On the recommendation of a friend, my wife and I stopped here for a quick pre-dinner snack. Frankly, neither one of us was impressed. First, the food was lackluster. The queso dip was fine, but the salsa was watery and lacked flavor. My wife ordered the taquitos, which were fine, but also lacked in flavor (in my opinion, the ones from Costco are better). I ordered a tamal with meat sauce, which was tasty, with a great flavor and texture from the corn and well spiced sauce (the extra sauce from which I scooped up with chips I was not going to use in the salsa). The service was also not very impressive, despite us coming at an off hour. Our waiter was a bit brusque, and seemed more interested in watching the soccer match that was on TV than receiving our order, checking on us, and giving us the check. It's a shame, really, because the interior of this restaurant is well decorated and otherwise inviting. read more

El Paso Cafe - Tamal with Meat Sauce - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Stopped by for a quick to-go lunch and had the nachos with steak. Unfortunately, they were pretty bland--nothing really stood out. The beans, cheese, and steak all felt plain. I also tried the chili con queso with chorizo. It was just cheese sauce with onions and jalapeños, but surprisingly, it was better than the nachos. Overall, not the best experience. The food just didn't have much flavor. read more

El Paso Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Deserts were good. Entrees were only ok. Drinks were not good. Two of our friends had margaritas and didn't even finish them...they did not like them. Very pricey. Ambiance was very nice though. And service was ok. read more

OMG!!!! The weather was gorgeous today in Arlington, and I thought..."After work, go out and treat yourself!" I did just that! I had the best birria tacos and a pupusa today. The flavors were spot on! Absolutely delicious! I love this neighborhood favorite. I even had more than enough for leftovers to take home. The service is always a pleasure too. My waitress was so nice!! I will definitely return soon. I can't wait for them to open up outdoor dining. read more

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Came here on a Sunday afternoon. Nice decor. This is a great place to bring the family too or a date night. Staff is friendly and welcoming...I had no idea George Bush JR ate here...if a famous Texan ate here than it has to be great TEXMEX food...which it was.. margaritas amazing ! Highly recomended I will be coming with my family. read more

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Came for a birthday party with about 15 people. Nice place and the staff was accommodating. Food did take quite an awhile to come but we were a large group. Overall the food was good and I will definitely go back read more

It's been years since I've been here, and it will probably be years (or never) before I go back. I've been looking for a replacement for La Union since that place has spiraled downward since Covid. I was hoping this would do the trick and it didn't. On the plus side were the margaritas. There was a good selection of fancy options and it was surprising that there was no upcharge for premium taquilas. There are several reasons why and the most generous is that they are trying to keep things simple. And, regardless of what was in the bottles, the drinks tasted OK. The food was another story. My wife and I shared a plate of their Nachos Special with beef. The beef was overcooked and tough. And there wasn't a lot of "nacho stuff" underneath. It was, all in all, a "mid" experience, as my daughter would say. read more

I dined there on a Saturday night and was seated right away. They have a decent sized menu and everything sounds good. The chips and salsa for the table are great while looking over the menu. I ordered the enchiladas and thought they were fine but I would order something different next time I go there. This was an affordable dinner for two! read more

El Paso Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Love Mexican and TexMex, heard good things about this place, and so perhaps my expectations were a little high. I got the golden chimichanga fried and it was quite delicious, however, I wish I had gotten the chorizo. I'm not really a steak person, but the chimichanga as a whole was delicious. The rice was ..not expected. More bland than what I am used to. I also had the salsa con queso with chorizo, which was also delicious, maybe the best tasting of it all. The Mexican cokes were great so I was delighted to see that available. Service was great no concerns at all. As far as Mexican restaurants go it was good. I can't give it five stars however because I didn't really feel like the food stood out; wish I could do 4.5. It was very typical Mexican, but it wasn't amazing, the same way more traditional Mexican preparation would. All that said it's a nice restaurant. read more

El Paso Cafe - Salsa Chile con Queso with chorizo - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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I like the queso. It is quite good. Servers are nice and the mood is fun. I also get the golden chimichanga. Very good

The staff was super nice and welcoming. The venue was a pretty traditional Mexican style restaurant, a little dark and a little dated but fine. The food was ok, it just wasn't hot. My cheese was barely warm. It was weird. And the beans and rice had no flavor. I needed hot sauce or salsa to make it better but we were in hurry and I didn't ask. read more

