This restaurant was on my list for quite sometime. I had high expectations but unfortunately left disappointed today. I came in for lunch and ordered the $28 express lunch. We started out with the pork belly which was lacking in flavor and rather dry. Moving onto the salad which was our entree, there were large leafs of romaine lettuce that were semi-grilled and uncut, the protein had to be ordered separately for an additional charge, the salad came pre-dressed with not enough dressing, and an overabundance of cheese which made the salad very dry. I will say, the chicken was cooked well and moist. The strawberry sorbet for dessert was probably the best part- very good flavor. We also ordered the agua Fresca and perhaps our expectations of what we think the drink should have been were off, but it tasted like straight cranberry juice. Additionally, we ordered the tuna tartare guacamole as an additional appetizer and it was so fishy we had to send it back. With all this said, the service we received was good and our server was great. She was attentive, accommodating, and very kind. read more

My friend drove in from NJ and we tried to making a dinner reservation but to no avail. We eventually walked over after eating dinner elsewhere and the drinks were decent. I would give a higher star rating for the ambience but I will have to go back for dinner read more

The food was amazing!! One of the best brunches I've had in DC, and my friends and I visit often. Jeff and Troy were amazing the service was almost better than the food. read more

Perfect date night or drinks with your girls spot . Love the service and the presentation of the food & drinks . The short rib tacos are amazing . The camarones la diabla and broccolini were a perfect dinner entree . The ambiance is great for upstairs and downstairs . Would recommend making reservations in advance va! read more

Live jazz, great food, service, and atmosphere! dLena delivers a superb experience! I highly recommend dLena!

Had a great dinner here. We started with the crispy cheese appetizer and drinks. I really enjoyed the hospitality and vibe. We didn't find out til after our dinner that they had a downstairs! It has an intimate, speakeasy vibe. Cant wait to come back again! read more

My favorite place in DC The staff is SO friendly and helpful and the drinks, food, atmosphere is all delicious. Don't miss the lower level. We had a great time thank you to dLeña staff. read more

dLeña - Ceviche Amarillo*Zanahorias Rostizadas***Zarandeado Tomahawk* Enchiladas Papa al Horno - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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We made a reservation for dLeña on Friday at 11 AM after the website said it was the only time available. Interestingly, we were the only people in the restaurant for the first hour and people only stared to fill in around noon. We got all different kinds of margaritas (I got the prickly pear one) which was very good and just strong enough. We shared the guac, which was tasty, but the portion was bit small for the price. For entrees, we were all generally pleased. The rest of the group got tacos and a burger and thought they were tasty. I got the tortilla soup and corn empanadas and my one criticism is that the ONLY filling in the empanadas was corn. Which, to be fair, was listed clearly on the menu, I just think there should've been something else in there like beans or chorizo or something. The soup was delicious though and between the a few appetizers, I was very full for a good price. read more

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dLeña was such an amazing experience the ambiance was impeccable. Our waitress Rebecca was such a delight. She was patient, attentive, and very insightful with menu recommendation. Rebecca helped my girlfriend pull off such an amazing and rememberable date night. 10/10 would recommend to anyone for amazing experience and amazing food to satisfy your pallet. Be sure to ask for our wonderful waitress Rebecca; dLeña is a place you won't forget! read more

Great brunch on the patio. Meryln was very attentative. High quality bottomless food sampling and the drinks were solid.

My friend introduced me to this place last night for their jazz in the lounge portion of the restaurant. I had such an amazing experience. The food was incredibly delicious and such a high-quality. Unique dishes, bursting with flavor. I had the queso, enchiladas, pork belly, and tortilla soup. A group of us got a different dishes and were able to share which is exactly how you should do it here because everything is so good you're going to wanna try it all! I got a cocktail called a passionfruit fizz, which I did not care for, it was too sweet for my taste, but if I went back, I would go for something classic like a margarita. They have an impressive selection of different alcohol here to complement the food. I would definitely recommend this place to bring friends a date or visitors that are in town. The jazz music such a wonderful ambience to enjoy great food and drink. I am already eager to plan another visit back! read more

This place has been on my list of restaurants to visit for a while. I was finally able to visit yesterday and the food was good. The ambiance is very nice. I enjoyed my drink and food. Next time I'll try the queso and prawns. 10/10 highly recommend :) read more

