This spot surprised me! After going to the outlets, we were trying to find a spot and found El Jefe Lena Y Mar and I am so happy were able to stop by! I loved the vibe in here, very lively and fun. We came in on a Sunday evening, so I am very interested to see how it is when the DJ is in and the disco balls are in full motion. They did have tvs and music videos going off the entire time, which added the to the vibe. I loved everything we ordered. The drinks were AMAZING! I loved the fact you can get their cocktails on the rocks or frozen! definitely enjoyed the tamarind drink!! To start we were given chips and salsa, this is how I knew the food was going to be good. I could have drank the salsa to be honest! We had the sopecitos trio and it was delicious!! my favorite was the arrachera with the chimichurri- literally to die for. We also got the Molcajete leña y mar and it was spectacular. My mouth was watering as soon as it hit the table. It had a mix of everything the steak, chorizo, cheese, shrimp- I loved it all!! We weren't planning on getting dessert, but we saw that the churros came in the carrito and we couldn't resist! Such a cute way to present the dessert, really felt like a celebration! I will definitely be back!!! read more

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Amazing vibe and food at this little gem of a place in Aurora, IL. Staff are very gracious and kind. Cocktails are energetic. Try the skewers cooked on charcoal . read more

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The ambiance here is perfect for girl's night, date night or whatever you want to do! The decor is so pretty and there are lots of areas where you can snap some nice photos. Their drink menu has plenty of options and they're all delicious especially their margaritas. Their tacos de tinga are good. They're very similar to Hacienda Real except their menus are a bit different. I wish they had cochinita pibil. I was disappointed to not find it on their menu. read more

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My friend found a brunch event here and got a group together. For the event there were tickets to purchase ahead of time. There was a line outside when we arrived. As with other types of shows, there is a food and drink minimum. Although it was called a brunch, definitely more of a lunch vibe. I went with the chicken quesadillas and large portion size. For my friends that ordered the tacos, seemed like small portions. I had a house and strawberry margarita. Definitely go for strawberry as it has chopped up fresh strawberries. The house had too much mix. One check per table at these types of events. Gratuity included for parties. Bring singles to tip the performers! read more

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Stopped by for tacos and a drink Nice place service was ok but the food and drinks are good.. read more

El Jefe Lena Y Mar - Birria tacos - Seafood Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Been here twice on a date night with my wife and we have enjoyed our time on both occasions. The restaurant was well kept and ambience was nice. Food and drinks are really good and priced very well. Service staff were friendly and accommodating. My favorite picks were the Pulpo Asado (grilled octopus) and Oyster Rockefeller. My wife fancied the Flautas and Enchiladas. Cocktails were delicious, especially Old Fashioned. Would recommend this place to anyone. Really a gem in the Aurora area. read more

Great place to celebrate. The food was spectacular. We had the mixed ceviche with fish, scallops and shrimp. I had the Jefe arranchera. The meat was cooked perfectly. The margaritas were delicious with plenty of variety. This is a perfect spot for a fun girls night out or birthdays. The ambiance is festive with a dj and lights. The presentation for the birthday cake was nicely done. We will be returning for sure! read more

The service was terrible. There were a total of 3 parties and 3 waitresses plus the manager. I asked for water and it took about 10 minutes to get half cup of water. The waitress took our napkins to clear out the table for entrees and didn't bring replacements. I had to go to another table to grab napkins. Lastly, according to them, our 4 month old counted in the party of 6 so they applied a mandatory 20% gratuity in addition to a 3% REST charge fee. This place is a scam. Avoid at all costs. There are better establishments that provide better service and experience. read more

I visited this establishment yesterday for my granddaughter's birthday and I was surprised by how the food was. Very tasty and delicious! I had the quesobirrias tacos and they were excellent. The atmosphere was great but the music was a little too loud! You couldn't make dinner conversation with the person next to you. I will be back again. read more

El Jefe Lena Y Mar - Quesabirrias - Seafood Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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Average food, some cute decor. Doesn't live up to the hype. I was a little disappointed in my mocktail and chopped salad. read more

