1. Mexican restaurants don't usually have stuff covered in BBQ days on the menu 2. The salsa was spicy and cleared your nasal passages, but tasted like nothing. 3. With the fajitas you got either rice OR beans. Not both. As a Latin person, that is not the way the world works. It goes together. And anywhere else serves both together. Doesn't have to be a lot. But for $32 I don't think you can complain 4. And the street tacos went up to $15 vs the $12 they were. $15 for the same 4 small tortillas with a table spoon worth of meat in them This is literally me telling myself not to go back. The waitress walked off and didn't come back. We walked out and headed across the bridge to Plaza Azteca. read more

When I walked in with my coworkers, the atmosphere and music were lively. Looking over the menu, nothing really stood out to me maybe because I wasn't in the mood for Mexican food or just didn't find the options appealing. Since I couldn't decide, I ended up being the last to order and chose the carnitas tacos along with a cantarito. Unfortunately, the tacos were dry, so I didn't finish them, and the rice and beans tasted old. I did try the Thai chili wings, which were okay, but overall my meal wasn't great. read more

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Excellent food and excellent service. The staff was friendly & attentive. Food portions were good

Everything went well. Quick service, great customer service and the best shrimp tacos I have ever eaten.

Very poor service. Waitress kept messing up our orders, despite repeated attempts and a coworker telling her our order. Someone else had to bring our food and we were abandoned until we finally flagged someone down for the check. The tea wasn't the worst but was definitely bitter. All of our food was well portioned, but very bland. Two plates were incorrect, with been and chicken instead of beef and a taquito instead of a burrito. A margarita was all orange juice. I will not be returning. read more

Called and placed a pick up order and spoke to a manager. The order was called in due to a gluten allergy. Picked up the order, returned home and it was not shrimp tacos with corn tortillas but FLOUR. This has happened numerous times, but it won't happen again. Evidently they don't understand the side effects of gluten with Celiac. Perhaps a call to the health department is needed to have them pay closer attention. The shrimp tacos are safe other than the flour tortillas but they can't even get that right. Pitiful. read more

I bought asada fries to go. Drinks half, no napkins neither fork and knife definitely bad service. It used to be good now sucks read more

Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Virginia

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There was Mariachi music playing to greet the busy lunch crew. We were seated quickly, given the parking lot was jam packed. Our waitress took our drink order right away. She returned with chips, salsa and ranch dressing (that one threw us for a loop). She took our orders and within minutes our food was out to the table. The beef taco and enchilada had a good flavor, but was on the greasy side. Portions were good sized! They offer a nice sized lunch menu. Alcoholic beverages, desserts, and have a large dinner menu. Our waitress was attentive. We were in and out in approximately 40 , but didn't feel rushed! We will be back! read more

Went there today (Sunday) -the service was horrible -30min to get our drinks and another 30 for our food -that was the only time we saw our waitress. Half of the restaurant was open and mostly full -I could see other people looking for their waitress as wee looked for her. The food was almost tooo salty to eat but we were starving so we ate what we could never again read more

What was once a comfortable and very reasonable family based establishment has morphed into an over-priced cliche' . Give it a rest , your food prices are the highest around and your services and menu are not offering anything special unless you are including the ambiance of all the Bar Flies . With that said , if your looking for the real Mexican experience I say go & just like visiting south of the border, prepare to be robbed like a tourist. read more

I ordered takeout and discovered that there was no chips and salsa in the bag. I was told that if I wanted chips and salsa with takeout, I would have to pay extra. Takeout is the same price as a sit down meal, so why should the chips be extra for takeout. It's bad enough that that their prices keep going up, now we are getting less and paying more. They have just lost a family of customers. It may not matter to Juan's, but it matters to us. read more

Disappointed. Almost nobody in the place and the service was extremely slow. The prices went up, the portion size is smaller and the quality is way way down. read more

This restaurant used to be a favorite of ours. It has gone downhill significantly. The food quality remains the same, but the service is very very poor now. Service is slow, the servers are inattentive, and they bring you the wrong things. This evening was especially bad as there was live music. The music was insanely loud, patrons and servers alike were having to yell to be heard. Not every restaurant needs live music every night. Very disappointed in the direction this restaurant is heading. May or may not come back. read more

Nice family-run place, a favorite of my family's. They have great, inexpensive lunches and more elaborate dinners. Recommended.

