Both El Jacalito and Hacienda are good Mexican food. Â Hacienda is a little newer and has better decor but El Jacalito is in the village. The salsa bar is a favorite in our family and they pour a very nice margarita. Â Very reasonable. Â The service is a bit slow but not out of ordinary for Big Bear. Â If you are looking for big plates of god food I would suggest either place.
Review Source:The 2013 version is waaayyyyy better than the pre-remodel era. Â The food has always more than just "okay", but it was quite the basic and expected Mexican restaurant. Â Now, and especially for a tourist town, it's become a really great experience. Â The decor inside is stunning, and the new outdoor patio is absolutely lovely on a sunny day.
I love the lights, the artwork, and even the fabrics chosen. Â The bar area is set off to one side with all the TV's, so it doesn't distract from having breakfast, lunch, or dinner out, giving a choice to the customers to want, or don't want that. Â Check out some of these pics:
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hacienda-grill-big-bear-lake-2?select=ScNZJmlVAHHc-RxZHDY-Rg#ScNZJmlVAHHc-RxZHDY-Rg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hacienda-grill-big-bear-lake-2?select=ScNZJmlVAHHc-RxZHDY-Rg#UlsiiFDjo_H9sZnGds0rXg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hacienda-grill-big-bear-lake-2?select=ScNZJmlVAHHc-RxZHDY-Rg#F3wx63EuuAERkCB1AIBVFA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hacienda-grill-big-bear-lake-2?select=ScNZJmlVAHHc-RxZHDY-Rg#olgdFyCg3RgbEfXDxnO-uw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
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The prices of the food is very reasonable. For example, 16oz drafts domestic $3.50; imports $4.50. Â My massive Chile Verde burrito - $8.95 with extra chile verde sauce atop was nothing short of awesome, and too large -- I couldn't finish it. Â Combo plates and more elaborate dinner are available from $12.99 up.
Service was very pleasant and accommodating for my table of 3 (with the Mama & her BF). Â Love when my expectation has been exceeded. Â Let's celebrate with some tequila!
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hacienda-grill-big-bear-lake-2?select=ScNZJmlVAHHc-RxZHDY-Rg#7Mg6Kf3cEDSycCcQhrzEGA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
So much food!!!
Got into Big Bear around 9ish and this place was close by and open. We elected to sit at the bar and received wonderful service from the bartender who was also a waiter. It took awhile for me to decide because their menu was so expansive. They even had breakfast. Decided on carnitas tacos with black beans and rice. So delish! And like I said earlier, the portions were huge!
Great food, large portions, and good service. I'll definitely be back here the next time snowboarding season rolls around.
The atmosphere is nice. It's a sports bar and Mex grill. Service, while kind and somewhat friendly, was extremely slow. Average salsa bar. The chips are free...the first basket. Then they charge after that. I got fajitas- no seasonings, just flavored by onions and peppers. The taco salad is big but bland, like the fajitas. Saving grace: the appetizer, Mexican Spring Rolls, were excellent and discounted to $6 during happy hour. Â Won't go back again unless craving the Spring Rolls.
Review Source:I was very impressed on my first visit. Â Rather than the country diner feel, Â this restaurant has an upscale feel with great decor and lighting. Â The food was good. What I liked was the fresh salsa choice you could get with your chips. Â That was great and I loved the regular salsa and roasted garlic. Both excellent. Â They have a salsa bar and I liked that a lot. Â My dinner was the taco combo plate with chicken. Â The only improvement was the tortilla could have been bigger for the tacos (made the tacos look small) and the chicken should have been warmer. Â It did taste really good and I didn't even bring up the temp thing to the waitress. Â The rice and beans were excellent and very flavorful.
Review Source:I wish I remember our waitress's name on the lower lever because she gave us awesome service. We ate dinner Saturday night around 7pm & it was busy. Our waitress was friendly & was working as quick as she could. There was a miscommunication about how much our pitcher of margarita was. Without hesitation she took our bill & change the price. I really like that she didn't try to make excuses & just fixed the problem. That's GREAT customer service.
PS loved my chicken enchiladas verde :) Â I love my food every time I come here after snowboarding. The prices are average ($8-18) & the salas is good, too.
Have eaten here a few times - not since the renovation. Good margaritas. That's about all I can say for the positive side. The food is marginally Mexican inspired. Sort of like El Torito without the quality. The last time we went was the last time. 6 people, all adults, ordered 6 different dishes. 3 out of 6 were under the weather the next morning. If you go, stick to the cocktails.
