Uncle Julio's Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Tulsa

REVIEW: A Promising Start, but “From Scratch” Deserves a Closer Look

You know how sometimes you drive past a place over and over, each time saying to yourself, “I need to try that spot soon.” That was me for the past month and a half. What really piqued my interest was the bold claim under the restaurant’s name: “We cook from scratch.” A confident statement like that carries weight—especially for someone who grew up in Mexico, surrounded by generations of scratch-made cooking. Naturally, I had to find out if they lived up to it.

After finally clearing my schedule, we visited as a family. Normally, I like to review places solo—less distraction, more focus. But I thought, why not get four sets of taste buds on the case? A broader perspective might help me judge this “from scratch” claim more fairly.

We arrived around 9:15 p.m. on a Saturday night, knowing they closed at 10. I figured we wouldn't be the only late diners—and we weren’t. Still, first impressions matter, and ours was… puzzling. The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated—warm lighting, stylish touches, and a tortilla-making station that gave us a great view of the action. But as we stepped in, there was an awkward pause. No hostess. Then, a young man appeared, wearing a face that said, “What are you doing here?”—which mirrored my own confused expression. I didn’t make a fuss, but the welcome didn’t exactly scream hospitality.

The atmosphere also felt a bit off. For a Saturday night, the place was oddly quiet. Not dead, but not buzzing either. When a restaurant claims to cook from scratch, I expect the energy and crowd to match the hype.

Thankfully, our server, Joe, brought the night back on track. Friendly, knowledgeable, and genuinely interested in our experience, he walked us through the menu and made some great drink recommendations. We started with a couple cocktails—well-balanced, refreshing, and beautifully presented. A solid win there.

Chips and salsa? Middle-of-the-road. The chips lacked that rustic, handmade crunch, and the salsa—while pleasant—was missing the fire I’ve come to expect. My family enjoyed it more than I did, so maybe that’s just me being picky.

The bathroom break, which I usually take early on to observe cleanliness and staff habits, came later than usual—mostly because I was enjoying myself. And yes, the facilities were spotless and thoughtfully designed. I also checked out the bar area—elegant, lively, and definitely a spot I’d like to revisit for drinks alone.

Now, onto the food—the moment of truth. My birria was delicious, tender, flavorful. My family’s dishes were vibrant and well-prepared. There’s no doubt the kitchen knows what it’s doing. But does it scream “from scratch”? I’m not so sure.

The rice and beans, in particular, raised red flags. They had that overly uniform texture and seasoning profile you’d expect at a Tex-Mex chain—not the kind that’s been slowly simmering on a stovetop with garlic, onions, and love. I don’t say this lightly: I grew up in a traditional Mexican household, surrounded by mothers, grandmothers, and neighbors who cooked everything from raw ingredients. I know what scratch cooking looks—and tastes—like.

So while the food was tasty and service top-notch, I can't fully endorse their “from scratch” claim. Maybe I caught them on an off night. Maybe there’s more happening behind the scenes that I didn’t see. But based on my experience, the label felt more aspirational than accurate.

Final Thoughts: Reception? Needs work—no way around it. Service? Excellent. Joe was a standout. Food? Solid. Above average, with some real highlights. Drinks? Spot on. Ambience? Pretty, but lacking warmth. From-scratch cooking? The jury’s still out.

Would I return? Absolutely. There’s enough here to merit another visit, especially to explore the bar and...

Two words. CARNITAS TACOS. Very rarely can I eat at an establishment only twice and understand I have found single-handedly the best item on the menu. Not an opinion, but a fact. After indulging myself in no less than 45 tortillas worth of chips and salsa. This masterpiece was so eloquently served before my now dwindling appetite. When asked if I needed anything else I nearly asked for a to go box. Unbeknownst to me I wouldn’t need that wasteful piece of styrofoam that would just take up space in my refrigerator. I sunk my teeth into my first taco and was surprised at how brilliantly crafted it was. I can’t say for sure that the good Lord made these tacos but he was definitely there with me this night. A sense of enlightenment washed over me as I devoured the remaining tacos. With my stomach telling me it was time to throw in the towel, my tastebuds yearned for more. I had but one spoonful of rice and although the rice was fine, it would be such an injustice to follow such a fine entree that I couldn’t fathom consuming another grain. When I tell you these tacos were phenomenally better than any other taco I’ve ever dreamt of I mean it. These tacos were so good I got home and went straight to YouTube to teach myself how to do the dougie. A master class of a meal. 10/10 would recommend to a friend and enemy alike. I will definitely return to Uncle Julio’s to once again enter the warm embrace of marinated pork, cotijo cheese, and cilantro cradled in a fluffy tortilla. I wish all who read this a happy, healthy life and may Uncle Julio’s carnitas tacos one day bless your soul.