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Amazing food, like truly remarkable; not at all your typical Mexican food joint, but a night out kind of dinner. Great for date night or a celebration. Good service and special occasion type of atmosphere. read more

Food was excellent, service was great,love this place will come back, ambiance was nice there's a Dj too

This place was impressive as soon as we walked in. We definitely enjoyed the ambiance, food and drinks! Our server Allen was on point, definitely doing his part to make sure we had a good time. We came to celebrate my sister's birthday with a party of 10 and enjoyed it. I did think their Ribeye steak dinner was a bit over priced for a 12 ounce steak ($50) picture below. I didn't like that they charge you a Rest Surcharge after paying premium prices for food and beverages. Hope to visit this place again when my daughter come back in town. read more

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Finally tried El Jefe on a Sunday evening for dinner. Festive ambiance, wood fire roasted meats, delicious cocktail and unique dessert. Looking forward to trying more dishes next time! A new favorite spot in Aurora. read more

El Jefe Lena Y Mar - Platanos Flameados - Seafood Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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Food and portion size, 10/10. Service and ambiance, 0/10. If you don't mind spending 2 hours enduring poor service and the annoying circling spotlight and the loud music, not to mention the wait staff lacking communication skills, this is your place. And expect a 3% service fee to show up on your bill. We won't be back, despite the (excellent yet fully priced) food. read more

Visited here with friends after seeing this restaurant on tik tok. Honestly, it was pretty average food - a little too average considering I drove to Aurora from the city. First, the host appeared to be stressed or annoyed when we arrived for our reservation. We were a group of 6 and requested indoor seating, and we were asked to wait because she had to figure out where to seat us because they had another large party coming in. My question is - why ask and offer indoor seating if it was going to be such a strain? I really didn't care for that. Once we were seated our server greeted us. He was fine and doing his job as best as he could, however I will say I noticed many of the servers did not speak English fluently - which made ordering a challenge at times. It was taco Tuesday, so they had select tacos for $5 each - kinda steep but that's the cost of dining these days unfortunately. The tacos were okay, not anything special. The nachos and elote unfortunately were not good at all. The nachos lacked flavor, and the elote was not an elote at all - like where is the mayo? It was literally corn and cheese that's it. Maybe we went on an off day but this place is just so so. read more

El Jefe Lena Y Mar - Birria Quesatacos, Camaron Gobernador Taco, Pinche Asada Tacos - Seafood Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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The experience I had here was interesting. I'll start with what I'm sure of.. The place in itself had a nice vibe to it. Not a boring place. Played upbeat music which was a span of different genres which I loved. The service was fine, no complaints. This is where it gets interesting (at least to me) the food was good. It really was. My drink was also very very good. Not watered down, perfect. (Why 4 stars then?) well.... it seemed like something was missing just a bit with my food. Like it came up short but just a little. I had their birrias. I think the meat in it could have been seasoned more and I've had better consommé.. but I would still recommend this place. read more

Food was excellent and the atmosphere was great, our server was great and we were able to have a great time read more

El Jefe Lena Y Mar - Seafood Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

I visited this restaurant on Friday for the first time for a birthday party. The ambiance was great..an feel good vibe. Our waitress had a great personality and positive energy. Most of the food was delicious and cooked well. One distaste was the shrimp and cheese wrapped in bacon..my cousin said it tasty porky and not appetizing. She sent the entire dish back after one bite..she did still pay for it. Two things that could be improved...we had a party of about 20 with only one waitress therefore it took longer to get things like our tortillas...our food was cool or finished by the time it arrived and second thing...allowing at least 2 people to pay. After party of 6 they only take one payment. Overall great experience and I'd visit again. read more