Review Source:Great Mexican food up in Big Bear! We took a seat at the bar and were served promptly with drinks and our orders came up pretty fast too. I had an enchilada and chile relleno combo which was delicious and of course came on a huge platter. I thought the place was pretty busy for a Thursday night and everybody was enjoying themselves, drinks and food were good and service was too, thumbs up!
Review Source:Food good service very poor. Asked 4 times for silverware. Never refilled or asked to refill drinks. Forgot to put in a meal and blamed there cooks for forgetting so I had to wait until everyone was done with there meal before I was able to eat. Â Besides service food was very good. Â I would have given it 4 stars but service brought this down.
Review Source:Good Service and Good Drinks
Was in town for a long weekend and decided to come here for the NFL AFC and NFC championship games.
The place is new (remodeled) so everything is nice and clean with a lot of BIG TV's.
Great food options with a long menu, full bar with plenty of tequila choices, and solid amount of beer on tap.
We had some margaritas (hit the spot) with the mixed ceviche and carne tacos. Good food and decent portions.
Most of the bars and restaurants in Big Bear are on the older side, so this is a great add to the mix. I will mos def be back for dinner or a game.
My husband ordered a ground beef burirto. They gave him a burnt chicken burrito. He returned it and asked not to burn meat, but they also burnt his ground beef so he canceled his order. Our waiter asked if I want to flour or corn tortilla with my meal so I asked for flour, but never received it. The whole time we were there, the waiter never returned to our table and asked if things were okay. We had to grab another waiter.
The restaurant was nicely decorated. Too bad that they can't offer good foods and services.
I am a fan of blood marries I love those damn things. Not the greatest here. The food is good. A bit expensive for the quality but very good. In Big Bear this is the best Mexican place you will find. If you're hungry and you love spicy come here and get all the spicy you want.
They don't take reservations, but they do a great job getting you in. I came with a large group, and we didn't wait more than 25 min at peak hour (around 7pm).
No hesitation this is a going to be a good decision for you
First of all, I'd like to point out that I am a very generous 4 or 5 star reviewer. Â So giving a 1 star is a pretty big deal to me. Â I thought the food was way overpriced compared to other restaurants in Big Bear. Â So paying more, you expect better quality. Â I also noticed that the coffee shop down the street has a more comprehensive Mexican food menu and they have really good reviews.
I ordered the carne asada burrito at Hacienda because those are usually a reliable menu item at a Mexican restaurant. Â Honestly it was really really boring. Â It tasted like they bought a store-bought pack of Mission tortillas, and put a TON of unflavored canned pinto beans and rice. Â Then they added a little bit of boring slices of steak. Â It wasn't carne asada. It had NO salsa, NO seasoning and it was probably the most flavorless burrito I have had! Â For 7.99 for a burrito? Â I was starving and I did eat half of it and had a ton left over. Â At least the portions were good. Â I grabbed a ton of salsa so that I can eat the leftovers (I really don't like wasting food... it's still food). Â
I felt bad for leaving no tip, because the waitress was okay, but honestly I am not going to pay even more money for a terrible meal. Â
Seriously, if you are management and you read this, I suggest having a taste test with your food. Â It's not great, and definitely merits a poor review, and no returning business from me.
If u love waiting forever, you will love this place. For sure the worst service I ever received. When we told the manager that we waited over 20 minutes to order our food and an hour to get it, he told us we were wrong. No apology or realization that there are service issues. In fact we were told by the manager that he showed it was 40 minutes...and that is good. Â He proceeded to tell us that if we want fast food, do not go there.
He was such a complete idiot it was hard for me to believe he is employed anywhere. We had to ask for the check and when we got it, that was wrong too. Â Food that was never delivered was billed. Â NICE,
I would rather eat anywhere than there. Beyong horrible service and management. Clearly they think a little too highly of themselves to think that type of service will fly. the guy who said CLUSTER F had it right. Save ur money and do not go here. Â
Btw...food was cold and ok at best when we got it 1.5 hours later.
For an enjoyable experience, go ANYWHERE but the Hacienda Grill.
