El Tapatio

First of all, the restaurant empty and my order wasn’t even being cooked I ordered it on the way here… get here and they just start making it. Then they confuse my order with someone else so they made someone else order before mine. There’s 2 women in the front laughing and talking instead of checking on my order that should’ve been done. My food is plain and simple so I don’t get where it takes an hour to food for one. Whoever owns this spot needs to get on top of some customer service, everyone got their order before mine.

The food was delicious, portions did not fit the price tag. Took them a minute to get my food out and they put jalapenos on my partners food even though they specifically asked for no jalapenos. The place is LOUD I'm the evening, I thought I was at the wrong place because it presents almost like club. Not particularly clean either. But honestly, I'd eat there again, the food was very good. Hopefully if I keep earlier the vibe will be nicer.

Great authentic taco spot! Everything was fresh and full of flavor, and the portions were generous. The staff was friendly and the service was quick. Definitely a place I’ll come back to when I’m in the mood for good tacos.

After ordering, I can see why there were so many 1 star reciews. The corn and flour tortillas were bitter, they used sweet peppers instead of jalapeños and the majority of the filling was jalapeños and tomatoes. What little of the filling was actually meat, was bitter and the only flavor of the meat was burnt. It was like there was no seasoning. The only filling for the shrimp tacos was shrimp, bell peppers and cheese and they sauce it came with just tasted like mayonnaise. 10/10 would NOT recommend

Excellent food! Delicious and authentic. Plus they deliver through UberEats. Their tacos can’t be beat with the fresh tortillas and perfectly seasoned meat. The huaraches and sopes are very good and if you like ceviche their version is tasty. The flautas are our favorite and their incredible shrimp cocktail is served warm in a delicious tomato sauce with onions and avocados. Add some of the hot sauce they give you and enjoy with crackers. Great local place to eat. No frills joint. Place is a restaurant/bar/pool hall/nightclub. All the waitresses are very nice, but if you don’t speak Spanish you can always point to the items you want on the menu. There is always at least one waitress who can help you translate, so don’t worry.

Garbage👎🏾👎🏾 soup all grease/oil. One pic has it after it sat and a very thick layer of grease formed. Rice is uncle Ben’s parboiled Spanish rice. No!!! Yuck 🤮

I’ve ordered from this place many times. I may have left a good review in the past because I be always been satisfied with my food. I also referred this place to others… This time it’s different. First the tortilla was very mushy had holes in and was falling apart when I tried to pick it up. Secondly the amount of meat that used for the birria tacos is unacceptable! What’s the point of using those big tortillas if you’re not going to make sure they’re some what full? The limes they gave us were not fresh either. I purchased TWO orders of birria tacos, spending close to $40! I’m not sure if the have someone different making the food but Im HIGHLY disappointed and probably won’t be ordering from El Tapatio for a while!

Okay it's a tight parking situation but let's get down to their overall rating I gave them this is not a $15 bowl of soup and then there's seafood soup $35 baby y'all are in a strip mall now these serving sizes are nothing special at all. The Taste is great it's good I like it however you are not at some Posh place that deserves a $15 bowl of soup it's not that big.

Had a 12 AM craving for guacamole, chips, and salsa. Ordered through uber eats since they are open late night. Guacamole dip was FRESH, packaged AND seasoned well. Nice balance of lime, cilantro, a bit of saltiness, and perfectly ripe avocado. Definitely would order again. Perfect amount for one person. I also got the pico de gallo. Fresh, bright, and citrusy. My only gripe is the price for what you get. The pico de gallo comes in a sauce cup / container. Maybe twice the size of the plastic cups used for ketchup at burger and fries places. So I can skip that next time. Will check out the rest of their menu.

Had the quesadillas with carne asada and the meat was good but the cheese was not the best quality and the tortilla tasted a bit stale. My wife had the chicken flautas which came topped with shredded lettuce and mayo on top, black beans and rice on the side, and a dipping sauce. The flautas (minus the mayo because it should have been crema fresca), beans and rice were decent but the salsa was too salty. The sports bar connected next door seemed like a fun place to meet friends but the loud music made it hard for our server to hear us.

