My first time here. Salvador the bartender is the BEST....I tasted the best Cadillac Margarita. Food is good however, if you're here for drinks this is the spot... TVs and great quality drinks from Chava you won't regret. read more

El Maestro - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Customer service is nice, except I raised my glass to one of the waitresses signaling it was empty, she looked at it as if it was nothing, the food had no seasoning, very bland, a disgrace to the Mexican culture of chili's, tortillas, and over all flavor. What a disgrace. 2 stars because of customer service. Also very noisy. read more

We were the only customers in the place. Asked to please turn down the blaring music. Said did not know how. Enjoy the music, we got up and left. read more

Came in on a busy Saturday from the left side of the restaurant. All tables and bar tops were taken. The sign that blocked the next room stated the room was closed. We thought we would have to wait a bit for a table but our hostess moved the sign and brought us into the room next door where there were 4 other tables occupied but mostly an empty room. We sat, got chips and salsa right away, and asked for waters. After that, we only saw our waitress run through other tables orders. We had our chips and salsa refilled three times before our order was taken... that's how long it took. Our drink and order was finally taken and the drinks came out right away. I had the jalapeño margarita on the rocks and the camarones a la diablo-- shrimp in spicy red salsa with beans, rice and tortillas. Although our waitress took long to take our order, our food came out really fast--two thumbs up. She states the shrimp in red sauce was super spicy, and she was right! If you can't eat spicy, like a level 4 out of 5, I wouldn't recommend this dish. The shrimps were perfectly cooked and the sauce had a nice kick as well as great flavor. The beans.... the refried beans were so good. We even ordered an extra side to eat with chips! My bf ordered a wet carne asada burrito with avocado and ate the entire thing... so I'm assuming it was really good because he said he wasn't that hungry going in. Overall, food was great, music was random(hip hop, mariachi music, love songs etc), service could have been a hair better BUT food delivery was fast so it made up for it. Food is a hair more expensive than any Mexican restaurant but worth it. Margarita on the rocks was 7.00 so that was a steal! Will definitely be coming back! read more

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Sometimes food things happen when you least expect Them. I was just driving through the area and thought I should grab a bite, it was after 4:00pm after all and my appetite had started to open up a bit. I as I drove my sense of smell caused me to look up at the signs around me--that's when I saw it: El Maestro. I recall that the Maestro is the master, the one skilled above everyone else in any particular trade. If they dared call this place so, they must have known they'd have to be up to the task. Either chat or they had a bad business consultant and they pulled he name out of a hat, or worse, out of somewhere else's. Yikes! Do not let your heart be troubled-5this place lives up to its name, absolutely! The food was as authentic as it comes and flavorful as the best food you've ever tasted in Mexico proper, if you've been so blessed. The thing about this place though, is that, while the food may be the foundation of all things goo here, that is only the beginning. As you enter the place, you are welcomed by warm decor and a cozy character all around. The lights aren't overwhelming but welcoming and though there aren't a lot of tables, they seem t be making optimal use of the space. Once you feel embraced by this environment things only get better from there. Do you want a nice table setting for you and your family? It's here waiting for you. As for me, I came in alone, looking for a good meal and nothing more. I got caught up in the sports bar feel of the bar area, where I chose to sit. There are four large TVs wax playing something different. Today it was football playoffs , hockey, and of course soccer. You'd think that's it, but wait, there's more. The employees all appear to have a good vibe going and they are all having fun. Hey chat with each other and though they are providing high quality customer service, they aren't rushing about-they are doing it calmly, efficiently, and with a smile on their faces. I'm actually leaving with the Venezuelan waitress' smile lingering in my mind :). This is food place and it's a great place! I'll no doubt return. read more

