It's 9PM and you don't want fast food..... Go to El Jefe's! It's one of the gems of Southside Bethlehem. Crowded with Lehigh University students craving the same amazing food you are. I often work late nights and don't eat at normal times. El Jefe's serves up fresh, tasty food and open really late! Huge burritos! Super flavorful and always delicious. El Jefe is better than any chain (box store) fast Mexican food place. Hands down! read more

1st timer and I had an issue, called and spoke to manager, she was very professional and friendly and took care of my issue immediately!! That's what you call good customer service and good business..TY, will be back soon read more

Amazing, cheap, and authentic. Best in the Lehigh region. Service was amazing and fast. Absolutely recommend after a hard day and want some good Mexican food. read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - Menu and fast service - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

My burrito bowl was amazing I recommend to pair it with the lemonade! The workers were very kind and generous with portions which you don't see a lot in places nowadays. Love the music and vibe it is as well very convenient for my lunch break out of high school down the road. read more

Delicious! Suggested by my sister and decided to give a try. Very good, food is well seasoned and service was quick read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

One bite in and this is already five stars. Generous portion of steak. Salsas taste fresh and vibrant. Jamaica is refreshing and the right amount of sweet. I got a bunch of hot toppings like plantains and fajita veggies--and cold toppings like guacamole which is complementary! Must try visit. And it's open until 3AM. First time here and definitely recommend! read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - Steak tacos - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Well.... it seems that after the fire, Jefe is trying to keep cost down. Portions have gotten drastically smaller. Maybe its shrinkflation.

El Jefe's is always good. It's like a hometown Chipotle. This was my first time for breakfast. I just wanted something small so I ordered a single breakfast burrito. It came with eggs, rice, beans, and my choice of toppings so I chose turkey sausage and guacamole. The eggs were cooked to order. Everything is made in front of you when you order, just like Chipotle. It can get packed in here late at night since they're open until 2am and in a college town, but they always move quickly. My usual order is a bowl with spicy ground beef. You won't be disappointed! read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - Single breakfast burrito - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Service was quick Food was good Ambiance is strange. It's mostly takeout but they have wood tables and uncomfortable metal chairs. Worth a stop if in the area and want takeout. read more

Ordered for mobile pick up through the website and arrived at the restaurant to be told that my order was already picked up. I was then told by the man up front to contact DoorDash for a confirmation for them to remake my food or else i would be charged twice. I explained to him twice that this was a mobile pick up order from the website and that i wasn't a dasher he then told me that it doesn't matter because the orders are still through DoorDash as third party so I went to my car and told my boyfriend the situation he decided to go inside to speak to him and explain that there was a mistake on their end by giving the order to the wrong person and have now inconvenienced us by having us go back and forth and telling us to call DoorDash when it was THEIR FAULT!! He then quickly prepared the food once told this and after I left I called DoorDash to explain the situation where they told me I would never be charged twice and that wasn't true. I then called the store to speak to the supervisor where all she had to say was excuses for the situation and try to justify his actions and lies because they remade the food. Regardless of the situation I was lied to about having to call DoorDash because even then she said he was confused and new and thought it was a delivery order. I genuinely feel like she was lying for him and not once did she mention discussing these issues with him so that it doesn't happen again. I HAD TO ASK IF SHE WOULD SPEAK WITH HIM which she then said yes she would handle it. Apparently he also wasn't the one who gave the order to someone else so he was "following protocol" which is a bunch of bs because instead of telling me lies he should've called the supervisor over to begin with since he was so confused. She also mentioned that their system was messed up and kept printing DoorDash instead of Mobile Order so I then told her all employees should be made aware of this so that this confusion doesn't keep happening because her responses on the phone told me she has zero customer service experience and with that this would definitely happen again! The manager also expressed zero concern for whoever the employee that did give the bag to the wrong person was and once again I had to ASK HER IF THEY WOULD BE TALKED TO ABOUT IT! The employees have zero respect for their customers and have zero empathy for their own mistakes. And nor did the employee that I did speak to say sorry for misunderstanding to me he made the other employee give me the bag instead of looking me in my face and giving it to me while he continued to staple the receipts to the bags for takeout or delivery orders HAHAHAHA next time if you lost and don't know what you talking about instead of making up a lie and brushing me to the side call your supervisor to the front and let her handle it that's what she there for!! Enjoy your 3rd bad review for today i don't know what yall got going on but yall need to get it together ASAP!! read more

Will first time customer. Needless to say it will be my last visit as will. I ordered a bowl. That bowl came with a piece of plastic mixed in with my food. I tried to contact the manager and I was told I had to send her an email with a picture of this plastic in my food. After several phone calls to try to get this email address I finally sent it and not a single person has reached out to me. This plastic nearly choked me. The fact that this plastic made it into my food is very concerning and then the fact that the general manager is not worried to even reach out to their customer regarding this is quite sickening. I will be reaching out to the Pennsylvania of agriculture along with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office. read more

