Is El Indio Still Open? Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Update (San Diego, CA)

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 2, Episode 9 Aired November 23, 2007

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured El Indio, a Mexican restaurant on India Street in San Diego, on the episode "Family Owned" (aired 2007-11-23), highlighting the restaurant's rolled tacos and made-to-order Mexican classics at a family-owned counter-service spot. El Indio has operated in San Diego for decades and is a well-known name in the city's Mexican food scene. The restaurant's own website, elindiosandiego.com, is live, includes an online-ordering feature, and headlines the business as "Celebrating 86 Years" -- consistent with the 1940 founding date commonly associated with the restaurant reaching 2026. The combination of a working, orderable current website and the year-count on its homepage indicates El Indio remains open under the same name at the same India Street location where it appeared on the show.

Food Paradise, Season 4, Episode 20 Aired 2013

Food Paradise's 2013 'Mexican Food Paradise' episode (Season 4, Episode 20) featured El Indio, a longtime San Diego Mexican restaurant on India Street known for rolled tacos and other made-to-order Mexican fast food, according to its own website. The restaurant's site, checked September 8, 2026, described the business as celebrating 86 years in operation and listed current hours alongside a heating-instructions guide for its packaged, take-home food line, according to elindiosandiego.com.