Great place, friendly bartenders, and pretty good magaritas. It's hard not to like a place with $5 drinks and $1 chips and salsa. Will definitely be back! read more

El Camino - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Ok, I like it more than three stars, obvs. Good food, service, you should go check it out. Guacamole is fantastic, as are the shrimp tacos! read more

We went here last night and had a great time. The place is clean and very open. We had a group of 8, and it worked out pretty well. We were a pretty rowdy group last night, and they didn't seem to mind too much. They also let us hangout outside while we kept our other table inside the restaurant. On to the food: -Guacamole: Decent, could use a little more lime and pinch of salt. Nothing to rave about, but tasty. -Salsas: Pretty good. I especially liked the red salsa. -Chicken enchilada: Tasted great. Not your typical enchilada as it comes in a skillet with beans, rice, cheese, etc. It's very filling and cheesy. -Carne Asada: I didn't expect the meat to be cooked to my liking (Medium Rare), but it came out perfect and had great flavor. We didn't have dessert, but the options looked good. This was a great, laid back place to hangout with friends. read more

Dirty, badly managed, rude staff, over-priced. Close to my place. Wish it were better. Did I mention it's always dirty?

Four stars... three stars for food, five stars for drinks and ambiance. I'll start with the good. The location is excellent, with Bloomingdale booming, it's a great and much needed Mexican option. The decor, with the cinder blocks and wood, and the variety of plates, is cozy and charming. The drinks are also bomb. Even for $7 the margarita is one of the best around, and during happy hour (for $5) they are that much better. Other drinks are great too. Wish they had more specialty cocktails with mezcal! The food was good, just not great. The lengua was super tender, but a bit bland. The fried fish was a bit on the smaller side, so it felt like mostly crunch and not much fish. The chorizo and potato was probably my favorite taco. The guacamole was also only so so - creamy, but lacking in salt, spice, and acidity. All totally edible, good even, just not to the same caliber as some other places (I'm partial to Tacos El Chilango). For the drinks I'll definitely come back, and I'm sure I'll even eat plenty more tacos here, but I feel like with just a few small tweaks and a bit more salt, this place could go from good to great. read more

The food and drinks here are great! If you want super cheap chips and salsa go during happy hour and they're $1. To be fair, otherwise they're only $2.50. The hidden gem is the side of Brussels sprouts. They're roasted but also creamy and oddly enough have peanuts, but it works. Tacos are good and $2.50 or $3.50 each. I like the cactus one. Drink wise the standard margarita is solid, but I'm a big fan of the Rosa, which has tequila and jalapeño ginger beer I believe. Good kick to it. read more

This review is based off of their brunch. The brunch menu here is ala carte and they offer bottomless mimosas for $14. Service is great here. Our server was very friendly and interactive with us.They were also quick to keep my mimosas bottomless. I have to say that I was underwhelmed with the menu. They didn't have a lot to offer for brunch. Their chips, salsa and guacamole was BOMB though so I highly recommend that. As for entree, I got a chorizo torta. Not a fan, it was overwhelming with spices and my taste buds got tired of it real quick read more

Honestly hated this place. Wouldn't mind having to pay for the chips and salsa if the chips weren't stale. Ordered the tamales con carne and the red sauce was the worse I've ever had. It was sweet and bitter. The rice it came with had no flavor and was cold. Wouldn't come back. Also kind of expensive for really bad food. read more

New to this neighborhood and I've found my Mexican spot. Great takeout all around, and the staff was even better including accommodating an on the spot special order request. Looks like a great patio setup as well. read more

Reasonably good DC Mexican food. Highly recommend the $7 margarita, the guac was also pretty delicious. I ordered 2 tostadas, added carnitas, which they don't tell you is okay to do, but they let you do. Pretty delicious. Very reasonably priced. The place is in the Y.E.S.S.S dry cleaners on Rhode Island Ave, next to Boundary Stone bar. The service was a little dicey, but they just opened, so I'm lenient. The food is definitely better than the majority of the Mexican in DC--but it's really more of a taqueria than a full Mexican restaurant. I'll def be back to check them out again once they've got a bit more time under their belt! read more