Food-Excellent. Everything else, not bueno. Ambiance-The bible thumpers jumping up and down right above our table dropped what I can only call, asbestos onto our meal. I can not compliment the servers, because I do not know if they are Pirañas.(Look it up). Their food is shadowed by everything else wrong. sad

i ordered this via doordash on a late night and i can not overstate just how delicious it was!!!!!!

WE WERE SCAMMMMMED, ESTE LUGAR NOS ROBÓ. our family is new to the area and we're looking for a good spot to eat, quickly this location came up and the menu looked like it had a lot of variety so we went. Honestly, I ordered the birria tacos, and they were delicioua, BUT not $80 worth. We were definitely robbed by this place. We had three orders, 2 birra tacos and a chicken burrito, and 3 horchatas, our total should've been AT LEAST $65??? BUT there was another guy at our table who was paying for his meal for his sopa, and he paid separately his soup, it was $25. WHY WAS OUR TOTAL $80? The only way it came up like that is adding all 4 meals, and when we spoke with them they didn't want to acknowledge anything. They don't give you itemized receipts so it's their word against yours. If you don't want to overpay for your food, probably don't go here. We wont be back. nuestra familia es nueva en el área y estamos buscando un buen lugar para comer, rápidamente apareció este lugar y el menú parecía tener mucha variedad, así que fuimos. Honestamente, pedí los tacos de birria, y estaban deliciosos, PERO no valían $ 80. Definitivamente nos robaron este lugar. Teníamos tres pedidos, 2 tacos de birra y un burrito de pollo, y 3 horchatas, ¿nuestro total debería haber sido AL MENOS $ 65? PERO había otro tipo en nuestra mesa que estaba pagando su comida por su sopa, y pagó por separado su sopa, costaba $ 25. ¿POR QUÉ FUE NUESTRO TOTAL $80? La única forma en que surgió fue agregando las 4 comidas, y cuando hablamos con ellos, no querían reconocer nada. No le brindan recibos detallados, por lo que es su palabra contra la suya. Si no quiere pagar de más por su comida, probablemente no vaya aquí. No volveremos.

Visited this place to try their tacos. I ordered the chicken tacos and birria tacos with consomé. The tacos were OK. The birria tacos, although larger than any I had prior to that point, were not as sturdy as I anticipated. In fact the tortilla was more on the soggy side. I'll give them another try to confirm the quality. Give them a try.

I really like this restaurant, it's really nice on the inside. It has a really gone up with the reviews and the service here is really good. one of the bartenders named something with Isa is really nice. But also, the food here was exceptional incredibly good. I really love Tacos pupusa soup and especially the wings. They're really good but also say you need to come here. It's a really good food place that you can come and eat.

Ordered Uber eats. They accepted the order. Made me wait for almost 2 hours then closed the restaurant. I would've been waiting all night. This is the second time this has happened with this restaurant. Shame, the food is decent but they will take your money and then not deliver food. Do not recommend.

I can't speak on the physical location just yet, as I had the food delivered to my front door. I ordered every type of pupusa they had: cheese, beans & cheese, and 'revuelta'. I also got a chorizo taco. I was full off of just two pupusas, but let me tell you, their food is delicious! There is no lack of flavor and their sauces are top-notch. I love the texture of their tortillas too! Oh! Let's not forget dessert -- tres leches cake! $6 for one slice does seem a tad pricey, but it was tasty nonetheless! The very first bite I had, the cake was a little drier than what I'm used to. But after that it was moist and precisely what I was looking for... I have no idea why. I'd return to try some of their other tacos and offerings. I feel like I'm late to the party!

