The salsa was sweet & spicy at the same time and the burrito was pan fried which I reallllyyy liked. Shai was our waitress. She was super quick and nice. We liked her, she most definitely deserves a raise!
Van Le
Friendly staff sat us real quick and helped me out when I accidentally spilled salsa. Decent Tex-Mex food, I will say that my dish came out lukewarm and the rice was undercooked for my preference. Still, not bad overall.
896dwightd
We have had Mexican food all around the us and the world and this was as bad as we have ever had. The waitress was very nice. we barely recognized are beans ,they were really over cooked and dry. We ordered the steak fajitas and it was very greasy we only had 6 small strips of meat,the tortillas were wrapped in foil and had been baked in the oven way to long. they would not even roll out. we would not recommend this restaurant. The night before we ate at Crescent City grilled owned buy the same Oner and the hole meal was fabulous.
Adam Zachary Rawls
ONLY review for the Tiki Takeover: A must do! such a good menu and drink menu and the patio is the perfect tiki atmosphere! Absolutely! This is what this space was destined to be.
Carley Wigley
I love to support local but this is the second time I’ve come to El Rayo. The first time the food was good, maybe not worth the price but it was good- just like any other Mexican restaurant. This morning I ordered off of the brunch menu. The Cafe el Rayo was a coffee drink that basically tasted like black coffee and milk but it was $8- super disappointed. Several items were missing off of my meal, it was luke warm when it came out. The chips that came out were cold and stale, mind you this is 11 o’clock in the morning. Our server was nice enough to discount the food. The kitchen is just so inconsistent and the food isn’t worth the hype or price. ??
Shelley L.
Food was good & outdoor dining area is really nice. Bartender outside was great! Salsa was not spicy at all & chips were not seasoned.
Jessica B.
Oh man. So disappointed. I went here for lunch while at a conference and as a former Hburger, I love RSJ restaurants. I couldn't wait to try this one. Lunch seemed slow, which I was thankful for in the moment. Decor was perfection - warm, on-theme, comfortable layout, neat details... then we waited for a drink. Waited for contact with a server (one of only two tables in first room to left; not crowded). Server was so upbeat and knowledgeable. He was eager to share why they are the best! I looked forward to our meal. The salsa arrived and to my surprise, was tasteless outside of being slightly sweet. No cilantro, no hints of pepper or onion or garlic. A coworker salted her salsa (usually it's the chips), so I followed suit. It helped. I ordered two tacos: one shrimp and one chicken. I received something pork-ish in place of the chicken. It was dry and stuffed to the brim with pickled onions, which I love, but they covered the entire taco. The shrimp were rubbery and seemed to be cooked by someone without much experience with seafood. I live on the coast and was surprised it was an offering if not done well. Overall, I'm being generous giving it a 3. Anyone who loved the Parrot and who still loves Crescent City expects RSJ food to be satisfying and have details that set it apart. This was not it, sadly.
Lee Lastovica
Pretty average Tex Mex spot. Not bad for MS. The salsa is very tame with minimal flavor. I ordered the bean and cheese nachos. Ordered a full order, but was brought the 1/2 order. Wasn’t expecting the red jalapeños (normally nachos come with pickled green jalapeño) but they were good. I also ordered the beef enchiladas with no rice and charro beans/ black beans. No complaints on these items as well.My service today was very slow and disjointed. I truly hope my server was new and still learning the job. Again, I didn’t get the full order of nachos and they were brought out with the meal as opposed to coming as an appetizer. In addition it took a long time for the meal to arrive at the table. After finally receiving the check my severs passed by my table 3 times without picking up the check. After taking my payment the bill came back with no pen to sign. (The first check came out with a pen????) I was very tempted to simply leave without tipping since at this point my meal was over an hour long and I had to return to work. I did flag down my server and ask for the pen to pay my bill. Definitely needs to work on getting a flow of service steps and etiquete.
Kamia J.
!!NIA!! Was an awesome Server! Great customer service and great food .. traveled from Alabama for work and was worth the visit
Gene G
Avoid this place. First and last time ordering from here. Ordered takeout - the slow roasted pork enchilada with rice and refried beans. took a couple of bites of the enchilada - pork was cooked perfectly. However, it went downhill from here. The enchilada sauce tasted like tomato paste disguised with chili powder and the whole thing was overly salty. Rice was good with the roasted corn in it but it turned out to be the only redeeming feature of the meal. The refried beans had the consistency and appearance of thickened chocolate Malto-O-Meal hot cereal (the original type). Not much flavor at all and the top had a few small sprinkled dots of what I think was cheese. The chips were very thin - break so easily when dipped in the watery-tomato colored concoction that was supposed to salsa. It was very thin consistency, almost no flavor at all. Had to add some Pace salsa to it to get any flavor and texture at all. Then I get hit with a non-optional 10% takeout gratuity. Insult to injury. I don't ever order again from restaurants that sneak that in at the end. I should not be penalized for not coming in and sitting down. To be fair, the young lady taking my order was very pleasant and cheerful. Avoid this place. First and last time ordering from here. Ordered takeout - the slow roasted pork enchilada with rice and refried beans. took a couple of bites of the enchilada - pork was cooked perfectly. However, it went downhill from here. The enchilada sauce tasted like tomato paste disguised with chili powder and the whole thing was overly salty. Rice was good with the roasted corn in it but it turned out to be the only redeeming feature of the meal. The refried beans had the consistency and appearance of thickened chocolate Malto-O-Meal hot cereal (the original type). Not much flavor at all and the top had a few small sprinkled dots of what I think was cheese. The chips were very thin - break so easily when dipped in the watery-tomato colored concoction that was supposed to salsa. It was very thin consistency, almost no flavor at all. Had to add some Pace salsa to it to get any flavor and texture at all. Then I get hit with a non-optional 10% takeout gratuity. Insult to injury. I don't ever order again from restaurants that sneak that in at the end. I should not be penalized for not coming in and sitting down. To be fair, the young lady taking my order was very pleasant and cheerful.
