This place was awesome. They put bean nachos down on the table as soon as we sat down. The food was prepared fresh. I had a bean and potato taco on corn tortillas. They were delicious. We were a party of six and the service was excellent.
Max L.
I love Jaguar. I just created a yelp account to write this. Maybe the best restaurant in Santa Cruz. Fresh, delicious, authentic food. Not just nachos and burritos (not that there's anything wrong with that). Everything I have had is delicious. Eat here if you get the chance.
Isaac M.
Closed Wednesdays. Not according to door sign or Yelp. Made reservation via Yelp and showed up to locked doors. My date was not impressed, damn.
Daniel S.
First visit and I was impressed. The chorizo and cheese appetizer and chicken mole were both exceptionally delicious. Service was friendly and efficient. I'll come back the next time I'm going to a show at the Rio Theater or The Crepe Place.
Betty V.
The food is really delicious, my family loved it! To start we got Chips and Guacamole which was really good. For entre, we got Mole and the Mexican city skirt steak. The beans are made for those who do not like them salty. Fortunately, they have salt on the table to add taste to it! It is pricey but buying organic food is expensive. Overall, service was really good and food was really delicious. Will definitely come back!
Samantha C.
I want to start by saying that the staff was very sweet and helpful and some of the sauces were very good. I got our food to go on a slow evening around 7:30. I ordered while in the restaurant and waiting only about 15-20 min for everything. Totally reasonable. I spent $75 and got 3 meals and an app. With this kind of price I expected a great meal. It was not. We got the Camarones Al Ajillo, vegetarian Enchiladas Verdes, Calabasitas and the Torta de Papa. Each dish was incredibly small. I get that they are going for the fancier, smaller plate/tapas feel but if you're going to do that you had better have amazing food to back it up. All of the sides on each dish (salad, rice, beans, potatoes) were very bland. I'm talking no seasoning, herbs, spices. No salt! I thought someone was playing a mean trick on us. The salad had a dressing that I'm not entirely sure was even on the salad. It tasted just like iceberg lettuce and carrots with a hint of citrus. The shrimp were freezer burned and completely lacking in flavor as well as served with an overly sweet orange sauce that tasted like a basic orange marmalade. The Calabasitas were pretty good. Great sauce! But with the bland sides it made for a mediocre meal. I LOVE the idea Jaguar is going for here. Santa Cruz needs more organic and dietary friendly restaurants. We are always looking for that new gem that is going to be our new favorite. We're not hard to please. We just want semi-healthier options that taste good. Do yourself a favor and just go across the street to Poki Bowl, or down the block to the Crepe Place. Jaguar was yet another Santa Cruz dud.
Amped O.
Fresh and delicious! Awesome to see that they can make anything on the menu vegan. Tortilla soup is stellar!! Not a single person in our party of 6 was dissatisfied. Did not have any issues with service - even though the restaurant was fairly busy. Will certainly be back soon.
Carol G.
Jaguar = Best Mexican Food in the County. The problem is the name. I drove by for months and months and nothing about "Jaguar" said to me I'd find excellent Mexican food inside those doors. Once I learned through Google what they serving, it quickly became a must try. When I try a new Mexican restaurant, I like to do a dish that I can equate to others.....mole, chili relleno, etc. I opted for the Mole and my dining partners selected the Chicken Tinga and fish tacos. We also got a carafe of Sangria. All the plates were visually appealing when they arrived to our table. Garnishes and added little touches on the plate did not go unnoticed. Our Mexican restaurant in Scotts Valley will serve a pale beige burrito on a pale beige plate with not a sprig of parsley to be seen. We eat with our eyes too! Jaguar serves up delicious Mexican in a more Mexico City style of refinement. There are elegant sauces that taste homemade, perfectly cooked whole beans that taste like beans (not a pile of tasteless mush), delicious tortillas but more importantly, food that feels like someone cares about it. Oh, the Sangria! This was an easy drink to drink. If it wasn't a Sunday night, a second carafe would not have been a mistake. Now that I know Jaguar serves up the best Mexican food in the County, I hope they can get the same traffic the former Lillian's had at that site. I plan on eating my way through the menu. My only suggestion would be to (1) change the name and/or the outside decor and sign so people can guess what type of food is being served there and (2) increase the serving sizes a tad. The size was perfect for me, but I know some hungry eaters that may walk away looking for more.