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Went on a Saturday night. I made reservations for 545pm and were seated immediately by a very friendly staff. The interior is very colorful and you can feel the vibe . Live music on weekends. Their menu is huge. They cook most of their entrees on a wood burning grill which gives it that good smokey char flavor. We started with cocktails. They offer specialty cocktails,margaritas,tequila and beers. Modestly prices and delicious. Since there were 4 of us,we decided to share the A La Lena which included their woodfired chicken,carnitas,shrimp,chorizo and arrachera. Served with grilled vegetables and roasted potatoes. Everything was flavorful,not over cooked and enough for everyone. It comes with sides of white rice,beans,street corn and salsa. I wish they would have given bigger portions of the sides . Since we were celebrating a birthday,we ordered the birthday cake that was amazing. Fresh fruit and caramel sauce topped the homemade cake along with cotton candy and a sparkler. Definitely worth it! I would have given El Jefe 5 stars but the music was so loud,you could not have a conversation with the person sitting next to you. If you want 5 star food in a fun atmosphere but don't mind the loudusic,El Jefe is the place to go. read more

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Chips were super trash though the skirt steak aka arachara is pretty good. Its more an atmosphere place of party vibes and of loud music and lights. Food is average read more

We recently visited El Jefe for dinner last night and I had a great night! We ordered oysters for appetizers and it was one of the best oyster's I ever had! Truly amazing. Definitely recommend! For the main course we got 4 dishes - octopus, salmon, cheese mushroom quesadilla and shrimps. Out of that the vegetarian entree was decent. Octopus was a little over cooked but tasty. The best were the shrimps followed by salmon. Overall I loved the food and the vibe of the place. Service wise we didn't have good experience. Our server forgot the "free" table nachos that they give when seated. We needed to remind her twice. After she messed up one of the enter dishes. The only con I would say that it's not recommended for small kids. They have live DJ music and was a bit Loud for the kids. If you are looking for a fun Friday Saturday night and don't want to go to the city, this is the place to visit! read more

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Absolutely loved this place! The atmosphere, the music, and the food!!! Everything we had was great! There were no complaints about anything. Definitely recommend read more

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The decor was beautiful as soon as you step inside. It makes you want to take a picture. Our server was very friendly and helpful with the menu. I felt the food quality could have been a tad bit better as I was expecting.. I ordered the crab and shrimp enchiladas however the Oysters were very tasty ! We were celebrating a birthday so they later came with a round of complementary drinks for those of age. Lasting the lighting was very dimming making it hard to see the menu. Overall it's a nice place and they have a huge bar with a wide selection of spirits! read more

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Great service from Ramon !! Drinks were delicious and food was def worth the $$ we all shared the mix grill platter, so flavorful! The ambience is giving Tulum vibes -great lights n decor. We loved it and they played reggaeton with a live DJ. Sunday funday was a success. I'll be coming back for sure! read more

Muy rica la comida y el sitio muy acogedor y agradable además la atención muy buena!!!!

Its not a Mexican restaurant. Its completely posh fine dining American with a Mexican twist. Inside, the restaurant is very bright and a live DJ is playing, with uniform clad servers moving actoss the floor. Huge bar area. The drinks are top notch. Very strong with good amount of alcohol. Corn Chips and salsa are good The food is brought in a very fancy wooden block. Its grilled chicken pieces with bone in with rice and grape leaves. read more

El Jefe Lena Y Mar - Texas Margarita - Seafood Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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The food here is EXCELLENT! This would've been a 5 star rating except for a couple of things... First of all, there was a live DJ rockin' the house at 5 PM! And by rockin', I mean ROCKIN' - the music was so loud, I had to text my dinner companion to see how she was enjoying her meal. The second exception was the cocktail I had. It was supposed to be a cucumber mezcal cocktail, and it kinda was, but there was so little mezcal is such a big glass. It was so watered down by the time I got to the bottom. For the over-60 crowd, this place is going to need to tone it down before 6 PM. And I'd recommend switching to a nice rocks glass for your specialty cocktails and leave the hurricane glasses for the Mardi Gras crowd. We'll be back to try this place again... read more

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As for drinks, I'd recommend sticking to beer or wine. The cocktails, margaritas, and mezcal drinks were all way too sweet and overpriced. Also, they quietly added a 3% surcharge to the bill, which felt a bit sneaky since it wasn't mentioned upfront.Overall, it was a decent experience, but I'd be more selective about the drinks next time and keep an eye on the bill. read more

Great food, amazing service Angel our server was such a pleasure and keeps us coming back for more.

