The waitress we had on the night of the 7 May was exceptional. Friendly and helpful without being intrusive. A lovely smile, thoughtful gestures such as bring us extra napkins when she saw that we'd used the already provided ones, knew the menu extensively and was able to read our table and make suggestions. She is an absolute asset to your restaurant and I hope this message gets passed onto her. My only niggle is the music that was played. read more

You can't walk past Hotel Jesus without taking a peek inside. Curiosity gets the best of you to know what exactly is going on that is just so darn bright on Smith Street. It's a new kid on the block and boy does it get busy. Easy single table was packed, not to mention the people who put their name down to wait to get in. All of the people make the venue a little harder to hear, the kind of raise your voice to speak type deal. I like the floor to ceiling tile, be wary, it'll just take a second for your eyes to adjust to how white and sparkling clean everything looks. Drinks all come salt rimmed, even the can o' beer. The Diablo was good, nice with a black salt rim, it had tons of flavor going on, especially for something pre-made and coming from a tap. It was bold, smokey, meaty, and delicious. The guacamole, I haven't gotten used to yet, I'm used to it being...different, with more chunk and less sour cream smoothness. As for the tacos, I had the vegetarian (cauliflower, broccoli, chipotle) and the El Pastor (pork, guajillo, pineapple). Truth be told, the vegetarian was better than the pork. Which is strange, because any human being would think otherwise, pork vs veggies, that's a no brainer. But the pineapple on the El Pastor should've been a bigger slice to accompany the pork, seeing as that's all that's in the taco (besides the large salt crystals), and they do compliment each other so well. It shouldn't be a tiny taco that you are biting through to get to the good stuff, i.e. the bite-full of pineapple & pork combo. Maybe I'm being too hard on it. It's just a taco. The vegetarian though, had a boatload of flavor I was not expecting. No complaints there. The foldie (which is a quesadilla) is served on a slightly bigger plate, but you'll still need something else to fill you up. The tuna, was just like a tuna melt, really cheesy. I rarely order tostadas, on account of my fear of how messy it'll be to eat in public and the real life struggle of having it fall apart on me. Everything you order will come out one by one, and that can sometimes make it seem like service is slow. Especially as we sat there waiting for one persons order that was just lost in the halogen lights somewhere. Negative: service is slow, they are way busy, it's loud, servings are small- which can add up $ Good for: snacks & drinks at a pretty done out venue read more

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Someone had been trying to convince me that good Mexican food existed somewhere in Australia, so they brought me here. After dining here, it feels even more blasphemous that this place is called "Hotel Jesus" because dear God, that food was bad! The ceviche tostada on their menu is the worst ceviche I've ever had in my life. It looked like a white and mushy tuna salad, but with none of the flavor. In fact, it was sour and bizarre and was missing chopped and marinated raw fish (def: ceviche). Then there was a "quesadilla with blackened chicken." The tortilla had some black dust on it and the flavor was not great. Despite having "al pastor" plastered in large signs in the restaurant, they did not sell al pastor anything, which was severely disappointing. The kind waitress told us, "al pastor is just on the wall for decoration." The biggest disappointment besides the fact that none of what we ordered tasted like Mexican food is the fact that for our plates, we only received a quarter of a small slice of lime per person. I've been to Mexico several times and that would likely be the most offensive part of the meal. read more

