Excelente lugar es la segundo vez que lo visito y me encantó aparte ya venden cerveza read more

El Jacalito - Buffet riquísimo - Mexican Near Me - El Monte, California

Friendly service, lots of selection, I enjoyed a chile relleno, pozole, frijoles, rice, chilaquiles, some fruit. The food was home made. Delicious. Only thing I think they could use is a bit more seasoning or a thicker consistency in the salsas/pozole. A little salt goes a long way! Will be back. I will say for someone who has been to Guadalajara grill , this tops that. Guadalajara grill's buffet is over rated and not good. read more

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Worst Mexican food I've ever had. I got the fried fish. It tasted like it was older than my dead grandma. The dinks are not fresh. I had diarrhea after eating here. I wouldn't recommend coming back her even if it was free. The service was okay, very nice old lady. read more

Toda la comida es rica de muy buen sabor ,el servicio exelente las meseras muy amables. 100% recomendado

Burrito (2/5) - better burritos at King Taco, King Torta, Senior Fish, from food trucks, from street vendors, Taco Bell, or Costco's frozen section. I don't know how it's possible for the carne asada meat to be so devoid of any flavor. It's almost tastes like, it's been boiled in water and then colored brown with food coloring and then served. Quesilla (1/5) - same tasteless beef, except this time, it's wrapped in thick and equally tasteless flour. Its almost as thick as sliced bread, maybe half as thick, thicker than pupusas. Shrimp cocktail (3/5) - found it to be acceptable and the best thing here. The sauce is a bit on the sweeter side and that's okay with me. read more

Cute small owned business, kind workers. Got a small pozole and it was good! This place needs more customers!

A lovely smiling señorita as a waitress would be a real asset to this restaurant and a return to food quality as it was when this restaurant first opened . Inconsistent quality and having to put up with a cara de sargento mal pagado (face of an unpaid sergeant) waiting on the tables is too much for me to handle . read more

Great buffet, and regular menu items. Buffets are Saturday and Sunday a variety of Mexican food

Saturday and Sunday buffet it's a great deal beside the delicious food on the buffet for 21.50 includes the drink of your choice really a great place for your dollar and the staff is so friendly and helpful I guarantee that once you try it you will come back it's literally home cooking and more highly recommended read more

The food for the sat & sun brunch is okay. Nothing outta this world. The price for it is reasonable. I enjoy going with the family. Service now at the buffets is kinda annoying, I feel like am begging for food to be serve on my plate. it was better before covid you got what you wanted. read more

The costumer service was horrible and not to mention the place looks run down... wouldn't come here again.

Very friendly ladies. Buffet of Variety of Mexican dishes. Nice little restaurant for the family & friends.

Wonderful place the food is like moms cooking. The salsa was spicy but enticing. Over all everything was very delicious. The staff was friendly and attentive. Even the cook greeted us as we walked in. Wonderful home style and warming place definitely will come back. read more

El Jacalito - Mexican Near Me - El Monte, California

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Do not eat there!!! My husband, 2 kids and I went there on a Saturday. Upon entering we noticed how empty it was, which says a lot, but regardless we decided to stay. We sat for a while before a server brought over some menus, chips and salsa. The chips were stale, the salsa was watery, but it did have a nice spicy kick to it. Our kids ordered chicken tacos with cheese and fries. The fries looked as if they dripped them in oil and served them vs frying them. My other kid and I both got Chile verde with all rice which was a bad choice. The pork was as hard as a rock, the sauce was extremely watery, flavorless, and the handmade tortillas had zero taste as well. My husband got the chicharon in green sauce. The chicharon had a dark green almost unnatural brown color to it. It looked old and rubbery. We ate what we could, which was mainly the rice and asked for the check. The server charged us and when she brought back the receipt and asked for a signature she stood over my husband as he signed and added the tip, which was awkward and rude. You don't do that as a server. It was a horrible experience. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. read more

