Me & Julio

Added Nov 3, 2009 by blackislback of East Vancouver, Vancouver (1 Reviews)

Poor experience
Overall I wasn't too impressed with this restaurant. I have ordered quite a few dishes there and the only one that has been enjoyable was the turkey tostada. Unfortunately every time I have gone the service has been poor and the food has been sub-par. Its expensive and not worth the price. We have also had the chicken quesedilla and when we cut into it was cold! Don't go!

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Added Jun 15, 2009 by fortfraser of Tri-Cities (17 Reviews)

Weeknight fave
This place has become a regular for my SO and I. We characterize the food as 'elegant mexican'.

The guac is top-quality fresh and tasty, and the house-made dusted chips are outstanding.

The sangria is nothing special, but the margaritas are consistently good.

Portions are very large; the salads are meal-sized.

My favourite entree is the halibut tacos, but I've enjoyed everything at this place!

I note that other reviewers have commented on the beans and also the cabbage.
- I always order the back beans and have received them exactly the way I like them.
- My experience is that cabbage is typical on tacos and many entrees in Baja. The fact that M&J serve it red & pickled is perhaps their take on 'modern mexican' - I don't know. The flavors don't seem out of place; and I usually just fork it off to the side anyway and eat a little bit.
- The mind boggles that some reviewers want more salt on their plates. Correct mexican food is refreshing in that it traditionally has little salt, and I'm grateful that M&J follows this tradition.

Servers are (IMHO) typical for the Drive; pleasant & efficient. The kitchen gets the plates out quite promptly.

An excellent fresh & tasty meal with good booze for under $75 satisfies this couple.

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Added May 29, 2009 by thecritic of East Side (173 Reviews)

Great service and margaritas, food was lacking..
We went here for dinner a few weeks back in the middle of the week. The restaurant was relatively quiet. The service was great; drinks were refilled quickly, food came out fast and the server came back to check on us frequently without being too intrusive. The lime margaritas were excellent.

The food was probably the most disappointing portion of the dining experience. The ceviche was mediocre at best and tasted rather bland. The tacos were completely covered in pink coloured cabbage (perhaps it was slightly pickled?) and 90% of it needed to be removed so I could taste the other ingredients. Based on the quality and tastiness of the food, I would say the value was a little less than desirable. Maybe I just ordered the wrong dishes or they had an off night, but I probably won't return anytime soon.

Added Apr 29, 2009 by HungryDude of Commercial Drive, Vancouver (6 Reviews)

Good food, good cocktails, terrible service
I've eaten at Me and Julio about half a dozen times. Regardless of how busy it is, the service has always been terrible. Personally, I like the food enough to come back anyway. However, I know some people that went with me swore they would not go back because of how bad the service was.

The food is not a traditional mexican style, but more of a fusion. I usually get the tacos with shrimp and fish (they let you mix and match). The enchiladas are also pretty good. I was dissapointed that they cheap out on the guacamole (the bottom half of the bowl is black beans) but a lot of restraunts do that.

I usually don't drink cocktails, but I tried one there with coconut milk and strawberry puree (can't remember the name) and it was great.

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Added Feb 11, 2009 by nana of Vancouver (6 Reviews)

Better Than Expected.
The Good: Great, tasty food. Nice atmosphere. Good cocktails. Pleasant staff.

The Bad: Long wait, sent our appetizers to the wrong table (eventually sorted out, didn't have to pay for them).

Overall: Not worth a 45 minute wait, but a nice change from the usual mexican/tex-mex restaurants in town. Would go back if I was in the neighborhood and there was no line-up.

Added Jan 19, 2009 by agiustino of north vancouver (1 Reviews)

Why Bother
Sorry but there must be better mexican restaurants in Vancouver. I will have to try their original restaurant on Davie. This place sucked. We couldn't see our menus and had to use tea lights to try to read it. Service was slow. We waited way over an hour for our food. The server finally brought us chips and salsa for free and I must say they were the tastiest thing on the menu. It didn't help that a large group sitting next to us who came in after us were served their food before us!!! Food was cold when it did finally arrive. Then to top it off they kept opening up doors so there was a freezing draft coming at us. It was warmer outside when we left.