El Paso Cafe - This was the Ana 's Platter - a Chile Relleno, Mexican Pork Tamal, and chicken enchilada. With beans and Rice. - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

El Paso has become my boyfriend's and I go-to place. They are always consistent and always provide friendly service. They aren't anything fancy but a solid place that never disappoints is hard to find. The food is always delicious! I have liked every single thing I've ever ordered. Their rice is good, their beans are so flavorful, both the refried and stewed beans, and all the dishes are prepared well. I don't have a go-to meal because I always get something new since everything is good. I love their mole enchiladas with carnitas, the fajitas, and the burritos. My boyfriend recently got the whole rock fish which was so good! The ceviche is my favorite appetizer. The margaritas are also always on point and they provide unlimited fresh chips and salsa. If you're looking for delicious Mexican food with consistent service and a relaxed welcoming atmosphere then El Paso is your place! read more

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Okay so I was not impressed with this visit. I went in on a Saturday afternoon and it was very quiet and empty. Although it was empty the food took quite a bit of time to come out. The food and drinks were nothing spectacular. It was mediocre at best. You could definitely buy the ingredients and make everything better at home. The fajita quesadilla was smaller than I expected it and pretty much had chicken and cheese with a sprinkle of onions. There was no seasoning, no flavor. Our waitress was nice...which is why I gave this an extra star but besides that, I didn't feel invited to this space. read more

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My recent dining experience was unpleasant and more important, we felt accosted by a hostile waiter - not "family friendly" in any way. Typically, food is consistent, and service is generally very good. My recent visit was completely unacceptable. the waiter was aggressive, hostile and incredibly belligerent. He behaved as though he never received the question, "how are the vegetables prepared, roasted or grilled?" He pretended to not understand, so I had to repeat the question several times, then he screamed steamed. His behavior was so combative, we simply stood up and left. We went to El Paso for a meal not a beating. read more

Thanks to Yelp I stumbled up on this gem. The restaurant is quaint and very welcoming. The chips and salsa were delicious and it was very hard to quit eating while trying to save my appetite for my entree. The margarita was the best I've had in a long time and my sister loved her pina-colada. You can't go wrong here. The menu is extensive and reasonably priced. Get going! You'll be glad yours. Thank me later. read more

Good food and pleasant experience. Very personable staff and large variety of menu items to choose from and responsibly price.

A solid, no-frills tex mex haven. Price for the value is adequate, service is friendly, and the fajitas are plenty! read more

El Paso Cafe - Fajita Quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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A solid-tasting, and always-busy offering of Tex-Mex in NOVA, with good drinks and plentiful food. --- My significant other and I visited here on a Friday night. I've visited a few times in the past, and it's always very busy. Tonight was no exception - we got one of the last tables at 5:45 and until we left there was a huge line at the door for a table. The restaurant is well decorated inside, with a nice bar and orange-ish walls. For as busy as this place always is, the space is a bit small and large parties next to each other can feel very crowded. The service was solid, especially for how busy it was. For food and drinks we kept it simple - to go with the chips and salsa I got a Diet Coke and Claudia's Platter, while my partner ordered a Margarita and a Fajita Salad without the Taco Bowl. I really like the Chips and Salsa - chips are fried right and the salsa is flavorful with the perfect amount of spice for 90% of people. The margarita on the rocks was very good, but strong. Would recommend if you're looking to get ahead of your night out. The entrees were solid, although not the best I've had in town. The food is plentiful - especially the platters. However with the loads of cheese it was hard for the flavor and spices of the meet to come through, and while I really liked how the rice was prepared the beans were a bit too liquid and lacking of flavor for my taste. Overall a solid, casual dinner experience outside of the main streets of Arlington. Although be prepared for crowds and a wait if you come during dinner. read more

El Paso Cafe - Claudia's Platter - with ground beef & chicken enchiladas, pork tamal, taco, rice, and pinto beans - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

The service at my last visit to El Paso can only be described as a garbage fire. My husband and I visited for lunch on a Sunday. There were a few people but it wasn't very busy. I tried to order the Gordo Burrito (my favorite) but the waitress said it's only available on the weekday lunch menu and on the weekend customers have to order from the dinner menu. Disappointed, I ordered the El Paso Burrito with white sauce. My husband is on keto, so he got a burrito bowl. When the food came out, we were presented with one El Paso burrito and one Gordo burrito. Our waitress came over and quickly whisked away the Gordo burrito and told me the kitchen already destroyed it (w/o checking) when I asked if I could just have that. I'm not sure what I did to make the waitress hate me so much. read more

El Paso Cafe - Golden chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Best Mexican food in Northern Virginia served by a group of friendly wait staff that has been the same friendly faces for over 20 years.

