bartaco

I visited bartaco at The Wharf during DC Cocktail Week and let me tell you, it felt like an invite-only secret hideaway by the water.. From the moment I stepped in, I was swept up in their beachy-meets-urban energy: rustic wood, breezy windows, soft lighting, and the hum of people chatting and laughing The food... WOW. Every bite delivered: the crispy chicken flautas were light, fresh, with a sliver of spice that teased but didn’t overpower. Everything felt freshly made, thoughtfully seasoned, and designed for devouring. The drinks didn't disappoint either. I got the maui express and it was AMAZING! Bright, balanced, and the right amount of boozy... The fresh pressed juices made this an extraordinary happy hour experience. But what really elevated the night was the staff. Big shout-out to Brooke behind the bar; she made me a cocktail that felt like summer even in December. Soran and Javonte (the managers), who checked me in with a warmth that made the whole place feel like a real bartaco team member. They were kind, attentive, and genuinely into making sure everyone had a great time. The kind of service that makes you want to come back, even if you live across town. Long story short: if you want a waterfront-chic escape with cocktails that hit just right, bartaco at The Wharf is the place.. Highly recommended for girls’ nights, date nights, or just chill a night out.

Went with a colleague during a business trip and found this delightful little spot for a quick lunch. We enjoyed very fresh tacos and refreshing drinks—perfect for a scorching 38-degree day. The restaurant sits right by the water, and the new waterfront area adds an extra layer of charm. I’d love to come back and walk around when the weather is a little cooler.

Absolutely sensational service. David greeted us warmly and Rayn joined in making our experience truly enjoyable as well. I could not have imagined it going better. Duck birria and chicken tinga HIGHLY RECCOMMEND! Reccommend both bartenders, good sense of humor , great suggestions , the pina pisca punch was great and the plantains as well.

This would be my third time coming and definitely not my last. It has become one of my favorite brunch spots. The vibe is always welcoming, the food always great, and the service spot on. I was recommended the pork belly and duck taco - and it’s what I always stick with when coming. I had a run-in with a manager and it was a pleasant experience because he brought over a surprise drink - a watermelon margarita - which I fell in love with. This made everything so much better and Imanol’s service was spectacular! Make sure to ask for this server! Can’t wait to go back.

This is my second time visiting Bartaco. Each visit, I sat at the bar and the bartenders are extremely nice and attentive. We had a wonderful time and the food was delicious. Drinks are name fresh too. Walter was amazing! Thank you for making my birthday extra special!

People usually get 3 or 4 tacos, they’re smaller. For instance, the fish taco has one piece of fish. The flavors are good. My sons loved the pork belly. The tres leches and churros desserts were excellent. Unfortunately I ordered the churros when we first arrived and they took at least an hour to arrive. The location is great, down by the water. There’s a parking deck 100ft away and it costs $23 for 1-2 hours.

Had a great time here! Stayed from happy hour until dinner just chatting away at the bar. Never a dull moment! Food is great, and the bartenders are very friendly. Highly recommend!

My friend and I ordered a variety of small plates for a late lunch and everything was really good. Attentive service. Good location on the Wharf.

Recently visited on weeknight for dinner and had the opportunity to try the new fall menu items. The restaurant was easy to find at the Wharf and we were checked in for our reservation immediately upon entering the restaurant. We were seated in the center dining area near the bar and kitchen. We were. The manager also came by our table to check on our dining experience. The drinks from the bar were served with little wait and the mixology is really great - I had the new passion fruit margarita and it was very well blended. Every food item we ate was delicious from the salsa and chips, taco teaser (which I highly recommend if you want to try different side items like corn and plantains all in one) and the pork posole. The street style tacos are made to order with different protein and flavor options. The staff was courteous and checked on us regularly. The atmosphere is lively with 90s music playing throughout (on the night we visited) and a very upbeat staff. I've been to other locations and truly enjoyed the openness of this location (great for people watching on the Wharf). There is paid street parking and paid deck parking (which is substantial we paid $39 for a couple of hours in one of the decks at the Wharf)

One of my favorite happy hours in DC! But it is always so busy at the bar. It can be difficult to order a drink more than once, which sucks because the drinks are delicious! Lots of gluten free options on the happy hour menu. They offer happy hour specials like 1 app for $3, 2 for $5, or 3 for $8 - an absolute steal! If you have the patience and enjoy a nice happy hour with a view, check out bartaco wharf location.

