We happened upon this place after going on a whale watch. The servers were fast and friendly. The atmosphere is comfortable and made to look like a Mexican cafe. Very cute. The food surprised me by how wonderfully flavorful it was! The homemade tomatillo cilantro sauce was delicious. The veggie burrito was great and filling and the sautéed mushrooms and Aztec corn sides were equally good. I would definitely come back! read more

The bar and Ellen the bar tender are great. Good place for a margarita or an Añejo on the rocks but I am not impressed by the food. Some friends like the food but I haven't found the right menu option. Personally outside of Los Angeles, I prefer Chipotle or Baja Fresh. read more

Not a fan, but friends seem to want to eat there. The guac was ok but not great, the salsa is fine. Mexican salad was fine. With so many Mexican restaurants to choose from, I would not choose this. Food was lukewarm. Service was slow but wait staff was nice. Fine ambiance, nothing to complain about. read more

I never leave mean reviews I'm sorry!! This queso was questionable, like straight velveeta? Guac was alright but kinda tasted like a stick of butter. Service was very nice but mad slow read more

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Wandering down Main Street in Gloucester armed only with an appetite and a credit card, I stalked my next victim; someplace interesting for dinner. I knew I didn't want fried food and seafood here is always good but sometimes boring. I came across Jalapeno's on Main St and the place looked interesting. A nice colorful sign on the storefront led me to believe the same creativity would extend to the food. So I rolled in and camped outside at an outdoor table and was promptly greeted by a friendly waiter who greeted me with taco chips and Salsa. Different than what I am used to. The chips are thick and crunchy, they were fresh and had a nice texture. The salsa was unimaginative; chopped unripe tomatoes and a little onion and spice. Overall not great but ok. I ordered the had shell tacos with grilled chicken strips and ground chorizo. I also ordered a margarita which was pretty good. The tacos arrived quickly, service was excellent but the chicken was overcooked and dry. Flavors were not very interesting so I asked for some green sauce and that helped make the tacos more flavorful. The service was excellent throughout but the food was just ok and not very unique. Everything was fresh so no problem there, and I did finish my meal, which means it was good enough but not great. To be fair, this was my first visit to this restaurant and it was ok, good enough to visit again but a bit disappointing and not quite special. I did notice that lots of diners seemed to be repeat customers and that's a good sign. On the plus side the menu was extensive and the service was excellent. But there is room to turn good food into great food and I'm hoping that it happens. Give it a try and see what you think! read more

Jalapeno's Authentic Mexican Food - Chicken and chorizo tacos - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

The food was fine for the most part--nothing to write home about but hey, cuisine choices here aren't the same as in a big city. But the prices and portions are stupid. A burrito with rice and beans on the side should never be $20. I've had plenty of burritos in my life and none has been over $15-and they usually come with more. But the kids meal is what really got my goat. Children are actually humans who need food. But my $8 cheese quesadilla kids meal was a pile of stale tortillas (cause what parent doesn't want a meal for their toddler composed of 80% chips?), some rice, and two tiny-ass pieces of quesadilla. You know how much it costs to just throw the whole damn tortilla in? Very, very little. In fact, what do they actually do with the other half? Save it for the next lucky customer? Just push the boat out and give the kid the entire quesadilla. My kids are picky bastards so I've ordered a lot of cheese quesadillas in the past couple years, including all over Gloucester. This is hands down the chintziest serving I've ever had. Oh, and no sour cream. I guess that would be extra. Luckily Tacos Lupita and Machaco should be open again now holiday Monday is over. This was my last resort and now I know it was for good reason. read more

Jalapeno's Authentic Mexican Food - Nice, filling kids meal of approximately three bites of a quesadilla and an assload of stale tortilla chips. $8. Bye. - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

Save your money. Went to restaurant in May 2025. The environment was clean and waitress was pleasant. The drink was delicious but the food was horrible. Ordered vegetable enchilades. The only vegetables inside were al dente crunchy big chunks of summer squash and zucchini. One encillades was soggy. Very disappointing. read more

This is one of our favorite places to get Mexican food in the whole North Shore. Great staff, great service, great ambience and best of all... delicious food!! read more

Food was gross verging on inedible. The fish was so old I could smell fish tacos being delivered 2 tables away. The service was glacial. Took 1 full hour from when we ordered to when food arrived. read more

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant EVER. The sauces & pico are fab. Also love chicken gonera, enchiladas, Aztec pie, salads, desserts. I go there almost weekly and am always so pleased with whatever I order. Jamie and Alex are just THE BEST!! Can't recommend it more highly read more

