The Jalapeno Grille

I have really turned the corner on this place. I went from thinking it was mediocre to craving chilaquiles constantly and eating here at least once a week. I am a chilaquiles evangelist. I tell everyone about them. Now I am telling you. They are absolutely fantastic. The salsa is so flavorful and the chips are actually CRUNCHY while covered in sauce. Combined with the rich egg yolk, it has become my favorite thing to eat. My mouth is watering because I am waiting for my takeout while I write this review.
Oh also the horchata is some of the best I have ever had. Very spice rich. I still don’t love the burrito, but I just think it’s just not the right thing to order.

Go to St Charles location. First time at Naperville and was awful. They put sopping wet lettuce in burrito and had no flavor for burrito and water was running down arms and dripping on floor. I know it wasn’t from the meat because the other half of burrito on plate looked like it was in a swimming pool. Clear water cover whole plate. By far worst burrito I’ve ever had. I’d rather have gone to Taco Bell. At less at TB you know what you’re getting nothing great.

I’ve been here quite a few times in the past 2 years and it’s pretty hit or miss. Some days the food is great and some days not great. However, today was good. I ordered steak tacos w/​onion and cilantro for myself, chicken nachos for the bf, steak tacos for my oldest and for the pickiest eater, my youngest, a cheeseburger meal… yes, this taco joint has cheeseburgers.
I don’t always order horchata but today I decided to. Their horchata isn’t bad really. A little too sweet this time but still not bad.
The cashier is usually very nice and the tables and seats were clean every time I’ve been there. The prices are decent for tacos and nachos.

After coming here several times, I am finally certain I won’t eat here again. Chicken tacos were just okay but they charged us for extra meat we didn’t ask for, and forgot to give us several items that we did pay for. All items were soggy and the beans weren’t really beans at all, just soup. Don’t even think about trying the breakfast, absolutely disgusting! Customer service is terrible. Staff read negative reviews while customers were in line waiting for their food, which is awkward and unprofessional. Cashier was too busy flirting with the cook to get the order right. Even though this place is across the street I won’t be going back. There are too many authentic Mexican restaurants in the area to waste money here.

After a few months of debating, our office of about 12 ordered based on the decent reviews. The food was ok, however, the orders were completely messed up. We were missing sides, missing entire orders, and given items we didn’t even order. One order, for example, was for their Enchilada for $ 8.95 which included rice, beans, and a tortilla. What we received was only 3 enchiladas.
Maybe for smaller scale orders, Jalapeño Grill would be a good bargain. However, after this corporate lunch, I won’t be going back for another dip.

Food was ok. service was terrible, ordered veggie burrito they gave me veggie burrito with meat which I found out after taking a few bites, which was unacceptable being a vegetarian. Server was almost unapologetic about it. NEVER AGAIN.

$ 3.50 for mediocre chips and salsa which are free at almost all Mexican restaurants, only free refills on pop and no other drinks, undersized burritos, and WAAAYYYYY to much salt used in preparing the food. Add in the low quality of service and you get a place that is not worth going to again.

Been here several times and it never disappoints… always quick service and the tacos al pastor are fantastic!

Am I delirious? Reading the positive reviews on this place baffles me. I live in Saint Charles, but work in Naperville. After a lackluster experience and food at the St Charles location, I thought I’d give the Naperville location a shot for lunch… I should have trusted my instincts and avoided it.
Generally, reviews for restaurants are either really good or really bad. I almost never write reviews (if that gives you any indication). I ordered a pork burrito for takeout. After nearly 30 minutes, I got my to go order (there were 2 people in front of me). Upon opening my burrito, I was shocked at the size – about twice that of a Chipotle burrito. First bite? Gagtastic. The pork was sautéed in onion (good) – a bit salty – however, there was literally about a pound of:
–cold refried beans
–cold and raw onions
–cold lettuce
–liquid sour cream
To salvage this damn thing, I had to squeeze out the cold fixin’s like a tube of toothpaste.
This is so odd because the place appeared to be run my Latinos! I guess I was spoiled in California with authentic Mexican food. This was simply atrocious and I would highly not recommend.
The only saving grace was that I only lost $ 7 bucks out of the arrangement. I ate about ¼ of what I paid for – terrible flavor, bad service, and a trash can in my cubicle filled with food that could have fed a small village… what’s not to love?
Avoid.

Today was my 2^nd time here, and I really liked it here. Great pork burrito and I love the chips served nice and hot. The lady at the cash register could be a little friendlier. I will be back.

I was pretty satisfied with this place, my bf wasn’t 100% pleased but I think we have some pretty decent Mexican food places around here and this being one of them. Speedy and big portions, very flavorful! I enjoyed everything very much. I got enchiladas and chips and guacamole, and never able to Finnish it all! Good place though, worth a stop if ur cruising by

Just had theeeeeeee worst chicken sandwich in my life! I might as well have been eating rubber. No way near done! The cashier was a little rude as well.