We ordered our food online and it said ready in 21 minutes. Then we were yelled at to move away from the pick up window, and an hour later, still no food. They were not helpful and absolutely ridiculous and found my order buried under a stack of bags. I will not come back. It was absolute chaos and I would have rather had a refund and left. read more

Fast service. Can get busy with students from nearby but it's a great place to get food. Love their carne asada taco salad and hands down best Horchata I've tried ever !! Must try. Casual place to sit and eat read more

Stopped in on a Friday night. Heavily staffed so line moved quickly. Ordered two Mexican bowls & 2 chicken quesadillas. I live a keto lifestyle when eating and found it very easy to fill my bowl with lots of goodies. When I opted out of rice the nice kid asked if I would prefer lettuce base followed by cheese sauce. Next I choose my protein both were chicken (double meat). Since I don't do the beans I opt for the mixed veggies and sautéed onions with peppers. There was a short wait before next assembler took over. This worker was also very friendly and was sure to point out each topping and I choose more lettuce, pico, guacamole and sour cream. My husbands I added spicy salsa and jalapeños (he likes it HOT) It was perfect! Kids loved the quesadillas so win win all around. Def will return. They were building some massive burritos and would definitely eat one on a cheat day in the future. Amazing *additionally I checked in while in line and received 10% off my order. BONUS!!! read more

See all

Great food great service. I really like the burritos and the bows. And overall everyone is very nice.

We were looking for a last minute dinner spot in south side Bethlehem after spending some time at the Wind creek arcade . A lot of places are closed on Sundays over that way so we popped in this taco spot. Parking was easy right out front. We walked in and you just go down a line of food what you want. Service was super friendly. Took our order, made our food super quick. This basically tasted like a super good version of chiptotle. It's so much better! Everything was hot, fresh and delish. I got a bowl with Spanish rice, queso (a must!), chicken, pinto beans, pico de Gallo, sour cream and salsa and grilled onions. It was perfection! Very reasonable too. Even my 9 month old was chowing down on chicken and cheese. Definitely stop by if your in the area! read more

So delicious, they got hella free toppings that come with the bowl. Great price. They stack the food. 10/10 recommend.

Unlike some other Yelpers, I'm not pretentious enough to claim that I know what "authentic tacos" are. Apparently they're fairly easy to spot since that's what people keep referencing in every review for not only this place but for seemingly every taco place in creation. Honestly I'm not concerned in the least about authentic as to me that's irrelevant. Just make it taste good with a presentation that's acceptable and for me it's good enough. Here's what I know: I've never been to the store and likely I never will go. I drive by the place M-F twice a day and it's always deserted. Their hours are crazy long at 8am-3am. I've only ordered via GH and if I ever order again that's how it will be. Also what I know is that in terms of presentation the staff making the tacos either have no clue how to properly put a taco together or the GH delivery drivers shake the bag like a martini because the tacos are always a big shitty mess. Some kind of sauce/topping/condiment is always on the lid of the container and in some way splattered around. The chimichangas are fried perfection. Never over done and filled with a corn and queso filling. Good stuff. The gimmick with the tacos is that you can load on up to six toppings including guac without incurring an additional charge. Great idea in premise except that they are poorly put together and as mentioned prior, when ordering delivery they don't travel well. In terms of the flavor, it's alright. Good enough but I certainly wouldn't say great or even memorable. Also worth noting is that if you order via GH, the delivery time is always on the optimistically low side. The estimate is always around 35-45 minutes and so far 55-60 is more the reality. After three orders I'm going to leave it at El Jefe's to me comes across like an Aqui Es knock off that is trying to imitate their style and flavors. Nice try guys but you got some serious work to do if you want to get to their level. read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - Chimichangas - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

See all

I didn't Get enough food feels like chipotle. I don't recommend at all they are very rude. Basically you have to do all the work talking like they don't know the right amount of scoops of rice. They was laughing in my face. Very disappointed. You can see in the picture. read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - Mexican Bowl (o) - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Their variety of delicious food options are irresistible, leading me further away from my goal of being a swimsuit model.

Jefes is a slay at night we literally come here all the time on the weekends Cheese Quesadillas are awesome i get them all the time read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - SLAYYYY - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Absolutely delicious! Fresh food, Hot & Quick Service!Carne Asada BurritosCarne Asada Burritos read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - Pollo Asada bowl - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

El Jefe's long stood as the de facto place to get a late night meal due to them being one of the only places in Southside Bethlehem open until 3am. Their food is passable, wouldn't call it good or bad, but with more and more places opening that are also open into the early hours of the morning, El Jefe's becomes a less and less viable option for me. read more

I brought my very picky daughters while visiting family from out of state. We were disappointed that there were no hard taco shells, but lived the quest and Chios, which is difficult to mess up. The ordering process is cafeteria style, like Moe's and Chipotle, but more authentic. Another plus was the wall of hot sauces. read more

Great food and service!! They had a very nice ambiance!! Loved the flan and burritos!! read more

The best, authentic Mexican joint around Bethlehem!!! Highly recommend. Get the plantains, they are DELICIOUS!

