In search of San Diego's fattest California burritos
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
As California burritos are getting more expensive — and seemingly smaller — we wanted to see which San Diego spots are serving up the biggest, beefiest burritos.
The big picture: We found that some local burritos are getting bigger and defying "shrinkflation," a bummer of a trend where businesses reduce sizes to save costs and keep prices the same or even raise them.
Dig in: In a highly scientific study fueled by hunger, we weighed the local staple at eight taco shops around San Diego using personal kitchen scales.
- We found the fattest burrito at Nico's Mexican Food, which weighed in at 1 pound, 7.9 ounces.
- It barely beat out the burrito at The Taco Stand (1 pound, 7.5 ounces), which boasts the best price per ounce in town, according to this study.
By the numbers: Here's how other taco shops stack up.
- Lolita's Mexican Food: 1 pound, 5.9 ounces.
- Harry's Taco Club: 1 pound, 5.6 ounces.
- Super Sergio's: 1 pound, 3.7 ounces.
- Roberto's Taco Shop: 1 pound, 3.2 ounces.
- Lucha Libre Taco Shop: 1 pound, 2.6 ounces.
- Cancun Mexican and Seafood: 1 pound, 0.9 ounces.
Caveat: We couldn't hit every spot in the city for budget and health reasons, so there certainly may be some heavy hitters around San Diego that outweigh these ones.
Between the lines: Our research for the fattest burrito began in 2023, so we revisited a few spots in 2026 and compared weights.
- Despite the dreaded shrinkflation we're all living through, the California burritos at Harry's, The Taco Stand and Lolita's actually got a few ounces heavier over the past few years.
The bottom line: In this economy, size matters when it comes to San Diego's beloved California burrito.