Review Hotel Jesus - Collingwood

First of all, I was looking forward to go to this place as my partner said they have really good tacos 🌮 when he visited few years back. Decoration is great. It made me feel like I was really in Mexico even though I haven't been to Mexico. So it was a good vibe and all. Staffs were nice and friendly. Now about food, we found that everything was quite bland. We had to put chili sauce on everything. Corn, we thought it would be charred corn with black mayo. I'm pretty sure it was corn kennel from a can because it was pretty watery. We thought of tellind the waitress but it was super busy on Saturday night and we were hungry. Tacos, reasonable price and portion as normal tacos would be but again, it's really bland. Fish, nice slightly battered but I couldn't taste much of anything else. Pork was a bit dry but when you put the sauce on, it's good. Love the chilli 🌶 sauce. Chicken skin, I thought we would give it a try. It took a while as we ordered it last and separately from the other dishes but waitress was attentive after we asked her to check how long further away. --- I had a bite and put it down. I can smell and taste the stale. It wasn't crispy. So I didn't finish it. The grilled cheese one was nice. I don't mind it at all. The pocket thing, I forgot what it's called, it was ok with the sauce too. Margarita 🍹 (grapefruit) special cocktail was really nice and I enjoyed it. Would I come back? 🤔 not for tacos, sorry. My partner was disappointed too as he thought it would be really good like before. Anyway, give it a try. You might find something you like as we didn't try their main dish because we wanted few small dishes and we love tacos.

Some of the best Mexican in the country. Good selection of Mezcal and Tequila and related cocktails..Small list of wines and local craft.

What started out good, turned bad and then good again! Coming out on a Friday at 9:30pm for dinner is a challenge in the burbs. I tried a few locals and no kitchen open, then on the horizon my gf spotted Hotel Jesus. (Pronounced with the H not the J…). Thank god! After sitting down and ordering via the ever present Mr Yum. Drinks flowed but no food! No one check on us and after asking it appeared they lost the order. Always a worry with apps. I was a bit hangry but once they realised their error they jumped into action. Food came quickly, some free drinks and a few apologies and we are back to a 5 star review. Def recommend and will be going back. The power of service!

I heard good things about Hotel Jesus and that, along with it’s insane decor is what drew me in. It makes you feel like you’re really in Mexico. Although the menu is quite small, we ordered what we thought to be a fair bit of food between the two of us. However once the food came, I was glad we “over-ordered”. We ordered 3 tacos each and fries - the main problem was the tacos. They were tiny portions. Anyone with a bigger mouth than me could’ve finished each in one bite. The Fried Fish Tacos were the best of the 3. The fish was nicely cooked and the additional fillings were good too. The Lamb Tacos were a let down because the meat was dry and overall lacked seasoning. The Chicken Skin Tacos were our biggest issue. Unfortunately I didn’t read the menu properly which I take full responsibility for, but they were noted as “very spicy!”. If only I’d read this beforehand because the heat was unlike anything I’ve tried and I just couldn’t imagine why/how anyone would genuinely enjoy it. Sounds dramatic but I really did think I was going to pass out. The spice was so intense that we had to order Horchata to cool ourselves off. It was our saving grace and super delicious. I’d drink that any day - burning throat or not. The fries were interesting. They were covered in black mayo which wasn’t as bad as it sounds/looks. It had a nice nuttiness to it but there wasn’t enough of it. The potatoes were just freezer packet quality though. Can’t say I’ll be returning here unfortunately.

(on behalf of my girlfriend): when I was here yesterday I had a delicious beer and the food was fantastic. The server noticed I did not eat one of my tostadas, she replaced it with one more suited to my taste. But I am especially moved to leave this review because while I was eating, a lady with impaired mobility in a scooter had a breakdown: the staff looked after her going above and beyond to make sure she was OK. Everyone there was a chiller. It's a great restaurant to have in the community.

Pastor tacos were delicious, tacos in general here are really good, but small. I also recommend pibil volcan and pastor volcan.

We dined at Hotel Jesus for a date night. The food was great and felt authentic, only improvement would be the variety of cocktails on offer. Would recommend this place if decor is a big part of your dining experience as it's a very cool place to eat at!

Please do not complain about the taco portion size at Hotel Jesus. This is exactly the taco size you’ll get in Mexico! Because I just spent 3.5 weeks travelling around in Mexico and let me tell you the whole time I was doing taco tours, eating out at taco street stands, taco restaurants, all I could think about was how I wish I could eat hotel Jesus instead… this is the most authentic taco you’ll get in Australia and it tastes amazing and suited to your Fitzroy tastebuds with authentic Mexican salsa! Because tacos in Mexico, while they look similar could be too exotic and heavy for someone non-Mexican.

There’s not a lot of great Mexican food in Melbourne but Hotel Jesus is an exception. The fare is relatively “authentic” and contemporary and really tasty, albeit a bit pricey. All burritos I’ve ever tried here are great (although I’d love if they included rice and/or beans for more substance). I recently also tried the sweet potato enchiladas for the first time and I have no complaints- they are perfect.

We dined in social distancing style and had a fantastic evening, ordering is done through your phone to avoid contact but that doesn’t take away from the delightful and personable service. Food was incredible, especially recommend the quesadillas with huitlacoche, lamb ribs and Mexican fried chicken. Can’t wait til we can return, thanks for a great night.

I found Hotel Jesus to be quite average. For me, it did not live up to the hype. The guacamole wasn't fresh and the beef tacos lacked flavor. However, the drink options were fantastic and the customer service was great. That said, I don't think i'll return due to the food quality. There's better Mexican elsewhere.

There are 2 free parking spots around here. Make sure to secure your spot there before embarking on the deliciousness that is about to await you at Hotel Jesus. We chose the $49 menu which included:. Guacamole – something I didn’t find too special. Definitely fresh but nothing flash. Esquites – and make it yourself? Hell YES!

Great service, amazing tasty food!

We came to Hotel Jesus - completely baited by the name of the restaurant haha.<br/><br/>Ordered:<br/>🍗 Chicken Wings: agave, chilli, peanut salsa, pickled cucumber, coriander ($14.00)<br/>🌽 Esquites (2 servings) (vgo): corn off the cob, black mayo, queso and spice mix ($12.00)<br/>🍤 Prawn Taco (2pcs): beer battered prawns, chintextle slaw, avocado, lime ($15.00)<br/>🐟 Fish Taco (2 pcs): fried fish, crema, chipotle and pico de gallo ($15.00)<br/>🐷 Carnitas Taco (2 pcs): Confit pork, salsa verde, pickled onion, coriander ($14.00)<br/>🌮 Chicken Gringa (vgo): cheese, pineapple, avocado ($16.00)<br/>🌮 Veg Gringa (gfo): poblano chilis, mushroom, corn, cheese ($14.00)<br/><br/>Review:<br/>We ordered enough between 3 and were given an hour and a half to consume it all. During the ordering, we were asked whether we wanted for it to come all out at once. Of course - but somehow this got lost so the service we received at hotel jesus was to give you one dish at a time 😖. That was a close call!<br/><br/>The food was pretty good. Stand outs for me were the: chicken wings, esquites, and the veg gringa. The peanut salsa added an addictive crunchy texture, you can NEVER go wrong with corn, and there were just enough mushrooms in the veg gringa.<br/>Interior wise, Hotel Jesus has a fun vibe with motifs all around. Not a bad place if you have time to dine.

The restaurant - Looks great. Well designed space.<br/><br/>The food - Mostly tastes good, interesting take on contemporary Mexican. Authentic.<br/><br/>Service - Friendly but not as polished or professional as it should be at the price point of this restaurant. In some cases unhelpful, in other cases sloppy. Casual service and plating is fine if you are charging accordingly but not when the restaurant is as expensive as this. <br/><br/>Pricing and serving sizes - Serving sizes are small and prices are high. A table of 2 could easily receive a $200 bill for tacos, some other small plates, and a few margaritas each. In some cases the food serving sizes seem unnecessarily meagre like when you order quacamole and chips and you get a just a handful of chips, or if you order a serve of tostadas and you get 1 corn chip with a topping on it for $9. Really guys? <br/><br/>Could be a decent place but needs to deliver better value for money.