La mesera Silvia nos trató bien nos atendió bien bonito regresó y nos dijo que si todo estaba bien feliz y me gustó la comida un servicio bien hecho muchas gracias Silvia. Todo bien entre aquí y me dijeron buenas tardes cómo lo puedo atender ahí margaritas Michelada haz y rica comida read more

El Jacalito - Mojara y tstada de jaiva strawberry margarita - Mexican Near Me - El Monte, California

The Sunday brunch was great! Like all the other reviews mentioned, very authentic food and well priced at $13.99 pp I suggest you don't fill your plate up the first go.l because as you're sitting new stuff comes in to replace what was there. So get it if you really want it l, but don't over fill. Another tip. Don't fall for the 2 for 1 orange juice special, it was $10.00 for two glasses of orange juice. It was fresh squeezed and very delicious but overpriced. read more

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This decor is fugly. The parking lot is small. Sometimes it takes forever to get your food. Sometimes the cook is lazy. The water is sick - cloudy with bubbles and they have the nerve to put a damn lemon slice in it. ugh. I am not a fan of sodas or other tasty beverages while eating but I will occasionally have one here. I got Jamaica. It was so sweet I ordered the cloud water. We all ordered chilaquiles. If you don't know what they are - google it. I don't feel like explaining it. There are pics. They were tasty. read more

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Went there for dinner in the middle of the week. The interior is quite large, but we were the only customers during the entire time we were there. Nevertheless, we grabbed a table, and the proprietress brought us some menus and began by serving us a very large helping of chips and salsa. We ordered the carnitas gordita ($4) and the large order of beef caldo (soup; $7). The gordita itself was freakin' huge with tons of meat, lettuce, sour cream, etc. The caldo was good, though not exactly exciting, but the rice it came with was tasty. It was quite difficult finishing the caldo, as the meat in the soup was pretty heavy, and the sides of tortillas and rice were extensive. Service was nice and friendly; couldn't ask for anything more. Everything was very reasonably priced. It is definitely worth exploring the rest of their menu. read more

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REAL MEXICAN FOOD!!! Their carne asada tacos SMACK! I wish they had more different salsas tho!

Close to work so we pop in once a month or so. Always quiet and plenty of space if we go as a group. Service is very friendly, not always the fastest but I think we only notice bc we're on a time crunch when we go at the lunch hour. Good portion sizes. Great gorditas and soup. read more

My favorite Mexican food restaurant in El Monte The tastes is alway on point. And a Excellent price point. very inexpensive, and very good customer service. read more

Ive been here a couple times with family and friends and its always nice to see the same faces. The staff is very friendly and look happy to see you. Ive been there only on weekends and the buffet area look appetizing. I always order straight from the menu. Ive had the chilakiles (I think thats how its spelled) red and gree and they both were very tasty. The sauce is homemade. I have also had the wet burrito with red sauce and again very good. The sauce was not very spicy but I dont think its supposed to be. The meat I chose was asada even though its not as an option on the menu. They also have a huge variety of drink. The service was great and the prices even more. I will definitely come here again and will bring more friends and family when I can. read more

Good morning breakfast , Buffet had a good Variety of good home style food. Highly recommend El Jacalito. Like bringing the wife we both enjoy there food and service. read more

El Jacalito - Taquitos dorados really good and everything else in there menu - Mexican Near Me - El Monte, California

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omfg the best fish tacos around fo shizzle! I still have yet to try anything else on the menu because I can't stop grubbin on them halibut fish tacos!! Price is very reasonable too. Only thing to keep in mind is their hours are shortened on mondays. Definitely must come back, over and over again! read more

I've came here a few times with the family. Food is fair. Love the coffee. However, just realized how much they've increased the prices smh especially on the drinks/beer. Menus says one thing and they charge you another. read more

Came here to try the food out and the food was horrible and service was even worse. You can tell they reuse the food from days ago. Will never be coming here again. read more