El Maestro - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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Enjoyed savory grilled Mahi Mahi crispy tacos to go. The Mahi Mahi was the highlight of the meal, tender, flavorful and moist. Crunchy corn tortillas were satisfying. Rice and beans were also very tasty. This Restaurant has an outstanding wait staff: friendly, courteous, and professional. I read recommendations for El Maestro on Nextdoor and decided to go for it. A great dining experience. Also, a pleasant, inviting and harmonious dining room. read more

I'm not trying to be mean, but this place is White Washed Mexican food!!! You might be able to call this place authentic if it was located in Walnut Creek, San Mateo, Los Gatos...but you're in San Jose playas and we are home to the best tasting Mexican food in the bay yo!?! Some dishes we've tried... Flautas and Crispy Taco Entrée (rice/beans was pretty good, but the meat had no flavor and was dry, cooks need to go visit some local taquerias so they can improve their meat making skills) https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=rSYSyNXVsPqXu1WZtec4Dg&userid=h4V9maImHWJfFVN7pktuFw Carne Asada Nachos (tons of nacho cheese, not a big fan) https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=2Ij_MESuCL7hFquK5nvdTQ&userid=h4V9maImHWJfFVN7pktuFw Albondinga Soup (watered down, but good portion) https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=gNGti7tVoegt-NQSuHSuNQ&userid=h4V9maImHWJfFVN7pktuFw If you have a large party who doesn't eat Mexican food on a normal basis, then by all means come to this place. The location is great, the service is good, and this is a very clean restaurant. The prices are kind of high but again you're paying for the cleanness of the restaurant. They also have a bar with variety of alcohol to choose from, it's kind of like another version of Aqui the Mexican chain restaurant in San Jose. If you are an avid mexican food carnivore like myself, you will most likely be disappointed by the lack of authenticity :( read more

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This place is amazing!! I finally found a perfect place for authentic Mexican food! I love the bartenders and the salsa is off the hook! Chili verde tastes like mamas!! Love it! Great neighborhood place! Plenty of locals. The service is always great. The place is clean and the music is fabulous with big screens for any sporting event you want to watch. read more

El Maestro - Amazing!! - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

i saw the QR MENUS on the side of the table. I ordered. When the waitress came to delivered my food. I notice a enchilada wasnt on the dish plate, i was on the QR menu. I called a waiter and said i think the cooker forgot to place my enchilada. He said no he didnt. Yes he did. And showed him the QE MENU. He responded didnt the waitress told that the QE MENUN ON THE TABLE CHANGED ? I said she didnt say anything. He called her back. She admit that she knew the QR MENU changed. I said why didnt you said anything? She tried excuse herself shes just works there.its your role to let your customers know. read more

Their customer service has gone downhill. Only two servers for a Monday night. We were the only people in line. Waited 15 minutes before we walked out. This isn't the first time-not coming again.. read more

El Maestro - Delicious flan and fried ice cream (banuelos) - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Came here on a weekday last week for dinner. Fairly empty but took about 15 minutes to get my party and the two parties ahead of us seated. QR menus on the table are inconsistent with their printed ones...make sure you ask for a printed menu. They never gave us one, so we ordered based on the QR ones and found out they were different when they brought out our food. Ex. Carne asada plate no longer comes with a salad or cheese enchilada, even though the QR menu still says this. When we asked the server they said, "sorry we are going off of the printed menu and can't do anything about the missing items" Honestly, save your money there are a lot of better Mexican restaurants in the area, especially for their prices. Food is subpar, should transition to fast food based on quality and service. read more

Definitely the quality has dropped, chicken Fajita's had no flavor and the meat was charred out. And like everyone else has highlighted, service was slow and lacking. Not going back. read more

