El Jacalito Grill — Restaurant in Big Bear Lake

The place looked nice from the outside and the pictures of the food I found online looked promising, however we were quickly disappointed.

We decided to eat outside on their patio as it was a beautiful day. So glad we made that choice. I went in with my son to wash our hands in the restroom. As soon as we walked into the restaurant we were hit by a foul bathroom odor. Smelled like raw sewage. Definitely not pleasant.

Once seated we were given chips and salsa. Chips were great. Not difficult to mess those up. The salsas that were given to us were not spicy whatsoever so I asked if they had a spicier salsa. They brought one out and I did not like it at all. I understand it's a personal preference, but this was a paste like salsa. It was spicy, but not much flavor. Again, it's a personal preference. Some may actually enjoy it. There was only one salsa I found decent enough to eat with my chips.

We then ordered our food. Prices were decent and on average for a sit down restaurant. Especially nowadays when a fast food meal will cost you upwards of $13. Also for being in a tourist-filled area, prices were reasonable. Kids' meals looked good. Bean and cheese burrito for my son and enchiladas for my daughter. My wife ordered a steak with an enchilada on top and I ordered a steak burrito with green and red sauce, cheese, and sour cream on top.

I began to eat my burrito and the first thing I noticed was they used an inferior quality meat. It had a metallic after taste. It was definitely not a premium cut of beef. I figured since it was a burrito they thought they could mask it. Afterwards, I had a taste of my wife's steak and it was the exact same thing. At $25 for her plate, I definitely expected a much higher quality of meat. Needless to say we were both very disappointed. My wife didn't even want to finish her steak.

The only good thing about this place is the service. It wasn't over the top, but it was good service and staff was friendly.

I would highly recommend trying some of the other, more authentic looking, Mexican restaurants in the area if you have a taste for Mexican cuisine. I would not recommend this place, nor would I visit again. The food simply isn't up to par in quality nor...

Food was decent, drinks were decent. But, I had a racially condescending interaction with a member of the staff that I didn't appreciate.

We had three people waiting on our table. The one guy entirely spoke Spanish to the others. I kept trying to get his attention so we could leave but he was wrapped up in whatever... So, I was patient, but as it got closer and closer to when we had plans and he refused to pay attention, I loudly said "La cuenta, amigo!".

It cuts through his conversation like a knife. He stops, turns around, looks to see it's me... Goes in, gets it, comes back out and mumbles "la cuenta", annoyed.

He hands me the check and then proceeds to ask me purely in Spanish if we wanted any desserts or two more drinks before we go (to test me). I replied "No, we're good" in Spanish and laughed and that was that.

He comes back and says "All set?" I reply "All good, thanks!" and he goes "ah, no more Spanish?"

I was taken back. My wife is looking at me and him like "uhhhh yikes".

I said "why do you say that? Because white people come into Mexican restaurants to test out their Spanish speaking skills but only know one or two words?" (a popular sentiment)

He said "Exactly."

I replied "Well, I can speak Spanish" in Spanish and he just mumbles "Yo puedo", chuffs and walks off.

The frustrating part, I'm literally Hispanic. Based on how he acted with me, it seems he has a problem with "white" people speaking Spanish. I'd hate to be the one to tell him -- Spanish came from Spain, where the majority of the population AND my relatives are -- well, white.

I'll come back to the restaurant, but hopefully by then the management will speak to him and things will improve for future guests.

I will delete this review in 7 days. Hopefully management sees it before then and has a talk with the server. This review is not meant to follow your...

El Jacalito was a big hit & a big miss. I think the key with this place is knowing what to order & what NOT to order. Green salsa from their salsa bar was excellent. The other salsas were good not great. The Chilli Relleno was 1 of the best I've ever had. We also ordered a Pollo Asado entre. While the beans, rice, & flour tortillas were good, the chicken was worst I've had in a reastaurant...super dry, almost no flavor. I'd bet money they cooked it on a George Foreman! Chili's serves better chicken! Had 2 Margaritas. 1 Watermelon which was very tasty & had Tajin style seasoning on the rim but was really light on tequila if there was any...I decided to try the Mango margarita next...No Tajin on the rim, & the flavor was heh just not good. Tasted like an Orange Julius... Neither margarita had much alcohol in em if any. At $14 each, it felt like we spent $28 on 2 smoothies. Also had 2 glasses of house chardonnay...$80 for 1 entree, 1 A la Carte item & 4 drinks before tip. I have no problem with the price if everything was on point but this experience was a C+ / B- at best when it could...