Residents of Gloucester all say Jalapeno's is the best Mexican food on Cape Ann - and turns out they're right. Solid choices, classics, across the board. Not overly fancy. Helpful, attentive staff. Large portions. Have to say I think the sauces are where they shine most. Parking a hassle during the Summer months. Lot down on the water may be best bet. read more

Unbelievable fresh, fantastic tasting food. their shredded beef nachos with baked cheese are to die for and the deserts are spectacular! read more

Everything was amazing as usual! The mango salsa was delicious and can never go wrong with Gary's dip and a margarita! read more

I think it's been almost a decade since I ate at Jalapeno's (I used to go quite often when I lived closer) and I was glad to see they survived the pandemic and were still in business. The menu seemed even bigger than before - so many choices! I called in to order and a really friendly and funny woman took my order. We stumbled through my choices as I was ordering for others and wasn't sure what they really would like as far as sauce, spice level, etc but she was super nice and patient. The food was ready as promised when we arrived to pick it up. I like that they use tin foil in the container to help keep it warm. We got a ton of food for around $50. I ordered the shredded chicken burrito with extra rice instead of beans and the poblano sauce. I think I'm used to burritos done slightly differently as I thought the rice would be inside but it was on the side. The burrito was packed with chicken. It was huge. I really liked the poblano sauce. I could easily make two meals out of this burrito. My partner got the street tacos - potato and chorizo flavor in a soft taco shell. He didn't really taste anything but potato and found it a bit bland (dunking it into the poblano sauce really helped). Also, the portion was sort of small. Not sure we'd order that again. My aunt got the beef chimichanga and loved it. It was also huge with the rice and beans on the side. I had hers a bit spicier and she said it was perfect. She's a huge chimichanga fan and said it was the best one she ever had! read more

This was probably the blandest Mexican food I have ever tasted in my life. The salsa tasted like tomatoes and onions - no heat at all. The steak burrito was blah. The steak was charred and that was nice. However, the cheese sauce tasted and looked like it was out of a can. They staff was very nice and accommodating but the food just was not great. read more

We tried it for the first time to treat ourselves during the lock down for cinco de maya and were quite pleased. Everything was delicious, made with fresh ingredients and just the right amount of spice and flavor. Our favorites were the Gary's queso fundido, the shrimp ceveche, steak fajitas, but everything else was quite good too. The steak in the fajitas was grilled just right and with perfect flavor. Delightfully surprised. read more

Do Not Come here! Period. I never leave reviews but I felt compelled to take my phone out and write this as we were finishing up our dinner. First let's talk about the service: It took 20 minutes after we were seated before a waiter came around to greet us. He did not even greet us or introduce himself and rudely said "who was first?" Addressing our table and group behind us. For apps, we got the guacamole and margaritas which were OK. Nothing to write home about. The Queso dip was tolerable. Melted Velveeta with salsa. It took 50 minutes to get our food. I ordered chicken Chile Rellenos. What I got was something that looked like green peppers and a massive lump of curdled white cheese and no chicken. My nephew ordered soft chicken tacos. The chicken tasted like it was boiled. It's something I would feed my dogs. No flavor or seasoning. For the record, they took the Chile rellenos and chicken tacos when off our bill after we brought it to the manager's attention. I would not come back. read more

We've been to Jalepeno's three times in the last three years and it's been hit or miss. One meal out of the three was great. Last night we ordered take out after a long day at the beach. The gentleman taking the order was so kind, reviewing each item, asking which sauce we'd like and then when I called back to add something he was more than polite and patient. The food was not ready when I arrived and I waited five more minutes for the host to get the order ready The food was totally disappointing. I ordered a shredded chicken burrito which was exactly that-lots if shredded chicken had mashed black beans, no seasoning, no garlic, no cumin, no onion, no flavor. The yellow rice and guacamole, equally bland, like basic salt and pepper was lacking. The veggie burrito consisted of yellow squash, black bean mash and zucchini, no peppers, no onions or mushrooms and lacked any flavor as well-weird veggie combo. The veggie fajitas had the same veggies-zucchini and squash. I ordered a chicken chimichanga for my husband and even though the order was repeated back twice, we didn't get it, I double checked the receipt, it was correct on paper but not in the order. We got two chicken burritos instead and his was exactly as flavorless as mine. We also ordered sauces with all the burritos/chimichangas but only got one sauce which was a cheese sauce that should have gone with the chimichanga which we didn't get. So bummed, the service on the phone and in person was polite but the food was so strange, like a nursing home version of Mexican, no flavor, no seasoning no authentic Mexican taste at all. We all ate about half our dinners with a lot of salsa which we added at home. Ironic that Jalepeno's lacked any pepper at all. read more

Seriously gone down hill. Tried a couple different margaritas, they sucked Food took forever and came out at room temperature. Place was hotter than hell. The End... read more

Went for dinner last night and had a great experience! Margaritas are strong and large! Waitress was attentive and very friendly. I had a grilled chicken burrito with cheese sauce and it was divine and fresh. My brother had carnitas tacos which he highly recommends. Cheers jalapeños for a great dinner! read more

Usually when we visit, we start off with margaritas, because why not? The husband likes their house marg on the rocks, while I mix it up with either a strawberry or mango marg. They do have entire list of specialty margaritas and drinks (in addition to a full bar), but we never get too fancy. My sister in law did try one that had banana liquor, and said it was good, although you'd have to really like banana liquor (I wasn't sure anyone on earth did?). They always bring delicious chips and salsa, which is more like pico de gallo, while you are deciding what to order. Because we have been here so many times, we have tried a good majority of their menu, in addition to their ever changing specials. Some of our favorites include the tortilla soup, the fish tacos, and the enchiladas (chicken or cheese). To be honest the majority of the time we get enchiladas because we are creatures of habit and both happen to be obsessed with enchiladas. Whenever we go out we never order dessert, half because we're stuffed and half because my husband hates sweets, so I can not speak to their desserts. read more

Jalapeno's Authentic Mexican Food - Margs. - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

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Got take out from here a couple nights ago. I had a bad feeling about things as soon as I walked in to the restaurant to pick up the food, as the floor was filthy, it didn't seem like it had been vacuumed in a long time. Not a good sign especially these days, when cleanliness is so important. I got the lobster tacos. These were soggy flour tortillas (even though I had asked for corn), filled with a tiny bit of fishy tasting, rubbery lobster (less than 1 ounce between 2 tacos), some chopped lettuce, and tasteless tomatoes. This was accompanied by a solidified mass of black beans and some slices of avocado. I took two bites and ended up throwing the entire meal away, it was really not worth eating. The food for the others in my party was slightly better, but not much, generally soggy and flavorless. It is an insult to even call this Mexican food. My advice for anyone considering eating here...just don't. read more

One of THE worst Mexican restaurants I have been to. The taste is just aweful. Service was fine. read more

I come to the Bar to have excellent service from Lisa. I am in the restaurant business so I am impressed with someone who can do such a great job with a smile. The fajitas are the best. I also like Gary's dip. I am new to the area so Lisa made sure I knew where to go ..car mechanic,vet, stores etc. read more

Still so good! Just went here last Sunday for the first time in a while, and it was just as delicious as before. My favorite is the chicken enchiladas with red sauce. read more

My husband and I came here while we were staying in Gloucester, and both loved it. I got a veggie burrito, with mashed black beans and guac on the side, and it was SO GOOD we actually came back the next night. I'm vegan, which can be tricky in Mexican restaurants sometimes (wait, you don't want cheese? OR sour cream??), but they were super understanding and everything came out perfectly. Margaritas were great, too! Non-vegan husband got the Mexican street corn, which he basically made out with right there at the table. So, big hit all around. read more

The food was just okay. We ordered take-out because of the whole covid situation. We ordered chicken nachos, which were deconstructed which I initially appreciated because that means nothing would get soggy and we could assemble them at home but that's about where my appreciation stopped. The "queso" that was included tasted like flour and cream, not cheesy at all and the chicken was "shredded" but it tasted like boiled chicken with no spices or flavor. Really disappointed with the other things we ordered as well. Everything was flavorless. read more

Second time ordering takeout and got wrong soup no broth and no cheese and some sides missing. Enchiladas were bland and had a teaspoon of sauce. Tried to call back and complain 4 times and no answer. This was always one of our favorite family takeout restaurants very disappointed and moving on. I never write reviews but we were very disappointed. read more

Highly recommend this place. The owner, staff and everyone is top notch. The food is awesome!!! This is definitely one of the better Mexican places in Massachusetts. read more

What happened? I am in the depths of despair. From the moment we entered it was all wrong. No greeting. Slow service. The chips and salsa are unrecognizable! That's not pico de gallo. Say it ain't so.... this is not my favorite fajita dish!! The onions were undercooked and saturated in a thick red seasoning?? One thick chicken breast hacked into 5 pieces and burnt on the outside? It's 5pm on a Wednesday. Waiter grabs the check and leaves without a word. As we exit not one person said goodbye or Thank you. I guess a lot has changed in 11 months. read more

The margaritas are awesome the food not so much it gets pretty busy on the weekends... kinda a locals place