3.5 Stars rounded up: So first off the ambiance is nice for a Mexican restaurant, the nice tile mosaics around the building the fresh looking tables and so on make it a fun place to dine. They have ample seating and handled our party of 13 perfect for Mothers Day. The service was great with the waitress and our drinks were always filled and the chips and salsa were refilled constantly. The only issue with the service was with a gentlemen who we asked for to help with tortillas and also some chilies for my menudo, we must have asked close to 6 or 7 times and by the time we left I still had not received the tortillas, this really hurt the rating of this place. The food was ok, it wasn't send me to heaven great but it wasn't also get out of my way I gotta puke bad either. The menudo was actually tepid when I got it and though the tripe was ample the flavor of the dish was lacking a spice element. The corn tortillas my mom let me have of hers were actually quite nice and appeared to be homemade which was a nice surprise. I feel that the dish needed the oregano and chili pepper option (dried preferably) to the side condiments that they leave you with, this one only had lemon and onions with a tiny amount of cilantro. I want tons of cilantro and onions, some cabbage too, and the other ingredients I mentioned. The chips and salsa were really the highlight of the meal for me. My brother and sister in law loved the Chavela's and the kids all seemed to enjoy their tacos so bonus points there. The pricing was fair I thought, a large bowl of menudo was only $9 so overall it was a decent deal. Again if it wasn't for the service they may have eeked out a 4 rating but the service from that guy and the lack of condiments for the menudo lowered the rating. I'll be back to give it another crack. read more

El Maestro - Large updated dining area - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

I went to dinner at El Maestro on Tuesday night and had an awesome (okay two awesome) Micheladas and the Trio Fajitas (shrimp, steak and chicken). The service was excellent, the chips and tortillas were fresh and came with two different types of salsa. The salad comes with their house dressing and tasted like cilantro ranch - very good! The fajitas were served up sizzling and were the best I've had. It also came with rice and beans. My friends had chili relleno and chili verde and they both really enjoyed everything also. They had a hockey game on and two different baseball games on the flat screens throughout the restaurant. I highly recommend this El Maestro! I would like to return and try their brunch next time. read more

El Maestro - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

We will never eat here again super sad they had cockroaches in a tray next to the window when you walk in so everyone to see about 20 dead bugs Once was our favorite place for many years.. read more

Great food and awesome service (thanks, Lillianna). It was not busy as we came for an early dinner. We chose to sit at a table in the bar. The salsa wasn't spicy enough for my taste but everything else I ordered was tasty. -peach margarita -albondigas -crispy tacos with beans and rice The peach margy was a blended silky goodness. The albondigas was perfect and I regretted only ordering a cup. Though Tlaquepaque is still my fav, I will def be back here as it's closer to home. Only thing I would change is the music. They had a few songs on repeat so for an hour long dinner, I heard the same songs about 3x. read more

El Maestro - Peach margarita. - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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I was in town to visit family down in the Silicon valley. We enjoy finding places where they serve Mexican dishes, so we decided to try out this place in Almaden. We had such a great experience. There wasn't a host so the waiter sat us down, he was really friendly with all of us. It was really nice because he spoke Spanish which my family is much more comfortable using. The chips and salsa were splendid, especially the salsa!!! I had the enchiladas and I can say, that so far this is one of the best places to get enchiladas from. The rest of my family we pleased with their food as well. My parents definitely enjoyed their drinks and will come back regularly for a good time and drinks. I will definitely come back again when I'm in town and I definitely recommend this place!!! read more

Soooo good. Great service, nice ambiance, and good drinks. I had the enchiladas carne with Baja taco mahi mahi. Girlfriend had the taquito with grilled steak, sope and horchata. Nice good warm feel with staff and patrons. So glad this is close to me. Will definitely be coming back. read more

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You can't go wrong with coming here. Everything is simple with a hint of their own spices and etc. service is good. The servers are amazing! Weekends get super busy durning peak hours but other than that this place is good read more