With not a lot of choices in Big Bear for good food, I was excited that Hacienda Grill reopened recently. Â I went in the other day and was very impressed with the remodel of the space. Â They really did a good job with the build. Â
The wait was long, but not unexpected for Hacienda Grill. Â After being seated, our very friendly waitress took our drink order, while apologizing for being new and not knowing the menu verbatim. Â While waiting for our drinks, we perused the menu and were really getting excited about our dinner based solely on the food descriptions and variety. Â
The drinks were great and we started placing our orders. Â My dad got through his with no problem, but when I went to order my fish tacos, I hit a snag. Â I'm not fond of rice, so I generally order just beans when both are offered. Â The waitress asked if I wanted black or pinto beans. Â I politely asked if I could have half of each. Â The waitress apologized for being new again and asked if I wouldn't mind waiting while she checked with the manager. Â Now this struck me as odd since every restaurant I've ever been to with the exception of prix fixe restaurants have no problem handling minor requests like this. Â The waitress returned and said that the manager had declined my request. Â Thinking that this might have been the result of a waitress new to the job, I asked if the manager was aware that I wasn't having the rice that the plate came with. Â Retreating again, the waitress went to meet with the manager. Â Upon return, she informed me that it wasn't possible to do half pinto and half black, but I could order a side of one of them in addition to my meal. Â I politely declined, feeling confused and let down by the fact that this is one of the most basic requests that any Mexican kitchen gets, yet it seemed too difficult for Hacienda Grill. Â
Halfway into the meal, I asked our waitress if the woman who I thought she had been speaking to was the manager and she confirmed that indeed she was, but the owner as well. Â THE OWNER!!!!! Â
Big Bear Lake is a small enough community where customer service still goes a long way. Â I hope that the owners of Hacienda Grill realize this soon or they will continue to lose customers. Â There is no point in patronizing a restaurant where your enjoyment isn't the #1 goal of it's owners.
Don't expect great Mexican food from here cause you will be sadly disappointed. It's really just A-OK but the ambience is nice and the service was good. The salsa bar really needs some revamping. All of the salsas fell extremely flat. The servings are extremely large so come hungry. I ordered a combo plate that came with rice, beans, a crunchy taco, a chile relleno and a enchilada. The chile relleno was actually good but all the other items were whatevs.
Review Source:Hacienda is owned and operated by the same owners as El Jacalito in the village. Â The menu is generally the same with the addition of ribs and more seafood. Â My wife had the beef milanesa which was very thinly sliced, well seasoned and perfectly cooked. Â My dinner choice was the carnitas another very well prepared dish and an ample portion! Â Neither of us had tried these at El Jacalito. Â Given that the menu is so similar to EJ, we will return. Â The only reason I am not posting 5 stars is that the service staff was a little slow. Â It was Monday night, and they seemed to be 1 person short.
Review Source:I would like to begin by saying this...
What a cluster f@ck.
I have never waited for 15 minutes to be seated in an empty restaurant before. But it was fairly amusing to watch the two hostesses run around like crazy trying to clean all the empty tables (yes all 15 of them) before seating their guests. Not to mention also watching in disbelief as the restaurant manager snapped at a couple that had seated themselves in the bar area. "we don't like people sitting at dirty tables," he growls under his breath. He sent them packing to the hostess stand to give their name to the non-existent hostess.
But I guess one shouldn't set their expectations too high in Big Bear City. You should only be that lucky to eat out and manage not to get food poisoning (kidding).
However, my steak taco was a good size, the meat was seasoned to my liking, and I enjoyed the salsa they had on the table. It had the perfect level of spiciness going on and was very fresh. We also ordered the Chorizo con Queso to share, which was basically Chorizo and mozzarella cheese melted in a pot served with Chips. That was pretty good as well. But it's kinda hard to eff up Chorizo if you know what I mean.
So overall, food was good, initial service not so much. I might return...
Went here on a Saturday night after a day of skiing. There was no fresh powder on the slopes, it was all man made. So it was a fairly slow day on the mountain.
After freshening up at the hotel we drove less than half a mile before deciding that this place looked good enough to eat at. The parking lot was full and they seemed to have plenty of people inside.
The wait was about 10mins. Was not that bad at all. Our waiter was prompt on taking our order for food and drinks. The food took maybe 10-15mins to receive. Our margaritas on the other hand too FORE-F***IN-EVER! If I did not pace myself, I could have finished my meal before receiving my drink. In the meantime I was drinking my glass of water. Not once was I offered a refill nor did I ever see my waiter again until finally receiving the check.
I ordered the carne asada plate. It came with a slab of flap meat, rice and beans. The asada wasn't the best ever, but it was better than at most places. To complement the asada they gave me a choice of warm corn or flour tortillas, I went with the corn.