I visited the place in March. Loved the scallop ceviche and tongue taco. Enjoyed the food and deco. Also, their plates were beautiful :) read more

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Definitely not the best Mexican in DC but if you're in the area, it's worth stopping by. Margaritas are strong and reasonably priced. All day Happy Hour on Mondays! If you're hungry the tacos are always pretty good. Try the Carnitas and Pollo Asado. read more

Was hungry. Got seated by the bartender. She gave us menus. Then she left us there for 10 minutes. No mention of a server on the way. She had her back to us, just standing around. So we left. And we never tasted the food. She said thank you to us on our way out. As if she gave us a chance to be patrons to the business. Too hungry for complete sentences in this review read more

Need to update their hours. Says online they open at 5pm but when we made the trip, we were told they do not open until 5:30pm. Boundary Stone next door is wonderful and true to their posted hours. read more

Hitting this place up on a cool summer night for some margaritas and tacos is a favorite. So glad to have it in the neighborhood.

Best neighborhood restaurant! I love being able to walk, service is always quick and reliable and a decent price for DC. The individuals who work there are also super kind, and I appreciate all of their precautions they're taking during COVID. I think they deserve a higher rating than the 3.5 average they currently have on Yelp! read more

Great neighborhood spot and good happy hour and weeknight specials (Margarita Monday and Taco Tuesday). I recommend their micheladas and guacamole. read more

Bloomingdale really needed some tacos, and El Camino does not disappoint! The house margaritas are really tasty but the bartender Mick recommended I try the cocktail made with tequila and housemade jalepeno ginger beer, and it was really good. Food wise, my favorite things on the menu have been the chorizo tacos, pork shoulder, and the meatballs. Definitely heading back to keep trying more. Glad to have you guys in the neighborhood. read more

Oyamel this is not; I'm very okay with that. You should be too for this little neighborhood spot. The food was fresh and tasty, especially for the price point. We had the kids bean burrito with fruit and fries--huge hit and perfect size--chicken fajitas, and the Masita de puerco. Chips and salsa were good and so was the guac. Only thing I would ask for is to use fresh lime juice with the Margs. Will be back with fam soon and often. read more

We are visiting from Boston. This place is awesome. Small local vibe with an eclectic menu. The drinks are on point. I like my Margaritas simple with real lime juice and not some nasty sour mix and this place delivers. By far the best was the black bean soup with chorizo and a pouched egg-out of this world. The choice of tacos and homemade tortillas make this place a home run! A kids menu and Mexican coke for the kids was def the icing on the cake! So so good! read more

I would love to give this place 5 stars because the guacamole was awesome and the pork chorizo tacos were heavenly! But, the drinks were NOT STRONG AT ALL!!my husband and I went here for the first time this past weekend. We ordered a regular margarita and 3 margaritas with strawberry, I can't remember the name. So it was a total of two drinks a piece at $10 each and we were both unaffected. Although they were delicious it was really disappointing. When we got the bill if felt like we were just paying for the quac and the 1 taco for $50 we might as well have ordered water. We are sad to say that we probably won't go back for another round. read more

Food was okay, not the best Mexican I've ever had but the ambiance was nice. I ordered the Papas Fritas as a snack, they were good and were piled with spicy sauces which is a positive in my opinion. I tried one of the cheese quesadillas and was disappointed by it. Cheese and Tortilla were rather bland. There is Definitely somewhere else in Washington DC where you can get better Mexican. read more

Underwhelming food and borderline awful service. We came in tonight for a dinner and sat at the bar. We ordered the empanaditas (tasty), the salad (decent), shrimp tacos (very good flavor-wise), and the lengua tacos (bland meat topped with pickled carrots). We found most of the food underwhelming and overpriced for the portions. But the worst part about this place was the service, by far. My date arrived before me and immediately shared the fact that the bartender hadn't glanced her way once since he poured her wine. After I sat down, we waited about 10 minutes until finally she flagged him over so that we could order before the kitchen closed. I was not acknowledged, nor offered a drink. After our food came we sat for another 10 minutes staring at each other and getting increasingly frustrated at the fact that we had no cutlery to eat with. We refused to ask for it (not that we could flag him down anyway) and he apparently didn't notice the untouched plates in front of us or our frustrated disposition. Finally, my date swiped some from a nearby table and we began to eat our food. Meanwhile, the manager is sitting at the other end of the bar, on his phone the entire time. Clueless. Maoti only came back to see how we were when he offered to bus our plates. We said no, as we were still eating. Upon finishing our meal, we stacked our plates on the bar and waited for him to realize they should be bussed. And waited... and waited. When he finally came over we ordered a tres leches cake and some coffee . His response was "the kitchen is closed.. sorry." No notice, no last call done. He did end up having the kitchen make us dessert and brewing some coffee just for us, which was appreciated (the highlight of the meal. One of the best tres leches I've had.) We are both industry people. We understand being busy, or "off" nights, but this was unacceptable. Sad to say, we will not be back to this neighborhood spot. read more

I live a block and a half away from where El Camino is located, and I've been waiting with taco cravings for quite some time. Well, the wait is over because they're open and they've hit the ground running. Went in there one night after dinner at Boundary Stone to have a margarita or two(or three) and to hang out. After reading in the Washington Post about their Camarones tacos I tried one and it was delicious as written about. Definitely decided then I'd come back for dinner sometime and a few nights later I did exactly that. Sat down at the bar again and just like the first time had great service. The bartenders are very quick to assist you in your ordering needs and for the first round I went with the Chicken, the Chorizo, and the Camarones tacos which I devoured. I then decided to order another Chicken and Camarones taco which slowed me down a bit but due to their deliciousness I still somewhat inhaled. A great thing about ordering their tacos is they come out QUICK. They're also cheap as well, because after five tacos and two Tecate tallboys my check was around $24, which I thought was a pretty great deal. I'll definitely be coming back and look forward to when it gets warmer as I've heard they're going to offer some outdoor seating. In case you didn't know, outdoor seating is perfect for downing margaritas. read more

Cute spot, trendy feel to it. Our greeting host wasn't the warmest, but our bubbly young waitress made up for it. The menu is not super extensive, but if you are not familiar with Mexican dishes, be prepared to ask some questions. I had a torta, which I would skip and just stick with tacos next time around. The torta bread was a bit smothered in sauce on the outside, though somehow dry on the inside. And, because of the sauce, it made it difficult to eat with your hands, and no one should be forced to eat a sandwich with a knife and fork. They do have an extensive Mezcal & Tequila list, which is a big plus (and some creative cocktails). read more

Still on the quest to try every margarita in DC. El Camino was a serious disappointment. Although they say they use fresh lime juice, it tastes more like sour mix. Way too sweet for me. They're cheap ($7), but small and blah. Hard pass. read more

There was a lot of hype about this place when it first opened. The food is good. I've gotten the tortas, which are good, but super greasy. The one time I went into the place, we asked about what certain things on the menu were (Spanish items). Our waiter didn't even know, so we had to Google it at the table. It was kind of funny, but come on now, know your menu. The most annoying thing about this place (and maybe I'm being a brat), is that they don't have taco salads. It's a Mexican place that doesn't serve taco salads. I asked for it once, and the woman hesitated like uuuuummmmmmmm, which basically means no. Really haven't been back much or ordered from there more than maybe twice. Nothing special and memorable, nothing really worth going again. read more

If you want to pay for overpriced not Mexican food come to this place. The torta that I ordered almost didn't have any meat on it and the bread was cold. The service isn't good either! They are rude and never brought out chips and salsa. Really?? I'm never coming back read more

Amazing food honest food. Just delicious comfort food. Try the masitas de puerco or the carne asada and no matter what please order the habanero mango margarita you're welcome. read more

