Uncle Julio's

CB Rieske

First, let me say we're originally from Dallas and lived right down the street from the original UJ on Greenville (closed now). I ate there regularly and loved the food and choices on the menu. We were excited when we learned there was a location in Frontenac (a suburb of St. Louis). 1. The wait staff was wonderful. 2. The restaurant was clean, but not the beautifully designed colors of the stores in Dallas. It was stark with no colors, only brown and black... Very industrial. 3. The bathrooms were clean. Now to food, drink quality, and pricing... Pricing: I had an appetizer (for lunch) the chicken quesadillas and two margaritas. My husband had the two beef enchilada dinner and two margaritas. There was the complimentary chips and salsa. The tab was $90+ and we left a $20 tip. NEVER would we EVER spend that much for lunch, but it was UJ's. Ouch for lunch prices! Drink quality: I could not taste the tequila in hubby's drinks. Very strong mix with little tequila ($14 each!) My first drink was a mango margarita that I couldn't find the taste of mango anywhere. My second was the original swirl.. Yuck! What happened here? Food quality: We loved the smoked salsa in Dallas and was anxious to taste that taste from home. Extremely disappointed. It was so watery, you couldn't even get it on a chip. And the smoke taste was nowhere to be found. The quesadillas... The chicken was lost in so much cheese and the butter was gone from the cooked tortillas. One of my fave things about UJ's is their use of butter when browning them. I ordered an extra quacamole and it was the size of a watermelon scoop (for an extra five bucks, c'mon!!) Hubby's enchiladas were exactly the taste of home, so were the beans, but the rice was dry and balled together. Suggestion: Send the cooks to Dallas or have one come to STL to teach these guys how to cook and prepare the food. Again, the salsa and great drinks is what brings customers in and keeps them coming back... Make sure it's right daily! Also, where's the original menu? What happened to the frog legs? Why is it mainly fajitas!? UJ was known for its diverse menu... This one is more singularly focused on shrimp entrees and fajitas. I'm sorry to say, we won't be returning to this location. Better to go when we visit Dallas again, especially when spending so much money.

Kevin B

We went on a busy Saturday night. I will echo every review on here by saying the service was slow but they seemed understaffed, like the entire country. The service was incredibly friendly and the food was really good. I only knock one star because we did order dessert and that’s when things went really south. I’m pretty sure they forgot about us, as the food took over 30 min to come out. When we got it, it was cold and undercooked.

Mark T

Just OK food, good service as they stepped up and fixed a mix up. Portions were smaller for Mexican at a little more cost than the less fancy places

Andrew Tveitnes

Aesthetically, this place ranks on the higher end for Mexican in the area. That's the nicest thing I can say about this place. The service is incredibly slow and everything is overpriced. I understand that this is in Frontenac, but the quality needs to support that price and it didn't. The salsa and queso were good, but the sides are awful. The rice was bland and they serve Charro beans. Don't order the quesadilla, it is not worth it. My wife did enjoy her grapefruit margarita though. I also thought the electronic check was neat.