El Jaripeo

My favorite Mexican Restaurant in the Charlottesville Route 29 North Area! Service is always fast and friendly! Plenty of seating including many booths. Free Chips & Salsa and sometimes you can ask for Salsa Blanca (Which is amazing!) My favorite menu item to order is the California Burrito which is a large burrito with beef or chicken inside and a white cheese sauce on top! On Thursday & Saturday’s they have Fajitas for 2 on special for around $ 16.50! Also, you can get a margarita on special too on Thursday & Saturday! I’ve never had a bad experience here, and all my friends that have tried it love it! They do offer take out and still give you very generous portions! There is limited outdoor patio seating when the weather is warm!

Appetizers were good, but their happy hour margaritas were great (goblets for only $ 5)! The first time I went the service was quick then in the beginning, then nonexistent once we received our food (we had to flag down other servers for condiments and refills of water). The second time I went the place was nearly empty so service was on point. For Mexican food there is better in the area, but it wasn’t bad. Just not the best.

I stopped off for a quick lunch. I ordered a grilled chicken salad. I got shredded lettuce, a bit of rice at the bottom, and a handful of flavorless chicken on top. Oh, and chopped tomato — maybe a chewy tomatoes worth. I complained about the missing beans, and after the server argued with me and I showed him the menu, he brought out some pretty bleh refried beans. Not what I was expecting for a salad!
I definitely ordered badly, but couldn’t have been much more disappointed. I would have told the server but he was too busy chatting with other staff.

Just had dinner here. Service was ok. After being seated and given the usual chips and salsa, I ordered my food. Not less than 10 minutes of ordering I received my food. That’s about 5 chips. So I guess the food was quick. The down side is I asked for more salsa the guys said I’m sorry we are out.
Wow. Mexican restaurant with out salsa.
Not to mention there’s a $ 2.00 service charge for something that I don’t even know. So watch out for your bill.

Absolutely love this place. It’s similar in style and menu to El Puerto and Guadalajara, but currently this is my favorite of these restaurants. Great chips and salsa, and wonderful service each time I stop by. Strongly recommend for a quick, not too expensive Mexican meal.

Looking for consistently good Mexican food in northern Albemarle County? This is the place. Great salsa, great guacamole, and good food. The carnitas are excellent. Try them. My family and coworkers enjoy this restaurant.

Stopped here for dinner on our way to D.C. from a weekend in North Carolina. The place looks very festive with lots of Mexican decorations. As soon as we sat they brought chips and salsa which were good. I ordered the Fajita Burrito which is a HUGE burrito filled with onions, peppers, and chicken, topped with salsa and sour cream. It comes with «avocado salad» which is really iceberg lettuce, two tomatoes and a small scoop of avocado. My boyfriend ordered one of the combination platters which came with an enchilada, a tamale and a beef burrito. My burrito did not have chicken. I felt they tried to stuff it up with vegetables and a «little bit» of chicken. Nothing amazing. The salad was mediocre. My boyfriend’s order came out wrong so he had to wait around 12 minutes while I ate my burrito for his order to come out again. When it did, it wasn’t a plate worth waiting for. Two ebtrees came out to $ 20 dollars which isn’t bad at all. Overall, it was a medicore «meh» experience. If you want cheap Mexican this is an ok place, I guess.

LOVE this place. My husband and I have been twice now, and both times were excellent. We’ve had vegetarian and also steak fajitas. Both of us enjoyed what we had. The portions are generous — you can either eat six fajitas at once (whoa!) or three with three more at home the next day. Comes with the standard toppings.
Last night I tried their beef tacos and they were very good. Meat was nicely spiced and I really liked the white cheese on top. They didn’t come with tomatoes, so I just dipped in the leftover salsa. Their salsa is really excellent. Last night my husband hadn’t eaten all day after his retail shift and the server brought extra chips and salsa with no worries. Our total bill was very fair for all we ate.
Will definitely return to this place. Five stars.

This is a pretty run of the mill Mexican place. Not bad, but certainly not exceptional in any way. The fare is typical tex mex food and the service was good but not particularly warm. There is certainly more authentic Mexican food in the area.

I just don’t get why this place is so popular. I keep trying to give it a chance, but it just seems to be another mediocre Mexican place (something C’ville is not short on). The prices are reasonable, but despite it being close to my house, I gladly drive 3 miles past El Jaripeo and Guadalajara to pick up from Baja Bean, instead. I’d much rather someone resurrect High Tide Burrito (which had great burritos, but poor marketing) or Baggby’s, which both used to occupy the north side location previously.

There is not much authentic about the Mexican food at El Jaripeo. Then again maybe that’s best. And there is nothing much house made here. House assembled maybe but not house made. The ubiquitous «red sauce» came from a can; the ground beef is gray in color and so finely chopped it’s near power form that tells me it’s cooked, frozen and defrosted; the cheese was more mozzarella than anything Mexican. Taco shells are small and a very strange brown color as well. Whole grain? Likely not.!! Margaritas are more mix than tequila and not worth the $ 8.50 each. The chips, however, were warm but the salsa lacking. Prices are inexpensive (in the $ 6.00 — $ 10 range.) Bottom line is El Jaripeo is another run-​of-​the-​mill restaurant in the dining wasteland that is Charlottesville, VA and the surrounding environs. As for Mexican food? Well, likely better to invest in a good Rick Bayless cookbook and stride out on your own.

Consistently good food. Certainly not the best, but I’ve been here about 3 times and never had a bad meal. Their meat dishes tend to be best and work well with their sauces. Solid portions for the price. Margaritas aren’t the strongest or most standout I’ve had, but they’re pretty good.
Definitely worth a try as far as the mexican food in Cville goes!

Yummmm, affordable, yummy, good service, friendly and clean.

Always yummy! The food is always fresh and the service is friendly.

Great little Mexican restaurant with great prices! Love the tortilla soup!

Best Mexican restaurant in Cville! Well prepared, light food and friendly and accommodating staff. Tasty Margaritas!

visit on 5÷23÷2011
Great inexpensive weekday lunch specials. I like that they give you a mini carafe of their tasty salsa along with a basket of tortilla chips. Food was fresh and service was friendly. Not a bad choice for Mexican food in the area.

Very decent mexican food for the area. Service was good and the ambiance has improved since they took over the copy shop that used to be next to their location. Nothing amazing, but decent food for not a ton of money. Better then the other options nearby.

My wife and really like El Jaripeo. The food is delicious and portions bounteous. The staff is friendly and efficient. The prices are quite reasonable. The menu is extensive. And, they have live Mariachi from time to time!

This is the best mexican food I’ve had on the east coast. I have yet to be disappointed and I eat here all the time now! ½ price kids meals on Monday is a great deal too! They’re also very friendly and fast service.