Don Julio — Restaurant in Elizabeth

I've yet to try a dish or a desert from here that I didn't like.

The food is so good that, no matter how much I think, "I'll make it a point to take a picture of the food next time," I always seem to remember picture-taking after I'm halfway or more through the food...it's that good!

First time here, had Fuchifu(?) soup. Not usually a soup person, but definitely enjoyed it.

Arroz chaufa especial (those bits of pork marinated in tamarind [!!!] are genius -- this coming from someone who's not particularly into pork)...😮😋

Lomo saltado...soooo juicy! 😃😋

Tallarines verdes con bistec...😮😋😍 (still makes my mouth water just thinking about it!)

...and desserts? 😋😋😋😍

You MUST try the Chantilly cake...and the torta helada...and the Selva Negra...and...okay, just try them all lol (I pick one, my husband picks a different one, we share [or try to hehe] and we take turns making our way through the desserts during each visit -- just ask the waitress which one's the newest/freshest and you're good to go) 😍

The lucuma ice cream, the King Kongs and other Peruvian candies/sweets, as well as the "beso de moza"...more deliciousness 😊

...and the Chicha Morada (purple corn drink with pineapple). Yum! 😋

Don Julio really seems to be the gold standard for delicious Peruvian and Peruvian Chinese food in the area.

For us, it's well worth the drive.

The atmosphere is casual to dressy-casual and laid back.

The dining room in front is smaller, quieter (though I guess it'd depend in the time of day). The back dining room is larger more ornate, and (again, depending on the time of day/day of the week) a bit more active. The waitresses seem to lead guests to the back automatically; I only recall being asked once (maybe twice) where we'd like to be seated (front vs back) and I think it was our first time there and once when we went close to closing time.

As for parking, it's street parking, but we've usually found something either on that same block or close by across the street, with few (maybe one?)...

Second time I come to eat here, the food was good, I give credits to the chef, but the service is horrible. I asked the waitress to split the check, she told me why I did not told her that before hand.... excuse me ?? the waitress should be asking us if we want to split the check before hand and not me asking her. servers here have an attitude and the restaurant forces you to pay tip, like a 18% tip. I give 18% to a good service... and 25% or more to a exceptional service ... these 2 servers I had in the past 2 times I came deserve one cent to nothing... The business do not give the option to the customers to decide what the server deserves, very bad service. I was a waiter myself and I know how to gain respect from my customers. they do not even know basic manners. good after noon? ... my name is ??... I do not know their names, but the chubby girl with glasses...

I’d leave 0 stars if that were an option. The food wasn’t anything to rave about, didn’t taste fresh. The service was also terrible. We saw our waitress when she took our order and then once after that. I had to get up and go find her to get our check and boxes. They add a mandatory 15% tip when the service is not even 15% tip worthy. & there is a surcharge for using debit card. The food and service is not worth the price you pay between the menu costs, mandatory tip, and sneaky surcharge. The worst part is hearing the kitchen staff yelling rat. Definitely not a good feeling hearing there’s rats in the kitchen after eating the food. Last time we were there in 2023, there were ants climbing up the wall onto our table, this time it’s rats in the kitchen. I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid, so definitely disappointing to see how bad...