My spouse and I visited Casa de Reyes for drinks on a Friday
morning in early July 2018. The restaurant is open daily from 10:00 am until
10:00 pm (with extended closing time until 11:00 pm on weekends, and an earlier
opening time of 9:00 am on Sundays). Although Casa de Reyes does not accept
traditional reservations, they have a sort of “call ahead” seating system using
the “No Wait” app.
Casa de Reyes (which means “Celebration of Kings” in
Spanish) enjoys an excellent location within the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park that allows you to drop in
for food, drinks, entertainment, and shopping as you are investigating the
historic property. It offers primarily outdoor dining under an arbor/pergola,
with some strategically placed umbrellas to provide additional cover from the
sun, and surrounded by lush foliage. Specialty shops surround the courtyard
restaurant, and nearby, an outdoor stage with benches in front of it offers
folkloric music, dancing, and other entertainment at certain times of the day.
We sat at the tiny bar (with just a few hand-crafted bar
stools [which had a unique design but were not very comfortable]) to enjoy some
classic drinks (cervezas and margaritas); note that no complimentary chips and
salsa were offered since we did not order a meal. Adjacent to the bar and
service window is a small outdoor extension of the kitchen where you can
observe on-site tortilla making. Although we didn’t visit the restaurant to eat
a meal, Casa de Reyes offers traditional Mexican cuisine, including a highly
recommended chicken tortilla soup and chicken tamales, as well as all the
standard Mexican menu items that you would expect (including chips and salsa, enchiladas,
tacos, burritos, and churros).
We enjoyed our pre-lunch drinks in the courtyard at Casa de
Reyes; the restaurant is much more atmospheric than any other competitors on
the neighboring Old Town streets.
