El Jardin

Loved the food, the drinks and the Vibe! We started with the Sokol P'aak deal Casa which was insanely good! We actually ended up getting a second one. We then got the Lamb Birria Tacos, which were good, and the Al Pastor which were very delicious! 10/10 recommend the Al Pastor (Pork & Pineapple) The bar folk were cool and made my wife something with Vodka because she hates Tequila. I had the El Taquero and I really enjoyed it. We finished our meal by grabbing the Smoked Esquites with Chintextle.. Also incredible. So good, so flavourful. We'll be back!!

I had business friends in from Toronto and Vancouver, One that had NEVER had Mexican cuisine. Annabel looked after our table and she was amazing; funny, very knowledgeable about the offerings, and we could tell that she really enjoyed the food too! The four of us tried several things on the menu, all terrific, the The Oaxacan Mole was so good. I have avoided moles in restaurants because they are never as food as I have had from markets in Oaxaca, this was next level delicious. Cocktails, food, and atmosphere scored me big points with our business guests. Can't wait to return!

Found the perfect little hole in the wall! If you're looking for a good time with great food, amazing drinks and an incredible atmosphere El Jardin is definitely the spot! I still can't decide what my favorite part about this place is! From the awesome and knowledgeable Manager Emma crafting drinks you'll enjoy based off just your favorite flavor pallette and nailing it everytime may I add, to the incredible wait staff I had the pleasure of meeting - Chey with the most bubbly, out going and welcoming presence, to the phenomenal Chef's, Picho and Jair in the open style kitchen bangin out delicious food like nobody's business! I couldn't help myself but to thank them personally for the meals they provided! Absolutely will be coming back to this spot regularly, the environment and ambiance is top tier for a chill time or a fun time!

I stumbled upon this hidden gem a few weeks ago, and was so happy I did. Not only is the food absolutely to die for, the service is amazing. The manager Emma and the staff ive met so far, abbey and Shay are absolutely amazing, even if the food wasn't to die for, I would come back anyway due to the wonderful service they provide. But the food IS to die for so it makes it that much better. My friend and I are going to be coming back a lot, from the delicious tacos they make outside down to the heavenly food you can get inside the resturant, we are hooked! It doesn't hurt that inside the resturant the ambiance is amazing. The drinks are absolutely to die for as well! If you like food, drinks and a great atmosphere, this is the place to go! 10/10 I do recommend!

We came for dinner and had the empanada and the tasajo asado and both had great flavor. Plate sizes were perfect and a great value for the meal too. Our bill only came to $56 (including one cocktail) Will be back for sure!

Very nice looking on the inside, and service was good. Was very excited to see that they serve comida oaxaqueña. However, food was underwhelming. For what you pay, one would expect better. We ordered tostada de atún, guacamole, mole de carne asada and a tres leches. The chicharrón was quite good, but why would the kitchen put that much oil in a guacamole, beats me. Enjoyed the tostada though, good combination of textures in that plate and visually appealing. The mole carne asada was a disappointment; spice level was great, but too much cumin in the mole and that steak was quite tough for what you'd expect from a carne asada. And only two tortillas for this dish? Come on man, y'all can do much better. Most disappointing part though? Pastel de tres leches. Who serves a dry pastel de tres leches? It was probably less than 1/4 soaked, we didn't even finish that one. The ice cream on top was great, but that was not a pastel de tres leches.

I make a reservation for New Year’s Eve. I was less than 10 mins late due to freezing rain/icy roads. (Yes I left early to give myself more time) The minute I arrive the hostess tells me “you have an hr and a half to finish your meal”. After being there for roughly 45 mins. The waiter comes over to remind me again that I was told by the hostess that I had a time limit and in not so many words, to hurry up. I kindly said “I’m also a paying customer and still have 45 mins so I’m not sure why You’re telling me this again. If I want to order more food or drinks then I’m going to”. There was no indication online when I made the reservation there would be a time limit placed on it. We were still out by 6:30 even after ordering dessert. To rush me out was completely unnecessary. If after 6:30 came then sure come remind me. The soup was delicious and the drink I had wasn’t that bad. The rest of our meal was just alright. What was supposed to be a good dinner to start the evening, was very lack lustre to say the least. It seemed like they were more concerned about getting numbers than the actual “Mexican” experience.

