El Jimador

Sign on the front door /​window when I went by this weekend says El Jimador is closed. Directs customers to go down the street to Amanda’s. See Neal T’s photo.

El Jimador was a joint venture of Amanda’s (formerly El Caporal West) located in downtown Bend and another restaurant, Baltazar’s, owned by a different owner and located on Bend’s west side. So the sign is a bit confusing in the instruction it provides because it says «We’ve Moved to Amanda’s». But El Jimador has not moved to Amanda’s but been closed. And in its best days of good mole and spinach enchiladas, El Jimador’s food was actually more a product of Baltazar Chavez and his eponymous restaurant than the El Caporal West /​Amanda’s food. Yet the sign doesn’t reference Baltazar’s as a go to option. Curious.
I sent the «closed» info into Unilocal,but in the meantime until they post it, if you’re planning a Mexican food outing in Bend and using Unilocal to find the options, El Jimador is no more. But no worries if you’re after Mexican food in town as there are many options, as the handy Unilocal search will reveal.

We stopped by here after a 7 mile trail run.
The food itself is nothint to write home about. That said, it was fine. My friend had a veggie burrito and I got an enchilada/​avocado tostada combination. Both were lunch specials and came with rice and beans. Our bill was like $ 14. They even brought us some complimentary guacamole when we asked for some to go with our chips and salsa (which were both only okay).
One complaint: If you call something an «avocado tostada» it should have more than 2 little slices of avocada. Just sayin.

First time I’ve been here. I ordered Huevos Rancheros, my wife had the chicken enchiladas. I then began began reading other reviews and got scared. But all for not: the food was perfectly fine. The refried beans were a little watery, but everything else was tasty and filling. The nachos were warmed. We had the place to ourselves on a Friday at 2pm. Our server was friendly and funny too.

Not impressed.
We met friends at the restaurant. They were sitting at the bar and had already ordered. When we arrived, we moved to an open table so we could join them. We ordered margaritas — and then 10 minutes waved a waiter down to to order them again as it was obvious the order never went through.
We had to separately ask for menus, ask for napkins, ask for water. We finally ordered and waited 40 minutes for our food to arrive. That is a long time!!! We watched a guy from another table get up and do a dance with his arms over his head trying to get the waiters attention and then finally had to chase them down.
When we got our food it was ok, but really, for the lack of service, it would need to be amazing for me to go back.

If you like being called «f*#king c#nts» as you’re walking out of the restaurant, by the owner, come on down! I am disgusted by the way we were treated at El Jimador. 10 mins after my review (still in the restaurant) the owner confronts me about my review in an irate manor. We walked out saying «yes, we felt ppl should know.» As we we crossed the street the owner proceeded to shout out «f*#king c#nts!» I am so mad that I even left him a tip! This is so unacceptable!!!

If I could give this ten stars, I would.
I think a lot of the negative reviewers just don’t know what good Mexican good tastes like, and since we are from South Texas and grew up on authentic Mexican, I feel we have a good idea of how Mexican should taste. El Jimador was the BEST Mexican we’ve had in Bend. Even better than the over rated Hola. Also, I think perhaps El Jimador has undergone some changes since some of these poor reviews came in.
The salsa was outstanding, even better than we make! We wanted the recipe! We had the Chicken Mole Enchiladas and the Carne Asada. Both were fantastic. The mole sauce was among the best we’ve EVER had (and in Central Oregon, no less!) and the carne asada was just a wonderful cut of meat. They had Modelo on tap, which will always win my heart, and the service was good. Also, a Mexican dude in the kitchen is always promising. We also liked the refried black beans instead of just regular refried beans.
Overall, GO TO THIS RESTAURANT! It was just fabulously delicious. We felt the prices were right on for the quality of food. We had a good meal with drinks for a total of $ 40, which we felt was reasonable, especially in Bend.
**You’ll also notice that the two five star reviewers for this restaurant are from places that good Mexican food is common. Take that as an indicator that this place does indeed rock.**

Well food was really oily but it tasted like butter. Plates were really full of food, and very rich. Just as you should be when you order a 15 $ veggie burrito, or a $ 13 quasidilla (which so overstuffed with veges it was highly interpretive.) All margaritas are made with fine tequila-​Sauza– and start at $ 9. Be prepared to buy two if you are a buzz seeking cat. Well I hate the $$$ burritos when its beans and rice! Bt sometimes I am full of pizza!(great next door) two stars is really 2.5. But there are a lot of great places in bend… Mmm beans…

So gross!
We visited Bend for the weekend, and this restaurant will stand out in my memory as the low point of the weekend.
We sat at the bar directly in front of where the food line, and first off let me tell you that anything you order they poor about a quarter cup of oil into the pan before they cook it.
Our burritos were *big* but they were not at all *good*. Mine had mushrooms, which I love, but they made up at least half of the burrito fillings and they were cooked just until barely hot, not at all browned, which meant that every mouthful just tasted like a mouthful of raw mushroom. There was no other taste to the burrito at all.
The other carrots in the burrito looked suspiciously uniform in the thickness of their diagonal cut, which suggests frozen carrots.
My lady also thought her burrito (the vegetarian burrito) was lacking in taste, had too much mushroom, and too much oil.
The service was overly friendly without being actually *good* service. In other words, the waiter checked back on us only at the very end of our meal, just to stick his head in and say loudly, «Everything good my friends?! Okay, good, my friends!» without really waiting to see what we said.
We walked around the downtown area after dinner, full but unsatisfied, pointing out all the restaurants that looked so much better. Don’t let this be your fate. Avoid at all costs.
You should also pay attention to the fact that the positive reviews here on Unilocal seem to be from people whose experience was mainly with drinks.

We stopped here to kill some time and have a few drinks. The chips and salsa were excellent. We didn’t order any food but the plates other people got looked delicious!
The beer selection was pretty sad – which was surprising. I tried to order something on tap and they were out. That was a bit disappointing.

I had lunch today at El Jimador. Since my lunch date and I are living on baby time, we met there early at 11am. We were the only people in the restaurant, which was great because we had our pick of tables. Within about 10 minutes of our arrival the place was PACKED, so I was glad that we got there early.
The service was prompt and friendly. I ordered a cheese enchilada and a chicken taco, a quesadilla w/​rice and beans for my 2 yr old, and my friend ordered the bean and cheese burrito. The food came out to us at lightning speed! It seems like I only had 4 or 5 chips with salsa before our order was being brought out and we were being warned, «Hot plates!»
The food was good. Not spectacular, not awful, but good. I would have liked a little more sauce on my enchilada and spicier seasonings on the shredded chicken taco, but I guess not everyone enjoys burning their tongue off when eating Mexican food like I do.
I would definitely like to come back again for happy hour and enjoy a few cold beers at their outside tables and do some people watching. They are in a great location for that type of thing. They have most of their appetizers on special during happy hour, so that seems like a great time to go and try the tableside guacamole or quesadillas.

This is a small Mexican restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere. Table and bar seating is available. They also have some outdoor tables.
Service is prompt and courteous. The food is good and decently priced. Overall, this is a nice little restaurant to eat at if you’re in the mood for a relaxed meal.

Freshest fajitas in town. Loved sitting outside on a nice night!