Ajua Mexican Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Jacksonville Beach

First the good - Salsa taste is on point and the water filters are brand new so the taste is exquisite. The bartender provided excellent service and made sure my drink and salsa stayed refilled.

Now the bad.

First the minor , Salsa is served in a small metal ramakin. So many reasons why this is a big no but the main thing is it makes the server repeatedly replace the salsa instead of having a bowl of it to use. If they get busy this will create chaos in service timing with servers running salsa ten times a table which sounds monotonous.

The food is completely totally tasteless with the exception of the salsa. It’s as if they distilled the food down to a grease flavor. I make birria at home and have for many years the guajillo taste in these seems non existent. Premade mass produced broth seems to be their preferred method. They should reduce the sauce in any case and add some flavor other wise this place doesn’t seem like it will survive the coming years. Or year for that matter. The salsa is like water so be prepared for that it’s absolutely delicious but far more watery than I have ever been accustomed to.

A little word of advice to the management- Go try the birria tacos at La Catrina they are as authentic as the day is long. Maybe one day La Catrina will open a restaurant out here at the beaches but until they do I will continue to make the drive to them as opposed to walking to this new restaurant around the corner from my apt.

Now the environment- The chair I sat in had a bar broken off the front of the stool. This is a brand new restaurant and I nearly came off the chair when I went to place my feet on the front bar that is on every other stool. Considering I just recovered from a major injury due to a motorcycle accident I found this dangerous as a person could easily injure or re-injure themselves from a simple chair being broken. They should throw the chair away because that in itself would be the reason I wouldn’t return in any case. I’d be dismissing who ever is assigned the duty of management responsibility considering the broken equipment factor. Safety is priority and using broken equipment is sketchy to say the least.

I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone considering La Catrina is only a thirty minute drive and well worth it.

Oaxaca Club is also right around the corner and they have great flavor but the birria at La Catrina is unmatched...

🌮🔥 Ajua in Jax Beach — A New Player Raising the Bar (and the Ribeye)

Another Mexican spot in Jax Beach? Yeah, we thought the same thing… until Ajua showed up and drop-kicked every expectation we had about tacos, truffles, and tequila.

Taking over the old GOAT spot on A1A, Ajua isn’t your typical chips-and-queso place. This is elevated Mexican with a coastal soul—think huitlacoche (Mexican truffle corn), perfectly marbled ribeye fajitas (goodbye rubbery steak), and fresh ceviche that doesn’t taste like it swam here in a bucket of lime.

We went big and ordered the fajitas split half ribeye, half octopus (yes, octopus—don't knock it 'til you try it). Croquetas? Game changer. Aguachile? Refreshing with a kick. And the tacos? You can do a custom mix of three kinds. Pro tip: say yes to everything, then come back next week and do it all again.

📸 The cocktails are stunning. The plating is next-level. And the vibe? Modern, clean, and ready for your next private event or Friday flex.

💡 Bonus: They're serving Wagyu scrambled eggs with truffle on the menu. That’s brunch energy, elevated.

Final word: Ajua is bringing fire to the beach scene—with flavor, style, and a fresh take on what a Mexican restaurant should be. Welcome to the top-tier taco...

Authentic Mexican Food hands down! My family and I love Mexican cuisine and unfortunately this restaurant is to far away from where we leave this would be the FAVORITE place. We were visiting from other coast late night diner and food is really outstanding and they all really try to leave an impact because they care, from our waitress , to the manager who was on top of everything to chef coming out from the kitchen because we sent a lots of compliments, from the tortillas, the refried beans, grilled chicken and short ribs, corn.. sauces.. everything was delicious and totally different from everything we’ve tried before.. another day after we tried some jumping iguanas (another “Mexican restaurant” nearby.. forget about it..cold tortillas, no flavor whatsoever.. just don’t waste your money, they don’t care.. come to experience what the real Mexican food tastes, great job! They deserve to be number 1 in local rankings for sure ! Absolutely you won’t be...