I genuinely like El Jacalito. It's a small local restaurant that serves up good Mexican food. I especially love their Sunday buffet $11/adult (drinks included). A big plus to El Jacalito for serving hot fresh handmade tortillas. The beans and rice are delicious and certainly pass my taste test. For the buffet, El Jacalito also serves up chicken molé, steamed vegetables, potato tacos, gorditas, bacon, etc. there are also lots of great sides like pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread), flan, fruit, salad, salsas, and much more. They also have soups like menudo and pozole available with all the goodies to go with it. Overall, El Jacalito is a good restaurant that is always satisfying when every other restaurant on a Sunday morning is too crowded and all you want to do is sit, eat, repeat, and leave :) read more

My girlfriend and I were craving some Mexican food and we thought we should try one of the million Mexican Restaurants in El Monte. We ended up at El Jacalito on Valley Blvd. We walked in and the place was a ghost town. Every time I walk in to a restaurant that is empty, I worry. We were seated and given the menus. Prices seemed pretty reasonable for the location. My girlfriend ordered the "chorizo con huevos" served with rice and beans and I ordered the "carnitas" with rice and beans. The rice and beans were pretty good. The rice was fresh and the beans were also fresh plus they were not canned beans. Tip: canned beans start turning more brown than they are already after they start getting cold. The chorizo for the eggs were a little old. Seems like they cooked them again on the pan rather than just heating them up. They were a little burnt and charred. I would have not noticed that they were old if they were to just heat them up in the micro. On the other hand, my carnitas seemed old as well. It seemed like they mixed a way old batch with a not so old batch. I love carnitas and I know when they are fresh. If you have been to "Blanquitas" on Valley Blvd, you will know what I am talking about. Since we did not eat most of our food we decided to give dessert a shot. My girlfriend ordered flan and I ordered cheesecake. The cheesecake was good and it is similar to the Yoshinoya's cheesecake. My girlfriends flan was gross. It did not look edible and it was not edible. The flan looked very old. It was dark brown and very rubbery. I do not understand why it was even served in the first place. It was sitting on cranberry sauce that tasted like nyquil. Why is flan sitting on cranberry sauce? My cheesecake should have been sitting on that sauce. But good thing it wasn't since it was awful. My girlfriend decided to exchange the flan for a "fresas con crema", strawberries and cream. I wasn't sure which one was worse, the "flan" or "fresas con crema" . I was expecting these big red strawberries drizzled with cream. Well, she got a big bowl of soup. This soup consisted of watered down strawberry yogurt with 3 or 4 sliced strawberries. Now I know why they tried hiding those strawberries in a deep bowl of soup. They were old and mushy. So this was not edible either. She should have chosen the cheesecake. So finally, we waited for our check. We ended up going to the register since they were taking long. We go up there and told the waitress/owner that we are ready to pay and that the strawberries and cream were no good and did not want to pay for them. I would have understood if we did not like the taste of the dessert, but the dessert was old. Rudely she said we had already exchange once so we were getting charged anyway. So I give her my card since I didn't want to argue with her and got the hell out of there as fast as I could. Well, not fast but you get the idea. I will never go back there again. The food and customer service was terrible. You have been warned. read more

Omg what can I say their caldo is amazing, their shrimp cocktails are amazingly good. Dont let the outside fool you. And their quesadillas are big and yummy read more

This restaurant has very good food but the actual restaurant is kind of unattractive. They should definitely consider remodeling or at least hire an interior designer. The restaurant is really boring. The outside looks super simple. Nothing that jumps out at you while driving. Some nice landscaping or professional sign work on the actual building might do the trick. The inside of the restaurant is even worse than the outside. The carpet seems very old and looks almost worn out. The tables look like they can use a little help with repair or even upgrading to a bit more modern. Nothing over powering since this place is going for the Mexican theme. Parking is great. Lots of space in the lot and out on the street. read more