I ordered birria tacos by phone for carry out recently. I received three large tacos with consommé. Everything was very good, tacos were not greasy, consommé wasn't salty. The inside of the establishment looked clean and my food was ready in the time frame given when I called to place my order. Staff was cordial. I definitely would try them again for carry out.

The Birria tacos are incredible. Unlike many taco shops, this place offers 3 full size tacos per order which is quite filling. I would have given El Tapatio 5 stars, however, the consommé to dip the taco isn't consistent. Pro tip: use an air fryer to reheat your tacos. Not a Michelin rated restaurant and that's ok. Sometimes the best eateries lie outside of fine dinning.

Perfection. I don't live near this knave but knowing I was running errands in the area I researched lunch options. I am now suing in my car in the parking lot enjoying lunch (covid safe). This food is exactly what Mexican food should be. Plus my take out order was chock full of condiments... salsas, limes, radishes.... amazing. Chorizo taco, el pastor taco, passion fruit juice, and pozole. My tummy is happy.

Food was good but service was slow. There were 4 servers sitting down doing nothing while food took forever. They also charge a 15% tip without asking you and expect an additional tip in the end. Place is a little sus

I was one of few people who hadn't jumped on the birria wagon but FOMO led me to this spot. I ordered through UberEats so I can't say much about location or the actual restaurant but what I can say is the food is delicious. I ordered the birria burrito which was really tasty. I also ordered a steak taco and chicken taco for later. Both were good but I preferred the steak taco. I also ordered a side of chips and salsa which had nice spice to it. Overall, I enjoyed my food and I would definitely try them again.

My first time ordering Mexican through Uber Eats as part of my breaded chicken torta hop in the area. I picked the carryout option of course. The torta actually feels like 3.5 since there were a few tough spots in the cutlet. What made me rate them 4 instead of 3 is they also packed piping hot fries with it which no other Mexican joints in the area do. $8.47 (tax included) definitely makes it better than the average value since I estimate the median price of breaded chicken torta to be $8.99. I could see myself checking them out again occasionally to try their other items.

I'm a huge fan of latin food so I decided to give El Tapito a try. I ordered chicken, steak and shrimp fajitas. To say the least, I was underwhelmed. The food def lacked the "It Factor."

I have never dined in but I have been Uber eating and Grubhub from this place for a whole year. The food is WONDERFUL, the steak tacos are the best and the chicken nacho plate is absolutely to die for. I have tried the fajitas and the tamales.

i've been eating here for a few months now it's my go to place usually because the food is absolutely delicious and affordable. Not only that but everyone here is so kind and helpful. I always get the tacos and i'm never disappointed with them. I've also tried other things on the menu they've all been really good. Definitely the best tacos i've ever had, especially in the dmv.

Hands down the best Birria tacos ...staff always nice and they give your the food you paid for

This place isn't horrible but now they switched their register to automatically add a tip and then below that quite a ways on the receipt they have another spot for you to write in a tip. I understand this on large groups. But when it's two people? Sorry I don't like to be told what I have to tip. And unfortunately I was going to tip more than they added in there but since they already added it on that's all they got.

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

El Tapatio is a nice hidden gem we found staying right outside of Washington D.C. But can I say that this was by far the best Mexican food I've ever had. The restaurant served homemade corn and flour tortillas and all of the meat was marinated perfectly. Our food was brought out on a hot sizzling stone plate and who doesn't love the sound of that?! Definitely orgasmic. I would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone visiting the D.C. area and wanting to get away from the busy city but not be too far.

Order chicken soup. They sent soup with entire cooked prawns with legs and eyes was GROSS. When I called the store a group of people laughed uproariously when the person answering the phone said I asked for someone who spoke English. When the person who could speak English came to the phone I asked if it was funny that I asked for help in English. She said just a minute and began talking to someone else in Spanish. I hung up. Trashed the soup. The nachos were soggy and salty. We will never order from here again and I would not at all recommend them. In the middle of a pandemic when many businesses are going under and people still choose to patronize YOUR business despite what language you speak, this is absolutely NO way to treat customers!

