Amigo Joe’s

So I was here from out of town and wanted some good mexican, so as usual I read up on Unilocal.This place was close and highly rated. Not sure why. I got some food to go. The hotel was 5 minutes away… Perfect. I got some chicken enchiladas and they were garbage. The chicken was dried out and hard. The chicken tamale was just as bad. The nachos weren’t any better they were a mess and had no flavor. I try to give the benefit of the doubt but not one of the 4 items ordered were good. Would not suggest this place to anyone. Although I might be in the minority as it was packed at 7 on a Thursday. Just not for me

Amigo Joes is spot on! Their fried chicken is the best! The chicken is seasoned to the bone and very crispy! Their sides aren’t that tasty but the chicken makes up for the sides!

First time here for me place is cool looking and has plenty of seats. Was on the mood for nachos so I got the Texas nachos. Was good had shrimp, steak and chicken. Was a little skimpy on the steak. The salsa could use some more seasoning but good. I will come back have to try some of the real Mexican fair here.

Best Mexican food in St Louis! There’s nothing pretentious or stuffy about Amigo Joes, it’s just a laid back restaurant with great food.
I go here all the time for their fajitas. The shrimp they use is clearly cooked to order, as it’s still plump when you get it. Their chips and salsa are addictive so beware.
Also, it’s pretty random, but they have delicious fried chicken! It’s crispy and juicy, with great seasonings in the batter. Check this place out, you won’t regret it!

I loved you, Amigo Joe’s. I defended you to all my friends who were like «No way, that place is GROSS.» and «Where are they getting all this lobster meat from? This is Missouri.» But I was like «Come on, you guys. Just give Amigo Joe’s another chance. It’s really good for the money.»
And then they were all «Did you see the latest Health Department report? Because Amigo Joe’s is on it.» But I turned a blind eye to that, because what’s a sanitation issue or two when it comes to $ 8.99 lobster enchiladas? And because food poisoning is something that happens to OTHER people. WEAKER people.
Until 3 am today. That’s when my humble bathroom became a crime scene. Amigo Joe’s, if people got paid for barfing, you’d have made me a millionaire. For three miserable hours, those enchiladas beat up on me like I was some kind of puke piñata. My dog couldn’t even look me in the eye this morning. Do you know what that’s like?
One star for food poisoning/​no sleep/​this new strained relationship with my dog

I love the food at amigo Joe’s and the margaritas, but the service today sucked. That’s not to say you can’t get good service here. There’s a lady from San Diego and she is awesome :). However today my boyfriend and I stopped by to get a quick bite to eat. The whole process took us over an hour not because the cooks are slow, they’re actually quite fast, but because our waiter wasn’t stopping by our table. They were a little bit busy but not overly busy and they had plenty of staff. Our waiter, who I don’t remember the name of, but he was wearing a purple shirt, would not stay at our table for more than a few seconds if he managed to grace us with his presence. I really like this place but he pissed me off. We ordered an appetizer as soon as we sat down and he dropped the food off and walked away and didn’t come back until long after we finished our appetizer to take our food order. Our food finally came out and he brought my boyfriends but he forgot my sour cream and guacamole. When I asked him for it he charged me extra even though my burrito was supposed to come with it. We sat at our table for quite awhile after we were done eating before he finally came back… or walked by saying do you want a box to my boyfriend. I wasn’t fast enough for him to mention I needed a box too so he only brought one box for my boyfriend. I was just so frustrated at this point I just wanted the check and to leave. The crappiest part was that I never got a chance to order a margarita because he never gave me a chance. I tipped him more than I probably should have, but that tip should go to the cooks and not him.
If you go here and you happen to be seated in his section I would ask to be moved. I know IF I go there again I will turn right around if I see he is working.
Get it together dude. You’re bringing the restraunt down with your crappy service. I understand you may have been busy but you can stop for 10 seconds to talk to your customers instead of talking to them as you walk by. It’s rude.

The habanero fried chicken here is amazing and exceptional. I will return to this restaurant over and over for their chicken. It’s really the only thing I order. The other menu items that I’ve sampled off of my wife’s plate were kind of blah. I usually judge a Mexican restaurant by their rice and refried beans; the rice and refried beans here are pretty unspectacular. That being said, if you come for the chicken, it totally lives up to the hype. Order the chicken.

As a party of one, they put me at a two top (understandably) that was tucked around a corner and as the only table/​guest in that vicinity, I was promptly forgotten about.
To the credit of the staff, when I FINALLY got the attention of a number of employees passing by, they immediately took care of me and seemed truly apologetic for the oversight. The gentleman whose attention I initially grabbed even stopped back by later to make sure I was doing alright.
The food, though? Subpar at best. Presentation certainly wasn’t a factor as it looked slapped on my plate and almost like it came out of a frozen dinner. Also, the red sauce in my chicken enchilada tasted strongly of sugar and, while I admit my ignorance that it may in fact be a key ingredient, it was overwhelmingly sweet and almost reminded me of something out of a can. Granted, the chips and salsa were very good but that’s hardly a dinner.
I won’t be back.

