So I was in Sonora visiting family and decided to give this place a shot since my gf wanted Mexican food. We walked in and were told we could sit anywhere. There weren't many people inside and it didn't look like they had much seating. There was a very small bar area and a tv. We sat down and were brought chips and salsa and asked what we wanted to drink. The chips were a mix between regular and flour tortillas. The flour ones were good. We ordered the sampler platter. It was made up of nachos, half a cheese quesadilla and one taquito. I also ordered a fish taco al a carte. The food came out pretty fast but was average. The taquito was good but small. The quesadilla and nachos tasted like what anyone could have made at home. The fish taco however was really tasty. It was huge and lathered in a garlic butter sauce. I'm not saying the platter was horrible or anything but it wasn't anything special. The service wasn't bad but I felt like she could have checked on us more than just once. Overall it's not a bad place. read more

What has happened to this once very good Mexican restaurant. Service was terrible. Arrived at approximately 6:35 and didn't leave until after 8:00. They were not busy. Seemed forever to get our food. My three companions thought the food was ok. Just ok. My carnitas were room temperature. When our food came out two of us had to wait another 5 minuets for our entree. I timed how long it took to check out. 10 minuets to get the check and 6 minutes to get credit cards back. Bummer. read more

The food was cold and the service was poor. The restaurant was dirty, so we chose to sit outside. The shredded beef was actually chopped beef, and was so fatty I couldn't eat it. This was our anniversary dinner and was completely wasted. We will not be back. read more

The place was really busy tonight but we only had to wait for 10-15 minutes. No big deal. We came here about 7-8 years ago and glad to see they are still in business. I ordered fish fajita salad which isn't on the menu but they accommodated me anyway. Pretty tasty too. My husband had quesadilla which is too cheesy for him and taquito is too small. Price is in the high side. read more

About average for Mexican restaurants in this area. It is a bit small inside, but there is great outdoor dining. Menu is pretty much standard familiar items. read more

Great restaurant. The chips are great. Homemade and crispy. I really liked the cabbage salsa they serve with the chips. I had the tangy lemon chicken taco a la carte. It was different, though at some times too lemony. The service was good. They even offered us dessert before bringing us the bill ( a big plus for me) I was worried about the reviews from Yelp before we went in, but I was happy I did go. read more

Not amazing, but maybe the best Mexican food in the area. My food was mediocre but my boyfriend got the torta and it was good. I think the key here may be to order the carnitas. The steak is not on point but the carnitas really good on his sandwich. read more

Recently went in to pick up some lunch Togo the staff there always has the look of not wanting to be there. Even if we done I they usually check on us once or not at all..I was a waitress for years & I know how this business works & when I go there I'm always disappointed. Not to mention when I was there to pick up my Togo order a waitress spilt some mole on the ground (no big deal it happens) but it went all over my new lightly colored dress she didn't even tell me it got on my dress I had to hear others talking about it & if it were me I would've apologized to whomever I spilt anything on.. :( read more

I head in for a great dinner experience and order a nice cold beer. The beer comes with no chips or salsa. I inquired as to why and was told you don't get chips until you place your order. The assistant manager a young man was kind of snappy when I asked why. Another employee explained the owner is afraid one would fill up on chips before ordering so that was the logic. By the way the mentioned manager was poking his head out the door watching the employee speak to me. I hope that person did not pay a price for such. Cold beer Tecate, with salt and no chips. Why even give me the drink? Simple little rules like that take my business and recommendations elsewhere. I spend 80%of my time in Sonora so someone else can have my business. By the way the plate was pretty good so kudos for the food quality but as for the other, unacceptable. read more

Enjoyed pina coladas with our chips, delicious salsa and cabbage appetizer. I had shrimp fajitas and hubby had steak al Mexicana. Both were excellent. The service was incredible. We had three different people at our table checking on us, making sure everything was perfect with a promise that if it wasn't it would be replaced. We walked out with a to go box for two more meals just from my fajitas. Huge portions, excellent service. We'll gladly return. read more

Chips and salsa was good. The horchata was delicious. The food didn't taste as good. The beans and rice were below average.

One of my favorite soups of all time is served here- Caldo de Pollo! Plus the owners are great people!

