El Jefe Taco Bar in Freeport

Outdoor seating is cool, service was great, the pork carnitas may be the best tacos I’ve ever eaten.

I had a fabulous time at this restaurant. The food was amazing. I recommend the fish tacos ! I also had an incredible service with a waitress names Clementine! Also have great jalapeño margaritas . Would come back

Very friendly staff and great tacos and margaritas. Highly recommend!

It is not your typical "Mexican" restaurant. It is more Americanized, so if you are looking for some real-deal Mexican, I probably wouldnt say this is your best choice. That being said, the food is great, the staff is great, their drinks are great, and the atmosphere is super laid back. My most frequented restaurant in Freeport.

Great food, great service, thanks for paying attention to details regarding not wanting any dairy.

Got take out due to Covid19. Happy you can get their delicious margaritas to go. Food and service are always great. We will be back.

Excellent food, great beer selection and bar.

Always a wonderful experience at El Jefe! Great Staff great owner!! Amazing cookies!!

Be prepared for a leisurely meal.Our group of 3 arrived at 5:30pm on a Saturday night. There were a few open tables and we were seated immediately. It took between 5-10 minutes for our server to notice us, though.We ordered drinks, after which our server asked if we would like to place our food order. We requested an appetizer of chips and salsa to have with our drinks; the app was delivered fairly quickly after which he asked if we wanted to place our food order. We hadnt received our drinks yet so we decided to wait and very clearly told him so, but he asked again within a minute or two, leaving us feeling a bit rushed.The chips were crisp and fresh; we requested both the fresh salsa and the "sweet heat" with them. I would have expected the fresh salsa to at least be savory, but it was sweetened with fruit or sugar, had very little character, and was not at all what I expected. The "sweet heat" salsa was even sweeter, with very little heat ... more like a barbecue sauce. Frankly, Ive had better salsa from our local supermarket.While nibbling at the chips, we noticed our drinks waiting for delivery at the bar. They sat there for a good 10 minutes, occasionally being pushed around a bit by the host or one of the servers. When our server finally delivered them, the explanation for the delay was that someone had inadvertently taken one of the drinks and it needed to be remade. They were in my sight pretty much all of the time, so the explanation didnt make much sense.We ordered our entrees when the drinks were served. 40 minutes later, drinks consumed, chips exhausted, our entrees finally arrived.We all had burritos. They were reasonably flavorful, but served with the "sweet heat" salsa that was too sweet and not very spicy. They were all heavy on rice; I would have preferred a more balanced mixture of ingredients, even at the expense of the burritos size. The queso was bland, but the small dollop of guacamole had some character. I would have enjoyed more.Cocktails, chips/salsa and 3 burritos came to over $80. Not exactly inexpensive, but Ive paid more for less.

The food was good, limited menu. Decent beer menu

Try the sweet potato fries. They are life changing.Great local joint by a great small business owner - Vinny is amazing!

Decor is nice.. kind of shabby cantina feel.. the owners own the restaurant next door that closed down recently. Portions are small. The bourbon that I had was a pretty weak pour..bartender had very little knowledge about whiskey in general. three sips and the drink was finished. The hard alcohol choice was pretty weak. I ordered a second double IPA of the same name that came very cloudy (first one was clear). I asked the waiter about this and he said it was normal...one of the pictures here in my review is of that double IPA... Thats an hour after that glass was put on the table...not normal if came clear 20 minutes previously..either way I got two different beers or the keg and changed or it was the bottom of the keg something like that.. I spent $240 there and you dont even want to give me another beer?..not coming back..no sir

Awesome food, amazing drink selection, super fun outdoor area!