Mido Z.
Terrible service. Waiting waited and waited. Had to ask for water. And then no ice Waiting for food now Well we finely got our food 1 hour+ later BUT the chicken tinga and entomatado was very good. Now for key lime pie
Lopaka V.
We went here for lunch yesterday at the recommendation of a trusted local friend, and he was correct: it is the best Mexican restaurant in the area. My Chile Relleno was perfect, not coated in inches of batter as most seem to be, the pepper was prepared just right (in some restaurants you can be challenged to find the pepper, let alone taste it). The beans & rice were also well prepared - not just thrown on the plate. My wife's Fish Tacos were perfectly grilled and tasty. The service by Ashley was spot-on, she was attentive, friendly and professional. The décor was just right too, thoughtfully simple. A nice area with lots of free street parking and interesting shops like 'Home/Work" and "Childish" nearby. We're already plotting our next trip back.
Best chile relleno in Santa Cruz county, actually all their dishes are excellent. Which is important because they appear short staff with respect to wait staff. Come prepared for excellent Mexican cuisine served slowly.
Bernard B.
Very, very good Mexican food. Probably the best Chile Relleno in Santa Cruz county. I, too, love this place, and you have to love it, because ambiance is a challenge (much to loud), service is slow (only one wait staff), but the food is over the top.
Luis Ortiz
In my opinion The best Mexican restaurant in the city of Santa Cruz.
Toni B
Absolutely the best Chile Relleno!! Excellent service, great wine choices. Everything tastes fresh and the Posole ...to die for.
Maria D.
Nice little reataurant but wouldn't give it four stars. The food is alright but nothing amazing. The service we got was bad since our server offered to bring us chips n salsa but it never came. Our daughter asked for lemonade but never got it and it wasn't that busy! Our three dishes all Arrived at separate times with apologies for everything that was brought to us.. Would I go back .. No!
This place was awesome. They put bean nachos down on the table as soon as we sat down. The food was prepared fresh. I had a bean and potato taco on corn tortillas. They were delicious. We were a party of six and the service was excellent.
I love Jaguar. I just created a yelp account to write this. Maybe the best restaurant in Santa Cruz. Fresh, delicious, authentic food. Not just nachos and burritos (not that there's anything wrong with that). Everything I have had is delicious. Eat here if you get the chance.
Closed Wednesdays. Not according to door sign or Yelp. Made reservation via Yelp and showed up to locked doors. My date was not impressed, damn.
First visit and I was impressed. The chorizo and cheese appetizer and chicken mole were both exceptionally delicious. Service was friendly and efficient. I'll come back the next time I'm going to a show at the Rio Theater or The Crepe Place.
The food is really delicious, my family loved it! To start we got Chips and Guacamole which was really good. For entre, we got Mole and the Mexican city skirt steak. The beans are made for those who do not like them salty. Fortunately, they have salt on the table to add taste to it! It is pricey but buying organic food is expensive. Overall, service was really good and food was really delicious. Will definitely come back!
I want to start by saying that the staff was very sweet and helpful and some of the sauces were very good. I got our food to go on a slow evening around 7:30. I ordered while in the restaurant and waiting only about 15-20 min for everything. Totally reasonable. I spent $75 and got 3 meals and an app. With this kind of price I expected a great meal. It was not. We got the Camarones Al Ajillo, vegetarian Enchiladas Verdes, Calabasitas and the Torta de Papa. Each dish was incredibly small. I get that they are going for the fancier, smaller plate/tapas feel but if you're going to do that you had better have amazing food to back it up. All of the sides on each dish (salad, rice, beans, potatoes) were very bland. I'm talking no seasoning, herbs, spices. No salt! I thought someone was playing a mean trick on us. The salad had a dressing that I'm not entirely sure was even on the salad. It tasted just like iceberg lettuce and carrots with a hint of citrus. The shrimp were freezer burned and completely lacking in flavor as well as served with an overly sweet orange sauce that tasted like a basic orange marmalade. The Calabasitas were pretty good. Great sauce! But with the bland sides it made for a mediocre meal. I LOVE the idea Jaguar is going for here. Santa Cruz needs more organic and dietary friendly restaurants. We are always looking for that new gem that is going to be our new favorite. We're not hard to please. We just want semi-healthier options that taste good. Do yourself a favor and just go across the street to Poki Bowl, or down the block to the Crepe Place. Jaguar was yet another Santa Cruz dud.
