Restaurants
129 E. Mission Road, Fallbrook
History
Family turns home cooking into two restaurants
Estrella’s Restaurant and Cantina is one of Fallbrook’s most popular restaurants, but there’s always been one major complaint: It’s too small. Locals knew if you weren’t there by 5:30 p.m., you’d be waiting for dinner outside on a bench.
“It’s so small we can barely get our whole family in there,” says Carlos Estrella, 26, who runs the restaurant with his brother, Frankie.
For years, the brothers dreamed of adding a larger second restaurant. In mid-September they finally did, taking over the former Valley Fort Steakhouse site on Mission Road. It’s actually the third Estrella’s restaurant. In 2002, Ramiro and Imelda Estrella, Frankie and Carlos’ parents, opened one in Bonsall, but that place has since closed.
The new Casa Estrella has six times more dining area, a bar as large as the original restaurant, and a massive parking lot that’s packed most every night. There’s even an indoor stage for live music and an outdoor area for events.
It’s a brand-new dining experience, but in a back corner of the massive lot is a rusting reminder of how the family business began: a cracked metal base to a barrel-sized pot that Ramiro used for cooking carnitas in the family’s backyard before there were any Estrella’s restaurants.