We normally love Uncle Julio's but on this night, the tortilla soup was lukewarm which really affected the flavor and taste. The shrimp appetizer was good though. The service was okay but not as good as usual. After we said two of us were pleased with the temp of the soup, they didn't offer anything more. In the past if we ever had any issue, the manager has come over to talk with us. We weren't looking for any refund, just wanted them to know the food wasn't as good as we are used to. Additionally, refills were slow, and the fajitas came out in multiple steps, first the meat, then a little while later, the accompaniments and then a few minutes later, the tortillas. Just not a great dinner experience this time overall. read more

This is a review from an experience a few months ago when I came here for a coworker's birthday luncheon. I had not been to this particular Uncle Julio's before, in fact, it is set off the road enough that if you blink you might miss it. Walking in you immediately notice that the ambiance pays tribute to their other stores in that there is a nice blend of traditional Mexican decor blended with modern decor. I ordered Fajitas. I am going to say they were respectable. Not the best I have had, but way better than a lot I have had. Would I get them again? Probably, but there are a lot of other things I would try on the menu before getting them again. Being my coworker's birthday, we ordered a Chocolate Piñata for dessert. It was a fun experience to have people at the table take a swing at it, until out came Churros, and Fresh Fruit. There was an array of sauces to dip the Fruit and Churros in. Our Service was a bit slow at times, and for that I am taking a star off the rating. We all sat on the patio, which may have contributed to our feeling forgotten a few times read more

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The service was fantastic the food was not good. We ordered the beef fajitas and combination meal with the beef taco, beef enchilada, pork tamale and rice and beans. The fajita meat was tough and so think we had to ask for a knife to cut it. The rice did not have much a taste. The enchilada was not properly rolled, the meat was dry and the cheese was not melted. Lastly, the tortilla chips came out really cold. Maybe it was an off night but it was not a great meal. read more

Great place to sit at the bar: enjoy an adult beverage and their chips & salsa. Uncle Julio's chips are warm and on the thinner side that I like. My guy had a classic margarita on the rocks and I had the seasonal margarita which was fantastic (agave house sour, muddled cranberries, Lunazul and St Germaine). I'll go back for the seasonal margarita several times before it goes off the menu. read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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This has always been a go to family favorite. However the last few times we have been, it's clear that there's new management or something. Biggest difference - portion sizes. A large queso is now what a small would have been. And for the fajitas, the sides of guac and sour cream has shrunk considerably. Similarly, they would only give us three flour tortillas at a time and the time to get new ones was long. And no side cheese either. The queso is also just blander now. The situation wasn't helped by mediocre and slow service. There were about three people working the front check in but while the place was about 1/3 full, the service was super slow. Lots of upselling when our server did come to the table, but weirdly they didn't serve plates with the fajitas without asking and even that took a while. We had to use the plate under the queso for the meals. We made a reservation for five and were seated at a table for six. No big deal but the hostess didn't even pull away the extra seat. We did that ourselves despite being told to enjoy ourselves half a dozen times. Overall, just a disappointment for what was a family favorite. We clearly need a new one now. read more

Sat for 10 minutes with no waiter in site, terrible service at this location. Place was not even busy.

Everything about this place is bad. Service times were horrible. Took 20 minutes to see the waitress for our table. Then after that another 15. Ordered fajitas for two, then waited another 25 minutes. Food comes out cold and the meal was for one. Flavorless food , meat hot plate loaded with soy sauce. Rice was inedible, cold. Charros were such a small portion and cold. Waitress was totally inexistent and had very little care about this. Restaurant was NOT busy . Also $28 for 1 plate with all of the above. SAVE YOUR TIME AND MONEY AND GO TO MI DIA, they never disappoint and are almost cheaper than this place. Unfortunately, this place preys on tourists it would seem. Thanks for ruining dinner for me and my family tonight. read more

Tortilla soup was okay, a bit salty same as shrimp fajitas. Price is too high compared to quality of products. Service is good. The atmosphere is nice and very traditional. Perhaps if needs remodeling. read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