Fresh and delicious! Awesome to see that they can make anything on the menu vegan. Tortilla soup is stellar!! Not a single person in our party of 6 was dissatisfied. Did not have any issues with service - even though the restaurant was fairly busy. Will certainly be back soon.
Jaguar = Best Mexican Food in the County. The problem is the name. I drove by for months and months and nothing about "Jaguar" said to me I'd find excellent Mexican food inside those doors. Once I learned through Google what they serving, it quickly became a must try. When I try a new Mexican restaurant, I like to do a dish that I can equate to others.....mole, chili relleno, etc. I opted for the Mole and my dining partners selected the Chicken Tinga and fish tacos. We also got a carafe of Sangria. All the plates were visually appealing when they arrived to our table. Garnishes and added little touches on the plate did not go unnoticed. Our Mexican restaurant in Scotts Valley will serve a pale beige burrito on a pale beige plate with not a sprig of parsley to be seen. We eat with our eyes too! Jaguar serves up delicious Mexican in a more Mexico City style of refinement. There are elegant sauces that taste homemade, perfectly cooked whole beans that taste like beans (not a pile of tasteless mush), delicious tortillas but more importantly, food that feels like someone cares about it. Oh, the Sangria! This was an easy drink to drink. If it wasn't a Sunday night, a second carafe would not have been a mistake. Now that I know Jaguar serves up the best Mexican food in the County, I hope they can get the same traffic the former Lillian's had at that site. I plan on eating my way through the menu. My only suggestion would be to (1) change the name and/or the outside decor and sign so people can guess what type of food is being served there and (2) increase the serving sizes a tad. The size was perfect for me, but I know some hungry eaters that may walk away looking for more.
Terrible service. Waiting waited and waited. Had to ask for water. And then no ice Waiting for food now Well we finely got our food 1 hour+ later BUT the chicken tinga and entomatado was very good. Now for key lime pie
We went here for lunch yesterday at the recommendation of a trusted local friend, and he was correct: it is the best Mexican restaurant in the area. My Chile Relleno was perfect, not coated in inches of batter as most seem to be, the pepper was prepared just right (in some restaurants you can be challenged to find the pepper, let alone taste it). The beans & rice were also well prepared - not just thrown on the plate. My wife's Fish Tacos were perfectly grilled and tasty. The service by Ashley was spot-on, she was attentive, friendly and professional. The décor was just right too, thoughtfully simple. A nice area with lots of free street parking and interesting shops like 'Home/Work" and "Childish" nearby. We're already plotting our next trip back.
Restaurantji Recommends
Best chile relleno in Santa Cruz county, actually all their dishes are excellent. Which is important because they appear short staff with respect to wait staff. Come prepared for excellent Mexican cuisine served slowly.
Very, very good Mexican food. Probably the best Chile Relleno in Santa Cruz county. I, too, love this place, and you have to love it, because ambiance is a challenge (much to loud), service is slow (only one wait staff), but the food is over the top.
In my opinion The best Mexican restaurant in the city of Santa Cruz.
Absolutely the best Chile Relleno!! Excellent service, great wine choices. Everything tastes fresh and the Posole ...to die for.
Nice little reataurant but wouldn't give it four stars. The food is alright but nothing amazing. The service we got was bad since our server offered to bring us chips n salsa but it never came. Our daughter asked for lemonade but never got it and it wasn't that busy! Our three dishes all Arrived at separate times with apologies for everything that was brought to us.. Would I go back .. No!