Javier's Cantina And Grill

Javier's is a great place to meet people and socialize. And the food is not bad either. But, you better make reservations on most nights around the weekend. more

Javier's used to be the best Mexican restaurant outside of Mexico. Not any more. The flavors have become increasingly bland and the quality of food increasingly inconsistent. I used to come here and pay $25 for seafood enchiladas and feel like I was ripping Javier's off because the food was so good. When the food was that good the prices were justified. The last few times I have been here the quality and taste of the food has fallen off a cliff and it just isn't worth it anymore. If Javier's wants to serve merely good food rather than great food, I can get good food elsewhere at half the price. Also the service here is extremely unimpressive. The employees tend to spend more time standing around and socializing with each other than serving customers. Last few times I have been there the place has been empty and I have had to wait forever to order, for drinks, for the bill etc. As a point of contrast I just ate at Canaletto at Fashion Island and the service was off the charts excellent. Made the service I received at Javier's seem extraordinarily amateurish in comparison. I do not like to write negative reviews but hopefully Javier will read this review and realize that he needs to fix his ship before it sinks further. Pros: Food USED to be great Cons: Price, service more

at best. Food ""Was"" excellent. Now it is AWFUL, service is AWFUL, attitudes are AWFUL. Javier, I was one of your best customers. We ate at your place in LB several times a month. Now this is just a bad nightclub with sucky food like a night club. Wanna drink? Better bring your own cuz you won't get one there, not even from the bartender. What were you thinking Javier? Wake up and get back to what you do best, cook! Get your staff to have good attitudes! And have your wonderful wife make chocolate bread pudding. Pros: Only when in Laguna Beach Cons: No longer a good place to eat. Food is average at more

I hope this Javier's go out of business. They had a great location with people looking to check out. Javier's staff is the rudest, most unprofessional group I have ever experienced. I will never spend money in Javier's again. See what happens when a restraunt treats people like crap...They don't come back more

I went to Javier's for lunch after reading reviews of it. I had the Lomo Azteca which consisted of pork medallions dressed in a flavorful, creamy chipotle sauce. The sauce was fabulous. However, it seemed that the pork was cooked separately and the sauce poured on top, rather than the pork being cooked IN the sauce. While tasty, I believe it would have been better to cook the meat in the sauce so that the flavors could integrate more fully. Pros: food, location, ambiance more

i made a reservation 2 months in advance for a company christmas party of 18ppl. I called to confirm the day before, they called me to confirm the morning of...and when we arrived on time for our reservation we were treated as a inconvenience and we were told that there was a party ""just finishing up"" at our table. so all 18 of us stood around and waited. After 15 minutes we asked if they could at least bring us chips n salsa, drinks, or maybe some appetizers. 30 minutes later we still had nothing and the party wasn't leaving. Javiers lost a lot of money that day. we ended up leaving, called Taco Rosa (NB) and arrived there with appetizers waiting on an open table for us! they were great! Cons: they treat customers as an inconvenience more

I Love Javier's in Crystal Cove!!! The atmosphere, the people, the staff and especially the food. If you want to come have a relaxing lunch during the week, with a view(breath taking on a clear sunny day), you should come here. It is a little more busy during the weekend, but what do you expect. It is a happenin' place. more

Where do I begin? I have been to this place quite a few times and tonight was the last straw, let me tell you! My friend had told me about a visit she had here one night in the Summer. She was sitting at the main bar with a friend. Her friend had ordered a cocktail and she had ordered water. My fiend is caucasian but happens to speak a little Spanish unbeknownst to the two hispanic men tending bar. Well, it just so happens that she overheard one of the bartenders telling the other bartender that he wished this stupid b**ch would get the f**k away from his bar since she wasn't ordering any liquor. My friend surprised the bartender my telling him that she understood what he had said and obviously she let him know how she felt. That was just the icing on the cake. Pros: Gorgeous place Cons: Horrible management more

Called for a reservation a week and a half in advance. We were told we must be done with our dinner within an hour and a half. Made the reservation anyways. Tried to confirm the reservation the day of, but they lost our reservation. I would give them no star, but at least one must be given in order to submit this review. I will never try this place. Cons: Bad Service more

Nasty service - average food - high prices - nice building. Pros: nice building Cons: worst service in OC more

I have never paid so much for such lousy wine. I ordered a glass of Berringer Chardonay. more

My review is for Javier's at Crystal Cove (Newport Coast). Mexican restaurants are always these hole in the wall little places with tacky decor (with the exception of Dos Caminos). Javier's broke the mold! They serve delicious (depending on what you order) food in a beautiful environment. Most of the waiters are friendly and the price is hella cheap compared to the surrounding restaurants. I wouldn't be caught dead here on a weekend night because it turns into a giant cluster-u-know-what. There's also a lot of unattractive old broads who are wearing their daughter's clothes and trying waaaay too hard to look 20 (no disrespect to the beautiful women who have made the wise choice to age with dignity, although they're few and far between in Newport). And there are a few that are actually 20, like myself, laughing at them. Some of them are pretty hot from the neck down, so if you're a guy, you may enjoy it. My favorite dish is the chicken fajitas. The chicken is actually juicy and delicious, not those sorry, dry, grilled strips that you get at most places. The soft shell chicken tacos are good, but skip the crunchy ones, they aren't as good for some reason. The salsa and chips are awful. The grilled halibut was good and I loooove the flan. My main complaint is the sorry dessert selection- only 2 ;o( Pros: Great quality food, very fresh. Pretty cheap for the location, no dish is over $30. The restaurant has great style. Cons: The valet is retarded, the chips and salsa are disgusting, and the dessert selection is very sorry more

