Ay! Jalisco Mexican Restaurant
 

Ay! Jalisco Mexican Restaurant is now open at 1152 Main St in Spanish Springs. We ate there tonight and will go back. Ate at the bar and service was ok and food was very good. Just my opinion. Worth the try!

Beer
 

Do they have a decent draft beer?

Ay! Jalisco
 

Saw it on The Villages Gourmet Club Website a few days ago. Place was not crowded last night at all.

Skip

I did not know there was such a thing. If it does not come in a red, white and blue Budweiser can it is not a beer.

But that is just my opinion.

Z

Oh Z - you need to broaden those horizons!:)

Had dinner there tonight and enjoyed it. Had a nice crowd but the word hasn't gotten out yet that they are open so were able to get right in. Very attractive inside, the service was good and so was the food. Thought it was reasonably priced also. Will definitely return.

Cashman & Caveman, it's a Mexican restaurant! lol I hope they have Dos Equis or Pacifico!

Judy -

Like those, but if you haven't tried it, try a Modelo Negro.... yum

Katezbox, thanks for the reminder! I couldn't remember the name. I like Modelo Negro very much. Maybe we should have a field trip to Ay Jalisco to check out the beers they have? :icon_wink:

The new mexican rest. is ok but is really mexican they said the water was no good. I've been in mexico and that is the way so drink alk e hol. No music from mex service alright not great. Will try one more time in about a month if they are still here.First impression not really good and I love mexican food it makes me sad I was hoping for something great.

Ate there sunday, food and service both good. Will return........:beer3:

We also ate there Sunday. I was underwhelmed.

I had lunch at Ay! Jalisco today. I lived 25 years in Southern California which has a huge Latin population. I have also owned vacation residences in Puerto Vallarta and Cancun. If you are expecting authentic Mexican or even TexMex food in The Villages you will be disappointed. Most residents are unfamiliar with the cuisine and the culture. In addition, the traditional spiciness, corn, rice and beans are not conducive to the American palette.

Ay! Jalisco has the potential to be the best "Mexican Style" restaurant in the area. If this is what you want, give them a chance to settle in. My only negative observation today was when the table next to mine ordered a pitcher of beer and were told, after consultation, that the pitchers hadn't come in yet. If they are not fully ready, they should wait. First impressions, as demonstrated here by a couple of people, are critical.

I wish them good fortune and success.

Mexican Restaurant
 

We've tried every Mexican restaurant in the tri-county area - the only one we prefer is El Taxco on Rt 40 in Ocala (near Silver Springs - in Six-Gun Plaza). You can order off the menu, or they have a buffet. They have a Marachi band on a couple of nights. They are VERY reasonable in price. We go often. Good luck!:smiley:

A few years ago they had a Mexican restaurant where Seafood Galley is. They
didn't have tacos or anything. No Tex Mex type of food. :shrug: They said they were a true Mexican restaurant. It really wasn't good at all. Well alot of you know, they didn't last long.
Okay, Taco Bell, here I come. LOL :icon_hungry:

We dined there last night. Food was good, but they must improve on their service. I'm still not sure who our waiter / waitress was. I always give a new restaurant a few tries before I write it off. I heard the table next to us complaining among-est themselves, "were not coming back". It opened Saturday, give em a break!!!!!! :beer3:

I think that's true for most of the East coast. . .
But with plenty of Mexican beer and margaritas, who cares? :beer3:

In my humble opinion, opening prematurely is a mistake. It isn't an excuse for poorly-trained staff.

Hopefully they'll work their problems out and the restaurent will be a success.

Perhaps I didn't get enough sleep last night. Would you mind explaining how this is at all relevant to the topic of this Thread, namely the opening of the new Restaurant "Ay! Jalisco"?

I had lunch there today with a coworker and it was good yet again. The chips/salsa arrived right after we were seated. Our waiter was prompt and polite. I mentioned we were on our lunch hour and our food arrived in a very timely manner. I had the shredded beef chimi - it was hot, tasty, and was only $5.95. When you think that our lunch included the free chips/salsa (which I think has a nice bite to it) beans, rice, and 'salad' including guacamole and sour cream that is a deal for a town square lunch. Okay, it might not be 'authentic TexMex' but when you consider that we have a choice of El Ranchito (which I also like well enough), Moe's and Taco Bell - I like Ay! Jalisco. I wish we had a larger variety of authentic ethnic food - but I am just glad that we have another Mexican option in golf cart range.

I agree 2cats, we again experienced the same as you. In my humble opinion not a lot of tex-mex spots that are golf cart accessible.....this far east of the lone star state. :beer3:

dfn8tly made a comment that if you are looking for authentic Mexican food in the Villages, you will be disappointed. The restaurant I was talking about said they only served authentic Mexican food.

Bonny;

Thank you for quoting me. It's always nice to be noticed. However, if you are going to restate my words please include all that are relevant. I also said in the next sentence "Most residents are unfamiliar with the cuisine and the culture." This sentence justifies your statement that the "real" Mexican restaurant was unable to find a financial niche in The Villages.