1 Star -- Huge Disappointment There's a reason why all the recent reviews aren't good. We came to Uncle Julio's on a Thursday night and it was somewhat busy, but that's no excuse for how bad the experience was. There was only one waitress handling at least seven tables, and the service was absolutely horrible. We waited forever just to have our order taken -- at one point, our waitress literally forgot she had already come by. When the food finally came out, it was barely warm and tasted awful. The queso was especially bad -- it honestly tasted like it was made with powdered cheese. We barely ate any of our food, paid the bill, and left. What used to be a great restaurant has gone completely downhill. The food runners looked totally confused, wandering around unsure which tables needed food or what they were even carrying. The only decent thing we had all night was the iced tea and water. Do yourself a favor and skip this place. If you want good quality Mexican food, drive a little further down the street to La Hacienda Ranch -- or honestly, even Taco Casa serves better tacos than Uncle Julio's these days. Don't waste your time or money here. read more

I have eaten Mexican and Tex-Mex food all over the USA. The food I had at Uncle Julio's was undoubtedly the absolute worst! The food had little to no flavor and was barely warm. The service was just the bare minimum. Had to ask for water twice. The room was not crowded and the atmosphere was very casual. Avoid this place like the plague. read more

Unfortunately, "twice" time is a charm for me here. I had gone several months back and was not serviced until I found someone to help us. I will say then the manager was very helpful and offered a free appetizer etc. We declined that appetizer as we weren't after anything but to be accommodated while we were there. Today, we gave them another shot. Walked in and were seated relatively quickly and told "your server will be right with you" - this was at 11:30 AM. There were a few other tables that were sat at that same time but no more than 10 total in the whole restaurant from what I could see. 11:40 rolled around and still nothing so I told my partner we would wait until 11:45 and if still not served we would go somewhere else. It came and my thought was to let them know we were leaving... unfortunately there really wasn't anyone to tell... so we left. It's unfortunate. The restaurant has potential but lacks attention. Hopeful they can get this ship together before it isn't around anymore. read more

Totally enjoyed trying this restaurant out. It was a busy Mother's Day afternoon and the staff was on their A-game. We were seated immediately and the young lady who served us was awesome. She was friendly and efficient. She got our orders and constantly checked in to see if we were doing fine and if we needed anything else. The manager met with all the guests to ensure great service. The drinks menu has a good selection of margaritas, beer and wine options. Watermelon margarita was the drink the month. Chips are served with 2 kinds of salsa - the smokey bbq salsa was different & unique. Enchiladas and tacos are what we ordered and the food tasted great. The ice cream ball for dessert was amazing - definitely shareable. Ambiance of the restaurant was upscale and spacious. Lots of parking available. Would recommend making a reservation for evenings and special occasions. Pricing : Moderate high Will I return? : For sure! read more

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The service was good! Even with a huge party! They did amazing! The best thing about this place is that they had my favorite beer Tecate!! And the shrimp stuffed poblano was surprisingly good! Everything else way below par! I had the barbacoa plate! I won't be getting that again!! All the salas were not even spicy!! The enchiladas and steaks meals were not good! read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

Not sure how this restaurant is still in business. The worst service I've ever seen. It took forever to get drinks, food was cold, no sense of urgency. The food just ok. read more

Service was good the ambiance is great! The fajitas were delicious!Don't forget the Mexican butter it's soooo good! read more

Uncle Julio's - Fajitas for 2 with the Mexican butter! - Mexican Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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What happened? We used to love this place but it has gone way down hill. We went on a Saturday night & realized rather quickly the temperature was rather warm. We asked our waitress why it was so hot & she told us the A/C wasn't working! (Then WHY is the restaurant still opened?) This is August in Texas! Our drink ordered came in a timely manner but our food took FOREVER! Our waitress asked us if we wanted another round of drinks but we haven't even had our food yet! The restrooms were absolutely disgusting! There was water all over the floor & no soap in the soap dispenser. After all of this we decided it was time to talk to the manager who basically laughed it off. When our food FINALLY came we were missing one entree & by the time it came she wasn't hungry anymore! Unfortunately, we will NOT be back. read more

The waiting times for this place is horrible! Took 20 minutes for the waiter to take our order, I ended up not ordering anything.

