Chicojulio

Echoing many of the other reviews here — used to love the old Chico Julio. Absolutely delicious queso fundido etc.
So it disappears and then reopens and you’re really excited.
Well the newest reincarnation is pure garbage. Waited for 5 – 7 minutes at the front of the restaurant before anyone even acknowledged our presence and gave us a table.
I get it’s now more of a «bar» than a «Restaurant» but the music is absolutely blaring.
Then the food comes out and it’s absolute trash. Tacos tasted like the junk I get on the street when I want to pay $ 2.50 a taco. Fries had about a pound of salt on them.
Never going back. New mgmt needs to get a clue and figure out how it can become the old Chico Julio.

Really bad food, terrible service and cheesy décor. «Fresh» guacamole is far from fresh, the Nachos are inedible and the brisket is as dry as a bone and the fountain soda was flat. When I complained to the waiter about the Nachos he didn’t care that I was unsatisfied and unable to eat them. I really wanted to like this place, but it is subpar. You have to be crazy to go here. If you are craving Mexican food, go to any other place in the neighborhood.

Chico Julio, good for burritos, but nothing else.
Guacamole was cold (on the menu it says «fresh» guacamole), what a shame! Margaritas were pure sour mix, and the service was worse than going to DMV. Not planning on coming back to this place.

I’ve had dinner at the bar there twice. The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming, and very local. The food was excellent. The first time I had the Mexican «street style» beef tacos, which were great. I also had an order of their empanadas, which were pretty good. The last time I had the grilled skirt steak served with a cheese enchilada, guacomole, and rice and beans. The presentation was superb — what you’d expect from a white table cloth joint, not a neighborhood bar. The steak was juicy and perfectly cooked, and the guacamole was tangy and delicious. The bar staff is friendly and attentive, perhaps because the owner George is behind the bar. I will definitely be back.

$ 5 beers on draft during happy hour. Multiple TVs — great place to watch Sunday football. And get the queso with chorizo!

This place is great. The back garden is so beautiful, specially at night. The food is delicious and the service was great!

Too bad, I love their garden. Who wouldn’t. But it’s become a sports/​gaming bar, with, I kid you not, at least 6 – 8 big screen TVs lining the walls all the way to the back, not very conducive to dining in. NO atmosphere at all. So although they had a lovely trio of mini-​tacos before, I don’t know what’s on the menu and it’s unlikely that I’d ever find out with the new configuration… Sure doesn’t appeal to this long-​time UWS-​er.

The best Mexican in the area. Awesome happy hour and great service. They always go above and beyond– I LOVE CHICOJULIO!!!

I stopped by out of curiosity to try it out and it was definitely worth it. Great place for drinks and dinner. I loved their frozen margaritas!!! My waiter was really good at keeping me with a drink an making sure I was satisfied with my food. Keep up the good work guys

Chico Tommy’s original margaritas are on point! Not too sweet and very fresh. The bartender Pepe and waitress Marina are always so friendly and know what to suggest. Highly recommend chorizo nachos!

Simply thee worse taco I have ever put in my mouth. Can honestly say I’ve had better at Taco Bell or Chipotle…
The crunchy pork tacos were crunchy all right. because they were so overcooked not to mention some parts were chewy and lacked any flavor. The spicy cucumber margarita was so bad — it was the first cocktail ever that I did not finish… Rule #1 is NEVER waste alcohol…

Nice outdoor space, very reasonable happy hour prices, quality frozen margaritas and white sangria, solid service, and good food. I’d recommend this place for a date or a group.

Food is decent, happy hour deal is good, specialty drinks are nice, but service is terrible. Sometimes, if you don’t actively try to yell at a bartender, they will all ignore you for over 15 minutes while you are sitting there with an empty drink and they have nothing else to do. It borders on rudeness.

The place looked very nice was exited to try the food and have a good time
But then…
Food came out (after 40) min no flavor kept on putting salt to give it some flavor and they forgot the rice and beans to both orders when asked about them the waitress said it was a mistake in the menus
(and didn’t bother telling us)
Drinks were blant
Lemonade was pure lemons so sour
Asked for napkins three times never came
Very poor service… Need to get more waitresses
Never going back to that place

First of all, let me preface this review by saying that my husband and I were fans of the original Chico Julio and were delighted to see it had reopened. Unfortunately though, the new version is a complete disappointment. My table was so poorly cleaned from the previous seating, there was still some kind of guacamole and salsa mixture clinging to it. I politely asked THREE different waitresses to clean it up (because our waitress refused — or «kept forgetting» — to do it after my first two attempts at asking her), and no one wiped it away until AFTER our food arrived. Speaking of which, the food took FOREVER to arrive, and came in a totally random order. We had ordered empanadas as an appetizer, and they came long after we’d started eating our tacos.
Also, I asked for water midway through our meal (for some reason, it’s not standard practice there to just bring glasses of water), and the waitress only brought out one glass of water for me – not my husband.
In short, everything was a mess, and the food wasn’t good enough to justify putting up with the crazy service. There are better spots in the neighborhood for margaritas and fish tacos. I recommend you try those.

