El Tio in Great Falls stands out as a decent dining experience, particularly for those in search of Mexican-ish cuisine without venturing out of the neighborhood. On my recent visit, the service was notably prompt and courteous, setting a welcoming tone from the outset. The margaritas were both tasty and strong, though priced above the local average. The chips, served thin and crispy, made for an excellent starter, although I found the salsa to be somewhat underwhelming. It's important to note, though, that salsa preferences can be highly subjective. It's not spicy or particularly savory. I am not sure how to describe it. I wanted either fresh pico type salsa or a stewed blended spicy salsa and it was neither-- somewhere in the middle. The shrimp fajitas deserve special mention for their sizeable and delicious shrimp, complemented by great puffy warm tortillas. The restaurant was clean, with tables spaced at reasonable distances; the noise level was well-managed. Ample parking. The prices across the menu were very fair, reflecting good value for the quality and quantity of food served. I look forward to trying their salads in the future. read more

We used to be fans. Last week we went for dinner. The guacamole that came with our dinners had SO many onions you couldn't taste the avocado. And the salsa has way too many onions as well. The Chile Relleno had no flavor, and the Chicken Quesadilla, well, the chicken was not flavorful at all. My friend had the fish, and it wasn't tasty either. Bad night? I don't know, but not good. The guacamole and salsa have had way too.many onions for over a year. Bummer. read more

I stopped here to get only chips, salsa and guac on a Thursday night and it took more than 30 mins for a to go order...I asked what was taking so long they said it was being made fresh...10 mins later I decided to cancel my order very frustrating.. at one point the hostess asked me if she should go check for my order..that seemed very odd to me. The place looks nice but overall I had not a great experience at all and it was also kind of expensive anyways so I probably wouldn't go back since it took so long for a simple order... read more

Really awful food lol the best part of the meal was the passion fruit juice We ordered lomo saltado. The presentation of the meal alone was enough to take my appetite away but we tried it anyways. Food lacked flavor. Was a sloppy wet mess. Tastes like frozen French fries and pre cut store bought vegetables. Couldn't even eat half of it. Maybe it's on me for ordering this dish at a Tex mex spot. Service is nothing to write home about. The server approached the table once during the meal and I said the meal was "ok" and he just walked away lol I think in total we saw the server 3x during service. read more

Food is ok. Not great. Not terrible. Service is lousy. Food always takes way too long to arrive. Way too long. I mean why does a bean burrito take 45 minutes to make?! Every time we get stuffed with chips and salsa waiting for ever for the food to show up. Did I say service is lousy? 90% of the wait staff are unfriendly. A few have a smile. The hostess is lazy and useless. If this was my restaurant I'd have fired 80% of the staff. The bus boys are the only friendly staff. We unfortunately keep coming back because there aren't many options around. So we are stuck with this lousy service and lousy staff and unacceptably slow food preparation. Oh also they don't follow simple instructions. Each time I tell them no cheese and each time they put cheese in the food. ‍ read more

I love this little Mexican spot in town. The food is always good and so are their drinks! The drinks are a little strong which I personally love. The salsa and chips is amazing even though it's such a simple item they really put in the effort. They have a small outdoor seating area and large indoor area with a bar and bar seating. Their food is pretty good. Closer to Tex mex than true Mexican. read more

El Tio...I want to support you especially with the limited options in Great Falls...but every few years we make a visit and we are disappointed. The food is solid..Steak, Chicken, and Shrimp Fajitas are quite good. The problem we faced was the service. We had someone join us later and we ordered the Lechoncito pork dish. We waited 10+ minutes and nothing. We asked 2 other waiter/waitresses and they said they would check. 10 minutes later and...nothing. We asked again and didn't want the dish but they brought it out anyway. My son was hungry so we kept the dish. From a customer service perspective I think Mgmt should do something to address the long wait...restaurants with excellent customer service (did someone say Great American Restaurants?) would acknowledge the error and comp the dish. I realize El Tio isn't GAR but at a minimum perhaps provide some type of discount/credit? Instead I see a charge of $2.50 for 3 more tortillas (btw, Uncle Julios offers free tortillas ayce). Oh well..maybe we'll be back in another year and see if anything has changed... read more

