El Jinete Mexican Restaurant

If you've never had Mexican and just made a restaurant based on pictures and recipes you saw online, this would be that place. The service was great, but the environment and food was definitely not even remotely close to good Mexican food or culture. There wasn't even something like tapatío on the tables or anywhere to be found. However, the portion size was exceptional, so good on that front.

Good tasting food. We both had Chiles Rellenos Stuffed Peppers and liked the fresh taste of the peppers. Good service, but could have been noticed and check on by staff more often; we had to make noise to get timely help. Reasonable prices. pico de gallo on the side was OK but not perfect. Overall a 4 out of 5 star rating at a 3 star price

Really good spot for some Mexican food. They have really good lunch specials and the place feels authentic. They have a full bar and every meal comes with chips and salsa Server was fantastic and would have given a higher than 5/5 if able.

Gretchen the Great is the main reason I give the El Jinete restaurant in Anacortes, Washington, five stars. She runs the bar, a cozy, hometown kind of place in the back of the restaurant. Gretchen is fun, very friendly and makes the greatest margarita in the history of the world. My favorite is the margarita gold, and it's citrus heaven. The food is always very good, and they are fine with special requests: no tomatoes, please, and no salt on my margarita. No problem. On Fridays, we often think about where to go to dinner and almost always end up at El Jinete. It's mainly because of Gretchen the Great!

The Chicken Chimichanga and Sirloin Steak Fajitas were superb!! Husband was pleased they had a dark Porter on tap. Waiter was wonderful. We will be back soon!

Server forgot our drinks, I had to remind another server that we didn't get them. Food was okay, not great but not horrible.Food: 3/5

My friend and I walked in at the same time as other customers. The other people were seated immediately. The hostess then disappeared. We waited for some time. I finally sought her out. She was standing in the back near the soda machine along with the other front of house staff chatting. I asked if we could also be seated. It still took some time for that to happen. There was plenty of staff despite it being an event day in town. The restaurant was far from full. Once seated the woman did not know what the special drink on the entry board was. She could not tell us if there was a specific lunch menu. We ordered our beverage and did not receive it for more than 15 minutes despite seeing at least three employees in the dining area. I work in food service myself. Lack of staffing did not cause the poor service we received. The owners response to my friend's review is rude and lacks care for customers. It shows exactly why we received poor service. If the owner doesn't have customer service as a priority I suppose employees shouldn't be expected to practice that. The food was just ok. The lack of proper service was the real issue. You have an opportunity to address these issues with staff and have chosen to blame it on an event and a lack of staff that wasn't a factor during our visit.

A family owned establishment that has withstood the test of time. Excellent food, very reasonable prices. Plus the offer great coupons! Try the macho burrito!

Great food & service. Free chips & salsa. One misunderstanding on the order led to a pretty big tab though, which was not corrected. But we had lots of leftovers.

Not to sure about my dinner yet but I looked them up on my phone & of course one would think the menu was there menu & you would order off it which I did but when I picked up my dinner the price was more.I said you need to update your menu he said it's not our menu..I showed him on my phone he said someone took a picture of it..okay but he was rude & made me look like I was crazy on top didn't even say sorry. So I'm supposed to read his mind & just not say anything..thanks for making my night buddy!