This restaurant definitely has a nice part vibe. It has a dj that plays good music, although loud so probably not a good spot for a first date. Food presentation is top notch and the food most importantly is good. The ambience is good with various spots in the restaurant to take pictures for social media. read more

El Jefe Lena Y Mar - Shrimp Enchiladas - Seafood Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Absolutely amazing time. From the greeting walking through the door to the complementary birthday celebration at the end. Service could have been a little better however they made up for and food and ambience. The facility gorgeous also has outside seating. It gives you a feeling of being in Tulum Mexico. The drinks were delicious. The appetizers were phenomenal. The entrées were out of this world me and my ladies night crew will definitely be back soon read more

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Food was yummy It would be your place if you like good environment they play all types of music and have great events read more

The service was great sat down fast for dinner. The steak was cooked perfectly. The music and the decor really set the mode to be a fun atmosphere. read more

El Jefe Lena Y Mar - Seafood Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Absolutely delicious! My brother has been raving about this place for quite some time, and so yesterday my family and I finally decided to see what all the commotion was about. It was a party of 4 and we were seated immediately upon arrival. We got outside seating which was fine because it was a beautiful day, and the outside decor is so cute with the sunflowers. Our waitress took great care of us and the service was fast, welcoming, and friendly! The drinks were great and the food? Oh my goodness the food was phenomenal! I'm not just saying that! I got the tacos you can dip in that soup/sauce. It was great. If you want some great Mexican food you MUST come here! I can't wait to tell all my friends about this place. read more

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I've been to Jefe many times and will continue to, the server is very attentive and provides excellent service. I order my usuals, the only problem I had is that my Molcajete had shrimp and it had a bad after taste when eating it, I did speak to the manager and he asked if I wanted it remake, I appreciated the offer but I told him no, my molcajete was perfect it was just the shrimp, so they sent me another order. Axel was my server and he did a good job, thank you Axel for your great service today. read more

I ben a regular customer to el jefe and also hacienda real i love the octopus. But lately instead of serving the octopus they serve 2 little tentacles 2 tentacles is like 10 percent of the portions they used to serve read more

This is a restaurant to go to have a fun celebration. The music is very loud so don't expect to have a conversation. We went to celebrate a family member's birthday and started out with some fun cocktails. We then shared a towering platter of wood smoked meats and veggies with a fun tableside flambe. It looked like everything that came out of the kitchen was set aflame . Then out came the dancing cows and we laughed until our sides hurt. The wait staff is fun, attentive and very friendly making you feel at home. The restaurant was packed with Mexican American families celebrating Mexican Independence Day with both children and adults waiving large balloons to the beat of the music provided by a DJ. For dessert we ordered the El Jeffe birthday cake and it was brought out by singing waiters, flaming and topped by a huge cloud of cotton candy. We could not have had a better celebration Oh, and the food was delicious! read more

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I absolutely love this place and go mutilple times every year. Friday and Saturday nights get loud and fun which for some if you want quiet and nice do weekday or weekend lunch or weekday night. FOOD IS AMAZING! The fresh oysters biggest and fresh. So many amazing dishes including whole fried fish Pescado frito, Ribey that comes on stone and fire, Piña volcán (seafood inside pineapple), Quesabirrias, Molcajete leña y mar. Drinks are great and delicious chips and salsa that is served free. Place is beautiful too day and night. I highly recommend! read more

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Well I gave this place the benefit of doubt and I went for dinner. My plate was good. Got some shrimp, rice, salad and yucca. Everyone else however had some issues with their meals. All in all it was pretty pricey, they charge you extra on the bill just because. Service at the door was not that friendly. But our table server was nice. They didn't have many people there but they still made us wait when we got there. Prob should have went with my first instinct. read more