Despite the exterior of this restaurant looking like you were going to step into a jail cell to visit one of your friends/family members that may have did some wrong, The quality of the food here is AMAZING. My roommate and I come here all the time when were craving some authentic mexican food. The servers are very attentive, their homemade salsa is always fresh and their Horchata is amazing! If you're looking for a place where you want the quality of the food more than what the restaurant looks like then you should come here! :) read more

I just recently came here earlier for brunch / lunch and it was our first time trying it. I usually go to the el taquito place next year and I cannot believe that out of all those years I been going to the place next door... Never had tried it and finally did today and I would come back again. Staff was very friendly and constantly asking us if we needed anything. Its $11.00 included with drinks what's not to love? Its crazy that mostly a lot of places like these that has a little hole in the wall they are the best ones. They have a little variety of everything. Its not the fanciest place. They also have a little desert table on the side with flan, jello, pan dulce and other little things as well. I was truly surprised in this place. Excellent service I would wanna try it one more time for 5 stars instead of 4. Its a definitely must try if you're ever in the neighborhood. read more

Packing for to go could be better. It was so messy. I ordered the queso fundido con camaron and once I arrived at home it was so messy. They just gimme the styrofoam to go order, could be better like gimme the plastic one. Taste okay. It doesn't come any any tortilla or chips. You have to order extra if you some read more

This place has many yummy home made Mexican dishes to offer and at good/ fair prices. Service is great! Everyone is very nice and welcoming. read more

Best mexican food ever at great prices need to have the green enchiladas or the combination plate that has a chile relleno enchilada and hard shell taco or the agua chile read more

El Jacalito - Delicious enchiladas verdes - Mexican Near Me - El Monte, California

Went for the Sunday Brunch and was ridiculous disappointed. The food was ok but you shouldn't do a buffet if you can't manage the setup 1. Aside from the buffet they have made to order French toast, eggs and Quesadillas. Problem is I ordered eggs and they came at the end of my meal. They are so disorganized that it takes forever and there is one waitress serving the whole restaurant. 2. They also don't have a set menu on the buffet so you don't know what to expect when you get up there. I went up once and they had Mole, Chinese Brocoli Chicken and Potato Salad?! Dafuq?! 3. There are certain items that should be cold. Potato salad, ceviche, fruits and quite frankly aren't even on ice. 4. The utensils are all in a tray so when a little girls walks up with her greasy hands they all get dirty. 5. Speaking of dirty there are no sneeze guards so when people cough it goes on the food. Overall the food is decent but it doesn't make up for how dirty and terrible the service is. Even if the above was great the food w read more

Surprisingly good mexican buffet on Sundays. For 13 dollars for adults, you get a variety of items from rice and beans to tamales, menudo, pozole, papas con chirizo. They have the aguas chile (shrimp cocktail in a spicy liquid) ceviche and a host of other mexican dishes. Cheaper for kids which is a plus for those with families to feed. Kids will like the dessert bar with jello and fresh fruit, flan and pan dulce. If you want beat the crowds, come around 1pm. read more

Looking for somewhere to eat and saw this deserted place, didn't think it was open but the sign said it was. Read the reviews and so GLAD we stopped. The food is delicious, potions are big. My husband and I chose from the breakfast menu, two margaritas, two bud lights and the total was $31.15. This is a must stop when in the city of El Monte. read more

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Homemadr tortillas salsa a little on the hot side bit plenty of flavor the chips were nice amd warm the burrito wasnt soggy .If ypir im the area i highly recommend this great home cooking meal. read more

El Jacalito - Mexican Near Me - El Monte, California

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First time there and disappointed. Food is mediacore and just ok. Prices were decent but I didn't appreciate that I ordered a diet soda and they charged me 4.00 although menu said 1.50. Waitress never asked if I wanted can or fountain. Mgr then told me that they were 5.00 at which point I asked to see menu again and she lied. Never again. read more