Un Mundo Mexican Grill has papas — spicy or non-spicy french fries — as well as chips and five different salsa styles

San Diego has been the starting point for a few successful restaurant chains — Rubio’s, Jack in the Box, and Roberto’s to name just three. Un Mundo Mexican Grill is a new spot in University City that has that lofty goal as well. Based on my experience, it could succeed.

Interior of Un Mundo Mexican Grill in University City

The surf-and-turf salad was enough for two meals.

Vegetable medley bowl

Lime-cilantro tacos

The steak and black-bean burrito

The easy description of Un Mundo is to say it’s a wannabe Chipotle. It’s not inaccurate, but it’s not entirely fair. Basically, a customer picks a protein and chooses whether they want it served as a taco, burrito, salad, or bowl. All are $8.95 plus $1.95 if you want to add a second protein.

I chose a salad with grilled chili-marinated steak and lime-cilantro steak. You can add things such as grilled corn, radish, black beans, or french fries to the entrée. The salad was served with a vinaigrette (I added the fire-roasted salsa as well) and topped with a drizzle of chipotle mayonnaise.

I was happy with my surf-and-turf creation. The steak was tender, but I preferred the tanginess of the shrimp. For about $11, I got a salad that lasted two meals. That never happens. I eat a lot.

My wife, who is mostly vegan (with the exception of eggs), chose to get a bowl with a vegetable medley and lime-cilantro rice ($8.95). The veggies were mostly yellow squash that she felt blended nicely with the rice. I tried one of the pieces of squash and felt it wasn’t quite cooked through. She conceded some pieces were cooked more than others but was satisfied overall. She had leftovers as well.

My daughter ordered shrimp tacos with avocado and found them tasty and filling. My son usually just gets a bean and cheese burrito. This time, he wanted to try his favorite with steak. He liked it okay: The beans were puréed black beans, and he likes refried pinto beans. His slight disappointment didn’t stop him from enjoying the leftovers the next day.

One of the reasons why we were so full was because Un Mundo has spicy french fries (papas) — ($3.50) as an appetizer, which they serve with their chipotle mayonnaise. Really good. A real signature dish.

I’d like to go to Un Mundo again, but University City is a little out of the way for someone in La Mesa and of course there are a lot of great Mexican options in San Diego. However, if they opened up locations closer to where I live, it could become part of the rotation.