It's ok... customer service is ok... they took 20 min to make a regular breakfast burrito. And it wasn't even busy.

I've live down the street and have been here lots of times. Truthfully I only go for a few things at any restaurant. Here my favorites in order are , 1- The fish and shrimp soup. Made to order and great on any cool night. 2-The fish and shrimp with chips. Kicks H-salt right in the clam. 3. The fish tacos. I think one of the best. Try any of the three and I think you will go back. read more

First time was awesome I had the chimichanga bomb .com my bf had fish and chips so second time around i got fish and chips didn't finish but did on the ride back home...and the Micheladas hit the spot even got shrimp in them !! Can't wait to go back. read more

I've live in San Clemente for 20 years and had never eaten here. Thought I would give it a try. Boy I wish I could go back 20 years and have started enjoying this place sooner! First off it was clean, clean clean. Down to the baseboards in the bathroom. The place had charm and cuteness. The food was also very good. The fish for the fish taco and fish and chips was light and tasty and very yummy. I have yet to try the carne asada but will next time. I would highly recommend this place. I was pleasantly surprised :) read more

We love this little place! The menudo, enchiladas, pretty much everything we have ever had.

I've only had a quesadilla and enchiladas here but I loved both of them. The service is very friendly and the patio is nice. Looking forward to coming back for tacos! read more

Great service in a cozy cafe. Awesome chicken quesadilla with rice and beans, the Wednesday special. Girlfriend had a perfectly seasoned chicken chimichanga. Definitely a place I would come back to. read more

Food was great not quite like home but pretty damn good for San Clemente, tasted a little tweaked to attract a whiter crowd but besides that my only complaint was service was a little slow, but hey it was busy I suggest going enchiladas were great read more

They don't take their own Check in offer...... Not sure why they don't take it off. The guy ignored us the whole time to the point we got up and walked up to the bar to get more chips and salsa, then later walked up for a refill on my soda, then had to walk up to get the bill, the guy just ignored us. Fish and chips were good, just horrible service. read more

Pretty waitress. She doesn't know sh-- Honey, I think you need to change your line of work. Fourth time there, fourth time with her as our waitress/cashier order person... Fourth time getting the wrong order again. She even had the nerve to ask if I wanted my change back. Here's a tip: don't go there Food is extra salty. Service is slow and shitty (just the way the food comes out after you're done with it) Quality of food sucks (or maybe it's because the DUmmie up front doesn't know squat) read more

I rated it five stars based on the idea that this restaurant does very well for what it is. The most surprising thing is that the fish and chips are drop dead great. I like fish and chips and have had it many places but this is the way I like them best. Usually I eat here for lunch but when I have dinner here I always get the carnitas plate. I like carnitas and this is classic carnitas with nicely prepared fresh pork. It was a lunch that I had the other day that inspired me to write this review. It was their beef enchilada special and all of a sudden I noticed just how nicely prepared it was. Some combination of the owner and the chef seem to have a flare for producing very tasty unpretentious food. One of things I like about the place, that some people might not like, is the casual, somewhat grungy atmosphere. This is not the place to take your hoity-toity friends. This is a working person's place with soccer games and Mexican soap operas playing on the TVs. I notice that the reviews are widely separated for this restaurant. I suspect that some people stopped by that are not the target market for this restaurant and when they didn't get what they were expecting they wrote a negative review. One hit against the restaurant: They don't serve whole beans. I wish they did. I generally won't eat in a Mexican restaurant that doesn't but for El Jefe I make an exception. read more

Quesadilla special was dry, not a lot of chicken or cheese. Rice and beans tasted bland, won't return

Curious about El Jefe---drove by a million times, but never stopped there until recently. Not tremendously impressed---it's definitely cheap, but the portions were pretty skimpy as well. Had a couple of enchiladas and my cohort got tacos. Everything was pretty much "just OK." Complimentary chips w/salsa, but they spent a little too long in the fryer. Bottom line, we only spent about $13 for the two of us, but I was hungry again an hour later. Flavor-wise, all OK, but nothing to write home about. Local pick-up point for day workers is right outside, so don't be confused, those aren't lines stretching out the door---you can get in and out pretty quickly, and our server was very pleasant. Sports on TV, but very casual. If you need quick and aren't too picky, this is your place. read more

