Terrible service. I normally really like coming here. I literally only came in today because they have a free churro promotion for online orders. I place my order online and inquire at the restaurant when I get there because you're unable to add it to the online order cart. When I get there they say they do have churros and he marked it to being back in stock. I asked why it wasn't available online and he said "I just need to turn it on. You can order it now." I asked if I can get it added to my order since I ordered more than $5 per the promotion. He said no you can just pay for it. Confused why it's being offered as a promotion if they won't actually give it to you. The rice was also hard today so double thumbs down unfortunately read more

El Jefe’s Taqueria - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - State College, Pennsylvania

Ordered a beef bowl, and taste was great. Beef was VERY tough and chewy, though. I absolutely would not order anything with beef or carne asada again. Hope they get better quality beef next time. read more

We ordered El Jefe's for the first time last night; full transparency, it was Cinco de Mayo and busy so I think that contributed to our experience. PRO: The food was pretty tasty, the carne asada had a good flavor. The portion size was excellent for the price point. I personally like the fact that the takeout containers have the paper bowl container instead of full plastic. CON: There were some items missing from our order, which I didn't notice until I was already home; I definitely should have checked but again it was Cinco de Mayo in State College. I didn't receive the plantains in my bowl as ordered. Originally, I was frustrated over the missing items because I knew I wasn't driving back and I had paid for them; plus I had a 17yo asking for churros. While I couldn't reach the restaurant last night (again, it's Cinco de Mayo so I understood), I was able to reach their GM Christopher today. He apologized for the mistake, then went above and beyond trying to resolve the issue with our missing items; I really appreciated the effort, which is why I chose 4 stars. The food we did receive was tasty and we hope to try again once downtown is quieter. read more

Bought a steak bowl, white rice and other goodies. Bowl was huge and the steak was tasty. Thought I would be able to drink a beer with my meal but no alcohol which has to hurt business so close to downtown State College. Fed 3 for $32. Music might be loud for some, it did not bother me. Feel good about the 4 star rating. read more

El Jefe’s Taqueria - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - State College, Pennsylvania

See all

I've visited this location numerous times, and while it's never been the cleanest, I suppose that's somewhat expected given its location in a college town. However, today was particularly disappointing. I stopped by after picking up my daughter from school and found it quite dirty. There was garbage on the floor when I walked in, and it remained there when I left. I had the shrimp tacos, it was not a good choice. The tortilla was barely warmed and falling apart, making it messy and hard to eat. The shrimp were overcooked, and the overall presentation of the food was not fresh, it appeared to have been sitting there for an extended period. read more

El Jefe’s Taqueria - Chicken and beef bowl - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - State College, Pennsylvania

See all

Only complaint I really got about this place is the dude with the backwards hat that always had the AirPods in that complains when he has to do his job then proceeds to either blatantly make stuff the wrong way or does the bare minimum other than that guy everyone else is generally nice and have no complaints about read more

Amazing food, if you're hungry and looking for a good bite this is a good bang for a buck. Get a bowl with a tortilla on the side and it can easily be 2 small meals or 1 hugeee meal. Went here after a long day of moving my sister into college and didn't disappoint. Go back every single time I'm there! Lots of vegetarian options. And their super tasty guac and creamy queso is free to add onto any meal. Service is nice and friendly I appreciated all the fun hot sauces to try out. read more

Their food is so good!!! whether it's after a night out or when I'm completely sober, it always hits the spot. The queso is delicious, and the quesadillas always come out hot and fresh (love that they come with a side of sour cream!). I also love watching them make everything right in front of me. The nachos are awesome too, and honestly everything I've tried here has been delicious. Definitely one of my go-to spots :) read more

See all

The food is so good. Super yummy. Amazing service too. Yayayaygdgdhdbebbebebeeejejjeejejjejejeje

When we went to drop our daughter to state college, we decided to go for Mexican food. Our daughter suggest for El Jefe's and it was worth it.. we went for Rice bowl and Veggies Nachos and it was very nice.. definitely better than Chipotle .. Ambiance of this little restaurant was also nice and was giving feeling of small Mexican joint .. Highly recommended!! read more

See all

Good food. Restaurant has a classic feel with cool paintings, seating arrangements, and music. Typically clean without any mess or clutter. The classic burrito was a good size, and has good toppings options. However, there's not a whole lot that could compel me to choose here over Chipotle. read more

amazing food!!!! Did a great job preparing and serving me, ambiance was amazing. awarding amazing

Staff friendly. Good was delicious. The restaurant has a nice vibe to it. Definitely coming back (They're open till 4 too so great spot for pit stops on bar runs) read more

This place is garbage. My burrito was falling apart, oily, terrible. The service is not existent and I wouldn't have gotten my food unless I was standing there waiting observantly. The iced tea or whatever it is tastes like watered down juice. Just avoid this dump. read more

Great place for Mexican food. They do a wide variety and have everything you need. Perfect spot for after drinking or before. read more

