Lovely restaurant in Balboa Park, Latin So Cal cuisine

Reservation worked perfectly. We were greeted and seated about 5 minutes later. Initial service was good - friendly server.

However, food was not so great. My friend who ordered tortilla soup said the chicken was tough and she wasn't even sure what it was. My other friend who ordered a salad with shrimp said the shrimp was overcooked. And, my salad came without the hazelnuts. I had to flag down the server to get that corrected.

It was a crowded night before a play and the service after our order was taken was slow. And, as I said above, I had to flag down the server. Also, once our food came my friends wanted a glass of wine, but by the time I flagged down the server they weren't in the mood any longer - having eaten half of their entrees.

It's a lovely setting and good for a casual lunch or happy hour. But, I can't recommend dinner in the dining room. It leaves much to be desired.

Fun night. Excellent service

Atmosphere, service and food were great. Beautiful day in the park! Best skinny margarita ever.

We always plan lunch at the Prado when visiting the city
Festive atmosphere, nice menu, good service

We have dined at The Prado many times and the service, food and ambience have always been top notch. Great food selections and they have added some excellent draft beers.

Great service and food as always. They never disappoint!

Superb ambiance!

After living in San Diego for many years we finally had the opportunity to try this wonderful restaurant. We were seated on the back patio and the scenery was beautiful with a wonderful view overlooking the south end of the park and the organ pavilion. I ordered the hibiscus margarita and was okay, but not as flavorful as I had hoped. We started off with an appetizer of the spicy calamari fries since they came highly recommended by a friend and now I know why. They were incredible! They were tender and flavorful and not at all chewy as some calamari tends to be. I would consider it a must try for anyone dining here. For the entrée we ordered the mustard pork chop and the seafood paella. The Porkchop was very tender and flavorful and came with a side of mashed potatoes and vegetables. The seafood paella was by far my favorite. It included scallops, clams, shrimp, mussels, and a very tasty chorizo and was served piping hot. I would order this again when we go back. Since we were celebrating a birthday, we were surprised with a cheesecake flan with fresh strawberries and raspberries that was light and delicious. The service was wonderful here as well. The server was attentive but not overbearing and provided a nice pace to our meal. Pricing here is on the higher side but worth what you get. We used our dining passport card here and received one meal free and the total bill came to $72 for two. This includes the additional 3% service charge that is common at all Cohen restaurants. I would reserve The Prado for special occasions such as an anniversary or birthday. All in all, I would definitely recommend The Prado to friends and family and will definitely be back.

We had theater tickets and told the waiter who said no problem he would have our food in plenty of time but the food took an hour to come out of the kitchen and one order was wrong. We had five minutes to eat. It was a stressful meal and I will never return to this restaurant.

Come here for the ambiance and setting right in Balboa Park. But I’d suggest making this an appetizer and drink type of place - not worth the gamble of staying for the meal. Food was very average and forgettable. You’ll do better elsewhere.

Celebrated 2 birthdays before going to theatre. Our server was outstanding. She brought us both a birthday dessert. Food was delicious.

The Prado is a beautiful, authentic restaurant - well worth going there just to see it. The service was very good, as was most of the food (well cooked, with one exception, and reasonably sized portions). The only drawbacks/shortcomings were a side order of Brussels sprouts that were improperly cooked and rubbery (which the restaurant took off the bill) and martinis that were served close enough to room temperature to require ice to be added - we mentioned this to our waiter when ordering a second round, but the second round was only a little colder - pretty clearly a bartender who doesn't know how to make martinis! Overall, though, the great ambiance, the authentic decor, the quality of the other food, the portions and the quality of the service more than made up for a couple of shortcomings.

Arrived late and was still seated upon arrival. Dinner was pre show and the server worked very hard to get our food out as soon as possible. The wine and the meal were delicious and the staff worked politely and efficiently to make sure our meal was quick but not rushed and we even made it in time to see the show at the Old Globe. We also came back for a drink and dessert after the show and there was live entertainment in the bar. Will definitely be back soon!

