Hernandez` Hideaway Restaurant in Escondido

Owner gets up in your face without a mask health code violations has now been shut down.

Best place to eat in Escondido or southern California

I only had coffee and cake but the place is very welcoming and cozy especially after hiking around Lake Hodges

Best Mexican food around. Really enjoy it.

Very cool location right by lake Hodges! You can take a little hike or bike the trails and stop by for a beer or margarita after. Food was ok nothing great but not bad either. I see reviews saying the food is not authentic.... ummm I have lived in SD my whole life and the food here is just lime most sit down mecican good spots.... I got the beef taco and chicken enchilada. Both items tasted good! The margarita tasted great after the bike ride and was refreshing. The place was so busy it made service slow and hard to get seated.. not the employees fault though. I enjoyed the lunch!

Some of the worst Mexican Food I have ever had in my life. I have visited maybe 80% of them in the county but this hands down was just....TERRIBLE !! Amongst the 2 or 3 worsy ive ever had. Food was dry and cold and owner was an awkward and condescending presence in the building. To top off the bad foodnand customer service when I was done I had to spend like 15min picking cheap quality meat out of my teeth. It was an overall unpleasurable, kludge of an experience that I highly recommend anyone and everyone avoid!

Been going since the 80's, food is good enough, service in the dining room is great, the scene and bartenders are questionable.

Owner refuses to let employees or customers wear masks for coronavirus. Won't adhere to the public health order. Had to be shut down by the county due to unsafe conditions.

The food was really good, I'm not going to lie--very good, in fact! But it's really expensive. I knew I was in trouble when my son and I parked our bikes and noticed the expensive cars and mountain bikes. I said, "oh, this is going to hurt..." But were were hungry so we sucked it up and stayed. Again, really good food though and very friendly staff.

From being greeted at the door to amazing service. Everything was excellent.The Margaritas were greatThe Enchilada Pie was the special and it was amazingly good.Our Bartender/Server was attentive and helpful.One of the best times we have had in months.

One of the things I have liked best about the hideaway is the food. For Mexican food done the way I like its one of the best in the area. I always take friends and order the picture of margaritas

If you have a friend that recommends that you take the trip out to the hideaway, you do it. You won't get a presumptuous staff and a hassle about the correct form to use. You will get great food great drinks and even better people.

Excellent food and drink in a quaint spot after a mountain bike ride

I love this corner of the lake and have been wanting to try this restaurant forever.. brought friends from out of town and, well, they preferred the little hole in the wall Mexican place that we went to the day before (sorry). The enchilada was just smothered in sour cream... like, an uncomfortable amount. The chicken in our food tasted day-old. She liked the beans and quesadilla but didnt touch the rice after the first bite. My tostada was mostly lettuce but hey I like lettuce? The chips that they serve a generous amount of are really good actually and the salsa was mostly tomato but decent. The stars are mostly for the server- she was so sweet and attentive. I maaaay go back and try the brunch.. this could have been them having an off day (seeing all the positive comments). It is a very cute place, just our first try was unfortunately very "meh". They have a parking lot, and the bathrooms were clean. So kudos for that.

Great food, awesome service!

Horrible food, dirty restaurant; they also don’t respect the states mask rule and make jokes about it. No respect for people’s safety at all. This place is awful and needs to be shut down immediately!

Food is great. A bit pricey but portions are generous. Suggest wrapped straws for sanitary reasons.

Trust at lake Hodges not at the Hideaway but yes I Eaton there good affordable prices nice atmosphere very good customer.

Used to be a favorite spot of ours but had a very unpleasant experience last Friday. Used to be you never talked about politics or religion to strangers. A guy at a table near us called our governor a communist. My wife said she was offended by the remark and he apologized. Moments later the bartender/owner became very aggressive making demeaning remarks to my wife and wouldn't let it go. He was glaring at us, escalating the situation, and eventually demanding us to leave. I was afraid to say anything thinking he might get violent.. Don't go in this place unless you are a trumpeteer.

Wonderful atmosphere, friendly environment! Great food and original margarita is to die for! Highly recommend!

Great dinning experience! Awesome authentic Mexican food and terrific service and ambience. Definitely one of San Diego's hidden treasures.