Best chicken fajitas in DFW!!! The chicken breast was amazing also!! Love this place.

This 5 star review was for one reason- Our waiter! We frequent this location regularly solely for our steak fajita fix. While Uncle Julio's is by far our favorite place to get them, I'll admit they are not always super consistent with the cook. Never bad, just some visits they are better than others. Today we had just an ok experience with the food. It was still yummy. But our waiter was hands down the best we've ever had here! He was very kind, attentive, polite, thoughtful and SUPER on top of everything! He said his name was Jaden (or Jayden sp?) So if you find yourself here soon- ask for a table in his section! He was FANTASTIC!! read more

Uncle Julio's - Steak fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

Tried the carnitas tacos for lunch with a side of guac. It definitely need some sort of dressing/sauce as the carnitas were a bit on the dryer side. The tortillas were definitely some of the best I've had, I just wish the meat was up to the same standard. The tacos are garnished with cilantro and cotija cheese. Some pickled onions or sauce would definitely take it to the next level! read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

I do recommend this place for lunch or dinner. The food is fantastic. The service is excellent and we will be returning here on a regular basis even though it's way out of our way. It is well worth it. read more

Second visit in the last two months. This UJ location in grapevine is not a good representation of UJ's brand. The last two visits have seen us wait 15-20 mins to get our drinks ordered (not received), ordered. Both times I've had to go back to the hostess stand to find our server. The food took a long time as well, and it was room temp when it arrived. I don't mind a wait if the food is hot and tastes good. Again, other UJ's locations have great quality & service....not this one. I won't try this location again. read more

The quality of food has gone way down hill since the new ownership. The warm buttery tortillas are now bland and thin. The rice is now bland and dry. The queso also isn't the same and it's not good either. They are ruining a Fort Worth icon. Such a shame. read more

Meh. This restaurant used to be the Movies 8 theater. My friends and I would go see movies there and then hit up the Wendy's right there. Anyway, I have been to Uncle Julio's several times. Not terrible, but if you have another option. Maybe consider it. read more

Just paid over $65 for 2 adults and 1 child for terrible food and a broken air conditioning. It wasn't until after we sat down and ordered that we realized we weren't cooling off from the 94 degree heat. You think this place would put a sign on the door to warn patrons that the ice in their drinks won't last 20 minutes. My husband and I are trying to stick to a low carb diet and both ordered salads. He had the Caesar, I had the Cobb, and both salads came with wilted, soggy lettuce for nearly $20 each! My child had the kid's chicken fingers that were mediocre with cold French fries and little side of guacamole. The wait staff was lovely, but the food was garbage and an absolute waste of money! read more

Uncle Julio's has been one of my favorite restaurants for more than 30 years. So many great memories there with my parents, brother, friends, wife, and our kids as they were growing up. For mine and my younger daughter's birthdays, it was always one of our top 2 restaurant choices. We went there last night for my birthday and were really looking forward to it. But the whole experience was off. First of all, the salsa was very watery. The flavor was similar, but tasted very diluted. It was about as thin as a water based soup. Then they brought us some queso, which has always been amazing. Same issue. Very thin and watery enough that you could drink it. We kindly asked our waitress about this and she said "the recipes had been changed." It seems like they just added water. As we waited for our food, we did a basic Google search and found that Uncle Julio's had been purchased by Sun Holdings, a private equity company. I've seen how this has played out with other local restaurants and it's not good. In the past, even when they were crowded, service was always pretty fast. But it was exceptionally slow. The waitress was nice and was never rude. But it took a very long time. When our fajitas finally arrived, they were basically room temperature and were not searing like usual. All the onions and peppers were just a watery conglomeration. The meat wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I'm seriously wondering if they're buying it precooked / frozen and just heating it up. It wasn't the same. The rice and beans were also very dull and had little flavor. The atmosphere was fine, but the food was a major disappointment. And it feels like we greatly overpaid for what we got. Knowing that they're being run by a private equity company, I don't see things turning around. We left feeling genuinely sad. After 30+ years, Uncle Julio's is not the same place we've always loved. I doubt we'll ever go back. read more