Enjoy Taco Bell if you must but I'm sure you certainly would never confuse it with "real" Mexican food.

Sorry. :cryin2: I only quoted part of it because I assumed that person would go back to read it. I just wanted him to know which thread it was so he/she could find it. I definitely don't confuse Taco Bell with real Mexican Food. That remark was made in jest. Didn't think anyone would take that seriously.

FWIW, I took your Taco Bell comment in jest.

Had dinner at Ay Jalisco last night. Thought the Salsa was very good and the chips that accompanied it were OK. The rest of the meal was nothing to write home about. Bland and tasteless for the most part. By the way, didn't realize until now this is a Chain. Don't think I've seen that referenced here. Bottom line is I'll wait for the next "Mexican Restaurant" to open in hopes it will significantly improve on the track record of the last few.

Jalisco
 

My wief and I ate lunch today OK I would have liked more sauce on burrito and was told to ask for extra in future extra charge maybe.

P L E A S E!!! Caveman you need to expand your horizons

Try a bottle of Sam Adams, it will rock-your-world.

Had dinner there tonight. We liked the interior and our waiter could not have been more friendly and efficient. We liked the chips and salsa. The salsa is very fresh. As for our meals, they were very good. Not great, but very good. We will probably stick with El Ranchito, although if a group of friends wanted to go there, we wouldn't hesitate to join them. I'd certainly recommend that you give this new restaurant a try.

Had lunch there yesterday. Not too impressed. I ordered the fajita burrito. I took it apart when it was delivered. There were 3 small strips of steak and the rest of the burrito was onions, green peppers and lettuce. No flavor either. The rice and beans were good and the margarita was stout.

New SP Springs Mexican...Worst Salsa ever...inedible
 

First trip there was Tuesday. Nice decor. Pleasant help. Menu looked fine. Then it HAPPENED....they brought out the chips and the horrible SALSA. I have been to many Mex restaurants with good salsa, and had even MADE my own salsa in the past, and this stuff was VERY VERY BAD. It was like ketchup and v8 mixed together, throw in some chili powder, stir, and add a few chopped tomatoes. Horrible. Chips were acceptable. HAd to order the verde sauce on my burrito, as the red sauce was like red dishwater,and it was fine , but skimpy.Hey Owners! Get yourself some decent salsa. Chopped tomatoes, onions, tomato sauce,hot sauce or peppers, lime juice and cilantro.
There are many of us that won't go back because of the salsa, a staple on almost all their entrees. Word here for returning......NO.

El Ranchito gets my vote - have been there every year for nearly the past 15 years and, tho not outstanding, is a better than most.


.

We had dinner there tonight, and I promised to report which Mexican beers they carry:

Modelo, both Especial and Negro
Tecate
Corona
Dos Equis

:beer3:

:oWe were down for a visit two weeks ago and had dinner with 4 other friends. Not good at all. Bad taste and Would not be able to compete with Taco Bell. Sorry, But that was the one an only visit under current management. We love Mexican food, but this is not even as good a frozen from the store.

Mexican, Tex Mex, Authentic Mexican, Mexican style, etc., etc. I have dined "Mexican" in Mexico, Texas, Old Town section of San Diego, El Ranchito, and many other places. I haven't a clue how to describe "real" Mexican. I do know what I like and having had lunch and dinner at Ay! Jalisco we will return. We have also dined at El Ranchito many times over the years. We will also return there.
BTW, I picked up their card while there and they advertise seven locations. They are reputed to be family owned and the owners are from Mexico.
Minor point, I like the salsa at El Ranchito better of the two.

Had our third meal there Sunday. I don't care for the salsa but it is passable. It seemed slightly improved over our prior visits. Our guests thought the salsa good.

Salsa aside, we were all very satisfied with the meals. The service was good. Price was acceptable. We will go back.

Went last night
 

Wife and I went last night for dinner. Place was packed. Got seated, chips and salsa arrived quickly were very good. Drink order was taken meal ordered all very good. Reasonable price would deffinatly go back.

MSG is in food here...
 

After stopping there the other night and being uable to find anyone who understood me when I asked about MSG in their food, I called today in anticipation of trying it again tonight.

When I asked, the gentleman who answered the phone said without a hesitation that they DO HAVE MSG in their food.

That's too bad, as I was looking forward to a good Mexican meal. But I'd rather have them tell me the truth up front, than for me to suffer the concequences of having a good dose of MSG!!!:grumpy:

First Visit Last Night
 

We went there to eat for the first time last night. Many people had complained about the salsa; we found it was a bit watery, but very good tasting. Perhaps earlier comments helped to improve the salsa? The service was great, we were there early, about 4:30. The fajitas for two, meat-chicken combo, was very good in taste and serving size. The menu looked interesting, we will return again instead of going to El Ranchitos.

Charlie