We spent 4 hours eating a wide cross section of the menu and everything was spectacular. The service was fantastic for the full 4 hours. We also covered good selection of the cocktails, mezcal, and wine and there were no disappointments there either. The space is very beautiful and relaxing. Strongly recommend. It is under new ownership and management and all the changes have been very positive.

This place is a cocktail bar masquerading as a Mexican/South American restaurant. It fails as both. Food was pretty underwhelming and massively overpriced. Boring AF is another way to put it. Drinks other than beer and 5oz wine start at $15, and are geared to the candy crowd. Totally turned off by repeated hard sell by the server, intrusive and annoying. Then she didn't remember who ordered what at our table of 4, did things like placing food on top of menus. Yet I should take your "recommendations" seriously? Take a hike! I chose not to eat, the upsell made me lose my appetite fast. Red flags are SO unappetizing. Others were not so lucky. Tacos (lamb/beef barbacoa) were boring and dry, served with pickled onions, jalapeños, cilantro, that's it. No salsas, not even cheap jarred stuff. Nastiest bs "churros" ever, check out the picture. Great comment made at the table, "is this cheese sauce? Maybe it's cinnamon? It's kinda watery..." Even my perpetually positive, sunny side friend commented that the food was overpriced and not very good. We not be back, total poser show. So embarrassed I even suggested this place to try during Downtown Dining Week. WTF

I came here for a surprise birthday that my husband had secretly planned for me. I thought we were going for a dinner just us two. We were greeted by the friendly hostess and she took me to back of the restaurant where "surprise" 20 of my closest friends were there! It was amazing! The staff did an awesome job serving everyone, keeping the food & drinks flowing and keeping all the orders straight! The food was delicious, I had the tacos and tried 3 different kinds, all were good. The tuna appetizer was so delicious! The cocktails are high quality and creative but in a tasty way! This restaurant went above and beyond my expectations for an experience of this kind. They even let my friends go in early before the surprise to decorate. They were all in on it. We got to bring a cake in and cut it there as well which was so nice because the cake my husband got was such a luxurious piece of art! I enjoyed eating it. I highly recommend this place and will absolutely be back for another night out of delicious food and quality cocktails. Great location right across from the arena but good idea to make reservations. Enjoy!

I couldn't possibly explain all the great things about this restaurant, but I'll try. I'm so happy to have been invited here for a party honouring my husband's colleague. The manager at the door greeted every guest and made us feel at home. The wait staff were confident, friendly, funny and sexy as heck. The tapas menu was simply delicious. The best I've had in Edmonton. We started with a grilled shrimp skewer. Very fresh and flavourful. Next was a grilled chicken skewer. I asked the friendly floor manager how to eat this and still look elegant. He told me to enjoy it all in one big bite. Yummy! The deep fried cheese sticks were heavenly. I totally blew my diet. There were different types of salsas and guacamole. Some had ample peppers to add a bite and some bowls were mild. The corn chips were home-made, as were the plantain chips. I spoke to the head manager to compliment her staff. She explained that she trained everyone herself. Seriously, the best wait staff and bartenders we've encountered. It's a relaxing environment. Soft colour scheme. Comfortable chairs and bench seating. This used to be a Mexican restaurant. I was sad to see that one close, but now that I know about El Jardin, I'm so pleased to have another go-to place for dining near the Ice District. I can't wait to return.

