El Jinete Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Anacortes

My friend and I walked in at the same time as other customers. The other people were seated immediately. The hostess then disappeared. We waited for some time. I finally sought her out. She was standing in the back near the soda machine along with the other front of house staff chatting. I asked if we could also be seated. It still took some time for that to happen. There was plenty of staff despite it being an event day in town. The restaurant was far from full. Once seated the woman did not know what the special drink on the entry board was. She could not tell us if there was a specific lunch menu. We ordered our beverage and did not receive it for more than 15 minutes despite seeing at least three employees in the dining area. I work in food service myself. Lack of staffing did not cause the poor service we received. The owners response to my friend's review is rude and lacks care for customers. It shows exactly why we received poor service. If the owner doesn't have customer service as a priority I suppose employees shouldn't be expected to practice that. The food was just ok. The lack of proper service was the real issue. You have an opportunity to address these issues with staff and have chosen to blame it on an event and a lack of staff that wasn't a factor...

If you are looking for Authentic Mexican Food stay away from here! I just ate there today, Friday, 8th of September. I have probably had better food at Taco Bell and that’s not saying much. I’m pretty sure the salsa came out of a jar. I had a cup of chili verde soup which wasn’t that bad. I asked for Carne Asada taco and the server said the Carne Asada is pre proportioned out for the Carne Asada dinner plate and they can’t break it down…okay…so I ordered a shredded beef taco with a crispy shell and got ground beef and the shell was one that you buy in a box at the store, a cheese enchilada (it was just okay), a tamale that was chicken BUT it was cubed processed chicken meat not shredded chicken. The enchilada sauce tasted like it came out of a can. I did ask the server if it was authentic Mexican food before I ordered and she said yes. I did tell the server about the food and she just said “I’m sorry” and brought me the bill…WOW what a let down. I would not recommend this Mexican...

This is an update: We are here tonight (in fact, we usually eat at El Jinente once a week.) This is our go-to Mexican restaurant. We have found the dishes we like and usually stick to that order. Tonight the service was excellent (Greg always is, but so was the hostess and the young woman who brought our chips and salsa . the service was fast and the food came out pretty quickly. The prices are reasonable, so stop by, you'll be glad you did.

My wife and I have been coming here for several years and usually enjoy the food. However, last night I ordered a chimichanga and burrito combo meal both with chile verde. The pork sirloin chunks were very dry and unappetizing. The service was good as usual, but I will never order anything there again with chile verde....