El Jefe

Decor is nice.. kind of shabby cantina feel.. the owners own the restaurant next door that closed down recently. Portions are small. The bourbon that I had was a pretty weak pour..bartender had very little knowledge about whiskey in general. three sips and the drink was finished. The hard alcohol choice was pretty weak. I ordered a second double IPA of the same name that came very cloudy (first one was clear). I asked the waiter about this and he said it was normal...one of the pictures here in my review is of that double IPA... That's an hour after that glass was put on the table...not normal if came clear 20 minutes previously..either way I got two different beers or the keg and changed or it was the bottom of the keg something like that.. I spent $240 there and you don't even want to give me another beer?..not coming back..no sir

Great beer selection. Went on a Friday night and it was pretty packed but we loved that you could put your name down on a chalk board and get in the queue for a table. I had a mango margarita which was tasty. The tacos were good, not amazing. The tortillas are not homemade. The sauces and condiments felt heavy and too sweet. The sauce on the sweet potato fries was like a sweet and sour sause from a Chinese restaurant, yummy, but so incredibly sweet it was hard to finish. I’d definitely come back but will try a few different selections.

If you are looking for authentic Mexican food, this is not the place. Their chips have cinnamon; chips should not be sweet. I had to ask if they had plain chips. The waitress brought back a fresh none cinnamon ones, that nice. She said they were able to make fresh ones because they were not that busy. Their tacos on top of being overprice, their own take on ingredients being use are not great. Go to Portland to get a closer Mexican food experience.

Great food, friendly staff, fun bartender and creative drink menu. There is always a mixed crowd, couples on a casual date night, families with kids, seniors, work people, friends at the bar. Everything we have tried has been delicious, and the fish tacos are our favorite! Whoever wrote in a previous review that 'if you want authentic Mexican food, this is not the place'. Well, duh. If you want authentic Mexican food, go to Mexico. This is Maine, and the food at El Jefe is wonderful. We are regulars!