Jose and Sons

Jose and Sons,
You are my go to place!
Great food, perfect cocktails, amazing local brew.
ummmmm Yes please!
I’m a chef and i can appreciate great food when i see it.
I see you Jose and Sons… I see you.

We had the collard wrapped tamales and the fish of the day tacos. The chips and salsa came really quickly after seated and the guacamole was good. Not the greatest, but overall OK. As a vegetarian I loved seeing the collard veggie tamales, they were delicious! Be warned, it is a decent serving, I personally only had one of the two tamales and the side of kale and was super full. The fish tacos I’ve been told were also delicious… Service was good, with a really friendly waitress and a fast turnabout for food. Would recommend it to anyone, is tasty. But if you are looking for traditional Mexican, this is not your place. Overall a great meal for a decent price! Note, probably a great place for a date!

I’ve eaten at Jose and Sons twice now and both times I left feeling more than satisfied. I’ve had the same waiter both times as well, and I wish I remembered his name because he was a great server all around.
The Enchiladas Del Mar have been my go-​to, something about them is seriously addicting. The day after I eat here all I crave is this meal all over again. I’ve also had the guac, pimento cheese plantains, and have tried a taste of someone else’s crispy pork belly waffle. All were delicious and of great variety. Next time I’d like to try something new, but it’s going to be so hard to turn down those enchiladas. They also have several craft cocktails, and I approve of the few I’ve had so far.
As far as the prices go, Jose and Sons is on the higher end for Mexican food, but it’s not your typical TexMex joint. I like to describe it as contemporary Mexican with a Southern twist. In my opinion it’s well worth the price you pay.
I look forward to getting back here in the near future!

This place is well worth the night out. Exceptional Mexican food, and I am from Arizona and go to Mexico 3 – 4 times a year so I have found it hard to enjoy Mexican cuisine in North Carolina… but I have been to Jose and Sons 3 times now and I thought I ought to give them a review.
This time I went I had the Chile Relleno and it came with a Brussels spout salad behind it. The chile was stuffed with a ricotta cheese mixture and yummy things… well I polished off my plate. 2 friends ordered the Enchiladas and also polished off their plates!
I also had the flan for dessert and it was delicious! I love flan and this was up there in taste! It came with a berry whip cream relish on the side that was yummy! My friend ordered the Tres Leche and I tried that also which was equally yummy!
Definitely worth going to!

Really LOVE this place. Tried it out last Friday and accidently made an error where I said 2 people instead of 4 for the open table reservation. The hostesses at first seemed a little flustered but they worked it out quickly and we were sat in 5 minutes.
The salsa, guac and chips were super fresh. I would recommend ordering the guac (chips and salsa are free but the guac is extra).
I ordered the Enchiladas Del Mar and they were amazing (check out the attached picture). I then unfortunately left them at Boxcar after. Womp womp.
Our server was great, very personable and attentive.
Will be back very soon!

Olé to Jose! This is an awesome, cozy little watering hole with supremely smokey salsa, a solid variety of craft margaritas, and an upgraded Mexican menu complete with Crank Arm barbacoa, loaded enchiladas, crispy flautas and many more creative twists on traditional favorites. Although I’ve only been here for diner, I’ve heard Jose’s brunch game is a force to be reckoned with. The fare is sophisticated, without being formal, making this the perfect place to – you know — be classy while you face-​plant yourself into a basket of tortillas. The warm, dimly lit ambiance and polished wood interior make this a great choice for a mid-​week date or dinner with co-​workers.

I absolutely LOVE Jose and Sons. Such a great date night and brunch place! I have tried most of the dishes on the menu and have loved every single one. Chef Oscar and staff do an amazing job preparing each dish, making them a delicious blend of Mexican and Southern.
The chicharron and waffles will change your life. The pork belly is crispy, sweet, and salty and the soft boiled eggs make a great addition. It is probably one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. If you don’t want to spend as much, get the mac and cheese with bacon it will fill you up and it tastes amazing. The staff is awesome and attentive and the mojitos are some of the best in town.
Parking is easy in the depot and even though they don’t take reservations, you can always put your name down and they will text you when a table is ready! I love to stop by Tasty Beverage next door while waiting for a table.

