Javier's Gourmet Mexicano

To start, I highly recommend you make reservations, even midweek after 9pm, the place is typically hopping. The service is excellent and the food is even better. If you're going to have the ceviche, plan on going earlier in the evening or you may risk them being out. The black bean is also excellent. Never been disappointed with an entree here. If you're unsure about what to get, feel free to ask the waiter for his recommendation...they will lead you in the right direction. Highly recommended!

Pros: Food, Service and Atmosphere

Cons: Crowds

Posted 10/24/09

JOSE VAZQUEZ PRESENTS THE NEW SORPRISE IN THE DALLAS TEXAS AREA THE NEW MARIACHI 2000 OFFERING OUR SERVICES FOR YOUR SPECIAL EVENTS PARTIES RESTAURANTS , ANY EVENT FOR MORE INFORMATION OR PRICES PLEASE CALL JOSE 214 317 52 03 (ENGLISH) 972 836 3783 972 5570355

Pros: GOOD FOOD

Posted 09/23/09

This is one of the best restaurants in Dallas especially for couples. The food is and atmosphere are awesome. Our waiter was great his name was Noe. If you get a chance to go you should defenitely ask for him.

Pros: Romantic

Posted 08/19/09

When I first moved to Dallas a few months ago, I was surprised to find that people had a hard time recommending a good Mexican restaurant. Most recommendations turned out to be little more than your run-of-the-mill tex-mex. I found solace in the taco stands, but had trouble finding a good, sit-down, real Mexican place. But then I found Javier's. This place is great! True Mexican dishes prepared with integrity and celebration for the cuisine. Everything I tried here (filete Azteca (steak), codorniz (quail), guacamole, and margaritas) was perfect. Sharp, dried chili tastes combined with ornamental spices and sometimes rounded out with fruitiness over veggies or falling-off-the-bone tender meats made every mouthful a subject for rewarding contemplation.

Service was excellent. Atmosphere is a little eccentric, but very comfortable and great for any occasion. Location is easy; just stick with the free valet. Price is a little high for me to go all that frequently, but it's not out of reach for a young professional either.

In short, this place immediately became a new favorite, and I will be back soon!

Pros: Great, classical Mexican and variety of dishes

Cons: Slightly on the pricey side

Posted 07/02/09

I give it a 3 1/2 actually. :) Don't let them seat you near the hostess' desk. You will truly miss out on the atmosphere. Make sure you are further inside the restaurant. Unique place, worth a visit. We were suprised by the portion sizes compared to the prices! Also, I thought Texas - big everything! Rice is a tacky little scoop. Food was good, not fabulous, but good. Service was friendly. I think it would be fabulous to anyone not from the southwest or western parts of the good old USA!

Pros: great ambience

Cons: pricey

Posted 03/08/09

I was taken here on a first date and was swept off my feet. The atmosphere is old world and romantic. The margaritas delicious and the service was impeccable. My date ordered Filet Cantinflas and I ordered the Snapper with garlic and lemon sauce. Both entrees were delicious. The hot sauce served at the table was excellent as well. The best part of the evening however was venturing back to the Cigar bar for an after dinner drink.

Pros: Ambience, Food, Margaritas

Cons: Crowded. Limited Parking

Posted 11/15/08

We had some friends who were recently discriminated against because they are gay. Considering that this is the Knox Henderson area which has always been extremely gay friendly, I find this sort of behavior by management deplorable. A packed bar and our friends spent a total of $400 on a couple rounds of drinks for themselves and 14 friends while waiting to be seated. They were asked to leave when one person sat on the his partners leg while he was sitting down because there was no room to sit. Keep in mind that they were sitting by the restrooms and almost completely out of the view of the rest of the restaurant. There was no inappropriate behavior. They were told that their behavior would not be tolerated and they were asked to leave. When they tried to pass out the valet tickets to their guest and tell them that they were being forced to leave, this was looked upon as being aggressive so an off duty police officer was called to escort them out.

I can't believe that this sort of behavior from restaurant management is still tolerated in this day and age. I will never step food in this restaurant until our friends receive a formal apology and the manager is reprimanded. We'll do everything in our power to make sure that more and more people know about the discrimination practices of this establishment.

Trust me. If it were a women leaning on the leg of another man, this would never have happened.

Cons: Discrimination

Posted 08/24/08

I was looking forward to the experience of dining at Javier's to celebrate a momentous occassion in my life. We made reservations but when we called the hostess stated if we came earlier then they would prioritize us and seat us soon as possible, most likely in about 30 mins after we arrived. We did arrive about 1 1/2 hrs earlier and checked in with the hostess. Others also arrived after us without reservations and were seated within 30 mins, before us. We waited for about 1 hr until we were finally seated. We weren't greeted by anyone, like other patrons. One of the staff (maybe manager/owner) greeted a couple next to us and made small talk, asked if they wanted anything to drink; and he completely ignored us. We weren't dressed differently or act differently than other patrons. But we were different because are people of color and young. We were the only people of color there except for the staff. I dislike acknowledging racial discrimination as an issue because I wish it did not exist, but that is not reality. Our waiter was attentive, professional, but not overbearing. The food was delicious. The decor did have the old world charm. But being treated differently in a negative manner left a bad taste in my mouth...