Our waitress was somewhat brain dead but overall the Tuesday night date special was an excellent deal. Even though we booked as a special occasion (birthday) our waitress could not supply a gluten free dessert option and never came back with an alternate suggestion

The salmon was good, but please add fish tacos to the dinner menu.

We always try and go to The Prado when in San Diego. It is always wonderful especially if we can sit outside if the weather is good. We particularly like the mojitos but both my husband and I were disappointed this time. This was a first as we have been coming here for years. We did enjoy the steak tacos. Always wonderfully prepared and delicious...

Divorce celebration

The Prado quality has fallen from great to below average. The pork chop is now just the next cut off the rack, so expect it dry and over cooked . The chicken in pasta was bland and chicken was dry. This was an early seating (6pm), so no excuse for over cooked food being served on a Saturday evening. Deserts and service are still excellent.

The food was great and the waitress was great. Love her personality

Had dinner on a Saturday evening fairly early. Other than the stellar customer service I would have given the Prado 2 stars at best.

For the arm and a leg that the Prado charges for the food, one would think we would have left begging for more. Sadly, our table felt otherwise. The paella was basically dry rice, chicken (also dry) and a lot of chorizo. There was one bit of fish and zero lobster. And this is one of their banner meals?

My husband had the short ribs which he did not finish. He said it too, was dry and unflavorful. After we left he stopped by Subway to get a sandwich.

Did I mention the service though? It was great and she did a great job tending to our needs and seemed to enjoy working there.
Not enough to make us want to go back unfortunately.

Our server Dominic, was outstanding. The setting, on the rear terrace was lovely. The food was fine and predictable.

Food was incredible with great portions. Hey guys the hostess team needs to smile and be more friendly. My waitress was good my complaint is for the hostess.

Excellent experience. Highly recommended.

Gourmet food, beautiful presentation. Friendly staff but not intrusive. Lovely decore.

Can’t beat the location. Great service. Food was good not great. Beautiful patio setting. Liked the sangria.

The food in Prado is just OK. If you want to have some really good food, it’s not here. I reserved one table for 3 persons, the table is very small for 3 persons and it’s not a very clean restaurant. Basically, I will not return.

The hummus and flatbread were wonderful! The wait time for our meals seemed very long. My mahi mahi was over cooked. Our server finally came to check on us, brought me new, delicious fish. We were visiting from out of town, were disappointed.

The mustard crusted pork chop was amazing, also the wedge salad was pretty yummy

One of our favorite PLACES if ever in the park or as destination.

Our server Noelle was amazing! Outstanding service and good quality of food. To be honest, we did not expect much from such a touristic location, but our experience was superb! Would love to go there again when in SD!

I love this restaurant! They have great food and the service is always excellent! Great place after the theatre. Will come back again and again.

Excellent, we go when in the area. This is a cut above restaurants usually found in public spaces. Creative cuisine and very imaginative plating.

BEAUTIFUL building and decorations. Very good service and wonderful food. A totally San Diego experience! We will definitely return next trip to San Diego.

Such an amazing and wonderful experience. Well worth it! Food was absolutely delicious (not a bite left on the plate). The calamari fries and sea bass are an absolute must! James (our server) was on point and made our experience exceed all expectations. Can’t wait for our next visit!

The food and service were both outstanding. I was very pleased with the ambiance and decor. Would definitely go back again.

Took us early for our reservation, sat at a shaded table on the outside patio. My steak panini was delicious, as was my daughter's chopped chicken salad. Sangria and hibiscus margarita were perfect as well. Only snag in service was that we waited at bar for our table as we were early, and ordered drinks and instead of transferring the drink tab to our table, we were asked to close it out before we moved.

It was Re good, great food and fantastic service.

Chili relleno was absolutely divine!! We will be back to sample other delicious sounding items on the menu.

Great spot in a great place! Sit outside if it’s warm!