Huge portions for a great price. Food tasted really great, and the service was A1. The ambiance, decorations, and artwork was a nice touch. Thank you all the way from Illinois read more

Coming back to this review having given it 5 stars whilst drinking on the outside patio with not enough will to write a review. I come back months later and will honor my 5 stars for the following reasons: They have tamarindo (while I thought I was ordering a tamarind margarita, I got tamarind soda inside a drink)! A star for effort. They also allow dogs on the patio... plus two stars. As for the food slightly above average than some "authentic" Mexican restaurants. read more

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Awesome authentic refreshing Mexican restaurant.. staff was attentive it was Clean and the decor was amazing . The food did not disappoint. It was fresh and tasted awesome. read more

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(From my Google Review) I love the place. Great great food. Highly recommend. And they really give you plenty. The service is very focused and professional. You're definitely here for the food though, and you won't be disappointed. I'll be back regularly! read more

I didn't expect much. Not a lot of genuine Mexican food around here, and it's so close to a tourist location (the Ark). I was pleasantly surprised. Service was excellent as was the food. I would recommend. read more

Hands down the best Mexican food ever. We went there the last day at the Ark! Best seafood and chicken fajita ever! Seafood fajita Jalisco fajita was delicious. Great service. We had cheese dip and they provided chips and salsa. Each plate came with Guacamole, rice, beans, lettuce. Next time we come to KY again we will come here again. Restaurant is very colorful and cute. I'm a great cook so hard to find a place that wows me is rare. This place was simply delicious!. read more

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They would have had 5 stars , the food was excellent and the portions were over the top but they brought my food out but didn't bring my wife's out for 5 minutes after that, not good eating while the wife sits and waits but she didn't want me to wait and let mine get cold. read more

Their food was descent and they give a huge amount. Beware the cheese...it isnt always shredded cheese but a white liquid queso - not what one is used to in CA. It's helpful to speak Spanish. read more

Great Mexican food! The food and the service was amazing! We came to visit the Ark Encounter and found this little gem within walking distance of our hotel! read more

Great authentic Mexican food at a very reasonable price. I'd come back and would recommend it to anyone in the area. read more

El Jalisco - Restaurant seating - Mexican Near Me - Williamstown, Kentucky

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The food was authentic and the portions were huge. The service was excellent and always a few steps ahead of our needs

Fast service and delicious food. The Carnitas were the most flavorful carnitas I've had in a LONG time! The beef enchiladas were really really good! The Fajitas smelled fantastic as they walked past us to deliver them to their table. If you are in the area, especially at the Ark Encounter, it's worth eating dinner here. read more

GREAT food! Tables make it a bit crowded but the food made you forget. Had a yummy margarita also! Eat here for sure!!

THIS PLACE IS ABSOLUTELY NASTY! Do NOT believe the other reviews. All 4 orders were WRONG. 1. THE SHRIMP SMELLED LIKE DEAD FISH. 2. The tortillas were old, tough and stuck together. Inedible! 3. Tacos were so salty they were inedible. 4. Green enchiladas were messed up. Asked for a grilled jalapeño and then dumped canned sliced peppers all over the plate. 5. The canned "scallops " were tough and tasted like they were spoiled. For God sakes, DO NOT EAT HERE! read more

Came here after our visit to the Ark. The michelada hit the spot since it was hot! Carnitas were good and the molcajete was also good. Overall good flavor. Service was fast and waiters are polite. read more

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I ordered shrimp cocktail and it was delicious they gave me so much and I couldn't eat it all, service was great

Food was hot and delicious. Two thumbs up for their Chorri Pollo & Arroz con Pollo. The service was attentive and courteous. Very busy, but everyone was on their A game. Ambiance was festive, yet inviting. Was visiting from out of town, and enjoyed our choice of dining here. read more

My husband I have been traveling around the United States for about 5 months now. When we want to go out for a meal we look on YELP for places to consider. Well we were in Williamstown, KY. and wanted some ideas for places to eat. El Jalisco was suggested on Trip Advisor and also received great reviews on YELP. Being from Southern California we really miss having delicious Mexican food so we were really excited about dining there. We arrived at the restaurant around 3:00pm. The restaurant had only a few tables that we could see. When we walked in, there wasn't anyone to greet us. A few minutes went by and someone came through the host/hostess area. Didn't acknowledge us. A couple minutes later someone finally came to seat us. Not much interaction. Just seated us and gave us menus. A few minutes later we get chips, salsa, and some other dip for the chips. Not good at all. The chips may as well been thin card board. Then the server finally comes over and asks "drinks?" The menu has a lot to offer but it all sounds so gross. After going over their very large menu I finally ordered a Steak burrito. It came with lots of steak, some beans and onions and if I remember correctly, cheese. Sounds good, right? It was gross. The steak was flavorless and rubbery and barely any of the other ingredients I mentioned. It was overkill on the rubbery steak. My husband ordered enchiladas rancheras. He didn't finish them. They topped them with pork which is not the norm for enchiladas rancheras. Most importantly, the food just isn't good and the service was cold and very rushed. Afterwards we went down town Williamstown to walk through some of the small businesses there. While talking with a local, she said that the locals don't eat at El Jalisco because it's the training restaurant for another restaurant the owners have in the next town over. Needless to say, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS RESTAURANT! read more