And this is exactly why I love Melbourne! There I was, stumbling down Smith Street on my way to Stomping Ground Brewing when I noticed the most adorable little umbrellas lining the street, bright lights beckoning me inside and the sound of joyous Mexican music calling my name. IT WAS A MEXICAN MIRAGE. Hotel Jesus is brought to you by the same people that gave us the deliciousness that is Mamasita. It is a huge venue, occupying the old Collingwood post office. The fitout is adorable. Little metal tables, photos of noble-looking Mexicans adorning the walls and half the space occupied by the bar and kitchen. You can see EVERYTHING as it happens. The menu includes images of all the food and drinks, so if you are desperate for a cocktail with an umbrella in it (as I often am) you can easily pick the one you want. For food, we ordered: + Guacamole + Prawn tostadas + A chicken 'foldie' (a quesadilla) + Fish tacos They all have much fancier names on the menu, but you get the jist. The foldie was a standout, as were the tacos. Honestly, the only thing I could fault would be that not enough chips were brought out with the guacamole, however we just asked for more and they kindly brought us some. The drinks were a real standout though. All cocktails are poured from tap, which is both impressive and efficient. We had: + Margarita + Their version of an espresso martini (which is pink and comes with an umbrella!) + A smoked diablo I started with a margarita, which I simply insist you do too and the espresso is adorable but very milky. Perhaps have that one as a nightcap. The smoked diablo was OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD. Not dissimilar to a Bloody Mary, it had a powerful, meaty flavour to it. Hotel Jesus is going to get very busy very fast. It truly is a fun and affordable dining experience. Get your butt there now! read more

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Hotel Jesus has become a Melbourne institution. The food is second to none, with an atmosphere, drink menu and staff to match. My partner and I dine here once a week, often bringing out of town visitors to set the standard of what Melbourne has to offer. read more

I love Mamasita so when I heard that the team behind this fine dining Mexican joint would be opening a new venue I was overjoyed. Hotel Jesus is in the old post office building on Smith street. They have transformed the venue into a over the top American diner-esq restaurant with neon signs and lots of attention to detail. It looks really interesting. The menu is laminated and has pictures of everything which is super daggy but fits the theme. Corn on the cob, tacos and other small bites are all available and taste amazing. One thing to be aware of, while they have branded the venue as "casual dining" you will still be paying restaurant dining prices. For two people having a casual snack with some cocktails (2 cocktails, 1 taco each and one guacamole & dessert to share) came to around $80. This was a snack and in no way filled us up. It was all delicious and a good time but if you are looking for lunch or dinner you might want to look else where unless your after a pricey night out. I suggest coming for cocktails and a bar snack. read more

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My last official meal out in Melbourne and not sure why this Angeleno opted for tacos, when this Angeleno would be back in LA in a day and have access to all the street and gourmet tacos this Angeleno's heart desires, but this Angeleno did. The place is an old post office (per another review) and the aesthetic is all white (a Mexican diner, if you will) with colorful accents and an open kitchen and bar area. There are booth seats, four tops and bar seating. The transaction started off a bit rough, as they proudly carry Top Chico (per their drink menu) and I almost fell over in my chair, as Topo Chico is a god send and the fact that you can find the Mexican mineral water with mystical powers in Australia blew my mind. Sadly, I got punked, as it's been unavailable for the last couple weeks. Grrrrrrr! But, the various michelada options quickly made the Topo Chico mishap a thing of the past. My michelada la negra was exquisite. I can't remember what exactly went into the black magic liquid, but it was just the sodium-filled beverage I was after. I loved the guacamole...they definitely didn't phone it in there. I was also a big fan of the porktopus tostada...yep, you read that right. A hybrid sea mammal and hog dish. Or, as the menu describes it, chicharron, octopus, and Japanese salad. The combo is like the cronut of the tostada world. The only thing that wasn't aces was the tostada shell (which were also served with the guacamole). Didn't love the texture and it was pretty bland. Next came the tacos...one fish (fried) and one al pastor. The seafood one was perfect...as if I was knocking on Baja's door. I didn't eat the al pastor but "too salty" and the one piece of pineapple wasn't spreadable over the whole taco, so you only got the one bite with the fruit. Ordered a huitlacoche quesadilla as well and there was no shortage of black truffles... I thought it was too much at first, but I ended up really appreciating the heartiness of it in the end. Service was friendly enough and the prices were pretty on point with all the other meals I encountered in Melbourne. It's also situated in a very cute part of town, so it's amongst a ton of other cute little dining/retail spots read more