El Jefe is the most relaxing, reliable, friendly, likeable local café/restaurant you could possibly want in your neighborhood. Has a little bar in the main room, plus a windowed conservatory for a different vibe. Soccer on TV but in a low-key way, not a glitzy sports bar way. It's usually Mexican or Spanish league playing - it's what the regulars like, it's not in your face, but I think it adds to the ambience even if you don't like soccer (I do). Has a kind of retro, timeless feel. Waitresses are friendly but also matter-of-fact, not fake. They used to close at 8pm sharp but have lately extended their hours to 9pm and got more relaxed about patrons taking their sweet time, so it seems like things are on the up. El Jefe has an extensive menu of excellent Mexican food (I particularly like the indulgent Jefe burritos), with house-made chips and salsa (of course!) which are provided without question as soon as you sit down. But two of its biggest assets are Anglo-American: - Fish and chips, simply the best I've found as an Englishman living in Orange County for 4 years. Large pieces of fresh white flaky cod cooked to perfection in a melt-in-the-mouth light batter. The chips, crinkle-cut and heavily seasoned, may not be authentically British but they are unique and addictive. Nicely garnished with house-made tartar sauce and coleslaw. El Jefe are continuing the recipe they inherited from when the establishment was the "Jolly Roger" dedicated Fish and Chip shop. They clearly paid attention during the handover and took the tradition seriously. I can't rave enough about this. Try it, it's the best. - Budweiser on tap - so cold, so fresh, they maintain their lines perfectly and this is the most refreshing Bud experience around. Budweiser was brewed to be served like this, and has rejuvenated my love for the beer (that and its fundamental importance at Angels games). Truly excellent in every way - can't recommend it highly enough. read more

Perfect place for Mexican food and Seafood! Had the fish and shrimp & Chips, so we'll done. Not batter and a little fish/shrimp, much more fish and shrimp! Love this place, the family is so welcoming read more

I went on a Tuesday evening. It was very slow yet it took 30 minutes to get my two tacos. The server basically ignored us until I approached her to ask for another margarita which took 15 minutes to get to me. The staff was too busy mopping the floors and cleaning to attend to customers. Terrible service, weak margaritas, and so so food. I won't go back. read more

I just sat down at the bar, taco Tuesday, $2.50 for chips, salsa, two tacos and rice beans, I hope it tastes good...salsa is ok, chips gr easy, good sign..damn I was wrong, the food was bland so bland salt could not help, but the bud on tap was cold. Id not go back... read more

I have no idea how their mexican food tastes. All I know is - for 15 years I have been eating here and for 15 years in all of my attempts to find Fish and Chips as good as this place - I have failed miserably. THIS little hole in the wall serves the best in the west, no one does it better. I will cheat on any diet just to get my hands on this fish and chips. In fact I think I will go there today before I go to the gym in the morning. read more

Bad ! does any one know how to cook in this town ? Steak fajita was nasty looking and tasting. 1 star for cold beer.

Photos literally couldn't be more misleading. Bad food, cheap ingredients, and the tartar sauce was sweet, not right . Place has a lot of expectations but fell through in each of my expectations. I'm still choking on rinds from my margarita. read more

If the main reason to eat out is to eat "CHEEP", then this is the place for you. If you want something edible then go elsewhere. I got a crispy chicken taco and per the waitresses recommendation a Vegitarian Tostada. Both were lousy and not even worth eating read more

If your looking for a fancy upscale place this is not your place. But if you are looking for a small hole in the wall family run place that has good solid food then this is your place. Have eaten there several times and the food is consistently good. The carne asada was very good with a nice peppery flavor to it. The chile verde is also very good and if you like fish and chips this is the best I have had in San Clemente. The batter is light and fried to a golden brown without being greasy. The service has always been good as well... read more

