Juanita Greenberg’s Nacho Royale

Fantastic late night food venue. The cuisine is typical Tex-​Mex, so don’t expect anything fancy, but this place hits the spot late at night!
I love the fun party atmosphere and funky décor — this is a 4-​star late night place to soak up the alcohol, listen to good, loud music, and be social. I love their nacho platters — the portions are ENORMOUS. They always include a lot of chicken in the chicken nachos, which can sometimes be a problem with places like this.
Service is always immediate and friendly. Beer list isn’t fancy, but it hits the spot with a lot of Mexican cerveza on the list and — of course — a solid margarita menu.
Also — their location is great — right on King street and «in the middle» of all the action.

Great tacos, nice and spicy. Definitely get the steak and shrimp ones. The chicken was pretty damn good too. Beer prices are on point, and I must have seen 40 spicy margaritas go out in a few hours to a relatively empty place.

Can not go wrong with jalapeño Margarita… good and spicy. The steak nachos and service was very good. We will return when we come back to the area.

Terrible food. Low quality cheese Was a sauce. Not any cheese in the anchors. Drinks. Margaritas weak. I asked for more limes. Would never go here again. Sent 1 drink back. Waitress was accommodating

If you find yourself on King St. and craving for some basic Mexican then this is going to hit the spot…
It is your standard Tex-​Mex style, inexpensive restaurant. You know what they are, normally found in strip-​mall spots and are decent but not great. However, it is unique to have one on King St. which is getting high-​end every next day.
I was there doing NFL football, so the service was a bit slow. Also, a bit loud, but understandable since it also has many TVs airing sports.
In summary, if I’m looking for low-​cost Mexican on King St. I would go here before going to La Ha (Hacienda).

So. the atmosphere here isn’t great and neither is the food. It’s kind of stinky and dirty. All of the food tastes like it came straight out of a can/​box/​jar. Sadly, if you’re on king and need a burrito. go to chipotle. if you need nachos, go home and make them yourself. If you’re not on King, there are much better options in the area

Pretty standard bar, no complaints. I haven’t had any food there before, but it’s definitely a fun place to go to drink with friends! Plenty of seating (including outdoors). I want to give a shoutout to Brit — she’s the best! I came in months ago and she was my server. She slipped and fell right by my table. It looked like it really hurt but she totally played it off really chill — you go Brit !!!

While visiting Charleston for the day, my friend and I walked pass Juanita’s and decided to give it a try when we saw the taco/​beer special on the wall. We both ended up having Grandma Texas (?) margaritas, which did not disappoint. Dang they were some of the best margaritas I’ve had in a while. and the price was just nice too. The female bartender was great and provided some delicious recommendations. We got the steak nachos and two gyro tacos. Based on the reviews, I was pleasantly surprised with my experience and would most likely return if I’m ever back in Chucktown.

Great margaritas! First I’ve ever had and I love them! Friendly staff, great music, and a chill atmosphere.

Excellent nachos. One order feeds at least two people! The margaritas are simple and do the job. It’s not gourmet, but it’s not supposed to be; it’s a bar! The tables are small so it’s best for two to three people at most, not large parties.

Great tacos, burrittos, and nachos! The Mexican beer is cold and bartenders are great.
I like upper king, but this place is a welcome oasis in the midst of the pretentious hipster bars.

This place is fun AND has good food. Wife and I sat outside outback. Has a roof so don’t worry about weather. And it’s dog friendly back there.
We ordered a quesadilla and I got a burrito. 1lb burrito went right down… had to finish it! Looked like they have some good margaritas as well… we didn’t drink at lunch though.
If you have been to Flaming Amy’s in Wilmington NC then you will love this spot.

The first time I came to Juanita’s was last year, my sister, two cousins, and I came to get some tacos and we really enjoyed the food. We were kind of annoyed that our waitress wasn’t very friendly or attentive, and this really turned us off to Juanita’s…but not enough to pass up the opportunity to get more delicious fish tacos this year while visiting Charleston again.
We decided to try out Juanita’s again this year (we figured the same salty waitress probably wasn’t there anymore, and we were right!). We were in Charleston for four days and my sister went to Juanita’s ¾ days and I went ²⁄₄ days. We honestly loved this place!
I got the fish and steak tacos and my sister got steak and blackened fish. The tacos are so good it’s almost hard to believe that they’re so cheap. I also got the margarita with the tequila shot on top, it was so good and I hardly tasted the alcohol but it got me so drunk!
My ONE complaint is that the chips aren’t freshly made, they’re from bags. Fresh made tortilla chips would really taste so much better, especially combined with that delicious guacamole! But honestly, this is a very very small complaint because the rest of the food was so good :)
Sidenote: The second time I went we had a really great waiter, he was so friendly and engaging and I really wish we had gotten his name so he could be recognized for how great he is! I left my Ray-​Bans at the table and came back a few hours later and he immediately recognized me and gave me my sunglasses. Some people would have kept them for themselves so I’m really happy that we had him as a waiter!