I love Mexican food and this place does it justice. The person at the door (short cropped hair) was quiet rude and put us off but the food won us over. Very tasty, fresh ingredients and good portions. The chicken skin tacos were a bit oily though. The mocktails ( *damn* dry July) were nothing special but I suspect the margaritas would be good. Will defo visit again!

Great atmosphere, food and drinks. Love this place for a quick lunch/dinner or a boozy get together with friends. The tacos are unreal, would definitely recommend.

A bit on the expensive side $150 for 3 adults and 2 kids - admittedly with 2 margaritas and 2 beers! Can’t fault their service, they found us a table, said we had an hour and a bit (it was Saturday night so fair enough). <br/><br/>Drinks came quickly and orders were taken just as swiftly. They also have a secret kids menu (quesadillas - cheese or chicken and cheese) sure to be a hit with any children! And in the event that they don’t want to eat it it instantly became and adult choice after addiction of Mexican hot sauce! <br/><br/>The adults had seafood mole, blackened chicken quesadillas and guacamole. Guacamole means dip with nacho triangles (as they call them in So Cal and Mexico)... the guacamole was tasty but a bit small - they will bring extra chips. The mole was a hit. Had some pickles - which included pickled jalapeños. That being the food equivalent of Russian roulette... you just don’t know which one is hot!<br/><br/>Mexican food is very cheap in the US and coming back I had high expectations. Hotel Jesus does a great job of reproducing this and I would be keen to come back to try other items on the menu. I guess it’s what you’re used to; it’s good<br/>value for food in Australia, but expensive in a sense especially with a few tequilas. Nonetheless I was impressed; make a booking for a weekend!

Really awesome retro atmosphere. Drinks were delicious - really recommend! The Cucumber Margarita was sensational as well as the Jesus collada mocktails.<br/>The seafood pascadilla was amazing - the balance of seafood and other flavours was just perfect.<br/>I also had the special that night which was lamb tacos - these were also delicious but they came out cold which was a bit disappointing.

I love the food in this place and I rate it like the best mexican place in the city. However, the service the last three times that Ive attended have pushed me to come here and write a review.<br/>I come to Hotel Jesus two or three times every month as the food is ridiculously good. The last two times I attended the service has not only been poor, but to the border of feeling like the waitress is actually being rude to me. Not receiving our party with a smile, rushing into the table that she wants to put us when the place is almost empty, rushing us to order and making us feel unwelcome. <br/>At the end I directed myself to her to thank her and say goodbye and she just kept looking down and didnt even reply.<br/>I would assume she was just having a bad day but due to my past experiences there i always felt a bit of the same. <br/>The chef on the other hand, came out to ask how the food was being very friendly and took some time to have a chat with us.<br/>Such a shame that a great venue with fantastic food is ruined by waitresses with a bit of attitude.

I had an unpleasant experiences with Hotel Jesus. I made a reservation for table of 14 on last Saturday night at 6.30pm for my birthday The dining time limit was 2 hours. Almost all of my guest came on time. However, the first 1.5 hours we only being served with few entree and the main course only served at 8pm. After 10 mins, the waitress came to me and said they will need to clear the table in 20 mins. That’s why we had to quickly eat the main course and the waitress only brought the birthday cake to us in the last 5 mins and told us to leave as soon as we took the photos . This is totally unexpected in hospitality industry.We don’t even have the time to eat the cake and force to leave ! We spent about $500+++ on that night and we expected to have a great dining experiences. I understand it was peak hours but hotel Jesus already expected for our arrival 1 week earlier and even know which banquet menu we go for, at least you should prepare our food earlier or priorities us. Overall, the food is not worth of the value and the time management should be improve.

Checked into Hotel Jesus earlier today for late Breakfast/Lunch. Finding the location was very easy, its literally steps off the 86 Route Tram so there's no way you can get lost using public transport. The restaurant is very airy and clean with plentiful seating inside and a few tables out the front on the street.<br/><br/>We Ordered Two Iced Coffees (One was their Horchata version) The only difference i could really taste between the both was the cinnamon that was topped off on their own version but regardless it was very delicious. Our first dishes were the Colima Ceviche Tostadas which were very spot on in taste. My dad is from colima and i grew up with this style of ceviche and right off the bat i could taste the similarities. It was very fresh, limon-y and overall amazing. We also ordered the CDMX Hamburgesa, the overall taste was not my favorite but my boyfriend enjoyed it  and said it was something new and gave it a 10/10. I ordered the Chilaquiles Divorciados with the egg on top....wow, All the flavors put together made this dish satisfy all my cravings today. Thanks for the amazing meal Hotel Jesus!

😱Lizzie’s first impression: one of my new found favourite Mexican restaurant in Melbourne. The fit outs is very unique and the staff are very friendly. <br/><br/>🍩Lizzie enjoyed: I especially loved the selection of ceviches on the hard tacos. I also loved the fish tacos -it was full of flavour and had a great punch of like to balance out the charcoal flavour. I also loved the chicken quesadillas- they were super juicy and tender yet had a great smokiness to it. The frozen margaritas were delicious!! <br/><br/>🍅Lizzie did not enjoy: I didn’t really enjoy the lamb tacos as much. Not saying I didn’t like them but were definitely not comparable to the fish ones. <br/><br/>🥇Lizzie rates overall: a great place for date night or just an easy catch up. Would love to come back!

Great taqueria, and probably the most authentic Mexican I’ve had in Melbourne. I love the eclectic interior, and the food is all quite good value.<br/>Would return.

this place was fantastic! such a great atmosphere, a friend asked me to join her for a bite to eat and really, really enjoyed the ceviches they had on the menu, would definately recommend, especially to those looking for some authentic mexican. damn, so tasty. will definately be back

Great food, great service, the pastor tacos was great and the pork belly was amazing, made me remember Mexico that all. Also, the Jamaica water is fresh and amazing for this summer weather.

Interesting venue with a diner theme. Sadly food didn’t wow me I found the flavours quite lacklustre and several dishes were too oily. Meat was tender though. We got the lamb tacos, pork tostada, chicken quesadilla, mole and corn.

Amazing food and the best margaritas ever!! Service was great and the staff can recommend some of the most tasty items. Can’t wait to go back

Called up a group of eight to dine here and ended up embarrassing as no one actually enjoyed a single dish.. The corns and beans are likely from the cans as the dishes are very watery? being even more disappointed when we know this restaurant is under the same company with Mamasita, given the fact that we all love Mamasita! <br/><br/>The interior would be the only highlight... <br/><br/>Also we ordered feed us menu and found very weird as we had the same portion of food with the table of ten next to us, which makes us guessing that the chef was serving random portion of food to ppl? We asked the staff about this but had no explanation they said they don’t know?? That’s chef’s decision? We left with confusion.. <br/><br/>

It was like a culinary trip to Mexico with their street tacos ! I loved every moment of my visit here.<br/>I can consider myself a taco expert and this restaurant passes the test 100%<br/><br/>If you’re looking for authentic Mexican tacos and micheladas you’re on the right path visiting Hotel Jesus ! Heaven! <br/>

I really loved this place!<br/>We went here for a friend's birthday on a Friday evening. We had a few things from themenu including tacos and quesilldas!<br/>Menu options are great and really well explained! The staff were fantastic and made it such a nice experience.

10% Sunday surcharge:( we go to hotel Jesus very often and the food is always nice & the drinks are authentic and really good. But recently we went on a Sunday to receive a 10% holiday surcharge. I haven’t seen this in Fitzroy / Collingwood before and it felt cheap (ironically) of the management to do that! If you need to pay staff more which is absolutely fair enough make it part of the cost of the food . Really unpleasant eating there tonight

Went to Hotel Jesus with a girlfriend to celebrate Friyay. Started off with a lovely pina colada, girlfriend K was Hangry so we ordered a heap load of food for two.<br/><br/>Order the snapper ceviche which was ok, it tasted like mince cooked fish rather than raw. Probably my least fav dish of the night.<br/><br/>I got a vegetarian volcano and that was delicious. What’s a volcano? You ask. It’s like a huge piece of crispy cheese w meat or veggies on top of it and it’s soooo yumgasmic. I wanted to go back and eat that again! <br/><br/>The Brussels sprout with crispy mint dish was delicious... who knew mint and brussel sprout goes so well together?<br/><br/>We were going to have the quesadilla but the waitress forgot to put the order in. Fine with us though we are happy to go straight to dessert cos we are pretty full.<br/><br/>The dessert was a chocolate mess. It was ok, probably a bit too sweet and the chocolate was a bit grainy. <br/>

Came here for date night. Had heard good reviews from friends and my partner likes Mexican. This is Mexican with a bit of twist which I liked. Service was fantastic from the start, the waitresses were very helpful in recommending what to order. We got the corn and guacamole with chips for entree which were both amazing. The chips were sweet potato and amazing. The prawn creviche was a highlight and the tuna tostada. I loved the fried potato taco and my partner loved the pork tacos as well the pumpkin side. We ate and drank way more than we should have and were surprised with how cheap our meal came to be! Highly recommend! Food and service was amazing! The restaurant has a fun vibe too!

