Zero stars. Waited over 2hrs for food with only 4 other tables occupied. Manager didn't even comp the meal. The drinks tasted watered down and one tasted and smelled of wet dog- deeply upsetting. Upon arriving home, we were sick from the food we did have. Will not be returning. Highly recommend avoiding read more

Second time here, I'd give it 4 stars this time (compared to the three from the first visit). It started off poorly: the owner invited us back and said he would put down our reservation. We showed up and there was no reservation in place. The hostess kindly sat us down. The food was faster and didn't come out cold. I ordered coffee (which wasn't on the menu) and it was lukewarm, but otherwise everything else was faster and better temperature. Some plates were actively hot and others just lukewarm, but overall, great place, good atmosphere and the flavors of the dishes are delicious. read more

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Not a good experience overall! The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous inside and very cute. However, we had negative experiences at both the upstairs rooftop bar, and the restaurant itself. Be warned that the upstairs bar will put on unwanted drinks on your tab and will also charge a ridiculously high tip even though that is not what you chose! The restaurant service is slow and the whole concept is entirely weird because they just bring out a ton of food without asking you what you even want. It gets to be so much food so quickly that everything starts to taste the same because the food is not very unique, or made very well. Also, the food will begin to get cold because it is just sitting on your table. Some dishes were definitely better than others, such as the plantain croquettes and the queso fundido. Otherwise this is definitely not a place I will ever be returning to or recommend anyone. read more

**update to review - Dinner on 1/27/23 The owner, Faris reached out to me out of concern due to our bad experience - which I really appreciated and invited us back to try the dinner menu. I am glad that we did! The options that they had for restaurant week were great! I had a fried chicken taco as an appetizer, steak fajitas as the entree, and my friend and I shared churros as a dessert. Not to mention the yummy mocktails we enjoyed. the service this go around was excellent and attentive. The dinner meal and service were totally opposite of the brunch we experienced a week or so ago. grateful to have a better experience. Thanks again, guys! Brunch on 1/16/23 We were very disappointed by our experience here. Our server was not helpful and seemed bothered whenever we asked to consider my friend's dairy allergy. My other friend asked for a bloody mary, which they seemed to be out of downstairs, but we saw plenty of them upstairs. They were also out of BUÑUELOS WITH 'NATA' and pineapple juice of all things. Lastly, the food was just not good. the omelet was incredibly salty, flavors were just off. My friend is Mexican, and we are native Californians - so this was an incredibly disappointing meal. Do not recommend it. I'd spend 40 dollars elsewhere! read more

I don't love this expensive deal with unlimited plates but we ordered from the a la carte menu and it wasn't bad. I recommend the slow cook options - lamb Barbacoa and the cochinita and then get a side of rice and veggies and make plates for yourself while sharing the rest! Service and ambiance is great! read more

Mussels had so much sand we couldn't eat it. Guac had old mushy tomatoes in a tiny little condiment dish for 15$. It's pretty up on their bar area and the drinks were good. Wait staff was accommodating but kept having to ask someone for help bc no one came by to check on us. We ended up skipping dinner bc Food was so bad we won't be returning. read more

Love this restaurant!!! Excellent food and margaritas. Sit on the rooftop! Bryan was such an amazing server with a lively energy!! I have a gluten allergy and he checked everything with the kitchen staff, even when the food was put down and made me feel assured that it was safe to eat. Such a great atmosphere and cannot wait to come back for brunch! read more

Stopped off with our cousins and her young daughters and ate on the first floor which is the general Mexican food. Upstairs more formal traditional food and in the rooftop a happening bar and lounge with a great view. It's owned by the same folks across the street. We met the General Manager Nehad Sjmic who could not have been nicer coming by to speak to the children and checking in on us. He also asked for my opinion on the restaurant. The mark of a great General Manager . We had the guacamole, pork carnitas taco, garlic shrimp, ham and cheese for girls, rice and beans and churros. My only suggestion was for some Mexican rice rather than only white rice. Bar T listed where the server is normally listed but all the staff were super . read more

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Came in checked with hostess about rooftop seating she stated its first come first serve when we said can we wait for a seat up there, she said we're welcome to check ourselves, ended up seating in the outside front patio no menus we were promted to scan a barcode for it had to walk back to stand and get hard menus, server showed up 15 minutes later, we ordered guac and chips, don julio shots and a mango margarita, margarita was just okay we got crab enchiladas which was in my fiance's opinion not worth it for the price and taste, got shrimp fajitas which i traded my fiance for the enchilada , guac was good, service was meh could have been more attentive. read more

I love the unlimited selection concept. I absolutely enjoyed the fresh guacamole and the fact that I can order as much as I want is already a 5-star experience. Pretty decent service. It does get very chaotic so reservations is a must. They bought out a few dishes that were not vegetarian and vegan friendly despite asking for them to be so but it happens. No biggie. read more