Great falls location doesn't compare to the el tio in mclean. McLean is great service and the food is well seasoned. The wait staff in the great falls location seems to not care. They don't know the menu and our food showed up with ingredients they said weren't in it. They didn't know the difference between a flavored juice and flavored soda although both are on their menu. I could probably live with low standard mex food, but the servers never come by. It's a sad restaurant that needs replacing. I'll keep going to the well run one in mclean. read more

I love these people. Their chimichanga is delicious, their happy hour nachos are great! They are consistently the best Mexican food around!

For Mexican food in the area, it was ok. We ordered over the phone. When I went to pick up, I waited in the lobby for over five minutes at the empty front desk. Several servers walked past, none who even acknowledged my presence. Finally one came over and handed me the order, which had been sitting on a table behind the front desk the whole time getting cold. As for the food, it was decent but on the bland side. I expected much more flavor in the dishes. everything could have used a little kick in it, from the pico to the taquitos and the tacos. The portion sizes were also lacking for the prices paid. read more

First visit today to El Tio and it won't be my last! It was excellent! The Pollosaltado was recommended among my choices and it did not disappoint. All waitstaff worked well together and were very attentive. The presentation was on point and portion size was more than enough for 2. read more

El Tio - Pollosaltado - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

The restaurant looked really nice with vibrant painted walls and colorful Spanish paintings. We stopped by on a weekday lunch and there were only a handful of customers there. The staff served attentively with smiles. I had Al Pastor Tacos, it was cooked with pineapples and served with a green salsa, cilantro and chopped onions. I liked the Carnitas more, slowly braised pork tacos, so good!! My partner had the fish taco platter and it was surprisingly good!! I was gonna get that too but I asked the waitress whether it was battered and fried or grilled. They serve them grilled and I haven't had good experience with grilled fish tacos so I didnt get them. They were surprisingly delicious!! It had a good crunch and was well seasoned. The aioli drizzle went really well with it too. And the fixings were on point! I'd order the fish tacos next time I go, I recommend you do too! read more

See all

Outside was super busy, inside just another couple seated at the bar.. We sat there tooo..... .so very quiet! Greeted by Erick the bartender, happy and friendly. Started off making two excellent margaritas. One frozen for my friend, and mine with Patron straight up, no salt, no ice, chilled ......it was perfect! House made chips and salsa were served. Ordered the Queso Fundido with chorizo ( I have picture for you) I enjoyed this, the cheeses all blended and the spices, it could of been a meal for me if I didnt have to share, lol Out came fajitas they were for the couple next to us...I could not resist the aroma was playing with me...so fajitas combo steak and shrimp please ?....nice size portion, needed a to go box .... As we ate, it was just Erick and us. Never being here before I was asking all sorts of questions...learning theres quite a few different locations, and this one was fairly new. Erick was very forthcoming about where he was from and his family. I found our conversation very engaging. Erick was professional and friendly, more bartenders should have his personality. I look forward to returning for more great drinks and food... conversation too, hopefully Erick will be bartending... they do have happy hours 3- 7 everyday with drinks and food too! read more

El Tio - this is the Queso Fondido with Chorizo the best I've had, the blends of cheeses are exceptional - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

See all

Everything is good : service, atmosphere, friendliness, etc. But the food is .... bland The pico with chips is not spicy, the beans and rice, while decent, seem "safe" and not inspired. Burrito was "safe" too, like they're afraid to make it bold and standout amongst the competition. Eating the food was like eating with a bad head cold - I could feel it in my mouth but couldn't pick up any real spice or flavor. I'd rather the food be almost too hot and spicy over this way-too-scared approach. Be bold! Not old! Make my eyes run and my nose drip! Make me beg for beer to cool my mouth! That is the signature of good Mexican food. read more

My girls and I wanted something we could share. So we ordered a sampler and some plátanos. My friend got fried ice cream as well. The food was delicious. I won't be able to have the ice cream again as it's too sweet. read more