I rated Javier's to be just about average because I have pros & cons about this joint. Here goes: more

I went to Javier's expecting a decent mexican meal, instead I was very dissapointed to find my meal to be bland and flavorless and the serevice horrible. Our waitress visited our table only three times, once to get our order, once to bring out our food, and once to bring us our bill. not once did we get a refill. when we asked for the manager he was also rude. It seems that Javiers must not be a very healthy place to work since every one who works there is either bitter or in a bad attitude. I was extremely dissapointed....I will never go there again. more

Javier's in Laguna was a fun spot. The Crystal Cove location is a sell-out to the Irvine Company. The ""cheap Mexican food"" they serve is extraordinarily expensive. It is almost obscene the prices they charge for a mall plate of boring rice, soupy bland beans, and a rubbery enchilada. Everything else is extra: they try to get people to order bottled water, guacamole, chips and salsa all at an additional charge. The phone staff is rude and uninformed; the hostesses were b*tchy and snobby, the place is overcrowded, the waiters don't remember which customer ordered what or what table they are sitting out. It is a very loud, chaotic scene of cougars and chubby bald real estate agents guzzling $14 martinis and spilling salsa down their shirts/cleavage. The outdoor patio seats we're very uncomfortable and soaked with water. The waiters continually try to move the customers out making it a hectic meal. To top it off, they want you to VALET park, even at lunch. Good Luck Javier's. Hate to see you go out of business--better reassess your business plan. Pros: Location Cons: Just about everything else is pretty bad. more

Crystal Cove has been an area where great service comes with great Food. I have never in all my life seen so many employees be rude and disrespectful to customers. I would not recommend going to Javier's in Crystal Cove. I can handle overpriced drinks and food, but when I witness several different employee's being disrespectful to customers on such a large scale ; no thanks. Javier's in Crystal Cove will be out of business in two years. I live in the area and I will never go back!!! Pros: Great location Cons: Horrible Service and Over priced more

Javier's is the reason why Mexican food is so popular. I am not a huge fan of restaurant pinto beans, but Javier's is the best I have ever had. I never had a bad meal here. Their queso is also quite delicious, and their guacamole is fresh and simple. Plus, the drinks are overflowing, and you are on the ocean's doorstep. Since this restaurant is indeed so popular and busy, it can get crazy, and the servers may become a bit overwhelmed. So, I can understand that several people could indeed receive service that was not to par. However, even though the service sometimes suffers, they all agree that the food is delicious. I find that it is better to eat at a restaurant with slightly slower service but great food, than a stale, empty restaurant that has impeccable service but bland food. I came here with a group of friends, I came here with my in-laws, and I even brought my secretary here for lunch, thirty minutes from the office, just so she could try their delicious food. And each time, Javier delivers the crazy oceanside restaurant ambience with an eclectic group of people who are all brought together by delicious and flavorful Mexican food. Pros: Great food, great scenery Cons: Busy, hectic and loud more

We will miss Javier's in Lagunna Beach. A charming place selling out to the Irvine Comapny at the Spectrum and now Crystal Cove. We will miss you Javier!!!! more

I've been going to the Laguna location for years and yes it's ridiculously busy and extremely loud. But honestly, if I had to eat their food while standing next to a running jet engine it'd still be totally worth it. I love it that people think calling their food Americanized is an insult. Did it taste good to you? That's what I thought! I am so addicted to their Enchiladas de Mariscos (crab and shrimp filled enchiladas) and even their basic items like tacos and cheese enchiladas are tasty. Their beans are my favorite anywhere. Delicately flavored, and slightly creamy they are absolutely delicious. Their salsa is just spicy enough to keep me interested, but is wonderfully flavorful and well-balanced (salsas seem to always have too much of SOMETHING in it, but that's never the case at Javier's). I have to agree that as a Laguna semi-regular, I have been less than impressed with the service at the Spectrum location. As a matter of fact, as strongly as I recommend the original, that's as strongly as I do NOT recommend the Irvine location. Inattentive servers, rude hostesses and bartenders - Javier's should take their name off this location or give the entire staff a serious attitude adjustment. Pros: the food! and the cadillace margaritas! Cons: parking and the wait more

Ok...who hasn't heard of Javier's??? It's super famous!! It's so good and so fun! My husband and I have been going there for years, by ourselves, with friends/family, for drinks, dinner, breakfast -you name it; it's all good!! Yea, it's crowded, always really. I guess that means it's good, right? The food is fantastic and the waiters are really nice - just busy. You just gotta go there knowing you're going to wait, enjoy the busy atmosphere and have a margarita! Chill and enjoy. We're all sad that they're moving the original Laguna location; it's such a famous spot. it's going to be strange not having it there anymore. The Irvine Spectrum location is nice too, but a little too fancy, almost doesn't seem like it's Mexican. Everyone loves the original the best, hopefully when they move they'll keep it somewhat the same. Time will tell... Pros: Best Mexican Food Cons: Always crowded more