Went here for dinner the other night and we were pleasantly surprised at how great the food and service was. Just passing by this place it kinda looks like another run of the mill Mexican restaurants but once you sit down and try out the menu it really is anything but that. The menu is more of a Southern meets Mexican blend with influences from both coming into play. For example, we started off trying the Gouda Mac N’ Queso and the Ceviche. While the Ceviche was pretty standard in my opinion the Gouda Mac N’ Queso was out of this world delicious. Our waitress said a lot of people turn away from it because it has macaroni noodles included but if you are already a fan of white cheese dip at mexican restaurants then this is a MUST TRY. We straight up used the Mac N’ Queso for dipping our tortilla chips and it was the best dip I’ve ever had out. For the main course I ordered their Chicharron and Waffles. This is basically pork belly cracklins seasoned and fried on top of a huge corn based waffle. They also serve this up with 2 poached eggs on top and all together it makes for a gut busting dish. I can’t wait to go back to try some of their other menu items… and get some more of the Gouda Mac N’ Cheese

Great date night spot. The cocktails are impressive, and we really have our server to thank for her amazing suggestions. We told her what we like, and her recommendations were spot on. The hubs tried their take on an Old Fashioned, and I had the spicy pineapple margarita. We couldn’t stop talking about them the whole night!
We almost always get queso when we go out to Mexican restaurants, so this was no exception. However, our only choice was mac & cheese queso with kale and bacon. Now we love all of those things, but it was a little unusual as a queso dish. We tried dipping it wish the chips, which was weird. It was good eating as a normal appetizer, but it was really rich and filled me up before my enchiladas suizas (with green sauce) arrived. Hubs, however, was able to demolish his own enchiladas (with red sauce).
Overall, we loved the ambiance and our dinners. I expect us to return again soon!

My favorite place to sit here is actually the bar. I’ve sat at tables and for some reasons the service always sucks — but the bar is great. It’s great for groups — they take reservations and can accommodate larger parties.
Highlights include the mac n cheese with bacon (it’s heavy so if you get it — know that it’s really filling) and the ceviche. The ceviche has changed over the past year — it was best when they had avocado in it and they served it in a cute mason jar but they don’t seem to do that anymore. Still good and worth getting with a Dos Equis on tap!
Their Sunday brunch is good too but with limited hours so be sure to call if you’re going on the weekend!

I must admit at the first inception of ‘Jose and Sons’ I didn’t quite know what to make of it. It’s Mexican, it’s Southern, it’s a little… schizophrenic! However, since I was already an die-​hard fan of its previous reincarnation, Jibarra, I figured «Eh, it’s can’t be that much different right?»
WRONG! So much different now, what Jose and his sons are offering, and all for the better too, just to ease your mind. So, what’s the difference? That added southern charm, of course.
Let me just go through the menu and you’ll see:
Pimento Cheese Tostones — pimento cheese (w/​bacon) topped lightly fried plantain chips
(Gouda) Mac n’ Queso — yummy, sticky goodness, topped with sautéed kale
Heirloom tomato and cactus salad — two of my favorite veggies (yes, I know tomatoes are fruits…)
Crank Arm Barbacoa — barbecue brisket braised in beer (how much more southern can this get?)
Collard-​wrapped Tamale — tasty masa wrapped in steamed collard
Grilled pork chop — no need to explain this
Shrimp n’ Grits — grits with melted Chihuahua cheese, topped with grilled shrimps
and, my personal favorite — Chicharron and Waffles. Literally the combination of the best of both worlds. Marinated pork belly, crisped, then topped the masa flour waffles, and soft-​boiled egg accompanied this decadent dish.
And that’s only the regular menu… as for brunch, which you know by now is my favorite meal:
Huevo Ranchero — what kind of Mexican brunch would it be without this?
Huevo Benny — like a Mexi-​Cali Egg Benedict
Breakfast BLT Tacos — Move aside Taco Bells. You have no place on this brunch table
Steak and Egg Sammy — with chimichurri sauce
Okay… I need to stop or I’m going to pop over downtown to get another late night meal, and that’s how convenient it is. Jose and Sons also has the best location, situated right among the best of the best – Tasty Beverage for the beers, Videri for the dessert, and Box Car for the after meal entertainment/​exercise (if you play the foosball or Pump It Up)
So come on down! And as their catch phrase goes: Hola Y’all!

