Had to review this place after I saw the low rating. We've been here about five times and have never been disappointed. Service is always quick and attentive. Prices are very reasonable especially when compared to other places these days. Cash discount too so bring cash. This time my son and I got the fajitas de mar and split it even though he's a big eater. Totally enough food for both of us. Wife and daughter loved their food too. I've gotten the molcajete in the past and it was delicious too. Nice enough place inside. Nothing fancy. I noticed many of the one star reviews are three years old or more and I only started going here in the past three years so maybe that's it. In any case, this is a great Mexican restaurant that you shouldn't hesitate to visit. read more

See all

This has become a favorite Mexican restaurant to come to. The ambience is nice and the area super convenient for shopping or taking a walk around the lake. They have a parking lot on site which is very convenient. The kids love their kids menu as it's very diverse and my daughter said her burrito was flavorful and the chicken juicy. I ordered Al pastor tacos and the salsa that they pair it with so good! Service was great and every time we come served are very friendly and the food comes out quickly. I am shocked to see the low star waiting but I've been here a good amount of times and have always had a great dining experience. read more

Don Julios - Tacos Al Pastor - Mexican Near Me - White Bear Lake, Minnesota

See all

The ambiance is festive but not over the top. They have lively music playing, however it is not overly loud so you can still have a conversation. The only downside was there was no one at the host stand and it took them quite sometime to realize we were there but after that service was excellent. Once we were seated, they immediately took our drink order. My husband ordered a margarita, which he thoroughly enjoyed. When they took our order, they brought out chips & salsa, which were very good. My husband ordered Enchiladas w/rice & beans, & 3 hard shell tacos. I ordered an enchilada & chili relleno w/rice & beans. The food came out quickly and was hot & fresh. Everything had great flavor. Our server was terrific, and always had a huge smile on her face. We went on Mother's Day, and they gave a rose to every female wishing them a happy Mother's Day. What a wonderful gesture by the business. read more

Don Julios - Mexican Near Me - White Bear Lake, Minnesota

See all

The food is great the drinks are even better!! I come here a few times every year and it's always the same. Good food. Great ambience specifically the outdoor seating in the summertime and good service. read more

My favorite Mexican restaurant in White Bear Lake! The nachos were some of the best that I've had in a while. I ordered a Mojito and Quesadilla Ranchera. read more

Don Julios - Mojito - Mexican Near Me - White Bear Lake, Minnesota

Love this spot for my Mexican food fix. Tons of seating ranging from booths to tables, and they have large corner booths for bigger parties. Great music (that isn't too loud to talk over), large menu with tons of combos and entrees to choose from, and a cozy atmosphere! I always get the michelada. It's $10 for a drink the size of my head. It comes with 3-4 shrimp and some fresh cucumbers and limes, and hot sauce and tajin on the rim. It's the closest michi I've had to the ones I loved in Arizona. The warm chips and chunky salsa are always fantastic, and the cheese dip is a great addition to the meal (the small was plenty for 2 people). For entrees, my boyfriend had the beef nachos and two soft shell tacos. It comes with chips, seasoned ground beef, melted cheese, and cheese sauce (He's a picky eater so the beef nachos were perfect). He also said the soft tacos were really tasty and fresh. I had the Burrito Verde which was absolutely massive. Two people could easily share this burrito. It had large chunks of meat, rice and beans wrapped inside a pillowy soft tortilla and smothered in verde sauce. The guac salad and pico added some freshness to the dish. The only thing I'd add to it is some hot sauce/hot salsa but it was still tasty without it. By the end of our meal we were absolutely stuffed and had more than enough food left over for lunch the next day. And the best part is... everything cost us less than $50! Delicious food, great prices, fantastic service. Highly recommend! read more

See all

If you're looking for generic "authentic" Mexican, this is your spot. The prices are VERY reasonable. It's slightly more expensive than fast food/fast casual... which I think is a fair deal. The food is nothing special: Soupy beans, store bought salsa, guacamole from a tub, rice bland. However, they still offer a diverse menu of offerings! The best part: free chips and salsa... and they'll keep them coming if you finish it off! Also a huge bummer, the charge 4% if you don't pay with cash:( read more

