I’ve never heard of a Mexican restaurant that doesn’t give you a meat option in your taco(«only ground beef»). That wouldn’t be so bad if the meat was actually beef. It’s definitely a mixture of meat and some filler, very similar to Taco Bell, but worse. Enchiladas and chile rellenos are supposed to have real cheese inside, not some white version of Velveeta. So nasty. For a Mexican restaurant owned by Mexicans, they don’t know anything about Mexican food… or are perhaps too cheap to buy real ingredients like meat and cheese. I gave it two stars because the rice is OK, and the beans just so so. Still looking for a real Mexican restaurant in the northern Twin Cities…
Emily L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Wyoming, MN
Love this place. The service is always fast and friendly. The food is terrific. I highly recommend.
Joy E.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Wyoming, MN
Food is fantastic and it comes out so quick. I have never waited more than couple of minutes for my chimichanga. Love it.
Alissa M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New Brighton, MN
Can’t go wrong with Don Julio’s. Great tasting Mexican food and big margaritas. Staff is extremely helpful and friendly and I’ve always had more food then I can eat. Amazing cheese sauce– their fajitas are always a hit too.
Mernie B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Lindstrom, MN
You can get your food about as fast as a fast food place, but it tastes a whole lot better than fast food. The rice and beans are always my favorite part of the meal.
Anica O.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Forest Lake, MN
LOVETHISPLACE!!! Awesome for family lunch/dinner or just an evening out. Great complimentary chips and salsa — get the cheese dip for an extra treat. Great jumbo margaritas and the servers are wonderful! ! ! !
Eric J.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Saint Paul, MN
Great environment to hangout, eat free chips, and get your food quick. The cheese sauce is amazing! The food is hit or miss with flavoring.
Lindsay N.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Forest Lake, MN
Delicious food every time! The wait staff are courteous and quick, and the food is always fresh and very reasonably priced! If you’re looking for authentic Mexican food, this is a great option.
The L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Forest Lake, MN
Love this place. Friendly workers, although some of them can’t speak more than 3 words of English. My favorite items are the Don Julio burritos, shrimp chimichangas and the Texas fajitas. The Texas fajitas are forking awesome! Chicken, steak and large shrimp along with onions and peppers. Also comes with refried beans, mexi rice, salad and guacamole. Be hungry. Be very hungry as they always start you out with free fresh tortillas and great salsa.
Julia E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Waterloo, IA
Consistent food. Authentic Mexican food, speedy service, good margaritas. Very affordable sit down option. Great free chips & salsa. Fun décor, standard Mexican restaurant– hard to go wrong.
Christie O.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Forest Lake, MN
Every time I go here, I feel like I am on my vacation in Mexico all over again. The environment is very authentic, and so is the food! And the prices are a steal, so don’t wait any longer! Get there quick to find a seat, because this place is my favorite place to eat.(See how that rhymed? hehe)
Jennifer M.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Sturtevant, WI
It was ho-hum at best. The atmosphere is good and the music was the usual but the good was bland and really could have used some more cook time on the veggies. I ordered the Texas fajitas after the great reviews that were posted but the veggies were undercooked and the meat was over cooked. The shrimp in the fajitas was rubber, the beans were like those out of a can and the rice lacked depth. If you want Mexican I would recommend something else. The upside? The prices were really reasonable.
Doug H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Forest Lake, MN
I think of Don Julio’s as an all around good place to eat. The food is good. I’ve had several different items and a few have been a bit bland and others very tasty. The food is a good value for the price. They have a large selection of drinks along with a big food menu. The service is very efficient. The servers are friendly and helpful.
John L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Winter Garden, FL
First visit. Excellent food and servers. Extremely happy with our lunch experience. The tortilla soup is very good, and filling.
Aaron S.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Saint Paul, MN
Came here not expecting too much — it’s a large-ish suburban Mexican restaurant in MN, after all — and I was neither disappointed or thrilled with the experience. Okay, maybe a bit disappointed, since I always hope I’ll be pleasantly surprised. The fajitas were subpar on flavor, being on the bland side. And I’m not just talking about spiciness(I understand that the Minnesota Spicy scale counts even black pepper as «spicy»). I’m talking about plain old flava. Needed more. The fresh chips and salsa were alright, although the salsa had a subtle flavor to it that I never could quite place(and I would rather that it hadn’t been present). I tried the missus’ burritos and they were better than my fajitas, so perhaps I just ordered wrong. I’d try it again if I were in the neighborhood, but it’s not a place I’d go out of my way for again!
Cyn g.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Englewood, CO
Pretty good service and the food wasn’t bad all around. We stopped in for dinner while on the road travelling(it’s located right off I-35 in a strip mall). Got seated right away on a Saturday night and the food arrived pretty quickly. The servers carry out heaps of hot plates all on one arm while wearing an arm pot holder– that was pretty cool. The fajitas were good– can’t go wrong with that. My friend had the Hawaiian quesadillas and said they were pretty good too. Throw some pineapple in anything and it’s «Hawaiian» LOL. The chips were really bleh and the ketchup(umm. technically, salsa) that came with it was gross. If a Mexican restaurant is going to do a good job, they’ve got to hit the mark with good salsa. That one significant improvement would go a long way for Don Julio’s. Still, not a bad option for a restaurant in the area.
Wanda M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Minneapolis, MN
Super delish lunch menu. Super good prices. Super good takeout. Work is always a bit more enjoyable when we know DJ’s is in the forecast. I always request no onions and as a result my food arrives with no onions. I have had the chicken pronto everytime and I just love love love it. The couple of times we have ordered take away from DJ’s, the designated picker uppers’ cars have broken down… what up with that?
Michael F.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Minneapolis, MN
After last night’s visit, I feel compelled to bring the high ratings down a notch. Between us we had the chorizo queso dip, carnitas, tamales, chile rellenos, enchiladas, and chalupas. The chorizo queso dip is extremely greasy — there was an oil slick radiating out from the chorizo, floating on the cheese. Good flavors but the resulting texture was a bit wonky. The tamale, enchilada, and rellenos were nicely prepared but coated in the same relatively tasteless, thin, orange sauce. The corn tortilla used for the chalupa was soggy. Carnitas, however, received rave reviews and my small sample was delicious. Considering the price it was alright, and the service was prompt and friendly. I can see it as reasonable choice if you are in the area, but tastier, more authentic Mexican can be found in the big, scary cities to the south.
Tyana C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Saint Paul, MN
I have been going to this restaurant with family and friends for years, including their North Branch location. This Mexican restaurant is a bundle of everything good. The food is reasonably prices and the portions are extremely large. It comes out fresh and so does the chips and salsa. On that note I must talk about the salsa. The salsa is absolutely the best salsa I’ve ever had! It’s not necessarily hot or spicy but its flavorful and I find it absolutely amazing! The workers are great too! They provide excellent service and most of them would remember what I order. They handle large groups well and have plenty of space for them.
Amy R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Saint Paul, MN
Stumbled accross this little find. Really glad that I did. Don’t let the fact that it’s in a strip mall deter you. It’s worth a visit. Really good food. I love their steak tampiqueno. It’s really flavorful and smells like heaven. The only downfall is that it comes out sizzling and tends to splatter. I leave smelling like grease. Generous amounts of chips and salsa. Very reasonably priced, excellent service and quaint atmosphere.