All the post about the fried chicken is spot on. I got 1 breast, 2 wings and 1 leg for less than $ 10. And the spice is good. That’s the good, but the bad out weighs it. The mashed potatoes were cold almost like ice cream cold. The salsa is runny seems to be an after thought. The server is no where to be found. I went 10 minutes without a refill on my drink. That was rough when the spice kicked in on the chicken.
The manger took care of the meal for me and apologized about the ice cold mashed potatoes. And about the server not being around, he is pulling triple duty. She asked me to come back and I will. Stay tuned for round 2.

I realistically don’t know anything about this place except for the fried chicken. You can probably just read Jon T.‘s review for a better description as I think he has been multiple times. I will start by saying that I am not «fried chicken powered» like some people in my family. I feel like they crave it, go out of their way to get it, etc, whereas I’m not likely to order it if presented with other items on the menu. It’s not that I don’t like it, but it’s usually not my go to.
But then I will say that this is the best I’ve ever had, hands down. The meat is salty, the habanero option has great seasoning and heat, and they are doing a brisk business in chicken, so your order is going to come out so hot it’s almost glowing — fresh and juicy, even the white meat. Everything you want in fried chicken is here. Ignore how silly it feels to go to a Mexican restaurant for fried chicken and just do it. If you love or even just like fried chicken, this is absolutely worth a drive from practically anywhere in the St. Louis area.
Obviously, the place has become known for the chicken. So there might be a line on the weekend, and then you might wait for you food. Just settle in, it’ll be worth it.

My girlfriend and I come here quite often, and this is the first time the service and food was not good. The server left our dirty dishes on our table the entire time we were here. Our jalapeño poppers were actually cold and not cooked. The bean dip was ½ the size it usually is. And also our server «Kevin» payed more attention to what I assume were friends, than his other tables. Definitely not the best meal we have had here.

I’d had my heart set on spicy fried chicken from another place that unfortunately is not open for dinner, but a friend suggested Amigo Joe’s. Easy to find and lots of parking. It was some of the best (if not #1) fried chicken I’ve ever had. Perfect level of spicy and not oily. Half a bird plus 2 sides for under $ 10! I didn’t even touch the sides because the chicken was that good. Our server was very friendly, drinks were good, and I personally liked the décor. Cannot wait to go back! I hear their Happy Hour specials are top notch too. Do not pass up trying the chicken!

Mexican on the hill. Complimentary chips & salsa were fresh. Service was friendly & fast! I had the pick 3, 2 enchiladas, 1 quesadilla. Most entrées under $ 10. Take credit cards. Will dine here again.

A funny thing about Amigo Joe’s, it’s a Mexican restaurant but they have the BEST fried chicken I have ever had. It is far superior to Hodak’s and any other chicken joint in St Louis. For $ 8.99 you get a half fried regular or Habenero with 2 sides and a slice of bread. It is juicy and tender with a delicious crispy skin. I was blown away when my boss brought it to us at work. I know you want to try something Mexican at a mexican restaurant but trust me, try this just once so you will know, when you do have the craving for fried chicken, this is the only place to go.

In preparation for Bro J and T coming to visit in May, we made a scouting trip to Amigo Joe’s to re-​visit the fried chicken. Ms T and Ms D really enjoyed it about six months ago and we wanted to see if it is consistent. Wow, it is.
I will probably never go to Amigo Joe’s for Mexican food, although the pork carne verde I had on our first visit was pretty good. I just would not drive all the way in from Chesterworld for that when I can get the best guisado de puerco anywhere at Mi Lupita. However, I will drive in to Amigo Joe’s for the fried chicken if it stays like the first two times.
My rating is for the chicken, the whole chicken and nothing but the chicken. Five stars. (reduced to four see update at end) It is brined, so salted through. It is well seasoned with pepper and the habanero version can be fairly spicy. It is cooked to order, so comes out piping hot, fresh, crispy and juicy throughout. They know how to split the breast so it fries in the same time as the thigh/​leg and does not dry out. There is pretty much nothing to fault. If I am allowed to pick, as a very personal preference, I would like less coating, but Ms T likes this. It is not a big issue. The sides are not profound, but why worry about it. I get mashed potatoes and gravy (this time the gravy was more plentiful and the potatoes were hot) and the green beans are not bad, just canned ones, but with a lot of black pepper. The kicker is, this is half a chicken for $ 9. We each ate about half of our meal and when we were finishing eating and asked for a box, the remaining chicken was still hot.
This is an ordinary Mexican restaurant that has fried chicken nailed. You just would not expect it. I would not have known to try it were it not for reading some other Unilocal reviews. We will probably try fried chicken at some other places. We might find some we like as well, but I seriously doubt we can find any better. I can say categorically that it puts Porter’s, King Edward’s and Hodak’s to shame and their’s is OK. Forget Sweetie Pie’s, what I had there did not have any spices or salt at all. Ms T does not want to look farther. But it is still fun to look when you have a go-​to place you can count on.
Five stars for the chicken only in a 2 star Mex place. Oh and that’s five star chicken and AAdvantage dining miles.
5÷24÷2015 — Follow Up — We did return with Bro J and T as well as Andrew T. We were not disappointed. Four orders of chicken and one of the chile verde did not go to waste. The chicken was again perfect, hot, fresh and juicy.
11/​25/​2015 — Fifth visit and a little regression from the previous experiences. I knocked off a star. The chicken was not quite brined as well and consequently the white breast meat was not as flavorful or moist. Never-​the-​less this remains very good chicken and this may have been an off night. I must say the side orders are pretty much a throwaway. The mashed potatoes are a bad instant version. Green beans and corn are fine and did not seem like institutional canned stuff. If you try Joe’s chicken, don’t expect great country sides.