See all

We hadn't eaten here since it very first opened so we decided to try it again after many many years. We went more for their patio than anything which was lovely and pretty large. This isn't the best Mexican place but everything was good and the prices were decent for the amount you got. We got the complimentary chips and salsa and a large queso to start. The queso was good and a ton of queso which I love. I bring some home and make potato enchiladas out of queso from places. The salsa is fine but not great and the chips are chips. My mom got a small frozen margarita which is 16 oz and $6.50. She said it was good but not super strong so she wish she got the medium which is 22oz For my entree I ordered the vegetarian combo five which is supposed to come with a chili relleno and a cheese enchilada and some rice. There was a mix up and I ended up with the vegetarian combo number 6 which had a cheese enchilada, bean burrito and cheese quesadilla. The bean burrito was very good and I also very much enjoyed the quesadilla. The cheese enchilada would have been fine but it wasn't super melted or hot. They ended up bringing me a chili relleno since that's why I was ordering the number 5, it was good and spicy. Again not the best Mexican food ever but it was all good and I love when places have vegetarian dishes marked so I don't have to ask a million questions. My mom got the number 3 normal combo which came with an enchilada, taco and chili relleno. She asked for a chicken enchilada with green sauce instead of a beef one with red sauce. She said the taco was good (it was ground beef) the enchilada was good but she wouldn't want more than one and the green sauce was more tangy than spicy. She said the chili relleno was good and she would get it again but it wasn't the best she's had, I agree. Overall, we were happy and would come back again. read more

See all

The food is nothing special, but the service is awful. We had an issue tonight with one of our meals and when we brought it to the attention of our server she just kept saying, "I don't know. It's not my job. It's not my fault." We tried to calmly explain what was wrong but she kept arguing with us. I have never been treated like that by a server before. She could have handled the whole situation so much better than she did, but it was very clear that she was irritated and just didn't want to deal with it. No apology, no offer to make it right, no offer to bring something else. She was just instantly defensive and full of attitude. Then the cook came out of the kitchen and stood at the end of the bar talking to our server and another employee, who nodded towards our table, and they all kept looking over at us. It was obvious that they were talking about us but no one would come over to our table and address the problem. That's pretty rude. We were calm and polite and tried to explain the situation to our server but she couldn't have cared less and she didn't try to hide the fact that she didn't care either. Never eating here again. read more

Food was good, but nothing phenomenal. Service was long but I guess the portion makes up for it. read more

Don Julios - Mexican Near Me - White Bear Lake, Minnesota

Poooooit. This place is always disgustingly dirty and has shitty food. "Armpit food" as my mom used to say. We decided to give it one last try for a drink at the bar as we were doing laundry next door... the waitress was celebrating some sizzling fajitas with a large booth and swung by the bar to where we were waiting and seated to tell us they were closing...she then promptly vanished into a cloud of fart gas in the kitchen... Never again Dung Julio! read more

Don Julios - Dung Julio Gas - Mexican Near Me - White Bear Lake, Minnesota

We came in to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. There was a long wait, duh. They did a great job getting us seated and taking our orders in a relatively short time. It was so busy that we were forgiving of them getting our margaritas wrong. They were still tasty. The Chile Relleno was a bit soggy, but still flavorful. The queso dip tasted burnt. The Carne Asada tacos were delicious. I would recommend they double up on the corn tortillas, as mine was just one layer, and very rippy. I enjoyed the food more than other Mexican restaurants in this area, and will definitely be back to try them again. My feedback is really for the owners about food quality, so they can see how things are being received. Again, it was a madhouse in there. read more

See all

Excellent food and service! Thanks so much for the great ambience and experience! In our party of 4 we had some chicken and steak fajitas, the mushroom quesadilla and the carnitas! Definitely one of the best choices in the Twin Cities read more

I've been here a couple of times with work friends and it's got some of the best Queso ever! From Fajitas to Pollo a la Parrilla to the taquitos...all bomb!!! We had a good size group in today and they handled our group awesome! All the food came out at the same time and it was hot! Staff was friendly and played around with some of the guys at the table which made it even better! I take majority of my business lunches here when they come to visit me at my office...it's just a really good food and really good service! read more

