Julio's

Monday, November 19, 2018

Julio’s

2820 123rd Court, Omaha, NE

Where we went:

Kyle was feeling like Mexican, and Eric wanted to go somewhere he hadn't been before. Julio’s was the Mexican dinner of choice. Julio’s used to have two locations in Omaha: downtown and 123rd Court, just off West Center Road in the Westwood Plaza shopping center. Unfortunately, Julio's chose to close its downtown location, so the West Omaha location is now their flagship location.

What we Eat:

There are so many items on the menu at Julio’s Eric didn’t know where to start! Eric requested some chips and salsa to snack on as he poured over the enormous menu.

Although Julio’s is a Mexican restaurant, Kyle knows they also make an excellent burger. However, Kyle chose his favorite chicken fajitas dish while Eric chose something Kyle had never had before: the Cowboy Enchilada. Another friend had joined us at Julio’s, he went with an unusual choice, the seafood salad. Eric decided to give two of their house margaritas a try as well.

For dessert, Kyle had never tried their sopapillas and really wanted to give them a shot. Eric took a stab at the Orange Pie, a unique signature dessert.

The Food:

For starters, the chips and salsa were surprisingly good, even though they weren’t complimentary like many Mexican places. The chips came as a mix of both tortilla and flour chips, which delighted both Kyle and Eric for the variety. Eric also really enjoyed the house salsa; it had a smoky spiciness to it that made it stand out It was actually far more spicy than he usually finds in local Mexican places that had him guzzling his water, but it was worth it.

Kyle loves Fajitas, and tonight he wasn’t disappointed. The chicken and mixed vegetables were sizzling hot and juicy, the tortillas were warm and fresh. Eric’s Enchilada was pretty good. The brisket was a very unique filling for an enchilada, and he really enjoyed it for the most part. Eric found that the sauce was plentiful and delicious on the two ends of the enchilada, but the middle third was pretty dry. Eric was surprised by how much he enjoyed his side of rice. He isn’t sure what spices made it so good because it didn’t seem to have many, but it was just cooked so well and had a perfect rice consistency.

Eric’s two margaritas (one mango, one peach) were very good. In the end he liked the mango better. The peach was refreshing, but he feels that the mango complemented the tequila better. And when he got the check he discovered that it was Margarita Monday and they were on sale!

As for the desserts, Kyle’s sopapilla was amazing. Unlike many Mexican restaurants, instead of several smaller sopapillas, it was actually just one giant one. However this portion seemed awkward in that it felt too big for one person, but also too small split and satisfy two people.

Eric absolutely loved his Orange Pie. It was an orange/vanilla cream pie, and tasted like the dream-sicle frozen treats he loved when he was little. Though the slice may have been a tad on the smaller side, it satisfied his sweet tooth and didn’t overcrowd his stomach too much after all the other food.

The Atmosphere:

Julio’s has a unique atmosphere, while it boasts wood paneling through most of the restaurant, it is accentuated by neon signs and historical photos and collectibles throughout. Just from our table we could see a large pair of lips that said “Omaha”, three historic calendars and a extremely large picture of jazz player Dizzy Gillespie.

However, the most interesting object was hidden just out of sight, by the rest rooms. A marionette doll from 1927 names Jolly Jack. An old timey animatronic, it no longer works, but is delightfully creepy grinning at you from his display case.

The Service:

The service at Julio’s was alright. The waitress was generously patient as Eric took quite a while to go through the menu (it may have had something to do with not being able to stop shoveling delicious chips and salsa in his face). We had some issues with getting refills of both soda and tortillas, Kyle never did get his second order of tortillas, but overall it wasn’t horrible.

In the End:

Julio’s has an absolutely massive menu, in case we haven’t mentioned it already. There is a tremendous variety of both Mexican and gringo dishes, making it a great place to go when your group is indecisive about which cuisine they’re craving. Eric is particularly interested in coming back to try one of their famed burgers.

The dining room is large enough for a variety of parties, and they even have a large selection of seating in the bar area, so there is plenty of space. The menu is a tad on the pricey side, but they have specials throughout the week that off set it a bit. Definitely give it a shot if you are looking for some Mexican in West(ish) Omaha.