I've eaten from this place (through UberEats) NUMEROUS times and each time has been better than the last. I can't comment on in-person service experiences but the packaging and food is amazing every time I order. I've only had the shrimp fajitas, with chips and extra guac on the side sometimes. Though my boyfriend's tried the chicken fajitas and the torta de pollo and he thought it was delicious!! Try it out!

An hour and 15 minutes after placing a takeout order, it still wasn't ready. They don't answer the phone or communicate in any way, nor are you greeted when entering the establishment. I eventually gave up and drove home. Won't be back.

This is my second time here. First time I was somewhat hesitant to even set foot into this shopping center. But I am so glad that I did! The wait staff is very friendly, the restaurant is very clean. The food is prepared quickly and is absolutely delicious! I have only been here during the lunch hour so I don't know about the night scene but they have a bar, pool tables a small stage and a dance floor.

The food is so authentic and good. The chips came out hot and salsa prepared fresh. Very large selection of authentic Mexican food. We had 3 tacos Mexican style cow tongue chopped onions and cilantro. Some radish and cucumber on the side. There is a bar with a pool table next door. I would definitely come back next time in the College Park area.

This tucked away place is a pleasant surprise. I came in because I was craving the birria tacos and I was so happy with what I got. There is music, the kitchen staff is singing and gay. Really nice!

Ordered the fajitas mixed and the flavor was great and portion was good for the price I will definitely order again.

Wow the tacos & the drinks here are slammin!!! I almost got into an accident driving home after only two margaritas !!!! so this place is like a club/bar/restaurant. The bartenders were attentive but One in particular helped me & she was amazing!!' The tacos were very flavorful & yummy!!! Im definitely coming back!!!

First time trying this spot. I had the Tapatio Ramen Consume soup, a cheese papusa, and guacamole. Everything was amazing. The fact that I love ramen and birria tacos, and they created this wonderful concoction of a soup, 5 stars. The papusa was so good, goey, and fresh. And the guacamole is simply amazing. The only thing that I don't like is that chips don't come with the guacamole :/ I 'll be going back for sure.

This place has really good food! I got the fajitas and my gf got a chicken quesadilla. The fajita was good but the REFRIED BEANS WERE AMAZING lol I was thinking about them dayssss later. The atmosphere was pretty chill. The music was loud and there were a few men playing pool just on the other side of the dinning space. My only thing was the waitresses don't speak good English so it can be pretty hard asking for something. I love how they continued to check on us but weren't intrusive. It's a nice area with a lot of stores outside and we were able to pick up some reallllly good mangos outside of the restaurant from a vendor. Loved it. I will definitely return.

We went here in a Saturday evening for tacos. Overall the food was pretty good, though salsa had zero kick, you can tell the chips are made fresh. The tacos were on freshly made corn tortillas and had a good flavor from the seasonings. The biggest drawback was the time it took for us to get our food. We only ordered 3 tacos each (6 total) and it took almost an hour to get our meal. This seemed excessive for the number of tables and patrons at the time. While the tacos were pretty good, I doubt I'll return here in the future. The search for the best tacos in the DC area continues....

Delicious close to home Mexican food. The tacos are cheap. They have great goat meat. However if you don't look hispanic the waitress won't speak to you at all. Not even my attempts to speak Spanish resulted in more than a one-way conversation. And every time I ordered something I had an echo in lieu of the man beside her translating "taco" into "taco" and "horchata" into "horchata". Seriously annoying from my perspective and I've had much more complex conversations en espanol. Anyway the food came fast and their horchata is closer to a drink I enjoy of South Korean variety, ricelike more than milk like and almost too rich to finish. I'd come here on a weeknight cuz they were pretty much dead and put in my order right away. Otherwise they may be utilizing the dance floor area which is twice as big as the seating area and they only have like 10 tables.