This place has been so many different things in such a short time. The restaurant BEFORE Chcio Julio was always packed and was consistently delicious food. We went and ordered from there all the time. Food and drinks were great.
We only went to Chico Julio twice. The menu says they have the best margarita. I’m from Texas and no place there claims to have the best margarita and then pours something out of a mix. It is just not done. That’s what they did here. Both times. Our food was mediocre and the margarita was just not acceptable.
It kills me to write a bad review, but this was bad.

Stopped in for a quick one during a rainy happy hour. The sangria was good, as was the guac (though if it was not at the hh price, I would think the portion too small).
Freaking gorgeous NYC back patio with what appears to be a trellisesd fig tree senza figs. During the heavy rain I remained basically dry.
The bartender/​server Elena, is everything you want in those roles. Friendly, prompt and not over-​hovering.
Why am I only the 2^nd reviewer? Is it new? Anyway worth trying.
Next on the tasting agenda is their barbacoa tacos — they use lamb!

I love my neighborhood, truly I do. But the west 90’s are seriously lacking in fun, relaxed bars. So when I noticed the opening of Chico Julio, my fellow UWS’er and I were on it! Margaritas, guacamole and soccer? Yes, please!
The atmosphere is great, with high top tables in the front, a lovely patio out back. The margs were tasty although not spectacular (we are very particular when it comes to this food group). Happy hour goes late with cheap draft options and a yummy house-​made sangria.
We just got a couple apps– the chips and guacamole and the roasted corn bowl. Both were quite good and the menu looked appetizing. I’m happy this place has opened in my ‘hood and I will be definitely back again (and again)!

Love, love, love margaritas and tacos, well, all Mexican food for that matter. So, I went to check out CHICOJULIO on the Upper West Side.
This Cantina-​style restaurant offers live music, and, when I was there, it was by way of a three-​piece jazz band. Not necessarily what you’d expect from a Mexican restaurant, but actually a really nice surprise and touch. The aesthetic is clean, yet vibrant in color, and definitely goes with the tasty selection of food and drinks. For a beverage, I ordered The Smokey Cucumber (Blanco Tequila 100% Agave, Fresh Cucumber and Lime Juice, Egg white, Agave nectar, Chili infused Mezcal). I really liked this, the drink was smooth, with a refreshing crispness from the cucumber and lime, and followed by a little heat and smokiness from the chili and Mezcal.
To start, we had their Guacamole (made to order with tortilla chips). You can choose your preferred level of spice, which I really liked. The chips had a great crunch, and went very well with the rich, creaminess of the guac.
For my entrée, I ordered their Trio Taco De Atun (Seared sesame crusted tuna loin, white cabbage, chipotle aioli, lemon zest, served on corn tortilla). This was so good. The portion is really generous for such an affordable price, and the ingredients are fresh and abundant. I loved how substantial the rare tuna was, and how flavorful and delicious the whole dish was.

Great place for happy hour! $ 5 guacamole and chips, amazing margaritas, great bartender and excellent atmosphere. The calamari was good and I tried my friends fish tacos. Everything was really good. I can’t wait to go back for happy hour and I would love to try it out for dinner as well.
Update!
Went back for happy hour again and was not disappointed. Margaritas were yummy, and had sliders and chicken flautas during happy hour. We later also got the vegetarian nachos-​also good! Our waitress was really nice, service was quick and we had a great time.

Poof be gone Orale!
It came, it saw, and clearly didn’t conquer since ChicoJulio is now here.
Practically a 360 in décor, more subtle with blue walls, no more cool Jarrito wall. Also, not even Mexican before it’s predecessors Orale and Café Frida. Now offering Mostly Seafood with some Mexican, noting the cuisine near the border line.
Came during happy hr, got a sangria and Trio Los Angeles appetizer.
Bartender was really friendly, suggesting everything is good, and a pretty delicious sangria.
Tinga Trio was delicious, the chicken had a right level of heat and moist. The chipotle aioli that accompanied it, was fitting.
I do miss Orale’s happy hour which was more extensive but will check out what else they have to offer.