Spent 20 minutes waiting awkwardly at the front the only time I tried to eat here. Staff members only acknowledged me after 15 minutes saying "someone will be with you soon" yelled from across the room. Only one table was seated at the time. Unbelievably terrible customer service. Don't waste your time. read more

I agree with most of the reviews about El Hardin; the best thing on the menu is chips and salsa. The food is definitely nothing near authentic and it's bland. Service is terrible, wait staff is rude. read more

Went here for lunch with a party of 3 total. Food was really fresh, tasty and on point. We ordered the fresh guacamole for the chips and it was delicious! Between the three of us we ordered the taco, chile relleno, taquito, tostada and burrito. No complaints here. I usually try the beans first as that is a good indicator and was not disappointed. Lunch special prices were reasonable and portions were large. Good spot for good Mexican food in Sonora. read more

Food really good but one of my group complained hers was not warm enough. Service is the main complaint. Server kept forgetting things.

This place is great! El Jardin is the quaintest Mexican restaurant I have ever eaten at, starting with it's unique interior decor and continuing out into the garden courtyard. The service was fantastic and the food was great. This is a must see and experience place! read more

My family and I love El Jardin however this was the worst experience ever... the nachos ordered came out wrong waited for way too long for the correct ones to come out everyone was almost done eating... the enchilada that i ordered the carne asada was over cooked and the tortilla was stale...the waiter did nothing but say sorry no discount offered won't be returning to this location read more

Great service-food was also great. Came in about 30 min til closing & didn't feel rushed. Def recommend. However went to the location in Columbia 2 days later & wasn't so lucky. Waitress was familiar with menu/special items and was very friendly. Of the three El Jardin restaurants located in Twain Harte, Columbia, and Sonora, the Sonora location has been the best experience. read more

Great food ,and the margaritas are to live for!!!! bebidas muy sabrosas

Service is great, the chimichangas are my favorite and the margaritas are good, too. Fantastic chips and salsa. Clean, cozy and a nice spot after you work a long day. read more

I don't know why this place has such poor reviews. It was really good. The tamale I got was super bomb. The burrito was good but surprisingly the tamale was better I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I also got my food for take out and they even put a bag of chips and salsa in pro bono. Super cool spot. I'll definitely be back. read more

High price. 2 bean and cheese burritos only which cost me $11. Wow!!! Stale chips for salsa. Good food but how hard is it to make that. Next time. Taco smell. read more

Another great mexican restaurant. Unless you've got mad skill in the kitchen, this is better than you can make yourself. Get the flour chips and guacamole, it is worth it! read more

Service is extremely poor- two different waitresses had no personality and had no real desire to be helpful. The chips were stale and we havent even gotten are meals yet. Also the waitress brought us our drinks and had salsa allover her hands which was on our glasses as well and we had to wipe them down ourselves. My wife said the lemonade was good though. Other than that we havent gotten the entres and i would advise any tourist to pass to another restaurant. We ended up leaving after one bite of our food it was terrible and they still made us pay half the bill. If i could give a zero out of five i would. read more

I have to completely disagree with the rest of the reviewers. My friends and I went to El Jardin for dinner last weekend, and we did not know what to expect. We were new in town and this was advertised as the best Mexican restaurant in the county. The reviews were right. My Veggie Fajita was excellent, and I do not usually order fajitas because they are sometimes bland. It was flavorful with a touch of sweetness. I will go again when I visit the Gold Country. Other reviewers are right that the menu is a typical Mexican-American menu, but they did it right. read more

We used to go here until we got fed up with their prices and their poor quality of food. My fiancé found hair in his food two times. I would always get the cheese enchilada supreme and each time it got worse and worse. Their lettuce was always wilted and soggy. Their prices are pretty steep. We would get no alchohal and could not walk out without our bill being close to 40 dollars. 40 dollars for Mexican food??? Their chips were always cold and stale. I don't know why we kept going back. Didn't know better I guess?? We found c&c next to chevron gas station and couldn't be more pleased with them!! We had the owner as a server up in the Twan Harte el jardin she she was not friendly at all and didn't really care about how her guests experience was. Will not be back. read more

Went in with some friends today, the waiter said it was his 2nd day on the job. He was running all over the place, while another girl who was working was just standing around, didn't seem to be doing much. When he would ask her something, she was extremely demeaning to him. Food was not very good, but the poor waiter was doing his very best. read more

I have personally never had a bad experience at El Jardin, although I mostly eat at the Twain Harte branch and we absolutely love it. It is absolutely amazing mexican food. Every time we have out of town guests we treat them to El Jardin. Great service, great food! You can't go wrong. I usually get the burrito grande and I can't even finish it in one sitting....I get to take half of it to go for lunch the next day :) read more