Great quality food and service! Set up is similar to chipotle where you can order pre-created items or make what you want on the spot. I'm interested in trying the drink selection next time such as the orange juice which looks really fresh. A homey and cozy setup, with a casual atmosphere. Looking forward to my next visit! read more

El Jefe's Taqueria - Mexican Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

See all

Love it here! Food was fresh and the service is fast. It's a taqueria so very laid back. I ordered the Mexican bowl and it was delicious.

I love it here! They're so patient with their late night rush and never have attitudes no matter how late it is or how much the kids are yelling. AMAZING food and ambience! read more

When the menu says my breakfast comes with home fries and I don't get them and I ask about them. I am told "no you don't get those" Very aggravating, poor business. Change your menu or the price you are charging at least. read more

Nice space! Cute with bright colors. Like others have said it's like a Chipotle type counter where you can order tacos, burrito, bowl, or salad. There's also have sides like chimichangas, quesidilla, soup, nachos and chips. My husband and I both asked for carne asada but received carnitas. There wasn't a price difference so we just left it as it was. The carnitas were a little dry and the Mexican rice wasn't flavorful. I did like that they offer two types of vegetables - fajitas and roasted which had what looked like squash and zucchini. It's also nice that guacamole isn't an upcharge. The fresh squeeze orange juice wasn't too pulp-y. Love that's there's a wall of hot sauce. Still a newer space so I'd be excited to try them again at a later date. The hours definitely make it appealing - a cheesy quesadilla with guac after 2am?? After a night of drinking - yes, please! I'd definitely want to try their Horchata next time too. read more

See all

Unfortunately, a few bad orders back to back. Forgetting my salsas and guacamole, soup had no beans when normally it does, steak dry. Some days the food is fantastic, and other days not at all. Just not consistent. read more

Buen servicio al cliente me encanta el lugar y la comida excelente de lo restaurante que he comido puedo darle 5 estrella recomiendo el lugar para las personas que janguean o son nocturnas les digo hay es un buen spot para Comer y deiletar un gustito. Next time tomare foto y posteo otro review mío. read more

The food is fine, nothing special, but not terrible. The low rating is because the place is FILTHY. I had to wipe down the table and seats just for us to sit, fruit flies all over the place, garbage/cardboard/etc. piled in the corner, smells odd. read more

I've only had delivery for this restaurant. I am vegetarian and I didn't know that with the fajita bowl you had to specify no meat because it just comes with chicken, beef and shrimp. Needless to say I could not eat this. I called the restaurant and told them they made a mistake and they informed me that the meat is automatically included. I told them I didn't know that. They offered to refund my money for the bowl. I told them I would return it and they said no. Within a couple of days I got the refund for the bowl. Since then I have ordered from them twice (the fajita bowl) and they have substituted all that meat with extra vegetables! Quality and taste is excellent. Customer service A+++. My new favorite Mexican restaurant! read more

I tried El jefes for the first time at summer splash at the goldfish swim school. I have to say it was one of the best burritos I've ever eaten. I cannot wait to check out the restaurant in Bethlehem. read more

Once I was studying for my Eco 001 final until 2 am which satisfied my hunger for knowledge but couldn't satisfy my hunger for food. So I decided to go to Wawa but when I arrived I saw my girl with Brett doing the "lady and the tramp" with a meatball sub. That was suppose to be OUR thing and I can't believe she would just casually do that with another guy!!!! She didn't see me and so I ran out on the cold dark streets of Bethlehem until I found myself at the front door of El Jefe's, which glowed like the golden gates of heaven. When I entered, I remedied my heartbreak with a carne asada burritos and shots of horchata. Around the 3rd burrito and 6th shot of horchata I experienced the king of all highs. I felt like I was in world beyond heaven and hell where everything was warm, blissful, and pleasurable. All the sadness in this world seemed to vanish until Gunter failed me in ECO 001 read more

Tacos are good. They forgot half of our order. When I notified them, and reminded them of the taxes and fees, the response was "I'm not sure about that." Need training on customer service, disappointing when you order dinner for a family, wait more than an hour, receive cold food, and half of it didn't show up. read more

I love their food, but sadly one food preparer was not wearing her mask. The woman at the register didn't even have one around her neck nor nearby. During the same visit, we noticed yet another one of the food preparers had his nose outside of his mask. Are these people professional food handlers? We had to walk out and went to Tulum, where everyone was respectful of those who patronized their restaurant! Thank you Tulum! El Jefe's: How many people could you be infecting...I hope none. Please take this seriously! read more

This place is amazing especially when I am drunk at 2 am and it's the only place open in the area. Appreciate you all read more