Great drinks and atmosphere! We came to the bar in the basement of DlenA. They had live music playing. Staff is extremely attentive read more

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Oh my goodness, Im at a loss for words. The food was okay, I had the Branzino. Now when I went to pack my leftovers and reach for my to go bag. There was a brown roach on the table, on that bag. Im so disgusted, disturbed and highly traumatized. I will never be back. I had to just go. immediately. $200 eating with roaches! read more

I went here a couple of times for their bottomless brunch (food and drinks). The restaurant's vibe is nice, the food is great, and the service is excellent. The restaurant will not disappoint you! Big shout out to Merlyn who gave us top notch service. read more

Went for the bottomless brunch on Saturday. The food is solid and the mimosas are great. Our server was Troy and he was awesome. He made sure our glasses stayed full (the Carlito mimosa is bomb) and kept the plates of food coming to make sure we had plenty of time to try everything and get seconds of what we wanted. Will definitely go back and will ask to be seated in Troy's section. read more

I know it's extremely hard to get a reservation here if you don't plan far ahead but my friend and I were able to get a table for two as a walk in! The decor and design of the restaurant is uniquely crafted. The live band, dim/warm atmosphere, and beautiful delivery of food sets the tone perfectly. Royal was our server and he was nothing short of personable and attentive. He was honest about cocktail reviews and was accommodating to switching out a drink that was great but also not for me. We were short of needing anything due to him floating around to make sure we were catered to. The guacamole as an appetizer is perfectly blended (creamy, smooth, & fresh). Our drinks complimented our meals perfectly! We were hesitant to order the crab cakes and tacos since they were so small but they were filling and didn't leave us feeling guilty after! The shrimp tacos have a radish shell which was better than anticipated and the crab cakes were perfectly balanced with the seasonings. Great service from Royal with the emerald chain, wonderful food, and a beautiful atmosphere! read more

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Service here is terrible, there are 50 open tables and they "just aren't sure they can seat a table of 2". Finally got a seat and the food was terrible! read more

The smoky flavor of the Queso Fundido will have me coming back for sure. Definitely a favorite. A lot of their dishes are cooked with wood or charcoal. Great service and good vibe. read more

Decent food, the Branzino was amazing. The service was lack luster, great ambiance. They were stingy with the churros but have bottomless churros for brunch. read more

Overrated and overpriced for the food you order. It's good at steep price. It's not fair.

Food was great and service was even better, because how Troy made it that much special for my fiancé and I on my birthday. Thanks again! read more