A relatively up-​and-​coming place in Raleigh, as most of my friends had not been to Jose and Sons, but had heard good things about it. Located across Davie Street from The Pit, Jose and Sons offers Mexican fare with a Raleigh flavor, and I figured that this would be a pretty unique experience. The place had the typical look of a large Mexican cantina, with a giant circular bar in the center and some TVs littered around the place. Perhaps not the best place to watch sports, because there are only a few TVs relative to the amount of seating, but they do play the NC State games, or whatever is on ESPN, so it might not be a bad place to enjoy dinner while casually enjoying the game.
We started off with a couple drinks and some ceviche, and I ordered a mezcal sour with egg white, which was pretty delicious and frothy. Not the manliest drink to order, but I really wanted to see what Raleigh had to offer in the cocktail department, so I didn’t care. The menu overall really intrigued me, and we couldn’t really decide on what to get, so we went for broke, and ordered the chef’s picnic for two. The menu actually wasn’t very explicit on what you would get with this picnic, but we were feeling adventurous, and decide to trust our waiter. I will say, that even though the ceviche appetizer was pretty darn good, we kind of regretted ordering it, as we were unprepared for what was about to come to our table. Our waiter came with a huge wooden slab, covered in chicken breast, pork chops, a large flank steak, dressed corn on the cob with butter and cotija cheese, rice and beans, and vegetables. Quite an impressive spread overall, and we were dumbfounded at the sight of all this. For $ 40, definitely worth a try. The flavors weren’t purely Mexican either, as some of the meats had a distinct spicy and sour kick, which is more or less distinctive to Carolina BBQ. The sautéed kale was also dressed and flavored similar to collard greens, and was absolutely great
In general, the prices might be a little bit more expensive for Raleigh, but I thought that it was a great deal, and a spread like this would have cost us much more anywhere else in the country, in my opinion. Overall, I thought everything was a pretty good value, including the drinks, which were at about $ 9 for a handcrafted cocktail.
Service was great, and our waiter was very attentive and polite, answering everything with «Yes, sir» and «Yes ma’am.» Definitely something I always enjoy when eating in the south. That and the word «y’all.» So awesome. Overall, an impeccable and unique experience. I’ll definitely be back, likely to try this chicharrón and waffles dish I spotted on the menu the next time I’m in Raleigh.

Great ambiance, and delicious food! Fantastic place to go for a sexy date night or for a girls night where everyone is stylishly dressed.
My husband and I went on a double date and got seated in a large, and somewhat private circular booth. We started with 2 orders of the tostones with pimento cheese and bacon (so good I have tried making them at home) and 2 kinds of guac… classic and habenero with crab. All of it was fantastic! For my entrée I got the shrimp enchiladas which were also great, the shrimp was perfectly cooked! Everyone else at the table equally enjoyed themselves. Can’t wait to try them out for brunch as well!

Why yes, awesome waiter with the soothing voice and smooth demeanor, guide me through the drink menu. Seat me outside in the cool breeze. Bring me salsa with just the right amount of kick and cilantro, and perfectly crunchy chips with the addictively correct amount of fried goodness. Then bring out a giant corn waffle, covered in agave-​sriracha pork belly, and yes, give me an egg — barely boiled — to crack and douse with gooey, buttery yolk.
Add a drug mule to wash it all down, with the kiss of ginger lingering on my breath from their homemade ale.
Why haven’t we come here sooner?

I’m not surprised I didn’t love this place, but I was hoping it would surprise me. I took a risk going here because I’m a Mexican food snob being from California. But I had heard great things and it was southern «fusion» so I thought why not…
The ambience/​décor is cute. Love that the bar is in the middle of the restaurant. The service was ok, but the food was slowwww… we waited a long time to get our meals. The food itself was pretty good, nothing amazing. I ordered the collard wrapped tamales. I really enjoyed them and the flavor was excellent. The side of kale/​beans it came with were too salty. I ordered the ceviche as an app which was also tasty. I liked that it had a kick to it. Everyone else in my group seemed to enjoy their meals as well. The drinks were ok. I liked the spicy pineapple margarita when I tried my husband’s…but then when I ordered my own it was too much pineapple. Needs to be more consistent.
Also, I have to eat gluten free (Celiac) and seeing that they had a lot of gluten free options on the menu was a big draw for me in the first place. However, when I asked about their fried items (which are labeled gf on the menu), the server told me that they were indeed fried in the same fryer as breaded items. Ugh, terrible. Why mark them gluten free then?! Huge pet peeve of mine. I was still able to have a few options to choose from but it just added to my overall opinion of this place… which was that it was underwhelming.

Went back again for dinner and tried the lamb mole. The lamb was cooked to a medium rare with a really red center, maybe too rare for some people, but I thought it was perfect. It was super tender and the mole sauce was infused with so many flavors, including Vidieri chocolate. You can really taste the chocolate and with all the other spices, the sauce was pleasantly delicious. Even the Brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes were done really well, and when dipped in that mole, everything tasted great.
I also came in for lunch and fried their signature enchiladas del mar. Wow, the enchiladas had so much flavor. You get a cool and fresh salsa verde sauce on the outside, but inside the enchiladas is a red, slightly spicy chipotle sauce. They really work well together with a bite of heat on the inside and refreshing sauce on the outside. The shrimp are really fresh, cooked absolutely perfect. This is an awesome dish if you’re looking for some serious flavor.

