Don Juans — Restaurant in Eugene

First, I will say the restaurant was clean but smelled a little musty inside, the decor is very complex and dark, not very good lighting inside.

The Food: Big portions for alot of money, I paid 13.75 for a plate with 3 enchiladas, beans, and rice. It was rather flavorless, there was hardly any salt added to the food, the chicken in the enchiladas was completely unseasoned, the rice was a bit dry and burnt, and the beans were lacking salt completely. The chips that come free with the meal are fried in oil that is at too low of a temperature so they are greasy and also lack salt, the salsa was made from canned tomato sauce (which requires more effort than using real tomatoes and a blender.)

The Staff: The older woman who appears to be the primary waiter is very sweet and nice, very attentive to her customers, and speaks spanish fluently for those that need it.

Overall: I would say that if you're looking for Mexican food in Eugene, try somewhere else, however that being said, if you're on a salt-restricted diet and like Mexican Food this is probably the best place you will find. The menu is large, but largely lacking in flavor, the prices are high and you will leave disappointed.

Advice to the restaurant: Return to the roots, make everything authentic and from scratch instead of using canned food as an expedient and a little pinch of salt is your best friend when trying to bring out the flavor. Also, simplify the decor, it feels almost dungeon-like inside...

The staff was great. I was a little disappointed that they were out of half & half. They have white, and black russians, I wanted a dirty cowboy (white Russian with bourbon instead of vodka) but my whiskey sour was pretty decent though not as strong as I like, however not watery or weak. I ordered an enchilada and chimichanga combo. When my plate was placed in front of me I tried really hard not to appear disappointed as our server was very kind to us. I have been a chef for 17 years. Many restaurants do not make things from scratch anymore. With this being said I think they use El Monterey frozen burritos. Not just the small size of them, but also the flavor. I am an American yes, however as a chef I make other cultures food correctly, otherwise what's the point in making it? If I am incorrect however the place has potential and I would take an opportunity to personally help them refine their menu to what it could be. That also being said I eat my food and don't complain as long as there is not anything directly wrong with it. And I don't make the offer in person as I don't want to offend other peoples cooking nor seem arrogant. If reviewing the food alone it would only be a two star review. The third star however, was earned for the place by the younger gentleman that served us. He was very polite and very professional...

My experience here at Don Jose was unpleasant, first of all the menu was a bit too much to take in. There is a lot options on the menu which is nice but there is honestly a little bit to much. The food was not as expected they served it to me lukewarm and maybe it was to the fact that they had a bunch a people because of a special that was going on. But the service was ok we tried to talk to the co-owner/server about the food and that I got which was Chile relleno plate and I asked if this is what I ordered and she said that it was that it the Chile’s they don’t cook them like the actual México way here, she told us that they Chile’s that they get come from a can and that they don’t make it from scratch that most of there ingredient already come prepackaged. I believe that they need to simplify the menu so they won’t spend a bunch of money on extra ingredients, so they could save money and use better ingredients for main dishes. But at the end I talked with the main owner who was also serving the food, and he said “sorry for the confusion of the food, we could take it off your bill”. At the end of the day I have them 2 stars because they tried their best and they...