Jose Tejas is one of those places that proves a busy restaurant is usually busy for a reason. The portions are huge, the drinks are strong, and the prices are surprisingly reasonable for how much food you get. We sat at the bar, ordered way too much for two people, and enjoyed every bit of it. The empanadas, which are clearly a crowd favorite, absolutely delivered, and I loved that there were vegetarian options not just for those but across the menu more broadly. That made a big difference. Yes, it's crowded, and yes, you should think about reserving before you go, but the wait is worth it. The staff was also really helpful and kept things moving despite how packed the place was. If you're in Iselin, Jose Tejas is an easy recommendation. read more

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So, I'll start off by saying we moved away about seven years ago. But back in the day, this was our spot. We crossed the Goethals almost every weekend for the food and the fun vibe. It was cheap, but the price wasn't ever the issue, and super tasty. The mix of Cajun and Tex mex was wonderful. Was. We drove up to visit friends, and decided to stop for old times sake, get some of the camp town shrimp, and other tasty stuff we remembered. I'll start with the vibe. I've done some reading about the aesthetics of fascism and I wonder if maybe this is just the sign of the times we live in, but gone are the fun colorful Christmas lights and the rustic, carved up dining tables. Even the waiters look boring and professional and staid in their uniforms, I can tell they aren't allowed to display any uniqueness like they used to, because there wasn't a single tattoo or piercing to be seen. The bar? Don't even get me started. It looks like it's more fun at the local Applebees. All the people sitting there looking as miserable as the newfound aesthetic of the place What did they do to this place? All the Christmas lights are bland white. The whole vibe shifted. I asked the manager on the way to the bathroom if they changed the decor and he absolutely blew off my question and didn't respond. Maybe he was afraid to. Ok, so now the food, here's the chance to make up for the unfortunate vibes. Nope. The chimichurri steak was poor quality like shoe leather, with a serving of burnt broccoli. The camp town shrimp was okay, and my husband's salmon was also substandard. The menu had shrunk, friends told us they did that because of Covid. Covid was SIX YEARS AGO BRO! Fix your restaurant. It had sad "I'm selling it to private equity" vibes. Before you know it the food will be shipped in mass produced pre-prepared and frozen, they'll get rid of cooks, and the waiter will just bring it from the microwave, like crapplebees. What an absolute shame and I haven't wrote a review in years. I can't recommend this to our friends down south who go up to visit the NY NJ area anymore! I feel like I did a disservice sending anyone there, not knowing how far it's fallen. Shame! read more

I use to dine here very often before COVID even though they do not accept reservations and there are long waits to be seated. I remember coming on a Wednesday night and there was still a hour long wait. The food was always pretty good which made it worth it. After some mediocre experiences though I completely stopped going. They did not do to go order at all and if I wanted to take food home for my family I had to order it at the table and just "not finish it" and ask for a to go box. It was actually so annoying. After COVID, they started to allow online ordering for pick up. We tried it when it first started but since this location. Is not convenient for us we never did it again. Recently we were in the area and so we gave it other try. Everything was ready on time and the food was very good. What we ordered: - BLACKENED CHICKEN DILLA (Marinated blackened chicken tenders seared on a cast-iron skillet and stuffed in homemade flour tortillas with Melted Monterey Jack cheese and served with our made from scratch Ranch Dressing for dipping) - PASTELITOS (Lightly fried crescent shaped flaky pastries filled with chicken mix and cilantro. Served with Chimi Verde sauce on the side) The ranch dressing delicious. Taking the pastelitos to go made it so they were not as crispy but the taste was fine. I definitely recommend this place if you don't mind the wait for dine in or just take it go. read more

I've been coming here for 26 years. This place is a must go to when in Jersey. The fajitas are bomb and the blackened dishes are so flavorful. Chips and salsa are addicting. Service was prime. Extremely busy 24/7. read more

Jose Tejas - BLACKENED FISH FAJITAS BLACKENED CHICKEN - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

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Jose Tejas is a must try for tex mex. Been at this location for years and the food always remains the same quality. It's fresh, service is quick, and if you come on a weekend or Friday night there will be a wait. The dark lights inside make it cozy, it's not a huge location but in the summer they offer outdoor dining which accommodates more seating. Highly recommend if you're in the area, definitely check out their margaritas. read more

Jose Tejas - PASTELITOS - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

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Wait time on a Saturday night was as expected, about an hour. But, there was room to stand by the bar and have a few margaritas while watching the 76ers play. Once we got our table, service was quick and friendly. Our typical favorites are the tejas chicken and camptown shrimp to start, and we discovered a new favorite too - the blackened chicken dilla. Delicious! I loved the pasallitos too, so I usually get a whole order for my entree. Jose's always delivers! read more