Met a friend here for a quick dinner before seeing a show at Arena Stage. Great location - right around the corner from a main parking garage and a 2-3 min walk from the theater. Service was good. I enjoyed a margarita (well balanced) and the ahi tuna rice bowl. The rice underneath was crispy - nice contrasting texture from the tuna. Would definitely come back!

The food here was not seasoned at all! Hardly any flavor however the chicken was cooked properly. This place is certainly overhyped ... service was also incredibly slow. Messed up my drink as well and then completely forgot to remake it until i asked again 15 min later. I was excited for the street corn but it was just buttered corn with some cheese on top. Not worth it, would not go again.

Had a late lunch on a Friday afternoon at bartaco. It was the calmest I've experienced at this place and we quite enjoyed ourselves. Happy hour is typically crowded and can be hard to hear, so this was a nice change. We ordered guac and chips, side of the southwestern corn, gazpacho, and the ahi tuna rice bowl. Gazpacho was good and refreshing. Guacamole is always reliable and comes with 4 or 5 tortillas that you can break into chips for dipping. The ahi tuna rice bowl was good flavor and mix of textures, however, was a bit smaller than we expected.

delicioussssss and perfect atmosphere. vegetarian options 10/10!!! would certainly recommend

First of all five stars for food and four for service. Flavors are there tuna poke was absolutely delicious! Loved the lobster taco in the summer duo and the fact that it's paired with a steak taco gives it surf and turf vibes. Restaurant is cute well decorated and can get really busy ! Perfect after work happy hour spot, but you can expect to wait for seating if you're walking in even at the bar sometimes. Prices are reasonable for DC and the wharf! Even though I loved service, a couple of the reviews mentioned it, and it is true that when it comes to drinks, it does take a while to be noticed or remembered. I think part of this is due to the fact that they make all their margaritas from fresh squeeze limes, which is the best part about the drinks here! But having 3 bartenders and only 10 people at the bar, you would expect to receive another drink within 15 minutes of finishing your first.

From left to right, I ordered the chili lime shrimp, the Baja fish, the crispy shrimp and belly pork taco. This order came out to about $28. To do it with that information, as you wish, out of all the food tacos I ordered, I will save the crispy. Shrimp was my favorite. The slaw shrimp combo was done perfectly in this taco. I was a bit disappointed with the chili lime shrimp. It wasn't as spicy as I would like it to be. The yellow hot sauce tasted like Scotch bonnet to me, which I enjoyed, and I enjoyed the Reds hot sauce that they have on the table. I ordered the berry colada. It was so good, but I am disappointed with how much I was in my drink. I know that the drink was probably 3/4 of the cup, and the rest was ice. I would recommend this restaurant for a quick bite, something to nibble on. Not sure I would make the trip to the wharf just for this restaurant.

so besides the bunch of black hairs I had in my cup.......the dining experience was fine Our waiter barely talked to our table. When we did put up the card for help, she was annoyed we did that. Paying online doesn't work for visas btw. It'll tell you your security code is wrong so my whole table had to pay via Amazon lol I think the food is pretty overrated for the price. Duck birria dish was scanty on the actual meat, mostly the fried tortilla outside to make it seem bigger and more than it is.

I went here for a drink after dinner elsewhere and I was pleasantly surprised to find such reasonable prices at the Wharf and the ease of access for using the QR-Code to order and pay was wonderful. I ordered two red sangrias because the watermelon mint margarita was sold out but I hear it's delicious. The sangria could've been a little stronger but it was good. I will say this, when we arrived the fire alarm started going off and no one moved and we were still seated and everyone just acted as if it wasn't going off until it finally stopped. So I guess good thing there wasn't an emergency... Hunter was an attentive server as well.

