El Jefe's Cantina — Restaurant in Reno

I visited El Jefe's on a Sunday evening. I sat at a video poker free seat at the front bar alone.

I sat there for over five minutes while three staff members, including a manager, buzzed around the bar helping customers and counting inventory. I got up, went to the back bar where the staff were gathered, and told them I was sitting there.

The manager brought me water and a few minutes later one of the bartenders came over to take my order. He was very friendly!

I asked for a mezcal margarita. Instead, he made me the signature Cadillac Margarita with a mezcal floater. I'm not a Cadillac fan, but, the acid and savory nature of the mezcal cut through the sweetness of the OJ. It was so good - I ordered a second!

I ordered the quesabirria (the bartender said it was great and I love it!), however, the kitchen was out (it's a rather special dish, so I wasn't surprised). I asked his other favorite dish and he recommended the Shrimp Diablo Tacos. And yes - he was very genuine in his suggestion.

It was a hearty portion with refried beans, fresh salsa, rice, and two tacos.

I requested chips and salsa twice from the bartender but did not receive them. I love crunch with my Mexican food, and I'm happy to pay extra for chips and salsa. I noticed that folks in the dining room around me were getting complimentary chips. However, I noticed people by themselves weren't. Since I did not receive them from the bartender, I asked the runner who brought my food. He had to go out of his way to ask the manager if he could give me chips and salsa. She said yes.

As a woman who travels around the world alone, nothing annoys me more than being ignored, "missed," or denied the same thing as couples or larger groups. Just give me a smaller portion, fine by me.

Regardless, my tacos were delicious and the chips and salsa were, too.

Overall, I'd visit El Jefe's again. The design was cute, food was good, cocktails strong, and once I got their attention - the staff was friendly...

Update - Went for dinner last night. I had a rough day and was really hoping for some amazing tacos to get me in a better mood. We were informed that the restaurant was offering only a limited menu of chips/salsa, nacho fries and street tacos. We agreed. We were offered a booth, the table was very wobbly. The waitress did offer us a different table but we said it was fine (will they fix the table eventually?) We had our order taken, 3 street tacos ($12.99) carne asada, pork belly, and Carnitas. We also ordered the street fries, which was supposed to be like a nacho but served with french fries instead of chips, no meat ($14.99). We also ordered water and a Mello Yello (since Reno doesn't have mountain dew apparently 🤷🏻‍♀️) The food arrived in about 7 minutes. However the fries were practically raw and the dish was served cold. The Carnitas were so hard I couldn't even bite into the meat. We didn't get our drinks. About 5 minutes later a sad waiter came over with waters and apologized they were out of the soda we requested. We opted for a root beer instead. He brought that. The waitress never came back until she handed out check to us about 20 minutes after our food had arrived. I did explain about the fries that we did not eat and asked her to remove the charge from our check. By then I was too upset to have them make anything else. So in the end we paid $20 for 2 mediocre tacos and a root beer. 😭

We are here at this hotel/casino for 3 more days and now I doubt I will ever go back. If people can't even make a freaken taco or properly cook a French fry 😕😕

Original review from the 2 nights before.... Food was really delicious. Ordered the quesabirria, and the birria platter. Best beans and rice I've ever eaten at a Mexican restaurant. Margarita...

My husband and I have been here many times and the service and food have not been great, but decent enough for us to come back. Christmas day was an exception and we probably won't be back. I understand everyone has a bad day, but this was truly bad. We sat at the bar and the female bartender took my order, then she walked away without taking my husbands order. When she came back more than several minutes later we flagged her in and she seemed "put out" for having to place another order. My food came, and we inquired about my husbands dinner. Her response was "oh, the kitchen is really backed up". No apology for not taking his order. After about 6 minutes we asked again. She said very snarkily "what do you want me to do, go tell them to hurry up?" then she made a very rude and unprofessional comment under her breath but it came through loud and clear. We asked to speak to a manager and she informed us the kitchen lost our ticket. She did comp his dinner and our drinks, but she added on a charge for extra sour cream. At that point I was not going to argue. When his dinner (Chile colorado) finally did come out, it was luke warm at best, the sauce was nothing more than seasoned tomato sauce (nothing even remotely close to colorado sauce) and the first two pieces of beef were quite gristly. He couldn't eat the rest. I truly hope management reads this and trains staff to own up to their own mistakes and not blame others. I don't expect a 4 star meal at a casino restaurant, but I do expect a decent meal and to be treated with respect. If the bartender cannot do this, then she is in the wrong profession.

A question was asked about the bartenders name. The name on the tag is Marilyn. I am unsure if that was the bartender or the manager...