I just picked up my purse on a Tues morning that I left on Saturday. Always a first time I guess. Everything was in it. The restaurant hadn't opened yet but I caught the eye of a construction manager inside. He told me employees don't come in to about 3pm. When I told him I had left my purse, he said - let me see what I can do. He called the manager, she spoke with me to verify it was my purse, gave him instructions - and YAY! my purse and all its belongings. I go there because I think the food and atmosphere is great. And now I have another reason to find Buena Vida Gastrolouge to be great. read more

The manager Ethan was absolutely rude and condescending. I walked in with my service dog and they said my "pet" was not allowed. I said he is a service dog and they said dogs are not allowed inside only outside. Ethan then proceeded to ask for proof which I provided to which was pointless as he said my service animal was not allowed at this venue. What was the point of asking for my service animal card? Horrible, rude and disrespectful place! read more

I'll admit to being surprised by our dinner. This place has a cool vibe I'll admit, but we came in on a warm Saturday where the first floor was fairly dead. While the food runners were fantastic, our waitress was pretty bad. I had to awkwardly order the same drink twice and it only came after my friend more awkwardly asked someone else who came to check in for it like 15-20 minutes after the original drink order. Our waitress finally brought said drink by slamming it on the table without saying a word. Yay. The portions for the endless tapas-like dinner are also incredibly small, so if you go this route order twice as much as you think you'll need. Most disappointing, the flavors for most of the food are relatively bland (including beans, how the F do they make tasteless black beans?!?!?). Mi Vidi in DC is far better. Burrito Brothers is also better (although super casual). Christ, even the small Mexican place in Del Rey is better. Perhaps this was just a bad night, but for $45 per person (just for food) I doubt I'll risk it again. read more

We had a really nice brunch at Buena Visa this holiday weekend. Winter was our server and she really kept everyone in our party happy with a constant flow of drinks and small plates the whole time we were there. It's really a fun experience trying all the different dishes and sharing them throughout the meal. There were so many options with the small plates. From omelettes to enchiladas and all in between. And the beverages were pretty bottomless. All you pay extra is another .$25 for mimosa's and sangria or $.99 for margs. The whole brunch is $39.99 a person, and the whole table needs to partake. It's a fun way to spend a brunch with friends and family. Sorry for the lack of photos. We got too busy enjoying all the food. I just got a photo of the chips at the beginning and the flan bday dessert at the end. Fun place and great service ! Thanks again, Winter for making our family celebration a memorable one. read more

Buena Vida - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Love this place for brunch, happy hour and dinner. Really great bartender who is always trying something new and fun. The crab queso was super cheesy and delicious. The rose sangria on the brunch menu was strong and sweet. read more

Buena Vida - Margarita and rose sangria - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

I've been here before and this place is known to be a good brunch spot for its unlimited tapa plate style and $0.25 mimosas. Can't go wrong with that deal! If you're coming here for brunch, it's a cute spot and definitely can get a lot for your buck since it's Basically Unlimited. The menu had many option and was very much family style dining. There were plates that stood out (ex. Chorizo hash, chicken milanesa sandwich, pork belly tacos) to be great! While others were average, nothing that was spectacular. The service was quite horrible in my eyes. Granted the waitress had 2 8+ people tables in her section and a couple tables outside of ours so it was not easy to get her attention when we wanted more drinks or food. She did give me a new drink when I found a fly in it , but was no other incentive as she was very much busy with other guests. We had to start ordering from the bus boys. Would I come here again? Eh 50/50 shot. read more

Atmosphere was amazing. Food was delicious. Service was great! My favorite dish was the mussels and lamb barbacoa. Both were incredibly flavorful. read more

Phenomenal Phenomenal service, phenomenal food, phenomenal ambiance. It's very hard, if not impossible, to find authentic Mexican high cuisine. Well, Buena Vida did not disappoint, starting with the delicious salsa. I often say if the small things like a salsa are good where time was taken in the details, good things will come. Well the good things came. We started with the Mexican ceviche (tuna in a fresh herb, pineapple-lime sauce) and the shrimp cocktail (served ceviche style with a similar sauce, with tomato added). For our main course, the grilled fish Acapulco style served with a tangy fruit salad of jicama, thin sliced watermelon, and mango) and for dessert the Tapioca tomatillo tart (with passion fruit essence) and the Yucatán style buñuelos (filled with crema Anglaise) I haven't left a 5-star rating in a long time. This place tries hard and deserves it. Downstairs is tacos and drinks and upstairs more magic. Ask for Dusan (pronounced Doo-shan), a wonderful waiter who will expertly pair your meal with some great wine! read more