We went for breakfast this morning, ordered a steak breakfast burrito. The waitress brought out a regular Carne asada burrito that was mostly rice. The salsa was good. The burrito not so good and the service was horrible when we brought to her attention she said the burritos are the same and flippantly walked away as though we bothered her with nonsense. We won't be going back there any time soon. 2 hours later stomach ache. read more

I was so excited to try this place after reading the reviews on Yelp. My boyfriend and I stopped in here on a Sunday afternoon and there were only a few other people in the restaurant. The chips and salsa were great. My boyfriend ordered the Fish & Chips (after reading all the great reviews, we had to try them). I ordered the carne asada tacos with all the fixins (green sauce, onions, cilantro). The food was delicious, but that's where the greatness stops. The service left a lot to be desired, especially for it not being busy in there. The waitress only stopped by once and that was to drop off our food. The cherry on top was that when we were going to pay, we wanted to use an Entertainment book coupon and she said "well, it doesn't say on there, but we don't include seafood with the discount." If you want patrons to come back, then you should honor what it says on the coupon! Definitely will not be coming back here, you can get better service and food elsewhere! read more

Quite possibly the worst Mexican food I've ever eaten. Greasy chips and tasteless meat. We won't go Back! No stars, only checked one as its required here. read more

The only reason this place got three stars is because the employees and the staff were absolutely the nicest but the food was terrible the only Mexican guy in this place ordered a cheeseburger and fries and I should've taken a note from that i'm almost sure the chili relleno was frozen most of the time when they use an Anaheim chili it's a frozen product that they just cook up ,, the pasilla chili is always fresh made.. The hard taco I'm not even sure what kind of beef this is it's not carne asada and it's not shredded beef and the flavor taste like something from a can and there was long strings of gristle and the meat was not cut up properly and I found it difficult to chew The shell was over fried and somewhat chewy due to the lack of changing the grease that it was fried in. The beans were heavily watered down I ordered another taco hoping that it would be better a soft taco and a hard taco I had, neither one was any good The staff was friendly and the location has a funky Mexican restaurant style vibe that's pretty cool it's just too bad the food is not authentic I think I need to open a Mexican restaurant and a Chinese restaurant in San Clemente because there is nothing decent here read more

Took my contractor there today for lunch. Service was poor and food was marginal. Asked for sauce on my burrito...never received any and waitress was not to be found. Would have enjoyed another beverage and, again, never saw the waitress. Patio was not clean and there were many code violations regarding the building. read more

Not good. Our server took our orders and left, she failed to bring our drinks and when the food was brought out, we discovered she failed to take all of our orders. Food review: chicken tacos were okay, but very soggy. Pork tacos were overcooked dry , whatever was left meat. Grilled fish tacos had little fish. Lingua. ..absolutely awful, overall just terrible. read more

Just had El Jeffe cater my party with a street taco grill. They included everything; beans, rice, cilantro, onions, three kinds of salsa. Everything was delicious. Will hire them again for my next party. read more

I've been coming here for years great food good prices... A true pops and moms place really friendly people and good service this is my spot in the sc!!!! read more

Nice mom n pop place with great salsa n chips. I had the fish tacos and the Mexican soup with meatballs in it ( sorry I forgot the name of it I'm an idiot ) and quesadilla very reasonable prices and a nice little quaint place, will return. read more

Great small place. Food was excellent with good prices. The fish & chips were great. Beer & wine only.....wish that had tequila margaritas! read more

My husband and I have been coming to El Jefes Cafe for about nine years. I love the taste authentic Mexican food, and without a daugh this is the place for that. I love their shrimp coctail and their tortas are amazing. My all time favorite one is chorizo. Their fish and chips are delicious too. Prices are reasonable and service is great. read more

Pssssst! The food is good but damn! They claim the best chips and salsa in town but they act like there is a shortage of corn tortillas :( they won't even fill up the bowl and when you ask for more they charge you. read more

The local hole in the wall Mexican food spot. The food is good and very reasonably priced. Friendly service. A lot of regulars. You go in there and everyone seems to know each other. read more

Loved the place, would go here on a regular basis if I lived local! Great everyday Mexican food!