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El Jefe Cafe

3.3 (154 reviews)
InexpensiveMexican
Closed 9:00 am - 8:00 pm

El Jefe Cafe Photos

Business Info

EL JEFE CAFE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - El Jefe Cafe

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Wednesday Specials
Nancy I.

In the heart of San Clemente is El Jefe, a family run and operated business. They are mostly mexican food, with some staples that carried over from the previous owners which include a club sandwich and fish & chips. It may seem odd to enter a mexican restaurant for british style fish & chips, but it is what they are known for. They have taken the popularity of this dish forward by using the same fried fish that was a staple in this fishing town for the fish tacos too. Family members greet you at the door and can also be found in the kitchen and as servers. They have a light filled sunroom, a cozy dining room, and a bar to choose from for the seating options.

Erica P.

On the way home from a conference in Los Angeles, I was hangry, tired, and needed a break. My car's display was on the fritz, so I randomly took the next freeway exit and just let fate take me somewhere - and I ended up at El Jefe! Immediately I was greeted when walking in the door, and was impressed by the adorable holiday decor that had been set up with a lot of love. I opted for a crispy beef taco, al pastor taco, rice, beans, guacamole, and chips. It was heaven! I love that the staff there are a father/daughter duo. The food was authentic and made with a lot of TLC. My next drive up and down the I-5 I know where I'm going to stop. See you again soon, El Jefe! XOXO

Menu. Jefe Burritos are normally wet, but they'll also make them dry. Super tostadas are in fried tortilla bowls.
Travis W.

Most authentic Mexican food experience in San Clemente. Love the sort of indoor patio. Good selection of Mexican Beer. Laid back atmosphere, quiet, not crowded. BURRITOS - Add guac and maybe sour cream and lettuce or whatever else you want. Otherwise the burritos are kinda overly simple. EL JEFE BURRITO - It's a fork & knife kind of burrito. I recommend no onions--otherwise you get tons of them.

Jefe Lengua burrito

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10 years ago

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13 years ago

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14 years ago

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16 years ago

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7 years ago

Love there food! Best Fish and Chips around. Yep....fish and chips. Great, friendly staff.

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11 years ago

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14 years ago

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10 years ago

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14 years ago

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8 years ago

I've been coming here since I was a little girl, and it's a must to go back every time I'm in town!

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10 years ago

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15 years ago

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5 years ago

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8 years ago

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8 years ago

Small portions for the price, mediocre quality of food, bad customer service. Will not return here.

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9 years ago

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8 years ago

The best carnitas plate & chips and salsa! Great service! We come here every week and love it here.

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

BOMB MICHELADAS! It's great. Food is Great too had the Huevos Sureños and was not disappoint and the server was awesome

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

Really great authentic Mexican food, great deals, a real value and awesome friendly servers. Superb Michiladas that really hit the spot.

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Business owner information

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Jose G.

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13 years ago

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11 years ago

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12 years ago

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10 years ago

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

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Asada Cantina + Kitchen

Asada Cantina + Kitchen

4.2
(1.4k reviews)
0.8 mi
$$
Locally owned & operated
Free parking

Consistently good food and drinks! The service and ambience…read moreis great too. Our family enjoys it very much

This review for Asada is long overdue. I really love their food and cocktails here (especially the…read moreMexican Candy!) and while I've had some things that weren't my favorite, everything I've tried has been delicious. One of my favorite appetizers here are their bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers served with a blackberry jam and pickled onions...I get this pretty much every time. Lately I've been coming on Tuesdays to take advantage of their all-day Happy Hour, which is one of the best in town. Crispy carnitas tacos and the hibiscus margaritas are my go-to's, and the fresh chips and salsa served gratis are always delicious and hot. I wanted to take a moment to shout out their fantastic team of servers and bussers especially. Luna, Lindsay and Cesar have all been exceptional servers; their knowledge of the menu and their genuine kindness makes our visits that much more memorable. I don't often catch the name of the bussers, but they are extremely good at what they do. There's a few restaurants in town that hire staff and don't seem to train them well, so they struggle and it's apparent... but that's not the case here at Asada, where everyone is professional and really go above and beyond. It's easy to see how well their service flows (although the host stand could benefit from having people who are more outgoing; they seem to have timid people up there a lot, and it can be awkward when they're too timid to properly greet guests--just something I've noticed, having worked in restaurants before I tend to be hyper-aware of such things). My favorite section to get seated is the booths near the back which tend to be quieter, and also offer a nice view of the sky during the sunset and evening hours especially.