2nd time at Bartaco. First time was in Nashville. The tacos were a decent size, kind of on the pricy side, but were flavorful and yummy. We got different choices and tried 5 of them, then ordered some churros, key lime and tres leches for dessert. My fave was the key lime and the tres leches was pretty good. They weren't too sweet. The churro were still hot and had a good flavor and crunch to it. Overall it was a good late night snack.

We got out of The Anthem hungry and stopped here for a quick snack. It was my first time ordering through QR code, linking my parties orders with mine since it was going on one check, and I required help since I have allergies. I wasn't too sure of this ordering process? I kind of love meeting the server, and having them take the order this way I can let them know about my allergies and ask any questions about the menu. Whilst still trying to link our orders food was being brought to our table. I told the server we were still trying to figure out the orders so it couldn't be ours. After a few minutes of submitting our linked order our food was delivered. The portions are small for the price but tasted very close to authentic tacos. The chicken was very well seasoned and whatever sauce verde they made was very flavorful. Unfortunately they don't make any flour tortillas so I couldn't eat any of their tacos due to my corn allergy, MLS! But I do recommend BarTaco. The ambiance was cool, great music, the berry refresco drink was small but refreshing. The kale Cesar was delicious even though I don't care for kale! The All restrooms weren't clean. I really wish they'd keep one restroom for women only. I hate to use All restrooms since men tend to drip on the seat and floor and/or too lazy to lift seat up! It's so gross!!! If you must have all the restrooms All then clean them more often, please!!

Really cute place for a girlies night out! We came and loved the decor and how we could see the water and when they opened the garage style window made our night. We sat down and our waiter Tyrique was super friendly kept checking in on us and we always had our drink and foods. Now while he checked in the style is a QR code so you scan and keep a tab open. The tacos we got were crispy duck, crispy shrimp and fish and also the chips and salsas. The drinks were tasty could have kept drinking all night. But the taco that stuck out to me was the duck. The spice was what made it unique and I wish I could eat a dozen. The chips and salsa spicier and mild def get for the table and if you need more chips they will happily give you more. Bathrooms also were super nice handicap accessible which was nice to see as a special shoutout more places don't have these accommodations. Overall want to go back and spend more time!

I went with a small group of friends towards the end of happy hour time during the week, it was busy but the wait was less time than anticipated. If you want to indulge in happy hour, you have to be seated at the bar or in the seats behind the bar. Once seated, our waiter let us know we could either wait for him or order with the QR code on the tables. Due to how busy they can get, the QR code is the best option, it was so easy and convenient. You place your order and it sends directly to the kitchen, and very shortly after your food comes out. When you're done ordering, you checkout on your phone as well. I ordered the pork belly taco, duck taco and crispy shrimp. They were all delicious, especially the pork belly and duck! I ordered two more of those. The plantains were very good as well, they were sweet and had a dipping sauce that complemented them well. For the chips you can order the sauces individually or the trio, all of the sauces were very fresh, the rojo was a little spicy but nothing unbearable. Overall lovely time there!

Great service from Rayne and special shout-out to Sherry!! Amazing energy! Love it when I'm on the Wharf!!

My most recent visit started off walking up to an absolutely packed and overflowing bartaco, but being warmly greeted by the restaurant manager, Dom. Even in the midst of being very busy, she made sure to help my party and me find seating at the end of the bar. She also went as far as to ensure that her colleagues, Michael and Jason, behind the bar took care of us. Michael and Jason, were both phenomenal, mixed excellent drinks, and brought an element of fun to their work! The food was delicious as usual! As someone who needs to eat gluten-free, this restaurant is an extremely easy and safe place to have a meal. The servers and staff at this restaurant are easily able to answer questions and help you navigate the menu to accommodate any intolerances, dietary restrictions, or allergies. I've been to this bartaco many times before, but this recent visit reminded me that I need to come back more often !

The service at bartaco is consistently slow and I don't know how this is possible at a bar. The bartenders are understaffed and not able to accommodate the amount of seating at this location. I've been multiple times and there is always quite a wait, but I was amazed this last time when it took over 20mins for a margarita and then 40min for a few tacos.