Robert St. John restaurant. Next to Ed’s on Hardy Street. Easy to locate but parking is in the back of the building. Reasonable prices. Order Black Beans or Charro Beans. Rice is very good. Salsa and Chips are ok. Order 11$ trio appetizer cheese dips.
Brittany Spiers
Went for the first time last night on our early valentines dinner. It was awesome! My husband had skirt steak tacos and we shared the cantina skillet. Both were amazing! For the appetizer we had the queso mex with beef. Yummy!
James M.
Having grown up in Colorado, having spent time in California and New Mexico, and currently living in Arizona, I've had very good Mexican food. This wasn't. There were some positives including interesting decor (lots of lights), good service, cold beer, decent salsa and Cholula Hot Sauce on the table. Unfortunately, my chicken enchiladas were lukewarm when served, the chicken was bland, not well seasoned and drowning the enchiladas in a green sauce that lacked flavor/character didn't help. Not a restaurant I could recommend. I have to assume there are much better options for Mexican food in Mississippi.
Mike G.
I normally don't leave reviews I tried the place several times and the food served would be alot better if they would cut the cumin. Everything tasted the same including the beans and rice the salsa should be dropped .
Lynn A.
Very bland food. Taco salad had perhaps a spoonful of very bland ground beef. Nothing else much in it. I left hungry. We had guests from out of town with us, and their orders were incorrect. Also, bland. Our margaritas were delivered quite late and in styrofoam cups. Food was pricey. Theme here is bland, slow, and seemed to be run by inexperienced staff, or staff that doesn't care much. Not sure which. I hate we gave up Purple Parrot and Branch for this.
The salsa was sweet & spicy at the same time and the burrito was pan fried which I reallllyyy liked. Shai was our waitress. She was super quick and nice. We liked her, she most definitely deserves a raise!
Friendly staff sat us real quick and helped me out when I accidentally spilled salsa. Decent Tex-Mex food, I will say that my dish came out lukewarm and the rice was undercooked for my preference. Still, not bad overall.
We have had Mexican food all around the us and the world and this was as bad as we have ever had. The waitress was very nice. we barely recognized are beans ,they were really over cooked and dry. We ordered the steak fajitas and it was very greasy we only had 6 small strips of meat,the tortillas were wrapped in foil and had been baked in the oven way to long. they would not even roll out. we would not recommend this restaurant. The night before we ate at Crescent City grilled owned buy the same Oner and the hole meal was fabulous.
ONLY review for the Tiki Takeover: A must do! such a good menu and drink menu and the patio is the perfect tiki atmosphere! Absolutely! This is what this space was destined to be.
I love to support local but this is the second time I’ve come to El Rayo. The first time the food was good, maybe not worth the price but it was good- just like any other Mexican restaurant. This morning I ordered off of the brunch menu. The Cafe el Rayo was a coffee drink that basically tasted like black coffee and milk but it was $8- super disappointed. Several items were missing off of my meal, it was luke warm when it came out. The chips that came out were cold and stale, mind you this is 11 o’clock in the morning. Our server was nice enough to discount the food. The kitchen is just so inconsistent and the food isn’t worth the hype or price. ??
Food was good & outdoor dining area is really nice. Bartender outside was great! Salsa was not spicy at all & chips were not seasoned.
Oh man. So disappointed. I went here for lunch while at a conference and as a former Hburger, I love RSJ restaurants. I couldn't wait to try this one. Lunch seemed slow, which I was thankful for in the moment. Decor was perfection - warm, on-theme, comfortable layout, neat details... then we waited for a drink. Waited for contact with a server (one of only two tables in first room to left; not crowded). Server was so upbeat and knowledgeable. He was eager to share why they are the best! I looked forward to our meal. The salsa arrived and to my surprise, was tasteless outside of being slightly sweet. No cilantro, no hints of pepper or onion or garlic. A coworker salted her salsa (usually it's the chips), so I followed suit. It helped. I ordered two tacos: one shrimp and one chicken. I received something pork-ish in place of the chicken. It was dry and stuffed to the brim with pickled onions, which I love, but they covered the entire taco. The shrimp were rubbery and seemed to be cooked by someone without much experience with seafood. I live on the coast and was surprised it was an offering if not done well. Overall, I'm being generous giving it a 3. Anyone who loved the Parrot and who still loves Crescent City expects RSJ food to be satisfying and have details that set it apart. This was not it, sadly.
Pretty average Tex Mex spot. Not bad for MS. The salsa is very tame with minimal flavor. I ordered the bean and cheese nachos. Ordered a full order, but was brought the 1/2 order. Wasn’t expecting the red jalapeños (normally nachos come with pickled green jalapeño) but they were good. I also ordered the beef enchiladas with no rice and charro beans/ black beans. No complaints on these items as well.My service today was very slow and disjointed. I truly hope my server was new and still learning the job. Again, I didn’t get the full order of nachos and they were brought out with the meal as opposed to coming as an appetizer. In addition it took a long time for the meal to arrive at the table. After finally receiving the check my severs passed by my table 3 times without picking up the check. After taking my payment the bill came back with no pen to sign. (The first check came out with a pen????) I was very tempted to simply leave without tipping since at this point my meal was over an hour long and I had to return to work. I did flag down my server and ask for the pen to pay my bill. Definitely needs to work on getting a flow of service steps and etiquete.
!!NIA!! Was an awesome Server! Great customer service and great food .. traveled from Alabama for work and was worth the visit
Avoid this place. First and last time ordering from here. Ordered takeout - the slow roasted pork enchilada with rice and refried beans. took a couple of bites of the enchilada - pork was cooked perfectly. However, it went downhill from here. The enchilada sauce tasted like tomato paste disguised with chili powder and the whole thing was overly salty. Rice was good with the roasted corn in it but it turned out to be the only redeeming feature of the meal. The refried beans had the consistency and appearance of thickened chocolate Malto-O-Meal hot cereal (the original type). Not much flavor at all and the top had a few small sprinkled dots of what I think was cheese. The chips were very thin - break so easily when dipped in the watery-tomato colored concoction that was supposed to salsa. It was very thin consistency, almost no flavor at all. Had to add some Pace salsa to it to get any flavor and texture at all. Then I get hit with a non-optional 10% takeout gratuity. Insult to injury. I don't ever order again from restaurants that sneak that in at the end. I should not be penalized for not coming in and sitting down. To be fair, the young lady taking my order was very pleasant and cheerful. Avoid this place. First and last time ordering from here. Ordered takeout - the slow roasted pork enchilada with rice and refried beans. took a couple of bites of the enchilada - pork was cooked perfectly. However, it went downhill from here. The enchilada sauce tasted like tomato paste disguised with chili powder and the whole thing was overly salty. Rice was good with the roasted corn in it but it turned out to be the only redeeming feature of the meal. The refried beans had the consistency and appearance of thickened chocolate Malto-O-Meal hot cereal (the original type). Not much flavor at all and the top had a few small sprinkled dots of what I think was cheese. The chips were very thin - break so easily when dipped in the watery-tomato colored concoction that was supposed to salsa. It was very thin consistency, almost no flavor at all. Had to add some Pace salsa to it to get any flavor and texture at all. Then I get hit with a non-optional 10% takeout gratuity. Insult to injury. I don't ever order again from restaurants that sneak that in at the end. I should not be penalized for not coming in and sitting down. To be fair, the young lady taking my order was very pleasant and cheerful.
Restaurantji Recommends
Robert St. John restaurant. Next to Ed’s on Hardy Street. Easy to locate but parking is in the back of the building. Reasonable prices. Order Black Beans or Charro Beans. Rice is very good. Salsa and Chips are ok. Order 11$ trio appetizer cheese dips.
Went for the first time last night on our early valentines dinner. It was awesome! My husband had skirt steak tacos and we shared the cantina skillet. Both were amazing! For the appetizer we had the queso mex with beef. Yummy!
Having grown up in Colorado, having spent time in California and New Mexico, and currently living in Arizona, I've had very good Mexican food. This wasn't. There were some positives including interesting decor (lots of lights), good service, cold beer, decent salsa and Cholula Hot Sauce on the table. Unfortunately, my chicken enchiladas were lukewarm when served, the chicken was bland, not well seasoned and drowning the enchiladas in a green sauce that lacked flavor/character didn't help. Not a restaurant I could recommend. I have to assume there are much better options for Mexican food in Mississippi.
I normally don't leave reviews I tried the place several times and the food served would be alot better if they would cut the cumin. Everything tasted the same including the beans and rice the salsa should be dropped .
Very bland food. Taco salad had perhaps a spoonful of very bland ground beef. Nothing else much in it. I left hungry. We had guests from out of town with us, and their orders were incorrect. Also, bland. Our margaritas were delivered quite late and in styrofoam cups. Food was pricey. Theme here is bland, slow, and seemed to be run by inexperienced staff, or staff that doesn't care much. Not sure which. I hate we gave up Purple Parrot and Branch for this.