Don Jose Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Netcong

my husband and I love this restaurant. we have a meal there at least 2xs a month. we have always enjoyed the food, drinks, and service. my husband and I both work in the food industry ourselves for a long time, so we are not people to complain, but we were incredibly disappointed in our service for lunch today.

we got there at 3pm today, june 17th, to celebrate father's day. there were maybe 4 other tables in the restaurant, so it was pretty dead. when we sat the bus boy brought us chips and salsa right away, which we love. then the server came over for a drink order. I ordered a 1800 coconut margarita, my absolute favorite. and a water. my husband asked for a double titos and tonic and a water. the server brought my water over, never brought one for my husband. then he brings over the titos and tonic, in a Collins glass, so we assumed he only got a single, which is no big deal. the waiter then took our order and never brought me my margarita. someone else delivered our appetizer and I asked him for a coconut maragarita and he went and made it and brought it over to me. our meals were delicious! we asked for the bill and were surprised by the cost. I looked through the bill and noticed 2 things. there was a coke added to our check that we never asked for. and we were charged for 2 titos drinks. my husband asked the server to take off the coke, and one of the titos drinks because he only had one. the server then tells us he will remove the coke, but the 2 in front of the titos is because it was a double. whether my husband got a double or not isn't the issue....the problem was that a double titos and tonic should NOT cost $15.50! absolutely insane! we tried to explain to the server there was no way 1 double titos could be that much but he insisted it was correct. again, we are both in the industry ourselves, and we know a double titos should NOT be that much. but we stopped arguing and just...

Eh, not going to overly bash this place, but I called in takeout and when I got to the restaurant, my entry was obstructed by a worker rearranging the carpet. He saw me standing there and continued to try to fit the carpet rather than let me pass. I stood there for a solid minute as they awkwardly tried getting the runner to fit. Aside from this, which normally I wouldn't really care about, I was met with a great musty smell when I walked in. I'm not sure if it's just an old building or if it's just not maintained well ( disclaimer I did not see anything that looked unclean per se, but the smell did overpower ). Ok strike two, but what about the actual food. Well I hate to say, but this is nowhere even close to authentic Mexican. It's quite evident there are a lot of shortcuts, I wouldn't be surprised if the guac is bought pre-made in containers. I got Steak Gaudalajara and it screamed of some seasoning packet just mixed in with some oil onions and peppers (like the ones you can get for stir fry). It was ok but nothing to rave about. My wife's "tostadas" were so heaped with guac and liquidy stuff she could barely pick them up to eat them. It literally just looked like a flat crispy tortilla shell heaped with everything that resembles something mexican ( lettuce, diced tomato, diced onion, an absurd amount of guac, etc. The crema also was most likely a pre packed item. All this to say, this is not great Mexican. If you don't really care about good quality made on premises Mexican food, this might be able to slide by. But we'll be looking for other Mexican food in the area that is a little more worth it and cares a little more about authenticity...

My partner and I were not impressed with this restaurant. I called in an order, burritos, enchiladas, and chicken tacos back in July. They said it would be about 30 minutes. I arrived 40 minutes later to pick up my order. Upon arriving, I walked in and a server was standing at the server station to the right of the door, placing an order. It was fairly busy, about 60% capacity, but not so busy - as I was able to get a parking spot right out front. I waited about 5 minutes and then another customer walked in after me and stood in line behind me. A few minutes later, a family of about 4 or 5 walked in behind both of us and stood in line. A waitress came up and, instead of addressing myself or the person behind me, addressed the family and sat them down. I waited roughly 10 minutes until someone addressed myself and the next guest. We both told them we were picking up an order. When they returned, they handed the other person their order and said mine was not done. So, roughly 50 minutes after calling, my food wasn't ready. Instead of checking me out during my wait, I stood off to the side, between the bar and the server station, for about 15 minutes while I waited for my food. When I got home, part of my food was cold and part of it was hot. The rice and beans were dry and some pieces of rice were hard. Given that this place has 4.4 stars, I was expecting something much better.

If I combine my pick-up experience and food taste together, I cannot give this place more than 2 stars. I was ignored for 10 minutes when trying to pick up an order. The food was subpar. Perhaps the food is much better as a dine-in experience, but I cannot...