Don Julio Restaurant & Chifa Men Wha

The place has good Peruvian food… My problem is the waitresses. I had the CRAPPIEST waitress ever, who NEVER came back to bring our drinks or ask us if everything was okay… I would ask her for things and I would never get it brought… The WORST part is when they brought me the bill for THREE of us and they included the tip… I don’t mind giving a tip, but when i went to go pay, this one lady and her big group of friends were paying their bill first and I noticed there was NO TIP CHARGED to them!!! So you’re gonna charge ME for tip for only three people but go ahead and not charge the tip to other people !!! lol like what are they thinking ??? You better believe I said something. I only come here because my parents force me to but definitely won’t be coming here for a while.

Good Peruvian food at descent prices. I had the fried sea bass with rice and salad. All was tasty and the green ho sauce t is a nice added touch to the dish.

Do yourself a favor and take your money up the street to people that value your time and business, El Tiburon ( Unilocal them) And if you don’t believe me, bare with me through this essay and you’ll understand just why.
So, I decided to go against my family’s request and ask to go here for my birthday dinner, it was seriously the worst decision. We walked in at 8:30pm on a Thurs, it was noticeably busy. We waited about 20mins to get a table for 5adults 2babies, wouldn’t be bad if they had a place for patrons to sit at. This place has tables so closely together you could practically eat off of a person’s plate from the table next to yours.
As soon as we sit down, the waitress asked what we wanted to drink. We brought wine and champagne since it was byob. She looked annoyed that we weren’t ordering drinks, ok. The glasses took another 10 mins and the ice came in the form of a cup with a spoon, again, ok. By this time we were all ready to order. She advices us to order everything we wanted all at once because they don’t take orders broken up. Ok, why can’t you take appetizer orders and then entrees orders like every other restaurant on a semi busy week day night? For a total of 15 tables and 6 waitresses I would assume they could handle their tables timely & accommodate them as much as possible.
That’s fine, still not complaining because I’m about the FOOD. Bad service usually means they have something to be arrogant about. Let’s let the food do the talking.
We put in our order I had heard great reviews about the palta rellena, only to hear, they didn’t have anymore. For appetizers we order ceviche mixto & yuca a la huancaina. (Backstory: Ok, so before coming here I read one reviewer say that she was able to order the tallarines verdes without the green sauce and I was floored! I have literally asked Peruvian restaurants if they could do that for my 2 year old and no one had been able to do it. So, even though my son loves noodles he never tried it before because of the sauce).I was so happy to order that for him, only to be told that they don’t do that. I explained to my waitress to please ask the chef because I read that it was done before & please my son is not only a picky eater he has a lot of food allergies so we try to stick to his favorites. She again said it could not be done and didn’t even bother asking for me. Ok, by this time you could understand my frustration, I hope. Moving on, we order a parihuela, kamlu wonton, pescsdo frito, jalea, & I’ll take the churrasco a lo macho (surf n turf).AGAIN, only to be told they just sold the last steak. Ok, I was determined to be a good sport and put my best foot forward as long as it meant eating some good food on my birthday. I ordered the arroz con mariscos– I know they’ll have that. After about what seemed to be 20 mins of just ordering, we sat hungry and wishing we could have just been able to put the app order in first. Our waitress leaves and I see something that’s called orgyia de mariscos,(literally translated to seafood orgy) sounds like something I gotta try. I quickly tell my husband to motion the waitress but, he couldn’t find her. He gets up and goes to the door of the kitchen and asks to speak to her. She comes to the table and plainly says NO. I kid you not, it hadn’t been more than 5 mins after we put our order in and most of our food started coming out at the same time!!! She says my food is already being prepared and it’s too late to change my mind. Ok, this is where I draw the line– this has to be a joke! You’re trying to tell me my food was cooked to order in 5 mins! That’s beyond absurd! I demanded to speak to a manager. In comes a small older women and explains that there was nothing they could do. I explained it was my birthday and I originally wanted the steak, but it was all out and if she could please just change my order and make an exception. All the while, I was talking to her my food hadn’t come out. She again said there was nothing she could do and sorry. I told her I would write a review because the service was terrible and as manager she could do better. She said that was fine and walked away. My food came promptly after.
I couldn’t believe it, having worked in this industry for over 10 years, I had never seen this happen before. The waitress came back to the table and suggested I order what I wanted either way and just take the rest home. Thanks for that. I had my food wrapped, my family ate. The rest of the evening was quiet, we didn’t even drink or celebrate or bring the cake from the car because it wasn’t worth it. I was sad I had dragged my family out for this awful experience. To add insult to injury, when the bill came and automatic gratuity had been added. I guess this restaurant does things their own way. Trust me, there is way better food in Elizabeth.
This is my first ever review. It was this bad that I had to create an account and follow through with my word. As for the food you gotta ask my dog (doggy bag)