Added Nov 16, 2008 by Bonka of Vancouver (290 Reviews)

Solidly overrated.
My girlfriend and I just came here tonight after decided attempts to try Mexican-style.

It was busy but not a full house. We scampered in and stood for a minute or so before someone finally asked us if we needed to be seated. Several servers had already walked by us at that point. It was nice they were able to let us choose a more desirable 4 seater table over a cramped 2 seater.

The decor is interesting. There was Hawaiian influence with the tiki-styled bar it mostly resembled a mix of various canteens. The seemingly mandatory dim lighting and loud music in restaurants these days set of the ambience for the night. The slippery floor was rather unflattering, but not as much as the paper on the front door warning dining patrons to beware of it.

Menus were already on the table so we sifted through the drinks menu. Both of us decided on the Rosehip and Hibiscus Ice Tea, her's sweetened and mine not. We had another server wait on us and she took our drinks. By the time our drinks came we were almost ready to order, but she disappeared and didn't bother to check up. We waited a good 10-15 minutes before she finally came back to ask if we were ready to order. We started with the Guacamole Classico, which was guacamole and black bean dip with tortilla chips. My companion ordered the Guacho Steak (flat iron steak with corn, mashed potatoes, and onion rings) and I the Enchiladas with rice and organic greens.

My companion's entree was generously portioned but wrought with inconsistency. The steak was ordered medium but was clearly done medium rare. The steak knife provided was inadequate to cut through the fibers like butter but she managed anyways. After wrangling a piece on the fork it was tasty. The mashed potatoes were nicely done and I quite liked the roughed mash which I don't see too often anymore. The corn and grilled peppers were on par however the onion rings were mostly garnish. They used red onions and a buttermilk batter but was cooked poorly with some parts uncooked but mostly an oily mess.

My entree was rather disappointing. The enchiladas had a nice filling of various cheeses, eggplant, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes. It was fresh tasting but they were very meager in size. The rice and organic greens were very ordinary, the rice was Greek style while the few leaves of greens were soaked with vinagrette.

Both of us really liked the tortilla chips from our appetizer. The chips came in a heaping mound over a basket and were made to order. They were crispy, light and was a little thicker than other tortilla chips and was delicately seasoned with salt and pepper. It was disappointing the guacamole was bland as was the black bean dip. Welcoming size and good to share between 4 people easily.

The other highlight was the Rosehip and Hibiscus Ice Tea. The parasol stuck to a wedge of lemon on the rim was cheeky but was refreshing to start. The difference between the unsweetened and sweetened variety was negligible.

Service is slow and too casual (like many other Commercial Dr. eateries). The vibe I got from a couple of the servers (including ours) left me thinking they felt forcibly confined and seemed to lack some interaction skills with patrons. Considering the small space we felt invisible from entering to leaving. Not a welcome or goodbye.

Prices are a little steep in my opinion since I'm not too sure what I'm paying for. I won't mind coming back and checking out some of the other menu items but alas I would've liked a good first impression.

Added Jul 8, 2008 by epicurious of Burnaby, BC (523 Reviews)

Worth the wait
I went with the girls on a night where we were lucky there was no line-up. Still, even with no line-up, it was pretty busy inside. I have to say, the interior here is better than Lolita's. Roomier tables and enough space between tables for comfort.
Overall, the restaurant has very nice decor, especially the tiki bar.

We choose to sit outside, and eventhough it was slightly chilly, the heat lamps made it perfect. We ordered a drink each. I agree with a previous reviewer, the cocktails were very strong. I know some would ask, "Are you crazy?!", but drinking a cocktail with no flavor other than the alcohol, is not so tasty. They weren't horrible, but I'd prefer taste over content.