It could be better but still not a bad place! <br/><br/> 🔆LOCATION🔆<br/>On the fun busy strip of Smith Street, Hotel Jesus is located in within the old GPO building - gorgeous space and the interior looks amazing. Kind of takes you back in time.<br/><br/>🔆SERVICE🔆<br/>Friendly and helpful, but during busy, rush hour they just cant service everyone. People are placed on a wait-list and its first come first serve.<br/><br/>🔆MENU/PRICE🔆<br/><br/>$2 Taco Tuesday is insane price! That's what we went for! Bargain!<br/><br/>🔆VERDICT🔆<br/>The food is decent, I can't complain. However, I am allergic to chilli and even though they have a chart list of allergies for me to look at, I was very limited in choices to select from which was disappointing.However, from what I could eat, the food was delicious.<br/> Cake tasting Milk Shake was delicious! Hahah!

Staff were super welcoming and friendly.<br/>Just ordered a la carte, but should’ve gone for the feed me option because all the food that came out looked incredible.<br/><br/>The lamb tacos I highly recommend!

Went out looking for a light fresh meal, ended up here and had a few of the ceviche dishes which were awesome and full of flavour. Staff were lovely and informative, definitely will revisit this one.

Came for lunch on a quiet Saturday. Tacos were ok, not as good as Mamasita though. The Colima Ceviche was one of the strangest things I’ve eaten.....texture of the fish was like minced meat. I feel like I’m sitting in an American diner, so quite a unique atmosphere.

This place was disappointing! I’ve tried to come here a number of times but the place has always been packed which is a good sign right? Well not tonight. <br/><br/>The wait staff were very relaxed and polite. <br/><br/>I asked for some recommendations from the waitstaff as I hadn’t been there before and I wanted to know what might be good to order. <br/><br/>The food was very ordinary to be honest. Not one dish stood out for me, in fact it wasn’t very good. <br/><br/>Everything I ate had little to no flavour, although I didn’t mind the sweet potato chips w guacamole but that was it really. <br/><br/>The other entrees were nothing to write about. <br/><br/>The table beside us arrived after us, ordered after us but finished their meal before we got our main! <br/><br/>When our main arrived, it was dark chocolate w beef brisket served w tortillas. This dish was just wrong. Why would you do this? I couldn’t eat it, it was one of least favourite dishes in a very very long time. <br/><br/>The side we ordered was Brussel sprouts and they hard, and uncooked. I was expecting/hoping for some flavour, some spices or something. <br/><br/>Overall for $100 for 2 people without any drinks (we had water) was expensive and the food, well... I’m not going back. Definitely one place to avoid!

Very cool place. Sharing is the key and you have to order a tequila shot chased down with spicy gazpacho. You place your own order on your order pad which is very fun. Service was awsome. Great starter for a night out.

We went on $2 Tuesday night and had a decent feed! Loving their regular cheap Tuesdays. A bit of a grungy, cheap veneer kinda vibe (which they nail perfectly!) and quick service with helpful staff. Great for a cheap weekday bite or food before heading out elsewhere. Would happily recommend.

While the venue itself did a great job at transporting me to Mexico, the food didn’t wow in any way. The meat/taco fillings were often dense, oily and salty. There was not enough of freshness - be it salsa, lime juice or avocado to balance off the flavours and density. Shame!

This Mexican Restaurant is located in a beautiful building have a amazing atmosphere, the food is very tasty , the staff is friendly but the price is a little expensive. My favourite this night was the buñuelos with dulce de leche ice cream. Love it!

Great casual Mexican venue in Collingwood. Casual vibe and huge menu. Between two we shared the grilled corn, the guacamole with sweet potato chips and the prawn ceviche. Then we tried the cheese and chicken tostadas and the pork tacos. Really enjoyed all the flavours. Stand outs were the corn and the chicken tostadas. Sangria was yum too.

If you’re hungry and wanting a filling meal do not go to this restaurant...serving sizes are really small and very over priced (e.g. tacos). Food was nice and arrived quickly however. In my opinion, this place is probably good for a light snack/meal with a drink as it has a nice vibe, but definitely not worth going here for a proper dinner.

Spending time in Mexico last year caused me to be very picky with Mexican restaurants here in Melbourne. This is the closest to authentic Mexican food that we have found here! Delicious al pastor tacos (the green chorizo was great too) on corn tortillas. Yum!! Will come here when we are craving a Mexican fix.

Very nice fit out, you feel like you’ve transported to Mexico. They have attention to detail everywhere, even on the plates. <br/><br/>Menu is just as fitting. Honest flavours for every single dish. Beef tartara and ceviche were a standout! Each dish had the right combination of elements, the photos speak for themselves for a splash of colour and flavour. Get the dessert!

This place is awesome! The interior makes you feel like your in the heart of Mexico, the food was delicious, the fish taco was my absolute favourite filled with flavour. The pork and vegetarian quesadillas were also full of flavour and fulfilled our need for authentic Mexican food. <br/>Overall I would definitely recommend this place as a decently priced, relaxed dining experience!

Love the interior, they have definitely captured an authentic Mexican feel, as opposed to some eateries who stick Mexican cinco de mayo dolls everywhere to justify their Mexican-ness. It's Mexican kitsch. I had the seafood, chorizo and the pork (al pastor) tacos during my lunch break.<br/><br/>The ingredients were fresh, great balance of flavours, meat cooked well.<br/><br/>There's a lot of really good mexican / taco restaurants in Melbourne and this one is just as good as the best of them. If you're in Collingwood and you are craving Mexican, then this is worth a visit.

I walked past this place one night and put it down as a must try - I just liked the look and its commitment to its theme! We finally went last week and the food was delicious! The waitress recommended the corn cob and the colima ceviche which were real highlights for us - I'm still thinking of that corn. Anyway, it's fun! Go with some friends.

Hotel Jesus is a very cute set up on Smith st. The wait staff are very efficient and explain the menu well and how much food should be enough. <br/>We tried quite a few tacos and they were all good just lacked a bit of flavour which is really weird to say at a Mexican place. The meat was cooked beautifully but there was no flavour on it or added to the taco to really lift it. The cheese ones were the best cause the melted cheese added flavour. <br/>As for dessert it was so overwhelming of cinnamon we could not eat it. <br/>

The staff is good...and so is the service!! But it's not a very romantic setting to be ...I went in ,as it was featured in the romantic restaurants collection of zomato and I was disappointed at the setting...the food is average nothing to go back for being a vegetarian I had one option in each section of the menu n this I tired each ....tostada and beans and chips were like 2/5 while the mushroom quesdilla was 3/5 ...in drinks I opted for the Jesus margarita which was indeed the best thing I had there and cauliflower steak for my only option for mains which is a big NO NO....it was very raw and we left the entire thing uneaten (the staff was generous enough to observe that I Did not eat it and discounted it off my bill) we were so off the place that we decided to skip dessert there!

Part of the same group as Mamasita, Hotel Jesus is Mamasita's hipster younger brother who is still at Uni so eats out on a budget, and who hangs out on the North Side.  Serving up Mexican inspired cuisine at an incredibly reasonable price tag, the venue itself is akin to the love child of a 1970s American diner and a local Mexican taqueria.

The venue is fun, looks American for some reason but the food seems pretty authentically Mexican. Would highly recommend the quesadillas, anything fried cheese, and the green chorizo taco in particular!

The fit-out is very cool . The whole 70s look. The service was great very friendly ... the tacos are so good especially the fish taco . The pawn ceviche was nice a spicy . A great place for a quick bite

The atmosphere is great and the service was even better as the staff had great personalities! The food was also pretty good but the sangria was a bit of the non alcoholic side however it was cheap so can't really complain all in all it's a great casual place to dine.

