El Jefe's Cantina Tahoe — Restaurant in South Lake Tahoe

We were in town for a concert. The concert was experiencing delays and we decided to get food since we couldn't get in yet. We ordered the street corn and Nachos appetizers. The flavor was great! The street corn was nicely seasoned, but a little "watery." WOULD ORDER AGAIN, even though it's expensive for what it is.

Let's get to the "nachos!" These things arrived COVERED in a thick layer of jack cheese. Barely any visible chips. I grab a corner of what I can see and it immediately tears away from the rest of the chip. Basically, they smother in sauce and cheese and make the entire thing a soggy mess. We asked the server if this is usual and she says "Yes, they refuse to change the menu or how the cook it. They put enchilada sauce all over. We've complained, they refuse to change. Would you like a basket of fresh chips?"

So, we accepted the fresh chips and cut up the plate of soggy mess, to then eat with a chip. Oy. What a disaster.

The server was wonderful, but the decor, lighting, "table varnish" and less, left more to be desired. Luckily, the flavor is the only thing that saves from. The 1 star....

Four of my girlfriends and I had dinner there last night! Right away the waitress was flustered and said the system was down, out of Las Vegas, and couldn’t do credit cards or split the check. Which we didn’t ask about and wasn’t a problem. One friend was jet lagged and couldn’t eat after flying across the country the day before. So the rest of us ordered. Chips and a tiny bowl of salsa, $7.99!!! I got the chicken taco dinner as it was the least expensive dinner at $17.99, two tacos and beans and rice. Tacos, ok and rice. Beans tasted funny and couldn’t eat them. My one friend got the chicken salad and ate a little then pushed it aside saying it didn’t taste right! I tried a chunk of chicken from it and almost gagged, it tasted like it was seasoned with a dead fish, unacceptable!! She took it up to the manager and he/she took it off the bill. The kicker of it all, $9.99 for a bottle of Corona???? I will...

Went there on a Thursday evening. Hardly anyone in the place which did not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Long story short.......we walked out. They do not offer any combination plates. No hard shell tacos. $17 + for margarita's. In 40+ years we've never been to a Mexican restaurant that does not offer combo plates. Hard pass for us. There are some great Mexican restaurants in S. Lake Tahoe....which is where we went and spent out money. UPDATE 10/20/2022. I see the owner responded and I respect that. I do not like giving negative reviews, ever. But.....as a business owner you should know how customes feel. Your current menu is unlike ANY Mexican restaurant we have ever been to in 60 years. Not having "combination" plates makes no sense to most people I imagine. Hopefully you might modify the menu to be a little more "typical" as many people expect combination plates at a Mexican...