We ordered food shortly when our drinks arrived. 2 ahi salads, 1 quesidilla and 1 portobello appie. The salads looks pleasing and were reported as tasty, especially with the mango slices. I tried a bit of the quinoa, and it was also tasty. I tried a bit of the portbello queso appie. It was warm, yummy, creamy and delicious. Kinda like a mushroom motoyaki! But with cheese.

My quesidilla wasn't your regular flour tortilla sandwich. It came empanada-style. They were amazing little hot pockets!! Needless to say, we all thoroughly enjoyed the food. Prices were okay. My quesidilla was under $10, the salads were about $13.

Our server was very nice, but the food took quite a while to arrive. But the wait was well-worth it!!

Added May 18, 2008 by pinky of Burnaby (5 Reviews)

Nice Vibe
Went to this place Friday night after work as we had read about their drink specials in the paper. The place was the old Dallas Greek place and they did a nice job renovating the place.

We were greeted right away and sat down by a table close to the balcony. Their drinks all looked and sounded pretty cool, so we each started with a fruity drink ... mine had way too much alcohol in it to finish, so my dinner companion happily finished it for me. We ordered some tortilla chips with a trio of salsas, but I was just wanting some authentic salsa dip (which we didn't get). There was a mango salsa, some green-guacamole type runny salsa and some chopped tomatoes and onion salsa. All there tasty, but like I said, I was craving the authentic mexican salsa. The kind that you get when you are eating at any restaurant in Mexico!

The experience was nice however ... there was a good vibe to the place and our waitress was very nice. She told us that there's usually a line out the door and around the block on week-ends, but because it was a long week-end, they were not as busy (lucky for us!). We shall be back.

Added Apr 18, 2008 by hiredbellyache of Vancouver (2 Reviews)

Red Robin food meets Subeez ambiance? Where's the Mex?
Waited in line at 7:45 pm on a Friday. Fair play, as the joint was happening. Clearly B/C it's very new. No reservations available. Was asked after 20 minutes of standing whether we would like to order a drink after having been offered drink menus well, 20 mins earlier. Waitress did not deliver drinks at all. We were finally at the head of the 'waiting for table line up' -- 6 in our party. Table came available and lo and behold it was given to a party of 3. Still waiting in line, no drinks & waitress then asked if we could settle our ahem! "tab" with her. No drinks were received at all by her at this point. LIKE WHAT???? Scamming for a highly non existent tip here...Flatly told her to transfer the tab. Rest of service much better. But table was godawful. Perched right behind the line up at the door which was a constant mess of elbows and assholes perching on the back of our chairs while we sat. Food was barely Mexican. Had ribs & shite tacos. $175 tab. For what? TAKE A PASS. GO TO TACO DELL MAR.

Added Mar 22, 2008 by billie_j of vancouver (4 Reviews)

Fantastic every time
I was at the edge of my seat when I heard that the group behind Lolita's was going to be opening a 2nd location; adding more seats, a patio and the return of the Brunch menu whose loss at Lolita's I'd been mourning for ages. My first experience was at dinner, shortly after their opening and I was pleasantly surprised that they included new dishes to try. We started with the ceviche - generous portions and very flavourful; a bit tricky to eat (served on a tortilla) but delicious nonetheless. The ribs were tender and succulent and the sauce was beautifully carmelized and were served with the best mac and cheese I've ever had. I've also had brunch - I highly recommend the shrimp benny served on cornbread with a smokey chipotle hollandaise - my only complaint is that 9/10 it comes out on the cool side. The cocktail list is varied and creative. Decor and atmosphere all around is very inviting and festive - makes me wish i was on a tropical island. I can't wait for summer to sip on a Pink Taco on their patio!

Added Mar 16, 2008 by cheeseplease of downtown, vancouver (1 Reviews)

FunkySpot,TastyFood
I've been to Me and Julio twice now. The food is amazing. Too much flavor to be traditional mexican. The fall of the the bone smokie bbq ribs with the mexican cheese macaroni was sooooo good. If you're on a diet its probably not your dish. You might want to try the halibut tacos which I had the first time which were a little lighter with lots of fresh veggies and mango salsa.