Went today for an appetizer and a quick bite. I didn't see any of the poor service mentioned in other reviews. Out server was very attentive, available and really good natured. Out guacamole was not amazing but certainly adequate. The chips were oven fresh. The drinks were as expected. I loved my marguerite but my wife thought it was just okay. read more

Decent enough, though nothing exceptional. Two types of chips, watery salsa and an impressive cabbage salad to start. Overall, food was OK; modest pricing and decent kids menu (though you do wonder a bit about a Mexican restaurant with corndogs on the menu!). Fajita salad had an odd (and unnecessary) balsamic dressing. read more

We tried them out after hearing of the brand new staff. We had an awesome meal, big margaritas, and very friendly service. Check them out!!

My husband and I went here while in the area and expected the quality of food and service to be similar to Turlock El Jardin...not a chance. The atmosphere was nice but the service and food were poor quality. When we had to request a refill on chips and salsa, one of the servers (tall thin blonde did not get her name) acted like we were wasting her time and continued to walk away as we were talking with her. The fajita we ordered was greasy with lots of excess oil and very little chicken and veggies. We were disappointed since it was on an anniversary celebration right after gold panning in Jamestown. If you want outstanding Mexican food, service and ambiance then skip this El Jardin and stop at the Turlock restaurant! read more

I would like to start by saying I created a yelp account just to leave this review. I was at El Jardin yesterday and received easily the worst service of my life. My experience started by ordering two iced teas to go (all the other cafes were closed) and when I saw how yummy the food looked I asked about ordering a bean and cheese burrito, and said i was in a hurry on my way back to Modesto for a party. The waitress informed me it would take 10-15 minutes to make a bean and cheese burrito al la carte to go.....seriously...when I canceled the burrito and went with just the iced teas her face dropped and what small pleasantness she had disappeared. I took the iced teas out to the car where my husband and dogs were waiting, and we decided we had just enough time to grab some food to go. I went back in to order and the waitress had to be flagged down to take my order, and she was very unfriendly. Basically had the attitude of "oh god you changed your mind? What do you want"...I seriously thought about just leaving but NOTHING else was open so reluctantly I ordered and gave them my money. 15 minutes later my food came out and was handed to me by the bus boy. No smile, or thank you. As we started driving off the beans spilled out of the container and got on my shirt, and wouldn't ya know it there were no napkins or silverware. Had my husband park, went back in to get them and no one would look at me or help. I had to ask the bus boy who went in to the back and told a different waitress who eventually brought them to me without any apology. All in all it was a very very poor example of customer service and needless to say I will never go back. *also....there was 4 bones in the chicken AND the salsa was spoiled!!!!!!! read more

We're another group (3 of us) that don't understand the low ratings for El Jardin. We went there on Sat. evening. We're from Sacramento and the Bay Area so, believe me, we know Mexican food. Service was not only prompt and nicely attentive, but big smiles from the waitstaff. Can't fault them in the slightest. Chips, salsa, dinners arrived quickly, offers for more water when it was noticed our glasses were getting low, HUGE attention to detail about what we nit-picked over for our meals ("no tomatoes" from one person, "no cabbage" from another, etc.). Orders were verified and the plates arrived as requested. And the food? Well (stop giggling!), we all ordered various nachos. The plates were HOT, the cheese was so perfectly melted...we've never seen stretchier cheese. Everything (salsa excepted...canned tomatoes) was fresh, delish and some of the best nachos we've ever had...everyone agreed on this! Decor is a little divey and dark, and there's only street parking from what we could see...those are the only negatives. read more

Geat service, amazing margaritas, great outdoor seating with twinkly lights and of course great food! We will be back again!

El Jardin has gone downhill. We had dinner their last night and the chips were stale, the food was not very good and it was just luke warm. When the bill came it was $60 for 3 people and 2 dinners were just soft taco's. I will never eat their again and would not recommend it to anyone. read more

if this food had had a little more flavor, I would rate it a one out of ten. This place wins the "worst ever" title for me. There will be no second visit. read more

Customer service really sucks. They are super slow to take your order. I ordered the beef chimichanga (I prefer shredded beef but they don't have that here). It was okay, I've had WAY better elsewhere. My son had the quesadilla with fries and the fries suck! The best thing about this place is the FRIED ICECREAM, that's about it! read more

They need to fix the front door. The food was passable, not exciting, but their front door didn't close on its own and freezing waves of air kept sweeping around my nether parts. Not pleasant and no promise to fix it was offered. read more