El Jimador Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Columbia Township

3 stars overall, but 5 stars for food quality and taste.

I've eaten here probably over 30 times, maybe closer to 50, so many I can't keep track. I love the food here, and have actually burned myself out a little bit by going too much!

I usually get lunch specials, or sometimes a la carte nachos or tacos. Everything I've had is good and the prices seem reasonable. The ground beef is the finely ground style, and I like the shredded beef and steak too. Both the soft and crunchy tacos are great. You get a little more filling in the soft tacos, but the hard tacos are homemade shells and are really tasty.

I really like the rice here. I don't know what to call the flavor, but it is very mild with a yellow tint to it. I could eat this rice all day. The beans are also what I would call the typical smooth style and very tasty.

Each order comes with complementary chips and salsa. The chips are the thick style and the salsa is kind of a plain, tomatoey type salsa. I'm not a big fan of it, but I do eat it. They also have a hot salsa that you ask for instead, but be warned, it is hot! I like to take a little bit of it and mix it with my rice sometimes.

So, I really like the place and will continue eating there, but it does have some issues.

Probably the biggest issue I've seen, and many times, is they have trouble monitoring when people come in the front door and when people are standing in line at the counter. Many times I have had to wait around too long for someone to come around. I have also watched many others experience the same issue, including watching lines of people standing at the register, all looking around, wondering if someone is coming and getting irritated That is something they definitely need to work on.

If you get carryout orders, always check your bag for the silverware, as sometimes they leave it out. If you're taking it home, it's probably not a big deal, but if you're eating on the road, then you're stuck using the chips as dipping tools.

Earlier on, many months ago when I first started eating there, I had some portion issues where I sometimes got very skimpy portions, and also some issues with the water tasting bad, but I haven't had those issues in a long time.

So, I give it 3 stars because the food quality is good and tasty and the prices are decent, but they also have some issues. Hopefully they will...

This is the type of "Americanizeed" Mexican food I like. Yes, I've had " Authentic" Mexican food; In Mexico. 2 types 1.The type they serve near the Northern border, which is spicier and could basically be described as Tex- Mex, but not really, because Tex-Mex in Texas does taste different. 2. I've also had authentic Mexican food in Central Mexico. Its less spicy (bland) yet loaded with meat and other milder seasonings. Neither one tastes like El Jimador. El Jimador is my overall favorite, with the possible exception of El Rancho downtown, who makes all of their chips and Taco shells themslves,daily. El Rancho's chips and shells taste better. However El Rancho's menueis also more expensive than El Jimador. And they don't have any dine-in Atmosphere," anywhere as nice as El Jimador. El Jimador's 'chips and tacos fresh and fine. Much better than Taco Bell. Nothing's too spicy, yet they have sauces that you can use to spice anything. You could burn your mouth right up, if you want! lol. Their portions are plenty big, for the money. I like to order beef and bean nachos to go. They give me so much, I can easily make that into two full meals, lunch AND dinner) before it's gone. Everyone has always been nice to me. Yes, the food is a little "Americanized." But guess what? IM AN AMERICAN AND I LIKE IT! It's agreat Mexican restaurant...

As a San Diego native, I am always in search of good Mexican food. I did not find it here. I like to test the waters with chile rellenos. They should be made with fresh poblanos, lightly battered and NOT greasy. Unfortunately, Jimador failed all three of these. The chiles were not fresh, the batter was soggy and smothered in a generic red sauce. My husband had the Camarones Jimador, which he liked. It was sauteed veggies and shrimp in a white sauce. This actually was quite tasty. As noted by another reviewer, the salsa was quite bland. I remedied this by adding some habanero sauce to give it some life. After our food was delivered, our waiter disappeared. nearly 25 minutes later, after the restaurant had closed, I had to ask the host, who was counting the cash drawer, for a check and box. Since we were the last people in the place, I won't fault them for this. All in all, I would consider coming back and giving them a second chance by ordering something else. If your expectations are not too high, your could consider giving this...