They had an El Pollo Loco, do it yourself style salsa bar. Nothing at the salsa bar really turned me on. The chopped mild salsa had a good flavor, unfortunately nothing else was worth a darn. No heat what so ever. I'd honestly rather have the El Pollo Loco salsa bar as they have better hotter salsas.
Overall this place is more in the direction of quality than say a gringo style El Torito yet it is nowhere near packing the flavor of an authentic Mexican restaurant. This place wasn't bad, but I would rather try the other half a dozen spots in the area first before making a return trip back to the Hacienda Grill.
Came here to watch the play off game this past Sunday. Â They had lots of TVs, which was perfect! The fiance and I ordered beer and sangria (which was a little strong for my tastes) and a giant chimichanga!
The food was alright. Â Nothing spectacular. Â Though the fiance keep going back for more salsa at the salsa bar. Â Now if only they would keep coming with the chips.
Service was a bit all over the place. Â Our server seemed . . . loopy. Â She was nice though. Â Anyway, if I want to eat up at big bear, I won't be coming back here.
Came with the family a couple of weeks ago. One of the best chile relleno burritos I've ever had. Also, loved the self-serve salsa and spicy carrots. $12 for a pitcher of Dos Equis was very reasonable.
Very good service. My 2.5 year old son was totally acting up, so we got really self conscious. At least two of the kind staff tried to calm him down and they even re-sat us out on the patio.
Definitely not the resort tourist trap that it could easily be. These people work hard to provide good food and great service. Put this at the top of your list for dining at BBL!
Went here over my birthday weekend which just also happened to be President's Day Weekend this year. A friend strongly encouraged that our group of 7 head to dinner here.
We got seated in the bar at a large table. Next it was time to order drinks. This place has an extensive list of tequilas so we imagined the margaritas would be pretty good, Wrong! We all ordered Cadillac Margaritas for (around) $9. We were very wrong and disappointed. There tasted like they didn't even put tequila in them. When we asked the manager about it, she said we had the opportunity to make it a double for only $2 more. Wish someone would have said something before hand.
So we all upgraded!
Next came food. We all ordered simple plates from tres echiladas, flautas, and carne asada. Nothing to complicated. Tortillas were forgotten, drinks were not refilled, and the only person drinking water in the group asked for a glass at least 4 times before I just went up to the bar and asked for one myself.
Pretty good food, terrible drink service, and the service was mediocre. I'm giving more credit because it was Presiden'ts Day weekend and it didn't get super busy until after we walked in but still... I hope we just had a bad experience and it isn't like this all the time.
Lets get straight to the point:
Pros:
- Seated as soon as we arrived
- Our waiter was very attentive and courteous
- Mojitos were pretty tasty
- The girlfriend loved her beef enchiladas
Cons:
- Salsas were not spicy at all
- Chips were beyond oily
- My shrimp and fish tacos lacked condiments. They were served bare with lettuce, not cabbage, sour cream, tomatoes, guacamole, and onion
- The tortilla soup was really just a vegetable soup with tortilla strips
- All the other birthday parties received a flan with a candle; I got some ice cream with whip cream and chocolate syrup served in a salsa bowl
Sorry Hacienda, I would not be coming back.
Sometimes the road less travelled is not always the best way to go...a truck might hit you or some shit like that.
With that, I pretty much f**ked up when I got all exotic and shit and ordered the Enchiladas de Camaron y Papa...it was mucho gringo, not mucho sabor although there were 3 of em with beans and rice. I knew I shoulda ordered the taquito platter...can't really F those up.
The missus got the carne asada plate. She liked it but the carne pretty much was cooked to the point of jerky status...but I guess sometimes thats not so bad and since she is Messican, maybe they were just playing the odds, considering I only know like 2 Messicans that don't like their steak cooked to charcoal.
But guddammit I gotta say that the service was great (our server was "on it") and they surprisingly have a really extensive tequila menu. It's got TV's all over the place and the Pacifico's were ice-cold. Not so bad.
So 3 stars for the food and an extra star for the stuff al lado. And next time I come here, it's gonna be the taquito platter and a couple shots of some high-falutin tequila.