Pros: Food was delicious and wait staff was wonderful.

Cons: Discriminatory against certain patrons and tables are very close together

Posted 05/18/08

I had the opportunity to have gathering at Javier's on a Friday night. I have heard of Javier's for a number of years so by the time I got there, a palace would have been "just average". I was very impressive to drive up and see ultra high-end sports cars, but I have to say that the dinning experience when gradually down from there. My party of 15 and I were seated in the back of one of the many dinning rooms. The service was very short and quick to get us out of the chair. The table was with in a foot of other tables which made being excused from the table an act of congress. It seemed the table enjoyed the food but it was nothing that the reviews gave it. I have to say that the cigar lounge was the high light of the night! I am sure Javier's is a wonderful place for small dining parties or after work cocktails, but unless you can get a private room, it is no place for a large group setting.

Pros: A bar in every room, Wonderful cigar lounge, ritzy feeling
Cons: Loud, seating is tight, service is pushy

Pros: Bar in every room, great cigar lounge

Cons: Loud, tight seating, pushy staff

Posted 03/13/08

Hmmm...I don't mind high prices for quality food and drink, but we didn't get those things here. The $9 margarita was nothing special. I love mole poblano and ordered it. It was overly sweet and tasted of flour...ugh. One of my colleagues ordered the cantinflas. The steak arrived undercooked and was sent back. The second audition presented her with a piece of cheap meat that they seemed to hope was disguised by the sauce. All in all, we were underwhelmed. We did like dipping the chips in butter and then warm salsa. Too bad the overly priced food can't even measure up to the ubiquitous chips and salsa. I have had interior Mexico cuisine far better than this for much less.
Brady King, Houston, Texas

Pros: good salsa

Cons: inferior food at high prices

Posted 11/01/07

This place always is rated high, butnever fails to disappoint us. Not bad, just nothing to recommend at the level of its fans and price. Many other places in Dallas far superior in terms of food and service. I think this place is an example of "the Emperor has no clothes."

Posted 06/05/07

I have always felt welcome and that everyone was glad I was there for dinner. The best night was the one that my husband proposed to me. The wait staff did everything they could to make the evening as special as possible... it seemed like they knew when to be near and when to leave us alone. Their joy at having us there during this special event was almost as great as ours. We live approximately 700 miles from our beloved Dallas now, but whenever we come back to visit, we always visit Javier's.

Pros: Excellent wait staff, delicious food

Cons: None

Posted 08/24/06

We moved here from San Antonio and have been a constant quest for excellent Mexican food and good margaritas. We have found it at Javiers! This should be the gold standard in Dallas for true Mexican food. The food was top quality and perfectly prepared. The margaritas were very good, but my husband is still looking for the best fresh lime margarita in town. The only thing I don't like about the restaruant is how close the tables are together. I would love to see them remove one or two tables to allow a little extra room.

Pros: Food, service

Cons: Tables are too crowded, cramped atmosphere

Posted 08/14/06

I really enjoy going to Javier's. I think they have the best Mexican food in Dallas. Not Tex Mex, but real Mexican. It's a great place to people watch, especially at the bar in the back. The margarita's are highly recommended!

Posted 05/29/06

Noisy, overrated semi-authentic Mexican. It's overly pretentious and the serviceis adequate at best. It's best for a loud, fun party type atmosphere where the beer and margaritas can flow, but if you are looking for a quality authentic Mexican food experience in Dallas, look elsewhere.

Posted 01/17/06

When someone asks me where I want to go for a special dinner I want to say Javier's every time. I have always enjoyed myself when I come to this restaurant, from the food and service to the amazing atmosphere. I have never had a bad meal and almost always try something different. The service is top notch and everyone is extremely friendly. The cigar bar in the back of the restaurant is a really cool place for drinks and appetizers. There are big comfy chairs and lots of great cigars to choose from. I love this restaurant.

Posted 10/17/05

Definitely reservations are recommended..it's busy all the time. Not what you would consider Tex Mex food and that's why it's my favorite. I've been going there for over 20 years now and never had a problem with the service (very attentive). Your food order is served promptly and the chips & tomatillo sauce is awesome. I, also, have never had a bad meal there..consistently good which can be rare for a restaurant. Pepe, the manager, always remembers my name and says hello. For larger parties you can request one of their more private rooms. Javier's definitely deserves to be named the top Mexican restuarant in Dallas.

Pros: Attentive service, Food consistently goo

Cons: Can be a bit noisy

Posted 07/08/05

I am surprised that someone had a bad experience at Javier's. I went with my husband and loved the food, wait staff and the environment. I think the general feel of this place is just very lively and fun. I would highly recommend this for get togethers with friends or romantic dinner with someone special.

Posted 06/09/05

The food is just average. The service was terrible, the waiter offered no clue as to what might be a good choice for drinks or food, menus were not given until after drinks were served. Had to request drink refills/replacements. We had to ask the waiter about dessert, he seemed more interested in clearing our table for the next seating. For the money there are many places in Dallas where the food is better and the waitstaff attentive.

Posted 06/02/05