Love this casual, vibrant spot. Great place to go with a few friends for a no-pressure catch up. Fish taco is ok- a little dry,, to be honest. But! The volcane will change your life. Please do not leave this place without trying it. Like a cheesy tostada. The molé was not that great- might just be me but perhaps it requires an acquired taste. Quesadillas delicious and generous size. Will return upon my next craving for Comida mexicana!

yum yum yum!<br/><br/>Pretty funky decor,  there were so many things I wanted to try on the menu but I didn't have enough space in my belly & it was a bit pricey.<br/><br/>Favorite dish was the tuna toastada & corn on cob.

Note: I live for ceviche & it may of been my main motivation to travel to South America.<br/><br/>I'm giving them 2 stars for the fun and vibey low-rent mexican cantina decor. And 0.5 stars for food. Service was slow and staff seemed bored. The corn was a winner (just get it!) and hits you with that smokey queso flavour (that mamasita is famous for). The tacos were uninspiring and bland. The cerviche was a pastiche on ceviche. Looks like cerviche, but tasted like taco chips and the ghost of lime and fish. I don't know how they managed to lose the flavour (possibly due to the fish being a little tough and made 5+ hours before serving). I won't visit again.

Hotel Jesus looks 75% better than it tastes. We’ve eaten here a handful of times and have unfortunately been slightly saddened by the desire to then get some real food once we left. Everything sounds beautiful, but the flavours are just not there. The snapper ceviche is fresh and clean but swimming in its own fish pond, the pickles are nice but the wrong amount of tang which I don’t quite understand. The Al Pastor, whilst is a slightly larger taco sounds beautifully juicy, is actually dry, flavourless and pretty much blends into everything else, which is easily applied to all of the tacos, except the Suadero, which is exceptional. All of the tostadas are dry and unthoughtful, the quesadillas raise an eyebrow but you’ll want to soak them to their bones with salsas or the pepper sauces on the table, which are also extremely watery, shallow and see through.<br/><br/>Overall the menu offers many different meats, heavy on seafood and a few vegetarian things which all sound delightful, but needs some creativity and soul to flesh out the details. <br/><br/>You’ll definitely get some of the best Mezcals and Tequilas you’ll find in Melbourne, but my advice is to come for the Steak Tacos only, and with a few Mezcals at the bar, it can be nice.

My partner and I wandered in off smith street and whilst the decor was impressive, the food was extremely disappointing. The bill came to $81.00 and the serving we received didn’t leave us fulfilled at all. We order the seafood cocktail for $27.00 which comprises of a few chopped up pieces of octopus and prawns, smothered in a tomato sauce (that tasted like diluted tomato soup) as well as some stale salada crackers and other assorted stale corn chips. The only redeeming part of the meal was the quesadillas (of which my partner had the tuna and pork) and the friendly service. As someone who works in hospitality I wouldn’t usually resort to writing an online review but I can’t say there is much more appeal in this place than the fancy decor and staff, which is a total shame.

My friend and I went to Hotel Jesus for Taco Tuesday and we were really disappointed. My general thinking for Taco Tuesday is to get same tacos on the menu but for a deal to attract more customers, which is good for the restaurant because they make more money and gain a good reputation for it. Unfortunately, Hotel Jesus did not do this, the tacos were tiny and bland, which was extremely disappointing. But just to test the quality of the food, we ordered a taco that wasn’t on the Tuesday special and it was delicious, bigger and much more flavourful. So the food is good but we were really let down by there taco Tuesday. Thinking about the restaurants reputation, that was my first time at Hotel Jesus and if I hadn’t tried a normal taco, I would not have gone back. But I will give this place the benefit of the doubt and try again soon.. but not on a Tuesday.

We came to Hotel Jesus for Mr W's birthday dinner.<br/>It's another one of those predictably pretentious places that refuse to take pre bookings.<br/>We managed to get a table pretty quickly at the bar. <br/>The margaritas went down a treat, as did the sangrias.<br/>We came on $2 taco Tuesday which was good value. The tacos were tasty but miniature and it took 7 to make a dint in Mr W's appetite.<br/>In general, the food and drinks were tasty but on the small side and fairly pricey.<br/>Having said that, we enjoyed it and will most likely return.

Came here for lunch and really enjoyed everything. I recommend the pork taco- the meat was so flavoursome. Will definitely come back to try the other items on their menu.

Went here with a group of friends on a Friday night after work. I would recommend booking because it gets very popular!<br/><br/>Childishly, I found the ordering process quite fun. Perhaps this was due to the delicious alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) drinks' menu. I ordered the beef tostada, chorizo verde taco and huitlacoche quesadilla. I would highly recommend all of these and would order them again if there weren't more things I want to try!<br/><br/>As there were four of us, I found the timing of the food coming out a bit weird - they're obviously bringing it out as it's listed on the menu but it meant that those who ordered things from the first page were eating way before those who ordered from further down on the menu. <br/>

Fantastic atmosphere as it is very authentic and you don’t feel like you’re in Melbourne! The picture is a mix of chicken, beef and vegetarian guisado tacos, absolutely delicious! But my favourite items on the menu are definitely the ‘ceviches’ and after trying the Colima, Prawn and Porktapus I would say they are the stand out items. And the guacamole... oh the guacamole!

Tried out this lovely restaurant with a couple of friends and took advantage of their $2 taco Tuesday deal! Lovely place with good service... food was good too!

Food was amazing. Meat was juicy and flavours were incredible. Prices are good too, for such an authentic experience. I highly recommend, and I will certainly be back there very soon.

I don’t understand the lackluster reviews about this place. My husband and I not only got married in Mexico, we have both also spent a lot of time in Mexico in the company of locals (a number of our very close friends are Mexicans) - and we absolutely loved Hotel Jesus.<br/>We thought Hotel Jesus had some of the best tacos in Melbourne. Authentic flavors with a decidedly Melbourne feel. The drinks and beer list, in addition to the ambiance, transported us straight back to Mexico. Best thing was it was Mexican cuisine without fear for “Montezuma’s Revenge” (nasty stuff). The only tacos I could remember ever having that were better than this was at 3AM, in Puerto Vallarta, at a close friend’s wedding’s wild after party, so there you go.

Delicious guacamole and some of the best beef tacos I’ve ever had. Definitely recommend the stuffed pepper with cheese and corn for something different. Overall it was great with friendly and attentive service and cool decor.

Some nice dishes. A decent take on your usual Mexican street food suspects. However they failed to maintain that it is street food.<br/>Portion sizes where disappointingly small. Half or less actually of a corn cob for $6 is pretty naff<br/><br/>The wait on the food was far to long for tacos<br/>

We visited Hotel Jesus on the sabbath. A Mexican feast was had... All while a Mexican woman watched over us like a proud mother (turns out that she is actually the chef's aunty). Good Mexican food and a pretty cool set up.. what more could you want?

Tacos and a few bevvies! The wait time was long for a Thursday, but the tacos were delicious. A bit pricey for what you get though. But a solid drinks menu with loads of variety and speciality drinks. No space for large groups but good for couples/small groups.

Disclaimer : I love tacos and some may call me a taco slut. <br/><br/>My friends and I came for $2 taco tuesday thinking everything on the taco menu was $2! But it wasnt. They've got a special menu consisting of a truffled mushroom and corn, a blackened chicken and a braised beef version during our visit. We did order the fish tacos which was off the special menu and the fish came out crispy and delicious. The $2 tacos were a let down. Came out quite wet and messy. Our second round of tacos had a pool of gravy that came with it which made it messy and hard to eat. Taco shell couldnt keep everything in place which really ruined the whole eating experience. For $2, I cant complain more. Regardless, it wasnt great tacos and I wouldnt be back.

Meh is really all to say about this place. Being the sister restaurant and having eaten at Mamacita I was really excited to try here, I was left disappointed. Pretty boring flavours, nothing complex. Their tag is no frills and this applies to the flavours also. Tapas style menu with a tick box paper menu system. There are tiny little lamimated menus with around 3 full sized meal options on one side. We weren't shown this even though we were asked if we had eaten there before and had the menu explained to us, we didn't notice until we had ordered several tapas items. They seem to have a few Japanese fusion items on the menu, why? Good quality ingredients, hispter atmosphere, the layout is bar/canteen and if you sit at the bar you can watch them cook your food as the kitchen is open. I went on a Thursday night and it was very busy. Good selection of natural homemade type sodas, try the tamarind and mandarin. The chicken tostadas were tasty.

