Don Luis Méxican Restaurant — Restaurant in Stockton

Update: Tuesday, December 31, 2024, dinner Service was OK. Everything else was a disaster. Salsa had way too many jalapeños in it. Couldn’t eat it. Chips were not hot and fresh. I couldn’t handle the salsa so I ordered guacamole which was way too spicy and too many jalapeños also! Couldn’t eat it. Sent it back! I ordered three chicken tacos à la cart. Two were fresh and hot. The third was probably a half hour old…soggy and chewy. My son ordered two cheese enchiladas à la carte with brown gravy only. They were a mess. The gravy was like soup. So much so he had to ask for an extra plate to put the enchiladas on. The enchiladas didn’t look appetizing. They were so flat it didn’t look like they had any cheese in them‼️ We’ve given you a few chances lately, Don Luis. From now on it’s back to CASA FLORES FOR GOOD MEXICAN FOOD!! ————————

Update: Wednesday, September 13, 2023, PM

On a downhill slide….

My family’s been eating here for over two decades. We are well-versed in the food and operation of the restaurant. The last several times it seems like things have changed. The old employees are no longer here. It’s not quite the same atmosphere. The food definitely is not the same as it used to be. I don’t know if the cooks have changed or maybe they don’t care. Maybe the owner doesn’t care or give attention to the restaurant like he used to. But it just does not hit the same. Tonight we pretty much ordered our standard fare. I had a chicken taco and chicken enchilada with brown gravy only and no salad on the plate. The chicken in the taco was very dry! And it looked like the cooks put red gravy on and then scraped it off and put brown gravy on top. This is a no-no! My son ordered his standard… two two cheese enchiladas made with flour tortillas à la cart. The enchiladas were made with corn tortillas ! Same thing with the gravy it was red gravy mixed in with the brown gravy and we both specified brown gravy only! They used to have really great thick and rich brown gravy. Not so anymore. It’s more like soup. We hadn’t been to the restaurant in quite a while because we had similar experiences in the past. Needless to say, we were not happy with our dinner tonight. It just is not the same as it used to be. The seat that I was sitting on needs to be reupholstered. Hopefully the owner is on top of that and it will be fixed soon. I was almost afraid to sit down, it was so ragged. I’m not sure if/when we will be back. —————————- Update: Wednesday, September 21, 2022 Good food tonight as usual. The restaurant was really busy. Good service But…the restaurant was FREEZING inside! It was so cold inside that people were actually choosing to eat outside where it was a bit! Save some electricity and turn the temperature up.

Nov. 6, 2921 Update: Stop by to get some takeout. Friday night. They were slammed! Only one empty table. But this week they had plenty of help. Everything seem to be going smoothly. My order was correct. Delicious as always! This is our local go to spot for good Mexican food!

Oct. 25, 2021 Update: We have had great service and good food consistently here over the past few years. Tonight they were slammed. The parking lot was completely full and there was only one table open when we walked in. But tonight the food was no bueno! I ate half of my meal and left the rest on the table. A full house and only two servers working their butts off. You could tell there was a lot of stress between the servers. At least one large party at a long table. They were not happy either. Why did this happen? Where is the owner/manager? Our server did the best she could to keep up with things. My taco was a limp mess with dry pieces of chicken. The gravy was not on point. Not a good experience tonight! Will try a few other local Mexican restaurants before we...

8/17/2022

This review has been amended in order to include additional details.

Actually, This is a Zero Star Rating. Unfortunately it seems that zero star ratings can not be posted publicly, so we'll pretend it's one star.

Our rating is based upon our opinions in regards to our receiving terrible food and extremely substandard service while at this establishment.

The restaurant was not busy at all and we were immediately led to a table. My friend ordered first and we learned that his order included two plain wrapped tortillas.

I asked our server if I could order a lunch special with a buritto containing only chicken and cheese. I stated I did not want any sauce nor gravy inside or on top of the burrito, nor anywhere else on the plate. She said ok, then asked if I'd also like tortillas and I replied yes, including a thank you.

When our server returned with our food, she placed out individual plates directly in front of us. Plus, she placed a basket determined to contain two tortillas right next to my friend's plate and walked away without saying anything. We were a bit puzzled because she made no mention of my previously ordered tortillas.

I cut open my burrito and upon tasting, noted it contained dark chicken meat, no cheese and was loaded inside with sauce. Being hungry, I decided not to bring this to our server's attention and began to eat it as is. Also, in regards to our individual orders, we both found the side portions of rice and refried beans to be "tasteless" without flavor.

About halfway through lunch, I discovered a piece of chicken bone from the burrito in my mouth. Upon removaI, I showed it to my friend and attempted to get our server's attention. However, my attempts produced negative results as she made no indication of acknowledgement. I am unsure if she didn't notice my attempts or perhaps chose to ignore them.

Neither this, nor any other, server ever stopped by to ask if everything was ok. None even offered to refill our drinks, even though our almost empty glasses were placed at the aisle side table's edge.

When we were about done, our server finally came to the table and placed down the bill. I pointed out the chicken bone on my plate informing her as to the circumstances and she looked at me. Without saying a word, she picked up my plate, obtained my friend's credit card and walked away.

Returning, our server placed our bill and my friend's credit card on the table. She immediately departed again without saying anything.

We feel that our server seemed to care less in regards to all noted circumstances pertaining our lunch.

Thankfully, I didn't suffer an injury during this terrible lunch experience. In our opinion, the food and the rude servicer's lack of professionalism are the worst ever. We've told our families and friends and none of us will ever step foot into this place again.

We recommend you locate a different place in and/or about the Stockton vicinity to eat. Hopefully nobody else has experienced, nor will experience, detailed incidents as pointed out within this review.

However, just in case you decide to ignore this review, we sincerely recommend that you be careful and take...

UPDATE: Don Luis USED to be my favorite Mexican restaurant in Stockton but over the last year or two they have gone way downhill.

Over the last few years it seems like there hasn’t been a whole lot of care put into the place…the seats are starting to split and need to be reupholstered, the service is barely a fraction of what it used to be and they NEVER get my order correct. Honestly I just order cheese enchiladas à la cart with just the light gravy. Sounds easy enough but they get it wrong at least half of the time.

Thank goodness there are other awesome Mexican restaurants in Stockton. For now I staying away from Don Luis. It makes me sad, I hope they can get it together in the future. 😐

Don Luis is my FAVORITE restaurant in all of Stockton. It's probably my all time favorite anywhere. I have been eating in Stockton all my life and we have some damn good Mexican food but the quality of the food, ingredients and staff put this one above the rest. I could make a whole meal out of just their gravy and cheese to dip my chips in. The owner is often around and taking care of the place...in fact he installed a permanent outdoor section during COVID and now they have twice the room and twice the business! Mind you it can get REALLY busy during dinner but I have never waited more than 15 minutes for a table. (And to top it off they know my order by heart.) Now I'm hungry and it's way too late at night to get anything...