Everything on menu is on point !! Large portions and awesome atmosphere!! Service is great!! Busy business means they are doing something right!! read more

Fabulous food and massive portions! Fresh ingredients. We loved it! We got the fajitas for 2 and had enough for 8 meals. The chargrilling on the meat was tasty, lots of good sauteed veggies and refried beans and sour cream. We came here after visiting the Ark. The outside (and even the inside) look kind of dumpy. We are from California where there are tons of Mexican restaurants, but this is probably the best we've eaten in. read more

We stopped at this restaurant near the Ark Encounter after a morning at the Ark. The exterior of the restaurant is not much to look at. It is located by a shady hotel and has a small parking lot but the 99 out of 100 health department score posted on the door helped alleviate my worries. The interior is brightly decorated with an assortment of booth and tables, some of the tables are big enough to accommodate groups of 10. Our server was prompt and provided us with drinks, chips, salsa and some sort of creamy ranch for dipping. Service got a little slow after initial contact with the server as we had to repeatedly ask for refills but he took our orders in a timely manner. I ordered the Jalisco Chicken, my wife ordered the burritos camarone, my daughter got a kids meal with a soft taco and rice and beans, my oldest son got a steak burrito covered with cheese, and my youngest son ordered nachos supreme. My father ordered arroz con pollo. Both the arroz con pollo and chicken Jalisco came with veggies, rice and tortillas. I think I was more excited for broccoli after a week of vacation eating junk than anything else. My youngest son's nacho supreme was huge but they forgot to take the tomatoes off, so he had to pick them off. No one else had any complaints as all the food was well prepared and the portions were large. There are no lunch options on the weekend only dinner portions. For example, my Jalisco Chicken was a chicken breast covered with shrimp, ham, pineapple, onions and cheese. The plate also had sautéed veggies and rice. When we were done, we had to track down our server to pay but the manager was super helpful and got us checked out. read more

El Jalisco - Nachos Supreme (it was loaded with ground beef) - Mexican Near Me - Williamstown, Kentucky

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This place is vibrant and has great music playing. The fajitas for two are huge. Prices are great. Their server is very friendly. read more

El Jalisco - Fajitas for two! - Mexican Near Me - Williamstown, Kentucky

Sooo full!! We stayed next door at Hampton Inn and the gal recommended She said great food, large portions and good prices. She was right. Who knew you could find amazing Mexican in Kentucky read more

El Jalisco - More art work - Mexican Near Me - Williamstown, Kentucky

Best Mexican food in Grant County! Service is always spectacular and they are always so welcoming! T read more

Good service. The restaurant is actually quite nice. But the food is so lame and flavorless. The chips and salsa are not very tasty or good. Then I got steak fajitas and I just could not enjoy it. The steak seemed like roadkill and there was just no flavor. Sorry but I won't be back. read more

The food was pretty good, the place was packed so I feel it could be expanded and could've gotten more seating, and it was well decorated.

Chicken cheese and rice is good. Longggggg wait but we also had nine people so I expected this. Very Mexican with bright colors. Got to put down my food and eat some cheese dip now. read more

Service was okay. Not a lot of room for bigger parties and do not try to make room they just separate you into three tables. They had salsa and this other weird white sauce they brought to the table (it tasted like a sweet ranch?) Chips and Caso were good the rice was HORRIBLE like mush. I will not be back read more

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8 of us stopped in in a busy Friday night. Parking lot is snug and a bit challenging! Only had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. Small bar, but quite a bit of table seating. Food was flavorful and HUGE servings at a reasonable price. Chips were good; salsa was pretty tame. Decent service and quick food delivery. Like that they have a Skinny Margarita and I do recommend it! read more

Good customer service Fresh food and very affordable. We ended here after a full day at the Ark encounter. read more