I must say this place is in the top 3 of Mexican restaurants in San Jose, maybe even Cali. We tried Casa Lupe, which was the previous restaurant, and it was the first and last time we dined there. It was the worst. The new owners have revamped the restaurant and have rejuvenated the staff. The restaurant is bright and alive. The bar area is awesome with tall and regular tables to eat and a nice bar with nice tv's to watch the games on. The food was great ! Chips and salsa were great. I tried their spicy garlic wings and they were off the hook. Their Chili Verde burrito was delicious. Between my dad and wife they both tried tacos that were good. My wife had the combo plate which had taco, enchilada, and chili relleno. My wife also had a cup of albondigas soup. It had lots of flavor and was fresh. My dad and wife shared flan and said it was awesome. We were stuffed. The owner brought us some pozole to try and it was very good. They served it with all the right trimmings too ! We also had the spiced horchata, which was awesome ! The staff was great and everybody had a smile on their faces. The bar was hoping and had good energy. This place will be cutting into our usual Mexican dining restaurant of El Burro ! read more

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One of my favorite places to eat; not just within the Mexican restaurant circle. Lol. Didn't wait long to get seated. Service has always been great, ALWAYS! The waitress took our order with ease. Food came out quick. The place is always clean and all the TVs work lol. Can't see how they only have 3.5 stars. Parking is always never a problem. I get the mole enchiladas every time. We also get the guacamole and chips to start it all off. read more

The food was great...service, terrible! It appeared that if you're not of Caucasian or Latino descent, you weren't given great service. I'm currently having dinner here and have yet to be checked on for anything, where the other tables, given excellent customer service. I wanted to order another drink, but was never asked nor checked on... Too bad, as I live in the area and was hoping for this spot to be my go to for eats and drinks...esp with friends. read more

Always wanted to try this place. Finally got the opportunity and boy was it a pleasant surprise. The atmosphere rocks. Small but intimate space. The service is great. Food is amazing. Alcohol is even better. I think this may be my new go to place. read more

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This is the place for good mole and in fact the best in San Jose! This is coming from also bringing Mexicans here from Mexico and comparing it to the mole in Puebla. Now, it's not that good, but much better than the powdered mole you get at all the other Mexican restaurants around here. If it is powdered, then it's very good. I'm thinking it's the paste or maybe they make their own mole from chiles and chocolate. They also have some other great dishes. I would not go with the typical Mexican-American food, but rather go with the specialty entrees as they seem to excel there. Bar is great too. The Asian owner (?) is a funny as hell guy and very generous. The other bar folks and waiters are also very nice. Sometimes you might have some slow service when they're super busy, but they will get back to you. A lot of people have cheladas/micheladas so a good place for that. read more

Came here on Sunday to celebrate with my little family Mexican Independence Day This was my first time here and I was impressed with the ambiance. It was quite busy, but the service was great!! Food was delicious, especially the chips and salsa. My mom ordered the chicken mole and that was amazing. My only dissatisfaction was with the Jalapeño margaritas. They are served in a regular drinking cup and don't taste that good. Therefore, I ordered a Chavela and that was pretty good. Although you can't go wrong with a Chavela. Overall, great experience and I will be returning here. It's good to have a Mexican restaurant in my area and not have to go to East San José for good Mexican food. read more

Restaurant was new, clean and had great food and service. Group of 4, we had steak picado (awesome), enchiladas (perfect), and 2 taco salads (fresh and tasty). Drinks: sangria (perfect), mango margarita (tropical) and mark twain (epic). Our server, Rosa was so friendly, quick, humble and nice, it made the whole evening outstanding. We highly recommend this place for anyone craving great tasting mexican food with the best service and good prices. read more

El Maestro - Banuelos and flan was so good. - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Came in after a loooong day of car shopping and my mother and I were starving. I'm usually not a huge fan of Mexican food, but I was craving rice and beans and something cheesy. I ended up ordering a carnitas quesadilla which, though basic, was very, very good and came with guac on the side. Rice and beans were fresh and tasted great. I hate going to Mexican spots where the beans taste like they came out of a can. I would recommend their pitcher of margarita! So huge! I'd say this serves 3-4 people easily next time definitely have to bring more people so we don't leave any behind. Micheladas tasted more like a bloody mary and even had bloody mary garnishes of cornichons, garlic olives and cocktail onions (kinda weird) I'd skip on this. Their Sunday specials include $5 Chevelas and $12 Bottomless mimosas until 2 or 3pm I need to come back for that. read more