Lee the server was helpful. Drinks were big but liquid based if you know what I mean. We had the fajita which was heavily cumin covered and not good at all. and one had the orleans shrimp which was flavorless. The food flavor was not good. The vibe is fun but don't order that here. You will be disappointed for sure! All four of us were. One plate barely had any veggies for the fajita. Salty rice and beans. The quac was good that's it. read more

This is my go to Mexican spot in nj, the food and service is good and the interior is really nice. I came here on a Friday night and only waited about 30 mins. Everytime I come here I always try something new. Can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Love how they give complimentary chips and salsa read more

Jose Tejas - BLACKENED FISH FAJITAS, BLACKENED SALMON * - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

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The food was pretty mid and honestly way too salty for our liking. It is fairly priced, so I guess you get what you pay for. The vibes and drinks were great, and the staff was pretty friendly. read more

Jose Tejas - Chicken Enchiladas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

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Jose Tejas always has a great vibe, fresh food and very friendly wait staff! We ate the food too fast so will post next time! Lol read more

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2.5 but will round up because I've come here a handful of times over the years when back in NJ -- it's a solid meet-up spot when coming with my vegetarian friends for some reason. I'm sad they no longer offer the tostada bowl ever since they've been under new management. The Mexican food here is spectacularly underwhelming. I am sad to have recommended to a new friend recently. I will say, since new mgmt has taken over, I haven't had to wait as long for seating as I've had to in the past. After my most recent experience with a severely subpar chicken enchilada plate and my veg friend who seemed neither thrilled nor disappointed with his vegetarian blackened broccoli fajita dish (I think if he were thrilled he would've said so, but if he were disappointed he would've kept it to himself), I don't think I will be coming back. This is a gross generalization but clearly New Jersey is not the place for good Mexican food. read more

My best friend and I stopped by Jose Tejas after not going for a while, and it was just as good as we remembered. The place was lively but not too loud, and they seated us right away with warm chips and salsa (still sooo good!). We started with two mango margaritas. My best friend's was on the rocks with a salt rim and mine was frozen with Tajín. They were both perfect. I got the gumbo, which honestly surprised me with how good it was. My friend had the salmon taco and loved it.Our waiter was super patient and kind, and overall the whole experience felt easy and fun. Definitely glad we came back! read more

Chimichurri steak is back! It was so good, perfect w my margarita. And their fries are so good too.

Jose Tejas never disappoints! You can't go wrong with their margaritas! Always delicious and perfectly made. The complimentary chips and salsa are fresh and addictive, and the steak and chicken fajitas come out sizzling and full of flavor every time. Fun atmosphere, great food, and consistently good service. Always a solid choice! read more

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I used to come here all the time years ago and endured the long wait times because the drinks were awesome, you could hang at the bar before you had your tasty meal and it was a good time. I don't live close by anymore and I was in the area and knew I had to come back. I guess a lot has changed over the past couple years. I feel like my two stars is generous unfortunately. I pulled in the parking lot and it was packed -so you had a circle for a spot, and there was a line to check in as if nothing had changed. Something new I noticed was a takeout window by the front door. The wait time was an hour. Not a problem we went to the bar. The margaritas tasted similar to how they used to, but holy cow did it take a long time to order. There were only two bartenders, and it took us forever to place an order. One told us he was gonna come back to us, and he took care of several different parties before he finally did. I want to say we waited almost a good 20-25 minutes to order. We got seated for dinner after an hour of checking in. Our server Lizbeth was not friendly. We ordered fajitas and they came out not sizzling, so when we asked about that, we were told things changed during Covid. Since when do fajitas not sizzle? The steak fajitas were also so spicy I couldn't even eat them. This was always my go to order, so clearly the recipe also changed. Our waitress didn't care and seemed like she couldn't be bothered because I had asked her and it was not listed on the menu that they were spicy. She also forgot to bring something out and seemed annoyed when we asked to take that off the bill because they didn't bring it to us. I ate the cost for the fajitas and didn't order anything else. She also overcharged us and added another drink that we didn't get. No apologies just seemed annoyed. Honestly, the experience just left a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended). Unfortunately, I think my good times enjoying this restaurant are in the past. read more

Decided to try something different this time due to it being Cinco Demayo (I know the spelling is wrong)........ Anyway, I ordered the pulled-chicken taco...............it was terrible. The chicken had a consistency and taste just like the spit balls I made as a kid out of the white paper with blue lines. I'll leave it at that. read more

