El Jefe's Taqueria - Boston University

El Jefe's Taqueria is a quick service Mexican restaurant open late near the BU campus, perfect for getting a late night meal. The staff are friendly, make the food quite quick no matter what time it is, as well as being able to adapt given the large number of ingredients they juggle. I haven't had a bad experience with them at all. The food is good. For the price, the portions are a decent size and quantity. I usually get nachos here whenever I am craving it, and the cheese is pretty good. Isn't too stringy, but doesn't solidify and harden quick. They allow you to choose toppings for it as well, which allows for more variety whenever needed.

Got the chicken tortilla soup. Was extremely hot, beyond normal hot but was delicious. Fast service, limited seating area, clean bathrooms with a passcode. Great chips and salsa!

Saw someone on social media say that El Jefe is the only reason they’d want to return to Boston after leaving—and I can see why! This place serves amazing Mexican food. We ordered a Bowl and a Burrito, and the portions were generous. The toppings were well-prepared and full of flavor. I got mango, grilled steak, sour cream, and queso sauce in my bowl—a big portion where you can choose all the toppings from a display behind the glass counter. The price is very reasonable too, just $10.50 per bowl.

Open late. Carnitas were ok, but could be more flavorful. Chipotle mayo is a popular topping

Love that you can get at many toppings as you want for mostly no extra charge. Nachos tasted great, but there weren't too many chips and 80-90% of them were soggy. Nutella empanadas are a bit pricey, but they're good. Orange and mango juice was okay. Apple juice was okay.

Authentic Mexican food!!Everything smells and tastes sooooo good. Is not a sit and be served restaurant. That's the only downside.

The food is really tasty and fresh. The price is student friendly. You can add any hot sauce from the hot sauce station. They play good music and the ambience is great.

Helpful workers. Yummy food. Cost effective and healthy for someone like myself with a lot of recent health related allergies (gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, meatless)

The various El Jefe's around Boston and Cambridge have been serving my favorite Mexican for a few years now. If I'm going out to a concert at the nearby Paradise Rock Club, I often get more excited about going to El Jefe's than the concert (that's how amazing and fresh their tacos are!). My favorite taco ingredients include guacamole, plantains, beans, rice, and veggies. They also have a pretty good fake chicken! As a vegetarian, they have a good selection of options to choose from. Seating is limited, especially when the BU students are around, but I've never had to wait too long to snag a table. Staff is quick so don't be daunted by the long lines. Make sure you grab a lime Jarritos to go with your meal! Accessibility: There are about three steps at the main entrance, but there is a lift right next to it. Note: this location serves breakfast! See photo for the menu and hours.

Just like Chipotle where you let them know what ingredients to put in a bowl, but way more toppings to choose from!! A lot more authentic too! Everyone is very friendly, and there's lots of high chairs and low tables to sit at for larger groups. Every meat is the same price, including premiums like steak, shrimp etc! I got a bowl with shrimp (only came with a few tiny pieces), refried beans, Mexican rice, fajita veggies, and a bunch of other toppings! Guac is included, tho it was a bit too heavy handed on the lemon. The melted cheese and nacho cheese made the bowl taste SO yum! I also got the horchata - I thought it would be served fresh but I guess it was already bottled! Regardless, always an amazing treat that's so refreshing! Such a satisfying meal!! At $11.45 a bowl, it's a pretty good deal! Def much smaller portions than chipotle though.

First visit here after frequenting the Havard Sqaure location for years. Definitely not up to par with the other location. Grabbed some takeout after leaving a concert at the Paradise. 3 tacos + chips and queso. Told me they do not have flour tortillas available to swap for corn on tacos like their other location. Portions were also a lot smaller. One scoop of protein was used to fill all 3 of my tacos. The side of queso was about 1/3 of the way filled and they didn't secure the top on properly. It ended up put in my bag sideways and leaked everywhere. I didn't realize it until getting out of my Uber and lifting the bag to see a puddle of queso on the floor. I had to pay a surcharge to have my Uber drivers' car cleaned and arrived home with a mess of a bag and not a lot of food. While I absolutely love their Harvard Square location, I don't think I'll be coming back here.

