Good, fun place... Kind of expensive for what you get though. The food was good but the service seemed to take forever. I feel like they are very proud of their food but, honestly, there are better places to get the type of food they are attempting to bring forward. It could have been an off day (although it was a Saturday). The margs are awesome but three sips in your done and they're like $12 a piece. The location is good. The concept is cool. It is a fun place to hang with your friends. Unfortunately the overall value is missing for me. Value = (food+service+experience)/cost. read more

El Jefe - Mexican Near Me - Denver, Colorado

My son and I ate here yesterday, Easter Sunday, as a treat. This was a totally underwhelming meal for an astronomical price. I am carnivore (diabetes) and specifically requested no potatoes, chips or bread with my meal. I ordered the chilaquilles and it came on a huge pile of tortilla chips, and all the meat and sauce had soaked into the chips so it was hard to separate out. The quac was so loaded with jalapeno juice as to be near inedible. The queso, very expensive, was only a small amount and I am quite sure the base was Velveeta. My eggs had pieces of shell in them. On top of that. we were automatically charged a $20 tip, which I managed to change to a lower amount. The service was good and the staff were friendly so they get the stars. But, and not the restaurant's fault, a few tables away a woman 3 sheets to the wind was talking so loudly, with such foul language and subject matter, our ambiance was stolen. My bill came to $76! There should be 3 $$$ instead of 2. My son's verdict, "Mediocre at best." I was not planning on leaving a review, much less an unfavorable one, but it was bothering me still the next day, that I felt I wasted my money. Maybe we were there on an off day, as the place was packed, and I see many 5 star reviews. It's just that such an expensive meal should have been spectacular. read more

Loved it. Great grilled fish tacos. Great crab nachos. Loved that the waiter was knowledgeable of Celiac.

I liked the vibes of the restaurant. It was clean and spacious. I liked that they offered bottomless mix n match (mimosa, sangrias). The service was super slow and the food was just ok. The brunch menu didn't have a lot of options. I did enjoy the queso. read more

El Jefe - Fish tacos - Mexican Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Always great food and great service. Their chilaquiles are my favorite. The bottomless mimosas are a good value too!

We just has very relaxing and tasty brunch. The food was delicious and the plates were over flowing. I had Carnitas y Huevos. Brought potatoes and pork home for another meal. The bottomless drinks (your choice of bloody mary and/or mimosa) is an excellent deal. My first drink was a Bloody Mary which was loaded with salt with a "Mexican" flavor. I would definitely return here. ++ Service. Our waitress was on top of all our needs/requests. + Wi-Fi. + Cloth napkins. + Decent flatware. - Noisy. Cannot imagine being here during a crowded dinner. $73 USD (inc tax + tip) for 2 read more

The absolute worst dining experience we've ever had. The worst service. The worst drinks. The worst food. The worst 150 dollars I've spent. Took 45 mins before anyone took our order. Terrible! read more

Great joint, fun location and really good food. Had two different margs, both quite good, and the staff was very busy, very friendly, and very masked up. Great job El Jefe! read more

Really good food and amazing service! Our server Kaitlynn was super friendly and recommended us to try their spicy habanero sauce which was super spicy but very favorable Indoor space is social distanced! highly recommend eating here! read more

Service was fantastic! The food was damn delicious. We went during brunch and I definitely recommend you get the plantain stuffed French Toast! read more

I am sad to write this review, but it is what it is as they say. We had been here before for HH and really enjoyed it. I had guests visiting from out of town and wanted a fun, cool place to have brunch before they left. I made reservations for a Sunday morning, indicating I wanted a low table. Upon arrival, we were seated fairly quickly considering how busy they were. As we were led to a high table I asked about my request for a low table and was brushed off, saying this was all they had. (So basically take it, or leave it) I had a feeling this was going to be a foreboding of our entire experience and was it ever! I will keep this short considering the whole ordeal. It took a good 8 minutes before we were acknowledged. We all ordered the bottomless brunch drinks. Due to the horrible service, we were only provided one small glass for our whole meal. We were offered another round after we were all done with our meals. Our food finally arrived about 50 minutes after our arrival. The food was ok, except my potatoes were so salty they were almost inedible - and I like salt! Its pretty spendy for what you get. Before we left, I went to the restroom. There was no toilet paper and no soap. Wow. I found a server standing there outside the restroom and let them know. There was no mention or apology for our atrocious service. The next day I sent an e-mail detailing our experience and to this day - 2 weeks later - I have yet to have a response to my e-mail. This is the reason I am writing this. No care, no apology, no excuse. We will not return and I will never recommend this place to anyone. Sad in this competitive market. read more