I was taken here for the first time on a date and I loved it. When you first walk in it looks as if it is only a take out place however, there is a nice sized eating area in the back. The portions are very big so you can share a meal and still be super full. The food was delicious, so much flavor. I love seafood and will definitely be coming here again.

Never sat inside the restaurant, usually take it to go. But easily one of my favorite. I always gets pollo saltado and it is enough for 3 good sized meals. Good service, good prices for the portion, and always delicious.

You can get the Peruvian style Chinese food here in addition to regular Peruvian food. Both are really good. I got a ton of food everytime I went here so be ready to take some food home or split a few things.
Also there’s some great scenery outside: shipping cranes, Staten Island and a ruined bridge.

KITCHEN EMPLOYEES DONT WASH THEIR HANDS AFTER USING THE BATHROOM!!! This place used to be great. Good food and somewhat, efficient service. Now the food is not as good, it taste like a regular fast food Chinese joint, and the service is ok. But, the worst is that in my last visit I saw an cook using the restroom and the guy didn’t wash his hands!!! GROSS and UNHEALTHY!!! Now I’m just wondering how the kitchen looks like.

So i came here with 2 friends yesterday based on the reviews of 1 of them have eaten here before.
The ceviche was delicious, but after that was when my experience took a huge down turn. My friend ordered 3 entrees, one for each, since she spoke Peruvian. The entrees come out, but only for 2. I waited for mine, but it never came out because the waitress never thought «3 people 3 dishes»…smh.
When they do finally bring out my steak with a fried egg on top, the whole dish was swimming in grease. They did such a rush job, that the fries were barely cooked and extremely soggy from the grease of the steak they just threw on top. The eggs were so over cooked that the yokes were dry. I couldn’t bare to finish because I was so turned off from all the grease.
We then proceed to ask for our check and when they do bring it out, they tried over charging us by $ 6.00. If we didn’t bother to look at the prices on the check, we would have paid it without realizing. I advise everyone to review the prices on the check before paying.
When I bring the money to the front to pay, I don’t even get my change back. Even though it was only $ 0.40, it’s the principal.
I won’t be coming back to this place. The only reason they even get 2 star is because of the ceviche and I can go to plenty other places for that. Horrible experience at a restaurant!

Awesome Peruvian food across the board. Ceviche, lomo, chaufa (fried rice), jalea, etc. all prepared extremely well.

A bit crowded and over priced, the staff was friendly and the food was worth the wait!!! Wish I had space for more. Will be back next time I’m in town.

The place is ok… The food was quick however i understand this is a peruvian restaurant but it makes it difficult to ask the workers questions about the menu when absolutely none of them speak english. Water should also be served when the guest sit down. Otherwise the food wss good and in big portions

The service was pretty quick but they were really busy & seemed to have forgotten basic dinning-​in things, like our water, forks to eat with etc… Overall a pretty cool lunch spot

Great Peruvian food… Papa a lá Huancayna is amazing, just like in Lima… The ceviche is superb…

This I s 2^nd time for me to come here. Last time I came with my friends so we shared some dishes. But this time is only me. So I selected Special fried rice as it was good from 1^st time. This is small portion but for me it is enough.
今回、2回目の訪問。前回同様に持ち帰り。前回は、みんなでシェアしたので色々食べれましたが、今回は一人なので一品だけ。特製チャーハンがおいしかったのでそれをオーダー。緑色のソースは、ピリッとした味でビールが欲しくなりました。写真は、小サイズですが私には充分すぎるほどの量でした。

Excellent food, extremely fast service usually under 5 minutes no joke.

