More of a low-key super casual place that is pretty popular when the crawfish come out....true to popular opinion the mud bugs here are fantastic! Great flavor in the boil and not too much nitro dusting. Great deal at $30 for 5 lbs. My wife and I each ordered one. Along with a burger for my kids tab came to $85 which I think is reasonable as including all soft drinks and tip it came to $100 total. This included the two crawfish place as well as the cheeseburger my daughter had (this one doesn't like crawfish). Place is packed on weekend evenings, but a great place to sneak into during the early afternoon. If we are back on the peninsula we are definitely coming here if it's crawfish season. Staff super nice and she filled all of our glasses multiple times between tea, water, soda and was great about clearing the table promptly as well. Worth a stop! read more

See all

What's great: The vibe - live music, lots of tables, very low key, good service The drinks - creative and tasty The queso - trust us. Get it. The salsas - you'll eat too much, it's ok. What's just ok: The flavor of the fajita beef and chicken. As in, they don't have much. If you like grilled meat without any seasoning, then it is perfect for you. We found it very bland. Would we go back? Maybe but it's definitely not the best food option around. But I might go back if I knew the evening's entertainment would be taking the stage again. He was GREAT. read more

I took the family for lunch today and it was very good, the chicken fajitas and Jose's platter were our favorites. Our server was very friendly and took great care of us. read more

Jose's is the best on Crystal Beach in our opinion, forsure the most consistent! The drinks are GREAT, the food is always good and the service is even better!! Jose's never disappoints! read more

While camping in margaritaville we went down the street to this Mexican restaurant. Service and food was excellent. Highly recommend and will return. read more

Jose's Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

See all

It wasn't bad just not the greatest I've had on the Gulf. It was really large inside and looks like a hopping place in busy season. read more

See all

We called Jose's Cantina yesterday evening and asked if they had oysters on the half shell? The girl said yes we do (after she went and checked) at $12.99 per dozen. 15 later we were there being served drinks and appetizers after ordering 2 dozen oysters. The waitress then told us that they didn't have oysters on the half shell! I asked to speak with the manager and she said sorry . The past 3 times we have been here the service has gotten worse and to top it off this is the second time they told us they had them and didn't. Don't waste your time or money here. The only reason I rated them a "1" is because zero isn't a option! read more

Jose's Cantina - We got these at LaPlayita and they were outstanding! - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

We had a "I'm too exhausted from the drive down to cook" evening and decided to go to Jose's. I'm glad we did. It was nice and cool inside and it wasn't so loud we couldn't talk and hear each other. The menu was different.... But good different. They had all kinds of seafood and.... All kinds of Mexican food. So if you wanted fajitas bam or if you wanted some fried seafood bam. We started off with the fried calamari and fried seafood stuffed jalapeños. Wow absolutely delish. I didn't get a picture of our food but it was amazing as well. They also have a full bar and prices were reasonable. Our waiter kept checking on us and kept the ice water when we first got there. read more

Jose's Cantina - Appetizer fried calamari and fried seafood stuffed jalapeños. - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

The seafood fish platters were good! The catfish and shrimp were the favorites! The upgraded walnut fruit salad was also very good. Service was a little slow having a party or 7 but overall everyone enjoyed their food. read more

The Avocado Shrimp Salad with a side of Gumbo is my best pick on the menu. Delicious. Happy Hour is $3 for a Magarita. It is good a spot to dine.. Services is great. Ambiance is the beachy feel with great food. read more

Jose's Cantina - The best restaurant on the beach. . One of the best. - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

Came with a group of 12, great service and great food. Manager came several times to make sure everything was good and even gave the kids a quarter each for gumballs. The server Heather was awesome recommending food and making sure everything was ok. 10/10. read more

See all

This place is very good! Stuffed shrimp is a little spicy but I like it that way. Service was great. Atmosphere is nice. read more

Jose's Cantina - Stuffed grilled shrimp, alligator, sweet potato fries - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

Great food and customer service. Their employees are always coming around the table several times checking on their customers making sure they are satisfied. read more

Best place to eat on the Bolivar Peninsula. We come here every year. Staff and the food is great. My favorite is the seafood combo of crawfish and shrimp. It's 2 lbs of crawfish and 1/2 lb of shrimp with some corn and potato's. I share for those that wanted some, good price for $25. read more

*Gumbo looked like Galveston water *got crab instead of alligator *Chicken fried steak more like hamburger helper *Shrimp came with tails *sodas were watered down *Drinks refilled once * took abt 15 minutes for some new chips (it was not busy) Only thing good about this experience was the poker game on the tv. ITS BEEN BETTER WHAT HAPPENED read more

Awesome in other words no one does it better!!! Crystal beach for 6 days aye there 3 times!!!! Great atmosphere as well

