San Diego: Casa de Reyes (July 2018)

Casa de Reyes (July 2018) – Sit Outdoors in the Courtyard and Imagine That You Are in Mexico
 
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.







No comments: