BEST RESTAURANT AWARD
"Wright Gourmet" Restaurant Review
Jose's Mexican Food
By: Ed Wright, The Wright Gourmet

Jose's Mexican Food
(909) 797-9705
33561 Yucaipa Blvd.
Yucaipa, Ca.

The Wright Gourmet is proud to award Restaurant Reviews Magazine's first “Outstanding Service Award” to “Jose’s Mexican Restaurant” of Yucaipa, Ca. For the record, we have been dining at this location of “Jose’s” for over 15 years now and are consistently  impressed with their levels of general friendliness and service extended to everyone… not just Ed Wright and his friends or “The Wright Gourmet.” It is important to note that most of Jose’s staff are completely unaware that we write restaurant reviews, (we do not receive special treatment) so this has not colored our objectiveness. 

Why a special award for Outstanding Service? On the particular night we decided that an “Outstanding Service Award” was required as a separate award for the Restaurant Reviews Magazine my wife and I had decided to dine at Jose’s on what proved to be a very busy night. As discussed below their service was exceptional, but the restaurant itself competes in the area of Mexican style food, and by itself is an area it does well in... but is not going to win any "Best Of" awards. This describes many restaurants we all enjoy; dining spots that are popular because they simply excel across the board and set themselves apart in the areas of value, service and hospitality in general... Such a Restaurant is Jose's Mexican Food, Yucaipa.

So what was so great about Jose’s Mexican Food's Service? When we arrived mid-evening Jose’s had a line of customers waiting to be seated… and every table was already filled (On a Thursday night!) We waited about 10 minutes, and were seated at a table just out of the main pathway in the bar area.

It was very evident that the restaurant was running slightly under-staffed for such a busy night, and we confirmed with our waitress that indeed a few had called in sick, plus Jose’s was training several new waitresses. Not an easy night for the staff, and many restaurants would have used this as an excuse for poor service; but this did not affect our service, nor was it used as an excuse for slower service. When seated we requested 2 water(s) and a house margarita "on the rocks." While we waited for the drinks, chips and salsa was promptly left at the table, and several minutes later my margarita was served along with our water.

Please note that every seat in the restaurant was full, and the bar was jam packed… but my margarita was served quickly and just about perfect. Minutes later our waitress came back and took our "usual" order… Jose's Steak Fajitas without any tomato, and with extra “Achiote Sauce,” which makes this dish more flavorful. (NOTE: unlike most versions of this sauce, my guess is that Jose’s “Achiote Sauce” includes a bit of orange juice concentrate in it… which really adds to the taste).

We feel really outstanding service is in the details… and trust me, very few waitresses regardless of menu pricing get your order correct on the first try, and require second requests for anything out of the "standard" serving presentation, but Jose’s Mexican Food did;the first time! 

The Fajitas we ordered were served exactly as ordered, the side of Achiote Sauce was included, as were two plates (we were sharing), plus my wife’s tea had been refilled as was my water without asking for either. There were no long delays or waiting for our order to arrive, and you can believe there was no time for any waitress to be overly attentive, because they were too busy waiting on other tables which included signing “Happy Birthday” as a group to the table across from our booth. Simply put the service was ample.

We enjoyed our dinner and watched as the tables turned over and filled with new customers. Jose's team worked well together despite being understaffed, and assured that everyone was well served. When we finished our dinner we ordered Jose’s “Deep Fried” ice-cream with a little extra strawberry and chocolate sauce; which is exactly what we received with two spoons! Needles to say we were impressed, and decided the extraordinary quality of service and attention to details deserved compensation accordingly, so our 28 dollar bill received a additional well earned 20 dollar tip. Interestingly, Jose’s waitress humbly commented that the amount of the tip was excessive and un-needed, but we assured her it had been well earned in our mind, and her service exemplary… we complimented the manager the next day via telephone because he was so busy serving tables when we left that night.

What we want to point out here as a restaurant reviewer is that Jose’s Mexican Food offers a budget friendly menu, and is not “Up-Scale” in the least. Jose's also competes with countless other similar Mexican Food Style Restaurants, all with like menus, pricing and food… but unlike most, they are jamb packed on Thursday nights because they absolutely go the extra mile in providing friendly, responsive service, and as such deserve our “Outstanding Service Award.”

About the photos included: Please note that Jose’s Mexican Restaurant provides a fantastic “Sunday Buffet” with the option of Champaign which is about as good as you will find anywhere for the price. Considering “The Wright Gourmet” is on a bit of a diet, we typically avoid the buffets (except for reviews) but have dined at this one several times and rate it highly. (It is the best Sunday Brunch in the Yucaipa area).

So How Does Jose’s Rate? With a little explanation here about the fact Jose’s serves an Americanized interpretation of Mexican Food; good (not too spicy), with pricing that falls into the budget to median range. Jose’s menu is complete, but in our opinion a bit too traditional and lacks any real creativity, but is consistent in quality and generous in serving sizes. As such we rate Jose’s a solid 95 out of 100 possible on their standard menu; and rate a 100 for Jose's Sunday Brunch. 

Our only real complaint is based on personal likes… we can not stand the paint décor, which we find morbidly dark and at best a strange combination of colors that does nothing to add ambiance or anything else (in this area they were perhaps a little "too creative"); but this very minor point aside, Jose’s has a whole lot of positives to keep customers coming back again, and again, and leaving satisfied.

Jose’s Yucaipa location makes the perfect spot for a business lunch, dinner with friends or to host your next family birthday party. They feature lots of weekday and family friendly dinner & lunch specials plus stock a fairly full bar. The Jose’s “Cadillac Margarita” is outstanding, and looks fantastic blended… but we drink our Margaritas on the rocks, (“Shaken; Not Stirred”).

The Wright Gourmet Highly Recommends Jose’s Mexican Food and wishes to commend the management for providing outstanding service, maintaining cleanliness and assuring value in an exceptionally competitive market. We understand that consistent levels of quality and service reflect directly on the quality of the management team at all levels, without which all restaurants fall to levels of minimally acceptable mediocrity. (Yucaipa has plenty of those). 

This article was posted by: Ed Wright and Central City Mortgage’s “Wright Team,” specializing in Residential and Commercial Mortgage Lending… Purchase and Refinance. Serving all of California from offices in the Inland Empire. For all your mortgage lending questions please call Ed Wright “Your Personal Mortgage Consultant For Life” at (909) 938-3777 or E-Mail “The Wright Team:” Ed@ForHomeLoan.info

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