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    Uncle Julio's

    2.9 (416 reviews)
    ModerateTex-Mex, Mexican
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Uncle Julio's Reservations

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    UNCLE JULIO'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Trendy
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Uncle Julio's

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    Spicy Pina - a spicy pineapple margarita $13.50
    Kari K.

    An upscale expensive Mexican restaurant but has a great Happy Hour! House Margs $6 (frozen or rocks) and chips queso/guac for $6. Sat a the bar with okay service - had to get our own silverware and ask for a menu and twice for chips/salsa to begin. Semi busy bartender, I think. Loved the taco bar with all the fixings! Splurged on two menu margaritas but I'm telling ya get to the happy hour those margs are just as good! The 2 menu margs were just ask expensive as our taco bar, and 2 happy hour margs. Definitely a great place for foods and margs - again go for the happy hour!

    Fran B.

    This was my second visit. You can tell they are struggling with service. We waited longer than we should for our server to come to our table. I love the decor of this place! The furniture, pictures and color scheme are beautiful. It's also very spacious. I'm not a fan of their steak. First visit I had steak tacos and the meat was tough. Second visit I had the steak quesadilla and the meat was tough and fatty. I''m giving four stars for the chocolate pinata! What a fun experience! You're given a wooden stick to crack it open. You can't tap lightly. It's thick chocolate. Inside are strawberries, pineapples and churros. You're given chocolate sauce and whip cream decorates the board. The board is huge so you're need to clear the table before they bring it out.

    MrsP T.

    The service was great, the food was amazing and the drinks were top tier!! 10/10 would definitely recommend!!

    Fire-Grilled Street Tacos
    Byron C.

    Let's say you were in Frontenac for some reason, you wanted to eat Mexican food and you didn't want to go anywhere else, lest someone break the radio antenna off from your car and use it to smoke rocks. In that case, you might honestly want to eat at Uncle Julio's. The food is actually pretty decent, and it's reasonably priced by the standards of today's restaurant meals--which is to say that it's not at all financially responsible to eat there. But it could be worse! I've eaten there a few times over the years. Only once, the first time I ate there, was there more than a small handful of people there eating. I got takeout from there once on a Cinco de Mayo, and it was weirdly amazing in a way that it never was before or since. It tasted the way (literally any) food tastes when you're high on marijuana, but I was as sober as a judge. The last time I was there before today, I was forced to sit at the bar for a while until my table was ready, even though there was hardly anyone else there. Was the table not emotionally prepared? Once I was finally seated, I was given free guacamole as consolation. This was the best guacamole I've ever had in my life, with the caveat that I'm a savage and a brokie. I've hardly ever left the state of Missouri, and I may never leave again in life. In general, I'd say the food is good, but it's purposely engineered to appeal to decidedly unsophisticated people. All of the meat dishes are weirdly sweet, the way that they are at an Americanized Chinese restaurant, there's melted cheese, sour cream and what have you in places where it's not called for, as if this were a Taco Bell, and the fajitas aren't sufficiently charred. This time, I went with the street tacos, because you can't really go wrong with tacos, and because I'm trying tacos from different restaurants to compare them. I notice that more and more restaurants are carrying street tacos in addition to regular tacos, and indeed that is the case here. In addition to the street tacos, you can get tacos with flour tortillas or crunchy, Taco Bell-style shells, with various kinds of meat. They're all served with rice and pinto beans, which is mighty generous of Uncle Julio and prevents me from having to order them à la carte, or whatever's Spanish for à la carte. Usually, street tacos come with just meat, onions, cilantro and a squeeze of juice from a dry lime wedge that may have already been used, on a corn tortilla. At Uncle Julio's, you also get cheese melted down into the tortilla, fire roasted jalapeños, avocado and pico. Was the purpose of all this to justify the price? I wasn't about to ask if I could pay less for something more authentic, because I liked the waitress' hair and I didn't want her to think that I don't have a lot of money. As was the case with the carnitas fajitas I had on another visit, maybe the single worst thing I've ever had in a Mexican restaurant, the steak was weirdly, unnecessarily sweet. The cheese was also unnecessary, but I wasn't mad at it. It's cheese, so it can never be truly unwelcome, and it may have lent some structural support to the corn tortillas, which tend to fall apart. The jalapeños, avocado and what have you give it a different vibe from something you might get at a tacqueria. It's served with a habanero salsa that's shockingly good, the way that guac I once had was really good, but it kinda overshadows everything else. The tacos are honestly better without it. Service was weirdly inattentive, given that there was hardly anyone else there. The girl seemed nice enough, but I'd be curious to know where else she had to be. Personally, I wouldn't have minded if she stood there the entire time and watched me eat, in case I needed something.

    Fresca salad
    Shelly N.

    Pros: Stephanie is a great server Decor is nice Cons: The door was locked when we got there They have almost zero vegan/vegetarian options. They offered me a guacamole taco. Gross My salad was shockingly, even comically small. See pic. $14.25 for the equivalent of a side salad. My husband said his chicken enchiladas were "ok". So disappointing

    Charro beans
    Michelle H.

    It was a rainy day so we decided to venture out to a new place for lunch. We ended up at Uncle Julio's near Frontenac. It bills itself as a Tex-Mex fresh cuisine and it did a great job living up to it! The interior was sophisticated and made me think it would be a fun Fri. Night date spot for sure. For a rainy Sat at noon it was just starting to get busy . We were quickly brought complimentary chips and salsa that reminded me of the old Chevys chips and salsa if you were around for them. Our food was fresh, hot and delicious! The menu was limited and yet had plenty of options to choose from at the same time. We were pleased with the portions sizes and endless chips! Go give them a try!

    The Roberto's Combo Plate
    Michelle L.

    Nice restaurant located in Frontenac serving up delicious food and drinks. That have happy hour bar specials which are mainly drinks and a few appetizers. The menu is smaller which is nice not having to read a book to decide what to order. The food arrived hot and flavorful and a nice size portion, the taco was great and the chicken enchilada was full of flavor, moist and worth getting. Definitely a good choose for lunch or dinner.

    mixed berry margarita
    Timira M.

    I was actually shocked this place was so good. It is a very well lit, fancy, dining space. We were greeted by the hostess and seated immediately. Our waitress was a gem, and she allowed extra time for us to look over the menu since this was our first time being there. We settled on the mixed berry magarita, and they were really great. It was a good mix between the alcohol and other drink components. The berries were also fresh too. We ordered the El Dorado beef tacos, and my date got the beef enchiladas. He also added a side of queso blanco as well. All of the food tasted great. They give you chips and salsa( medium and mild). The medium had a kick to it, but overall, it was still good. Before we left, my date said I picked a good spot, so we will for sure be back. As always, until next time...

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    10 months ago

    If you are picking up food, show up after 30 minutes of the pick up time promised or you will wait.

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    8 months ago

    Solid quality food each time we eat at Uncle Julio's. Great service & atmosphere. Typically not much of a wait which is nice.

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    Page 2 of 11

    Ask the Community - Uncle Julio's

    Is the patio dog-friendly?

    I saw a lady with a little shit dog. I don't know if they will allow anything bigger.

    How do I make a reservation?

    Website drop down

    How do I make a reservation?

    Access their website through the link and there is an option for reservations.

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    Well, we finally tried Carretas in Twin Oaks, We've been eying it for months because of its close…read moreproximity to our house, and we finally decided to bite the bullet. First glances: The atmosphere is very modern and clean. The music is very loud and distracting, though. We couldn't help but hear a very loud bass-y/subwoofer noise that shook the whole restaurant. I'm not sure what vibe they're going for - laidback family restaurant or club? The service was very lackluster. Our waiter was polite but very inattentive, to the point where it seemed like he was intentionally avoiding us. They only had two other tables, and he never came back after dropping the food off. We had to flag him down for the bill as well... Finally, the food. The horchata was good: The Chips and Salsa were okay -- the salsa was flavorful but the chips needed a touch more salt. I got a Combo with a Chile Relleno and a Tamale, and it was decent but the sauce was overly salty. My Mom thought her Pollo Ranchero was similar - tasty but the sauce was a tad salty/one-note. Would we come back? Actually, probably in a year or two to see if they improved. Having a Mexican place 0.9 miles from your house and not loving it sucks, and I hope this place steps it up for next time!!

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    Uncle Julio's - tex-mex - Updated September 2026

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