The atmosphere in here is always bustling. Good music, fun service and a funky decor. Combine that with the tasty fresh fruit cocktails and you feel like you must be on vacation.

Definetly recommend it or maybe I shouldn't because that might mean I'll have to wait a little longer for a seat next time!!!!

Added Feb 17, 2008 by foodhedonist of East Vancouver (12 Reviews)

Skip this One
My friend and I were recommended to this place so we decided to give it a try. It was full on a Sunday night which is a good sign. However, it must be because it's a novelty. Despite arriving before another couple, they were seated before my friend and I who were directed to wait at the bar. No big deal, as we were seated immediately after, but right near the front door which made for a drafty dining experience. Our waitress was attentive and friendly, recommending the salmon so we both ordered it. Presentation was pleasant as were the first few bites. As we dug deeper into the salmon, it seemed mushy but the dim lighting made it difficult to notice exactly how raw it was. A forkful of cold fish made me realize that the centre of the salmon fillet was uncooked. At first, the waitress tried to pass it off as being medium rare, but when she picked up my plate, she admitted that mine was beyond rare. She promptly took our plates back to kitchen and soon reappeared saying the cooks were preparing entirely new plates for us. She was apologetic and didn't charge us for drinks. Still, the food wasn't good enough for us to make this a regular stop.

Added Jan 20, 2008 by CoffeeKid of East Vancouver (16 Reviews)

Me and Julio need to upgrade their bar service!
This is mainly a review of the bar service at Me & Julio - I've already written a review for the food dining experience, this time around, it's about sitting at the bar.

The bar in this place is the obvious centrepiece. It's huge, sitting probably 10-15 people, and the big wraparound style says "hey, we take our mixology seriously".

Problem is, they don't. I've been there now three times for a tequila experience. I was excited to see the "choice" option of a tequila flight, as well as other flights, but every time I ordered their selection flight, one or more of the tequilas in the mix was missing. That's strike one. I can accept a tequila missing on one visit, but three?

Second strike - their PBTC (persons behind the counter) are not mixologists, not even bartenders. They do not know their liquors from liqueurs, and frankly, given the setting and the prices, I expect more. The owners need to seek out a serious mixologist to work their drink program through the roof, and make sure all staff hired to tend bar know their stuff.

Third strike - mentioned in a previous review I did, it happened again - ordered a premium tequila, sitting at the bar, and it took about 10 minutes to get it. Once I got it, it was too bloody hot! Now I've done some research into tequila since my last visit, and I know this - tequila isn't meant to be served at 25-30 Celsius! Their excuse is the premiums are up high on the shelf, hence the wait and hence the heat, but I call shennanigans on that. If I'm paying $15+ for a shot, you better damned well serve it right. Especially on the Drive.

Come ON Me & Julio - get your act together! I had such high hopes!

Added Dec 6, 2007 by junebug of Vancouver (6 Reviews)

Meh, will come back later
We went in after a bunch of people told us it was a great place to drink and a good addition to the drive. Well, it kind of felt like Moxies had moved in but after some time it will probably get some weathering and will feel less new painty. Our server was new (she told us several times) and our drinks were always different from what we ordered - wondered what the bartender was told to make. The room itself has potential to be really good, with less cramped up seating and less loud, predictable music. The food was good, we were there for a brunch (food and booze on a Sunday!) and enjoyed what they had to offer. I will be back but will wait a bit until I know things are running smoother for them.

Added Nov 15, 2007 by fatboysaredelicious of Vancouver (11 Reviews)

Brunch Blah Beblah blah blah
Its new so I will try again in the next while

Seating is sardine like. I am all for cozy but this is a bit rediculous. Had to inconvenience 5 people to get to the table.

Nice room, staff was trying hard and there are nice touches.

Brunch was Blah though.

Bennies overcooked, undersauced and the corn bread was to dry.
Potatoes were good but cold and the bacon was again cold.

Perhaps a Marg on the patio next summer till then adios!!!!