I love this place and go here often! The staff always greets you happily and more than willing to find you a spot in their busy little restaurant. I would recommend the mahi mahi taco and a side of sweet heat salsa!:)

Great food very family friendly and a place to relax and eat

Loved this place last time we came. Sadly last Saturday night around 745pm was not as good. They were out of chicken, burritos, rice and beans, guacamole and chips appetizer when we arrived (that should have warned us). Our chips and queso and margaritas came out quick but then we waited over an hour and another margarita for a total of four tacos sitting in a puddle of (sauce? When my wife went to use the bathroom the toilet had overflowed and had gotten her feet soaked with bathroom water. To be fair they cleaned it up quickly after I mentioned it.Honestly kind of a buzzkill for a $70 date night. Though they have a great variety of beer and last time the burritos sweet heat was unique and tasty I am not sure If I can convince my wife to come out again...

Great food, great drinks.... the atmosphere was nice. The service was wonderful. Good selection of local beers. I will definitely go back. And strongly recommend it!!

Excellent modern Mexican tapas, delicious mixed drinks, and a great local beer selection. This is NOT an old traditional Mexican food place, dont expect enchiladas with refried beans. But DO expect great food, drinks, and service cause thats what youll get here.

Great margaritas and tacos.Sweet bartender.Alittle pricey.

Incredible food and drink selections. The burritos are the best around and definitely warrant a try. If you get a chance the street corn is excellent as well

Such a nice place to have dinner with my family and dog. Nice outdoor seating with full menu. Great tacos and my daughter had the amazing ramen. Owner was present and very friendly.

Great little place. Excellent beer selection, 30 beers on tap. Lots of region so ipas with a nice mixture of other beers for anyones taste. Beer menu rotates regularly with some consistent favorites.I have never had any bad food here. I usually get the butternut squash tacos. Squash, pumpkin seeds, cojito... cant go wrong. Mahi mahi taco is also recommended. Grilled fish with lime cream sauce.Get the chips and salsa with the sweet heat salsa! Chips taste homemade and salsa has a good flavor with a nice heat.This summer they built a gazebo outside with a bar. Havent enjoyed it yet, but looks fantastic.

The fire starter margarita is awesome! The rest are ok. The food is great and the beer selection is great. The staff are so excited about all of it. I’ll be back. This is the Mexican place we needed north of Portland.

Tried this place for the 1st time. Excellent food and atmosphere. Staff was great and helpful and efficient.

Best tacos ever. Good food and service. 35 beers to choose from. I highly recommend it.

Great beer selection. Went on a Friday night and it was pretty packed but we loved that you could put your name down on a chalk board and get in the queue for a table. I had a mango margarita which was tasty. The tacos were good, not amazing. The tortillas are not homemade. The sauces and condiments felt heavy and too sweet. The sauce on the sweet potato fries was like a sweet and sour sause from a Chinese restaurant, yummy, but so incredibly sweet it was hard to finish. I’d definitely come back but will try a few different selections.

Fantastic draft beer selection with very friendly service. The owner even came out and spent some time talking to us. The atmosphere seemed both authentic and modern. this place is a hidden gem everyone should check out. Also a great place to bring a date.

Finally excellent Mexican food in the area. I love this place. The tacos are amazing!

Fish taco was great! Smaller plates but great food and flavors. Beer selection is pretty huge. We stopped in for a quick bite and it did not disappoint! Also FREE ARCADE GAMES 👍 Try it out

Good food, great staff. Very comfortable. Amazing beer selection, 30 Taps!

Super friendly staff, amazing simple dishes with lots of flavor and great selection of craft and local beers on draft! Great stop if you’re in town to shop at L.L.Bean or grabbing a beer at Maine Beer Company down the street!

Good food. They take some time to bring food to table during busy hours

Cool atmosphere, good food, decent service. Just a little more attention to detail would make these the best tacos in Maine. Theyre definitely worth it.The beer selection is awesome and the margaritas are very good.Highly recommend stopping in if youre in the area.

Didnt stay.... We just werent prepared to pay five bucks or more per taco for what was probably going to be only good enough tonight.People seemed friendly enough.

Good food! Good drinks! Lots of beer choices too 😁

Not your typical taco joint. Very high quality food and great service.