I'm still sad they took the crawfish quesadilla off the menu but the food was good and great service read more

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Service was spectacular and the vibes were good, the food, errr not so much. I have never heard of a restaurant that cannot substitute... like Literally ANYTHING on the menu. We ordered each item as-is after learning of their absurd no substitution policy. Then came the food and it tasted like it was cooked in the ocean- extremely salty! The presentation was adequate but please cut down on the salt man, completely unnecessary. It wasn't just 1 item, it was the quesadillas, the nachos, and the empanadas- all had excessive sodium! read more

Seated right away. Waitress was very friendly and attentive. Sort of a rustic feel in the restaurant. Lots of seating. We were brought chips and salsa right away. I like their salsa because not too spicy. I ordered enchiladas with beef and black beans and Jose rice. Enchiladas were delicious with lots of melted cheese on top. Just the right amount of spice for me. Black beans were really good. Jose rice was a bit too spicy for me. We also ordered chicken quesadillas. They were a bit soggy so didn't eat them all. read more

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I waited about 25 minutes on a busy Thursday night which was not bad at all. The service was fast and great. The enchiladas hit the spot and the price was on point! read more

Jose Tejas - Enchiladas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

My go to when in the area. I love the blackened chicken strips and blackened salmon. Super flavorful. read more

Jose Tejas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

I cannot STAND the wait time here but the food is worth it . I came back to back weekends recently and everything was delicious. My go tos. The salmon tacos, the French fries, the steak. And a margarita is a must ! read more

Jose Tejas - Blackened salmon tacos - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

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8/9/25 - Jose Tejas on Rte. 9 in Woodbridge has been my go to Mexican restaurant since moving to NJ back in 2002. The food was always good but we did stop going for a number of years. Why? Because if you show up there any time after 4pm, be prepared to wait. And wait. And wait.... 1 1/2 to 2 hours was not uncommon. We recently started going there again but now we only go during the lunch hours as we did today. The wait was a reasonable 5 minutes. After you are seated, you are greeted with salsa and warm tortilla chips. Both are heavenly. Now some more good news: somehow, the food has gotten even better! I had the burros ---it looks like a burrito and is stuffed with shredded beef. And the rice is so delicious that it makes you want to place a side order to go for a late night snack. :) The food is very reasonably priced. The bill for two people was a manageable $35.00. The restaurant has a super casual and fun atmosphere. The service is lightning quick. We barely dug into our chips when the entrees arrived. The food is a little bit spicy --- it will make your nose a little runny, but not even close enough to make you stop eating or cause pain. Overall, this is the best Mexican food in my area. Overall rating: A read more

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Late night snap at Jose Tejas with our sweet server Emma who made Levi's night Levi and I moved from Downtown LA to Woodbridge 2.5 years ago -- and this gem was the very first restaurant we landed at. We loved it then, and nothing has changed since Even yesterday, after a full day at Legoland NY and an hour-long drive back, we pulled in and were told patio service wasn't available. But the staff made it happen anyway, just so we could enjoy that perfect summer night. The food? Always on point. I never skip the veggie empanadas, and Levi devoured his quesadilla Grateful for places that feel like tradition. #JoseTejas #WoodbridgeEats #SummerNights #MomLife #LeviMoments read more

Jose Tejas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

came here for lunch with work proximity associates. I Haven't been back for many many years. I remembered this was the spot for cheap Corona back before Modelo was popular. Sadly, my beef burro was really salty and I needed a couple beers to water it down but since it was a work lunch I only had water :( read more

Food: I have been coming to this restaurant since I was a child. It is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in general. The menu has changed since then, but I still really enjoy their food. My favorite dish is the chicken fajitas which comes with chicken tenders, onions and peppers, tortillas, and a side of lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, and sour cream. The tortillas are fresh and serve warm. Their appetizers and other dishes are also very delicious. The only thing that made me give four stars versus five is the salt content is very high in all of the dishes and makes you very thirsty afterwards. As soon as you are seated, you get free tortilla chips and salsa too. Service: Service is usually excellent here. The server comes to check on you throughout the meal and also refills your water and drinks as soon as they see it's almost empty. Ambiance: The restaurant is pretty big with tables for small and large groups. The decor is nice and has a Tex-Mex theme. The place is very popular and gets packed very quickly. You can expect to wait for a table during peak hours. Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant! read more