Jose and Sons gets 4 stars simply because the food is outstanding. The Mexican/​Southern fusion is a match made in Raleigh heaven. If you are looking for a delicious Mexican meal with a twist, in a more upscale setting, this is the place for you.
Pros: The salsa and guacamole are very fresh and chips have the perfect amount of crunch. The atmosphere is great, perfect for a date night. I highly recommend the enchiladas del mar or the pork belly and waffles.
Cons: The service is very inconsistent. When I went a few months ago, I had one of the best waiters I’ve had in Raleigh. Other times, it’s been awful. The most recent time I went they couldn’t keep our drinks straight. The margaritas there are hit or miss — last time mine was pure tequila and I had to send it back, then the next one was too sweet (I gave up and drank it anyways). I also think that they could knock the prices down a little.
Overall, the food and ambiance really are wonderful. Just be aware that service is a wildcard.

This is my favorite Mexican fusion restaurant in the area!
My go to dish is the chicharron and waffle. This is a twist on the chicken and waffle. The pork belly and corn waffle combination was amazing, especially when it was lightly covered with sweet sauce (agave-​sriracha sauce). When I think of pork belly, I expect the meat to come with skin and fat, which makes the cut more flavorful. That was not the case in the dish. All of the skin and most of the fat were removed and the meat was a little dry. The 62 degree was a great addition to the dish, as it was rich and creamy.
Jibarito plantainwich is also great if you like beef. The slices of ribeye had bold, meaty flavors Instead of using bread for the sandwich, the thin, crispy fried plantain gave the dish a good crunch! We ordered the roasted corn salad for the side and were glad that we did.
The restaurant was also very accommodating. I left them a voicemail on an early Saturday morning to request a reservation for 11 people at noon when they opened. The staff was able to graciously fit us in for a very late reservation!

I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this place sooner. Jose and Sons is a southern-​inspired Mexican restaurant that more than lived up to its reviews and also far exceeded my expectations.
For drinks we first ordered the Chipotle Mango Margarita, which I loved. They mean serious business when they say Chipotle as even the salted rim has heat to it. We also ordered the Grilled Pineapple Margarita which tastes more like your traditional margarita, but it was also good.
I could not resist ordering the Chicharron and Waffles. It is a dish that I just don’t think you can get anywhere else. It is crispy pork belly on a corn masa waffle, served with 2 soft boiled eggs and a delectable agave-​sriracha sauce and basil-​mint oil. I had a heavenly moment the first time I took a bite. It was a massive dish and I was only able to conquer half of it. While it was delicious and I am SO happy that I ordered it, I don’t think I’m going to order it again because it was just SO much food. They are definitely not shy about portions here.
We also ordered the Grilled Corn on the Cob. It was hands down the best corn on the cob I’ve ever had and it was a good addition to mix up my very meaty dish. I want and WILL learn to the make corn like this at home.
Food is not the only category in which Jose & Sons excelled. The service and the atmosphere were both great, and the prices are definitely worth the amount and quality of food that you get. I recommend making a reservation, because this place is hot on the map and was very crowded.
We will definitely be back to try more of the menu. The Chile Relleno is calling my name!

Still a 3.5 to 4 for dinner. We were excited to try for brunch. Food wise, is just missed the mark a little bit — thus earning a 3 for brunch.
The pros:
–We called the morning of and were able to secure a table for 6 — this was a huge plus.
–The atmosphere — it is a warm, inviting restaurant. It just puts you in a good mood to eat brunch there.
–Our server was fantastic. I’m sorry that I forget her name. She was great.
–A $ 3 mimosa — that was a steal. The offered a larger version too — which I think might have been $ 5. $ 3 was a great price point though.
No real cons — just didn’t stack up in our list of best brunch food. I had the Gaudalajara Skillet. It was tasty. My husband had the Steak and Egg Sammy. Both entrees were large and filling. I think the best order of the morning was the Shrimp and Grits though. Yum! They had a very light, lemony flavor — different than a typical shrimp and grits. It reminded me of the side of Kale that my friend had with her Skirt Steak and Shrimp dinner entrée. Such a great, light, lemony flavor. I’m not a huge Shrimp and Grits girl but, if I go back, I will probably order these.
We will probably return for brunch — especially if we have the call ahead experience we had this past Sunday. We will definitely be back for dinner.