All time favorite Mexican restaurant- consistently great food, great service, and great prices.

The best Margaritas!! Got the strawberry Margarita and it was delicious. This place is definitely a hidden gem. It's been on my list to try based on the raving reviews and it did not disappoint. Ordered the chicken enchiladas and they were delicious. Tasted fresh and very filling. We also ordered the fried ice cream for dessert and it was amazing. Employees were friendly and took our order quickly. The food came out at a reasonable time as well. Would definitely recommend this place to a friend! read more

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NO HEAT! Food and service were okay having no heat is unacceptable. No apologies. No discounts. Some say there has been NO HEAT for over a week. read more

I really try to support small and local businesses right now during this pandemic but wow, today was not anyone's day including the ubereats driver. The poor ubereats delivery driver had to wait 45 minutes and then El Paso handed him the order and it was leaking everywhere already. This delivery man had to deliver it to us 45 minutes late, leaving, cold, soggy, and just looked like no one tried to make this meal. We still tipped the driver because it's not his fault. We used to love El Paso, always good service when we dine in and also when we order through ubereats before the pandemic happened but seriously, what happened?! Please see photos of you need a photographic explanation. It is unacceptable that food is packed that way and it is no way even edible or appetizing. We ended up throwing the food away and getting another order from another local Hispanic restaurant. Just overall upset because we really liked this place and it's crazy how we are expected to support local businesses right now but some businesses have forgotten the quality of food or disregarded that loyal customers like us still care about them. Unfortunately will not be coming back to El Paso anymore or ordering from there. read more

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Quaint and comfortable, El Paso Cafe is a staple in Virginia Square. Super awesome customer service and decent drinks make this a nice spot. I visited a few weeks ago for lunch. Food quality wasn't the best. I would rate it an average 3. I had the crispy tacos and queso. The queso was bland and the tacos were average. Maybe I need to try more items on the menu to get a better array of their cuisine. read more

I will definitely be returning....closest I've gotten to good TexMex since leaving Texas. BEST enchiladas outside of Texas. read more

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Absolutely outstanding for the excellence and variety of their food and drinks menues. Have been going for decades. My favorit combo is their Taco Salad and a Golden crushed ice Margharita. Their complimentary tacos and salsa are excellent too, as is their friendly and prompt service. So lucky to have this restaurant in Arlington. Been bring friend, relatives and bike groups here for decades. Good parking, too. read more

I still love El Paso cafe after all these years. Excellent Tex Mex fare not too far from the Ballston neighborhood in Arlington. This is your spot for cheesy goodness platters and crisp chips and salsa. I recently had trouble ordering over the phone because it was so busy that no one answered--which is frankly wonderful given how hard the pandemic has been on small businesses. My fear was that they'd closed. Instead, I'm glad El Paso is going strong! Swung by and ordered in person for carry out. Service was fast and the food was great as always. All the platters have been delicious. I'm especially a fan of anything with their chile relleno (stuffed with cheese, not meat). The vegetarian Glebe platter is one of my new favorites. Portions are generous. Parking can be a bit tight, but it probably won't be an issue if you're like me and still sticking to carry out food. read more

Food was great and came out quickly. No wait for a table on Wednesday night. Staff was nice.

First time eating in the restaurant Had a wide assortment to try the menu Started with maduros and queso with chorizo and a Margarita A great start But filling I ordered an enchilada assortment And a tall cold beer All very tasty but most of the food ended up in a box to takeaway Enjoyed the very next day I look forward to my next visit and trying even more from the menu read more

One of the families favorite local restaurants. I have been here half a dozen times throughout the years. Stopped in this week, food was good, hot, very fast and in abundance! Will return! read more

This review is for lunch indoors on a Thursday afternoon. bar: Margaritas are buyer beware. We ordered two large house margaritas. Apparently, those are $18 each. To make matters worse, they are not particularly good or strong margaritas. service: Our server was prompt and polite. Place was not busy at 1pm. food: Try to not eat too many chips and salsa before your food arrives. We both ordered the lunch special called The California but it rang up as Two Tacos, which is exactly what it is. My wife had shredded chicken and ground beef. I had chorizo and carnitas. Our verdict? Shredded chicken, then the carnitas. This plate comes with excellent refried beans and great rice. details: Parking is always tough. There are spots, you just have to be patient. It's touchless ordering through a QR code, but they still hand carry your card to run it? There's some outdoor seating under a tent, but it's too hot in August. read more