Photos
Smoked pineapple & watermelon crush
Smoked pineapple & watermelon crush
Crispy Taco Plate
Crispy Taco Plate
Crab & Shrimp Ceviche

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Crab & Shrimp Ceviche
Avila's El Ranchito

Avila's El Ranchito

3.6
(630 reviews)
0.4 mi
$$

Me, my wife and son came here on Friday night,the food was excellent and the service was out of…read morethis world. There was a young waiter, there named Osie who was very attentive to all of our needs he provided excellent service. We will definitely come back again. .

Just recently came here for the first time, recommended by a friend. We were mostly checking out…read moredowntown San Clemente and all its shops and restaurants and pier. Great little town to explore. This was our lunch spot. We had already walked for a couple hours. Avila's is a beautiful restaurant and fairly spacious. There is parking on both sides of the street among the shops on Avenida del mar. We were really thirsty and the busboy, Christian, got us 3 iced teas and chips like within 2 minutes. Super nice. Rafael was our waiter, and we ordered quickly. 1. Two taco combo platter, chicken and shredded beef. 2. Tacos and Caldo, my friend ordered with tacos. 3. Mama Avila's soup which came with chicken and lots of other things, and a tortilla. All 3 were delicious and filling. I always get a two taco combo plate since I love this meal, and to compare to other restaurants. This was great. The tacos perfect and flavorful. We will come back. Next time I will order the fajitas. I believe this is a chain with like 10 stores or so, so check to see if any are in your area. A very nice lunch with two fine lady friends as well. Thx Rafael for always checking on us and the iced teas to go.

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Avila's El Ranchito
Chips and salsa
Chips and salsa
Corona Rita! Whooo-Hoo!!

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Corona Rita! Whooo-Hoo!!
Chelas Mexican Kitchen

Chelas Mexican Kitchen

4.4
(243 reviews)
2.1 mi
$$

A++++ I stumbled on…read morethis place toward the end of the afternoon and I'm glad I did. It's a cute little bistro in the industrial area of Saint Clemente around some other restaurants, including a Starbucks around the corner. The staff was super friendly when I walked in, need to use the restroom and the restrooms were super clean, and then I ordered a burrito the way I like it made made a couple of adjustments extra meat less cheese and I ordered the ribeye burrito and it was fantastic. Great amount of flavor. Didn't require any salsa or anything to help enhance it. Juicy and just well-made. Their chips were fresh out of the oven or at least tasted like it still warm. Very impressed. This little place. I'll definitely be coming back. Deserves five stars plus

We were in the Laguna beach area during optimal brunch time so a lot of breakfast-y restaurants…read morewere PACKED. Little unassuming Chelas was the perfect little spot for some brunch. They had a nice dog friendly ground level area so we could bring our pup. We ordered their chicken tortilla soup, 1/2 pint of guac, and burrho de alambre! 10/10 for everything. The chicken tortilla soup as hearty and toasty, perfect for the cooler weather. The guac was exactly my style, not too salty, not too tart, and demolished in no time. My husband really enjoyed his burrito from the speiclas menu as well!

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One year Anniversary celebration!
One year Anniversary celebration!
Beer Battered Fish Burrito
Beer Battered Fish Burrito
Breakfast Burrito

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Breakfast Burrito
Adolfo's Mexican Food

Adolfo's Mexican Food

3.8
(258 reviews)
0.7 mi
$

I've had their birria tacos before and they were good so, today after a long day I ordered their…read moreregular carne asada tacos and one chicken asada taco and they were TERRIBLE. Save your money and order something else from their menu, like their birria. I ended up getting birria tacos instead. The service was not the greatest, a little attitude and not customer friendly. I hope they do better in their new location.

I believe they have new management team and food is way better than before. The prices are pretty…read moreinexpensive, I got Asada Burrito with extra meat with tax and tip total up $19.19. Got this to go and it's about a 30 minutes walk back home and it was still warm. Yes, I can get a burrito from Chipotle but it's not close by me and ordering delivery would be double of what I paid here. The burrito was hefty, I could only finish half and saved the rest for next day for lunch. The meat were juicy, not dry and full of flavors. Comes with rice, beans and pico de gallo. I get a bag of cheese from Ralphs to do the modification of having a crispy cheese crust and that made the burrito into a 9.2 out of 10. (see pic) Overall, I'm glad this place isn't cash only anymore and the food is much better than before. Definately coming back when I'm craving a burrito or carne asada fries. (Yes, I know there are way better ones in Buena Park and Santa Ana but I don't live near there nor want to be stuck in traffic again) This place will do for now.

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Salsa
Salsa
Salsa Bar
Salsa Bar
Carne asada fries

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Carne asada fries

El Jefe Cafe - mexican - Updated July 2026

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