My daughter was visiting from out of state, and, being a huge fan of Hamilton (the musical) we wanted to sneak down to Yorktown to see the place where it happened. (Sorry, a lame attempt at a reference, I know.) Well, it was a cold, wet, fall day, and we concluded our driving tour just about lunch time. So, we pulled out our trusty Yelp app to determine where lunch should be. We were having trouble making a connection because of Covid closures, but we discovered that Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina was open. I'll be honest, I'm a bit skeptical of "Authentic" Mexican food this far away from the southern border. But, our options were limited, so we committed. Let me pause to describe how my Mexican food reviews work... I have a pretty basic matrix for deciding if I like Mexican food. 1 Salsa 2 Beans 3 Margaritas 4 Quality of the meat Like movies and wine, we all have a different opinion of what makes Mexican food good. I grew up eating Tex Mex, so it has a special place in my heart, but I'm agreeable to all the other variations. Starting with the top, the salsa was good. It wasn't amazing beyond belief, but it was much better than average. I don't care for cilantro, as it tastes like soap, but the cilantro was minimal, and the salsa was tasty. It wasn't too chunky or too watery. It fell into the goldilocks zone of being just right. The beans were standard, refried pinto beans, free of any weird surprises. They were well seasoned and had a proper consistency and were a perfect complement to the meal. The margarita was a house blend that wasn't too sweet, and had a proper edge of tart, and I felt a slight buzz, so I know they didn't attempt to cheat me on the tequila pour. So, now that the house keeping is over, let's get down to business. I ordered the Speedy Gonzales, which is, in my case, a beef enchilada and a ground beef taco, along with rice and beans. I wasn't terribly hungry, so I expected the meal would be a perfect serving. And I was right! The red enchilada sauce was consistent with typical Tex Mex red sauce, which was what I hoped for. I don't usually enjoy red sauce where the chefs get inventive and fuse weird ingredients that aren't natural. Juan's went with traditional, and I was absolutely grateful to them. The taco was a solid choice, too. It was a standard ground beef taco in a crunchy shell, with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. The meat was perfectly seasoned, so much so that there wasn't a dominate flavor. The taco stood on its own merit, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. While I make the meal sound very average, that's what I liked about it! I felt as though I was eating Tex Mex from back home, where I already knew what I was going to receive before I ordered it, and grateful that it was a familiar meal. I WANTED my Mexican food to be predictable. Mexican is not an area where I appreciate pioneers, and Juan's didn't disappoint me in the least. In fact, my whole family bragged about how happy they were with our meal and the stellar service. All in all, I loved the place, and I expect you will too! #todaysdiscovery read more

Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina - a margarita and chips - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Virginia

I had dinner at Juans this evening. The food was really good but the service was the worst. There were very few people eating while I was there. After I was served my food my server didnt come back again and after waiting patiently, I had to ask others to find her. I had to ask for silverware and more napkins. No one offered to refill my iced tea. I had to ask for a refill. I wish someone had told me that they charged for refills as I was charged for 2 iced teas at $3.75 each. My second iced tea was refilled by someone other than my server. Then I had to track someone down for ice as there was no ice in my second drink and it was warm. Then I had to find my server to get my check. She showed me my bill on a computer she held in her hand. I had to ask for a printed copy. I didn't notice that I was charged for a refill until I got home. I've only eaten there a couple times before and was never charged for a refill. When I go out to eat the service is as important as the food and can make or break my dining experience. Although the food was good the dining experience was not. I started getting impatient because I was there way longer than I needed to be and it was stressful having to track down my server. read more

The food was good and the portions were more than enough. The wait staff did a great job.

Juan's is fast and the service is always good. We enjoy the outside area and fire pits.

I have always been extremely satisfied with their service. However this time was very disappointing. I ordered grilled shrimp tacos which ended up being 3 pounds of lettuce and tomatoes with 1 shrimp chopped up in 15 unseasoned micro nuggets. An absolute ripoff. read more

Although we do eat here pretty often and service is always great. Over the past 1yr they have increased their prices significantly I.e. you could get 3 soft flour tortillas for $1 now it's $3 ($1 per tortilla... I can buy a pack of 10 for that). I understand prices have increased all over, but I feel there are certain items you should increase and others you could just leave alone. But the food is always good!! read more

On vacation, my family and I stopped in at Juan's today. If I could give five stars based on the staff and service I absolutely would. We were greeted and served by the nicest people ever. We were given chips and salsa and even ranch which was a plus as well. We ordered a variety of lunch combos and all five of us agreed that it was so so. We're big fans of Mexican food and we love tamales; But we found the tamales small, dry and nearly empty. We would all suggest the fajitas as they were the best out of everything we tried. read more

I got a lot of recommendations for this Mexican restaurant but frankly, I don't get the hype. Maybe it's because I've been surrounded by Mexican food where I'm at or maybe I just haven't been able to try their specialties but the food was just ok. The cilantro lime chicken on the lunch menu was $10 for flattened chicken meat and flavored rice and beans. The place and environment is nice but I wasn't very impressed with the food options. Also if your heart is set of getting something similar to cilantro lime chicken, get the tequila lime chicken. It's pretty much the same thing except this one has corn and tomato on top of the chicken instead of just cilantro. Overall, I need to comeback to try something else to have a better opinion of the food. However, they do give you free chips and salsa which is definitely a plus! You can ask for more salsa if needed. read more

Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina - Free chips and salsa - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Virginia

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Another great location for Juan's! Each one has its own flair, and this location doesn't disappoint. Second time at this location and its a great stop for good margaritas and food. read more

Usually, my fiancé and I love Juan's. However, this is the third time our Delivery order has been wrong. We were going to avoid ordering from there because of the previous mistakes, but decided to give them one last chance. Big mistake on our parts. My fiancé gets the exact same thing every time. This time, they messed up his burritos by putting fajita chicken inside of them instead of just plain shredded chicken (which I specifically state each time I order). So he had to "pick through" his burritos to remove all the extra things in it. Also, he only gets white cheese sauce on top (another thing I specifically state when ordering). However, they put red sauce, then white cheese sauce on it. My order was also messed up. I stated that I only wanted shredded cheese on my burrito and taco. The shell was burnt on the taco (which had cheese, sour cream and lettuce) and the burrito had red sauce & cheese on it. Also, since it was a kid's meal, it was supposed to come with a drink which I never received. Unfortunately, I will no longer recommend Juan's to friends and family for delivery again. Their rate of success is just not good enough to make that recommendation. Spending $40 for dinner for 2 should not be such a big disappointment. This will be our last Juan's experience and sadly, it wasn't a good one to end on. read more

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Late review i did about a month ago: We did a to-go order last night since the pandemic is happening. I did my order online yesterday around 12pm for a pick up at 7:45pm. We waited 50 mins for our food to come out, only to be short a drink. When asking for some sort of compensation for the time I had to sit for my food, the manager came out to literally ARGUE with me because she thought I wanted my food for free and said if you are keeping the food then i am not giving you money back (that I didn't even ask for back). In the end we got a free drink and a 15$ gift card. Even though we waited pretty much an hour for our 114$ meal. When we got home with the food we were also missing the 4-5$ queso we paid for but it wasn't even worth calling in and complaining after the hassle we dealt with from the beginning. Will NOT be going back. The food was good but not worth the drama. Can i also add that something was said to me similar to, well you put your order in around lunch time, did you actually expect it to be ready at the time you ordered it for?! ‍‍‍ ummm yes! read more

Juan's continues to impress! I didn't realize I'd find the best carnitas ever in Gloucester but after trying Juan's twice with a year in between, they are definitely consistent. Service has been great both times I've been, even though most recently it was very crowded and busy. We got seated pretty quickly and settled down with chips and salsa which were promptly refilled as soon as I asked. I got carnitas, which are perfect. So crispy and delicious, served with lettuce, pico de gallo, refried beans with cheese, and rice. It comes with three flour tortillas too, which are nice and warm. Overall the serving size is really great and the food is delicious. I've also tried the ceviche and it's really fresh and colorful. Every time I come to Gloucester now I insist on coming to Juan's! read more

Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina - Carnitas - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Virginia

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Everything we've eaten there has been excellent. Good service and great Margaritas! You can even have them to go.

Alway great! Food is amazing, service gas, friendly and professional and the new menu is fantastic! read more

Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina - The Durango Fajitas wee amazing! - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Virginia

What a find! I was visiting a friend in the area and we came across Juan's in Gloucester while searching for a Mexican restaurant for lunch. Located in a small plaza, off of the George Washington Memorial Highway, Juan's did not disappoint. Our waitress was very friendly and promptly gave us fresh chips and salsa. I was very happy to find ceviche on the menu along with the burritos, enchiladas, tacos and fajitas and even more ecstatic when it was the best ceviche I have ever had! Although it was considered an appetizer, the bowl was loaded with shrimp, scallops, half of an avocado, cilantro, tomatoes. The restaurant was extremely generous with the amount of fish and the ingredients were very fresh. Unlike other ceviche I have tried, this one was not salty and was clearly 'cooked' in just lemon...as it should be. Could not have been more impressed. If you like fish or ceviche, this is must have. read more

Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina - Ceviche - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Virginia

I'm a full time RVer and have traveled through a lot of places in the US. This is such a great Mexican/American restaurant, top 10 off the beaten path places. I had the Birria Tacos, top notch, my husband had carne asada fries, he states they are the best he has had. This is saying a lot considering he lived in DTLA eating carne asada fries for a living. We will be staying around the area for a few months, we will definitely be back. read more

We have frequented Juan's since before we moved to the area 3 years ago. While we were enamored of the service and food the last few visits have been sub par. The service takes way to long as well as the food. The last visit (not even half full restaurant) my children and I waited for 20 minutes without being greeted by our server. 20 minutes without drinks or placing an order with three children is an eternity. We walked out and won't be back soon. read more

I don't think I've ever had a bad experience here! Staff is great, the food is absolutely delicious! The drinks are on point. I love it! It's our favorite spot to go! read more

Best Mexican restaurant in our area. Great staff and friendly groups of customers. The burritos are consistently excellent.

