ORTEGA'S, A MEXICAN BISTRO, the Hillcrest rice 'n' beanery co-owned by a member of the family that built Puerto Nuevo into Baja's celebrated "lobster village," has regained its status as best upscale Mexican house (good mom 'n' poppers abound) thanks to new chef Liliaana Naverette. She pinpoints flavors like she's been cooking all her life — which she pretty much has — and isn't afraid to season south-of-the-border style, so that the chile-sharpened shrimp ceviche makes norteno mouths beg — for more. Tortilla soup can be dazzling when made right, as it so rarely is in this town, and Navarette's sparkles like an Aztec diadem. With Puerto Nuevo made a little distant by over-the-border uncertainties, it's good to have this one in our back yard...
— DISH by David Nelson, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine