My husband and I ordered the trio enchilada and a crab enchilada. Food was good but when we got home, we realized we were charged incorrectly. The receipt shows 2 orders of Trio De Enchiladas Del Mar with 2 different prices. Spoke to the manager and she explained there was a miscommunication. One of the entree was a crab trio enchiladas. So the server decided to up charge without telling us?? Manager said they could not do anything about it because it was consumed and will "talk" to the server. WTF The hostess was also very rude to my husband. read more

Javiers - Up charged without telling us. Supposed to be an order of trio enchiladas and crab enchiladas - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Pasadena, California

So I know they only recently opened so there's much that needs improvement however customer service shouldn't be the first thing lacking. Had reservations at 7:30. Didn't get seated til 815. Atmosphere was so incredibly loud in the dinning room we had to shout our order to our server several times. Could never never flag him down for basic requests like more water or salsa for that same reason. Food was very underseasoned. I ordered the steak picado and traditionally it comes with a sauce. No sauce was added to plate which caused it to be a bit tough and dry. The other plate was vegitarian enchiladas which were so-so. And the only thing that stood out was the salsa chips and guacamole. If you're into a club ambience " seen and be seen" with overpriced underseasonded food, this is your place. If not my recommendation is to skip this place until the reviews confirm alot of improvements. read more

See all

We ordered carnitas and chicken enchilada. The food looks better than what it tastes, definitely overpriced. The carnitas presentation was ok. The meat was dry, the beans had no taste and the small portion of guacamole on the side was whiteish, the green sauce on the side was watery and with big chunks of onionI I do not recommend for$40. The enchilada sauce was on the sweet side, almost no chicken... not the best, sorry... for $36. The ambience is loud Mexican music, more like a night club not a restaurant. Most customers are very young. Very hard to carry a conversation. Friday night the place was packed! Do understand the hype read more

The food was soooo bad . The steak was salty , the place way tooo loud. The drinks were good , the bus boys/men were amazing ... but the actual host and waiters ..not great underwhelming experience . read more

Overall experience is subpar to other locations, food was good and portion was generous. Service was lacking and bartender did not do a good job on there drinks. The atmosphere was nice, not as Dina dm dark as the others. read more

Javiers - Tablita to share - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Pasadena, California

The space is beautiful and cavernous and the service is excellent. However, there are enough downsides that I probably wouldn't go back. First, it is incredibly loud and noisy. It was a little hard to hear my companions talking. The food is meh. My friend needed salt for her steak picado. I had the crab and shrimp enchiladas and they were bland. The tuna ceviche was more like Hawaiian poke. On top of that, everything is à la carte. Rice and beans are ordered separately and the food is really expensive. With tip, for just myself, we paid $120 EACH for one shared appetizer, one cocktail, a main, and a shared dessert. definitely not worth the money for going again, but go once to see the place and say you've been there. read more

I rarely leave reviews, but this experience was unacceptable. Our waitress, Victoria, was openly rude, dismissive, and rushed us the entire time. She avoided eye contact completely and treated us like we were an inconvenience just for being there. It genuinely felt like we were being looked down on. There was no friendliness, no basic courtesy, and we were made to feel uncomfortable asking for anything. We were even charged $3 for lime juice for a drink that still tasted terrible. Service like this completely ruins a meal. No one should be made to feel unwelcome or disrespected at a restaurant like this... especially for an $800 bill LOL. read more

As usual, Javier's delivered amazing food and amazing service. Opening night photos. Forget going to Mi Piaci and make sure to go to Javier's when on Old Town. read more

See all

Now this review might change since I did go the first week it opened. The food for the first time was not great. My rice was cold and hard, and my enchilada was also cold. The service was not the best and it took forever to get a refill. The location seemed very small and overly crowded it almost just felt like a regular bar. I went on the first Saturday that they had opened. This could be due to it being opening week however I will not recommend this place. Well, at least this location. Irvine & Newport still hold top locations for me. This location is also overwhelmingly packed with social media influencers so lots of selfies and recording. read more

The ambiance is cool and the food was good (for the price I expected better). We made reservations and still had to wait an hour. I didn't feel it was worth the wait. I'd like to think we just happened to be there on a night where they were either overbooked or understaffed. read more

