El Jardín — Restaurant in Elk Grove

Our family has had a love affair with El Jardin in Turlock and Oakdale for years, and upon hearing one was in Elk Grove on a recent Sunday afternoon we went in expecting our typical wonderful experience. Boy were we sadly disappointed. Starting with the drinks and chips things swerved off a cliff.. the margaritas were watered down and the corn chips had burn spots and were a dark toasty brown and tasted of scorched oil... We mentioned this to our waiter (and per him, the manager, Mason ..if I recall correctly) To remedy this at our expense we ordered flour chips.. thinking they would be fresh and made in clean oil...wrong again.. they were cold, oily, sat under a heat lamp and though lighter.. tasted like burned oil.

We ordered the Chile Rellenos combo and a La Compuesta taco salad with carnitas... During our wait we overheard tables around us asking for the manager and mentioning similar complaints which brought responses like "that's your opinion" and "I'm sorry you didn't like it as much as everyone else does" which screams arrogance not customer service... And is such an inappropriate response to bad food from your kitchen.

Our food arrived and from delivery it was underwhelming... We actually thought it was the children's order from the table next to us and said as much.. asking twice are you sure this is the adult portions and ours? Yes, we're assured it's our and the portions reflect "economic challenges"...

The Chille Rellenos is 4 inches long and 2 inches wide.. it looks like a large jalapeno.. call it a jumbo popper not a Chille Relleno.. my salad looks like it's literally half the normal size and half filled. THE PHOTOS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. I literally had to hunt to find the tablespoon of meat in the bottom of the salad as shown in photo.. and then there was the quality issue... I took three bites of the salad and had to stop..the lettuce was wet and dripping water and the grease of the tablespoon of meat smelled like sour dish towel.. and worse yet the two weren't mixing well on the plate or in my stomach. I sat waiting for the manager/waiter to return.. upon his return I asked him to look at the salad and smell it.. I pointed out that there was no filling.. and even less meat.. and that it smelled like dish rag. After he visibly recoiled he set it back down and asked if I was done with it.. I said it's literally INEDIBLE... and he took the plate away. So we sat for around 15 minutes.. I'm thinking they are remaking the salad.. he comes back with the check.. and takes my mom's half eaten plate. I asked how much longer on the salad.. and he straight faced looks at me and says "what salad?" ..I asked how much longer on the remade salad and he says nothing is being remade. I then open the bill and the salad is on there... At this point this is becoming outrageous.. I said either bring a remade salad or take it off.. he responded with.. I kid you not.."you ate some of the salad and then said you were done sir... You got your salad.. I'm sorry if you didn't like it as much as others do but you had a salad brought to you and when I asked if you were going to eat anymore you said no"... $60 dollars and a terrible experience later...

I called back once that week to speak to a manager or owner.. left my number.. no response. I called again last week.. no response.. so we arrived here.. pictures THAT SCREAM dirty.. gross.. grease and water salad with no meat.. and no remedy or effort to make it right..

I want it to be clear.. the food and service we get WEEKLY at El Jardin in Turlock and Oakdale is both excellent and delicious and the portions are the same as they've been for years.. a few dollars more BUT THE SAME. So this review is solely about the Elk Grove location which honestly is tarnishing the name and reputation of El Jardin..

I DO NOT recommend this location and it's food is terrible and borders on fraud if not theft.. inedible food for a high price..is expensive starvation .. the worst part is even when given an opportunity to fix it and make this right.....

Update for 13 Sep 2023 We were the only customers, but it was 130pm. Took quite some time to get chips and salsa, and when we did the chips had no flavor and the salsa was too spicy. Personal opinion on spiciness of food, as I'm not a big jalapeño fan. They brought a small bowl with mainly cabbage in it to compliment the salsa. No explanation was given about the cabbage but when asked was told it can be used to "tone down the salsa." The restaurant is clean and it's a nice atmosphere. Parking is very easy. The food we had today leaves something to be desired. We had steak Chimichaga. It was a very large portion, but it was all Tortilla; hardly any meat or other filling, and just tasted like a big roll of soft dough. It wasn't crisp, and the lettuce it was served on seemed wilted. They'd do better to make a smaller Chimichanga, fill with enough meat that it's at least visible, and use more garnish. The beans were fine for my husband, on the spicy side for me. The rice was good but not enough on the plate. Missing Cicada!

2020 Review: Gave Four Stsrs My four and a half stars rating is based partly on the fact that this restaurant is in Elk Grove, and we haven't been happy with the choice here, until today. The restaurant is clean and light. The service was very good and most importantly the food was nicely presented and tasted very good. Delighted to have finally found good Mexican food in Elk Grove. I would caution that the booths offer ample elbow room for two, but might be a bit tight for a...

My family and I stopped by El Jardin for dinner on a quiet Wednesday night. Right off the bat, they handed my toddler a drawing pad (parents, you know that’s a lifesaver).

We ordered a Carne Asada burrito bowl, a Carne Asada burrito, and a kids’ chicken tenders meal. Everything was delicious — even the ranch was bomb-dot-com. My daughter loved it so much she asked to take some home, and the super-friendly staff hooked us up with not one but two fresh ranch cups! The fries were also fresh and beer-battered. Yum!

The Mexican food itself? Spectacular. You can taste how fresh everything is — crisp veggies, and juicy steak that jut came off the grill. My only complaint - I could’ve used a bit more meat… but with today’s prices, I get it. Next time, I’m ordering double-meat.

I also had a margarita that was strong (in the best way) and found out they have a happy hour! Our total was about $50 before tip — a little splurgey, but worth it for a night where I didn’t have to cook.

So happy this gem is on our side of town — we’ll definitely be back whenever those Mexican food...