My family had a couple excellent experiences at Jose's. Our kids loved the alligator bites, and each had them twice! I had a different white fish each time, and each time had them Veracruz style, which involved the addition of a concoction of peppers, little shrimp, butter, plus more. Really good. On our first visit there was live music, which we really enjoyed. The second time we did carry out, which was also a good experience. Highly recommended! read more

Jose's Cantina - Grouper Veracruz - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

First and last time at Jose's Cantina. I have never been so dissatisfied with a restaurant that I actually made time to leave a bad review. We were there for almost 2 hours including the 35 minute wait time. The waitress was super sweet and accommodating and did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, my two children cannot eat wheat, so whenever we visit Mexican restaurants, we always ask them if they can make cheese quesadillas with corn tortillas instead of flour. We have never had an issue with this at any restaurant that we've ever been to. If they couldn't/wouldn't do it, then we would order something else, no problem! The waitress said they could do that, but there would be an upcharge. We were fine with that. One child wanted french fries with his food and the other wanted rice and beans. About 15 minutes later, a random plate of fries came out by itself for my child. I thought that was a little odd, but we went with it. About 20 minutes later, the rest of our food came out. My child who wanted fries had nothing but refried beans on his plate with his quesadillas. Again, super odd, but it was fine. I could immediately tell that the quesadillas were made with flour tortillas. It was another female staff member that brought out the food and I mentioned that the quesadillas were supposed to be made with corn tortillas and she said that we only make them with flour. Didn't apologize or offer to fix it. I explained that they couldn't eat flour tortillas and she walked over to another woman who I'm assuming was the manager, but she never came to talk to us or try to make it right. When our waitress came back, I showed her that the quesadillas were made with flour, she apologized and took the plates back to the kitchen to have them fixed. When she came back, she told us that the kitchen said that the corn tortillas were too small to make quesadillas and that they were too busy. Too busy! It was now 8:30pm and the restaurant was over half empty. They made a mistake and refused to fix it. I was in complete shock at the lack of customer service or accountability. I had to order another plate of fries for my other child and it came out quick. My children had a plate of fries for dinner. I wasn't going to try to order anything else at this point, so we fed them when we got back to the camper. Also, my fried okra were undercooked with batter still inside the crust. This was my first time at Jose's Cantina and we only came to try it because Tia Juanita's was too busy. Every time we go to Tia Juanita's, they make my kids cheese quesadillas with corn tortillas even though quesadillas isn't even on the kids menu. Now that is great customer service from a restaurant who cares about their customers. Lesson learned and we will never be back. As my 7 year old said, "0 stars". read more

Everything was very good. Tried twice, lunch and breakfast. Food was hot fresh and flavorful. Waitstaff was attentive and friendly. Decor is nice and fitting. Easy to find and parking is plentiful. See pictures read more

See all

Great food, priced fair for the portion sizes, great atmosphere. Friendly service. Live music

Service was great! Atmosphere was very laid back which is something we enjoy. Our waitress was very attentive. Highly recommend building your own platter. Jose himself stuffs the crab and it's amazing! Came around and checked on his customers. If you like mixed drinks try the sandblaster! As 1st timers here we will def be back and highly recommend read more

Jose's Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

Our server Cheyenne was awesome and food was perfect!!! We will definitely be back again! Thanks so much!

My father passed away so I needed some beach time. I rented cabin on the beach and the gentleman who dropped off the golf cart suggested Jose's Cantina for lunch. Walking in, I realized I had been here before. The restaurant is simple and good fare. The bar is central and decorated nicely. Seating is booths and a tables. My server was very friendly and had good follow up, very attentive. Chips and 2 salsas were delivered quickly. The green had some kick, wasn't wild about the red, chips were good. I ordered the speciality drink, I normally don't spend $14 on a drink but it sounded tasty. It came served with a marshmallow rim and toasted coconut. It was absolutely delicious. I ordered a cup of gumbo to start. It had a very rich roux sauce and a great flavor. I also ordered the Gramps plate which was served with two tamales and two enchiladas, rice and charros beans. They were topped with meat sauce, really tasty. Great experience. read more

See all

We ordered a steak for my son....medium rare. It wasn't even rare. You could tell when it was set down on the table it was raw before even cutting into it. Service was slow. read more

One of our favorite places to frequent at the beach. So many choices from Seafood, American food, Mexican food, etc. In my opinion, the best crawfish & BBQ Crabs you can get on the Peninsula! Jose and his family are so good to our community, always giving back read more

They apparently call tostada a Chalupa unless it's not right But other than that, the food is pretty good and didn't make their salsa a bit more spicy read more

Jose's Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

As others had said, this place has great food but questionable servers. We parked on the side, entered that door and headed upstairs, but walked into a bar and pool room heavy with cigarettes smoke. We left and found the front door and entered the restaurant, where a confused hostess could not figure out how or where to seat us. Finally a gentleman (maybe the owner?), came over, and directed us to our table. It took forever for our waitress to come over (he returned and asked if we had been served, then hurried a server over!). The menu has a mix of Mexican and seafood choices. He had the seafood platter, loved the fish and shrimp, the onion rings weee Meh. I had delicious grilled fish soft tacos that had large pieces of hot catfish with crunchy cabbage & vegetables. It was great! So, bottom line, not the best place for good service, but certainly a place for good food. We returned for a second chance and a much better experience!!! read more