I came here thinking this place would be by far excellent by the reviews and pictures. I ordered over the phone for a chicken tortilla soup and a Chile Verde plate. When I went in I noticed everybody had those mustache things on their shirts maybe they're mascot. The food totalled $20.66 for this. I thought it would be a nice big portion from yell pictures. So maybe they only give you more me when you're dine in. When I got home after seeing how little the amount of food I got irritated, but wasnt going to drive all the way back. The chicken soup was probably the best bwcaus it has veggies in it. The chile verde, as you can see in the picture, its pretty much liquid..... Wheres the meat? Yea about 4 piecea of it and not a great taste. Gaetas in Gilroy is by far the best for chile verde. Rice and beans werent good, those went to the dogs When you leave drive east in the larking lot next to it to exit. read more

El Maestro - Chicken tortilla soup, chile verde (wheres all the meat), rice and beans(to dogs), tortillas - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

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We have been going to El Maestro restaurant for years and we LOVE it. My wife and I had dinner there tonight and we had such a nice dinner. I had the Fajitas and my wife had the chimichanga. Fantastic!!! They serve the draught beers in chilled Goblets and the bar has a Saturday night vibe with music and everyone was having a good time. Highly recommend El Maestro! read more

We had my sons graduation party here tonight. 20+ people. We were a little late, but the management had our tables waiting for us. first the drinks, I had the BEST michelada I've ever had.. And let me tell you my friend..I've had them all over California! We arranged ahead to have our celebratory dinner buffet style. It consisted of Salad, rice , beans, fajitas, chile verde, and flautas. Now I consider myself a Chile Verde connoisseur and this is the best, (besides my mother in laws) that I've ever had. Hands down the best!! The fajitas were amazing as well as the rest of the food. Our wait staff was very attentive and our water glasses and chips and salsa were never empty. His place is a jewel in Blossom Valley, if someone asked me where to get great Mexican food, I would tell them to run here... read more

So happy to find this new Mexican restaurant! I loved the atmosphere, especially for a Monday lunchtime. Plenty of seating and lots of food options. The service was a little bit slow but understandable for a slow time/new restaurant. I had the beef enchilada and vegetarian tamale. The beef enchilada was great but the vegetarian tamale was not very authentic tasting. The sauce and rice was great though! I'll definitely be coming back! read more

El Maestro - Combo plate with beef enchilada and vegetarian tamale - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

I ordered the steak and shrimp fajitas (they forgot my shrimp, not a big deal just had them take it off the bill). My meal was very good, great steak and the salad that comes with it has amazing dressing. Reminds me of a green goddess dressing. My boyfriend ordered the crispy tacos with shredded beef and it kinda sucked, he also ordered the meatball soup and the server removed it from our bill because he tasted it and didn't eat it. It seriously looked like it was from a can. He would only come back if he ordered what I had he said. The service was meh, my server really tried and was very sweet but I think the loud music doesn't help with them hearing our order. Overall would come back to try a few other things, but will be trying other places as well. read more

El Maestro - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Have seen this place for many many years, first time stopping in with family at 4:20pm on 2/16/2021. We waited for 8-10 minutes at check in here sign outside, There were no other customers in this establishment. We ended up walking into the establishment to be acknowledged. It was dark with four TVs going. Upon our seating a live roach upside down next to our table. At first we said nah not a good sign, however, with all the doors open for whatever reason the doors were all open, the roach could have come in from outside. Told waiter he immediately swept it up and threw it somewhere. The menu was quite pricey than other Latin restaurants for portion size. We ordered ala carte: chimichanga, chili rellano, two shrimp tacos. Food was okay. The chips needed salt, the salsa was very spicy no alternative for mild. The tacos had a salty cabbage like lettuce on top, chimichanga was overly stuffed, chili rellano no cheese stuffed inside smothered on top. I would not recommend this place for lack of service, cleanliness, pricey for portion size and not authentic Mexican food. So disappointed coming here. Very poorly managed. read more

