El Jardin Tequila Bar & Restaurant

Pros:
Nice Music
Open air/​Outdoor seating
Good Drinks
Cons:
Expensive
Cold Tacos
Poor Service
Not enough heaters for cold evenings
Rude hostess

Atmosphere was great and the food was awesome. Bit pricey but oh well such is life. The waitress was super nice. Overall, it is a great place to hang out on a weekend.

I heart El Jardin.
Love the outdoor vibe right on the row with the lighting, music and fun drink options.
I’ve been here both during the day and at night and love it for both.
They played the best music of anywhere we went on the row this past Friday night. We got there close to when they were closing but they found us a seat anyway and it was enough time for a quick drink. They close fairy early on the weekend (11PM) as do most places on the row.
It’s good for both day drinking (Sunday Funday) after some shopping on the row or at night like we just did this last time.
Go get some air, grab a seat, have a drink outside and heart El Jardin as much as I do!

Here for the patio and music. The food is just a side gig for them.
Not amazing and not cheap, El Jardin seems to be in the right place at the right time, catering to larger groups walking the strand of Santana Row. I’ve enjoied the patio for quiet lunches and loud nights and the vibe is always good. What’s not is the food and service.
I don’t’ expect much for EJ so it’s with that I can give it a 3. This is heavily weighed by the outdoor atmosphere, live music and vibe that the patrons provide. It’s a fun place to play, drink tequila and grab a snack.
Guacamole $ 12 good and reasonably priced for the location
Chips and Salsa $ 3, a clear sign this is a bar and not a restaurant. Bard charge for chips.
Ceviche $ 10 was ok
Jardin Wings $ 8 I liked. Especially for 8 bucks. Pair with a Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog $ 6 and you have a nice base to party the night away.
You will want to come here and I suggest you do. Just be prepared when you walk in for club like service and food. Enjoy!

One of our favorite places to go. Luckily they are walking distance for me as I usually start my order with a pitcher of the «margarita of the month»!
If you are lucky you will have live music performed and a brave few will begin to dance, to the amusement of all of Santana Row.

Pros:
Outside restaurant
Delicious food
Churro was amazing
Waitress was nice
Nice environment for date
Cons:
Expensive
3 flautas were +$ 10
Santana row=30min trying to find parking
It’s at the end of santana row near the cinema, pasta pomodoro, back parking area, consuelo’s. Since this is an outside restaurant, there were those tall gas heaters, but it didn’t last long. The lighting and atmosphere during the night makes it a good place for date night! Can’t remember how the noise level was when I went, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t too bad. My flautas order was 3 pcs and it was +$ 10 when all it ce with was crumbled cheese… this should’ve been an appetizer and NOT a entrée. I could’ve ordered more, but I’m on a budget. The churros we had were I think $ 5, but they were amazing! Loaded with too much cinnamon, but the churros were so good. No special presentation, but the texture was delicious. Would I come back? Yes, but if it was a little cheaper.

It was my first time coming to el jardin and I must say its the
the food is delicious and the drinks to

I need to give a HUGE shout out tonight:
Tonight Charlene the hostess and Jose the manger hooked it up for my group. I threw a surprise party for a friend of mine that is moving to Spain and these two went above and beyond with service! Not only were the completely accommodating to our needs as a group, but completely understood our questions, met them with appropriate answers, didn’t get frustrated when we had group members show up late and made sure were all taken care of. I understood that we were probably a frustrating group, but never once did they show frustration toward us.
The cocktail waitress also shouldn’t go unmentioned. Unfortunately, I never got the name of the two we had. But those girls made sure the entire group for 12+ were taken care of with all the tabs that I’m sure we had open through out the night until we left. You rocked it girls!
And the food! Nachos were ON POINT and the chicken burrito came in clutch!
El Jardin, I don’t think I have ever had such a fantastic experience here… But you all killed it tonight! Thank you so much again! You guys made one of my friends last night here amazing. I truly appreciate everything you did and I am suer my friend does also.
CHEERS!

I have to give this place 1 star, it has gone downhill. The only thing nice about this so called restaurant and Tequila bar is that it is located outside in the open space. As for the food, definitely bad, not restaurant style at all… why be called restaurant? Tequila Bar? Seriously?
The drinks for those who are drinkers and know their alcohol… it’s horrible! Tasteless and just plain BAD! I have given this place many of opportunities by going back and each has been disappointing. I say please change your menu and get an actual bartender who knows how to mix drinks and not your waitress or waiter.
New Ownership might help too!
I say PASS!

Live music in the hip & happening upscale Santana row. Food was good but very pricy. The margarita pitcher was 30 $ serves 3 – 4 small glass servings. The chips & guacamole is good but 12 $ for a small bowl of guacamole ???
I’m husband had the chicken wings & it was good.
Definitely would return of not for the food but for the ambience :)

Outdoor bar and restaurant area at the end of Santana Row with live music which can get loud if you’re trying to catch up with a friend
The food menu is pretty short, not too many options
—carne asada nachos: not bad but really nothing special, wish you could add guacamole to it! Not the most authentic Mexican food around but I wasn’t expecting much either
They have high top tables and lounge style seating on the sides

Dropped in a while back for a surprise party for a friend’s birthday. Lovely shaded get-​away in the middle of the row. I ordered a carnitas torta which was probably the best version I’ve had anywhere! Thinking about it now makes my mouth water. To drink I had a «Michelada» which is known as a Chavela anywhere else in San Jose. (They really should rethink that name). Decent pricing for a nice atmosphere and a meal that exceeded my expectations.
Minus one star because the entire reason they chose this spot for the party was to listen to the mariachi band which we were told would be there, which ended up not to be the case.