Emailed El Jardin over a week ago with no response, that was with them reaching out via email to ask how our experience is. Seems like it is just a generic email automatically sent out but no one actually reads them or cares to follow up. Unfortunate especially given our sub par experience. So will now post my email as a review: We came to El Jardin around 5:45pm this past Sunday to grab dinner before the comedy show. We arrived and ordered promptly and were there well before the dinner rush. We have been to El Jardin many of times before and have had wonderful experiences. It has been one of our favourite restaurants and we have recommended you to many friends. This last visit we had was by far the worst experience we've ever have had, however we are thankful it was not our first time there or we would not be returning. It seems that the food menu had been changed a bit since we were there last. We were excited to order our favourite appetizer, the gouda tequenos, however they are now made with mozzarella. We still ordered them, but it seems it was quite a downgrade, and we would not order them again. Our server also took away the serving plate with the dip still on it as my fiancé was just about to eat the last one, so we did not finish them. The breading seems very thick now and the cheese is nowhere near as flavourful. We are actually really devasted that the gouda tequenos are no longer a menu item. That was our main reasons for choosing to come there that evening prior to knowing the menu changed. We also ordered the mojito ceviche which was really good, as it has been in the past. Our appetizers both came out before our drinks, a raspberry margarita and a Peroni. Our server, who seemed new, came back after 5 or so minutes to ask what kind of Negroni my fiancé wanted. We told her that it was a Peroni, a beer, where I motioned towards another couple who had the beer bottle on their table. 10 more minutes passed and the bartender delivered my margarita, which was good, and she also asked my fiancé what he had ordered for a drink. Again, we said a Peroni. Our server came back a few minutes later with a Peroni and had apologized, and then had to leave again before serving the beer because she couldn't open the bottle. She then told him that a second Peroni would be compensated. We were then informed our main order would be delayed, no explanation why, and that she was sorry for the delay. Our tacos arrived, which now also with sides which we both thought were unnecessary to come with tacos, as we had already ordered appetizers and typically elsewhere there are no side dishes with tacos. We got fries and a salad. The salad was fine, but the fries seemed undercooked and were flavourless. The tacos were fine, however the tortillas all seemed to disintegrate and fall apart after the first bite, making a mess on the plate, and we don't recall that being an issue in the past. Our server had asked us if we wanted any free dessert or shots to make up for our experience that evening, which we declined as we had a show to get to and did not want shots. We had been hoping that perhaps some kind of additional discount or compensation would be applied to our current bill, due to our not great experience, and not more items for free. When the bill was presented, which took a couple of trips to our table and back for the Interac machine to work properly, I noticed the 2 Peroni's on the bill. I pointed it out to her and she left again to get it discounted from the bill. Needless to say, we were disappointed overall and felt we overpaid for a lacklustre dining experience. The server apologized many of times but we just couldn't wait to leave after our time that we had there. It was one thing after another. We are hesitant to return.

Absolutely the best service I have ever received. Left me speechless. Complimentary wine, hanging our coats, menu tour, and sending us off with a free drink on to our next event.

Beautiful location. Entrees were good but server confused which meal needed no cilantro, served mine with cilantro and then had to wait another 10 minutes for my husbands while my food sat so his plate could be remade even though he didn't need any modifications. I picked out the cilantro as the server just stood there confused when the error was pointed out. Ordered the beignets for dessert and they were oddly flavorless and so chewy as to be inedible. Server asked if we wanted to see their manager, then came back and said they would either give us a new dessert or a gift card?? Did not offer to remove from the bill, which was super odd and we were not interested in coming back. It's unfortunate as it seemed like it could have been good but poor execution on a couple bits and a severely inexperienced server and we won't be going back.

The food was unbelievable. From the tapas to the ceviche, the red sangria, the tacos, and dessert. Incredible service. Went there to celebrate our son's graduation and can't wait to go back.

Average food. Terrible service. 20+ mins to order food. Forgot some of our drinks. No server checked in with our table. We waited over 30 minutes to grab our bill after the wait staff cleared the table after asking twice. We were here on a Monday evening and the restaurant was about half full. Would rate zero if I could. The worst party was we had a party over 6 so gratuity was already included. My guess the staff didn't care because they were guaranteed a tip. 20% mandatory tip is robbery for service like this. Will not be dinning here again and cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone.