El Jardín Tequila Bar - Gastropub in San Jose - 368 Santana Row #1050, USA

I recently dined here for dinner with my husband and some of his work colleagues. We all had a round of cocktails and shared a pitcher of Sangria. The drinks were fine and did the job of getting the conversations going. There was chips and a unique tasting salsa for the table to share. The wait staff did an excellent job of routinely coming around to check on us. (refilling waters and drinks and taking meal orders) The food was delightful and seasoned exceptionally well. My favorite was the Chicken Tinga. The restaurant/bar is open air with trees and hanging lanterns. It’s centrally located within Santana Row so it’s lively with great opportunities to hear live music and people watch. We had a nice time and definitely will be back to try other items.

Lovely place. Excellent choice for a fun night out. Love the vibe and the live orchestra. The drinks were excellent (we had a skinny margarita and a spicy margarita) and food wise, we only had nachos but were really good. We’ll be back :)

We came for drinks with our friends on Saturday night. Loved the ambience! They didn’t allow to make reservations and it was first come first served (maybe you can book a table the night before, but not on the same day). The staff was super friendly and helpful. We’ve got Papas Fritas con Carne Asada, guacamole and drinks. I enjoyed my margarita! Although the place doesn’t have Ladies’ room, but there is a public one around the corner.

Lively place in Santana Row!!! Jardín Tequila Bar in Santana Row is known for its vibrant atmosphere and extensive selection of tequilas. It offers a unique experience with a diverse menu of tequila-based cocktails and Mexican-inspired cuisine. The kitchen's last call is at 10:45PM, so it's open late. If you appreciate a lively ambiance, diverse drink options, and enjoy Mexican flavors, Jardín Tequila Bar could be a great spot for you to explore in Santana Row.

The service can be a little hard at times (tonight was great!) but overall, it's a delicious place, with strong, tasty drinks. Tonight, we got the papas fritas con asada and gordita de chicharron between the two of us and it was more than enough. Before we got the quesabirria and nachos jardin, and that was also enough for us two. We tend to when it is less busy, like weekdays (when you can get the quesabirria), it can just way too busy on weekends.

Pretty vibey spot, especially for shareable items. The atmosphere and ambience were good, and the DJ they had that night was phenomenal. Great music selection and smooth song transitions, felt like it was a club. Food and drinks itself were decent. We got the Dip Mexicano, which had imported Tostitos chips and house-dip. the dip could have used pickled jalapenos instead of raw, but in combination with cheese and beans tasted good. We also got the Nachos Jardin which paired really well with the Papas Fritas con Asada (we got it without carne asada). For drinks, I definitely say try the Don Quixote for a spicy and flavorful cocktail. The Churro for dessert is also a must-try.

Summary - A great Mexican place to visit in the San Jose bay area. Great atmosphere, good food and overall lovely experience. Overall 3.5 star for food, 4 star for service and 5 star for atmosphere. A bit about the location: skip if you are familiar with Santa Row. El Jardin is located in an upscale shopping corridor of Santa Row. Santana Row hosts several high end retail stores and boutique shops. Tesla, LB steak, Valencia Hotel, Yard House are some of the high end showrooms, restaurants and hotels. This is one place in San Jose where you may be able to see several Lamborghinis, Ferraris and high end cars like Mercedes, BMW and more. El Jardin is a high end Mexican joint. Food is very authentic and traditional dishes of Mexico. Cocktails are average but Margaritas can be extremely good. Try some spicy ones like mango jalapeno. Old fashioned was below average as it lacked the alcoholic smell and flavour and was overly sweet. Maybe it's a bad idea to try and American cocktail at a traditional Mexican restaurant. The vide is excellent, outdoor seating with loud music and may be live music someday. It gives you a feeling of being in Miami where everything is unique and Latin and lively. The lines can get really long especially on the weekend. Be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes to get a table. It's not that bad since the music is playing loud and you kind of enjoy the vibe. The tables are placed everywhere outdoors on the street and under the trees. The furniture is low quality especially since this is considered a high end place. Decently wrapped cutlery is good enough for street food actually. Order some tacos, asada and traditional chicken and pork dishes. The taco mole was good but there was too much excessive sauce. Since the restaurant is so busy, there is so much delay in service but that was expected when we sat down. Be prepared to wait more than 20 minutes for your order to arrive. But order chips salsa or guacamole which can be appetizers fast delivered. Overall a 3.5 star rated restaurant. But worth trying if you are in the area. It wouldn't be worth driving out of your way through.

Long time since we have been back to Santana Row, and we were so happy we made it here. The guacamole went so fast that the only photo I could get was of the empty bowl. We followed that with the Nachos one beef and one chicken For our main course, we had the special, Jardin Platter with food to share for 4. Some of us had tacos to add to the platter. Great outdoor atmosphere heaters all around, service was just right in this extremely busy restaurant. Great Spanish music and fun place.