See all

$16.95 for shredded chicken enchiladas. I pass this restaurant everyday on my way to work. Always wanted to try it, wasn't disappointed, but it was on the pricier side of Mexican food. It's in great falls/Potomac, MD so of course it'd be expensive. They're doing a good job with social distancing, inside and out. Would recommend overall. read more

El Tio - Shredded chicken enchiladas ($16.95) - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

Amazing fajitas at lunch. I had the chips and salsa and ate almost a whole bowl myself as well. I feel like the other reviews on here are by other restaurants that don't like competition. There is room for everyone in this shopping center. Plenty of patrons to go around. Yelp needs to do a better job of flagging these things. Attaching a photo of my experience so you know I actually got chicken and shrimp fajitas. Great portions and delicious. read more

El Tio - Chicken and shrimp fajitas - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

See all

not the best mexican food and the service was slow but it was a holiday. i liked the music though!

One of my all-time faves. So good! Such nice people! Beautiful ambience! Delicious margaritas!

2 stars only cause their food wasn't bad at all but the wait to get notice while waiting at the door (1:30 on a Friday afternoon), our service from Erick, and most importantly no shredded cheese comes with fajitas! Who does that?! and when I asked for some thinking they forgot it, I got charged $1.25! I don't mind paying for a side of cheese but.. but... it's fajitas... isn't it a standard to come with shredded cheese? This place needs to get hip with the other places with their shredded cheese game! However, overall the fajitas were good, the steak, chicken, and veggies were all cooked and seasoned well, the flour tortillas were fresh, but the cheese topped it off. I would recommend a stronger lunch special menu though, it was lacking. Also... Erick, loosen up man! Also, their lemonade is tasty but by the glass so keep that in mind when asking for a refill cause we weren't advised by Erick, but our check did. read more

El Tio - Had to get a side order of shredded cheese since it doesn't come with fajitas here apparently... - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

I ordered shredded beef enchiladas. I have never had shredded beef that was red in color that looked like corned beef. At every other Tex Mex restaurant the meat looks like shredded pot roast. The beef was not shredded but cut into small chunks. I have a sneaking suspicion they ran out of shredded beef and substituted other meat. Also, from time if order to service it took 15 minutes. I don't think I will be returning anytime soon. read more

Great Tex-Mex food, delicious in every sense, wonderful atmosphere, tremendous wait staff. I highly recommend them!

Rice and beans were cold. My husband's chili relleno breading was undercooked. We complained to the manager and they said it was supposed to be like that. No one came out to apologize or anything. Staff was slow and personality-less. My enchiladas were good and the margarita was good. read more

What a wonderful surprise. This Mexican restaurant in the Great Falls Village makes great frozen Margaritas! They make their own chips and fresh chunky salsa. What a treat. We enjoyed all our meals...steak fajitas, steak tacos and cheese enchiladas. Great service! This is the best Mexican food I have had outside of Santa Fe. A definite winner. Oh, and food comes out very fast. read more

El Tio - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

We decided to try this place on a Sunday evening, in hopes that it would rank as highly as the other El Tio locations in DC/VA. This new El Tio took the place of Trina's Tex-Mex Grill. It's located in the Safeway shopping center in Great Falls, and there are many other good restaurants in the same strip (i.e. Bollywood Bistro). It was empty here, and we sat ourselves in the bar because it was taking too long to be seated in the dining area. It took a little while to be greeted, but servers are friendly. Chips are warm, but salsa is watery and weak. We chose chicken nachos, for $10.95, and they were served as 8 medium-sized individual tostada style nachos, with a boat of garnishes in the center. We had to send the plate back to be reheated, as the nachos were room temp at best and the cheese wasn't melted. Once the nachos returned, the chips had a nice char. Chicken is well-seasoned but if you like jalapeños, ask for extra. We only got three slices. We also shared the chicken tamales platter, which was served barely warm. Two chicken tamales, beans & rice, and a garnish of guac/sour cream/pick de gallo. Sadly, these tamales lacked any flavor and seasoning, but were fairly edible. Rice and beans were too salty to eat. A nice busboy filled our water glasses with precision and as if on cue as the saltiness overtook our taste buds. read more

El Tio - Chicken nachos, $10.95. Lotta price, not a lotta nacho. Incomplete cheese melt. Served cold. - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

See all

This is a great spot out in the burbs! I'm normally more in DC, but this was definitely the move when we were in Virginia! Love the margaritas, lunch specials(got the gluten free enchiladas) and chips with salsa! Can't wait to come back! read more

Food is decent, service is HORRIBLE!!!!! They never refill drinks, never check in, takes forever to get the bill. AVOID!!!

