Miguel's Cocina

While MooTime pulls the post-beach families with waffle cones, Miguel's owns the after-bridge-crossing meal — the spot where you settle into a table on Orange Avenue and order something smothered in cheese without overthinking it. This isn't haute Mexican; it's the Southern California mini-chain formula done well: chimichangas the size of a boot, enchiladas draped in sauce, shrimp burritos that show up hot and heavy. The kind of place where the nachos arrive at the table as a given, not a debate.

The real draw is the happy hour, which runs aggressive specials and pulls the Navy Town crowd early — officers still in khakis, locals who know the white sauce is the sleeper star of the chips-and-salsa spread. The shrimp burrito gets mentioned in reviews like a reliable friend; the ceviche apparently hits harder than you'd expect from a chain. Beef tacos earn their keep. The vegetarian enchiladas show up presented nicely but tasting, per one visitor, "about average" — fair enough when you're playing to a crowd that wants familiar, not experimental.

The patio seating gives you Orange Avenue people-watching with heat lamps for when the marine layer rolls in. Service runs fast and friendly; this is a place built for turnover without making you feel rushed. Parking's the usual Coronado lottery, but you're close enough to the ferry landing to walk it off.

Go for the queso, stay for the Moopie at MooTime afterward. Order the white sauce. Don't expect revelations — expect a solid Cal-Mex meal in a town where "bustling" and "chain" somehow still feel neighborhood.