See all

Was excited to try this place based on online reviews and for taco Tuesday. I informed them I had a service dog but still preferred to sit outside anyways. The manager told me she would have to sit outside of the patio area on the other side of the wall. I told him I had never encountered this and she's supposed to be with her handler. He asked me for the ID for the service dog. I tried to inform him of ADA policy and that he was confused on how to go about accommodating a service animal. I'm used informing people since not everyone is aware of the policies, but I don't appreciate when people make things up. We ended up going elsewhere since they would not accommodate us properly. Hopefully they take the time to be informed to handle this situation properly in the future. read more

El Jefe - Mexican Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Great a fast service bottomless mimosas! The brunch plFood is amazing and berry is the best waiter ever !

Always fresh, clean, and flavorful. Our go to for Mexican. Service is attentive and very accommodating for preferences and dietary restrictions. read more

This is our favorite spot for elevated, fresh, veggie forward Mexican influenced food in all of Denver. Service is friendly and attentive with total consistency, food is fresh and inventive, and the vibe is hyper local. Salud! read more

Excellent food and service. We went for Brunch (1pm) on a Sunday and left with happy and very full tummies. Our Brunch: Guacamole and chips ($7) - chip appeared to be fresh home made and the guac was chunky with just enough ingredients to make it interesting. Our server brought us extra chips without even asking. We didn't need them but very much appreciated her attention. Chilaquiles ($12) - same chips topped with ground chorizo, cream, queso fresco, avocado salsa and two perfectly cooked sunnyside up eggs. A meal which my hubby and I would likely split in the future. Very well balanced in terms of "chip to toppings" ratio. Loved this dish however I probably would not do it in addition to the guac starter (that's a lot of fried chips...) Carnitas Y Eggs ($13) Very generous portion of local pork carnitas with sunnyside up eggs, fingerling potatoes and fresh tortillas. The pork was tender and well seasoned. This was another meal that two could easily split. We ended up taking a sizable amount of carnitas home. Drinks: Hubby had bottomless brunch drink ($12) (mimosa, sangria, bloody). The bloody was spicy and flavorful and the mimosa was well, a mimosa...nothing special. La Casa Margarita - ($6 - although we were mistakenly charged $7). Centinela Clasico tequila with triple sec, lime, agave with salt/sugar on the rim. Probably one of the best margaritas I've ever had. Could have had more than two but glad I didn't. Service: Our server was spot on. Friendly and helpful. She anticipated all of our needs from drink refills to additional chips. Our meals were delivered hot and on time, just as we were finishing our first round and drinks and guac. We could not have asked for better service. Ambiance: Open kitchen with lots of low as well as high tables. We sat at a high table next to the windows and were very comfortable. We were there on a Sunday afternoon and the restaurant was only about 1/4 full and it was a little noisy. I can see how it could be deafening on a crowded evening. The patio faces west so there is lots of afternoon sun. Great experience all around. We will certainly be back. read more

Taco Tuesday. Go on Tuesday for cheap yet delicious tacos. Very good service. Bar-like lively ambiance. Place was packed when I went there late in the evening. Did I say Taco Tuesday yet? Tacos I loved: Carne Asada Taco, Lamb Tacos. read more

Jesse and Mike were amazing!!! The food and drinks were bustin. We had a great birthday celebration here for my friend!

