Añejo Cocina San Marco — Restaurant in Jacksonville

Mid Mexican food for an overpriced budget. I’ve tried this new San Marco location which is extremely loud and hard to carry on any conversation anyone; and the Riverside location. I’ve never fished my meals or come close to finishing my meals at either. I took both meals to go, never ended up eating my leftovers. Both locations 3 out of 5.

The pretty ambiance, wide variety of drink selections, and late hours of operation are what score all the points for me. I do appreciate both locations I’ve visited staying open later than most nearby places. I’ve always had okay service as well. The food and drinks photogragh very well. The food lacks flavor.

Best way I can think to describe the entrees I’ve tried: Let’s say you hire a random assortment of practiced kitchen staff to make 10 - 20 staple Mexican dishes - the direction you give them when they ask where to source the recipes from is “refer to Google” Okay, that’s what the food tastes like. What’s the first, most popular clicked on recipe you find when you search “birria?” Perfect, let’s go with that. Or Chimichurri steak? 1st recipe you find when searching that steak marinade/topping. That’s what it tastes like they did at Anejo. No steak actually marinaded in chimichurri sauce. They just throw some on top of an overcooked, thin steak right before your entree gets delivered to your table. This reads harsh I know but, it’s my two cents. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no one is right or wrong, this is what my feedback is about Anejo as a whole. We have an overload of taco places in Jax. If I wanted to overpay for high end Mexican food, I’ll hi tail it to TownCenter mall and dine at that restaurant we all know well there. Their food has more flavor and better quality than Anejo. But drinks are better at Anejo. The San Marco location needs to improve their acoustics in the restaurant so it isn’t so hard to hear the person you are trying to have a nice time with. For a fun bar + drinks, possibly a side or an appetizer, I recommend any Anejo. For any entree choice, I do not recommend Anejo. We have too much competition in Jax to be settling on eating something Mid, esp at their...

I love food, consider myself a foodie, am an equal opportunity eater and have traveled the country and world doing so. SHAME on Anejo. If your employees are unaware of how hot a dish is, and if your manager isn't brave enough to face a patron, then you know enough. A. I'm not a fan and it wasn't ever about the food because I enjoyed it. B. We went to San Marco last night and I got the aquachile as it was lactose free. Yes, I eat sashimi, peppers, Wasabi. I didn't expect to see it but I took a spoonful of the beautiful green liquid and was coughing, eyes and nose watering and stomach was in pain. The server was concerned and offered something else and I said no. She insisted, and then said : By the way, you're paying for the Aquachile. I said I couldn't eat and they could keep it. I love my partner and didn't have a talk with the manager who obviously doesn't care about the patrons. So here you are. Due to that big 5 dollar discount you so kindly offered for food that was BEYOND inedible - I gave it to my friend from Puerto Rico who just texted that at the end it was too hot - that we'll never come again and will tell everyone we know about the shotty service and lack of hospitality you showed. Go to La Michocan or go next door to Gemma.

In response to the reply: The aquachile was not jalapeño nor habanero. Seriously, the last time I ate food from Nigeria, it had ghost peppers, and it was THAT hot. Take into consideration that this is about hospitality and NOT transparency. I couldn't eat it. It wasn't about a flavor but a physical reaction to my eyes, nose, mouth, stomach. No me gusta! The hospitable thing to do is offer a refund/make it right. Instead I had to order another even though I declined 2x but then got to pay 2x? And while I appreciate the money given from the fundraisers, the bartenders/ servers in Avondale were the reason for...

Great atmosphere but I sat at the bar for about 20 minutes while the waitress and bartenders casually chatted and laughed without even a glass of water my way. Don’t expect any sort of service here, at least from my experience. I eventually just left after not being even remotely served. The bartenders and staff seemed to be having a grand time entertaining themselves.

Edit: I returned to try again and give them a “second chance”. I was met yet again with slow service and inattention. It took the bartender about 30 minutes to even ask for my food order. There were about 5 people at the bar including me. I would imagine handling 5 people (all of them except me had food in front of them) would be a fairly straight forward endeavor. Apparently, to ask for food requires a Herculean effort from the bartender. When he finally asked for my order, I said I was no longer eating and left.

Maybe whoever is responding to these reviews should focus less on responding and more on making an actual change within the restaurant - lip service will only...