La Cocina de Doña Esthela

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Review

653 reviews

#3 of 111 Restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe$, Mexican, Latin, Vegetarian friendly

+52 646 156 8453+ Add website

Hours

Sun

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Tue

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Wed

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Thu

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Fri

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sat

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

653 reviews

#3 of 111 Restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

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CUISINES

Mexican, Latin

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch

features

Location and contact

Carretera El Tigre Al Porvenir Entre Km. 13 y 14, Ensenada Municipality 22755 Mexico

+52 646 156 8453

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Does this restaurant serve Romagna food?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

CUISINES

Mexican, Latin

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch

FEATURES

Takeout, Seating, Parking Available, Validated Parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

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4.5

653 reviews

Excellent

468

Very good

114

Average

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Terrible

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Yes

Jnjiemtz

United States458 contributions

Amazing food!!

Aug 2020 • couples

So we read the reviews and decided to finally visit. We knew with COVID our wait would be long, but it was so worth the wait. The food is truly authentic Mexican food, just like my mom’s. If you see Mexicans there, it’s great Mexican food! I had huevos rancheros and my husband had salsa de huevo, borrego and Birria. Ha. Yeah that good that he kept ordering more food after finishing one plate. The tortillas were made right in the kitchen (pic included). SO GOOD! If in the area, it’s a must!!

Written 10 August 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Cindy R.

New York City4 contributions

Really, just go

Feb 2022 • none

You may be intimidated by the line of cars idling outside. You may be intimidated by the wait which is longer than the 15 minutes they quoted. You may even be intimidated by the menagerie of animals casually snacking and sunning themselves outside. But trust that the first bite of Dona Esthela's delicious Borrego will make it all worthwhile. Borrego is lamb that has been seasoned and cooked in an underground pit for 6 hours. You can have it cripsed on the flat-top with some freshly made tortillas. You can have it in a fresh gordita with cheese and some lardy beans. No matter how you have it, get the consumme to dip. This is food that reminds you of a time when you were safe and loved. This is food you want to shout about from the mountaintops. This is food you want to share with the people you care about the most in the world. Everything is good. The pancakes are so fluffy, you can take a nap on them. Fresh everything. Just go forth and eat.

Written 28 February 2022

Lysa F

Los Angeles3 contributions

Believe the hype and wait it out.

Mar 2022 • none

The line of cars to get in can be intimidating as is the road if you are in a car. Highly recommend an SUV. We were in a car and found the second turn off to be a bit easier to handle. The wait was about an hour long when we were actually inside to give our names. Ana provided amazing customer service. All of the waitresses were hustling and working hard to accommodate hungry patrons. My cousin said he had the best Machaca he as ever had in his life. Two others in my group loved the Birria and did not peep a word until there plates were cleaned. lol. I ordered the Nopales without egg and it was so flavorful and amazing with the handmade tortillas and refried beans....yum I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. We also ordered the elote pancakes and cafe de olla....amazing, amazing, amazing.

Written 14 March 2022

Laura G

San Clemente28 contributions

Go Hungry

Feb 2022 • none

We arrived around 2:00 on a Friday & waited 1/2 hour for a table. We occupied ourselves by walking around the property & watching the numerous farm animals. Once seated you’re immediately served tortilla chips/salsa/cheese. The menu is extensive & mostly breakfast type entrees. We ordered the vegetarian omelette & chicken enchiladas. The food is very fresh & large portions. No alcohol available. Cantina atmosphere, good service, & reasonably priced. Our lunch cost $11 American + tip.

Written 18 February 2022

Mailai E

Phoenix15 contributions

Worth the Wait

Feb 2022 • none

This place is always busy but definitely worth the wait. While we waited in line to park, a gentleman selling bread walked over to our car (he doesn't work for the restaurant) and we decided to buy some because we were starving. My only regret was not buying more! The rosemary bread was my favorite. After we parked, we were worried we'd have to wait for a long time but they sat us pretty quickly (it was just two of us). The service was great and the food was seriously delicious. So glad we tried it and didn't let the wait scare us!

Written 1 August 2022

GHustad

Austin211 contributions

Yummy, authentic, and affordable

Feb 2023 • couples

This was our last stop, heading out of town after 8 amazing days of eating and drinking. Perfect breakfast to fuel us up for the drive back to San Diego to catch our flight. I still felt a bit full from the night before, so I just had one lamb gordita, which was super tasty and the perfect amount of food. My partner had their corn cakes (which they are known for), and he let me snag a bite, and they were devine. You can taste the corn, which made them really unique and yummy. I'm guessing their lunch is great too. We were there early AM on a Wednesday and it was pretty empty, but I guess you can wait for an hour or more on the weekends. Not sure I would do that, but it is worth stopping in for sure. Very authentic and very affordable.