$2 Tuesday's. The wait was only 10 mins, had a sangria whilst we waited for our table, perfect. There's a great vibe about the whole place. The food is good, not amazing, but good. Servings are quite small. I honestly would only go there on a Tuesday purely for the cheap tacos. I wouldn't pay full price as it's not worth it in my opinion.

Me and my boyfriend are both Mexican, and we recommend this place. The food is really good and the service is great. The place is really cool

What a total waste of time and money. Drove 45mins to try out Hotel Jesus got the first time and it will surely be our last. We ordered: prawn tostada, smoke tuna tostada. The only thing good about this was the filling otherwise the tostada was corn chip supermarket style. Chicken Caesar salad came out after we cancelled it and paid for the bill. Dish was complimentary. Great but all it had was lettuce on corn chip. No chicken! Hmm maybe you guys should of called it lettuce only Caesar. Fish taco was so so. Horchata was terrible. So embarrassed as we took South American guest and we couldn't get out of the place fast enough. Do your self a favour and head to an authentic place that will cost cheaper then $105.75 for "snack".

Cool setting with lots of seating around tables and the bar. Attentive, helpful staff. Modest menu with more traditional style Mexican food on offer. The serving sizes are quite small (prices are acceptable) and I felt like there could have been more care and generosity in the amount of ingredients used e.g. one small slice of pineapple in pork taco. We tried starters - guacamole, corn; tacos - fish, pork, chicken; tostada and quesadilla - pork. The sparkling water was served in a blue, plastic jug, the same as used in hospitals (i'm a nurse) which I felt was a little cheap but I guess they're trying to fit with a casual 'street food' theme. The margarita was ok. Not sure I'd go back again in a hurry. Nothing bad, just not amazing.

- Green Chorizo Taco<br/>- Suadero Taco<br/>- Al Pastor taco<br/>- Seafood Cocktail Ceviche<br/>- Al Pastor Quesadillas<br/>- Tuna Tostadas<br/>I'm honestly not sure if that's correct but I know that I am missing the name of the first dish.<br/>The service was not to fault at as they were very attentive and their food was quite delicious too. <br/>I honestly haven't tried a lot of authentic Mexican food so I'm not 100% sure as to how true these dishes were. They were delicious none the less but their beef taco was a little dry.

It's like mamasita 2017 edition! I loved everything about this place, from the corn to the fish tacos, to the Cesar salad and the mushroom quesadilla, loved the fact that I walked in and got a table<br/>And kudos to the friendly bar staff as well.<br/>My favourite Mexican alongside mamasita, go figure !

My husband and I finally dined here last weekend after months of meaning to get in. After spending over a month in Mexico a few years back, this felt much like being back in a little taqueria (only bigger and shinier). Produce is so, so fresh and the flavours were the closest I've had to authentic while being home but with a decidedly 'Melbourne' feel. Volcanes were spectacular as were the ceviche prawns and fish. Only draw back was the crazy wait times. The first half of our meal came out without a hitch and then we waited, and waited, and waited for the second half. Worth the wait but still a bit of a let down.

I love the vibe and decor of this restaurant and the food for the most part was good!<br/><br/>My favorite dishes were the beef tartare, smoked tuna tostada and corn with black mayo. Oh and the Sangria is delicious as well.<br/><br/>Unfortunately the beef in the taco and quesadilla was very dry. The bean and truffle quesadilla was also a little bland.<br/><br/>Overall I did enjoy my experience here :)

This place is one of my favs and with great reason too! <br/>The food is super delicious and it's not fatty and heavy... everything on that menu is 👌🏻<br/>Also, their cocktails are different and very well made. <br/>Highly recommend

Food was tasty but a little small compared to other similar restaurants. Great decor and music and service was friendly even if meals came out slowly and at different times.

An amazing Mexican-Australian hub with real Mexican food and vibe. This is a culinary jewel in the heart of quirky Collingwood. <br/>The menu is full of fun things. The Mexican sauces are superb.<br/>The only thing I would miss is a good traditional Mexican chocolate (no chile) and coffee as anywhere else in Melbourne.<br/>Mexican Head Chef Yasser García and their staff are doing a fantastic job!<br/>I'm there literally every week.<br/>:)

Mexican would have to be one of my favourite cuisines and Melbourne has a lot to offer in that category. Being spoilt for choice I'm still excited when a new place pops up on the scene and I was looking forward to trying this place for a while. <br/><br/>The twenty minute wait for a table was made bearable by the buzzing atmosphere and great feel of the place. Bright colours and old school mexican interiors made me feel transported to Tijuana. While waiting I got lured in by the cocktail list and was in need of an alcoholic kick. The cocktail I chose however was one of the foulest tasting things I had ever put in my mouth and I couldn't bare to take a second sip leaving the cocktail to waste. I don't recall which one it was but it was served with what looked like dried fruit on the rim which I proceeded to take a bite out of. To my horror it was the exact flavour of the cocktail that I dreaded. I ended up googling to see what on earth it was and I then came to discover that it was dried fish. No wonder the drink tasted so horrible and I was confused as to why it was even an ingredient in an alcoholic cocktail.<br/><br/>Perhaps it's just my palette or my lack of traditional mexican food knowledge but I wasn't blown away by the food I tasted. The tacos were tasty and you can't really go wrong with guacamole and corn chips. The black mayo mexican corn was also interesting and delicious. The tostadas however didn't quite hit the mark for me.<br/><br/>I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon.

Love the place; the food is delicious very authentic. MUST try the corn and ceviches!!! <br/>It's a lovely place with friendly staff. Highly recommended

Walked in and memories of Mexico came flooding back. Cheap but delicious fare. Chilli fries with black mayo was really interesting and worth trying. We also had the chorizo Volcanoe and refried beans with chilli oil. It's worth a visit just for the decor. Will definitely be back.

DO: The corn, the cocktails and one of each of the burritos, quesadillas and tacos. <br/><br/>DON'T: Want to sit down, head to the right hand side for take away options.<br/><br/>TIP: The more the merrier. Go with a bunch of people so you can share the tostadas and cerviches.

Second time for me at hotel Jesus. The first time our food was pretty bad but the micheladas were great so we came back just for drinks and we gave it a second chance. Nice food this time and we will be back .

We might have found our favourite Mexican place! We went at peak dining time and had to wait for a table, but it was absolutely worth it! Service was prompt, friendly and the food came out relatively quickly. We tried to sample as many options as possible from the menu. The green chorizo taco and the Al Pastor quesadilla was one of our favourites. The Sangria was absolutely delicious and a must try! Dessert was nice but slightly too sweet for our liking, the pastry could easily do without the syrup. Overall, the food is good value for money. The decor is quirky but warm. Yes, it's loud but what do you expect when the food is so good? It's bound to attract crowds of people. We will definitely be back and we highly recommend Hotel Jesus :3

Booked a table here on Friday night with 10 friends. Had the banquet menu which was both delicious and generous. Staff were great, cocktails were top notch. Couldn't fault it.