Don Julios - Mexican Near Me - White Bear Lake, Minnesota

Never again. Every dish was so salty, my whole body puckered. I ordered takeout. I called at exactly 11:02am, when they opened. No one answered. That should have been my first clue, but no I pressed on because I had a crazy craving for tamales. After a couple more tries I did it! I ordered. I had a couple specials #1 with a taco and chile relleno for $6.50, a quesadilla fajita for $8.00, and two tamales for $5. When I got there no one was around to help, when the bartender finally got to me she rang me up for $29 and some change. Umm. What? She added on a dish so she had to void the charge, she was nice though and apologized. The one star is for her, the food was zero. I get home in 10 minutes and the food is in tin containers, but it's already ice cold. Everything with a red sauce, the relleno and tamales, was so salty it was inedible, and my taco was soggy. I don't think I would have eaten if it wasn't salty either though. It was just not good. I just felt sad, and still left with a yearning for tamales. read more

I don't think I've ever written a one star review. I always try to give the benefit of the doubt. That was made impossible this evening. -We were seated for about 5 minutes before anyone came over to our table. Not a huge deal, but given everything that happened tonight, I thought I'd include. -when the waiter came, he seemed extremely annoyed that we didn't have our orders ready for him. We asked for a drink menu and he begrudgingly went to get it. He also threw it on the table. -a few minutes later he came back and says, "food order" not really a question more of a command. I asked if he wanted our drink orders first and he said no, I said food order, and backhandedly hit his order menu. Then after that, he said "now drinks" -after placing orders, a few minutes later he comes back and says that the blender is broken so the blended drink someone ordered will not happen. *about 20 mins later, we hear another server using the blender to make other drinks. So maybe it got fixed, but maybe not. All things considered, it wasn't the breaking point, but definitely something that added to the negative experience. The margarita (on the rocks) and a beer come to the table about 10 minutes later. I was told my drink would be there soon. I said " no problem at all" trying to be very pleasant. The two that got their drinks, ended up getting their food about 5-10 minutes later. I still had no drink and none of my food. It started to feel like the waiter personally had a problem with me. I felt very confused as I had not said anything confrontational and had tried to be very pleasant. I get my food next about 5 minutes later. No acknowledgment from the waiter of the delay. I order tilapia fish tacos. I opened them up, and there was only fish in the tortillas. None of the things mentioned on the menu. No chipotle sauce, no cheese, no cabbage. In the moment I didn't know exactly what was missing since I didn't have a menu, but I knew they weren't plain and I at least new that there was cheese. I love cheese. Ha! My sister mentioned that I could probably ask for cheese when he came back to bring my drink. (which throughout the night he only did when he was dropping something off, never checked in and no refills on water). About 10 minutes later, he comes with my drink (again, zero acknowledgment or apology of the delay). The others are almost completely done with their food, but I'm trying not to eat my plain tacos and wanted to wait for my drink to eat. I asked if I could get some cheese for the taco since it was on the menu. He pointed to my taco and said, "you ordered fish. That's fish." I said, "I understand, but on the menu I remember there being something about a sauce and cheese" and he rudely says, "no that's not right. That's not on the menu." I asked for a side of cheese and he says, "fine" and walks away. The cheese comes back a couple minutes later. During that time, I look online at the menu, and sure enough there is supposed to be a chipotle sauce, cheese, and cabbage. I figured, as long as I can dress it up with side of cheese and the salsa we had for the table, it would be fine. I didn't want to be too difficult, plus I felt like I had been made to feel stupid every time I talked to the waiter. The check finally comes and I'm charged for a side of cheese. I mention that I looked on the online menu and saw that cheese was supposed to be included so I'd appreciate not being charged for it. He said no, that's not correct. The menu doesn't say that." I was kind of dumbfounded. I said, "can you check the menu?" And he bring it back to me and says, "you see, the menu is no good." LITERALLY pointing to something that says cheese, sauce, among other things. Wow. I say, "exactly. I didn't get what's on the menu" I'm not asking for any kind of refund "except please remove the charge for cheese" He doesn't apologize, but says, he needs to speak to his manager. I see the manager kind of laugh and roll his eyes (the context I'm not completely sure of) and then he comes back returns my card and says, "$1 off" NO apology, no acknowledgement. It also bothered me that the manager didn't even bother to take the time to come over and acknowledge anything. Overall, all I wanted was not to be charged for something that should have included in the first place and then some, but instead was made to feel stupid and difficult. One of the people I was with said he'd been to another location and that it was much better. I'm definitely willing to try that place. read more