Flavorless and bland, bad portion sizes. Carne asada was just plain unseasoned steak. Cilantro lime rice tasted more bland than just plain white rice. I don't even know what the small chips and queso would be because the large order is 1/3 full bag of chips and 1/2 full container of queso. The small can't possibly be less than this, think they just increase the packaging size and serve you the same amount. Only plus is how late they are open but if there are other available options this wouldn't be my first choice. Taco Bell just down the street is open just as late.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! I Always order fajitas bowl with chicken and shrimp. They're so good. Staff were nice. Free hot and cold toppings and 3 tortillas.

First time at the Comm Ave location. Food was good, as always. Service was excellent, better than usual. Brought my granddaughter and just think it's an interesting point that they have high chairs but no kid menu or small portions of items. However, we are way quite satisfied.

Food was subpar. Service staff were not very friendly. Very small portions of queso and they were not happy when we asked for more.

Super disappointed i got "chipotled" here. Asked for rice beans and veggies and clarified no meat. I got barely any beans and like three onions. I had to ask for more veggies from the second server but overall my bowl was pretty empty. I don't come here with high expectations so it's disappointing when they aren't even met.

A great stop for a quick bite to eat. You can get a bowl, burrito, or tacos with a choice of different proteins and toppings. They make everything in front of you. The chicken burrito I got was delicious and definitely the best burrito I've had in years. Prices are very reasonable too. Definitely one of my favorite spots for Mexican food in Boston.

Food was good, prices were good. We came here right before a concert at the paradise next door. Mostly filled with college students, but that's exactly what you'd expect for the location. Was a little crowded but not uncomfortably so.

Delicious!! Always good food and very well priced. If you're craving a burrito this is the place to go!

First time that I order in the place Took like an hour to get my food order of tacos and a taco plate And 4 churros was 53 dollars we get the food super cold and the taco the tortilla hard I reall get mad so much money for something so cold Maybe the food is good in there but cold and hard tortillas I can't help to give a good review

Not bad, not great, just average. I ordered a 3 taco platter and it came to $13 with tip, which is not bad (also not great, just average). Ordered online for a Noon pickup on a Friday, and went to pick up my food a few minutes early (store was empty). Lady looked at my phone and handed me a bag. I got back to my office a couple blocks away only to discover I got someone else's burrito. I walked back and told them the mistake and they gave me the correct order. Food was not bad. It also wasn't great, just sort of average. No real complaints here, it's just that I'm pretty sure there's a Chipotle a couple blocks down the way, so maybe next time I'll head there for lunch.

Great easy stop and good size portions for what you pay. Recommend the Chimichangas, but they do take some time as they are fried to order.

Food is tasty but recently they have started to give way less for the sides while keeping the same price. We got a comically small amount of hot sauce (what maybe amounted to one hot sauce packet) at a price of $1.75 per container as a side (which used to be a full container of hot sauce) and the side of queso ($5.75 with a small bag of chips) was less than half an inch high in the cup when it used to come as a mostly full cup. It sucks that they're trying to shrink portions to a comically small size while keeping prices the same. Nickel and diming is making ordering from them an unpleasant experience. I definitely won't be ordering from here again as a result. It's ridiculous to charge someone the same price for 1/5 of what used to be provided for that price. Shady and not worth the money.

Absolutely tasteless food. Ordered the carnitas bowl and beef taco. Both had as much flavor as toilet paper, which I could have used later that night. Although I did enjoy evacuating it much more than eating it.

Solid fine Mexican food that makes you think, damn. I could easily make this better at home. There's better spots out there... but there's also worse I guess.

amazing food. service amazing and the ambiance is great. I love the people here and everyone the vibe.

They give very little food, the chicken does not have a good flavor, more rice than chicken and vegetables. It's not worth it to spend your money there .

No reason this restaurant should be rated so low! Menu is fixed price which means free guac, steak etc. You would think that means skimping on quality but everything is excellent and flavorful. Quick service and great prices!

I ordered from el jefe taqueria a Mexican bowl with plantains and a double order of beef. I only received rice and bean with some veggies and a small piece of plantain... AND NO BEEF. TERRIBLE PLACE.