D'Lena's service, food, and drinks are overall a recipe for a disappointing disaster. We did the bottomless brunch and drinks on an early Sunday afternoon. In short, D'Lena is a prime example of what happens when bottomless prioritizes quantity and sacrifices quality. To begin... Service: the hostess should be fired. On the spot. The hostess is the first face you see when entering a restaurant. S/he represents the face of the establishment and should conduct him/herself in a professional manner. We requested a change of seating since we were seated in an area with high kitchen traffic (some of the servers were bumping into our table while carrying food). When making this request, the hostess was visibly annoyed. There was no conversation about why, where, or even, sorry, we're not able to because of xyz reasons. She doesn't say a single word, grabs our menus huffing and puffing, and moves us to another location after throwing down our menus. It's been a while since I've seen anyone with body language exhibiting that level of passive-aggressiveness. We were shocked by her cold attitude and rude behavior. We were just 2 people and only about 25% of the restaurant was filled. I didn't catch her name, but she was Hispanic and appeared to be in her early to mid-20's. On the other hand, our server was wonderful and extremely nice. She wasn't overbearing and paced herself well with helping us. Food: ok, this is what we came for, but what a letdown. It was one of those experiences where we had to force ourselves to like... something. The passion fruit medley was actually pretty decent. The sweetness and texture of the yogurt sauce blended well with the medley of fruits and was a nice way to start off the meal. The chips and salsa, well... as fancy as the menu description is, it was just adequate. Nothing special about it and something you could get at Chipotle after slapping some fish in there. The fish was obviously not fresh btw. The enchiladas were cold and old. You get a chicken and shrimp but honestly can't tell which one is which. The dough was undercooked and the sauce had no flavor to it. I was excited about the corn, but wow, it was so heavily salted and infused with vinegar that it felt like sucking on a sour Jawbreaker candy. Not sure how you get corn wrong. The chicken and waffles simply did not work. The waffles were soggy and bland, and the sauce was overly salty. The sauce seemed soy sauce based and it was some sort of Asian fusion that unfortunately failed to fuse. The tacos were an utter disaster. Oily, bland, and the pork was not fresh with a very gamey taste to it. The hash tasted like Pam and the pan that it was cooked in. The bottom was also so burnt that it masked whatever it was supposed to taste like. The churros were overcooked. You want a crisp outer edge and soft, chewy bread inside, but it was biting into rubber. It was not only unevenly seasoned, but poorly seasoned as well. The cinnamon and sugar balance was off, so some bites were bitter. Drinks: this may have been a bigger disappointment than the food and service since alcohol makes everything better (or at least, should). The drinks came out warm. The Bloody Mary was essentially a can of V8 infused with pepper and diluted alcohol due to the ice becoming just lukewarm water. The traditional Margarita was decent, but this was also diluted. I noticed when I was going to the bathroom that all of the drinks were pre-made and sitting out in the open. It's a bottomless brunch meaning you have to mass produce, but this compromises quality. None of the drinks are made fresh and you won't get a professionally-made drink with garnish. Pacing: the food comes out extremely quickly. Almost all at once. This has its pros and cons. They want you to sample everything on the menu and it's nice that you're constantly getting food, but you also feel very rushed and can't really take your time to savor the food. The restaurant gives you a 2-hour limit, but the pace of everything feels like they want you out in an hour. Sometimes not all of the dishes can fit on the table. They should at least bring you the next course once you're done with what you're currently working on. Vibe: the restaurant itself looks bigger in pictures. It's cozy, but can be a bit stuffy, too. It didn't help that the AC was not on. It was over 90 degrees with heavy humidity, which added to the warm and diluted drinks. The decor is nice with comfortable seating. Overall: For $60 per person, not a worthwhile experience whether it's the service, food, drinks, or even just the vibe. The food is subpar and even the basic foods (i.e. tacos) were a major miss. My inkling is that in order to keep up with bottomless orders, they have to mass produce. In doing so, the quality of the food and drinks suffers. While the concept is nice, D'Lena fails to execute it. The pacing and even worse service are cherries on top of a very disappointing cake. read more

My 9 year old said this was the best restaurant she's ever been to and she's been to quite a few nice ones. She opted out of the kids menu and ordered the guacamole as her appetizer and the shrimp tacos. She ordered a refreshing passion fruit lemonade. I got the fundido dip, short rib entree and potato. The food was amazing and service was good. Definitely coming back. read more

Downstairs bar may be one of the most aesthetic bars I've been to in my life. Mezcal selection is good, though not as good as Espita or Mezcalero. Some staff were not terribly knowledgeable about mezcal (one asked if I wanted a mezcal on the rocks), but cocktails are top notch. A little pricey and scene-y, but a wonderful spot for a date or to start a fun night out. I will continue to go elsewhere for mezcal. read more

The food and atmosphere is absolutely amazing, the service was just as good. Maritza was our server. She was very attentive and thoughtful. Highly recommend and ask for Maritza! read more

dLeña - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Good food, the corn empanadas are a must. The atmosphere is dark, with loud music and fun vibes. We loveddd the prickly pear margarita in particular read more

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Food excellent, customer service was ok. One person who worked there was not the nicest but everyone else was nice. The one person might have just had a bad day. Ambiance was great. read more

I dined at Dleña for my friend's birthday brunch (we had a 1:15pm reservation). I wanted to share my dining experience, which was unfortunately quite disappointing. Although the menu is advertised as "bottomless," I was surprised to learn that this isn't truly the case. Rather, it is a large tasting menu. We were told upon sitting that the last call would be at 2:45pm. (Given that reservations are accepted as late as 2pm, I find it unrealistic to expect customers to fully enjoy the menu within just one hour). My friends and I were not finished eating by 2:45 and when I asked if I could get a box, I was told that I could not take any leftovers due to the bottomless experience, but like I mentioned, this was not a bottomless brunch. The inability to take food home resulted in a considerable amount of food waste. Further, we did not receive all items on the brunch menu, like the Caesar salad. The worst part however was that at 2:50pm, while my friend was actively chewing food in her mouth, the waiter shoved the check in her face in order to get us out by 3pm to "prep for the dinner service". I am extremely disappointed. I worked in a restaurant for 8 years and I never would have considered kicking out a customer before their meal had finished. I came to Dleña last year and enjoyed my experience - the food is delicious. But, unfortunately, this brunch experience is enough to not want me to dine here again. read more

