Papa Joe's Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

I'm always hesitant of Mexican food restaurants outside of my native city of San Diego. I hold all Mexican food to the Southern California Mexican food standard. My husband wanted to try this place and I was initially turned off when I saw that they make their enchiladas with flour tortillas, unless you specifically ask that they be made with corn tortillas. When we got to Papa Joe's it was crowded, that's always a good sign. The hostess was very nice, she told us that there would be about a 30 minute wait. We gave our names and waited. When we were seated our waiter was prompt on getting our drinks and kept them filled throughout our visit. My husband ordered fajitas and I ordered tamales. Here's where I feel like there was a miscommunication between myself and the waiter, he asked if I wanted the tamales in the red sauce or if I wanted them in the husk, I said husk since I have never had them smothered in sauce. When I got the tamales, I was under the impression, since I ordered the meal; that I would be getting four tamales and a side of rice and beans, instead what I got was six tamales and no side. When I asked about the beans and rice I was told that when you order tamales in the husk you don't get the sides; ok, good to know. The tamales were good, some had the verde sauce inside, some had the rojo sauce inside and I ate half of them and brought the other half home. My husband was not impressed by the fajitas. There was a LOT of the wine-creme sauce on the fajitas, he must have missed where they give corn tortillas with the fajitas rather than flour and he would have liked some pico de gallo and lettuce with the fajitas rather than the guacamole (which was very good), and verde salsa. In all, it was ok, the service was good and Lots of people seem to like it. If I go back I will order the tamales again, but probably not...

Having lived in Mexico & being married to a Mexican for many years...it aggravates me when a establishment advertises "Authentic" when it clearly is not! The food is okay but yes...it's nothing like it was 10 years ago. Also, charging for salsa, a jalapeño, etc...that's simply being cheap & not showing much appreciation for your customers. I've been a small business owner most of my life, including Resturant's; instead of defending yourselves, you really should be listening to your customers. I do realize that the food is "Americanized" for a reason but it's just not as good as the true Authentic recipes are. I wish there'd be at least one true 100% Authentic Mexican Resturant here; like in Florida, for example. They make their own tortillas & they're cooked on a griddle/grill, the salsa is actually a bit spicy, they have many Mexican favorites...etc... Clearly it's all about $$$$$$ now for this establishment. Quality & quantity have been left at their original location. Sorry for being so brutal, but I clearly am not the only one who feels this way. For every not so good review, there's at least 10-20 people who feel the same but don't bother doing a review. Today was the first time in 6-7 months, we thought we'd try again...shouldn't...

Meals are always delicious. Drink prices are a bit high so we tend to stick to water. Don't care for the salsa that comes with the chips, wish it were more tomatoey and less beanie. But that at least keeps me from filling up on chips and salsa. Any leftovers taste even better the next day. All around good! (They need to look into changing the booth benches, they are connected so that the person behind you moves when you move, and vice versa.) Updated July 28th. So they are in their new location now and I have downgraded them by 1 star. Food still delicious, and that is very important. But equally important is atmosphere. It is very dark and just not a pleasant seating experience. We ask for a booth each time we've been there and both times were given a table. They don't know how to accommodate requests for booths. The waiting area could be one long bench to hold more people, or just more benches. And why is seating painted black? So depressing. We may go there for carryout in the future, but are most likely finished dining in. Thank you for continuing to be open during the shutdowns. Please update menu prices to reflect new prices so we can know what to expect when we...