The food was very good. I would rate the food at 4 — 5 stars. However the service was bad enough to warrant a 2 — 3 star reduction and I ordered it to go!
First I called and placed the order and they told me it would be ready in 10 — 15 minutes. I arrived 15 minutes later, and they told me they had no phone orders but they can have it ready in 5 minutes. 10 minutes later, they gave me the wrong burrito, ground beef, instead of steak. It took them another 10 minutes to bring out the right one. I was trying to grab a quick lunch, but it took me almost 40 minutes and made me late for my meeting.

Tasty food and a restaurant that is easy on your pocketbook — a welcome oasis after spending your hard-​earned cash in the surrounding home improvement stores. Your food is made to order and therefore piping hot when it arrives. Definitely returning to try everything else on their menu

The only reason that I take the time to review this little lunch meal was that I suffered for the next 12 hours from it …
Lunch close to job site. We had chile relleno burritos, which are one of my favorite treats. Impossible to taste anything in the burrito because abundance of cheap, old, raw onions. It is truly hard to mess up fast mexican food. Poor ingredients will do it, as will careless kitchen work.

This is a hidden gem in Naperville! The food is very delicious and prepared as you order. I mean they FRY you chips for you right when you order it! Delicious!
Also, you will not have a problem with cold food here! It’s served fresh off the grill super hot. We ordered some tacos al pastor and sope. The pastor is just delicious and super juicy. This is a must go. Very authentic Mexican food. Would come back a million times.

This place is owned by the same family that owns the St. Charles location which is my favorite Mexican place in the burbs. The food here is the same great quality but the menu is more take-​out centered. I was a bit disappointed that they don’t carry the «puerco pibil» dish here but maybe they will in the future. Wednesday is $ 4 Margaritas, so I will need to come back soon

******Naperville location only**********
Trash. I just had a tamale. When I opened the wrapper I could smell smoke. When I tasted it, tasted like smoke. Guacamole and chips is alright, can get that anywhere. Everyone at the company I work for won’t touch this place and its walking distance. I promise if you know Mexican food u won’t like this place.
By the way. all the photos listed here… they must have had family night and really tried their best on presentation. Dude the food never looks that good. My job has catered (employees complain everytime) and the food NEVER EVER looks that good. I think the owners had a night where all the employees took pics of their food because its the one time it would be done right. TRASH

This has become my go to taco place in the Naperville/​Aurora area. Yeah, it’s a little pricier compared to what I would expect to pay in a Mexican restaurant — - but the higher price is reflected on the quality of the food. Plus their prices is comparable to other restaurants in the area.
I had an obsession with their fish taco— so amazing!!– it was fried fish (cod or tilapia?) and some sort of slaw that was just— addictive. For some reason, the last time I had it— it didn’t agree with me— probably getting old or whatever. Luckily, my bff ordered their shrimp taco which I got to try and now that’s my go to taco. I haven’t tried any of their other tacos… so I can’t speak for them.
Their guacamole 2.5÷5 is okay. Not amazing. but hits the spot if I’m craving it. It doesn’t have a lot of flavor or kick to it… and I don’t like the quasi pureed texture. Their horchata is pretty good ⁴⁄₅. Their flan is amazing but inconsistent 4÷5… you have a 75% chance of it being amazing… and 25% chance of it being okay.
Definitely worth a try if you’re in the area!

Ok. So since my husband got ham enchiladas and I got something that looked like american cheese on my taco salad… I steered clear for over a year. I gave it several attempts and always ended up with a weird texture or the wrong type of food.
However…my husband started going back to this place in the last few months and was singing a different tune. «This place got it together.» He would come here when I was at class, knowing that I didn’t want to go there ever. It was always his Jen-​is-​out-​of-​town-​meal (or out-​at-​class meal, whatever). He kept raving about how it’s finally good and now he prefers it.
So FINALLY about a week ago, we were craving some Mexican. He instantly popped out «Jalapeño Grill!“and I finally gave in, despite the ghosts of my prior experiences telling me not to. I simply allowed my husband to order something for me, and we both went home with the pastor enchiladas dinner.
WOW. Talk about a turnaround. These enchiladas were large, filling, and above all, flavorful! The food wasn’t bland. The shells were tough. The meat wasn’t cold. And the pork was actually pork (not ham)! This meal was huge, and yet I plowed through it and ate the entire thing, simply because I couldn’t stop. Delicious!
Ok, so do I take back my previous reviews? No. Those experiences were not favorable and the reviews were truthful. However, I think that places make mistakes and maybe they were still training their staff/​getting their bearings in their new location. I’m glad they’ve learned from their mistakes, because now there are some damn good enchiladas less than a mile from my house!