Awesome Mexican food!!! Â Very authentic and incredibly good. Â Very large portions for a reasonable price. Â The margaritas are very strong and tasty and during happy hour they are ridiculously inexpensive. Â The chip and salsa bar were great, they have something for everyone. Â I strongly recommend the tacos, they were huge and tasted so good. Â The bar tender is very knowledgeable about tequila and they have just about every type you can imagine. Â The TV's are also very nice for watching sporting events. Â
I will pay a visit to the Hacienda Grill every chance I get, just wish it was a little bit closer to home.
This is my new favorite restaurant. The house margarita is solid and (coming from LA) a pitcher is a STEAL at $18. They'll bring you chips but the salsa is located at a salsa bar. Not only do they have two excellent salsas (we can't decide which one is better), they have marinated jalapenos with carrots, vinegar marinated carrots, and radishes. I love it all.
Everything we've ordered has been delicious. The carnitas were moist and flavorful and the relleno yummy - although sometimes spicy. The green tomatillo (?) salsa from the kitchen is finger-lickin good. Husband said the hamburger was surprisingly really good. Even our horchata connoisseur raved it was some of the best he's had. Â
They have a great sports bar area with lots of large flat screen TVs. Oh, and we've never had a problem with parking or service.
This is cheap Mexican food like what people in Ohio think is Mexican food---in otherwords, it's not. Â I'm from Ohio, so I can make those digs.
Our server didn't smile the whole time and answering questions must have been as miserable to her as a visit to the dentist. Â
The one star here is for letting dogs onto the patio. Â That is the only nice thing I can say for Hacienda Grille. Â Yuck.
Stopped in here on a whim while traveling through Big Bear. The parking lot was under construction and there was room for maybe 8 cars. The lot next door was also under construction leaving people little choice on where to park.
The restaurant itself was nice - clean and very inviting. The service was not the best, especially considering it was the weekend of 4th of July. We saw only 1 waitress working and our glasses ran dry and stayed that way for nearly 10 minutes. They really needed an extra wait person or two.
The food was pretty average. I had the Carne Asada Torta which the menu said had guacamole, lettuce and tomatoes. It came with lettuce, sliced avocado and no tomatoes. The medium salsa was very good and the chips with their seasoned salt were tasty. One last plus is that they offer a large variety of tequilas.
Consider this a 3.5
Since moving to LA, I've realized that I'm really spoiled when it comes to Mexican food. If I want something authentic and historic, I go to El Cholo or El Chavo. If I want something lighter and trendier, I go to Malo or Alegria.
So one night while in Big Bear, we decided to give Hacienda a try based on a recommendation from my parents.
The service: Great.. our waitress was attentive and really nice
The chips: So yummy. I pretty much filled up on these before they brought the food out.
The mild salsa: Some of the best and freshest-tasting salsa I've had in a while
The guacamole: too salty and kind of bland
The margarita: I got the 16 oz and left with a little less than a buzz
The veggie burrito: Gigantic. I mean, really huge. This alone gets a 4 out of 5 and I liked that it wasn't covered with cheese and sour cream.
My boyfriend had the chicken fajitas and wasn't crazy about them
Overall, the food's not amazing but I'd go back for the service and the chips... plus it's difficult to find a good veggie burrito.
My family enjoys spending Thanksgiving in the local mountains and we've come here for the last three years. Â It used to be Senor Hogs, but it changed ownership to become Hacienda Grill. Â It's never been too crowded but always has enough people inside to give it an atmosphere. Â
I remember the chips being better, but this year they were a little stale and bitter, definitely not fresh. Â My mom really enjoys the hamburgers. Â As a bonus, they're a good size. Â She always takes half home in a box. Â I've had the carne asada burrito before with good results. Â This trip I got adventurous and tried the chile verde burrito. Â It had a good taste, but was really dry. Â The burrito had a lot of rice filler too. Â Seeing the other review I think I'll opt for the carne asada plate next time. Â My dad had the chile colorado (chile rojo) and said it seemed like the beef was added separately from the sauce; not the best he's had. Â
Last time I was there I got a huge goblet of Dos Equis; remembering this, I tried a mojito this year and got another giant glass. Â It was good, but I don't know how much rum it had. Â Also, it's the first brownish-yellow mojito I've ever seen. Â We were sitting right next to the bar and I thought I saw them pouring a pre-made mix into the glass. Â They used the same mix for the margaritas. Â In an unusual change of pace, it was garnished with a lemon. Â It would have been better with lime and more mint. Â Overall, the service was good and most items on the menu are decently price, about seven or eight dollars. Â If I could, I'd give it three-and-a-half stars, but I've had a solid experiences year after year, so I'll be generous.
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