This place is yummy. It's classic and the service is fairly fast! Especially today! The server doesn't speak super great English but that's how you know it's great! Always a great place to take kids the quesadillas are full of goodness and we're never let down. I gave it a 4 star instead of a 5 because I thought that the chicken and steak pieces were tough and a bit over cooked. This place is also great for groups! read more

Don Julios - Mexican Near Me - White Bear Lake, Minnesota

See all

Our WBL staple! Such great food, kind service, very accommodating for food preferences, which we really appreciate. They make great take-out as well!! read more

I ate here last night and it was the WORST dinner I ever had!! I ordered a taco salad and it had no flavor or texture and tasted like dog food! My husband's dinner was equally bad! The margarita was bad also - it tasted like a glass of Squirt pop! Do not eat here! read more

I've been to this location twice, once when it was pretty new and then again a couple weeks ago. As with many Mexican places, it can be easy to find vegan offerings. My second time I went I ordered the veggie fajitas. Yum! Served with a side of rice and beans which I mistakenly forgot to specify no cheese or sour cream, my fault! My parents enjoyed their food and I brought home some leftovers Staff is fine, sometimes the places seems dingy and the parking lot is way small! read more

My family and I were in the area and decided to get take out. I ordered the shrimp chimichanga, I really liked the cheese sauce that was smothered over the top. The chimichanga itself was not bad. I wish it had rice or something inside of it. It was mostly onions. The shrimp was ok but didn't taste that great to me, a couple pieces had a little shell on them. The beef chimichangas had two little ones. They looked tasty. My mom really enjoyed her chicken quesadilla. She said it has a lot of flavor. Overall not a bad spot! read more

Despite the mediocre reviews, we thought we'd give the patio a try. There was a server at the register counting out change as we entered. He took maybe a minute to acknowledge us, but we were seated quickly after that. She found the Texas margarita to be a glass of sweet-n-sour. I had a Dos Equis Amber, served in a frosted mug - primo! We decided to share queso con chorizo, but we had to ask after it after several minutes. It finally came out with our dinners. I had the Hawaiian fajitas, she had enchiladas special. She says they forgot the sour cream and the flavor. My dinner was the tastier of the two. Our server never did check back until our plates were stacked pretty high. He was pleasant but not attentive. We will not return. read more

Always have had good service and food, also delivery food has been good. One of our favorite restaurants to go for dinner.

The food here is very good. The drinks are awesome. You get it right away there's not a long wait if you're hungry, go here you get a lot, and the prices are great and the waiters and waitresses bartenders are all very friendly. read more

Two words: lunch fajitas. I've been coming here for years and I'm not sure I've gotten anything different. So much food for the price! And it's tasty. read more

My parents swear by Don Julio's. I've been twice (once to WBL, once to Forest Lake) and haven't been blown away by anything yet. The menu is huge, a little bit of everything for everyone. Prices seem pretty fair too. My big gripe is last time I was here I ordered "Al Pastor" tacos and they were steak instead of actual pork al pastor. I should have asked and clarified as the menu did say "steak". My fault I guess, but why not just call them steak tacos instead of "Al pastor"? They were ok, but sort of underwhelming. In the shells was just the meat and it came with pico and a spicy sauce on the side. We'll probably be back to another location at some point, and maybe I'll find my groove. read more

Had been looking forward to this place opening for some time. They did a great job of renovating the place. It is very clean and nice on the inside. The atmosphere warm and comfortable. The highlight of the night was the food. I did the shrimp chimichanga which was very good. It was very fresh and the shrimp in it were no joke, they were legitimate size and quality shrimp. The sides were very good and fresh as well. They also served up what is probably my favorite dessert in quite some time. The Xangos, which is a cheesecake filled shell that is fried and then served with ice cream... Wow. If your cardiologist knew how good this is he would understand. So those are the great things. The not so good things today were the service and the margaritas. They've only been open for a couple weeks so I forgive their slow and seemingly confused staff. The Margarita's though, they should be better. Overall we had a good experience and will go back. I'm confident the service will get better and the food will continue to be good. read more