Jose's Cantina - Grilled shrimp with Cajun potatoes - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

See all

Had breakfast to go. Outdated menus online so took a pic and adding to this review. We had porkchop meal with eggs and huevos con chorizo. Friendly staff. All yummy. Portions were large. Would return. read more

Jose's Cantina - Breakfast menu as of 12/2/23. - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

Great food and the salsa is amazing. I got a large cup of it too go so if you're hungry and looking for a good place to eat !!!!!!! read more

Jose's Cantina - Random pic - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

Allison was amazing! Great service and great food. She made the experience at Jose's memorable! Thanks Allison!!

Where do I start... me and my friends had an unforgettable night at Jose's Cantina's. Our server, Jessica went above and beyond giving us a great experience. We had a party of 17 and she served every one of us no issue. She was organized, didn't mess up any orders, and gave us all the correct receipts. Thanks Jessica! She was amazing! So smart and so kind. They gave me alcohol, shrimp, chicken, and fried okra. What else can you ask for. Great service. Worthy of a second visit. Very accommodating and a friendly environment with really good chalupas ------------------------------------------------------ This is the guy that got the chalupas Personally never thought I'd experience being a rabbit in real life but here I am Crying into my hard shell frisbee was the best part of my night read more

Jose's Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Crystal Beach, Texas

This one is a tough one for me. There's so much potential, but, we just didn't see it. I was hoping for a great Mexican restaurant with an ocean view. No ocean view. They sat us in the back next to the restroom, which again, was not what I had hoped for. The service, although fair, was very automated. Then the food. The chips and salsa were good. My wife had the shrimp fajitas which she absolutely loved. I had the 3 enchilada plate, which was good, but not wow. My cousin had the taco plate which she said was not even as good as Taco Bell. The premade tortillas are not what I'd expect from a good Mexican restaurant. I'd rate an overall 3.5 stars. read more

This place is busy, an obvious local fave. We eat here every time we come to Bolivar and really enjoy it. My comment tonight is, every time we do come here, the cigarette smoke from the bar upstairs is very noticeable upon entry. Depending on where you get sat makes a huge difference in whether or not you continue to notice it after being sat. I also think that not regularly being around smokers at any length of time makes it more noticeable. Sign outside as well as Yelp and Google indicate they are open for breakfast. We came here for breakfast on Saturday morning parking lot was empty no lights were on nobody answered the phone so they're not open for breakfast. They need to update their Yelp and Google and their signage. read more

See all

Each visit to Crystal Beach we stop in here. Food is superb and always friendly.. try the margaritas!!!

Second time to eat here.Boiled shrimp is great & fresh. Sour cream enchiladas was really good. Tortilla soup was ok but not the best. The restaurant was clean and comfortable. Our service was good and she was very helpful. The only negative was the charro beans tasted bland. read more

Mixed reviews on Jose's. We went for breakfast and it was great. We dined again for dinner and it was a let down. Each time the staff was friendly and the place was clean with swift service. read more

I feel like this place has the best potential ever but may be experiencing a hiring shortage. I will say that we got seated super quick considering how busy every place in the area was. It was really just the details that got missed on this visit. I appreciate that they give free chips, being a Mexican restaurant, but when you order queso, it's important that chips be on the table when the queso arrives. When the chips showed up for the bowl of queso, the meals had already been there for 10 minutes. Here's what I'll say though... the prices are verrrrry reasonable, actually super cheap for the great quality of the food. Our waitress was very good, the live music was great, overall we had a very good time but hopefully they get the added labor to fill in the spaces read more

The waitress was pleasant. The food was terrible. Worst quesadillas of my life. How can you mess up quesadillas? So gross.

We are on vacation and decided to try out this local spot. It is a 2-story rather large venue filled with locals. A big bar in the middle of the room and hard wood as far as the eye could see. We ordered some crab cakes which said market price. I'm not sure I tasted any actual crab. They were floppy mushy fish cakes, and the price was 12.99. I also ordered the shrimp po boy. It wasn't bad. The fries were probably the best part. The taco salad was good as well. The shell was very tasty. If you want to go somewhere that is a weird mexican seafood fusion, you found the right place. The sevice was very good! No empty drinks, and every order was correct. read more

See all

First year at Crystal Beach and we were there during winter which is off season. We started at Jose's and were very happy with the choices of the menu. Staff were super friendly and helpful in helping us make choices. The 5 of us each tried something different and all the food was delicious, served promptly, and the drinks were great. Margarita hit the spot! Others of our group made other visits and reported each time the ambiance was welcoming, friendly, and food and drinks always spot on. We will see them all again next year! read more