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A very decent bottomless brunch place. There were a good amount of options and if you go with 3 others you can pretty much try the whole menu since plates are fairly small. Drinks are almost bottomless with a 25c charge for mimosas and 99c charge for margs. For me personally: - Menu highlights: normal mimosa, mango marg, chips and dip, salmon toast, veggie enchilada, poblano bisque, shrimp gabarnador omelette - Avoid: maria roja (disgustingly spicy cocktail), the sauce drenched sandwich, quesadillas (very under cooked) Other notes: - portions are rather inconsistent across dishes: scrambles are very small portions, the toasts/buns are quite heavy - blood orange mimosa isn't bad but nothing special, the classic is better - order more food at once, service is fairly slow - breakfast burritos are alright but mid - margaritas mostly taste the same, the flavors didn't change much Overall not a bad place for bottomless brunch but make sure you go with more people and order more drinks to get your moneys worth! read more

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Service was awful. The food was bad with an exception of a couple of things. Some things were ok food wise. The drinks were terrible. We won't be going back. read more

We celebrated my 2 friends' birthdays here and had a great time. We got the unlimited brunch experience and ordered almost everything on the menu. The chicken chilaquiles, chorizo hash, shrimp tacos, and pork belly tacos were delicious. They also have pineapple hibiscus mimosas and rose sangria that were divine. Love experience! read more

Buena Vida - Chorizo hash, shrimp tacos, sangria - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Visited Buena Vida for the first time a few days ago. The ambience was worth and the service was amazing. The servers were extremely patient and kind. Coming to the taste of the food, I felt it was almost perfect and the value for money according to me was above average. The grilled chicken skewers were definitely my favorite dish from the night but the mushroom quesadilla was a close second! Overall I would say the restaurant was wonderful. Extremely wonderful experience. Keep the standards same!! read more

Buena Vida - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Amazing restaurant, and amazing food. Would 100% recommend to a friend. Today while my partner and I were dining in, I couldn't help but notice this woman holding a small crusty white dog, INSIDE of the restaurant. AT THE BAR! I for one was not pleased by this scene, as I am HIGHLY ALLERGIC TO ANIMALS, and my partner was not very pleased. I couldn't help but notice someone who appeared to be a manger quickly and promptly make his way over to the bar; politely ask the lady to not bring her dog inside. Instead of taking accountability for others around her, ( which is not something we see often with these individuals) said lady proceeded to say it was a "service dog". My partner was taken back as her little white dog that she was holding was clearly not a service animal! My partner is a respected dog trainer with over 40+ YEARS in the industry and clearly pointed out the mishap we saw. I mean for one, is this a petsmart??? Have people lost the common decency to not intermingle food and animals! Thankfully this "lady" was escorted outside of the restaurant so my partner and I could enjoy our meals in peace. Wonderful customer service, and we will be back! Side note; the chicken nachos Earl and I had were fabulous! read more

Great service and the staff was accommodating! I would definitely recommend this place for anyone. It's beautiful and the food is great. I think anyone for any occasion would have fun here ! Also lily was amazing !!! read more

Beautiful bright ambiance and very aesthetic hipster vibes. They can accommodate very large parties for brunch which is great. We were running a few minutes late and they did not rush us out at our 2 hr mark; however, it was pretty empty when we went on a Sunday in January. As far as food quality, nothing stood out as phenomenal. Our waiter was quick to refill our mimosas, but I was curious as to how well they keep track of how many mimosas to charge for, as sometimes they would come around and refill an already half full glass. (mimosas were charged separately $.99 per glass on top of the $39.99) 20% is already included gratuity which is to be expected at many places in DC. it was a nice one time experience, but what you pay for is definitely the experience and not necessarily top quality. read more

Went here with a couple friends and we all got the dinner experience, where you can get anything on the menu tapas style. The place looks amazing, the service is good, the drinks are good, the food is ok.Some dishes were better than others of course. We ordered so much stuff I couldn't even tell you what we got. I just know the potato flatas (i think that's the name, was my fav). I would def go back for like a happy hour or something and sit on there beautiful rooftop. They have 3 floors, and the rooftop is beautiful. We went to the rooftop after dinner and they had 2 full bars and a live dj. The rooftop is def a vibe! read more

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Impressed overall! Definitely a step up from TTT. The ceviche and margarita al pastor were both great (and I'm v picky about my margaritas, especially spicy ones). Also our service was really good. Appreciated that my waitress gave her honest opinion when I was torn between two cocktails. A little underwhelmed by the steak tartare. It was so acidic that you couldn't taste anything else (which I feel like kind of defeats the purpose of a steak tartare...) and the steak was just kind of chewy. read more

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This is a must for brunch!! $0.99 mimosas and unlimited tapas?! Say less! Everything was so delicious and despite a slight delay in food, Adrian kept us all laughing and our glasses full! He did the best he could, and we appreciated everything! read more

