Jose O'Shea's — Restaurant in Lakewood

I visited Jose O'sheas 2 days ago. My family and I always went here in the 80's and 90's and the food and service was just amazing. The last time prior to this visit was back in 2003 and the food was still amazing then.

Decided to try it in 2025 and the whole experience and food were just terrible. When we were seated our exhausted waitress an Asian lady with short hair asked if she could sit down at our booth as we were deciding what we wanted to eat. No waitress has ever asked me that before. So unprofessional, but a part of me felt bad for her so I said OK. After about 5 minutes she stood up to take our order.

My mother ordered the Giant burrito and I had the O'shea burrito (I think that's what it was called.) I also ordered a large guacamole and specified to the restaurant that we wanted the guacamole first. Waitress obviously was not listening because the whole order came out together which I hate. I prefer my appetizer first. The guacamole was just horrible though and it was a shock because Jose O'sheas always had the most amazing guacamole in years past. This guacamole did not look too fresh, had kind of a brownish color, no.chunkiness to it and just not a good flavor.

My mother's burrito was just so bland it was basically a tortilla with nothing but beans in it. No cheese at all. We thought the menu indicated this burrito had cheese in it.

My burrito was also a disappointment, it was all pork and a couple of spoons of beans. I just kept picking out the giant and unappetizing giant chunks of pork. On top.of that the sour cream was bad and the burrito was barely warm.

The waitress we really had to flag down we didn't go into the whole meal being a disappointment, but we did let her know the guacamole was horrible. This really angered the waitress and she glared at us both. She said "So what, you want your money back?" I said yes. She became very hateful at that point and she would not come back to the table unless we chased her down. Something a customer should not have to do. She never even asked if we wanted more cokes. I wanted one so we found her and asked for another Coke. She gave us a Coke with no ice in it which I carefully had to pour into my old glass.

Then a couple of tables sat behind us and she couldn't have been nicer to both tables. Asked then if they wanted more Cokes, more salsa, etc. She never asked us if we wanted more anything.They were treated like gold and we were treated like dirt. She was unprofessional the minute she came to our table asking if she could sit down. Waitress please do that on your break, I've never had a waitress do that in my life. And as for her getting so hateful about the guacamole, she acts as if she made it personally and got so mean when we mentioned it. We didn't even mention the rest of the food also sucked and the sour cream was bad.

Jose Osheas used to be one of my favorite Mexican food places to go, but after this experience I will not be coming back. Also retrain your waitress. Sitting at a customer's table is never OK. She needs to listen more carefully to the customer, I asked for the guacamole to be brought out before the food which she did not do. Her getting an attitude about the guacamole I did not appreciate either. She treated the other guests like gold and came back to their tables but if we wanted anything we had to leave our seat and find her. Very...

I’ve always thought of Jose O’ Shea’s as Mexican Casa Bonita, except the food is really good.

Jose O’ Shea’s has always been an enjoyable environment for me. The unique thing about this building is the various rooms with each of their own personalities. Sometimes the ceiling will be raised or be made of wood planking. Sometimes there will be gaps to see upstairs. One of my favorite rooms is off to the left and down, where all of the tables and chairs are colorful. The windows make up one of the walls and there’s a big fountain in the middle of the room. Plants are placed variously around, which makes my favorite part and an overall welcoming environment. Some walls in the building circle around and some ceilings have various textures, like one with a wood planking that makes the room very cozy to eat in. My favorite spot is a half table-half booth with a fireplace that sits right behind you. Overall the environment for this place is very comforting. Something rather unique that brings a smile to my face is the Spanish lessons playing in the bathrooms.

In all the times that I’ve gone I see smiling faces and helpful suggestions. They aren’t overly special in terms of service, though they are never bad. There’s not much to say in terms of service but they’ve always been very kind and polite in my experience.

As far as food goes, Jose O’ Shea’s meals are the reason I eat here. Best Mexican food by far. Their chips and (amazing) salsa are complementary, and their food always sits just right. To me they have the best quality chili, rice and beans, and chicken. Even better, their prices are a bit cheaper than other restaurants. I would say between $5-$17 for the meals. Overall, I’m very impressed with their food quality.

I 100% recommend if you’ve never been here to visit at least once. I can remember a few times where they have deals going on around the holidays. Last year they had an envelope that they gave you when you visited, and if you returned to visit within a certain time period they would open it for a chance to get money, a free dessert, a free meal, a free drink, and something else I can’t remember. We walked away feeling like we were stealing.

To conclude a rather long review, go visit this place....

Not one bad thing to say about O’Sheas!!!

This place is so great. Fair prices. Not 'fancy' DEFINITELY NOT garbage (i.e., diarrhea). Tried most things on the menu, liked all of them.

Can take anyone there - spouses, dates, family, friends, coworkers, interviews, BOOKCLUBS (aka drinking ladies we 🖤).

••••Jalapeño cream cheese burritos, drool. Spicy, flavorful, mmm. Quesarita burrito, huge portion, not stupid greasy - once full, still can't stop eating it. •Pasole. • Take home alcohol. • Appetizers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️Chocolate Ganache Torte - omg it is SO sweet, in a delicious yummy way (if you don't have an intense sweet tooth). ⭐️⭐️⭐️Their 'smoothies', specifically Prickly Pear, it is for sure ice cream ... let me say, imagine if I was in a ‘pick your last meal’ - the smoothie and ganache without fail would be on my list, hands down.⭐️⭐️⭐️

The way they immediately responded to COVID making their menu expanded for being home made our household thrilled - we would have been saddened if they had been forced to close, we ordered every week from here to keep them afloat. Now, we STILL order pickup for those lazy days, large groups/visiting friends & family, while still taking time away from home to enjoy their atmosphere monthly.

The staff is so accommodating - always get the Gringo Burger - I ask for no seasoning, no fries/sides, don’t even need the bun as the pattys are for my 4 legged shadow - the container always says whatever goofy thing I say in the order in Sharpie on it ‘plain, only patty for 4 legged friend”. — that’s fun enough customer service to keep me coming back for furbabby, the food being as unique as it can be for what it is, PROMISES my family and I will always support this lovely...