El Jefe Mexican Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Town of West Seneca

Okay, I hate having to drive up to West Seneca from Greay Valley, but when you've got family to visit in the hospital, you do what you have to do.

But let me tell you, after a long visit at Mercy, we happened to Yelp our way to one of the greatest Mexican places I've ever been. (And I've been to actual Mexico.)

Atmosphere: It's a beautiful space. It's very elegantly done, and I know it's new, but it still smells really clean. Ten out of ten there.

Service: They worked like a well-oiled machine. Friendly, not intrusive, made suggestions. Shared tasks between each other. Everyone we interacted with was very nice, and there isn't enough service like that anymore.

Food: I will be dreaming of this meal. No cap. Complimentary chips and salsa boasted fresh chips and smooth lightly spicy salsa. Perfect way to get this going. The queso fundido hit the table next and came hot and was both super creamy and just salty enough with an excellent bit of flavor from the chorizo. They offered us more chips to go with it, but we had just enough without the extra. And it's a good thing we kept our chip intake to one basket because the main dishes were huge.

Mom got shrimp chimichangas. Two plump shrimp stuffed morsels with beans and sour cream salad. She ate it all and left just a few beans behind. That is her highest praise there. She rarely finishes her plate.

Casey got a pick 2 combo and went with a soft chicken taco and a chicken quasadilla. That came with rice and beans. Another huge plate, Casey said the chicken had excellent flavor, and she even tried the beans, which she typically ignores.

There were so many things I wanted to try, but after a lot of deliberation, I settled on the birria tacos. No onions, extra cilantro, came with a good-sized cup of broth for dipping and a plentiful helping of beans and rice. The taco shells were corn and doubled up for integrity to hold the large amount of succulent beef and Oaxacan cheese. The broth was savory and a perfect amount. They provided a lime for drizzling and a little cup of a homemade hot sauce. I used every bit, it packed a great punch, and my mouth burned in the best way. I was so happy.

Now, as far as cost goes, it's on par with any restaurant right now. Prices seem high, but the portions and quality make it totally worth it. We will be back sooner rather than later. I'd make the hour drive just to eat here again. I have to try the birria ramen, sopa de pollo, and chili Colorado and so many other things. But whatever I order, I know it will be great and that the queso will always be...

I don't even write reviews but I was so disappointed in this place I felt a need to. It was my wife's birthday and had been wanting to go here since it opened.. we went on a Thursday evening and it wasn't busy at all... maybe 8 other tables of guests mostly 2 tops.. I will say the inside of the place is beautiful but that's where good ends... After being seated we waited over 15 minutes before flagging down a server to ask if we could place our drink and food order. We waited as long for our drinks as our food. And our "Frozen" drinks were half melted by the time they brought them. They forgot the queso we ordered and then when we asked for it it came out cold and with no chips. The food itself wasn't bad but also nothing to write home about. If I'm being honest I've had better Mexican from food carts on the side of the road..I would have maybe enjoyed it more if I could have assembled my steak el jefe in one of the provided tortillas but since they came in tinfoil on my plate of rice n beans with no additional plate I would have had to make my tacos directly on the table and by this point I felt as though if I had asked for a plate my food would have been cold by the time I got it. After receiving our food our server didn't return to check on us throughout the entire meal until again we had to flag them down to ask for a bill. I worked as a server for many years at different places and and am usually very understanding and if the place would have been packed full of people then the lack of service would have been a bit more tolerable. But for the amount of people there it was unacceptable. I definitely won't be going back there or making it a recommendation...

This place was hard to find because on the outside there is no identifying information that you are at El Jefe Restaurant. But boy am I glad we found it. The food was amazing!

I had the Birria Ramen Soup and it was out of this world. Of course I had them add some jalapeños because I needed it to be spicy. And the beautiful bowl they serve it in was a great touch...the side of guacamole I ordered as well was delicious and refreshing.

My friend had a beef burrito with beans and rice and she loved it all. Our waitress was super nice and attentive.

They have a great drink menu too. The spicy mama margarita was pretty good.

The chips and salsa were ok, I prefer very spicy salsa and most places I go have a regular salsa and a spicy one that they stash in the back, this place only had regular. So to me it was just ok because it wasn't spicy. And the chips could have been saltier. But again, that's just my taste.

The place is big and spacious and clean. The booths are super cozy. It's well decorated.

The only actual negative I'd say was that because of snow piles outside the parking was tough. The way ppl parked they kind of blocked the one entry aisle completely and we had to drive in through the exit lane. But if it weren't for the snow piles, that wouldn't have been an issue.

I 100% recommend.

And I don't do reviews too often and I cannot see anywhere on here an option to upload photos but I have a few so if someone wants to let me know how to include...