Deanna (hope I spelled that right) our waitress, was great. It wasn't too crowded when we came and were seated immediately. The hostess sat us at a table initially but we asked for a booth. There were two open booths behind the table but she sat us at the one in the back of the restaurant. However the couple that walked in after us, were seated in one of those booths. Not a major deal and we could've asked for one of those booths but it was just something I noticed. Now for the food! Chicken and steak fajitas for 2: 7.5/10 the steak wasn't cooked how we requested flavor wise the steak was good and so was the chicken. The rice was a little mushy for my liking but the pinto beans were the most flavorful thing. Appreciated that we were able to get our own guacamole/ cheese / sour cream and tortillas. Queso blanco with ground beef: 7/10 this was good the only thing I wish is that it came on some type of hot plate to keep the cheese warm. Blood orange margarita: 9/10 no complaints this was a great drink. Swirl margarita: 6.5/10 it melted fast and it was very average. The only thing that saved it was the nice sizes glass it came in. read more

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Things have drastically changed we used to love this place .. the staff and management has definitly changed over . We waited two hours and still no food .. if you are not the popular ethnicity don't go here .. they will walk right past you now. read more

When you order fajitas you expect them to come to the table sizzling. Not the case the steak was mostly fat and the chicken was Luke warm. Lemons for the water was very slimy. Not sure this was the best trip. read more

This place use to be good. It use almost taste authentic. Now it taste like any other chain restaurant. It's a shame. The place looks so nice. Pretty sad. But the service was really good. read more

This place was always more expensive than most Tex-Mex places but now the prices are worse. Smaller portions and outrageous prices. Regular beef fajitas (see photo) were $27.50; combination $24.50. Total bill for these fajitas and one Coke Zero came to $73 with tip. The food was good. Service excellent. They now have a chunky tomato salsa (in addition to the old green salsa), which I loved. I can no longer afford this place. read more

Uncle Julio's - Beef Fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

How does one screw up chicken fajitas and how can service be any worse? I had dinner at Uncle Julio's in Grapevine. The hostess was very nice and pleasant. However since I was seated behind their station, all I could hear during the dinner was Spanish speaking. Don't they ever work? I received chips and dip almost instantly. The waiter was prompt in taking my order. I asked for extra onions-which in the dinner were almost raw. All the cook did was briefly for 30 seconds sautéed them. The waiter brought my ice tea-barely any ice in there and during the meal never showed his face to me- no napkin for the glass. It dripped water every time I picked it up. He never came back to see if I wanted anything or to refill the tea-is this restaurant in financial trouble? And they weren't even busy. The noise from the kitchen was deafening. Someone dropped a container of flatware and everyone one in that area had to rush over to see what happened. I hope no one was injured. Don't the others have to work? People dropping kitchen items is common. The guac and chicken were too salty. The onions and green pepper dripped in oil. I had oil pooled in my plate and and all around my table top. There was only 3 tortillas which I believe is par. But if the waiter had returned I could have asked for one more. And I believe tortillas are hand made. They could have had a less taste of raw flour. Cook them another 30 seconds. And they were too thin. Taco Cabana has true home made tortillas. Beans are a cheap commodity. How did they find such a small bowl to serve them in? Again are they financially in trouble? Couldn't determine if they were good-not enough to taste. Hope the Chef and General Manager see this review. And if they need help running their operation I willingly volunteer-I too have a management and chef training and experience. People stick to the cheese nachos- so far they haven't screwed that up. Signed a disgruntled customer. In the future if I ever go back I will stick to the cheese nachos. What a waste of money did I spend last night. And I tipped the waiter-not that he deserved it. read more

Delicious! Make a reservation in advance if going on a weekend they get busy! The cocktails are fantastic. Our favorite was the Strawberry Rita so flavorful and fresh. Queso blanco was tasty, as for my entree I got the Quesa-Birria it was amazing!!! The broth could use an upgrade but the meal itself was great. Solid spot for some mexican food and drinks! read more