Unfortunately our experience was not terrific, service was extremely slow dispute not being busy in or outdoor dining, my husband's draft beer was room temperature, and the food did not have much flavor. I do appreciate their ability to adapt to covid dining as well as have disposable menus and seemingly good cleaning procedures but we will not be returning and food and service left much to be desired. read more

Friday night, busy, at the bar: ally was great -Horny margarita: strong, tasty almost smoky flavor, delicious -Black Gold margarita: chambord mixed in gives interesting twist of sweetness -Mexican salad: spinach and canned cactus -Nachos w chx: big plate of cheese, a bit bare, not much salsa or flavor - better when salsa poured on top -Fajita w shrimp/steak: good, solid proportions, tasty -Chile rellenos: flavorful, not spicy, a lot of flavors mixed in, liked it read more

We love it here. Great food, great drinks. They have a fantastic choice of gluten free options, which is helpful to me. Thank you for excellent service! Gotta love the Skinny Margaritas and the Veggie Enchiladas read more

Just ordered a 14$ seafood pozole. It's so small! The flavor is good but I feel like I should have gotten at least twice the amount. I guess that's what there is in a town with no competition? I feel like I spent way too much on this teeny pozole. read more

Jalapeno's Authentic Mexican Food - My really small 14 dollar seafood pozole..... flavor is good but the size is SO MUCH SMALLER than I ever dreamed. Will not order again. - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

We always enjoy Jalapeño's For both dining in and take out. However, this review is for the above and beyond customer service we received tonight. Part of our order for takeout was left out and we didn't discover it until we arrived home. I called expecting my husband would go back and grab the missing items and spoke to Jaime, the owner. He said that they would send the missing items by delivery service right away, even though we live in the next town over. The items arrived shortly after, piping hot. Thanks Jalapeños for some great customer service! We totally understand mistakes happen but Jaime and his restaurant showed their commitment to making it right. We appreciate it. read more

Because nothing spells Mexican food like sour margaritas and slow service. Waitress wouldn't make eye contact and the chips were subpar at best. Didn't have fun for those 40 minutes. I can't even believe that place calls itself a restaurant. Cómo se dice- adiós! read more

Excellent!! A great selection of fresh fishes, authentic cuisine and killer drinks. Their selection of tequilas are impressive. The waitstaff is friendly, helpful and just perfect. The food, though pricey, is worth it. Large portions and delicious! Great coffee and desserts as well. Try their Boston Creme Cake!! Super good - probably the best I've ever had. Cheesecake is excellent too. read more

We went to Jalapeno's on Saturday, 28 October 2006 since we like Mexican, had a coupon from the entertainment book (this thing totally pays for itself), and were going to be in the area for the Hammond "Haunted" Castle. First, let me say that, the review from 2005 is very dated. There is an extensive menu with plenty of variety (it's online for your perusal) and the prices are quite reasonable. There was a line to get in but there was room at the bar plus and do take reservations (which we wisely made : ' ) Now, on to the food. I think they have the best sangria I've ever tasted (and I enjoyed Naked Fish's) although my girlfriend claims Cilantro is still number 1. Anyway, we got the "El Senor" which has a splash of brandy in it -- it's tasty and thick-bodied with plenty of fruit. For appetizers, we ordered guacamole and cactus tinga, the latter being a blind purchase. While the guacamole was average (it lacked some spice and tasted mostly like crushed avocado), the tinga was spicy and delectable, almost reminiscent of green beans but not quite. It's served up on a plate in hundreds of little strips with spices and chopped onion along with tortillas. It was a great starter and could be a meal unto itself. For entrees, we got the chicken mole and pork fajitas. Both were very good although the pork was a little blackened yet still juicy. They were served up with rice and refried black beans that needed a little help from some habanero hot sauce. All in all, it was a very good meal and we will be returning to try out some of the other dishes. The service was super nice and bent over backwards for us, they were very good at checking in and accommodating our requests. We will return ( ' : read more

My friends and I were craving some Mexican food and Jalapeno's is the only place to go to in Gloucester. The food is really bland. I got the vegetable fajitas. I usually love veggie fajitas, but these just tasted like nothing. Vegetarian food can be tasty, but they seem to have added zero spices to any of the vegetables, salsas, rice, beans, etc. Also, I asked for hot sauce, and they charged me for it. Really? You have no Tapatio? Or something you give out for free in a bottle you bought for $2? And the hot sauce wasn't even hot or tasty. Again, no spice. The margaritas are alright, but pretty over rated and over priced for what they are. I guess I just think if you want Mexican food and you're in Gloucester, well, don't do it. Or leave Gloucester to get the Mexican. Or stay at home and make your own food. Either way, it's a better choice for Mexican than going to Jalepenos. read more