Brunch is $39.99 for each person at your table which isn't a bad price, mimosas are extra $1 and margaritas and extra $1.99. The drinks are good at best! The food was terrible, nothing was actually tasty, nothing came out hot either! The place is super cute and great great picture opportunities. Our server was very sweet and kind! read more

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Ambiance is very cute and they just opened their rooftop which is also super cute and a vibe. The food presentation wise is very well put, but not everything taste that great. I've been there twice and tried different menu items from the bottomless dinner menu and still wasn't blown away. The waiters try to curate the experience which Is cool if you've never been, but if you've been there before, stick to the items you know you like. I also wish dessert was part of the food experience. read more

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Awesome spot with great ambiance. Rooftop is the best!!!! First come first serve up there though. It's a pretty great deal for unlimited food - $45 and it's really good food. Drinks are tasty but really adds up. I messed up and came at 8pm because I forgot by reservation was actually 7:45pm. The waitress was extremely rude and bothered by this and I apologized I just completely forgot. The table was still open for us anyway so there was no reason to be so rude and give me attitude. I made a mistake. It happens. read more

Buena Vida - Old fashioned - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Guac was super-fresh and tasty. Great chips. Nice atmosphere on the 3rd floor. Service from Lydia was top-notch. We will return!

Friend and I went to this restaurant for dinner. The service was great. I had a mango spicy. Margarita friend had a regular margarita. These were both very tasty maybe a little light on the liquor. The food was stupendous. We ordered the appetizer of the cheese crab queso. Just enough for two people and cheese and crab just worked together. Then we ordered the grilled chicken tacos, which were unbelievably good. read more

Went here for the brunch special on sunday which is $39.99 for unlimited food and drinks. There is a decent amount of foods to select from, however not all of them were equally tasty. The soup was pretty bland, their hash was too salty, and some of the foods came out cold. Overall the service was good, interior looked dope, and the drinks were great. read more

Great Mexican fusion food in a modern and chic restaurant. If you want to try out "tapas" style (aka small plates) of varied and delicious Mexican dishes, this is the place to go! Excellent quality food and a modern and chic vibe topped up with good service and innovative cocktails. Couldn't recommend this restaurant more. For those hot summer nights, the restaurant also has a large rooftop terrace to enjoy a drink. read more

I don't have too much to say like I normally do. The food here is decent. There are some things that were well made (the barbacoa, flan, Brussels sprouts, and the chips/salsa/ guacamole) and some things were just okay. The experience itself was horrible though. I don't know if it was the disconnect between the kitchen and the servers but the food that we wanted took forever to come out and the servers were not in a good mood. They would keep bringing out vegetarian dishes that we never asked for while what we actually wanted wouldn't come out for 20-30 minutes. We were ordering at one point during the dinner and our server said "that's enough"... (we were a little shook). During another time during dinner, we were all talking and a different server came, slammed a plate in the middle of our table, made no eye contact with any of us, and walked away. We were all super startled. This dinner was not fun. They had a promotional price so maybe that's why they treated us the way they did. But personally I feel like if you're a new restaurant, and you have a promotion, you should maybe try your best to make a good impression so umm... people want to come back. We would not come back. Not even for a promotional price. The food, for an all you can eat was not bad. Nothing amazing... but the service made the overall experience horrible. read more

Buena Vida - The rice and beans we didn't order - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Super fun for drinks and happy hour. I really love their margaritas and they have really good happy hour appetizers as well. It's a nice restaurant on the inside as well and I'd say the service is great. Recommend the spot for a quick happy hour with some friends or coworkers. I'll definitely be back! read more

I've been here 3 times with my brunch crew. Made a reservation twice. The one time we didn't reserve(a friend of mine didn't click reserve) we were basically a walk in but they were still able to accommodate us! Food was great(small plates) bottomless mimosas is a must) read more

I'm so happy I stumbled upon this place! I went for the lunch express deal which allows you to pay $25 and get unlimited small plates. My friend and I ordered so much, I honestly can't list them all. What I can say is that everything was delicious! I will definitely be back. The service was also great so I have no complaints! Check this place out quick! read more

I've been to every restaurant that has taken over this spot in Clarendon since 2009 so figured I had to check this place out. I will admit now that I'm pretty bratty about Mexican food but as long as you go in with an open mind knowing that it's not going to be abuelita's Mexican cooking you will be good! The service started off a little slow, I have never been to a place where they brought out only one person's cocktail and the second persons took a while to get there, however I will say it was a Thursday evening and the place was packed so will go earlier in the week next time. I had no idea the menu offered unlimited small plates so we figured why not give it a go!? The standouts for me this go around were the watermelon-jicama salad which was a great light way to start, the queso fundido, chile relleno, and the dorado Al pastor. read more

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