We came to Javier's on Monday, 12/22 to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday and left extremely disappointed. We had a 6:30 PM reservation for a party of eight, yet we were not seated for over an hour. When we were finally seated, it was at a tiny booth that clearly could not accommodate eight people. We were completely cramped. After speaking up, we were moved to an appropriate table around 8:07 PM -- nearly an hour and a half after our reservation time. To make things worse, I brought a birthday cake and handed it to the host stand to be refrigerated. It took over 30 minutes for anyone to take it to the back, despite multiple reminders. For a restaurant of this caliber, that level of disorganization is unacceptable. Our food didn't arrive until 8:55 PM, meaning almost two and a half hours passed from our reservation time to actually being served. By that point, the celebration felt completely ruined. One of the managers we interacted with was rude and dismissive, and at no point did anyone offer a genuine apology for the delays, poor seating, or mishandling of the cake. We chose Javier's because of its reputation, but this experience did not reflect it at all. Poor service, lack of accountability, and zero effort to make things right. Unfortunately, we won't be returning. read more

Javiers - The table they tried squeezing our party of 8 people in. - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Pasadena, California

We booked a private room at Javier's for a birthday celebration and were told the minimum spend was $3,500. When we arrived, we were suddenly informed there was a 2-hour time limit, which had never been clearly explained in advance. We arrived at 6:00 pm, but were not seated until 6:30 pm. Food did not begin coming out until 7:30 pm, and even then, only half of the order arrived. To make matters worse, the appetizers came out after the main courses. The waiter later told us the ticket was lost in the kitchen. Because the food was coming out so slowly, I planned to order throughout the evening to meet the minimum. I raised the issue and was told the time limit would be waived, but when we still could not meet the minimum due to the delays, the manager refused to accommodate. The waiter suggested ordering food to go so we could meet the minimum, but when I asked the manager, she refused that option as well. As if that wasn't enough, the fire alarm went off and stayed on for about 20 minutes, forcing us to pack up and leave early. Despite all of this late seating, extremely delayed food, kitchen errors, alarm disruption, and poor communication--we were charged the full minimum, and the food itself was not worth the price. The need to get a better manager in there. Very disappointing experience, especially for a birthday celebration. I expected far better service and accountability for a restaurant at this price point. read more

2-star reviews for Javier's often overpriced, mediocre food and poor service, despite a great atmosphere. bland entrees, long waits, $20 watered-down margaritas, and automatic gratuity. Gratuity is not mandatory. Gratuity is earned. read more

So happy that Javier's decided to come to Pasadena! I've visited a few of their other locations, this one is just as beautiful as the other locations. They've done such a great job with the inside, it makes you forget where you're at! The food and service was amazing, very attentive and everything was delicious! The pineapple margarita never disappoints! read more

See all

From the moment you step inside Javier's it's clear that this is a restaurant that cares deeply about the full dining experience. The service is exceptional. Staff members are attentive without being intrusive, knowledgeable about the menu, and genuinely enthusiastic about the dishes they recommend. Overall, Javier's delivers an outstanding dining experience that feels special yet approachable. read more

Javiers - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Pasadena, California

I was dining at Javier's on December 19 as part of a Birthday Celebration, and what should have been a fun night out ended up being incredibly uncomfortable and stressful for my friend due to serious service and billing issues. From the start, service was slow it took a very long time just to place a drink order. To make matters worse 3 meals were wrong and caused more delays. The most upsetting part of the night, however, was the billing situation. Our actual bill was around $500, yet my friend's card was charged $1,754. Management failed to communicate properly and did not even ask before attempting to charge the corrected amount to a different card. This completely changed the mood of the evening. My friend spent the rest of the night uneasy and anxious, worried about whether the funds would be returned, whether the charge would affect her credit or balance, and how long it would take to be resolved. No one should leave a restaurant stressed about their finances because of such a major error. What was meant to be an enjoyable night out was overshadowed by concern, frustration, and discomfort. A mistake of this magnitude, especially paired with slow service and incorrect meals, should have been handled with genuine concern for the guest. Unfortunately, that was not our experience. read more

The ambiance is nice, but unfortunately the food doesn't match the price. Dishes are average, and for the cost, I'd rather go somewhere else for better quality at a more reasonable price. read more

Wow don't believe everything you see. 5 star. Great team work. Thank-you to the team. Food wow lamb chops were stellar Thank-you to the chefs that prepared the lamb. This place is so buzzing. Avril is awesome ask for her! ​ read more

See all

Honestly some of the worst food I have ever had in my life and the biggest rip off. Both my husband and I sick to our stomachs after the meal. No flavor, super basic, nice scenery but that's it! read more

The host was so rude, she looked like she hated her job. I had a reservation still had to wait 15-20 mins. Then went back they were cleaning the table and setting it up. Went back again they were so incompetent when checking on it because i could see them walk the whole restaurant and come back. Then she said there was a no stroller policy. When she saw me walk in with it since the beginning and didnt make it an issue until later to stall more time. At the end i was ended talking to a manager so she can tell me that they were waiting for the people to finish paying. So all along they lied. Horrible horrible experience, this is why newport location has always been the best. Our server was amazing though, but i will never be back. read more