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I ordered a burrito bowl it wasn't very seasoned and when I asked for hot sauce it was not hot at all it was like tomato soup. The waitress wasn't that nice either. read more

Our first time here and we thought it was excellent. A small restaurant with great service and excellent food. We had the quest and guacamole with our chips followed with the chicken burrito and a few margaritas. We finished with some Fried Ice Cream which was delicious. I would recommend this place and I know we will be back to try a few other dishes. read more

Too inconsistent for my liking, and there's better Mexican anyway. I've been twice and both times I got the carnitas chimichanga. The first time, it was flavorful and delicious, along with the rice and beans that accompanied it. We also had fried ice cream the first time, which was perfectly fried and quite good. The second time I visited, everything was bland and just not good. I barely finished the chimichanga, and didn't touch the rice and beans. I do like their chips and salsa and their margaritas, even if they do use sour mix. I like that you can get a jumbo-sized margarita. Service has always been good, but I can't spend on mediocrity and inconsistency. read more

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I visited this restaurant based off my friend's rave review. He ate here quite frequently and was in love with the food so i can only assume that they MAY have had an off day. INTERIOR: It was the usual run of the mill Tex Mex decor. No complaints. SERVICE: Service left a lot to be desired. We had to wait a really long time to get our food even though the restaurant was mostly empty. The person next to us came an half an hour after our arrival and got her food pretty quickly. She didn't order an appetizer so we had no idea why all of her food came out before ours especially after ordering a similar dish. We noticed other people were served before us also. FOOD: We pretty much filled up on drinks after waiting a long time. The drinks were great and i found a lot that i wanted to try. I was hoping that the food was worth waiting for but sadly it wasn't. The food photos on the Yelp page look delicious but the taste didn't match the visual for me. We ordered the Carne Asada and the Golden Chimichanga. Most of the elements were good such as the guacamole, pico de gallo, rice and the salsa. But found the main component of the Carne Asada, which was the steak, wasn't seasoned very well and the beans were pretty salty which was atypical. I've been to quite a few different Mexican restaurants in the past few months so I've had a range of experiences and I'd have to say out of all of them, this was one of my least favorites. With exception of service which seems to be a common complaint, i'll just chalk it up to an off day but i don't think i'll return. read more

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Been coming here for years and think that the quality has fallen over the past few visits. Food and margarita drinks good, but not great. And as expected, the prices have risen steadily over the years. For this visit, we waited 30 minutes for a table and when seated, the space was cramped. They save larger tables for bigger parties who may get seated ahead of you. Service was slow as the kitchen was busy with the large parties. For whatever reason there were a lot of young families there. Mariachi band is a good novelty but gets old after 30 minutes of Happy Birthday. The roaming 6 piece group adds to the lack of space. As mentioned food is good. Combination platters are big enough and chips / salsa keep coming. Menu is big. Chicken filling tasted old - not bad but not fresh. Think this place has outgrown its capabilities and capacities due to its popularity. read more

El Paso Cafe - Small and busy - Mexican Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

High 3.5. Ambiance is fun (read: Friday night mariachi band) but LOUD. Love love the margs here, both frozen and on the rocks. The basic ones are great, the flavored ones are great, can't go wrong. I enjoy the food too but find it a little pricey-- almost $20 for fajitas but some of the taco and burrito meals are more reasonable. I've tried nachos, a salad, burritos, tacos, chimichangas and liked them all. My biggest complaint is that service is usually quite slow. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the mood for Tex-mex and margs. read more

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Service was good automatic 20% for party of 3 is weird. Didn't see it on menu but server said it was the standard after I asked about it.

I hate to do this because I have loved this restaurant since 2000. Went in tonight for the first time in quite a while. I must say I was disappointed by the non attentive staff as well as the quality of the food. We ordered yuca con chicharron. The only thing good was the yuca. The chicharon was very greasy as well as overcooked. For dinner we ordered the fajitas. The beef was cooked well. The chicken was dry and stuck to the pan. Additionally, there were very few onions and zero bell peppers (which is normally a staple of the dish). The server was non attentive and didnt return at all throughout the meal. Instead she'd sit down with her back to her tables. Overall I try to never give 1 star. I only gave two stars because of past experiences. read more