I was disappointed with my dinner. I love Peruvian food and had just gotten back from a 1.5 week trip to Peru. Many of the items that I wanted were «gone». It was a Tuesday night and it was very slow. To be out, they must have an amazing lunch business or they don’t order very well. While the portions were big, I didn’t want to eat mine. The chicken was way over-​cooked and tasted like it has been fried 2x before. The yuca was good though. My partner liked his dinner. The waitress was very sweet and helpful. Perhaps I just got them on a bad night but would not likely give them a 2^nd chance.

Tos place is ok For a quick lunch not if u really want to eat good Peruvian food, service is ok a little bit slow, didn’t know the menu that well and the food is a little bland.
I don’t reend this place for group maybe just a quick bit and not a place that u would come all the time.

Ok I am not Peruvian, however, I understand the culture and enjoy eating the food. Don Julio was recommended by a co-​worker, who is not Peruvian but also loves the food. I must say that my co-​worker did not embellish and gave me an accurate assessment of the restaurant. The food was excellent; well prepared and properly seasoned. The ceviche mixto and lomo saltado and arroz chaufa is the best i have had in years. The serving staff was attentive and friendly. The portions are very large and you could feed at least 2 or 3 people with one plate, so I recommend that you eat family style :-) The only reason I did not give this little slice of Peruvian heaven 5 stars was becuase of the location. In closing I would like to thank my server Anita for her great personality and warm smile; that made my experience much more pleasant.
Regards,

First off, it’s BYOB (no corkage fee). I’d probably walk out if they charged a corkage fee. Next thing, the portions are tremendous. Lastly, the prices are very, very affordable.
If you’re a first-​timer, then here’s a rundown of what’s really good:
Lomo Saltado — great representation, very true to form
Ceviche Pescado — get it spicy and you’ll never keep your mouth closed
Ceviche Mixto — so much seafood, so little time
Chicharron de Pollo — crispy, crunchy, delicious
Chicharron de Calamar — the portion is outstanding
You may have a hard time trying to find parking because the restaurant is located within a residential area. However, once you do secure a spot you will not be disappointed. The food is authentic and the flavors are a great representation of what Peru is about, at least in the gastronomic sense.
I can say with confidence that this is the best Peruvian restaurant I’ve been to in Jersey.
And that’s saying something…

Although not the typical outdoor seafood place I like stopping at when boating at home, my dad was raving about this place so I had to try it! There is a dock a block or two from the restaurant so we took the boat over for lunch.
It doesn’t look like a sit down restaurant when you walk in but there are tables around the back and a sign reading seat yourself. When we walked around back, it was packed for lunch. The staff were really friendly and told us they would clear a table and it wouldn’t be too long of a wait.
Portions are HUGE! We ordered 3 things for the four of us to share and had a ton left over, everything was phenomenal. Ceviche with fish and shrimp was unreal, such a large portion for a great price. They ask if you want it spicy, we said no b/​c mom doesn’t like spicy — it was still flavorful and delicious. My mouth is watering thinking about it!
My brother ordered the Bisteack con Tallarines Verdes, which comes with noodles in green sauce. He is a picky eater so asked for the green sauce on the side — the waiter looked at him funny and assured him it was amazing but said he would bring it on the side anyway. We all ended up loving the green sauce, including my brother, who poured it on the noodles anyway. Yumm green sauce. It was out of this world, it was something like a pesto but creamier, not oil based. I dipped the steak and some seafood in it, I couldn’t get enough. We also had a mix of fried seafood — this was good but my least favorite. We would of had enough food without this and ended up bringing most of it home. The steak and ceviche was all gone and I would highly suggest ordering both those options.
I’ll be back next time I’m in town!