Review for bottomless brunch only. It was fine. Not good. Not bad. And it's not even that the food was bad, nor the service. Rather it's the method of food delivery that drags the experience down. You don't have the option to order what you want, instead they just bring food out to you. So all food arrived unordered which meant we couldn't pace ourselves or curate the approach. Frankly, it all seemed to come out too fast. It also meant some food would arrive to the table unwanted. Do we pick at it or leave it untouched? I dunno, I just imagine that there is so much food wasted because of all of this. Worse, we ordered the bottomless drinks to accompany the food. With the pace of the food, it felt like you could almost never drink. In hindsight, a bottle of wine might be the better play with the bottomless food. And that's if we ever go back. Most of the food was tasty though. The margaritas were meh. The bloody not very good at all. read more

Really great food and super cool atmosphere. Will definitely be back. You have to get there early for happy hour - i know for next time. but this place is great. looking forward to trying a cocktail next time. read more

One of my favorite places. My friend has a locker which is well worth it.. The food and drinks are great.

Great happy hour! The bartender Royal made us delicious margaritas, and the happy hour appetizers were delicious and filling. The ambiance is dark and classy - perfect for a winter date. read more

This place is an excellent spot to enjoy Mexican food. I really enjoyed this modern approach to traditional mexican flavours. Food is delicious and mouthwatering! read more

dLeña - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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So let me just say the food at dLena was better than other Sandoval spots, so there's that. However, it was not exceptional or filling for the price point. We had a crab cake dish, and my friend ordered the enchiladas. They were both tasty with good flavors, yet I wasn't completely satisfied when we left. I'm not sure how to explain because I rarely feel like this after going to such a highly rated restaurant. Oh and I don't drink, so I can't speak for the cocktails personally, but my friends loved all their drink orders. Overall, I think dLena is an ok option of you're in the neighborhood. But, I passed many fine mexican spots in NoVA for a place that didn't measure up to the reviews for me. read more

The food was great but the reason I'm giving this restaurant 3 stars was because of the service. When I made my reservation I called and requested a booth 2 days before the reservation and the woman I spoke to told me she will put in a note to put us in a booth. When I got there they said there's no way they could put us in a booth and sat us on a table that had an empty booth next to it. I asked if we could switch to that table and they said there was no way which was odd because the booth was empty almost the whole time we were there. Also our server was checking on the parties next to us multiple times to make sure they were ok but took so long to even ask us for our order. We had to call another server to get our order and even get us water. We felt very unwelcomed by this restaurant and won't be coming back. read more

My girls and I stopped by D'Leña after happy hour at the rooftop dc. It was the decision ever. We went downstairs to the lounge and happened to luck up on a 3 seater table with an AMAZING waiter by the name of Royal! His vibe and personality made our evening even better! We dined on corn empanadas and short rib tacos! Baaayybeeee when I tell you those short rib tacos were so tender and flavorful I wanted to smack the chef. The chimichurri mixed with the sweetness of the corn empanadas was perfection!!! Shoutout to the bartender for making our old fashions!!! Everything was beyond our expectations from the customer service from Royal, to the delicious food and drinks and did I mention this was a busy Friday night! Royal was so attentive to what we needed and gave us a superb dining experience. We ended the night with churros and hunty I just came back from Mexico and let me just say this, these churros were way better!!! Fried to perfection and that caramel sauce hit just right! If you decide to dine there ask for Royal as your server! Thanks again for making our evening such a blast!!! Below are pics of the churros and short rib tacos!!! read more

dLeña - Churros** - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Food was pretty good. There's a full-length mirror pointed right at the toilet in every stall if that's the kind of thing you're looking for in life. read more

Good ambiance downstairs where we held a work event. All the drinks are delicious and strong. I've also been there for an early dinner and sat outside just be prepared to wait they get really busy on the weekends. Short Rib Tacos are yummy. read more

One of the best places to try Mexican cuisine. We were in a group and ordered a bunch of stuff and everything was delicious. The service was the best. The short rib al carbon was the best dish I like most. read more

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