4 star for cute outdoor seating and live music! Long lines after 7pm on a Friday night :/
Food: it’s ok but we come here for the live music and outdoor seatings
Guacamole/​chips — add some salt, tastier
Cerviche — tilapia, too sour, don’t order!
Drinks: we ordered pitcher of margarita (pretty strong), and pitcher of sangria (yummy), couple beers, 2 tequila patron shots
Price: quite pricey, our total bill is more than $ 200 (2 Guac, 2 Cerviche, 2 shots, 2 pitcher, couple beers)
Parking: free parking is multiple lots at SR

OK, here’s the thing. The margaritas are good but insanely overpriced for the size. Yes, it is a trendy area and atmosphere but $ 14 for a margarita is too much.
The chili mango margarita and the watermelon margarita are both good. The guacamole is actually really good! But they only give you like 5 chips, so you definitely have to ask for more.
Ehh… I feel like mostly you’re paying for the atmosphere with this place, as it is in the middle of Santana Row.

Okay okay, first couple of experiences here were pretty bad but guess what? In the wise words of my old psychology teacher, «Ain’t nobody perfect!»
I’ve been coming here frequently after work to have a few drinks with coworkers and friends. The ambiance is very calm and uplifting. I absolutely love outdoor bars and this place screams it.
Service can be quite slow but I guess that’s the whole intention of it all… to relax and stay longer. Oh well, cheers to good times! lol

Sure service was slow… BUT that was after the waitress came over twice within 10 minutes to get my order so no worries. Food came on time and even though we had to flag down someone for the check, even that came in due time.
Tacos were small but decent for $ 4. Coulda been tastier.
The nachos coulda been made better… the black beans were all on the bottom but it was good for $ 5.50. I wish they had given us some more of the verde salsa!
Lotsa «couldas» but I didn’t have huge expectations coming in anyways esp after reading the Unilocal reviews. They deserve a 3 and a half star review, thus my 4 star rating.

At the end of the Santana Row strip– situated outside in the center.
Live music on weekends!
Nice ambiance, good place to hang out outside with friends for drinks and small bites.
Good sangria– pitchers are a good deal.
Seating and service is slow.
Food not special.
Double check your bill they often add extra items.

ARE THE STAFF TOO SELF-​ABSORBED TO GIVE DECENT SERVICE?
I should have expected this type of dismissive attitude in the heart of Santana Row. Here’s my unapologetic 2 star review for this place:
No one ever greeted us after we were seated.
This IS a tequila bar, right? (We waited [impatiently] for 15 minutes for someone to take our drink order.)
I would avoid the Ruby Red Margarita. It tastes like a truck tire caught fire and they attempted to put out the flames by throwing it into a pit of BBQ sauce.
Our chips and salsa, which we requested when placing our drink order, did not arrive until we were halfway through our entrees. And speaking of «entrees», get ready to eat miniature tacos for $ 4 each that you can buy in SF’s Mission District for less than a dollar…
We never did learn our server’s name, as he never bothered introducing himself. Further, he made no effort to check on us at any point during our meal.
At the end of our meal, after waiting (impatiently) for another 10 minutes, our server SLAMMED the bill on our table, and walked away without even glancing at us.
This is fucking Santana Row, so I’m pretty sure most of your patrons know what good service looks like, and expect as much from an establishment like this one.
As for me? I’ve had better service at McDonald’s.

I would rate this spot higher if I could, and here is my reasoning:
Pros:
— I love the ambiance, this is an outdoor courtyard style setting.
— Seating is on either low sofas or high table, comfortable and enjoyable. Heat lamps, should it get cold.
— Latin Band — really enhances the ambiance, and just gives it festive appeal.
— They have skinny margaritas.
Cons:
— If it’s a weekend or evening, seating can take time. Upto an hour, and sometimes they stop seating if they’ve reached capacity.
— Bathroom — you have to go outside the restaurant to their sister restaurant Consuelo to use the bathroom.
— They don’t take reservations, which I think would help streamline their seating process.
— The food is okay.
Overall, I do love this place to sit around and have drinks at, however the dining process here can be a bit of a headache at times.

This place is so cute! Really great atmosphere with live music and a lively crowd! The crowd isn’t too lovely in that is gets crazy but it’s just fun and light.
My boyfriend and I had margaritas and mojitos, both amazing! We also had the chips and sals which were only $ 3! Everything else was kinda expensive.
The drink price was a little steep but they were good so that’s ok!
The service… We went on a Saturday and it was super busy. Our waitress came and checked on us only once in over an hour. We would have ordered more but she had to wait half the restaurant. She needs more help. The wait staff were all great, just understaffed!
We will be back.