Located in such a nice great area with multiple dining choices. Was sat quickly on a spacious table with good view. Service was fine yet the food was amazing and drinks were alright. My only complaint is that when they brought me my water they failed to look the evident shattered glass that was sticking out of my glass cup. Extremely dangerous and thankfully I always verify my glasses before drinking. Employees that serve water and deliver water or drinks to tables must make sure glasses are to standard to avoid incidents.

Upon arrival at bartaco, I went directly to the bar as there was no host present at the moment, which I didn't mind. I was greeted by the manager, Soren (if I recall correctly), who was exceptionally attentive and professional. He prepared my margarita, which was perfectly balanced and easily a 10/10. The pork belly tacos were also flavorful and well-prepared. Since I was one of the only customers at the time, I wasn't able to get a full sense of the ambiance, but the service, food, and drinks were all excellent. Overall, I would rate my experience an 10/10 and look forward to returning soon to explore more of the menu.

Get the sangria pitcher. Get the pork belly taco. It's pricy but tbh worth. It takes a minute to get seated and sometimes to get your food, but always a quality time here! And very vibey space.

I truly love bar taco but the service is absolute trash EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!!! And for what reason? I shouldn't be sitting at the bar with an empty drink cup for 15 minutes when there's maybe 13 people at the bar and 3 bar tenders. It's so bizarre to me. Am I going to keep going? Yes! But jeeeezzz let's figure out our service standard PLZ!!!

Absolutely solid place for lunch or another light meal. The food is always on point and there's a great selection and the environment can't be beat. It's breezy and comfortable.

Not a good experience. The Bartaco in Reston is much better. Service was awful. Tacos were fine - just a little cold when they came out. Give grace because they are so busy on the Wharf with tourists. Maybe they should hire more staff. Actual restaurant is cute and similar to all other Bartaco locations.

First of all, you may not want to come here if you're hungry. Come for an appetizer and then go eat dinner. The tacos are 3 inches, typical size but just not enough meat, extra small taco shells... We paid extra for the black beans which could've been included honestly. We asked for no spicy, but the shrimp tacos were spicy - it was tasty, but not filling. The end.

The chef's at this location are phenomenal! Tony, Cesar, and Bea, thank you for the consistency of your food! My wife and I came here for the first time in late June when we first relocated to this area from IL. My wife and I have been coming here every weekend since! We can tell that you guys take pride in your work and it shows! Thanks for always making sure our tacos are fresh, the Guacamole, and the Chopped Salad that I order every single time are delicious! Thank you! The Gants

This summer, I went to this bartaco almost weekly and ordered the same thing everytime: kale ceasar, ahi tuna and pork belly tacos. I have quelled my obsession a little since then, and now only visit monthly instead of weekly but the pork belly tacos are probably my favorite taco ever. Three of them usually fill me up and makes for a good and fast dinner. Oh and GET THE CHURROS! The service is always fast and friendly and I love the waterfront location. I've taken tons of friends here and they always have a good time. The only thing I would suggest is please please please start taking Apple Pay!

Bartaco is a fun and more casual restaurant along the Wharf. I have mixed feelings about ordering through a QR code, but it does make it easier when you don't have to wait for anyone to come by your table. My friend and I ordered their street corn and a nice variety of their tacos. The ribeye and pork belly ones were our favorite, but we also had their chorizo, chicken, and steak tacos! I also appreciate that they don't double wrap the taco...makes me feel slightly less guilty eating multiple tortillas

Stopped for lunch before a show at Arena Stage. Great food, drinks and service. It was early so it wasn't crowded and we had our choice of tables. Our server, who said she was new, but you'd never know it as she did a great job, explained the menu well and we were not disappointed by our meal. Delicious including the mint chip gelato for dessert. Excellent vibe and we highly recommend.

Peggy just told me she likes this place. My better half seal of approval. Peggy had the shrimp tacos two of them. I had the tuna. We also had the spicy cucumber. I could go through each one but bottom line were coming back here again for more. The street corn was awesome . The good thing is we're gonna be at the marina for another 5 to 10 days Service was outstanding they were very quickly picking things up as you get done with them. Lotta seating options. Love the ambience of the place in the light fixtures they had they were like upside down baskets.

