El Jacal Mexican Restaurant

I came in for a quick breakfast and I left the plate clean, this meal was very tasty. The maíz tortillas were hot and fresh! The bathrooms were very clean. My server was attentive and kind. I would dine here again and recommend to anyone for good Mexican food!

Craving some chilaquiles? Check out El Jacal! I arrived around noon. Parking is a bit tight. This seems to be a local favorite. I ordered at the check out. Took about 10 minutes to get my order. The chilaquiles was savory and filling. It came with rice and beans. I didn't like the small chunks of raw onion but other than that it was very filling. The chips were a bit soggy so maybe order inside the restaurant and not take out. That's not a downside but more of a heads up. Staff were nice. Looks like they were a bit limited on staff. There was only 1 waitress and 1 cashier. Be patient. I'd come again to try different items on the menu!

This review is for the soup alone, since I haven't had the chance to try any of the other soup here and even if I did, I might not because it would be so tempting to always order any one of the amazing soups! The birria is my go to, but I enjoy the menudo as well and I'll be honest, I am normally not much of a menudo kinda guy, but this is different. The broth has a nice clean taste and isn't overly organy and funky like some menudo can be, it's a great intro for those who may be skeptical about menudo, or organs in general. The birria was deep, complex, spicy and generous on the meat and it also came with a stack of hot, delicious hand made tortillas, and while I was full, I felt it was my duty to finish this magical bowl of broth, as it would not only be waste to leave behind a drop of this soup, it would be an insult to the establishment. Aside from the food, the staff was very friendly too and even though this seemed like a busy weekend spot, we got our orders fairly quickly too. Maybe one day I'll return and try their other offerings but if I don't, I don't mind because damn, they really make one mean bowl of birria.

If you like a nice authentic Mexican meal, this is the place! We just returned from Hawaii off the Red-Eye. It was about 9:30am and we wanted a good Mexican breakfast. I read the reviews on this place and there were several references about how the food here reminded them of home in Mexico. The first thing we ordered was coffee. While drinking our coffee, we browsed the menu. I decided on a Verdes y Rojos chilaquiles and my wife ordered Huevos Rancheros. I don't think the server understood me because she brought me Rojos Chilaquiles. Oh well, I wasn't going to send it back. The chilaquiles was served with a little bit of refried beans on top of fried corn chips, topped with red sauce, and eggs. The red sauce had a deep red chile flavor. It could've used more salt. The rice and beans were good. The rice was moist and had a subtle toasty flavor. It could have used a stronger broth or more salt in my opinion. The beans were nice and creamy. I would certainly return here to try their lunch menu. Until next time!

Over priced and the service and food were not great at this place. I wouldn't recommend this place, unfortunately.

Came here for breakfast while at work on the recommendation of my co-worker.The restaurant has a very home style feel and our server was very friendly. Service was very quick.I ordered the chilaquiles which I normally don't do because either the chips are still hard or they are too soft.We got it with green Chile sauce with carne asada and eggs. The eggs were cooked the way I asked. I enjoyed the flavor a lot.I also liked the rice and beans which had nice flavor too.I would definitely recommend giving this place a shot.

I've lived in PHX for nearly 30 years and can tell you this is the BEST Mexican Food in town. Clean. Friendly staff (brush up on your espanol!) and the freshest most authentic plates in town and for a reasonable price. Amazing.

We decided to try a Mexican food spot that we hadn't had before & based on reviews, this spot seemed to be the one. We have passed it several times going to the panaderia & was always curious. They are apparently known for their breakfasts & soups. We decided to go for a late lunch instead & wanted to sit outside since it was a nice Saturday to do so.....we walked in & we were immediately sneered at by the "host" when we asked if we can sit outside, to which she replied "are you sure? It's cold out there". It was 75 degrees so we were puzzled but sat outside anyhow. Unfortunately it was all downhill from there. I ordered the flautas de papa plate & my partner ordered the flautas de deshebrada plate along with some chips & guac. She took our order & then another waitress comes out & brings chips & a tiny ramekin of avocado salsa & said "try this first & then let me know if you still want me to make the guac". Puzzled, we look at each other & then confirm that we do indeed want guac. Weird, right? Then our entrees arrive & it's the flautas but only a la carte. No rice, no beans - only lettuce, tomato & cotija. Then the guac arrives after our entrees. We are kind of getting the jist that we aren't wanted as customers at this point, bec we ask where our rice & beans are & she said "oh you want those too?". Like what? We ordered the Dinner PLATE, not a la carte.... At this point I decided that it's time for us to just finish what we have & call it a day. I've never had a waitress debate me on what I wanted to order. It was bizarre. So I bite into my flauta... it was dripping with grease & had ZERO flavor other than grease. Even the guac was unappetizing. You could seriously get better guac at Ranch Market. It was awful, mainly because the tomatoes tasted rotten. Even the few sprinkled on my flauta were rotten tasting. It was really gross. My partner said his flautas were "mids". Also, they were tiny, about the circumference of a nickel & about 6 inches long, if that. We picked at our food, finished what we wanted & then waited for the check. We waited & waited & waited. Finally my partner goes in to pay & he said the tried to charge us for the plate versions of our food of which we never got bec she waitress tried to debate us on whether we wanted it or not. After a few minutes of debating back & forth, they take $3 dollars off the total bill, but that still wasn't the difference between the a la carte portions we go compared to the dinner plate portions. Frustrated & wanting to leave, we just pay anyhow, not wanting a fight over the $12 difference. As we walked to the car we agreed we wouldn't come back, even to try breakfast which seems like their specialty. It was a confusing interaction & experience & the food & service was terrible. Later that night I got very sick, obvious I had food poisoning, even tho I didn't order any meat. My partner did not get sick but he didn't eat the tomatoes as he does not like raw tomatoes. That's basically my point, the food is not good, like literally rotten. I was up all night throwing up rotten tomatoes & guac. I'm still sick this morning, which is what prompted me to write this review. When I say never again, literally you couldn't pay me toeat here again. We will stick to our regular spots from now on. Rosita's Place, Cocina Madrigal, Carolina's, Ritos, Gallo Blanco are all out go-to's & this place will never be on our list of places to return.

Let me just say "Never again" I wanted to try this place for a while and I was really disappointed. The food isn't good !

I loveeeeee their food! Customer service is great! Very welcoming! Kid friendly! I recommend this place if your looking for a fast, homemade meal!