Don Eduardo Cocina Mexicana — Restaurant in Jacksonville

We were visiting some friends in Jax. We decided to go out to lunch and try this restaurant out.

This was the first visit to Don Eduardo Cocina Mexicana (except for one person in our party who had been here twice before.... More on that later). The location is great. The decor is impressive with ceiling rafters draped with flowers, beautiful murals painted on the walls throughout and, in general, bright and colorful.

We were seated quickly without a wait. Unfortunately, that was the only time we did not experience a wait. We placed our drink orders. Four adult beverages and four beverages for our children. The waters and soda arrived successfully. We had ordered Casamigos Reposado in two of our four drinks...waitress returned to inform us they didn't have Casamigos at all and what would we prefer? I deferred to the bar tender on what tequila would be enjoyable neat. My drink arrived almost 20 minutes before the other 3 drinks (2 "skinny" margs 1 spicy 1 non), 1 Patron w/ soda). The margs did not taste like skinny versions they were too sweet. The first "patron" and soda arrived with salt and a lemon wedge. Then another waitress delivered a Patron on the rocks which was closer to what was ordered.

We decided to place our food order because the drinks took so long to arrive. Our food came out in partial waves. Three adult meals were delivered and one of the kids meals. Waitress returned to apologize and take the orders again from the three kids. Eventually their meal arrived. My meal did not arrive until everyone else was finished eating.

I ordered the Ceviche. Once it arrived, the presentation was not amazing. Plantain chips surrounded a column of ceviche topped with avacado slices. I had to ask for two lime wedges. I enjoyed the flavor of my meal. I did not enjoy the extra long wait for it to arrive.

Others at our table commented that their meals were okay but nothing to write home about. The person who had been to this restaurant two times previously ordered a salad she had ordered before. This time the shrimp salad arrived with an additional meat. She did not finish her meal saying it was missing dressing and simply was not the same salad she had previously enjoyed.

Back to our drinks. I asked that waitresses what type of tequila I had because I enjoyed it and others wanted some. Unfortunately, It was a mystery that did not get solved until our check arrived. It was Avion Reposado.

We asked to be compensated for such a poor experience. We were given a 10% discount of our check but still our lunch was over $240 for 8 people (including four children).

General comments: Food was being carted out to tables on a four wheeled cart. The cart was your typical plastic three level cart. One that you use in the back NOT something you bring out into the main restaurant to serve patrons.

The floor was slippery with an oily coating indicating that the people who mopped the floor didn't know what they were doing because all they did was spread oily water around. Clearly the right detergent or adequate detergent was used.

Chip bowls remained mostly empty. None of the wait staff was attentive enough. No one even asked. We asked twice.

There seemed to be enough staff on duty but no one seemed to care to be attentive.

I do not think there was a bar tender. At least one was not stationed there consistently.

The background music stopped playing just after my meal arrived. No one addressed the issue and we did not comment to the staff because we wanted to see if they noticed. It was not addressed before we left.

I would give this restaurant one more chance. The issues we experienced are ALL ones that can be fixed. Clearly someone invested dollars of the build out. Now attention needs to be turned on staffing, training, and service.

If you decide to visit this restaurant I would suggest you stay on top on your waiter. Pay attention to the time. Don't be afraid to cut bait if the service is not prompt.

Disappointing to say the least. I had high hopes that our experience would be amazing. It was not...

This is an unexpected gem called Don Eduardos at Park and King in Riverside, where the old IL Desco was located. It was a spontaneous choice, but I'm so glad we tried it! They definitely reworked the layout to maximize seating, and it is a lively location. We went on Saturday at peak hours, but the service was crazy prompt with water, chips, and salsa hitting our table in 2 minutes tops! 😲 Let's talk about this salsa... SO different! I freaking loved it! I had to ask, because it's not the least bit red or tomato like, and the smoked flavor is truly unique. Turns out it's made from woodfired tomatoes that are slowly smoked with an amazing blend of spices. It is one of the most unique and flavorful salsas I've ever had, and I've been bicoastal between Jacksonville and Los Angeles for over 18 years. The menu is truly different from the usual Jacksonville Mexican cuisine. I love how many specialty cocktails they have that are vodka based. I don't find that often. I also appreciated a happy hour on Saturday until 7pm. The dishes are also very different. They do have some standard favs, but their flavor profile for even something as traditional as Enchiladas was more like what I've experienced in Los Angeles and a nice surprise in Jax. The hubby had the happy hour Model BOGO, and I had the Todos Santos. I especially appreciated that every server makes their own customers' drinks, so when I expressed that I didn't want it to be too sweet, our delightful server, Miriam, volunteered to back off on the sweet stuff and make the vodka stronger. YES PLEASE! 🍹 Our food came fast and was delicious, not to mention big portions so we had plenty of leftovers. I had the Ceviche Isla Bonita and the hubster had the Ay Mama Enchiladas. Both were fantastic! Do not skip on requesting the hot sauce if you like spice. There's none on the tables, but when requested they bring you a generous portion in a bowl and it's spicey and amazing! I saved every drop to bring home. Best in house made hot sauce ever! I must mention our amazing server, Miriam, again. She was amazing and a true delight! The entire team in this place are like a well oiled machine. They back each other up and are real go getters. It's so clear how much they care about good service. I'm so glad we stumbled into this place on a whim. The decor is fun, the service very friendly and prompt, and the food was delicious! We will definitely be back again and again! Descriptions on each pic and menus at the end. That's the scoop on...

Well let me start by saying i was very excited to find a late night Mexican spot in riverside! But eating late at night and expecting good service must be too much to ask these days! Walked in was greeted by a great host! Pretty much the only lively person in there he was so sweet and attentive shout out to him! 11 pm we entered the door music was very low bartender looked pissed couldn’t make any drinks without looking at the book and quite frankly looked like he was ready to throw in the towel. We sat down was approached by Freddy whewwww Freddy was a waiter from hell! I truly hope he gets the help he needs! While taking our order he did not even mention his name i only know it due to another waiter that came by asking if we were ok which at that point we were. Now back to Freddy anythinggggg we asked for he hesitated with like we were asking for too much. Asked for water with lemon.. our bar drinks got to the table before the water i had to ask him twice about it for him to finally bring it out without the lemons we asked for. Mind you we were very nice an polite because i understand the service industry bit watever Mr Freddy was going thru let it show out last night!! I could go on and on about his poor service and the worst attitude I’ve ever experienced in a restaurant to date and I’ve been around 😅 however the food overall was ok 6/10 i had the Aztec tacos which were very good 8/10 Barbacoa empanada's 2/10 no flavor and very mushy inside the consommé that came with it veryyy plain no flavor taste like water and oil. I had a tie die margarita 6/10 didn’t really get a buzz but tasty i suppose. The salsa was ok the queso very runny had to wait for it to get cold so it would go on the chips and that lacked flavor.

Needless to say idk if it was trying to get a good meal in jax after 10 is where we went wrong or if the restaurant just had and off night! Who knows. I will return during daylight hours in a few months and see if time and longer established will give me a better experience. The place could be a vibe the inside is beautiful and a great location but they have a lottttt to work on! See ya after awhile Don i had...