Mexican has long been one of my favourite cuisines and I have travelled and lived there quite a bit. As the self-proclaimed culinary capital of Australia, Melbourne often prides itself on its Mexican dining scene but to be honest, almost all of restaurants I've been to here have been a disappointment. <br/>This is particularly the case when it comes to tacos. For some reason, there is this bizarre tendency to overcomplicate tacos with all kinds of "exotic" and very un-Mexican taco fillings (pickled carrot, zucchini and cabbage anyone?) and they generally tend to lack flavor and kick when it comes to the chilli factor. All you really need is simple - well-seasoned meat and a nice fresh spicy salsa<br/><br/>I'd been looking for a Mexican place that ticks those two boxes for a long time and it appears my search is finally over. Well, hello, Hotel Jesus on Smith Street, Collingwood. A place I've been meaning to try for a long time.<br/><br/>First thing that smacks you in the face is the over the top, deliberately daggy décor. They must have spent millions converting a normal Melbourne shopfront into a ironically tacky Mexican cantina because the attention to authentic detail (from the colourful tiled bar and walls, large "Tostaderia" and "Mariscos" signs and fake Latin music posters) is superb. Also check out the shrine to beers down in the basement bathroom. You almost feel like you're in a restaurant in beachside Veracruz or Ensanada. <br/><br/>But the most important thing, the food. I wasn't particularly hungry at 3pm and didn't have high expectations so I went with 2 tacos and a margarita. The pollo guisado (chicken stew) taco ($4) was delicious. Tender fall-off-the bone shredded chicken and peppers with onions and tomatoes, slow-cooked in cumin and paprika - it was bursting with flavor. The chorizo verde (green sausage) ($4) was also a winner - it was both smoky and salty, the meat seems to have been mixed in with a tangy green salsa verde, and a couple of fried chips on it. Both were sprinkled with coriander and onions and nothing more - good! The tacos were small but piled high with ingredients - you'd need about 4 or 5 for a full meal. It was a little wet and messy with sauce dribbling down my hand and I would've liked 2 tortillas for each taco like they do in Mexico (logic: the other to scoop up the droppings) but hey, it's Melbourne, Australia. They had a couple of salsas in a squeeze bottle; go for the chilli oil one for extra spicy<br/><br/>At $20, the "Classic" margarita was also pretty good though a bit expensive and on the sour side. On the other hand, they did use good quality Herradurra tequila and triple sec. I noticed they had an extensive range of Mexican booze from Negra Modelo and Tecate beers to all kinds of tequilas and micheladas - BIG tick.<br/><br/>Service is also affable and friendly and the food came out within 10 minutes, though I've been told it's hectic during peak hours and one expect a longer wait.<br/><br/>Overall, I found the prices to be on the high side (expect to pay around $30 to be well-fed, $40-50 with booze) but worth it for the great and authentic Mexican food and atmosphere. A winner. 4 stars

Food here was the best Mexican I have eaten. Lots of choices which are all well priced. Everything was delicious but my fave was the Al Pastor Volcanes. Decor was interesting and I assume it is similar to the canteens km Mexico. Loved the frozen cocktails and the service was very friendly and helpful.

This was not a great meal at all. I'm not normally one to make a review but this restaurant is seriously overpriced. Somehow we spent $64 on a jug of margarita and were unaware of the price as they aren't on the menu. They claimed we got 5 servings out of the jug but we just managed 3 with the amount of ice we got. The food was not good either. They tried to do too much with the flavours and it just doesn't work. I highly recommend anyone wanting Mexican to walk an extra 100m to Fonda which is guaranteed to be better. Sorry for the negative review but it had to happen.

Love the decor but not so crazy about having my drinks served in plastic. Service was great at the beginning but the last dish took waaay too long to come out. No Mexican would every wait 40minutes for a tiny taco no matter how delicious. And the food was very good, we loved the raw prawn and the green chorizo. The octopus was a bit overwhelmed by the green sauce which was a shame so we separated them so they wouldn't fight. Ceviche was good but the fish could have been cut a little bigger for me. I'd go back here again.

The decor of this place is so pretty, very Mexican themed! <br/><br/>Dishes are good, you'll need to order about 5 dishes for a good serving for dinner. I loved the black corn, beef taco and ceviche tostadas. Be warned if you order the porkopus it is spicy<br/><br/>For a drink I had the piña but it was spicy piña, but of a weird combo for me. <br/><br/>Service was a bit slow but would go back because of the nice vibe.

I found Jesus! As it turns out, he lives in Collingwood and makes a killer fish taco!<br/><br/>For a good hour today, my wife and I forgot that it was raining Gatos y Perros in Melbourne. Instead, we got to warm our soula with the white fish ceviche (fantastic, although I would prefer bigger pieces of fish to really test its quality), tacos (the fish is great, as it is at the related Mamasita) and Quesadilla. We washed it down with some Horchata (delicious, but a little exxy at $8 a glass). The service was fantastic!<br/><br/>Will we be back? Si, Señor!

Tonight I tried a mezcal for the first time. It was a game changer. The ceviche, also a game changer. Taco's were outstanding and the corn was one of the best things I've put in my mouth- yes better than Mamasita's- sorry guys. Outstanding value, food and drinks in a fit out that is truly something else.

I love this place! Completely transported me to Mexico, both in decor and food. The Tostadas were simply amazing, best I've had outside Mexico. And the tacos were actually exactly like what you get in Mexico. Sizing and flavours spot on. After speaking with the manager it's no surprise given that both are made in house. We spent $40 each and had 2 x micheladas beer cocktails - yes, beer cocktails!!  guacamole and chips, 2 x corn, 2 x ceviche tostadas, 4 x tacos and a quesadilla to share. We left completely full, satisfied and full of nostalgia! Great value. Muchas Gracias!

It's probably the best Collingwood restaurant to good with friends. Amazing decoration it really feels like you are in Mexico.<br/><br/>The food it's pretty good and the cocktails are almost perfect. They also have a take away service.

Very cool Tostaderia in Collingwood. Nice fit out and diverse food and drinks menu. Food was really good but I felt a bit overpriced for the size. If a bit cheaper or a bit more substantial in servings would have scored a 5.

Service was okay but tables outside were filthy and food was average - much better offerings nearby and don't have any inclination to go back or recommend to a mate.

I want to hate you but you're such attractive, albeit noisy, good fun. Can you tell from the shaky photos just how easily that sangria goes down?

The food was nice, however this place is WAAAAY overpriced. The vodka pineapple slushie was $13 for 150ml of frozen, flavourless ice, and the tacos were also super expensive for tiny little tacos ($5 each). Very disappointing, will not be coming back there

After reading other reviews I went there expecting terrible service, but we still wanted to give this place a go. Glad we did! The service was great! Food tasted delicious, give the black corn a go and green chorizo tostada. I just wish I ordered more as I left a bit hungry!

There was no queue, we got a nice spot outside.<br/><br/>Cool setting, delicious and easy to order street food.<br/> You order on a bit of paper which the waitstaff read but leave on your table. <br/><br/> Would recommend the chicken tostados and pork quesadilla for sure. The fish tacos were also delicious. <br/><br/> I did not appreciate my beers being completely smothered in salt, buy some may. <br/><br/>The biggest let down was the service. For a night when there were a bunch of empty tables, I didn't expect to have to go find a waitress to order or to pay.

Hotel Jesus says ‘Hola’, opening a bright Mexican tostaderia, on Smith St. This is the second venue from Mamasita’s Matt Lane and Nick Peters, joining forces with Mexican born Yasser Garcia in the kitchen. The tile -laden venue is deliberately retro kitsch, but ends up looking effortlessly cool anyhow. Inspired by the tostaderia’s and taqueria’s of Mexico, you can expect tostadas, ceviche, tacos and Mexican street food. Unlike the a la carte style of Mamasita, Hotel Jesus presents diners with a tick-box and a laminated picture menu. Trying hard to be daggy and casual, the food is anything but. These are not the 25c tacos you find in Tijuana or East LA (incidentally delicious). The toppings and flavor combinations steer towards fusion or experimental. So how is the food?

So glad to find somewhere outside of Mexico that serves pastor - so delicious. The corn is to die for. Overall the food is really good, and the michelada is the best I have had in Australia. If you enjoy Mexican food it is certainly worth a visit, and there is plenty of seating space so you don't feel crammed in like a sardine. <br/><br/>The service is a bit hit and miss, could be better, on the first visit there were some mistakes with the orders - but I'll forgive them. <br/><br/>Decor is fun and something a bit different. Tacos are top notch. <br/><br/>It would be nice to have some pickled jalapenos and carrots served alongside the food, and the sauces should have a bit more kick - they are all quite bland and don't really add much. The sauce they say is "really hot" is in fact not really hot at all. Also, the chips serving sizes are really stingy - so there always that little bit of bean / guac etc left on the plate and nothing to scoop it up with, which is a tragedy.

If you ask me however, the Green Chorizo Taco ($5) was the undisputed winner for the night. Green chorizo is traditionally not put into a casing, so this rich, spicy sausage was served crumbled over the tortilla, along with shreds of caramelised onion, and potato chips (yes you read right!) for a bit more substance. This was street food pure and simple, and I loved every bite of it.

Like many of the other reviews here, we found the front of house staff to be severely lacking. But I still enjoyed the food hence the rating. We ordered 4 different tacos, which came in two rounds, unfortunately all food arrived well before our drinks. They were delicious but we found the ambience a bit off putting so we decided to head elsewhere for the rest of our dinner. All the tiles are really bad for acoustics - so noisy we could barely hear each other. So great for a quick bite but not to stay much longer than that, which in all honesty is probably what they prefer so they can turn over the tables faster!