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Date of visit: Dec 28, 2023 early afternoon. We were in town visiting the Ark Encounter and didn't want to wait the 1 hour to eat at their buffet. We decided to try out El Jalisco. Thank heavens we made that decision. We entered the restaurant and we're immediately seated. Some chips, salsa and a white dipping sauce were brought out. The star in this trio was the white sauce. I have no idea what it was made out of and the combo of flavors had me baffled because of how each flavor hits your taste buds. Once you get started dipping your chips, you can't stop. They seriously need to bottle this stuff and sell it all over the United States in stores. It would be a fabulous sauce over many things. I would put it's flavor in the top 4 sauces I have ever tried in my 52 years of life. Yes! It is that good. Even the wife who rarely likes anything outside of her choosy pool of foods, liked it quite a bit. The interior decor and furnishings of the restaurant, in my opinion, are absolutely stunning in its artistry. The entire restaurant has unique scenes of life in Mexico portrayed in vivid colors, and expression. The chairs, and benches do as well. None of these repeat and are all unique. The tile panels and pictures as well. I wish I had a few hours to go through the restaurant before it opened and take pictures of all of them. They are truly that beautiful and unique. The staff and servers were very nice and helpful. I ordered their non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri. It had some whipped cream and a cherry on top. Superb flavor, consistency. I rarely order more than one of something like these drinks, if I even have one at all. I finished it super quickly and ordered another. While walking in going to our table, I looked to see what others already there are eating. While passing each table I immediately noticed one consistent pattern, each of the entrees had huge, and I mean absolutely huge portions of food on each plate. They all looked fantastic. I truly didn't realize how much I under estimated the portion size. One particular entree caught my attention on the way in. The server said it was called Parrillada. I ordered the single portion size. Let me stop here and clarify something. I am a big guy, 6'5 and can knock down a plate of food at 99% of restaurants like it's a tiny appetizer. I often order a couple entrees due to smaller portion sizes. They brought out the Parrillada and I then truly realized just how much was on the sizzling cast iron plate. I had 3 very large tortillas with meat and toppings and I had to call it quits. Now granted I had already had chips, the strawberry daiquiris, but I couldn't eat any more. I looked down at the plate and I hadn't even put a dent in the plate of meat and veggies. Not only did it look great, but it also tasted fantastic. I boxed up our leftovers and brought them back to our hotel. I truly wish I could transport this restaurant to our city or any major city. They were super busy already, but in a major city, I guarantee you this restaurant wood have a major wait time. Eventually you would need to reserve days ahead of time. Do yourself one of the best things you can do for yourself if you are visiting this area, and get your butt to El Jalisco and have a meal here. Thank you for a fantastic meal, great service, and some of the most unique and beautiful down to earth daily life art work I've viewed almost anywhere. read more

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You better go hungry the portion sizes are huge even for a big guy like me. The decor is festive and the service was great. We had fajitas for 2 and it was enough for a family of 4. Very good food. read more

Absolutely delicious food, portions were huge , clean environment, the fast service was great. The California burrito was so tasty! They care about the customers a lot, thank you! definitely recommend this place. read more

The food was excellent service was quick. And the ambulance is not too loud to enjoy dinner. Dinner with our family down the street from the hotel. read more

El Jalisco - At our table - Mexican Near Me - Williamstown, Kentucky

We were staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites at the Ark Encounter in KY and El Jalisco is right down the street so we went there for dinner. The parking lot is rough for a wheelchair but when we got inside, the waiters and the manager were so nice to us. There is no handicap access so if you're in a wheelchair coming alone, getting in the door will be tough. But the place was bright with a Mexican motif, clean and not expensive. They had soft Mexican music playing in the background adding to the ambiance, which I like. The food was excellent, and you get a lot, so much so that we took leftovers back to our hotel room. I have to be gluten and dairy free and although I can't vouch that it is a safe environment for those with these sensitivities, I will say that they accommodated my requests and I didn't get sick. We had been to this restaurant before a couple of years ago and it is still a very good place to eat for individuals and for families. The place was packed and no wonder. The food is excellent, the service is great and the price of what you order is so reasonable. We will definitely come back to this restaurant the next time we visit the Ark Encounter. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for authentic Mexican food. read more

I would say they need some mats or something it was extremely slick in a crowded resturant. Food was pretty good, we got some shrimp fajitas and some fried ice cream afterwards. Can't complain much. Service was great, drinks were good. Overall good experience! read more

Wonderful food and lots of it! Don't miss it if you are visiting the Ark 8 different dishes ordered and all were delicious

We stopped at El Jalisco after a day at the Ark. The carnitas were the best we ever had. We live in California and never thought we would find the best Mexican food we ever had in Williamstown Kentucky. Go figure. If you like spicy salsa ask the server for the hotter one. It's not for the faint of heart. read more

Great place to dine near the Ark Encounter Food and prices are family friendly, location and decor are awesome. Worth the visit Try the Molcaje Especial or the carne asada Lots of room and easy parking read more

Fantastic food! Served fresh and hot!!!! Very attentive staff even when very busy. Warm chips are served with salsa and a fabulous, slightly spicy white dipping sauce. Never tasted before in a Mex restaurant, it resembles ranch/jalapeno dressing with a sweet, spicy finish. YUM!! The strawberry frozen and house margs were freshly made but light on the tequila. Great taste, though. Chicken quesadilla is huge tortilla chocked full of shredded chicken and cheese then grilled. Def enough to share, took half home. My sis ordered grilled chicken and vegetables topped w cheese sauce. Absolutely fantastic!!! The building is garishly painted outside but don't let that deter you from enjoying the best Mexican food ever! Ellen read more