I have order here multiple times off Uber eats and it never disappoints and food delivery is always a hit or miss. Great quality food

My 2nd time ordering from this place and feel an addiction forming. I ordered the green enchiladas and steak tacos. I LOVE the flavors. The enchiladas are not the typical baked with melted cheese...it's more like one of their tacos smothered in sauce, sourcream, and cheese. However, it's very tasty. I can see me ordering from this place once a week.

when I tell you they have bad service here so I called and some kid picked up and he is not in the mood and I call back nobody picks up and then I call again and nobody picks up so this is why I'm leaving this review stupid Spanish people. sorry I meant to put more I wanted a English person and they hung up SO I DONT RECOMMEND THIS ESTABLISHMENT

I have eaten here many times over the years, and love this joint. Hard to call it a restaurant, because it qualifies on many fronts as a "dive." Before moving out of the area almost 8 years ago, it was a little hole in the wall. Now that I have returned, it has grown into a larger footprint, and morphs from a hole in the wall Mexican joint into a bar/club in the evenings. The food is still great. The customary chips and salsa are terrific. The chips are fried in the premises. My go-to dishes are chile rellenos and mole. Both are fantastic. The guacamole is another key add-on, and is also made fresh. Wash it down with a Jarritos Mandarina and you have the perfect lunch (likely followed by a long, glorious nap).

The food is great. I don't speak Spanish but one of the co-owners took very good care of me the service I got was great

Everything on the menu is great! You cannot go wrong with anything. Also, the food always gets to be piping hot so you know everything is super fresh

There's an explosion of goodness going on in "Little Mexico" these days, and if you haven't been over to Riverdale/Bladensburg yet to try some of these "muy autentico" Mexican restaurants you should drop what you're doing right now and rush over to Kenilworth Ave. El Tapatio has been around a while and it harbors the location of one of "Little Mexico's" first and much loved establishments, Cielito Lindo. Good old CL is long gone but the folks at Tapatio are doing them proud. First let me tell you that this is NOT TEX MEX. This is Mexican food, made by a Mexican family, primarily for Mexicans. You will not find Cheese laden Chimichangas or double swirl margaritas. You will find Horchata, the cashew drink or any of a myriad of flavored Jarritos Sodas. You will also find some of the finest tacos you could imagine. El Tapatio specializes in cuisine from Jalisco Mexico and they make their own white corn tortillas to order. It's a not a subtle difference. The tacos are filled with your selection of meat, cubed white onion and fresh cilantro. Meat selections include: Chorizo, Carnitas, Goat, Carne Asada, Tongue and Chicken. I have not tried the Chile Rellenos but am told they are the best. The place is somewhat shabby looking and as I mentioned earlier, caters to a specifically Mexican clientele. Non-Mexicans should not be put off, however as you will be very welcome here. It does help to know a little Spanish, though, as it's highly possible your server will not know a great deal of English.

Yum! I haven't had Caldo de res since leaving Texas and this stuff was great! So authentic the waitress didn't even speak English. My son had beef tacos, which came out on soft flour tortillas and were also very good. The ambiance is very basic but we had a great meal.

El Tapatio's location might dissuade you from visiting. I'll also admit that the parking lot is oriented to maximize the possibility of your getting into a fender bender. Don't let these minor inconveniences stop you from visiting. I've only been once, so I can't vouch for the full menu's range. But the birria del chivo was extraordinary. If you've never tried goat, you can pretend you're adventurous. It comes with lightly charred homemade tortillas, which are delicious. And the meal is preceded by homemade chips and salsa, which are of an order of magnitude better than what I've had anywhere else. When they try to refill your basket, resist. There are a few pool tables on the dance floor adjoining the eating area. There's also a full bar

Towards the end of a mile long strip of Mexican restaurants and bars along Kenilworth Avenue, you'll find one of the best authentic eateries in El Tapatio. I've been here about four times now with friends, trying something different from the menu each time without being disappointed. The fajita platters are incredible, easily some of the best I've ever had. Nice variety of tacos, plenty to drink while eating as well. The carne asada plates need a little help though, twice we've received well done lukewarm steaks drowning in sauce (depending on the dish). If you're a soccer fan, they always have the EPL, Liga, and international games on televisions and projectors. Best to go late mornings/early afternoons for best service, or check it out at night for some drinking and an interestingly unique experience lol.