Only nice thing about this place is the atmosphere. I've had enchiladas that are twice as good for less than half the price. $40 dollars for an enchilada? What planet is this? I'd get it if the enchiladas were somehow gourmet but they're not. They're actually worse than pretty much every single enchilada I've ever had. So I paid $40 for bad enchiladas and then guess what.... You have to pay extra for the sides! This place is ridiculous. 2 enchiladas and rice and beans cost like $55... this is crazy. The wait staff was really nice and, again, the architecture is cool but I really can't recommend this place because the food quality and prices were more than underwhelming. read more

An amazing night at Javier's Great flavors, great energy, and the best company with family and friends. read more

A brand new place in Old Town Pasadena. While the food is good, the atmosphere and service is horrible. If you want to have a nice, relaxing Mexican dining experience, this isn't the place for you. It's loud, and full of pretentious hipsters wanting to be seen and be a part of the scene. It's supposed to be a nice restaurant, not some out of control Las Vega night club. If you make a reservation for 7:30 pm, for example, you should be seated no later than 15 minutes past the requested reservation time. This should be the standard, especially for a place like this. We weren't seated until an hour and 45 minutes after our reservation time. We weren't the only party who experienced this kind of delay. We witnessed another irate customer who was yelling at the associates at the reception desk. They have been waiting over two hours to be seated. There is obviously a serious reservation problem here. My only guess is that they overbook the place, which is not cool. The staff at the reception desk seemed clueless, and struggled with trying to handle the massive influx of people. Between the reception desk, the bars, and the servers, this place appeared to be understaffed. Once we were finally seated, and our food arrived, it was great. The food is really good here, but, in my opinion, it was not worth everything we had to put up with. For a restaurant of this caliber, the type of clientelle, the atmosphere, the service, the problematic reservation process, should all be nonexistent. I'm not saying we won't be back. Maybe we need to come on a different day, and at a different time. It shouldn't make a difference, right? It shouldn't matter when you show up, but it does seem to matter. If it happens again, we won't ever be back. ~RLA read more

One of the worst experiences I've had in a long time. I made a reservation to host my family of 8 for an early Mother's Day lunch and we had to wait an over an HOUR and a half to be seated. That's WITH a reservation. Such a disappointment considering we planned this ahead of time since we had a baby with us. We then were informed that our table was ready so the whole group went to the front desk just for them to say we had to wait another 15 minutes so we lost our seating in the lobby. Then they finally called us 40 minutes later. I really had high hopes since I've been to the Javier's in Newport, but completely disappointed. Do not come here with a large party and if you have a reservation, plan on waiting another hour read more

Gave Javiers Pasadena a shot based on its decor/ambiance. Appetizers okay nothing to write anything about. Drinks same okay nothing to write anything about. Wait staff were pushy coming by several times wanting to clear plates which clearly still had food on them and a lot of sauce that could be used with their complimentary chips. Also kept pushing us to get bottled water... we were clearly fine with our drinks and didn't need or desire water. Food was nice looking (pretty) taste was okay/average was it worth the $55.00 price tag for three enchiladas (clearly not) rice & beans was an additional $7 (clearly not worth it either took two bites of the rice and one of the refried beans and thought my wife makes both better at home thus leaving the rest untouched). Overall appetizers, drinks, main dishes for 4 individuals at $500+ not worth it (a one time thing and won't be returning). read more

Javiers - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Pasadena, California

Great place for happy hour . Service on point and drinks so good This locally is beautiful inside and the patio very much inviting I have been in the Las Vegas at Aria but was disappointed but the got me back on this location Highly recommend read more

I have been attempting to reserve a room at this restaurant for a small party for 2 weeks now. I get promised a call back and it has not happened. Very frustrating! Either they are incompetent or arrogant. Terrible restaurant. read more

Positive and negative reviews.. Fun atmosphere, crowded but fun, yes to the Tulum inspiration, attentive waiters/waitress', food was simply ok, lack of reservation respect was unreal. We had a reservation, which was made weeks ago for 8pm, but we were not seated till after 9:30pm, then naturally service was rushed, once we were seated to insure our exit on time. Management needs to step up and take better control since that night was not a "soft opening" and could have been more enjoyable if our time was respected... but the tuna appetizer was outstanding! read more