Vegan friendly and the entire menu is gluten-free, except the fried fish and churros. Friendly service, bomb house margaritas and excellent food. The home-made corn tortillas make their tacos special. You get two tacos per order, but they are larger than most places, with lots of filling. The vegan mushroom tacos were meaty (pun intended), saucy, garlicky and had tons of flavor. 100% crave worthy, no matter what your dietary preference is. The fried plantains (maduros) were sweet and not too oily. Good dessert option, actually. The patatas bravas were crispy and spicy, with a very generous dusting of red pepper. They would be amazing with a home-made ketchup. Now, if they only added a G-free vegan dessert and some tamales to the menu, I would be in heaven. read more

El Jefe - Excellent house margarita - Mexican Near Me - Denver, Colorado

See all

As the Denver trip continues, we tried another place in our friends neighborhood of Sunnyside. We all started with drinks that were honestly my favorite part of the dining experience!! I had the spicy marg which was maybe the best I've ever had!! Others are the table enjoyed the classic marg and the smoky mezcal marg which were also delicious! The food at El Jefe was also enjoyed by all, Mexican Street Corn and Guac with chips as apps. My only criticism about the entire meal was the small amount that came along with the guac. They were both so yummy and the guac serving was great, so we found ourselves needing more chips to polish it off. However, the super friendly and upbeat waitstaff (another part of my high praise of this restaurant), we're very willing to bring us some more chips! For dinner, I had the salad and it was sooo delicious! The dressing was definitely the cherry on top, perfect amount, so so tasty, really brought it all together! There are definitely other items I would love to have been able to try on this menu. We will have to send our friend back to try more!! read more

See all

Gone two times now. First time my parents were in town- it was a quiet Wednesday night. Maybe 10 other people dining in. We asked to sit outside because it was nice out- then it started to rain. No one helped us or told us where to go inside and then when we moved ourself our waiter completely stopped serving us. We finished our meals which were decent but the waiter took so long to bring us our check it was crazy especially with how empty the place was near closing. I went back yesterday because I had a friend in town. He was starving and so I figured I'd give it another shot- after all it was taco Tuesday. We get in and our waitress fails to mention that happy hour tacos are not done on Tuesday- fine- we order margs, chips, and queso/guacamole. She brings it out, but fails to bring us water and leaves us sitting there for about 30 minutes. We ran out of margs, had no water, ran out of chips and she was just standing talking to a co worker. I finally got her over and asked for more chips, even though the queso was cold and the quac was turning brown. That's when we ordered and she failed to tell us the menu was different for Taco Tuesday. We rushed a new order and proceeded to wait. The tacos came out quickly but my marg didn't come until I totally finished my meal leaving me to have to chug it rather quickly. Any way- Bottom line- the food is decent, the wait staff kills the entire game for this little taco spot. Literally ruined our experience both times, with no apology and no urgency to apologize or even recognize that we were annoyed. I think I'll stick to El Camino and other slam dunk establishments. read more

So this place was pretty great. Our service was amazing. The place looks cool and is in a nice little community. The stand out for me, personally, was the carnitas. I am a huge fan of the seasoning. Also the presentation was on point. Tip: don't fall for the bottomless drinks. I switched between the sangrias and the mimosas. Trouble trouble trouble. read more

I'd probably give these guys 3.5 stars based on the vibe, drinks and friendly service. Food was also pretty good, but lacks in value. Paid $16 for an entree and it was basically deconstructed taco ingredients, no rice or beans or other accoutrements. I could've paid less and gotten a more substantial meal ordering 4 a la carte tacos. I did like the feel of the place, modern yet rustic and there's a nice patio that could be a good place to hang out when the weather warms up. We were with a larger group and our servers were attentive, friendly and accommodating. Started with some chips and salsa. I normally like super thin chips and there's we're thicker, yet crispy and hot. From the entree section, wife went with the pastor and I chose the carnitas. Served in a smallish soup bowl, there just wasn't a lot to this dish. Carnitas was ok, not a whole lot of flavor in the meat. Pastor had good flavor but didn't taste like pastor. We agreed that the standout was their fresh, house-made corn tortillas. We will likely go back, even if it's just for the margaritas. Really like the salt/sugar/lime mix they use on the rim of the glass. Very good, very unique. read more

El Jefe - Good carnitas entree but far from authentic and portion is not worth the $16. Should've gotten a couple tacos. - Mexican Near Me - Denver, Colorado