El Jefe’s Taqueria - Chimichanga - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - State College, Pennsylvania

(Ordered off DoorDash) Taco salad was unimpressive and missed ingredients which I had asked for. Amount of jalapeños on my taco salad was inappropriate making up about 1/4 of my vegetarian taco salad. Chips were way over salted and stale. I had been told this is the best Mexican place in town, so I'm pretty disappointed. $17 (which is without DoorDash expenses) for a small taco salad and chips with guac is definitely not something I'd ever consider ordering from here again. read more

Great spot for authentic Mexican food. Delicious bowls, burritos, and tacos. Fantastic staff as well!! read more

El Jefe’s Taqueria - the inside of a restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - State College, Pennsylvania

I usually love this place so much, but my order today was no where near what I ordered. I asked for a bowl with chicken, corn, lettuce, pico, medium salsa, pinto beans, onions & cilantro, and mexican rice. I had no corn, no cheese, white rice, and they added fajita FOOKIN veggies to my bowl that i never asked for. My boyfriend's bowl had everything he asked for. Just frustrating when you charge $10.50 a bowl and your workers cannot read simple instructions. I even had corn 2 times like come on now... read more

El Jefe’s Taqueria - What i ordered - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - State College, Pennsylvania

See all

My friend and I went to El Jefe's last night for dinner around 9 PM. The place was empty, with three people working behind the counter and a lady at the register. It's a Chipotle-style restaurant, and I had to choose my ingredients. I noted them down on my phone since I couldn't remember all the names. While telling them the ingredients, they could not understand my accent (I'm an international student, and they didn't seem like they were native speakers). After repeating my order in English and then using the Spanish names as mentioned on the menu, they started laughing, snickering, and being outright disrespectful. This was unsettling, but I continued. Eventually, it reached the last guy, and when I asked him to add roasted veggies, which were at the previous counter, he started yelling at me, slammed the takeout box shut, and said it was not part of his counter. I politely asked if he could move it to the previous counter (he just had to slide the box), but he muttered something under his breath and said I should not do this again. I felt extremely unsafe and felt like they were being slightly racist. They treated my friend (who is international too) in the same way and it was extremely uncomfortable. We were initially going to dine in but left because we felt micro aggressions directed towards us. read more

Your male employee in a yellow shirt on 9/2/2024 who wears makeup is extremely rude! Saw him make multiple customers uncomfortable with eye rolling and acting like we (the paying customers) were somehow inconveniencing him. They didn't have the menu item I originally asked for which he was extremely disrespectful about and then ignored me and was dismissive after I tried to ask for another type of meat ( which they also didn't have, great!) I got to the checkout and asked for chip mayo on the side which they charged me $1.75 for even though it's free if i got it in my nachos...... so i have to pay a fee for a 0.03 plastic cup? or am i paying for the incredible effort these employees have to put into squirting some mayo in a cup? who knows? seems like it would be a big task for them. the guy at the counter also looked like he was california sober. what a wonderful experience at el jefes! if the food in state college in general wasn't so lacking i would never come back! read more

Hands down the best "build your own" salads anywhere in State College. I love that they have a variety of proteins and vegetables. I've always had fresh ingredients and no issues with portion sizes. I have found all of the employees to be personable and accommodating. They all remember what I order. My only complaint is that I probably should branch out and try their breakfast items, but that's on me, not them. By the way, try the pork...fabulous! read more

best burrito in state college oh wow it's so good and delicious. they are so nice as well.

The place is the bomb. Great service, amazing food. The whole atmosphere is amazing here.

Amazing food and service at PSU. Al pastor quesadillas are busting or honestly their bowls...don't sleep on the churros either

Forgot my carnitas in my bowl and I only found out after I walked across the state of Pennsylvania cuz their deliver was "unavailable". Very disappointing cuz the food is good. read more

I go to el jefe all the time, it's one of my favorite places on campus and I think the food is really great but what I have a problem with, is their rationing. They use the absolute bare minimum for their meals, and I don't think it's worth what you pay. I was in there not even 20 minutes ago and I ordered my normal burrito and chips with queso. They give you the smallest portion of rice, and I got 2 small scoops of queso. It's $4 for the smallest amount of queso and it's the furthest thing from worth it. I finish my queso with half of a bag of chips left. It's embarrassing that I get snubbed every time I go in. This place is delicious but not worth always getting upset about the amount of food I get. read more

Food is good and service is normally good but there is a goofy disrespectful fat white worker there that will ruin your experience if you go. read more

The food is good but their delivery needs to improve. I waited for food for over an hour and a half only for it to not even be the food I bought and it was cold. Do not order online for this place. read more

have to agree w jared w. on this one. i don't mind waiting 45 min for good food, but paying close to five dollars for THREE SCOOPS OF QUESO (i watched) is ridiculous. can't taste the queso in my burrito and there's way more meat than rice/: i want to love this place but it's pretty disappointing every time. read more