Written 25 February 2023

Mariela CF

5 contributions

Long queue was worth it!

Apr 2021 • friends

A friend and I arrived on a Sunday at 9am, there was already a line of aprox 20 cars before us to enter the parking lot of the restaurant! I think it opened at 8, so we should have arrived earlier. We stayed there for around an hour, before we could park and sit on a table. The service inside was ok and very fast, food was absolutely delicious, big portions. Restrooms sparkly clean. Overall, recommended! Just arrive early and consider going when it’s not raining. Lomita winery is in front, so you could head there after brunch like we did.

Written 28 April 2021

Ferise 🧿

Madrid242 contributions

Worth the trip

Nov 2021 • family

Food is amazing you can really have a real taste of the Baja cuisine . You must have the corn pancakes it's a signature dish . It is really hidden in the valley so make sure you have a ride back because there are no taxis in the area . Weekends very full and there is no reservation so try to be there early

Written 1 November 2021

Candysandy2

San Pedro Garza Garcia36 contributions

Great option for breakfast in the valley

Mar 2024 • couples

Delicious breakfasts and good service, from when we got to taste the good coffee, to the delicious lamb, pounded, hot cakes, chilaquiles, as it has cooked dishes we were able to try many things We need to try the birria which is also a specialty I come back tomorrow

Written 28 March 2024

Philipp

San Carlos48 contributions

A special experience

Jun 2024 • friends

Hidden away and only accessible via a bumpy track, this restaurant offers hearty and authentic food. In 2015, the restaurant was awarded the title of the best breakfast restaurant in the world and even the well-known British food critic Gordon Ramsey personally took a look and invited Doña Esthela to London; a self-made woman who had never been on a plane. Out of pure survival instinct, Esthela, who still works in the kitchen today, baked her own bread, which was so good that people always bought it straight away. Today she has 100 employees and the business is booming. But she still gets up at 2 a.m. and starts in the kitchen. At weekends you have to queue for up to 2 hours. Reservations are not accepted. The food is hearty. There were seven of us and we ordered 4 different dishes to share, which was absolutely enough. The hit is machaca (dried beef) with egg, frijoles and freshly prepared corn or wheat tortillas. The hotcakes are also amazing and have nothing to do with industrially produced pancakes. The coffee and even the cappuccinos were also good. The meat, milk and other things come from the farm itself. The service is quick and friendly. A great experience and the story of a dishwasher's career.

Written 11 June 2024

nosaint1

30 contributions

Excellent corn pancakes!

Nov 2020 • friends

Spent two nights in the area and had breakfast both mornings at Esthela’s. The first morning we waited an hour and it was worth it! The owner greeted each table and was gracious to spend time chatting with us about her experience with Gordon Ramsey!We learned to arrive before 8am to avoid the wait. Excellent corn pancakes and omelette de la casa.

Written 15 November 2020

Jason C

4 contributions

Best Barria in town, and perfect start of day in the Valle

Dec 2023 • family

Best Barria (lamb and beef) in town. And randomly also really good pancakes! This is quite the popular place right now in the valley, and a fantastic place to start a day of eating and drinking in the Valle. For those in your party that are not quite up for something this savory in the morning, they have great pancakes. But just know if you do so, you are missing out on even better slowly cooked lamb or beef. They have an English language menu and wifi.

Written 29 December 2023

Miriam Z

Mexico City41 contributions

Very tasty and good quality

Jul 2024 • couples

On weekdays the waiting time was no more than 5 minutes. They serve you very quickly and well. The dishes are very vast. Think about sharing and ordering from a saucer to see if you finish it or not, before asking otherwise. We ate the egg mash and the pounded sheep taco. None of them could finish their saucer. The tortillas are fantastic. Good balance between quality and price

Automatically translated

Written 30 July 2024

Payden M

Atlanta56 contributions

Worst Breakfast Of Trip

Jun 2024 • couples

Everyone raved about this online and it was our worst meal of the trip. Not only is getting there on roads that are worse than the normal in that area, but the food wasn’t worth the drive. We each got two traditional Mexican dishes hoping for authentic mind-blowing flavors. It certainly did not do that. Save your time as I believe this might have even oversold to us. 🫤

Written 1 July 2024

Navigator59090507894

1 contribution

Not worth the wait.

Jul 2023 • friends

After all of the hype, i was disappointed. I expected the 2 hour wait for a table on Sunday morning, but i didn't expect the 30-minute wait to get drinks and for our order to be taken. The Owner came out to visit a large table adjacent to us, and the server spent the entire time helping them, ignoring us. the food was good, but not spectacular as people say and certainly did not make up for the poor service and wait. Had better Chilaquiles in Francisco Zarco the next day.

Written 1 August 2023

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