See all

Great deal for happy hour! You can get an affordable margarita pitcher for you and your buds here. I went here for a birthday happy hour and we were all super satisfied. read more

Looking for some delicious AUTHENTIC Mexican food? This is your place. You can choose from bottomless mimosas, sangrías and bloody Mary's when you go to brunch. I came here for brunch with a friend - Menu is easy to read and the waitress was very friendly. I opted for the Chilaquiles (i added a photo) and my friend chose the carnitas with eggs. We also got chicharrones with their habanero sauce (to die for) - every thing is made in their kitchen and mostly everything, if not all, is organic. You get what you pay for when you eat here - I'm lucky I was introduced to this place and I am not kidding/exaggerating when I say this place is amazing. It's an absolute must try - I will be DEFINITELY be going back with my friends and family. read more

El Jefe - Mexican Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Okay. MIKE the server is out of this world. 1. never saw the bottom of my mimosa 2. great personality and conversations. 3. just a special experience with the pumpkin pie desSERT and breaky rito. simply untouchable SOMETHING SPECIAL IS GOING ON INSIDE THESE DOORS read more

What a great addition to the neighborhood! Definitely a solid 4.5 stars for sure. We have been well aware of El Jefe since they opened, but we wanted to let the newness wear off a little bit before we wondered in. We walked down one afternoon for their happy hour and were more than impressed. The space is pretty large and can accommodate a lot of people. They also have a patio which is opening on May 5th - this Friday! The kitchen is open and towards the back. I personally love to be able to see into the kitchen. One of the coolest elements is their walk-in cooler. It's right next to the kitchen and all glass. You can see everything that's in it and how clean and well kept it is. That makes a bold statement in my opinion. The menu was kind of small, but had some pretty great items on it. And everything is sourced locally and changes fairly frequently we were told. We decided to sample several different items, which were brought out in courses so we could enjoy each one individually. For starters we got the chips with a flight of six different salsas. All very good, but I preferred the hottest habanero one, Salsa del Dia. Next up was the taco of the day, which happened to be vegetarian and absolutely delicious. After that the creamed corn and chorizo arrived - holy moly! I highly advise getting this dish - try to keep some extra chips around for dipping. Following that, out came the Chile Relleno, lightly friend with Oaxacan cheese, winter squash, roasted corn, and Xni Pec. The final dish for the evening was the Pulpo, and the highlight of the dinner for me. It was a combination of grilled octopus, citrus, pepita puree, salsa arriera, pickled chayote. I'm a huge fan of octopus and this dish was perfect. After it was all said and done and we were full of delicious food and great margaritas. We decided that we were very happy to have El Jefe in the neighborhood. read more

See all

This place is amazing. The AL Pastor is super delicious. The guacamole is also amazing.

Fish tacos, carnita bowl and quesadilla were all fresh and well seasoned. House margarita and hibiscus margarita were very good. Reasonably priced in a quiet neighborhood. We'll return. read more

The quesotaco is divine! As well as the wet breakfast burrito. Great food. Great service

I came here for brunch last Sunday with a friend. We had plans to go to Bacon Social House but the wait was awful so we decided to try El Jefe. The space was modern and inviting and the hostess was very friendly. We were quoted 10 minutes for a wait so we wandered next door to look at succulents. We returned 10 minutes later but still no table. In all I think we waited 20-25 minutes for a table. We were seated at a high top near the window. The ONLY a thing I did not like about the restaurant was the bar stools. Both my friend and I found them sort of uncomfortable and it was impossible to sit back in them. I guess the upside was great posture. The coffee was good and the food was great. My friend and I both had the huevos or carnitas and eggs (I can't remember the exact name) that was sunnyside eggs, pulled pork, potatoes and tortillas on the side. We also split a guacamole and chips as a starter and the key lime pie for dessert. The tortillas are fresh and made in house. To die for. The food and service were excellent, the location is up and coming (but hey! Parking is easy!!) and the space was inviting and not too loud. I can't wait to return for dinner and brunch again to try the Bloody Mary. read more

See all

It was ok. I was expecting so much more from this place after reading the reviews. Our drinks were just ok- nothing special. The raspberry margarita was my favorite. I had the fish tacos which were so bland. They weren't seasoned at all. But after having to send the corn back for being cold I felt bad and just dealt with it. My fiancée got the carnitas, which were good. They had much better seasoning than the fish. Everything was spicy. read more

