I used to love driving down to Puerto Nuevo a couple of times a year for spiny lobster and margaritas, but given the chaotic traffic on my last couple of return trips, I have lost my taste for it. But right in the heart of Hillcrest at Ortega's Mexican Bistro, I found the deliciously sweet local lobster I was craving served with Baja flair...
— Maria C. Hunt, San Diego Union-Tribune
“Muy delicioso” dishes mark the menu of this “gourmet” Hillcrest Mexican celebrated for serving the same “incredible” Baja California-style lobsters and flour tortillas popularized by the original namesake in Puerto Nuevo, Mexico; “exceptionally warm”, “rustic” décor lends a welcome “neighborhood” vibe; P.S. it may be “the best bargain in San Diego.”
— 2007 America's Top Restaurants, Zagat Survey
The made-to-order guacamole and the filled one-and-quarter-pound lobster explain why this 60-seat restaurant commenced an expansion to add some 150 seats when it was barely six months old.
— David Nelson, Westways Magazine
At Ortega's, Hillcrest's hip Mexican eatery (Of South-of the-Border lobster fame), the table-side guacamole does not disappoint, especially when paired with the house pomegranate Margarita.
— Abe Opincar, Gillian Flynn, Dan Triemstra and Sara Digregorio, Riviera Magazine
We couldn’t quite put our finger on the comforting smell that greeted us when stepping inside the new Ortega’s Bistro. The air was pleasantly warm, faintly spiced, as though we had entered the house of a relative who cooks the family’s favorite meals all day long...
— Frank Sabatini Jr., Gay & Lesbian Times