How do you make one lousy trip from the city out to the UPS distribution center in Bladensburg MD worth it? By making it into a fun food adventure! And that's exactly what we did. The best rated restaurant in that zip code was El Tapatio, which excited my fiance since he luuuves Mexican and we all gripe about how hard it is to find "good authentic" Mexican around here. And boy was it authentic! I echo another reviewer's sentiments that yes, you wll be the only non-latino people walking in (we are one Asian chick and one Caucasian dude) and totally get stared at by the completely Latino male clientele. It was such a trip! Sitting amidst wonderfully colorful Mexican tablecloths and bass-thumping Raggaton, we were served by a incredibly pretty but incompetent waitress. I'm grateful that my boy speaks fluent Spanish! The tacos were in-cre-di-ble! Yummeeeee! Goat was the best, slow cooked to perfection, moist and juicy. The tongue was good in texture but not much taste. And sadly the chorizo wasn't all that up to par. If I remember correctly six tacos two beers plus tip I think it came out to $25. Which I thought was alright but wasn't as cheap as you'd think it'd be. Also be warned, like another reviewer commented, the parking lot is accident-prone.

I have read numerous Yelp reviews from people who have eaten tacos in San Diego and California so I think I know a thing or two about authentic tacos. Even if I didn't know anything about authentic tacos I have to say the tacos here are really good. Are they better then the tacos from the West Coast? Having never eaten a taco west of Austin Texas I have to say the answer is definitely "it doesn't matter." I have also had one of the soups here that was good? Do they make soup out West that I can compare the soup here to? I'll never know how much I enjoyed this soup until I know how authentic it was!

Want to stick out somewhere like a sore thumb? If you're white/non-Hispanic, head here on a late-ish Friday night. We ended up checking out El Tapatio on a Friday night around 9 p.m. A little late for dinner, but we figured they'd still be open. What we did not figure was that this place becomes a bumpin' Hispanic dance club on Friday nights. When we first got to the place, we noticed a guard (with a gun!) outside. He asked if we were going in to eat, we said yes, and that was that. I'm assuming he was some sort of bouncer. Maybe the place gets rowdy on Fridays. We had to walk through the dance floor to get to the restaurant part (a little awkward). We sat at a table (only a few other people were eating and we were definitely the only white people). Our waitress (who didn't really speak English) brought our menus. Lots of choices. Chorizo, fish, tripe, tongue - and even fried quail! I decided to stay to the mundane and ordered one carne asada taco and one chorizo taco. YUM! Man, those were delicious. And cheap. Literally like $2 each. The salsa they serve is also delicious. Smoky and totally drinkable. I would definitely check this place out again. But not on a Friday night. It was SO loud in there. And I do speak Spanish, but the waitress just could not hear anything I said - English or Spanish. I didn't feel uncomfortable being the only white people in the joint; I just think it was a bad night to go if you aren't interested in dancing/loud music/drinking.

This was excellent, truly authentic cuisine. We (family of 7) visited twice in three days, and had a great experience twice. The pupusas and salsa were very good, as were the flautas, tacos, fajitas, and quesadillas. It reminded me of the experience of eating in a small restaurant in Guatemala. We enjoyed the atmosphere and and the food!

This was a great place to have dinner. Nachos were great, tacos were great. Loved everything. Large portion sizes and a great environment.

Ok so you'll probably fair better if you speak basic Spanish (this is the only place your high school Spanish will work). Besides that, the food is cheap and awesome. Lunch special is $6.50. You can't even get lunch at the BK lounge for that much.