I have supported this business since they opened and unfortunately I won't return. Service was horrible had to ask twice for my drink to be refilled and food took a while for only 6 tables on a Saturday night, meanwhile waiters/waitresses are coming out of the kitchen eating burritos and shaking the food on their hands onto the floor. My mother and I both ordered chicken on our meals and got steak instead ( we did not complain as we were starving and both like steak it just wasn't what was asked for) my son ordered and plain chicken and cheese quesadilla it came out with peppers and onions. We sent it back for them to fix the problem for them to send a new quesadilla again with onions and peppers. We got it taken off our bill and left. They also charge for chip refills which I think is silly for a Mexican restaurant. Prices are up, portions are still decent sizes but not what they used to be.. and it isn't nearly as good as it used to be either. read more

Was back in the area and some friends wanted to meet for lunch, its been 7 years since I was last there and they were still open, so I hoped things had changed. Ordered the "express fajitas", fajitas these were not. Definitely fried on a cook top or pan, not grilled, meat was dry, chewy, and vegetables were oily and over-cooked. I had pathetic blobs of fried meat, not the nicely sliced medium rare cuts of fajitas pictured on the menu. For $11 I could have gotten better fajitas at chilis, let alone a real mexican place, instead of doing something this poorly, just don't do it. To top it all off my meal was supposed to come with tortillas, asked three different wait staff (multiple times) in an almost empty restaurant for tortillas. One brought me queso dip, don't know why, the rest said ok and walked off, leaving me to wait 20 minutes for them to bring me two tortillas for my platter of fajitas. I wanted to see an improvement, it would be great for there to be decent mexican in the area, but I think I'll let Juan's fester in the corner and hope for new management or them to close up so something decent can replace them. read more

Nice place with very good service. But the 'meh' pretty much sums up the menu. But based on other reviewers, perhaps I just ordered the wrong thing. I enjoyed the crispy chips with salsa and queso that started off the meal. DH and I both ordered off the lunch menu on back of the menu. Perhaps some of the house specialities would be a better choice. read more

Went with family of eleven on Christmas Eve. Everyone loved their food. Then went back the day after my Christmas for lunch with twelve of us. Again everyone enjoyed their food. Both time the service was great and food came out quickly. My wife loved the carne asada. She said it was the best she's had at any place! And she's Mexican! Loved the carnita burrito bowl. Great portions and food was fresh and tasty. Really enjoyed both visits there and will definitely be back. read more

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There just aren't enough stars here for the rating!! I give them 10 stars!! This place is always awesome. The food is just drool worthy and the staff is always stellar!! Keep up the good work!! And if you haven't eaten here or leave unsatisfied there's something wrong with you read more

Juan's Mexican Cafe and Cantina - Omg killer!!! Yummmmmmmm!! 10 stars guys 10 freaking stars - Mexican Near Me - Gloucester, Virginia

I forgot to leave a review the day I tried this place. I just want to say it's authentic Mexican food really delicious and server was awesome super nice and got our order super fast! Would definitely recommend and can't wait to come back read more

I have been to Juan's more than half a dozen times. The food is okay, mixed drinks are inconsistent even during the same visit, but the service underwhelms every time. The most recent visit will be my last for a long time. I arrived at 8:20 on a Tuesday. The staff was busy cleaning up as if they were going to close soon. I rechecked the hours and they were open for at least another 40 minutes. The entire time we felt as if we were there after closing time and we were an inconvenience. Our server seemed far more interested in chatting with the other servers than attending to us. She spent much of our visit sitting at a table with a Manager and another server checking her phone and not bothering to come by for refills. We flagged down other servers for additional napkins and water refills. When we managed to get her attention and order a second round of Margaritas. The second drinks did not taste anything like the first. The second drinks were so sweet we ended up leaving $15.00 worth of drinks on the table when we left. The total bill was around $78.00. We certainly did not get our monies worth. Not even close. The next day I tried to contact the owner, Juan Carrillo, by phone at the restaurant. I was told he was not in and my message would be given to him. I have not received a response from him or anyone else on his behalf. Despite relatively few dining choices in Gloucester, I will not be back any time soon and will take Juan's off of the list we provide to our clients of places to dine in Gloucester, Virginia. read more