Over priced food and drinks. The food is mediocre and this is coming from a latina. atmosphere was excessively loud, packed and packed at the bar. Not to mention the service. I waited 20 minutes for my drink as the bartender got my order and decided to serve 5 people before giving me mine. overall service was bad, food was mid and atmosphere was a lot. read more

Javiers - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Pasadena, California

Very good restaurant. First time there. It's beauitiful. The server he was amazing. We didn't like the salty chips so he went and got us unsalted and they came out super warm. My mom got white fish and I got salmon. Both were very good plates and good size/ amount of food. Restrooms are clean also with a lady openning the door and handing you napkins. Overall I was worried since some people in the reviews said their experience was not good. The food is expensive so if that happened to us we would not return but we had a good time so will be returning! read more

Service. We came for reservations on 2/28 and they were at 9:00. We arrived at 8:30 and were told they were more then an hr behind to sit people. What is the point of having reservations if we still have to wait. This was our first experience here and we're looking forward to eating yet for a birthday. read more

I was there for my friend's Bach we had reservations at 8pm we didn't get seated till 9pm. We got no apologies for the wait. When we finally go seated we were in a hurry to eat and leave because we had plans afterwards. The server Gabriel O was terrible I've never experienced such a bad service at Javier's he was not pleasant and try telling us he would have to go talk to his manager because of what we were ordering keep in mind at this point we been waiting and just wanted to eat something fast so we can continue celebrating the bride to be. His go demeanor threw us off what was supposed to be a nice dinner turned out to be blah. Sebastian the busboy was amazing kept checking on us if we needed anything. I personally won't come back to Javier's in Pasadena. Next time I'm in town I'll just go to Mi Piace service there is always a 10. The restaurant is BEAUTIFUL but the service sucked. read more

The restaurant is beautiful! : 5 Atmosphere- music , overall ambiance was a 5 Party of 3 with reservations was great, checked in and got seated immediately. The drinks were a 5. But a restaurant's main factor is it's food. The food was not great, 2.5 at best. I've been to almost all other Javier locations and have always been happy with the food . This location... I was disappointed. The food was missing flavor. At best the food was luke warm. Missing flavors. Steak Quesadilla my daughter got was at best a 1.5- 2, No flavor and was over $30. Other 2 dishes were okay. Chefs in this location need to do better for the sake of the Restaurant's name reputation.y read more

Victoria and Kim gave our party of 8 amazing service! Food and drinks were amazing!! Ambience and energy were great here!! read more

Javiers - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Pasadena, California

Just a really disappointing visit based on service and cleanliness. There is enough staff to make sure this isn't the case so I chalk it up to poor management. read more

Favorite location next to New Port. Parking was easy, I decided not to wait for a table and sat at the bar. Staff were friendly and helpful. The aesthetic meets Javier's brand and I enjoyed my signature cocktail, ceviche, and ambiance. read more

Love this place so much! Love the interior, the service, the food, the whole vibe This is a great place for a date night or whenever read more

I had a reservation, waited over an hour for a table. They overbooked and can't handle the crowd.

Our reservation was at 6pm, and were not seated until 6:50pm. When we asked about the delay, we were told that reservations are not truly honored, but rather a spot is attempted to be held until a table becomes available. Which is a double standard because they will give your table away after 15 min. of your reservation time. If guests are asked to wait more than 30 minutes, it would be appropriate to offer a round of champagne or wine or another gesture of hospitality such as appetizers while we wait at the bar. Other restaurants honor reservation times or proactively accomodate delays. Javiers in Pasadena does not value their customer's time. They do at their Vegas location. The positive side is that the food and service are great. read more

I celebrated my birthday (and my mom's!) at Javier's in Pasadena last night with a large group -- one table of 12 and another of 6 -- and overall, it was a great experience. The food was delicious, the drinks were flowing, and our servers were attentive despite how busy it was. The atmosphere is always lively and upscale, which is exactly why I chose it for such a special occasion. That said, the one downside was an interaction with the manager on duty, Juan Carlos. There were a couple of moments where his tone felt unnecessarily sharp. We briefly moved between tables while figuring out seating for our large party, and instead of calmly clarifying, he approached us in a way that felt abrupt. Later, when our birthday cakes came out (we paid the cake-cutting fee and had already ordered plenty of drinks), he again addressed us in a way that felt more scolding than service-oriented. I completely understand that restaurants are busy and policies need to be upheld -- especially on a packed night. It wasn't what was said, but how it was said. A little warmth or discretion would have gone a long way, particularly during a milestone celebration where we were spending a significant amount. Overall, we still had a wonderful night, and the food and service team were great. I just hope management approaches guest interactions with a bit more hospitality in the future. read more