El Jefe Denver — Restaurant in Denver

We want to like this restaurant but Rude, Dismissive, Impatient, and Inattentive service from the hostess to the bartenders have ruined our desire to return. We came on Taco Tuesday and the "King Room" was empty, there were at least 4-5 empty tables on the inside where they were serving customers and there were a few more empty tables on the patio. We asked for a table for 2 and then were asked if we had a reservation to which we said no. We were told the wait would be 30 minutes; which was odd given the high amount of empty tables. The hostess said "It would be easier for us if you made a reservation." This blew our mind! By all means, let us make it easier for you! We put our name on the waitlist and ordered a drink at the bar. The bar was clearly not staffed appropriately for the expected volume of Taco Tuesday and it was also clear the bartenders had too much volume to provide quality service. Eventually 2 seats opened up at the bar and we took the seats. After waiting at least 5 minutes for simple acknowledgment (on an 8 person bar btw) the bartender dropped off a couple waters and said she'd be back to take our drink order. She then walked in front, past, behind us a dozen times to make drinks, serve other customers, and even take a drink + food order from a couple at the end of the bar that had sat down several minutes after us. She even made their drinks for them before coming back to us for our initial drink order! The other bartender making drinks noticed our frustration and quickly asked us what we would like to drink and eat. That took all of 60 seconds; something the other bartender was incapable of handling. The other bartender took over the service with a negative tone and made us feel like we were a bother instead of a valued customer. The $1 tacos took 15-20 minutes to arrive. The portion size was definitely a dollars worth, lacking substance. Overall, we were totally displeased with the entire experience. We've never felt so devalued. Perhaps with additional training in customer service and additional kitchen and service staff, things could have been better. It really seemed like everyone was stressed out and couldn't handle the volume that night, even with half the restaurant closed down. We were the unfortunate recipients of rude, short, and dismissive staff. With such good reviews we were surprised to have such...

I am sad to write this review, but it is what it is as they say. We had been here before for HH and really enjoyed it. I had guests visiting from out of town and wanted a fun, cool place to have brunch before they left. I made reservations for a Sunday morning, indicating I wanted a low table. Upon arrival, we were seated fairly quickly considering how busy they were. As we were led to a high table I asked about my request for a low table and was brushed off, saying this was all they had. (So basically take it, or leave it) I had a feeling this was going to be a foreboding of our entire experience and was it ever! I will keep this short considering the whole ordeal. It took a good 8 minutes before we were acknowledged. We all ordered the bottomless brunch drinks. Due to the horrible service, we were only provided one small glass for our whole meal. We were offered another round after we were all done with our meals. Our food finally arrived about 50 minutes after our arrival!! The food was ok, except my potatoes were so salty they were almost inedible - and I like salt! Its pretty spendy for what you get. Before we left, I went to the restroom. There was no toilet paper and no soap. Wow. I found a server standing there outside the restroom and let them know. There was no mention or apology for our atrocious service. The next day I sent an e-mail detailing our experience and to this day - 2 weeks later - I have yet to have a response to my e-mail. This is the reason I am writing this. No care, no apology, no excuse. We will not return and I will never recommend this place to anyone. Sad in this...

We ate here for Mother’s Day brunch and were unimpressed. The kitchen seemed unprepared to make breakfast items. One meal was supposed to have Sunny-side up eggs and they came out over medium. Another was supposed to be over medium and the eggs came out well. My husband ordered carnitas and egg and I agree with another reviewer. that the carnitas was more on the dry side than moist and needed more flavor. The kids menu was a disappointment. Two of my kids ordered nachos. It was just a plate of chips with cheese sauce on it — no drink, no veggies, no fruit, nothing else for five dollars. We would have been better of getting the queso appetizer to share. Another kid ordered chicken tacos and a good number of the chicken bits were crusty and seemed reheated. My cod fish tacos had a fresh citrus cabbage radish onion slaw topping that I thought tasted good, although I would have preferred grilled fish instead of fried. At least the fish batter was on the lighter side. I had two “la paloma” cocktails. I liked the flavor but they were definitely weak. For someone who weighs 115lbs and only drinks on occasion, I should have been feeling the affects after two in an hour. I probably wouldn’t mind if it was happy hour but paying full price I would expect a bit more. I thought guac was tasty and liked the subtle...