See all

Do you ever pass by a restaurant and think to yourself, "Yeah, that's one we'd better skip." LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE! We went to Don Julio's tonight ... and it was Kids-Eat-Free night which should have sent us running for the car immediately. But we were tired and hungry. So we went in. We sat at the bar, because the wait for a table was stupid long -- lots of empty tables but still we caved and asked for seats at the bar because ... we were tired and hungry. I'm pretty sure the Bar Back waited on us. Alberto. He was sweet and did stop by twice in between refilling the ice bins. The bartender (whose name we didn't get) was too busy chatting up a woman at the end of the bar to wait on us. Look up the word "prick" in the dictionary ... I'm pretty sure his picture is under it. The only time he spoke or made eye contact was after we'd put our coats on and stood by our chairs. A signal to BRING THE CHECK, PLEASE? .... SOMEONE? And even then the hostess had to ask us if we needed something before the bartender entered the conversation. And sure enough, he had our check. So we stiffed him. We've NEVER not tipped in our lives ... but we weren't about to give him one red cent. He should not be working in a service industry. Anyway, the food was okay in a South of the Border Denny's sort of way, the decor was gas inducing and the children were plentiful. We will not be back. Do yourselves a favor and avoid at all costs. read more

Amazing food and margaritas. The service was exceptional. New favorite Mexican restaurant!!

The server was acting like a total bitch it's 2 stars cause food wasn't terrible but she was very rude from the start and got mad cause she couldn't understand us read more

I'm speechless it's so good! Landon- 10 You need a wheelbarrow after eating- Liz Food was delicious! Service was excellent! read more

I cannot recommend Don Julios for service, food, drinks or atmosphere. My margarita had ZERO taste of any alcohol, a $9 drink. The food was marginal at best. I shouldn't expect Americanized-Mexican food to be incredible. They were very short of help, from what I was told from another customer that is typical. They could have sold more to me if a server came around more. My biggest complaint was when I got my bill and I questioned the charges, some crazy explanation about drink sizes and how they show up on the tab. There were 4 of us and I had no enthusiasm to go through an accounting exercise with a server that had no patience to explain the details. All in all, they got over $110 ( +tip) of my money for an experience that left us frustrated. Don Julios- you FAILED!!!! read more

Patio is nice and chips and salsa are good--Service was slow and soft taco shell was wet. I asked if they had Sauvignon blanc and received a blank stare. I asked if they had wine and they gave me a menu. I do not recommend this establishment. read more

The White Bear location is one of the best around. The staff is extremely friendly and the food has always been A+. Take the negative reviews of this location with a grain of salt! read more

Just lost a customer. Take out order was butchered for the last time. Our family enjoys the food but the hassle of getting our order straightened out has taken Don Julio's off our list. UPDATE: Decide to give you guys another chance and ... fail. Call-in order was again messed up. Done. read more

Our meal was very disappointing. Everything tasted about the same. Red sauce was bland and tasted like tomato sauce. The chips were very thick and somewhat chewy. On the positive side, the salsa was tasty and the food came to us very hot. Service was quick. We were on our way to Casa Lupita but decided to stop here. Wish we had kept on driving. read more

I don't understand the negative reviews. Is this place gourmet Mexican food? No. I don't think it's trying to be that. This place serves up Mexican-ish comfort food at reasonable prices. That's exactly what I was looking for. The service was incredibly prompt, and our food came out in a flash. It was hot, fresh, and satisfying. Never had an empty cup either! read more

Literally one of the only places I know of that has a lunch possible for under $10 (I know I wrote this in my review for Ha Long Bay down the road, so maybe it's a White Bear thing?) But I have to say, it's a bit bland in terms of spice. Oh sure, there's tons of salt, but beyond that, there's not too much going on. read more

Place is pretty standard for a Don Julios. Good, fast service, fast seating every time I've gone, and the regular selection of food. I honestly think they could widen the menu to include a few more vegetarian dishes - maybe mole enchiladas or rice tacos, but you're going to get what you expect, and that's not a bad thing. read more

Great mex! I have no idea where any negative reviews came from. Cheese sauce is awesome!