Tacos were OK, but the salsa and pico were without any flavor flavor or any heat -- not even a touch. Sides were boring. The shrimp in the El Tio salad were OK, but the greens were getting limp and the dressing seemed sweet -- strange for a MX salad. These dishes do not encourage a return visit. read more

Fairly good food in a nice and bright atmosphere, with lots of windows and sports tvs in the bar area. OUtside is nice as well. THere is a limited lunch menu if you ask, with 3$ soft tacos yummy! read more

If you check in, you get a free dessert. Delicious food, great service, nice feel to the place. The portions are big. Salsa was a bit salty for my taste, but the fresh made tortilla chips more than made up for it. Definitely coming back here again. read more

El Tio - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

See all

If I could subtract stars I would and apparently I can't even do zero stars. Disgusting food and terrible service. Our meals were inedible.

This is a nice Mexican food spot. Yes, it is on the pricier side but given the location you really cannot be surprised. I have had the Chile relleno which was good. Yes, we waited a bit but the staff did their best to implement social distancing guidelines and everything else was OK. Overall, we were pleased with the experience but we do not live close, so unless we happen to be nearby, we probably won't stop by. read more

The place is nice and the outdoor seating is convenient and pleasant. While service was a bit slow, seems like there was one waiter for the entire place at 5:00pm on a Friday. I ordered the chile rellenos and the were basically drowned and fried in cheap oil. Not edible! Seems the quality is not there. I wouldn't go back to this restaurant in the future. read more

First time here and I'm satisfied. I had a don Julio silver margarita and chicken quesadilla. Everything was fresh and good, the staff is friendly, and I enjoyed it. read more

El Tio - Don Julio Silver Margarita - Tex-Mex Near Me - Great Falls, Virginia

See all

El Tio has a great selection of food. The steak fajitas are very good, but pricey. They have a variety of entrees, and I've tried many of them. I do believe that you get what you're paying for, and their fair prices. Give El Tio a try. read more

Let me make this simple: "I don't need to come back here." I had to ask for spicy salsa 4 times. 4. I finished the chips before the salsa arrived. We shared an entree and I had to ask for an extra plate 2 times. 2. My food was cold by the time my plate arrived. Thankfully I've not drank alcohol in awhile that I was numb after drinking 1 margarita. Only 1 because the service was horrible. No one asked me if I would like another. Try another spot. read more

I haven't been there, quite deliberately, for a year and more but finally tried them again. Not a bad experience. The servers were more friendly and they seemed to be trying harder. But tonight, I placed an order for a simple quesadilla and 45 minutes later it had not arrived, even though the restaurant was only partially populated. When I inquired They told me somewhat mysteriously that the system in the kitchen printed out orders and stacked them up in a way that creates delays. I waited 10 more minutes and then walked out and headed for the far more efficient Japanese restaurant a few doors down. Much healthier anyway. read more

Enjoyed a delicious lunch on their outdoor patio. Plenty of space. Food was fresh and very tasty. Chips and guacamole were very good, along with my shredded beef enchiladas. Margaritas were perfect and STRONG. highly recommend this little gem tucked away in a shopping center. read more

We had a wonderful dinner as alway!! The enchiladas y both shrimp dishes were amazing. The service fast and professional.

Good Mexican food, the chicken tamale was excellent. Beans and rice as expected. Chips and salsa very good. Some servers seemed unprepared or did not speak English well. Seems expensive; two entrée, one guacamole, two margaritas ($14 each!), one Dos Equis, tax and tip - over $100. read more

See all