danced quite a lot!

Big place to eat, we went in the afternoon as we were traveling back to Minnesota. Our server was great and what ever she recommended in food we tried and love the food. Ordered couple of flights (local beer). Liked 7 out of 8 beer. One was IPA and am not IPA person. I believe they also have live music in the evenings. For sure will go back and try the restaurant sometime in the evening. Overall very good experience