Me and Julio

I swooped into Me and Julio’s for lunch with a couple friends one afternoon because it looked like casual, affordable Mexican style foods, and we were all down. We were partially right.
The food was pretty good. The prices were off-​putting. The appetizers seemed partially reasonable, but all entrees were all $ 14. $ 14 for Mexican food on the Drive. Seriously? Sod off. Me and a friend split the Enchiladas after both wrinkling our noses at the price, and we did enjoy them. Lots of good veggies, and covered in a tasty sauce — I’d eat them again if I were splitting them, not super hungry, and too lazy to walk further. My BF had a beef and chorizo burrito and seemed to enjoy it — although to me it just looked like a giant mass of ground meat. But I am not much of a carnivore.
At the bottom of the menu it warns that a gratuity of 17% is suggested for parties over 6. That kind of seems like a dick suggestion when the standard is usually 8 people and 15% and you’re sitting in an empty restaurant that oozes casual. I just hate being told what I should tip. Tipping is a courtesy, not compulsory.
So really, if you’re going to be a pricier restaurant, step everything up and change your signage and style overall. If you’re going to be casual, get some more moderately priced choices, and make your grande portions more grande.
It was tasty. The service was fine. But everything else just didn’t sit right.
It says they’ll be under new ownership soon, so hopefully it’ll turn into a good restaurant.

By far the worst brunch experience I have ever had. In life. Pout.
I don’t want to type forever about some whiney story. Synopsis: pretty much everything that could have went wrong during a dining experience did. And when the food finally went in my mouth, it absolutely sucked. I could have made something beyond superior at home. And brunch is supposed to rule.
I am giving them two stars instead of one, as the manager was very cool about the whole situation and we didn’t have to pay for anything, att least that part of the service was good.

J and I first visited this place in the summer of 2008, after a long day of canoeing. Since then, we have visited this place several more times. This is a place, perfect in the summer. Its patio and relaxed vibe makes it a loungey-​restaurant feel.
This first time, it was a busy Saturday night and we chose a spot with stool seats, that faces Commercial Drive.
Their drinks list is extensive, many with tropical fruits. They also have a lot of imported beers. I ordered a Pink Taco cocktail-​mango or berries, pink grapefruit & guava nectar, blackberry cluster & silver tequila. It arrives, with a cute umbrella on the rim of the glass. Cute.
We decide to start off with the Tres Salsas, which were essentially tortilla chips with 3 different types of salsas. It arrives, and the chips are light and crisp, with a hint of spices dusted onto the warm chip. The salsas are fresh, my favourite being the mango salsa.
For the main course, we order the Julio’s Corn Tacos. We are allowed to pick 2 from the 5 available. I choose the crispy pan-​seared halibut & mango salsa, with the battered prawns, chili de arbol aioli, jicama & grilled pineapple slaw. J chooses the battered prawns, and the second choice being carne asada (grilled steak) & pico de gallo.
The plate is colorful, a large portion, with a healthy serving of greens. The portion is large, enough for 2 light eaters to share. It also comes with rice, which is a nice addition to the tacos.
My halibut taco is nice and juicy, the mango salsa complements the fish, and bits of cabbage adds crispiness to the taco. The battered prawns taco were also good-​two large prawns, not too much batter, and a little spicy.
I tried J’s steak taco, it’s a little dry. He also prefers my halibut taco.
Service is prompt, the waitress checked on us enough so that we got what we wanted, and left us alone the rest of the time.
A nice place to relax in the summer.
We revisited this restaurant in the winter of 2008, and again in the summer of 2009, August, to be precise, during the heat wave.
This time, we started off with a pitcher of white sangria, to cool us down from the sweltering heat. My only complaint is that there was a little too much ice in the pitcher, diluting the sangria. We ordered the Tres Salsas again this time, one of the salsas was a fresh guacamole.
I got the paella, and J got tacos again. My paella wasn’t great, just ok. The mussels weren’t too fresh, and the rice was lacking flavor. The rice a bit overcooked, almost to the consistency of risotto. I would stick to the tacos here.

I’ve seen this place on commerical for awhile. Finally, I made it in on a chilly saturday evening.
I had some hesitation about going here after hearing and reading so many bad reviews. So, when I walked in with my friend, I ordered my entrée based on what the server had told me. It was well worth asking.
I had the Turkey Tostada which is found under their appetizer list. She had suggested that or the tacos which you could choose in 2 styles. I ordered the Turkey Tostada — it was the size of an entrée and was the staff favourite. HOw could I go wrong?
I’m a small person so maybe that’s why I felt so full after eating this dish but I had leftover, too. It is deifnitely entrée size. That being said, I would give this place another try.