Great addition to Smith street, with an amazing tiled fit-out. The dishes were all extremely tasty, and the service was solid. Great atmosphere inside, or you can sit on the street and people-watch (which is always an interesting sociological experiment on Smith street). Will be back.

Went for lunch, loved the fit-out, food was excellent - like a bit more casual Mamasita. Had the cerviche tostada which was super tasty and a cpl tacos (fish was great, chicken tasty too) plus some guacomole. Would love to go back and get through the menu.

If Ensada in Mexico's West and a diner from the 50s had a baby, it'd look like Hotel Jesus. Sitting conveniently at 'the Coles' end of Smith Street, the decor with it's baby blues and red chairs is only given away as a Mexican restaurant by the frequent signage and scents coming from the kitchen. Thankfully, it also looks and smells a buttload cleaner than some of the restaurants I've been to in Mexico, not a rat or discarded chewed tobacco in sight. A simple picture based menu with a 'tick a box' order system holds true to how things work south of the border too.<br/> <br/> Special mention to the Porktopus, tasty but I wish there had been more of an explanation on it.The food lives up to the fun, fresh decor. Simple and reasonably priced, a few tostadas and tacos won't break your bank but will leave you satisfied. I've obviously already hyped up the ceviche tostada (if you're a fan of traditional ceviche tacos, order two and use the hot sauce - you're welcome). Personal highlights included the green chorizo tostada - delicious - and the gigantic phallic looking chilli filled with CORN AND CHEESE. Holy double stuffed brilliance Batman, when did this combination of things ever let anyone down? Despite my mouth expecting the cabbage with it to be refreshing, it was salty brilliance that combined with the corn and cheese tasted like Seaworld and some Mayans had an unexpected but awesome party inside my face.<br/><br/>Full (and probably funnier) review on the blog, link in bio... :)

I usually don't care about service and only care about the quality of food, but this place treated my sister and I so terribly I would overlook the food.<br/>.<br/>We came in after the lunch rush and the restaurant was empty.<br/>The many waiters made us feel like unwelcome as they stared us down. We seated ourselves and looked over the menu.<br/>A waitress came over and proceeded to talk to us in a slow condescending tone telling us to write our order down.<br/>We did as we were told and she read our order and frowned.<br/>Between us we ordered 2 drinks 4 tacos and a quesadilla. She gave the impression that we needed to order more otherwise it was a waste of their time.<br/>We asked if we could order the chilli chips and she said told us it was only available on the lunch menu and even though it was available on the takeaway menu (meaning it was no trouble making it and they were serving it for takeaway) we could not order it.<br/><br/>I would say that the food would've been enjoyable if we didn't feel so out of place. We felt very unwelcome and it felt like the waiters were holding their noses in the air.<br/><br/>This was the first time experiencing anything like this. We've received bad service before (i.e. getting orders wrong or being rushed etc) but that never bothered us much.<br/>This place got to us.<br/>The waiters there made us feel uneasy and we couldn't enjoy our food.<br/><br/>The waiter asked how we would be paying without eye contact or being anywhere near us (approx 2 metres away) as if he was in a rush even though there were 5 waiters standing around an empty restaurant.<br/>We usually don't care about service but we already felt so crappy we just wanted to leave.<br/><br/>I would suggest ordering take away if you want to try this place out.<br/>Otherwise go with a big group so the waiters don't affect your dining experience as much.

What a disappointment. <br/>Not only did our waitress forget to put through our drinks and fail to apologise, we had to follow our drinks up again after she finally did put them through! <br/>I was also quite shocked when our waitress came over to our table at the end of our meal with the EFTPOS machine and asked how we would like to pay without even giving us the bill! <br/>Food wise, dishes were a little on the small side. A bit overpriced for what you receive if you ask me. <br/><br/>Probably won't be returning anytime soon. <br/>

Disappointing lukewarm food, muddy flavours, oily corn chips,  inefficient service, and curious approach to drinks (geared for buying by the glass rather than allowing for the purchase of a bottle) made for a lacklustre meal. The decor is kitschy and good, the corn fine and the sangria was good but this couldn't make up for the rest of the meal. Hard to believe that this place is related to Mamasita.

I am modifying my previous review. Recently I visited Hotel jesus as you can see from my post below that I was a big fan but the venu decided to put a sunday 10% surcharge which in my opinion is not acceptable for a venu like this. If this was a cheap small cafe I would understand but they are not. I have hence decided to stop being a customer. <br/><br/>This place captures the true essence of Mexican street food. If you don't recognize the items on the menu then you have no clue what mexican food is, Burrito and Fajita are NOT mexican and if you want random that is labled as mexican then you're better off at one of the many food court versions that have little to do with mexico except a corona bottle. Great place, first time I had proper mexican food since I traveled to mexico.

This place is like walking into a new age taco shop. The menu has pictures of the food which is very old school but was a nice touch. Regardless of the menu design or the decor of the restaurant everyone is there for the food... and the food was good! The tacos were delicious. The aguachile was a standout dish that was full of amazing flavours and the prawns were really fresh. Great Mexican place. Will definitely be on my list of places to go when I'm craving Mexican

Lovely decor but small portions. <br/>Whilst the ambience was captivating and the flavours were appealing, it was a shame that our group left still feeling hungry. <br/>We all chose the 'Feed Me' option and tried a number of items on the menu. The drinks on offer were particularly good as were the tostados. <br/>However, even after all our food we were disappointed by the small portions that left us all hungry.<br/>If you're looking for a place to catch up over a drink and nibbles this is a great spot, but it's not enough for a full meal.<br/>

Gloomy Sunday afternoon and we are in need of good cheer so we seek the spicy heat of Mexico and gather as a dining group of 4 at Hotel Jesus. It's a quiet afternoon for this place that gets pumping on a Saturday night but we like the chilled out downtime. The laminated menu card with photographs of some of the dishes is a little twee but then so is the shrine of beer bottles en route to the bathrooms. It's all a bit kitschy tongue in cheeky. I'm less fussed about dodgy decor as long as the tacos are terrific.

This place has the following A+ elements :<br/>A+ for the interior and decor. Love love love it all! ..from top to bottom. From the diner style theme to the laminated menus complete with photos, to the Elvis cutout and the high ceilings ...the list goes on<br/>A+ for the quality of the food. The best Mexican food I have eaten in recent memory<br/>A+ for the service which was efficient and more than adequate. Sometimes you just need the wait staff to do their job and not expect them to smile at you unnecessarily/fake smile/not genuine. As long as they know their stuff , thats all that matters.<br/>But...not everything deserves an A+<br/>I give Hotel Jesus a..... D- for their dish serving sizes<br/>Seriously the tostados were so small I need to eat 10 to fill up. We were still very hungry after we had our dinner that we ended up going to another place for a 2nd dinner!!!...I would have given Hotel Jesus a rating of 5 if not for their very meagre meal portions.<br/><br/>

I'm giving Hotel Jesus such a low rating purely based on their front of house service (or lack of)<br/>I was so appalled that I wrote a lengthy email to the manager with no reply.<br/>The staff need some serious hospitality and hygiene training if they want to be on the same level as their sister restaurant - Mamasita.<br/>The manager on duty and waitresses seemed like the most bored and uninterested humans on the face of the earth the night we visited.<br/>To make things worse our waitress was constantly rubbing her nose, eyes and behind her ears in full view of restaurant guests. Straight up gross.<br/>We watched three staff members pour one glass of wine into an obviously unclean glass, the bartender then used her finger to clean the top of the glass (with the other two staff members watching on) again in full view of paying customers. Unbelievable.<br/>The saving grace was the food. Delicious, fresh and authentic Mexican. We ate a selection of tacos and tostadas and cerviche.<br/>A young chef delivered our food, explained every component in great detail and recommended hot sauces to go with particular dishes. Yum.<br/>However I would have liked to have known that the prawn tostadas were served raw. <br/>I questioned our waitress on where the prawns were from. Her reply was - 'I have no idea' she didn't even have the initiative to go and ask the trained chefs in the kitchen and instead just walked away. Wow.<br/>Whilst paying our bill we were in earshot of the waitresses bitching about the mess a table of customers had left behind. <br/>This was the ultimate decider. <br/>Sorry Hotel Jesus, but with so many other great restaurants and restauranteurs in the area - you guys are way off the mark in terms of service. <br/>We will continue to visit Mamasita and recommend it to people, but Hotel Jesus has a LONG way to go to be on par with their sister restaurant. <br/>

I love Mamasita so when I heard that the team behind this fine dining Mexican joint would be opening a new venue I was overjoyed. Hotel Jesus is in the old post office building on Smith street. They have transformed the venue into a over the top American diner-esq restaurant with neon signs and lots of attention to detail. It looks really interesting.<br/><br/>The menu is laminated and has pictures of everything which is super daggy but fits the theme. Corn on the cob, tacos and other small bites are all available and taste amazing. <br/><br/>One thing to be aware of, while they have branded the venue as "casual dining" you will still be paying restaurant dining prices. For two people having a casual snack with some cocktails (2 cocktails, 1 taco each and one guacamole & dessert to share) came to around $80. This was a snack and in no way filled us up. It was all delicious and a good time but if you are looking for lunch or dinner you might want to look else where unless your after a pricey night out. I suggest coming for cocktails and a bar snack.