SERVICE IS EXTREMLY SLOW. This is my second time eating here. Service was not good both times. Very slow and inefficient. Both times when I walked in nobody was at the door to greet and we had to stand there for a couple minutes until I had to get somebody to seat us. Again, when we were done looking at the menu nobody came to take our order in a timely manner so I had to waive someone down to take our order. Food came out as if it had been sitting for a while. My group was ready to pay the bill and I literally made eye contact with our server and said I would like to get the bill. He looked at me and continued to wipe down the menu. This baffled my friend and I. I just walked up to the bartender, payed my bill then left. I wont ever come back because the service here is terrible. Food is not great neither. This business wont last if they keep it up. read more

Food was good on a Friday at 5:30pm. Service was also good. Once the folks came in it got busy and the noise level went up to 10. TV's with baseball, music playing louder than the TV's and the people at the bar louder than the TV. I think this place would be great for lunch. read more

We had a team dinner at El Maestro, and it was one of the best nights that we have had!! The food and margaritas were delicious, and the ambiance was fun and lively. We went on a Tuesday night and we were surprised how happening it was. The restaurant has a fun, close-knit vibe. We closed the place down and the servers were super nice and accommodating even though we were a large, loud group who stayed forever to finish our pitchers! This is our new go-to party Mexican spot! I can't wait to try it out on a weekend! read more

El Maestro - Team dinner! - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

We've been here many times but this was our first time since COVID.. they had outdoor seating w/ enough space between the tables so that was nice. We came around 530pm last night, we were a party of 5 got seated right away. They have paper menus which is fine however, they only brought us one for our table which we thought was kinda odd. The staff was attentive and kept refilling our water. They gave us two small bags of chips & two little containers of salsa.. they salsa was so good. Our drinks were good as well (super chavelas, super micheladas & margarita) we did notice that the prices were a bit higher.. so that was kinda of a bummer but most likely due to COVID. We ordered nachos for appetizer and we were super disappointed as all the chips were on one side of the plate & the toppings on the other, not really nachos.. and looked like everything was just thrown on the plate.. our other food was meh as well.. flavor was kinda bland. All in all kinda disappointed of our visit last night as we've had way better from this restaurant.. read more

El Maestro - Sad looking plate of Nachos w/ shredded chicken - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

One thing is the Al bondigas is not authentic I feel like it was from a can the meatballs tasted the the ones in a spaghetti Os can oh but the spicy garlic wings are pretty good read more

We still love going to El Maestro, mainly for their fish tacos and margaritas but their Chile rellenos and fresh salsa are also yummy. Although they still have mahi mahi on the menu the last 2 times I was there they didn't have mahi mahi, only tilapia. Since I'm not a fan of tilapia I ended up ordering a grilled shrimp taco for my combo meal and it was tasty. Really miss the mahi mahi tacos though, please bring it back!? Or maybe try snapper instead of tilapia?? read more

El Maestro - El Dorado Margarita, chips, 2 types of salsa. Meant to take a photo of my food but ate it before I realized I forgot to snap! - Mexican Near Me - San Jose, California

Done. I understand covid plus takeout is not idea. Used doordash for two meals. I've been a manager of a mexican restaurant in the past for years. Never once had sweet Chili Verde. I think someone used sugar where salt was called for. Totally gross. $17 for a very small portion plus tax and fees. Meat was all shades of red and brown and fatty. Sad that south San Jose has very little great Mexican food. Wifes taco salad was tiny as well. Yea, it's on small bites menu but still $12. read more