El Cerro Grande — Restaurant in Jacksonville

We are long time and loyal customers of this establishment and usually have good service. However, that all changed during our recent visit. Longer than average wait times to get our order taken when it wasn’t that busy, we could even see some of the employees sitting down that’s how slow it was. I was not offered a refill until I was done with my meal. Because our waitress was never close enough to grab the attention. I ordered a side of steak and a side of queso & sour cream. The side of steak was not listed in the menu so I assumed one side would be 4 or 5 dollars. Well the one side of steak was on the skimpy side, so I ordered another as this was going to be my main meal. We eat our food and get our bill and my two sides of steak totaled to almost $18!!! Not once did the waitress warn us of the price or suggest that getting two skimpy sides of steak equates to two full combination meals! I fully understand steak is more expensive but if the prices were explained to me in the first place I would have never ordered it obviously. When explaining this to who seemed to be in charge but not a manager he didn’t take me seriously at all and had the audacity to laugh. And his explanation?? “That’s just the way it is”. ! He said that his manager wasn’t available and that he could “maybe call him” which would prolong our long visit already. The amount of steak I was given(with both sides) was the amount you would receive in one of their large burritos. Please tell me how that equates to 18 dollars!!?? This was definitely the last time we will attend this establishment....

The food is absolutely delicious. The staff is wonderful. Our waitress couldn't have been more friendly or more attentive. The outstanding food is by far the best Mexican food we've had in Jacksonville, NC and some of the best we've had anywhere we've traveled. The shredded chicken tacos were juicy when many restaurants serve dry chicken tacos. The California burrito is the only legit Cali burrito I've had outside of LA. My wife's burrito supreme was delicious, just seaonsed to near perfection. The rice and black beans were so tasty, and such a welcome change from refired beans. Chips were awesome but the salsa was too mild for us, so we asked for a saucer of spicy salsa and put spoonfuls of it into the mild salsa and then it was wonderful too. The restaurant was immaculate, and we saw why after a couple got done eating and left, for their booth was jumped on and scrubbed top to bottom; the effort was impressive. You will not regret eating here. It was about $50 for the wife, two teens, and I, which is so affordable these days. You know you've eaten great food that was seasoned with care and expertise when it leaves a pleasant after taste, and the family talked about the restaurant's food all...

This place was “meh” at best. My family and I walked in and stood around for a moment without being greeted. Shortly after we were sat in a booth…unfortunately one half of the booth was missing and replaced with plain dining chairs. Not that big of a deal. Waitress was quick to get drinks and take orders. I ordered pollo con chili verde and my wife ordered carnitas. Food was out within ten minutes of ordering and piping hot but was sent back. The carnitas were smothered in chili verde also. We flagged a waiter down and thankfully he was quick to replace the dish. To further our disappointment though the carnitas (pork) were half fat and not shredded nearly enough. It was huge chunks of meat and also had big bay leaves throughout it. The chili verde on the chicken was way too spicy…I am a fan of heat but I couldn’t even enjoy or finish my plate. Prices were okay, ambience is alright, staff keeps a smile on their face but not very personable. Like I said this place was “meh” at best, we really wanted to like this joint but everything...