Great food and overall vibe, however the table service leaves a lot to be desired - pretty appalling. Wait time between dishes was long... also if the beef tacos weren't available, at least tell us know instead of making us wait a good 45 mins. Lime wedges were so tiny you could probably squeeze two drops at best...

Ordered a Rio Bravo beer around 11:30pm Friday night. The thing came out to me with salt around the can's rim, and a slice of lime shoved in the opening. I already was having trouble reconciling my feelings regarding the highly pretentious, gaudy decor. Food looked enjoyable and fun, if inevitably presented for instagram. People I was with had trouble taking decent photos due to the amount of neon. Service was surprisingly cordial for a drinking crowd close to closing.

I had a terrible experience here.  The food was nice but nothing special and I had one of the worst service experiences of my life.  Not only did our tacos take over an hour to come out, the waiter came over to our table and very rudely confronted me about why I had gotten up to close the door (because it was a cold night and it was wide open...). Safe to say that after that neither me or any of my friends will be returning.

You could say I’d be a little bit cross if I didn’t check out the latest new addition to my barrio: Hotel Jesus, brought to you by the people who own Mamasita, one of my top selections. Some work needs to be done making the service less awkward and the menu more understandable, but I enjoyed the quality of the fare here and would be keen to return. Prices are on the steep end, as you need a fair few things to finish an appetite.

Great drinks but food was below average and incredibly overpriced. We read a review warning of this but dismissed it - to our peril! Don't be fooled by the pics, the serving sizes are measly. Disappointing considering the owners!

The owners of Mamasita take on Smith St with great results. I went with an expert in Mexican cuisine who picked the right dishes from the menu. This will be another Messina on Smith St. It's well worth the wait to get in. The closest to authentic Mexican in Melbourne. 4/5

Terrible... everything bar one chicken dish was completely inundated with salt and/or lime, drinks included. For instance, they serve cans of tecate covered in salt. Why? <br/>The menu was hard to understand and the ordering system was annoying and easily confused with a large group. <br/>One upside, the wait staff were lovely.

Disappointed this is what's called "authentic" Mexican.  The menu makes obvious attempts to apply culinary trends to Mexican cuisine and it falls flat.  $1 sized street tacos and half-sized tostadas for $5-15 is a bit ridiculous.  I'd understand if it was labor intensive, but the tacos are literally 3-4 ingredients that require minimal prepartion.

Pretty cool retro looking place inside. Found it a little difficult to understand parts of the menu. Food was good and tasty service was good as well. We felt it was a little bit expensive for what we had order

great decor, but that's as far as the positive review goes. <br/><br/>Many other Mexican concepts around that do it better, quicker and cheaper.  Saying 'it's busy' is not a good enough reason to wait over an hour for soft shell tacos.  When  the company is part owned my Mamasita's, you'd think they'd have it down to the T...Won't be returning until Jesus's second coming...

(English Reviews Below)<br/>Mamasita新开的分店，第一次晚上去结果被告知要排队两个多小时我们就走了，前两天去吃了个午餐（不用排队），不过菜单就比较简单很像是快餐形式（虽然价格很不快餐）。tacos和corn cob很好吃但是价格过高，sandwich不好吃而且堆地厚到基本上不可能一口咬下去，弄的乱七八糟很影响食欲。饮料是有特色可能对亚洲人来说过甜。服务差劲！<br/>We were there for lunch, the menu was a bit different from dinner menu. Tacos were yummy (overpriced though). Corn cobs had those interesting tastes with the black mayo (they told me that color was from black coconut, never heard of it before). If you order vegetarian sandwich as I did, prepare to open your mouth really big and maybe you could get to eat abit. Drinks were good. I don't know how is dinner time, but lunch time service were Terrible!

Just had dinner at hotel Jesus and it was horrible.<br/>Staff were good (even though we got the wrong food order) but the food was so disappointing.<br/>We love Mamasita and have eaten there heaps but we will NEVER go here again.<br/>underwhelming in every possible way!

The best Mexican food I have had in Melbourne! It is authentic, spicy and delicious just like in MEXICO! The service was good and people really friendly. For the macho michelada with prawns I would have probably peel the skin off to make it even better.

Hotel Jesus have spent a bucket load  of money to come across as a  cheap  taqueria, but which  is a lot more self aware than your average mom and pop  proprietors.  There were a couple of minor annoying issues in what was overall, a very happy experience. We had  lined up outside the very narrow door for about 15 minutes and it wasn't until the line got shorter and we were inside that we really  found out whether there was a wait list or what the  heck was going on. Wait staff could have been a bit more helpful on that front. People were a bit confused, standing in the doorway, the exit getting impeded by people coming and going. We were seated within good time, with apologies, good humour and served promptly. We were pretty familiar with the menu items and very excited as each  plate arrived. I just loved the "black mayo" on the corn. I could lick the plate. I think i did.  We also had a couple of excellent cocktails. The first was a smoky delicious mezcal hibicus and huitlacoche salt thing called Smoked Diablo. Oh my! So damn good. Had to have the tequila anejo beetroot coffee liquor one as well; could have had a bucket of that. Cocktails with a mezcal or tequila base are, in my opinion, the best. The second thing that annoyed me was the way some waiters carried the plates out. Were they trained to look gawky, and as if  they are about to drop the  lot? One girl consistently had the top plate touching the food on the bottom plate.  Her hands/ like claws barely able to carry two in one hand.  I was mesmerised but not enjoying  the anxiety. Couldn't they use  some old Corona trays? However,  the food continued to be very good. Devoured the flan-mezcal bloated corn sponge-and licked the paper it was served on. Loved the tuna on saltine. Nice crunchy little fish taco but I still pine for the San Diego style. Good little aguachiles with prawn, and quite sour lime. Lots of nice home-made hot sauce and a good shake of salt brought it all together. Felt like I was  back in steamy little Huatulco had it not been for the cold wind and the fancy-pants  Melbournites.  Thank you Hotel Jesus, for there were also no tarantulas.

This place was packed. I ordered the beef tartare and crumbled chicken sandwich. I reckon I was a dare devil to eat rare beef and raw egg. The whole thing was a little bland. As for the chicken sandwich, you need to prepare to open your mouth real wide to eat it. It's such a big serve. I think the pickled veggies overpowered the chicken. It's a good dinning experience overall.

I'm Mexican and I can fully recommend this place! No doubts this is tha Best Mexican restaurant in Melbourne! The food it's epic! Really authentic! It really made me felt at home! And the place!! Just exactly the same we have at home! I'm sure you'll love it! Ask for the porktupus tostada, suadero taco, Colima ceviche and mezcal cocktails!

Very disappointing. It may be early days for this new venture, but waiting 45 mins for the first dish - an extremely disappointing ceviche that was $27!!! - is unacceptable. We then waited another 30 minutes for any more food. The highlights were few - the smoked tuna tostada with bonito flakes was excellent, as was the green chorizo taco with chips - but the majority were bland or dry. Won't be going back until there are some major improvements.

And so it begins. A sort of love story that takes place inside a Mexican taqueria called Hotel Jesus. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes deluded young men, and their fragile, random and infinitely oppressive time on earth. It also deals with the problem of 'Beach Burrito'