My brother went to see The Micheal Jackson Musical in Washington DC on Friday, September 6, 2024. After the Play, they went to Bartaco in Washington DC. The restaurant looked so nice and they said the service was great. Did I mention, that he said the tacos were amazing? Yes, Thank You Bartaco for showing my family a great time.

This is a tough review to post, because my heart is torn. The first time my lady and I came here we were welcomed warmly, seated, and treated like royalty by our hosts and waiters. The ambiance was perfect, the tacos were OUT OF THIS WORLD, and we literally walked out saying to each other, "This is going to be our new regular place for drinks and appetizers!" After all, we live in an apartment 5 minutes walk away. Unfortunately that was the end of the good feelings. We returned no less than 4 times, each time to be told there was a 35 minute to 1 hour wait for a table. Each time there were PLENTY of tables available. But the hostess insisted those tables were "closed." Question: If you routinely have customers waiting at the door, and you routinely have extra tables that aren't being used, do you (A) hire more wait staff, or (B) let customers wait or go elsewhere, and think yourself "exclusive"?

Second time to a BarTaco and it was better than I remember. Super tasty. I got the cauliflower, duck, fish, and chorizo. They are smaller tacos, but a ton of flavor. My favs were the duck and the cauliflower. Both had the most flavor of any. I like the service system where you just pay and order all on the phone. Sat outside. Nice to enjoy the sub

As usual...the vibe here at Bar Taco is amazing! The food is always tasty! Tonight I tried something by different which was the seared chorizo taco and rib eye taco! Specccccctacular! The service is always great! My bartender Z handled business but to be honest, they all work so well together as a true team. I will definitely say it's a bomb place to hang out at! Until next time...cheers!

The wait time was so long because of the cherry blossom festival but once we got our table, we got our food relatively quick! There was a group of four of us and we tried a little bit of everything. The food was good and the servers were very friendly and helpful. Kind of annoying that you have to use a credit card to order online. I tried my debit card 4x thinking I was doing something wrong before I realized it said credit card lol the food is what you'd expect for fast Mexican food and it's very affordable!

I ordered the pork belly taco, Carnita, sesame ribeye, spiced chicken verde. Overall it was very ok - kinda more on the bad sad unfortunately. The service was also nothing special. Everything was just tart. The pork belly was hard. The portion size was sad for price honestly. One tortilla like 2 pieces of meat can pretty much be inhaled in a bite. Absolutely not worth it at all unfortunately - I would never come back. Then again i'm from Socal - I've had countless street tacos from SA and these definitely do not hit the spot.

Came here to meet my friend for dinner last night. The wait was long but we got a spot at the bar. I ordered the watermelon basil smash which was so good! It came with tajin on the rim. I started with the chicken soup because why not! Lol. It was good but definitely wanted some rice in the mix. I ordered the duck taco, shrimp taco and spiced chicken tacos. The duck was the only one that was not spicy but i enjoyed all of them. The duck was definitely the most flavorful.

Had a great time at the Wharf location. The space was massive and the covered outdoor section was a great place to sit on very comfy benches and chairs. The service was quick and the servers were amazing! Very friendly and engaging. The food was great as well. We got tacos, quesadillas, and the salsa/guac trio. Everything was flavorful. The glazed pork belly was so good. Crunchy, soft and sweet. You have to try it. They have amazing cocktails also!

Busy and had to wait half an hour even though there were empty tables. Must not have enough help. Vodka drink in a can? Yuk. Tacos were good and the chips and guac was great.

We ate just about everything on the menu including the mushroom, cauliflower, lobster, al pastor, chopped salad, elotes with lobster, salsa verde and the guacamole and EVERYTHING was sooooo delicious!!! Javonté & Hunter were the very best ever! They took care of us and made sure we enjoyed everything. Absolutely the best!!!