My husband and I were so excited to finally see el camino open and promptly checked it out with 4 other friends. As they don't take reservations, we were afraid of how long it would take to get a table but were pleasantly surprised to be seated in a few minutes. As with other reviews the guac was very tasty, we quickly demolished 2 orders for the table. I had the cucumber margarita which I thought would be more enjoyable in the summer and switched to a regular for my second drink. The hubby enjoyed the selection of beer at a reasonable price. I got the tacos which were tasty but wished I had more sauce or spice options on the side. The hubs got a torta which I got about one bite of before he hoovered the plate. We would love to see more taco options in the future. We love the decor and bar area and see us going there often as a local hangout. read more

Went on Thursday night for the $17 all you can eat tacos. Tried a lot of them. Very good and would go back. I'm a big IPA beer fan. Only one IPA on the menu, but then again it is a Mexican restaurant. read more

My boyfriend and I went here last night and tried all of the tacos. We were a little hungry and it was Taco Tuesday. The tacos were great. The staff was attentive and super friendly. Our waitress gave great drink recommendations as well. In a neighborhood with an up and coming food scene this is a needed and welcomed addition. One of my favorite things is how comfortable the seating was. I hate going to a place that makes sitting a pain. Try the Chicken and Shrimp tacos. They are a highlight. read more

Great service and great food! Spicy margaritas are great for a drink with a bite. Spicy corn is the best!!!

By far my favorite Mexican restaurant in DC. Excellent service & management, great bartenders, diverse menu & affordable happy hour specials. Also a great place for date night. read more

I came for the tortas for breakfast/lunch. All of it is very good. I didn't know what El Camino meant all my life....now I do, it is a word written on my heart with a flaming banjo wielded by a painted skeleton man. It says "taco" read more

Don't recommend this place. My chicken enchilada was not very good and was lacking in the spice, flavor territory; was also drowning in way too much cheese and included stuff that just didn't go well together. Overall, nothing all the authentic or even unique on the menu. Even the chips and salsa were missing a beat or two. I have to say, I miss the days of the old tacos. Hard tortilla with ground beef, the right spices, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and red onions. Plain and simple - and delicious. read more

Three of us had brunch here one sunny Sunday eating our eggy dishes on the sidewalk tables. This was quite enjoyable as the waitress didn't forget us and the friendly servers brought us everything we wanted. We had a breakfast burrito of some sort (eggs and beans and stuff inside a burrito, and a it's a big portion), a fancy mushroom omelette with sauces on it (a bit runny and not spicy hot but sufficiently large) and guacamole and chips and iced coffee with cream. We shared a tres leches cake that was quite fresh and delicious. Bathrooms are indoors and are wheelchair accessible (yay!) read more

For starters, this is my 3rd time here in the past 16 months. The short and sweet is the food is mediocre (lacking flavor, small portions specifically). The drinks are also less than a value, unless you're coming during HH, for which I recommend El Camino. They get bonus points for offering a late night HH. I think the customers get the short end of the "rent is too damn high in DC" stick because they are clearly passing the high cost and poor value on to the clientele. read more

I was pleasantly surprised by this place! Drinks were STRONG, although expensive. The strength of the drinks more than made up for the higher cost point (so strong in fact that I think one little drink turned my friend into a loosey goose). The chips and salsa were cheap and really tasty. I spotted rice and bean trays and they looked and smelled scrumptious. I would like to come back for dinner when I'm feeling Mexican. read more

My girlfriend and I ordered 3 dishes from this restaurant and sent back 2 due to the extremely poor quality of the food. I had a messy lamb and rice dish that tasted as though the meat was marinated in a radioactive cesspool. My girlfriend had a tortilla soup dish that tasted as plain as air... no flavour what so ever. The third dish was a bean taco that we almost sent back due to it tasting as uneventful as putting air into you car tire, yet decided to eat it because we didn't want to be too difficult. The chips and salsa were the only decent thing we had.... that is until we found a piece of hair in the salsa. Go at your own risk. #kitchennightmaresnextepisode read more