Last month (also last year! haha!) Laura and I went out for a little dinner to a spot I’d been meaning to check out for awhile: the Embargo Grill. It’s a Cuban place down in the Sports Arena area (just a couple doors down from the Cravory and in the same lot as the amusingly named taco shop “It’s a Taco Shop”). 

Interior - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

I remember this spot used to be a burger place called BGR the Burger Joint. Looking back at my old post, I can see that Embargo Grill didn’t seem to change much of the interior, except to add some posters from Cuba and to swap out some of the other photos/painting in the restaurant.

Menu - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

There’s a good selection to choose from.

Menu - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

And the flip side of the menu. They do this combination dish where it’s kind of like a salad and dinner all in one dish.

yelp-checkin-item

I saw there was a free item offered upon check-in at Embargo Grill and we put in an order for that right away. It took a very long time to get it, too… more on that later. 


Croquetas - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

[croquetas / $3.95]

When we went to Florida a couple years ago, one of my favorite things were the ham croquettes so I was very interested to try out the version here at Embargo Grill. These were a bit different from the ones I tried in Tampa. First off… they kind of looked like meatballs!

Inside the croquetas - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

But no, it’s definitely potato filling with bits of ham and cheese inside. The outside was not very crunchy since it was covered in sauce and more cheese. I really missed the crunchy exterior and thought the flavor of these were just okay. Not what I was expecting at all but it was fun to try just the same.

Cubano Sandwich - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

[cubano sandwich with pulled pork, ham, and swiss cheese / $6.75]

I decided to just order a Cubano sanwich (sans pickles, of course) and was happy to see the lovely pressed grill marks on the sandwich. 

Cubano Sandwich - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

The sandwich had been pressed really nicely to give it a lovely golden brown crust and the cheese was perfectly melted on top of the piles of pulled pork and slices of ham.

Pulled Pork, Ham and Swiss - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

This sandwich has the satisfying crunch I was looking for! The meat was delicious paired with the melted cheese and bit of mustard spread on the inside. The bread held up really well and the whole sandwich was delicious – just as good as the Cubano sandwiches I had in Florida!

Boricua - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

[boricua – pulled pork with puerto rican style beans, yellow rice, bbq sauce and leafy greens / $8.20]

Laura decided to try one of the combinations. I have to admit we both thought it was a little odd looking. BBQ pulled pork on top of a salad?

Beans on the bottom - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

And beans and rice on the bottom? The rice is on the other side where you can’t see it, naturally, but it’s there. Laura liked it well enough but all I could think of was how I wanted everything to be separated and not piled together. Hah! 

Mariquitas de plantano chips - Embargo Grill / San Diego, CA

[mariquitas de platano – crispy plantain chips / normally $2.25]

When we were almost done with our food, we finally got our crispy plantain chips! It was a really generous portion and the plantains were very thinly sliced and well salted. They were incredibly crunchy and tasted really great with the remainder of my Cubano. I’d totally order these without a check-in even though it took forever to get them. 

Cravory Cookies

[cravory cookies]

Laura discovered that it was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and we stopped in to get cookies before our meal. They had a special on a “Candy” cookie (which had like Twix and other candy in it) and a regular chocolate chip cookie for $1. What a deal!!

Cookies from the Cravory

I enjoyed a couple of bites of these deliciously large cookies before taking them home and enjoying them for later. Yum! Another yummy dinner with a great friend!

Embargo Grill
3960 W Point Loma Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 786-7522


10 thoughts on “embargo grill

  1. Kirbie and I went here last year and enjoyed our menu items, especially the tostones and the Cuban sandwich. I also liked their Cuban coffee. It’s pretty convenient that The Cravory is only a few steps away too!

    1. I forgot to try Cuban coffee there! I’ll have to go back and check that out, too. It is very, very convenient that the Cravory is right there. A good excuse for a cookie break 🙂

  2. I went here today with my friends. We tried the empanadas de picadillo plus croquetas along with the Cuban sandwich, tostones and the yucca sticks. Their greatest hits, haha. The croquetas weren’t all that. They were in some sort of marinara like sauce. We loved the tostones.

    1. I’ll have to try the tostones next time. Yeah, I don’t like the sauce on the croquetas, it makes them soggy. Yucca sticks sound interesting, too!

  3. Dang man the Cubano looks so good! The pulled pork and ham look generous. And gosh the bread looks so crunchy too. Yeah the warm pulled pork over cold lettuce is strange to me as well. Maybe pulled pork over the plantain chips would be a better option 🙂 I’m going to check out their menu right now.

    1. Ohhh… pulled pork over plantain chips does sound very intriguing. Maybe you just came up with a brilliant idea! The Cubano was excellent – I think you’d like it!

  4. Dear Mary,
    Thank you for visiting us! We always appreciate it when local foodies and bloggers dine with us and share their experience with others. We are thrilled that the Cubano sandwich and plantain chips hit the spot. Your friends said some nice things about a few of our other offerings too, and we’d be delighted to serve you again. About the croquettes – we want you to be 100% satisfied. Please let us know if something isn’t quite prepared to your satisfaction. We can always serve our sauces on the side if you are craving that crunch!

    As for the yucca fritta, I feel the same way and always ask the chef to make sure they are well fried. The garlic sauce on them is quite tasty!

    Finally, we do serve the embargo grill plates a little differently, layered. If you prefer things plated traditionally, always ask! We have a few newer specialties served that way. We aim to please and thank you for taking time to post your experience online!

    Happy new year and may there be plenty of good food to go around,
    Tina
    Co owner
    619-786-7522

  5. I really like this place. We head there every now and then since they’re just down the road, and I’m always happy. At first I thought the platter (beans/rice bottom, salad stuff, meat/sauce top) was odd, but I’ve really grown to love it. Thus far my favorite combination has been the white rice, black bean, portobello mushroom, chimichurri sauce. Hungry just thinking about it!

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