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Haven't been here in ages! Grabbed a bite to eat with my brother this week and it was sooooo good. Got the blackened fish tacos. Very flavorful along with the rice and beans and had a great amount of spice to it, wasn't bland at all. Was super busy at 730pm but our waitress was super friendly and patient and got our order quickly. Was only $36 for the two of us, highly recommend! read more

Absolutely hate to write this but nothing has changed since the last visit -- for the better anyway. Have been coming here for over 20 years. What was once a family favorite has been lacking post covid. We tried it again after a year or so of not having a great experience and was really rooting for this place to have turned it around. Unfortunately it just still isn't the same. The menu did add some items back but a lot of the original items are still MIA (catfish, crawfish etouffee). Pricing increases and decreased portion sizes are happening everywhere but once the quality starts lacking it becomes too much. The food was either too heavily salted or lacked any salt/seasoning at all. No more sizzling plates and several entrees arrived lukewarm. The inside decor of the place also looks heavily sterilized --- no more colorful lights and walls made out of beer boxes. At least the servers still seem attentive. read more

Jose Tejas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

Uhhh why was this place closed at 7:30 pm today? All the lights were on inside, doors were locked. Hope everyone who works there is okay. I watch way too much true crime. But also I really wanted your chicken pastelitos for my birthday. read more

Ordered take out as it's been a hot minute since having my Tejas. Tejas chicken, blackened salmon tacos and blackened salmon salad was perfect! What was the miss?? The hostess giving me attitude when I went inside to pick up my food rather than waiting outside at the pickup window ( waited a few minutes without anyone looking to see if ppl were waiting) She said she's "busy and can't always stand at the take out window." read more

A Woodbridge and Central Jersey classic! Jose Tejas serves up some delicious Tex mex! I went with the Cajun Gumbo while my boss has the indelible Steak Fajitas. Also ordered the DJ 1942 sipping tequila. Oh and how could I forget the fresh chips and salsa! This was honestly the first time I've been sat as soon as entering as normally the wait is always roughly and hour. A true testament of how good this restaurant is and has been for as long as I can remember. It's a must visit for me! read more

Jose Tejas - Louisiana Gumbo - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

Great Mexican food. Good Happy Hour menu. Excellent service. Decor is Mexican inspired. Steak fajitas good with accompaniments. Interesting no coffee or tea available. Probably to turn tables faster. read more

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I always love coming here - it's become something of a family tradition We love the unlimited nachos and salsa The guacamole is always fresh and the queso dip is consistent and delicious I always find the food to be over salted regardless of what I order - the burro, quesadilla, enchiladas or fajitas I think that may be something of personal preference though because no one else seems to complain about it The strawberry daiquiri is delicious and fries as well I will definitely keep coming back here annually! If they served breakfast the chips would make an amazing chilaquiles! read more

Classic, haven't been here in some time now and surprisingly everything is the same from the service to the food to the decor, nothing has changed. This place has a quick turn around because the food comes out quickly and consistently good. I enjoyed the blacken salmon salad and shrimp. This goes for the drinks as well, our waiter wasn't too much for words but he was efficient and took care of the table needs. It was packed with families glad they're still doing good . read more

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I love coming to Jose Tejas. It's one of my favorite restaurants to eat out at. I have never had a bad experience here. They offer so many good menu items too. I feel like I have tried their entire menu lol. Some of my favorite items to get are the blackened chicken, gumbo soup, quesadillas, salads, and their burritos. There is not a single bad item to order here. The blackened chicken is to die for. This is the must order item for anyone visiting for the first time. My absolute favorite dish here. Highly recommended! read more

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The frozen margaritas were great. I really enjoyed the tacos & the quesadilla. The guacamole could have used some salt but the free salsa was probably the best restaurant salsa I've ever had. The staff were nice & the restaurant is beautifully decorated. read more

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Jose Tejas never disappoints, 10/10 no matter what you order. I recommend the quesadillas! The only down side is the long waits read more

Jose Tejas - Quesadillas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey

Such good food drinks atmosphere and prices ! The only downside is there is always a long wait but no biggie

I think it's okay! I love how big this place is and how quickly they bring out the food. The chips and salsa were also delicious and a great appetizer. It's quite busy on the weekends so make sure to be ready to wait 20-30 for a table. In terms of food - I think the veggie fajitas were okay. Some pieces were too salty and some lacked salt. My family got the corn and bean empanadas which they enjoyed so I think it's based on what you end up ordering read more

Food was so good! Margarita hit the spot! Our server was so friendly and quick! Highly recommend the fish tacos! The manager even stopped by to see how things were. They were packed but their staff has it under control. Definitely will be back! read more

Jose Tejas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Iselin, New Jersey