Casa De Bandini at The Forum

Reviews

• MB

  M Black

  2 days ago
  1.0
  First off, the restaurant is lively, decorative and has strolling mariachi's. Which add to the authentic feel of the restaurant! After a 30 min wait ( which is fine? We didn't mind having to do that) we were a party of 5 and we were sat in the patio. I believe our server's name was Geraldo. It appeared he was having a bad day. All the way around because he had the worst attitude of any server. I've ever been served by. I ordered the Albondegas soup. I asked him to please take the carrots out because I do not like cook carrots. Every mexican restaurant that I have ever gone to where I ordered the soup. I've asked the same thing, and they've always obliged me. Instead of saying "Yes,I can do that." He shot back "You are aware that abondegas is made with carrots?" To which I said to him," Yes! That's the reason I asked would you please have the chef take them out!" He was unbelievably rude. He proceeded to take the rest of my parties order as if we were bothering him. And it was way too much trouble for him. When our food arrived, my friend's daughter ordered enchiladas that he said were mild. It turned out they were incredibly spicy and she was not able to eat them. My soup arrived with no vegetables and 2 meatballs in broth and was so salty I couldn't eat them. My husband's dish was the tostada salad and he loved it. My friend's chicken tacos were dry and tasteless. He never really came around to check with us. Except for right after he set the plates down. However, the buser came by and was asking us how our food was. And I told him my soup was awful, and he said, what did you have? I told him Albondigas and he replied "Oh, it was salty, huh?" He went on to say that they had gotten a lot of complaints about it. And that they had to tell the chef that the soup was way too salty, yet they continued to serve it. At the end of the meal, he brought a check, dropped. It and left and was supposed to take the soup off the check but did not. We had to go up to. It's the cashier and have them fix it. I see lots of 4 stars etc for this place. But for us, I was being generous by giving it one!
• DL

  D. L.

  5 days ago
  3.0
  Great atmosphere. I have always loved this restaurant. I ordered the stuffed pineapple dish with rice and shrimp. The shrimp was delicious. Sadly there was very little rice and was flooded with sauce. Get the sauce on the side to avoid it becoming a sweet soup. It was terrible. Everyone else in our party enjoyed their meals.
• MM

  Ms. M

  Aug 8, 2026
  4.0
  Really nice place to eat. Very beautiful interior decor and nice vibe. Food is delicious, especially their salsa and guacamole. Salsa is state of the art, and it's actually free. Chicken avocado tacos are really good too. Been here twice and really enjoyed this place. Service could be a use a little important though.
• AB

  Ashly Burley

  Aug 7, 2026
  2.0
  Unreal. We checked in around 6:30, were told it was a 30-45 min wait, only to have people that arrived after we did, get seated first because they complained. The food is great but it is not worth being put on the back burner, and strung along for people who complain. Update- attempted to email guest relations per their response and guess what? Fake email. It’s clear they are not committed to make things right or take accountability when staff drops the ball.
• SV

  Savannah Vicent

  Aug 4, 2026
  5.0
  Teo was an amazing server and very attentive to our large group of 9. He was constantly refilling our drinks and made sure we were happy and comfortable. He also spilt all of our checks individually even though I am sure that made his job a little harder. Overall I have been to Casa de Bandini a lot over the 10 years I have lived in north county San Diego and I have never had a bad experience here! Always a great atmosphere and delicious authentic mexican food. They also made their tortillas in house which is a plus!

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