Wow! I’d first like to apologize for my ignorance in the first section of this review. Don’t get me wrong, the carnitas tacos will forever have a special place in my heart and soul but following my recent visit back to Uncle Julio’s I may have found a new contender for Best Item on the Menu. For this meal I was recommended the Guadalajara fajitas and boy howdy did they not disappoint! This meal was so filling and I was able to split it with my fiancé. With steak so tender and juicy, chicken that was flavored to perfection and FRESH peppers and onions, this meal was an immediate hit. To top it all off, it comes with not one, not two, but three shrimp ever so delicately wrapped in bacon. Now of course you can dip these in the Mexican butter that comes with the meal as the butter is phenomenal but I’m asking you, dare I say begging you, to request a side of honey chipotle glaze. This sauce with the shrimp made for a beautiful pair! A better pair than Beyoncé and JayZ. A better pair than Kim K and Kanye before the divorce. I’m telling you right now it’s to die for. Just when I thought I it couldn’t get any better, our dessert arrived. The small mountain that is a cajeta sundae. This magnificent ball of ice cream was rolled in toasted coconut, covered in a cascading drizzle of cajeta sauce with crumbled pecan brittle sprinkled over it, then finally topped with a fluffy dollop of whipped topping that was made in house. A beautifully designed dessert! As if the food wasn’t enough, our server, Angel, was the most amazing waitress I may have ever had. She’s so welcoming and knew our meal better than the back of her hand. She knew what tasted best dipped in which sauce and I could tell she really loves the restaurant she works for. She had nothing but excellent things to say about Uncle Julio’s. From the fresh made food, the great work environment, and the patrons she greets each and every day. You can really get a sense that she loves this place! We were also blessed to be greeted by Davin, the general manager for Uncle Julio’s. He made sure our visit was nothing less than the best and we are grateful for him guiding us through...

My partner and I had quite a horrible experience here with our server Diego. We arrived while the restaurant was not busy, and our server had only three tables already (making us the fourth.) The hostess took our drink order, brought our drinks, out, and gave us our chips and salsa. Our server didn't come by our table for nearly 20 minutes (though he regularly attended to the other tables right across and next to us during this time). Eventually our server arrived at our table for the first time and took our orders. By this time our drinks were nearly empty and our chips had nearly run out. However, our waiter did not ask about refilling them nor did he come by to refill them as we waited for our food. He still did not come by after we had our food brought out by the manager (not our server). Then still he did not come by after our drinks were clearly empty and we were eating out food. During this time he had not been absent though. Instead, he had been religiously attending to his original three tables.

We began to wonder to ourselves why we were being ignored. Were we dressed like we may tip poorly? No, we were dressed sharply, sharper even than the tables our server was diligently attending to. Was it because it was busy? No, the restaurant was not busy at all, and one of his tables had left by this point (leaving us as one of three). Perhaps it was because we were young?

While we pondered this and sat with empty drinks, we asked the hostess (who had walked by to seat one more table for our server, making us one of four yet again) for drink refills and she promptly got them. More time went by while we watched our server continue to attend to his dwindling number of original tables while ignoring us and the newest table (not getting them refills, visiting them, or giving them any other attention aside from simply taking their order after a very long wait, same as he had done with us). Our server continued to focus exclusively on his original tables. What differentiated our table and the newest table from the originals we wondered? We were dressed differently than the couple at the newest table, we were a different age than them, and we had arrived at different times (with the new couple arriving while it was much slower). The only thing our table shared with theirs (but did not share with the originals) was that both us and the newest couple were interracial couples while the originals were all white couples. I hate to assume anyone is being racist, but at a certain point this kind of treatment begins to make you wonder.

We asked the hostess to get our check and she went to fetch our server. We then were visited by our server for only the second time that evening as he walked up, check in hand, and dropped it off with hardly a word.

If you eat here, be sure to save your tips for the hostesses. They'll treat you better then the wait staff. My partner was quite upset with the treatment we got, so I'll be happily dining elsewhere for the foreseeable future. This isn't even the only time we've had bad experiences here with service, but it was certainly one...