San Diego brings a little taste of Latin America to Arbroath

I was somewhat intrigued recently when I discovered a reasonably new restaurant in Arbroath, San Diego.

It specialises in burgers and tacos, promising Latin American flavours.

Now, I love a taco, and a quick look at their menu piqued my interest further.

As my normal Friday dining partner, daughter Cari, was otherwise engaged – working – I invited my friend, Lucy, along to fill in, so to speak.

Lucy was indeed keen to do that, having suggested in the past that, should
I need someone to offer an opinion on any local restaurants, she would take up the mantle.

And so it was that we made the short hop along the Angus coast to Arbroath, famous, of course, for smokies – and as it happened the following day, a
league-winning football team.

But would it be famous for tacos and burgers? We were keen to find out.

The exterior of San Diego in Arbroath's Ladybridge Street. — The exterior of San Diego in Arbroath’s Ladybridge Street.

Having opened late last year, it’s safe to say San Diego has an ideal situation. Fantastic views of Arbroath harbour from Ladybridge Street were accentuated by it being a lovely sunny day.

It was a joy to be wandering along to the restaurant without a coat on and we ambled to San Diego, keen to enjoy the surprisingly warm April sun.

Inside San Diego in Arbroath. — Part of the comfy seating area.

The eatery is set on two levels, with the top level looking over Arbroath’s Brothock Burn and the harbour.

Inside, the bar area – which has a few tables and is where we were seated –
is very picturesque, being adorned with flowers and shrubbery.

Our server was bubbly, energetic and clearly passionate as he guided us to our cosy table in the corner. This was ideal as Lucy and I were keen to catch up.

The menu was explained to us and they brought us a jug of water to begin with as we perused what was on offer.

We were also told that the food comes out as it is ready, which we were pretty happy about as we were both rather hungry.

A varied brunch menu is available from 11am to 1.45pm and a great selection of cocktails and mocktails is available.

San Diego also has a private karaoke room for hire available and does a boozy brunch every weekend.

The food at San Diego

As mentioned, San Diego offers small plates for sharing, burgers, fajitas, enchiladas, wings and ribs, while there is a nod to the seaside town with fish and chips and Arbroath smokie also available. Unsurprisingly, churros feature as a dessert with ice cream or Nutella.

They also offer a range of milkshakes and cocktails, and other drinks from the bar.

We started with a couple of small sharing plates, chicken tacos (£9.90) and chicken tenders (three for £6, six for £9).

The chicken tenders were indeed tender on the inside and the meat lovely and juicy with the crispy coating adding another layer to a lovely starter.

We agreed that the sauce that accompanied it was fantastic, and tasted like San Diego’s own take on a barbecue/Jack Daniel’s sauce.

The chicken tacos were delicious and delivered on spice as well as amazing flavours.

The chicken tacos were simply sublime. A lovely soft taco was filled with chicken that simply fell apart, lettuce, salsa, jalapeno, crema and sriracha. It was such a creamy taco absolutely kicking with hot, spicy flavour that we lapped up.

Seriously spicy

A warning, though – if you are not a fan of spicy food I would give this a miss.

For my main, I had opted for a streak-out burger (£14). Two smashed patties were accompanied by a couple of rashers of streaky bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and burger sauce. It was served on a toasted brioche bun.

The streak-out burger was a big eating challenge.

The burger was huge and the challenge here was how I approached it. I had to concede and cut it in half. The flavours were lovely, with the juiciness of the patties and saltiness of the bacon combing well with the burger sauce, while the American cheese added some creaminess and more saltiness.

There was more of that lovely sauce to dip the crispy chips in.

Lucy had opted for the Mexican stand-off burger (£14) – a chicken breast encased in panko breadcrumbs, American cheese, pickle and garlic mayo, again served on a brioche bun.

My dining partner, Lucy, enjoyed the Mexican stand-off burger.

She said her burger was juicy and very pleasant indeed, but she felt her taste buds had been overpowered by the spicy taco earlier and it had probably taken away from the enjoyment of a fine course.

Amazing dipping sauce

Lucy also loved dipping her chips to use up that fabulous tasty sauce.

We were pretty full, to be honest, but in the interests of research thought we should try the churros (£7.50).

As we are not big fans of Nutella, we choose to have just cinnamon sugar on them. They were lovely and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, which was jus what we had hoped for.

Another part of the seating area at San Diego.

The verdict

San Diego is good and I would definitely return.

We really enjoyed the burgers, but the chicken tacos and the chicken tenders were the stars of the show.

With that in mind, when I do go back I plan on making more of the sharing plates and, perhaps, make a little Mexican-style tapas out of it.

There is so much to choose from on the sharing plates menu, such as pulled pork or fish taco, quesadilla, nacho cheese bites and halloumi fires, that if the chicken taco is any indication should be very enjoyable indeed.

Service was good, being attentive and very friendly, while the restaurant is bright and lively.