El Tejate Gastronomía Oaxaqueña
El Tejate Gastronomía Oaxaqueña is an Oaxacan restaurant on West Mission Avenue in Escondido, known for serving chapulín (grasshopper) tacos and other insect dishes alongside memelitas.
Overview
El Tejate, also called Tejate Oaxacan Restaurant, occupies Suite R at 205 West Mission Avenue in Escondido. It takes its name from tejate, the cacao-and-maize drink of Oaxaca, and its kitchen leans on the cooking of that southern Mexican state rather than on the border-style taco shop formula common in North County. The San Diego Reader described the dining room in 2015 as colorful, loud and frequently packed, and noted that the owner, Lucy, actively encourages diners to try Oaxacan insects and maguey worms.
Menu
The taco most associated with the restaurant is filled with chapulines, the toasted grasshoppers that are a common snack and taco filling in Oaxaca. Dishes made with maguey worms also appear on the menu. Another specialty is the memelita, a thick masa base pinched up at the edges into a shallow bowl and loaded with asiento (unrefined pork lard), black beans, cheese and chorizo, a format the Reader compared to an open-faced taco.
Reviews
Reviews on WikiTacos open at launch. Until then, read what diners say on Google and Yelp.
Google Maps reviewsYelpReferences
- "What makes a great taco?". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 2026-10-10.