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As a California native I was thrilled when I saw a Mexican restaurant had just opened on Smith Street! But ultimately I left disappointed and hungry. The place is inviting and our waitress was super friendly...at first. We started off with a chicken tostada and their chef's special quesadilla. The food took forever. Finally the tostada came out and it was smaller than the size of my palm. While the chicken tasted great that was about the only ingredient--worth $9? Nope. The quesadilla still hadn't been brought out and we were starving. We ordered two tacos and joked to our waitress that the tostada was too small-- little did we know the tacos were about the same size. (The friendliness and smiles from our waitress stopped after we mentioned we weren't happy with the size of the tostada) The pork taco was no good--tasted like jerky--too salty and rough. And it was $5. The beef taco was decent but again, just meat, no other ingredients. FINALLY the quesadilla appeared and was good but not worth its $15 price. We were still hungry after everything but there was no way we were going to spend even more. You would probably have to pay around $40 each to feel satiated. Overall, Hotel Jesus isn't worth the hype. They should increase their portion sizes or lower their prices. read more

If you are keen on having teary-eyed tacos, this is the place for you. So sad a taco you will cry longing for a more authentic experience. $17 got me 3 tacos: pastor, chorizo and a quesadilla de huitlacoche. The pastor was more like pork belly, chorizo was green - probably because the flavour had left (green chorizo is due to the spices added, which in this case seemed more like food coloring). The real disapontment was the huitlacoche... the real thing is a fungus that grows on corn and is massively savoury, this one was regular button mushrooms. not sure why disguise them 'shrooms- probably for the exotic nahuatl word, huitlacoche. Staff are friendly, and they try and explain the menu, even if you don't want them too. The place is clean but for that price you are better off saving 100 tacos and flying to Mexico. read more

Wowzers this place is bright! The white tiles up to high ceiling combined with the fluoro lighting means there is nowhere to hide. I don't think i would bring a date here! There is a little bit of a 50's diner feel here, overlayed with lots of kitschy mexican touches. The wall of tap cocktails was cute, but I have to say my margarita was pretty pedestrian. Salt rims on the tinnies was an interesting touch. Mexi by the piece is fine, but you want everything to be really zinging when you are paying $5-$8 for a couple of mouthfuls. It didn't really hit the mark for me this time. read more

Great atmosphere, food and drinks. Love this place for a quick lunch/dinner or a boozy get together with friends.

Oh god - another Mexican disappointment. Went here on a Sunday evening and was turned off by the menu. It is the generic tacos, tostadas and entrees (corn!). Five kinds of tacos. Different tostada fillings. Pay an arm and a leg for guacamole. Their quesadillas which go by a fancy name are the size of a teacup plate. The Sangria comes in a plastic glass with an olive and the thinnest wedge of lemon as decoration. The sangria tastes like it came out of a bottle. Not fresh. Just terrible Sweet sangria. They've tried to be cool using the 'Miss Chu'/'Rice Paper Scissrs' style of ordering food but it just feels out of place, especially since they take forever to get the meals out. There is a massive bar. Lots of seating (bar seating, large tables and booth seating). The decor is quite inviting. The lights are very bright. And it seems to be fashioned after an American diner (X will be your waitress for today - except you can never find her when you need her). The tacos were average. The pork octopus tostada was hot, cold, spicy, chewy and rubbery. The pork quesadilla was nice but was gone in a flash. Their drinks look interesting - so maybe go here for the drinks! read more

No idea how this place has anything short of 5 stars. Service was extremely friendly and swift. The employees behind the bar were knowledgeable about their drinks Most importantly the executive chef has spent time in Mexico and you can taste it in their dishes. My personal favorites were the pork taco and the coconut cake. Ever flavor of every dish is well balanced. Adding the provided hot sauces does not ruin or over power the fishes either. I was told australia had terrible Mexican food - this place proves that statement wrong. read more

Delcious tacos (great tortillas, nice ingredients, taste like legit tacos). Disappointed in the size, though. This place could be great if the tacos were twice the size. You need 5-8 tacos to fill up. At $4-5 a taco, that's a little rich for lunch. read more

Although there are many vegetarian and unique options, the food was boring. My veggie taco was presented nicely but lacked flavor and was served cold. Decent prices but I'm not sure I would return here. read more

A must visit place- great vibe and excellent value for money. Staff were very friendly helpful. Will definitely be returning and telling all my friends about it. read more