Los Jefes Taqueria — Restaurant in Milpitas

I started to see comments from neighbors on Nextdoor about this place and knew I had to check it out. We are shockingly low on quality Mexican food in this specific pocket of San Jose/Milpitas. What we've had in this vicinity had all unfortunately been less than impressive and that was proven by the fact that none of those places are still in operation. I was sad to see Half Penny Fish & Grill go away so long ago, but glad that a worthy restaurant has come in to call this space home. When I first entered, I was impressed with how different the place looked and enjoyed the refreshed look and feel of the interior. I decided to order takeout over the phone and arrived for pickup. Took a few moments to snap a few pics of the inside and asked if I could also take some menu pics because I wanted cleaner shots of them to help out my fellow Yelpers. The owner, Erik, did one better and offered to send them, so BAM! So great.

I ordered bean & cheese burritos, regular corn quesadilla (for the hubby), and Quesabirria (for me) a la carte. I was surprised that the quesadilla & quesabirria came with small sides since I figured a la carte would be just that, but they both came with some rice and the quesadilla had a bit of cheesy beans as well. My bag was packed with a variety of salsas and everything was clearly labeled. Loved the organized food packing!

Thankfully, I live close so by the time I got home with the food, everything was still hot and fresh. I really REALLY enjoyed my quesabirria. The meat was flavorful and tender (I got beef). Squeezed a bit of the lemon they included on there and it gave it a nice little bit of brightness.

The bean & cheese burrito was simple and exactly what I had hoped. Topped with the salsas, it was great. I liked that the burrito was overbearingly tortilla-forward. The refried beans were smooth and had good flavor and the cheese was well-balanced for my taste.

I got a variety of 3 different salsas - a verde, a smooth spicy, and a chunky. All were very different but solid. I liked them. They didn't provide any tortilla chips or anything, but I thankfully had some at home, so I pulled those out to complement my meal and scoop salsa with and it worked out well. I ate all of my burrito and quesabirria as well as some of my own chips and I maybe overdid it but it was just that satisfying that I wanted to keep eating...

I'm looking forward to trying new items when I visit again because yes, I do plan to visit again! Let me at that al pastor, I have to have a taste of that!

Until next...

Excellent. Just excellent. From the moment you walk in, you can tell this is going to be a great experience. There's so much to like about this restaurant so I'll break it down:

Food Quality - So good! I've been here twice now and both times have been fantastic and fresh tasting. I've had a burrito and quesadilla with al pastor and both times were great. The flavor is just top notch. Portions were also generous and just right for the cost. I've also had their chips and FRESH guacamole. Again, both were excellent and fresh. They've got a solid size menu with many meat options, so plenty of variety for everyone.

Service - Everyone is so incredibly nice and attentive! We were helped by several folks during our meal and each individual was super friendly and made us feel very welcome. You pay up front, which was very simple, and food came out pretty quickly. Everything was easy.

Venue and Location - The inside is all new and fresh, VERY clean. Decor is fun and chill with plenty of large screen TVs around, showing various games and sports. There's a good amount of seating and booths for small (2-4) to large (6-8ish) groups. It's located in an older shopping center which has plenty of parking directly in front and very nearby. It's super easy to get find.

Really, this is just a fantastic spot and I know I plan on returning soon to try out some of the other proteins choices and plates. 100% Recommended you...

On Fridays, I typically have breakfast burritos. When I am at home, I usually make my own. Today, I am at my mom's in San Jose, so I ventured out to find the highest rated taqueria within like 5 miles.

Los Jefes seems like a cute little taqueria with a bar and a little ambience. It was morning, so it was empty.

The lady taking my order was friendly. The burrito, super burrito with breakfast sausage, came out in a reasonable amount of time.

The Pros:

I like that the tortilla looked like it sat on the grill after the burrito was wrapped. The beans were delicious, and the cheese was melted in but still it's own distinct layer The breakfast sausage was good

The Cons: The burrito was more beans and less sausage, so the burrito was a little too gooey I like potatoes on my burrito. Los Jefes uses hash browns. On a gooey burrito, hash browns get swallowed by the beans. A French fry or something chunkier would be better The red salsa was mid $20 with tip .... Definitely an investment for what's basically a bean and cheese burrito

All in all, I would go back for lunch to see how the tacos are. This will probably not be my first breakfast burrito...