Never thought I’d end up with a sombrero on my head, but that’s what happened.
We’re a fan of Panang Malaysian which is next door, and every time we’ve gone, Don Jose has a line waiting for seats in their foyer. So we ended up here for my birthday dinner.
Toasty homemade chips and salsa to start! Steak and enchiladas! Kids meals $5 each from a selection of about 5 or 6 different options! Most entrees were $11-12. ”Combos” were $12-14. And other meat dishes were were mostly $15 (steak, chicken, fajitas, etc). Serving portions were average size. The meal took a tad longer than we expected to come out and the rice was pretty dry. The meals at Don Jose was mostly above average, satisfying, but not knock your socks off fantastico if you were to judge the food solely by itself.
BYOB. FYI Godfather’s which is 2 doors down has a seafood bar & grill where you can buy a 6-pack of coronas for $13.
The reason why you’d go to Don Jose’s restaurant is for the dining experience. Don Jose’s staff was friendly. . . decor definitely let you forget you were in a strip mall. . . the live roving 2-man guitar/strings musicians made the night festive. For your birthday they bring out a big ol’ sombrero and everyone in the house joins in to clap and sing. It was a Kodak Moment.
But some small things to note: We were asked to move our party to another table 10 minutes into sitting down for our meal – we were told it would help them out to accommodate a larger group by combing our table with others for the larger group. The waiter promised us “we’ll give you an extra special dessert complimentary on us” if we could help them out. We moved, wasn’t a big deal to us at the time, but they never followed through on the promised “comp”ing of desserts. We were even chanrged for the birthday flan + ice cream that was eagerly sent with the song and clapping during our meal. Is it a deal breaker? No? But it’s one of those small annoying things that just leaves a bad taste in your mouth as you leave the restaurant.
But other than that little annoying instance, we’d go back at some point soon.
Here’s a tip worth taking advantage of: Printable coupons for 10% off, $5 off or $10 off meals at Don Jose