Bartaco at The Wharf - takeout is always a hit. I stopped by Bartaco today and was immediately greeted with warmth and genuine hospitality. Dominique, one of the managers, made it her mission to take care of me from the moment I walked in. She was so kind and welcoming -- and even made a point to wish me a happy birthday, which meant a lot! Amari overheard it was my birthday and jumped right in to make the experience even more special. Her energy was infectious, and she created such a fun, welcoming atmosphere that made me feel celebrated. Bartaco is always a go-to spot for me for takeout-- the food is consistently great, service is quick, and Customer service is solid. Big shoutout to Dominique and Amari for making my day extra memorable. Can't wait to come back!

Idc if this is a chain, the pork belly tacos with habanero hot sauce hits every time. Don't sleep on the ceviche. Sometimes their website is a little slow but the servers are on top of it and always friendly.

Good happy hour drinks and small bites for a great price. The cold drinks were so refreshing on a hot day! The service was quick, especially when it looked like there was an event on the other side of the bar. The bar was nice and bright and the restaraunt was quiet but clean

Cute busy spot in the Wharf. It has a really easy way of ordering and paying right from their app so you control when you put in orders and when you want to pay. Despite the fact that we used the app, the server kept checking in n us and the Manager passed by to make sure we were being well taken care of. The service was actually probably better than in a full service restaurant! We decided to try the tacos. My favorite was a warm butter lobster taco it was so delicious and tasted exactly as its name. I ordered 2 more of those because they were so good. I also tried the shrimp taco and the dressing they put in there was very flavorful. The guacamole was amazing but even the large was pretty small, but it comes with plenty of tortilla chips. The margaritas were on point. Can't wait to come back here again next time I'm in DC.

The food here was great and I live in Texas. So I have no complaints. I recommend trying the tacos out. You won't be disappointed.

The drinks are water down.I ordered an non-alcoholic fruit drink. They filled it up with ice had a little to no fruit juice in it. The restaurant was extremely hot. We asked waitress to turn the fan up and she advised that she needed to speak the manager. She said that the fan was broken.Manager didn't even respect us enough to come out and speak with us. We was very inconvenience. That is 101 managing a restaurant. I would not recommend this restaurant to any of my friends. To hot!!

Interesting service system, you order either all together on a paper card or individually through your phone. Food came out pretty quickly and the duck tacos were amazing with a nice kick of spice. We got seated on the patio near sunset, lovely day but there are minimal sun blockers. Everything tasted really good, only let down was the ahi taco which lacked the complex flavor that the other tacos had.

A great restaurant starts with great service, and our waiter here was amazing. Even though most of the ordering is done online, he was super helpful and pretty hilarious. I ordered a margarita and it was really good! I ordered the mushroom tacos and they were delicious as well. I do agree with other reviews that the portion sizes are a bit small, but I think this is the type of restaurant you go to for some drinks and small bites with friends. I also think they could have done with a bit more filling in the tacos, but nonetheless the flavor mark was hit. I would recommend sitting outside before going to a concert or a night out for some amazing drinks and great small bites.

Bat packed when I arrived/ my party was late to arrive, out my name on list and waited (was told 1 hr for outside). No buzzer given, just phone which pinged me but I wasn't checking messages every minute. I saw message to go to reservation desk to get table- and was told I waited too king- they gave 5 minutes to respond!! Again no buzzer, nothing! There were plenty of outdoor seating spaces, so must have been server shortages. The "management" gave us free dessert (birthday event) and wrote off 2 drinks. No one ever apologized for poor seating, staff shortages. Super loud at bar too but I've become old fart. I'd never return due to their cavalier attitude - food good, but waiting over 1.5 hrs for semi-full restaurant and NO genuine apology left very bad taste in my mouth. I won't return- I have much higher expectations of service and don't tolerate this type of treatment.

It was a cold night at The Wharf but nice and cozy inside! We had about a 20min wait at the bar but understandable as a weekend night (a tasty margarita also helped pass the time quickly too). Enjoyed my taco selections (and another margarita). I really appreciated that our server asked if I wanted salt or not on the rim of my drink. Service was friendly and wasn't slow, which was impressive considering how busy it was too. We almost ate at a different restaurant that evening but I'm so glad we chose bar taco (we will definitely be back).