Chapala Grill 3 — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

October 6, 2023:

Well this PA resident came back for another visit 2 years 6months later with the same friend (and his wife this time), for another dinner.

The first thing I noticed was the number of customers the same night of Friday was almost half. When I opened the menu, I had two (2) thoughts: The meal and drink prices had risen substantly. My spice jalapeno` Margarita was $21 alone. In all fairness, the drink was served in a large goblet with heavy liquor. It was really, really quite good. I was unable to order the seafood medley (not name) dish as it was too much for me i.e. $40.

Thus I believe the economy has forced priced out customers from this type quality restaurant.

I ordered the filet of red snapper fish with garlic sauce, spinach and rice.(HUACHINANGO AL MOJO DE AJO) @ $26.

Hands down the red snapper was the bomb with the garlic sauce, spinach and rice. Plenty of portion size. The best fish dinner I ever had, no kidding.

The waiter had a problem to issue 2 checks at the time we sat. I mean he actually pushed back a bit but I didn't have to call a manager. Otherwise, he was very attentive to our table needs throughout the meal.

All employees on the floor are Mexican waiters and work very, very well together and hard.

Don't look at the prices according to the online restaurant, as they are so old and incorrect.

Believe me when I say this was great food, fun and service. I'll be back from pa again to enjoy another great Mexican cusine at Lake hopatcong, NJ!!

As a PA resident, I met a friend at Chapala Grill 3 Mexican restaurant located at the most northern tip of Lake Hopatcong on a Saturday night (March 2021). I based my restaurant decision on Google reviews listed high (4.6). My buddy had the whole fish (red Porgy) and I went for the gold - Paella Seafood with chicken broth ($33). We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals....bug time! Guacamole had to be in-house made......really good. The sauce they offer with the chips at sit down a bit on the spicy and chuck side but soooo good! The place is smaller inside than I thought from the outside and the crowd noise throughout the night seems loud due to the acoustics. I found myself having to talk louder to my friend and at times had to have him repeat his words as the noise drowned out his voice/words. The waiters and waitresses are working and run around.....not take their time and truly work as a whole restaurant team to serve you. You need something, you can ask anyone of them....NO attitude. They so much wanted a customer to have the best experience. I truly will return when back in the Hopatcong, NJ area to verify this place has great food, service and deserving a...

I have been here a couple times since they have opened and i am willing to edit my review and give them another chance in the future but as of now i can only give them 2 stars. Based off the 3 times I have eaten here most of the food I ordered was delicious, portion sizes are definitely too small for what you are paying. Every time I have eaten there the pricing on the check was ALWAYS MORE than the pricing on the menu. Which wouldn’t be an issue if they had fixed it after the first 3 times I brought it to their attention. They only adjusted it on my individual check it appears the management doesn’t want to correct it on the menu or in the system (I’m not sure which or why.) Be careful asking for sides or refills here they charge for everything ($2 per side of SMALL sour cream, $3 per Pepsi NO REFILLS also they say it’s Pepsi and serve it in Pepsi bottles that come already opened and i only saw coke products on the menu and on the soda machine) I have had the Botana Grande as an appetizer every time I have eaten here and enjoyed it every time but each time it was cooked different (sometimes with peppers and sometimes just chicken and cheese) so it’s confusing how it’s supposed to come. For entrees i had the chapala chicken the first time and enjoyed it a lot but again it was a very small portion for an $18 meal and the other times i had the Molcajete which is absolutely delicious and my reason for giving two stars instead of one. The sides always came with very minimal rice and beans with all our entrees. The molcajete is supposed to come with corn or flour tortillas, they only give you 4 small ones at a time and it was quite hard and annoying to have to keep trying to find/flag down our server to request more! Many times through the meal i had to sit and wait for more tortillas. Like I said I know this place is new and i really enjoy the food for the most part but they really need to start taking these complaints into consideration and improving upon them. I will be happy to revisit back in a couple months and leave a 5* review but I’m definitely going to wait out all of...

I’ve been here a few times, and the problems we encountered were made up for by the food until now. Our first time was their second day open and everything was great, but the check in the end had incorrect prices and we had to have it fixed twice. No worries there, new restaurant. We went back a couple days later and had passable service at the high top area but again, the prices on the check did not match the menu.

Since the food was good enough, we went back with a friend for their first time. I ordered the same app I had ordered every other time, the Botana Grande, which comes with a chicken quesadilla. Strangely, this time they added peppers and onions to it. Okay, new menu, I get it. I just pushed all that aside and ordered the combo of enchilada, burrito, and flauta with beef (as opposed to chicken or taco meat) for an entree. My dish arrives and I’m faced with the driest, saddest, most bland taco meat I’ve ever seen. I flag down my server and ask if this was what I ordered and she said they ran out of beef. Maybe if the taco meat didn’t look like leftovers left on the stove over night I could have stomached it, but no thank you Chapala Grill. I’m usually quiet and just eat what I get so I gave the courtesy of trying the meat before sending it back and yikes.

My friend ordered a Quesadilla as an entree, which is not listed on their menu outside of the Kid’s dishes. Unappetizingly, it came with no salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or any sauce at all. She had to request sour cream, and then a second later on. Imagine our embarrassment when the check arrives and, yet AGAIN, the prices are incorrect as well as the fact that they charged $2 for each side of sour cream..... for a dry, barebones chicken quesadilla. Add the $3 for each soda and refill, and you’ve got two local guests with bad tastes in their mouths. As much as I would love a nearby, inexpensive option it doesn’t look like it’s going to be here.

The two stars are for the food, but I’m not even sure it would be the same if...