El Jefe Taco Bar should be El Jefe Bar & Tacos. Had we not been looking for a meal to fill up through the rest of our evening this place couldve been great. Their name was misleading to us , as we thought we were walking in to a "taco bar" . Pick your shell...pick your meat...so on so forth. One taco $5-6 and the waitress told us they were small . We ordered Chips & Queso which was great but left to eat a fuller meal since this was no taco bar at all rather than a bar that serves tacos. 🤷 next time el jefe.

A bit heavy on the nutmeg with some things. But service was good and the steak taco was tasty. Worth checking out if you are close by.

4 star food at 5 star prices equals a 3 star review. There were a few of us that went so we ordered several things from the menu and shared. All of it was good. Nothing amazing that I would have to come back for, but not bad by any means. The fish and pork tacos were on point. The chicken taco was good. The steak taco was chewy. Same with the steak burrito. The burrito was pretty good over regardless of the steak texture, but it had a sweetness to it (I think in one of the sauces over the top of itthat seemed out of place. The guacamole was excellent. I have to give props to them for not trying to over complicate the guac. It was exactly as it should be. The queso wasn’t as impressive. It was kind of gritty. Like they didn’t use the right type of cheese and it didn’t melt very well. The taste was ok, but the texture wasn’t very pleasing.All in all This place would have been a 4 star rating but the prices were just too high for what they are serving. It isn’t traditional Mexican, which is fine, but it seems like they tried to do their own spin on Mexican and didn’t quite hit the mark on all points and then charged extra because they felt it was fancy. It missed the mark for us and I doubt we’ll be back.

First visit was a five star visit. Second visit produced the worst fish tacos ever. I gave a third try... big mistake. Got sick from what was sold as a fish taco. Just because its in a tortilla, doesnt make it a taco. Had such potential when first open.

First time service was mediocre but the food was good but we waited way too long for our meals. Second time, we were told 30 minute wait for a table then after we stood for a hour with our two young children waiting, the server informed us she mistakenly had us down for a two top. When I asked for a basket of chips to hold us over, she informed me I could order them at the bar. We left after an hour, tired and hungry. We are Never, ever going there again.

Awesome. The food was great, the atmosphere was cool, and the margaritas were on point. They had menu items for kids too. Will go back!

Great food, friendly staff, fun bartender and creative drink menu. There is always a mixed crowd, couples on a casual date night, families with kids, seniors, work people, friends at the bar.Everything we have tried has been delicious, and the fish tacos are our favorite! Whoever wrote in a previous review that if you want authentic Mexican food, this is not the place. Well, duh. If you want authentic Mexican food, go to Mexico. This is Maine, and the food at El Jefe is wonderful. We are regulars!

Good food, friendly staff and owner, great beer selection.

Exceptional beer selection!The nachos were fantastic!What really stood out was the bartenders knowledge of different beers and their awesome variety of hot sauces made in house.

If you are looking for authentic Mexican food, this is not the place. Their chips have cinnamon; chips should not be sweet. I had to ask if they had plain chips. The waitress brought back a fresh none cinnamon ones, that nice. She said they were able to make fresh ones because they were not that busy. Their tacos on top of being overprice, their own take on ingredients being use are not great. Go to Portland to get a closer Mexican food experience.

great service food was decent atmosphere is very inviting and comfortable.

Oh my goodness! What a gem! Great new taco bar. I love the yucca fries and the pork taco. The beer list is impressive: 30 on tap,with lots of variety.

We love Mexican food and El Jefes sister restaurant, Conundrum, so we thought wed give this place a try. The food was wonderful--from the slightly sweet tortilla chips (cinnamon-dusted? brown sugar?and accompanying cheese dip to the margaritas to the double-shelled tacos. The steak taco in particular was out of this world. The service was a bit lackluster, which is why Im giving four stars rather than five, but I know theyre having trouble building up staff capacity right now. We will certainly be back! Great for a gluten-free person as well.

El Jefe has great food and a fantastic draft beer selection. Of the 30 draft beers most are local including MBC! Never disappointed with the burritos, always fresh and overpacked!