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Always exceptional! Service is exactly as it should be. I don't think you can order a meal that won't exceed your expectations. We usually order drinks, an appetizer, and share a meal. The meal we enjoy most is the fajitas. If you want a variety of meat options, go for the Guadalajara. We always ditch the chicken and order steak with the shrimp. Tonight we added three extra bacon wrapped shrimps for a total of six. Totally worth it! Guadalajara Mesquite grilled jumbo bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese and fresh jalapeño with mesquite grilled chicken and steak fajitas. Served with Mexican butter, fresh guacamole, sour cream, cheese, sautéed peppers and onions, and our homemade flour tortillas. The restaurant is really large and can get a little noisy. If it's cold outside, try to be seated near the fireplace. They also have a large patio which can be really a great choice on cool evenings. This restaurant has been a favorite of ours for years. You will also enjoy it. read more

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Food poor, service awful. ambience~~ what ambiance? We sat on the patio as we always do and we picked the table we wanted and hostess sat us. There were old soft tortillas on floor around our table and a plastic drink glass with straw still in it. It was obvious Hostess saw this mess but went back inside without picking up the surrounding trash!! Then our waiter, David showed up and he dismissed the trash also. Brought us our ice teas and water. Melted down ice for our glass of ice tea before we even got our tea. Restaurant was not busy yet took 30 minutes to get our food. An appetizer and a Tex mex dinner. LOUSY SERVICE and terrible food!! They had changed menu along with recipes! Terrible queso. We usually finish all our queso but not this recipe~~ we just won't ever come back!!! Robinson 10/2/25 read more

Unfortunately we had a bad meal at the Grapevine location. Plus our waitress made an error on our gift cards which we discovered later. The menu changes were also bad. Not certain we will return to this location. read more

We called ahead to ask how late they were open first and the lady didn't offer any information about the reservation policy or short staff. We walked in and was told it is reservations only. Booked a reservation and got a confirmation email and then a minute after I received a cancellation email for the reservation. They called to let me know but when I answered the phone no one spoke. I called right back and asked about the cancellation and was told that they cancelled it because they are short staffed. I had to explicitly ask the lady if they were no longer taking reservations for her to tell me that they will no longer accept guests for the evening. Your improvements should start with retraining your hostess to give necessary information to your potential and inquiring guests. The information about reservations and no longer accepting guests for the evening should have been given on the original call asking about the closing time. Considering this review is based around the fact I wasn't even able to give your restaurant a chance to be reviewed is crazy work. I understand being a reservation only restaurant especially considering the short staff situation. The problem is your lack of consideration for someone who just wanted to eat at your restaurant. You could have just told me everything on the phone the first time dude... :( read more

The real star of this experience was the service. Dante our server consistently checked on us, so did everyone else working. We were seated quickly during lunch on a Friday. The food was okay. The mango passion fruit lemonade was too tart. There are no steak fajitas on the lunch menu so we ordered the dinner for two option. The dinner "steak fajitas for two" portions were weird. We had to share toppings which were really portioned for one person. We were only given 3 tortillas, but when we asked received more quickly. The meat was excellent, but we only had enough for 2-3 fajitas a person. I might return, but I'd order different items next time. read more

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Great place, great food and excellent service. It was busy when we came here for lunch but definitely worth the wait. read more

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I was sad when the Uncle Julio's closed in Austin, TX and was excited to find one in Grapevine, TX when I was in town for a business trip. I was seated quickly. However the service was VERY slow, I had to wait a long amount of time for drink and chip refills which was a bit frustrating. But the food knocked it out of the park, my fajitas had beef, chicken and bacon wrapped shrimp and was cooked to perfection. The chips and salsa is always fresh and on point. The flavored margaritas are where it is at. I went with the grapefruit flavor this time and it was so fresh and a perfect balance of sweet and tart with a slice of grapefruit. I was jealous that I couldn't order the piñata dessert since I was dining solo but was very happy with all my other food. Just wish the service had not been so slow and my server had been a bit more attentive (reason I removed a ), might have sold me another margarita. Please come back to Austin, TX and you would have a guaranteed customer! read more

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