This place has good semi authentic mexican food, and I know about Mexican food ;) Starting with the big logo on the wall that made me feel like in a vintage building in Mexico city, the fun typical candles that set the mood. Service was great, my waitress helped me decide what to order and I got the Tlayudas, to be honest not like they make them in Oaxaca but still pretty good and the sunny side up egg was perfect. Yuum! You have to try the different kind of margaritas and the agua de horchata. Can't wait to go back. read more

We had an event for our youngest daughter in Denver. We decided to give el jefe a go again. Sadly it didn't help. Our waitress wasn't much interested in us last night. It was only 7:15 when came in. They rave online about allergen friendly (& almost 100% gf) yet use a common fryer. So not GF. Food is ok. And last night everything was over salted. It was something each family member mentioned. Within a few minutes of eating I started feeling unwell. When all day I felt fine. We love supporting local, farm-to-table & small business but we are taking this one off our list of go-to's. read more

Been here a couple times. The first time was taco tuesday, and the $1 tacos were ok, but what i wanted was the mushroom ones that were not on specials, so I ordered them and wow - amazing! We love the habanero salsa The second time we branched out a bit more with friends. The pulpo was so well done, just amazing. The chicharones seemed a bit greasy. Pro tip - it is farm to table, so they do run out of things, so have a couple options ready of what you want! Sad part - our friend wanted flan, we told the waiter even before ordering dinner that he was excited to have some flan. The waiter nodded and was like ok. The flan arrives after our meal... omg. It was not plated well, it looked smooched, the texture was wrong, and blech... The waiter then offers up, yeah, they don't do it well. Um... perhaps whisper that and offer up something else to have prior to getting this fella's hopes up for the whole meal? All in all, success in the eating department, but not very cost effective, go for when you want to spend a big. And the service is the kind that lets you relax and enjoy your table mates, so indicate if you want things to move along. read more

We happen to walk by to go Starbucks while we were waiting on bacon house. We decided to check out the place and happened to be no wait. So we sat and ordered few plates right away since we were so hungry. The guacamole and chips plate was delicious. Further, the plates were delicious and prompt but definitely lacking some taste. read more

Mike is honestly the best guy. He really shows up when you need him and knows what's up. We love him I will come back but only if mike is there. read more

Amazing food, wasn't crowded on a Friday night which is surprising considering the quality.

So we were originally on our way to bacon social house but they quoted us 1-1 1/2 hour wait at 11 am for two people. We were pretty hungry and decided to see what else was nearby and we stumbled across El Jefe. El Jefe started opening for brunch a week ago and so not a lot of people knew that they were open. We were seated immediately and greeted by a friendly server. For drinks, I ordered a Bloody Mary as I love bloodies. Five dollars gets you a small cocktail size Bloody. The garnish was pretty standard: lime, olive, jalapeño. Towards the bottom of the drink I noticed there's a big piece of jalapeño. The drink had good spice level but lacked flavor. It almost felt like they strained out the spices that make bloodies good. As an appetizer, we ordered churros. They make it there themselves so it takes about 8 minutes. First bite caught us by surprise as we were expecting cinnamon sugar taste but here at El Jefe they added a spice and salt so it was a little more savory. Personally I liked the taste and it was good with the chocolate sauce too. Main course we ordered tres leches French toast and carnitas & eggs. Tres leches was garnished with caramel, pineapples and whip cream but I do recommend passing on it as it had the thick, moist consistency on the inside, similar to the dessert, itself. The carnitas & eggs were good; it came with carnitas, potatoes, onions, jalapeños, green salsa and tortillas on the side. You could create your own taco to your hearts desire or create your own bite each time. Overall, the food was good but wasn't great. The service was good and the wait was short. Not a bad place to try out if you don't want to wait an hour at nearby places. read more

See all

Ate here for the first time & was not disappointed! Their el jefe margarita is soooo good & so is their food. Jonny & James had great hospitality and were extremely personable. Would highly highly recommend going here! read more