jacala

excellent traditional tex-mex at a great price; waiters are very attentive and the owners are always on site to make sure that every customer is satisfied. this is the true home of the original "puffy taco".... this is a true hidden gem in the san antonio restaurant world. i've eaten at jacala many times over the last forty-five years and never had a disappointing experience. they have a very unique, flavorful salsa that can only be experienced at their establishment... every local citizen or visitor to the city should try this great restaurant! enjoy!

seriously overrated. i found this online while trying to find a local hotspot in san antonio. it was supposed to be one of the best. not even close. the service was below average at best, the food was bland, and i feel like i wasted a night out.

my first time to san antonio and we were looking for a great mexican restaurant. someone saw jacala online and it was famous or something. but i had a bad feeling early on, the salsa was bland and tasted like old tomatoes, v8 has more spice. i ordered the famous puffy tacos which were tiny, cold, soggy, and bland. i asked for some tomatillo salsa which normally is spicier but to no avail all the sauce were pitiful. i read on here that many old time customers said it has lost its former glory, this seems true. i am sure there is good mexican food in san antonio just not at jacala's. use peppers yo!

i love, love ,love this place!!! i don't always eat here cuz i don't always crave mexican food, but when i do this is always my to go to place. food is always fresh & delicious everytime i've come. & the staff has always been helpful & super friendly. i love it here & i will always return for more...i plan on remaining a faithful customer for years to come :)

yummie food. i can’t help but read some of the reviews on this restaurant called jacala mexican restaurant since 1949. so the wife and i went down there to eat 28 minute drive there and we were looking forward to the food. we rather go to an ok looking place and have a delicious meal then go to a beautiful place and have an ok dinner that may be way over priced. the older staff that has been working there for 40 plus years shows us how well they take care of their employees and that’s the kind of place we like to support even if we live near 1604 and 281 outside the loop. i take my clients there all the time along with family that comes into town! i have seen rich people to hard working class of people that eat there and it’s a very mix bag of people but that shows me how wonderful the food is to eat. i strongly recommend this restaurant if you like something different and off the beaten path and none commercial

good food, bad tea. i've been eating at jacala my entire life. in my opinion, they have some of the best mexican food in san antonio and by far some of the best guacamole i've had. but, on my last visit, i was highly disappointed in the tea. i'm a tea drinker and when the tea sucks, it ruins the meal. it tasted old, and coming from a back ground in the restaurant industry, that means the containers weren't cleaned properly or the the tea had been sitting their for hours. we came in about an hour before closing, but that's no excuse for old tea. (it only costs $2 to make the whole batch!)

worst mexican food ever. quite possibly the worst food i have ever eaten. the cheese taste like american meets velveeta, the enchilada sauce was filled with very greasy beef and the orange tortillas in the enchilada didn't help the flavor. the refried beans were bland and tasteless. the server took our order, brought it to us and never came back to check on us. i'm from texas and have lived in new mexico and i know good mexican food. this fails as both good food and good mexican food!

bad service/lack of personnel. i had been going to jacala's for the longest time because of their chile gravy. they have the best chile but the last few times, i was terribly dissapointed. i placed an order by phone for a pint of chile, which is what i usually order, and an order of puffy tacos. when i picked it up, i noticed the bowl was very small so i told the cashier that gave me the order that the bowl looked smaller than before. she said that it was the same one and it would cost $7.25+ tax . i told her that i wished the person that took the order would have said that it wasnt a pint yet just a portion which is exactly what it was. i told the cashier that i didnt want the chile afterall and i would just pay for the puffy tacos. she offered me the crackers that came with the chile but i told her "no thank you" because what will i do with the crackers. she was a hispanic, dark hair, big lady which ive never seen there before and seemed rude when i questioned the portion size for takeout. i left the crackers. the very last time i was there with a coworker, we waited about 20 mins for someone to come and take our order. i noticed that in that same booth section, to the left as you come in, there were other customers sitting down and also waiting for their food orders to be taken. since we were terribly dissappointed, we've decided that we wont be going to jacala's anymore. we then proceeded and walked out because no one ever came. we asked the dishwasher if there was a waiter/waitress there to help us and he said they were in the back probably getting other dishes. when we left, we told the cashier that we wouldnt be back because no one ever came to take our order and that there were other customers also waiting. she immediately went to check on the customers waiting but we left anyway.

a co-worker mentioned several times over the past couple years how much she enjoyed “chili gravy”. now, that’s a combination of two of my favorite words, so i of course asked what it was, and was informed it was kind of a heavy chili con carne. well, i’m in san antonio, so i have to try chili gravy. i did a little research, and found that jacala has the finest in the city (note this is not a universal sentiment, but there was a lot of commentary about jacala, and it was close to the hotel). started off with salsa and chili con queso. the salsa was thin and had decent spice heat. the queso wasn’t very spicy, and seemed to be velveeta. the tea was good and refilled often. i got the mexican meal (i think it was #24), which is three cheese enchaladas and a puffy beef taco, with beans (i have seen references to “puffy tacos” on marquees all over town). i upgraded the enchaladas to chicken enchaladas for $0.20 each. the puffy taco was a smallish tortilla that has been cooked up to be sort of

my husband and i love tex-mex. we ate here when we visited san antonio on our honeymoon. very laid back. food seems more authentic than other tex-med places we've been. good quality, price and service were great.

been going for 30 years. this place used to kick ass, now its not. i live in the jefferson area and have been goign to jacalas since i was a child. over the last 5-6 years this place has steadily gone downhill. it used to be you couldnt find a better enchilada plate in san antonio better than jacalas. now everyones enchiladas are better than jacalas. also i cant stand the female owners all painted up in there cheap makeup and clothes acting like they are all high class or something. put on a apron and clean some tables.

horriable service. the food is ok but the so call female manager they have there seriously needs help with customer service! ive been there a few times but today tuesday oct18 will be the last time i go there! i called just right now around 2:30 to ask a question spoke with her and i notice that everytime i go or call she puts up an attitude and not just with me but i also notice with other ppl! they need to get her out of there if they really want customers, i think her name was cynthia im not too sure but she was totally rude

not impressed. the puffy tacos are not made in the traditional way. the masa shell more closely resembles that of a gordita (it's supposed to be a crispy puffed out shell). the meat was ok, just ok. the margaritas were extremely overpriced at $9 each. my wife and i could not taste any tequila and had no buzz at all after finishing. they were too sweet as well after a while. maybe the cheese enchiladas are good as they seemed to come with almost every combo.

very tasty!!. my wife and i dropped by for dinner on saturday night. i ordered the fajita plate. they were very soft and tasty! i am suspicious of the beans, tasted like canned beans(sorry). the waiter was getting lost and was hard to find. the prices were rather cheap, i thought. try the queso flameado, it was very good.

this is old school tex-mex. good old fashioned cheese enchiladas, delightfully greasy puffy tacos, quesadillas brimming with cheese, satly/greasy tostada chips, chunky/garlicky guacamole...aaahhhh, this is what tex-mex should be. there are no lobster quesadillas, no charred guajillo poached in crema fresaca at jacala.
don't pass on the margaritas -- the oro is great with lots of citrus taste and premium liquors on the rocks, not frozen.
plenty of parking but get there early or you'll have to wait for a table.