Omg...... no masks for employees, no extra cleaning, did not require customers to wear masks. I called for my Dad's 93 fathers day dinner and was not told they did not follow restaurant guide lines. I do not understand why they can operate.

Excellent service at the bar. Employees are very friendly and kind.

This is a cool place because of the location you really feel like you're getting out of town when you go to Hernandez Hideaway. Is 2/2 was somewhat friendly and the service was good and their beans and rice are very good. The prices are more that I would rather pay for a meal of Mexican food but the beans and rice alone were reasonably priced. The salsa was authentic tasting and I did not like it very much. It was a little too hot for me. But I would go back there in a heartbeat for their beans.

An incredible authentic Mexican restaurant well off the beaten path. Some of the best Mexican food I've had North of the Border! Plenty of room for lots of friends the drinks are great and the service is outstanding. Highly recommended from anywhere. Bring a friend. ~V.

Belligerent owner who has no respect for his employees, customers, or anyone at all for that matter. Also the food was awful and the place was dirty

The margaritas were watery, the enchiladas cold. The server was nice but not in any big hurry to serve us. That was surprising because the place was mostly empty when we were there for lunch. I think they probably just survive on regulars. The salsa was good, but everything else was average, so next time we’ll skip it and go to Encinitas or Escondido, where there’s great Mexican food.

Violating health code. Not wearing face masks during pandemic!

Love this place ! I have been going here sense I was a kid (80 s) by far the best Mexican place in Escondido

This might be the worst Mexican food I have ever had. And I lived in Pennsylvania for a while!Also, they are currently closed for violating health orders (staff not wearing masks).

Great food, many healthy meals, good service

Food is overpriced and not good. Not authentic anything. You can make better tacos with the season packs at the grocery store.

Good food, wait staff terrific. Great guac and margaritas. Must be good, been eating there since Al and Helen opened the place.

What a great place. This was our second visit there - we live in Phoenix or we would visit more often. We had a great waitress who seemed like she was taking care of the whole room but so efficiently that she always anticipated your needs - more water or more salsa. The supreme tostada was fantastic - 3 of us had it ($11.95). It comes with guacamole & sour cream.

Sorry my man.. I tried and tried to give this place a shot and it was not good

Sry but not sry they are trying to hard to make a street taco. Its similar to del taco taste. Not impressed

No respect for health code or COVID safety guidelines. Owner is selfishly putting his employees and customers at risk. Glad to see they got shutdown by the county.

Hernandez hideaway is definitely a hidden gem in the middle have a beautiful location. Just driving out to this restaurant makes us feel like we are on vacation! Their food is good but their servers are even better. We are always greeted with a warm smile and a kind hello!

There’s is nothing authentic about this food. Don’t waste your time here please.

This place is open for dine-in despite the current Google search result saying it isn't.

First time. Nice cozy place. Friendly staff. Food good. Will return.

Are not Covid Compliant and were shut down from county health dept.also the food is not Authentic worse than Del Taco.

prices are easy on the pocket book Rick and his staff are warm inviting dotting on all the customer's a family feel is in the air...☺and then there's the famous margaritas.....😍😎

If you want to know what the perfect Margarita tastes like, go to the source. Al Hernandez the original owner of Hernandez' Hideaway was the originator of the drink according to an article from the San Diego Union Tribune, which is in the cover of the drink menu. The food was excellent and the staff were friendly and wonderful. This truly is a hidden gem.

Came in here for a cold soda and ice cream for the kid's after riding the trail at lake Hodges. Nice place, food looked good and there's sports on the tv's at the bar. I think we will have to come back and try lunch or dinner soon.

The single star is because since re-opening, Hernandez Hidaway is not practicing social distancing nor enforcing mask-wearing by patrons or servers inside the restaurant.

The food was very spicy .No one was wearing a mask.The owner was acting crazy. I would not go there again.

Terrible food and terrible service. Workers working without masks and sneezing into food and drinks. Disgusting

This junk food has nothing to taste about Mexican enchiladas and beans worse than the taco bell yellow cheese Mmmmm.

This place is in a great location but that’s the only positive thing that can be said about it. The food is consistently horrible and the beverages are overpriced. Also the owner is a Conservative JackHole so don’t go here if you care about the United States and it’s tarnished reputation. NVRA.