This is crazy but Amigo Joe’s makes some of the best fried chicken in the STL area! Honestly if I based my rating just on the chicken I would give it five stars. The only reason I’m not is their actual (American) Mexican food is only worth 3 ½ stars and that is pushing it. The salsa is like ketchup.

I visited Amigo Joe’s after not being there for about a year. My favorite thing about the restaurant previously was the cheap prices. Well, the prices have gone up a bit and the amount of food they give you in some dishes has gone down, which is a total bummer.
The amount of items they have on the menu has literally doubled, which is pretty cool. However, I like to stick with what I know.
I usually get a shrimp quesadilla, it used to be packed with shrimp — like 6 pieces — and this time it literally came with 3 pieces. HALF of what it used to be, but still the same price. Wasn’t too happy about that.
Queso dip is now $ 3. While that doesn’t seem like a high price, when you’re used to getting a burrito there for about $ 5, it is.
Servers are still nice — had a great experience both times I visited this week, I was just a bit disappointed in some of the changes. It’s still a great place to visit.

Delicious and affordable. My daughter doesn’t like spicy food so she ordered the fried chicken. Wow was it good! I think it was the best restaurant fried chicken that I’ve ever had! I’m coming back for the spicy (habanero) version of the fried chicken soon.
I had the Alambre. I’d never heard of this dish before. It was like a chunky queso dip or cheesy hash. In addition to the cheese sauce, ingredients included grilled beef, bacon, catfish, jalapeños, and onions. I ate it with flour tortillas and tried it on chips. It was also very tasty.
Service was friendly, prompt, and knowledgeable.

This is really more a review about the Amigo Joe’s fried chicken, and more specifically, the habanero fried chicken.
Unless you know to look for it, it’s easy to miss this. They don’t give it much fanfare, and the first time in, I didn’t even see it on the menu – friends of mine had gone, swore that it was life-​altering in a good way, so I just blindly agreed. I think this makes it all the more appealing, the unheralded nature of it and the 8.5×11 sheet of paper with a crudely rendered clipart chicken announcing it in the corner of the bar.
I’m not sure what, exactly, makes this so special. That it’s pressure-​cooked isn’t anything new, that seems surprisingly common. When it comes to you, it arrives quietly and unassuming, and it looks… well, it looks better than KFC, it’s not nearly as contrived, but there’s nothing to suggest the magic which is to come. Steam pours off of it with controlled fury, and when you cut into it, a delightful aroma wafts over you. It’s got heat. While a habanero isn’t the hottest of peppers, it’s hotter than what I’m usually okay with, but mixed into this batter it’s not about the heat as much as it is about the flavor. It’s subtle yet powerful, memorable.
The meat is juicy, imbued with just enough flavor and just enough salt. There’s a depth of flavor here in a dish that’s usually about little more than immediate gratification. And it stays piping hot for a long, long time. We’ve gotten to the point that we try to drag the experience out for as long as possible so that we’re not rifling through it, and even towards the final pieces, the temperature remains intense.
It’s at least a 20-​minute wait for the chicken to come to you, which only enhances the savory anticipation. It improves the experience. That it’s $ 9 is somewhere between amazing and unbelievable, but it’s true, and it’s mind-​boggling in a city that due to a serious lack of credible food journalism has new restaurants believing every last press-​clipping and indulging in bizarrely high prices consequently. That alone makes Amigo Joe’s a breath of fresh air: it’s not courting the b.j. press coverage, it’s just about serving killer fried chicken, and at a reasonable price.
The sides are simple but appropriate, and the combination of their cheap top-​shelf (seriously! It’s good tequila) margaritas is wonderful. Best fried chicken I’ve had, and I’ve had some great fried chicken in the south and beyond, and a dynamite experience overall.

Another fantastic meal at Amigo Joes!
My bf had never had their habanero fried chicken and now he may never have fried chicken any other way. Juicy chicken with well-​spiced, crispy breading. I had a couple bites and wanted more but I can’t take the heat.
I had a lobster quesadilla made with real lobster, yum! They also offer lobster enchiladas which I’ve heard are tasty too. Washed all of that down with a pitcher of potent margaritas. We also enjoyed their chips and salsa, which was not spicy so I was able to have a lot.
Split a Xango for dessert. Four delectable little cheesecake chimichangas with honey and chocolate syrup drizzled over them served with ice cream, whip cream and sprinkles :9