I am shocked at the low reviews here. My friends and I absolutely LOVED our experience at Juanita’s this past weekend. Sure, it wasn’t particularly a Southern type place or a foodie joint by any means, but the food was delicious. Some of the best Mexican I’ve had anywhere in the world.
Our server Joe was really friendly and humored our group since it was my birthday. We started out with margarita pitchers and ended the night with several rounds of Rumpleminze shots. At $ 3 a shot, who is going to say no to that?
I had one chicken taco and one fish taco and both were excellent — really flavorful and two was the perfect amount for a light dinner.
I was kind of disappointed that you had to pay for chips and salsa here, I thought that it was a Mexican restaurant standard to get free chips and salsa, but no harm done.
I’d come back again for the nachos and quesadillas. Both looked amazing and we regretted not ordering more.

Eating my way through Charleston — Part 4
After Husk we decided it was time to take little man through the South Carolina Aquarium and since the parking lot guy said it was close by… we decided to walk :) After a couple hours at the Aquarium it was time to get back to Restaurant Hopping so we set out for our next stop… Butcher & Bee.
On the way to Butcher & Bee we passed by Juanita Greenburg’s Nacho Royale (a repeat favorite of mine) and the temptation was way too strong for me to pass up so I stopped in for a quick steak taco and reminisced about my last visit to Juanita’s. The taco was seriously on point and served up only a couple minutes after I ordered. The corn tortilla was crunchy and hot, the steak was well seasoned and grilled to perfection, and despite already being on my way to get food… I was really happy I stopped in and got a little something light and refreshing from Juanita Greenburg’s Nacho Royale.

Love this place. This place and the old Juanita Greenberg’s that was on Wentworth have been favorites since 1996 when I started at College of Charleston. The Nacho Royale is the name sake for a reason! It’s great. Love the beer selection and prices!

I hate ordering nachos out at dinner. My wife on the other hand does. My intention was to let her get nachos and me tacos… when I saw how awesome the nachos looked I was sold… this place rocks and is the best cheap dinner in Charleston!

I love a restaurant that let’s my dog sit with me on the back deck. I don’t love a Mexican restaurant that doesn’t have complimentary chips and salsa (like, not even with the purchase of an entrée.) I also detest salt with my margarita, but I guess I can’t expect my waitress to remember every detail.
Despite the pooch love, I really don’t see how this place competes with the absolutely divine food scene that is downtown Charleston. It was just okay, at best. But the name has always fascinated me (I was disappointed there wasn’t Jewish and Mexican fare on the menu — who wouldn’t eat a Mazzo ball burrito?) so I’m glad I gave it a shot.

U know how nachos are usually just OK? Not here. Here they are better than ok. They are better than good. They are great. The portion is insane. The chips are the most delicious. Also, and this is super important, they have a solid Amount of toppings each layer of chips. That’s right. No dry chips. Respect. And JAws was playing on like 3 of the TVs WITH closed captioning. GTFO.

On February 21, 2015 at approximately 1630 hours Tom H., Elle H., and I, Dante G., responded to Juanita Greenberg’s Nacho Royale located at 439 King Street which is located in the city of Charleston, in reference to a late lunch.
We entered through the door located on the A Side of the business. We made contact with a male white subject at the Host Stand which is located approximately one third of the way into the business, at the end of the bar.
The subject allowed us to sit at a table located at the interior D-​A corner. Menus were produced and choices made. I do question not producing a children’s menu when you can see that there is an obvious four-​year-​old there.
I went with a beef quesadilla with a side of nachos and queso. I washed it down with a sweet tea.
Elle H. had a children’s quesadilla. She wanted Mac and Cheese. She’s four and therefore lacks a certain amount of self-​determination. Someday she will realize not every restaurant serves chicken nuggets or mac and cheese.
Tom H. had a little more difficulty with his choice. Tom H. wanted the special listed on the sidewalk board (see attached photo). His initial order was two tacos, one beef and one shrimp with a Negro Modelo to drink. Two tacos and a beer. It seems there is some fine print somewhere. It seems shrimp is not available for the special. Additionally, Negro Modelo is not available either. It seems they have to keep the special «near seven dollars». Available beers were Busch, PBR, Miller Light; essentially cheap American stuff. Questions about substitutions and up charges went unanswered.
I’ll take this moment to point out that the price difference in a beef taco and a shrimp taco was $ 0.50. Fifty cents. The menu difference for the beers was $ 1.00. One dollar.
The chips and queso arrived. The chips tasted slightly of popcorn. Weirdest thing I ever encountered. I don’t think they even serve popcorn here. If I had to describe the chips and queso in a word; that word would be bland. I saw the queso. I felt its warmth. I tasted nothing. Kind of like eating hot paste. Just less tasty.
The food arrived. The tacos were average according to Tom H. Elle H. was not hungry. The adult quesadilla really made up for the chips and queso. Fresh ingredients, served hot, and we’ll above average in taste. And the serving size was filling.
We requested the check. I requested separate checks. The male, possibly Kristopher, brought one check. When we gave him two cards, he asked if we just wanted the bill split in half. Tom H. politely explained what separate checks meant.
All in all, it was an experience I would not be opposed to repeating. Not one I would be adamant about, but would not stand in the way of.
End of Report.