Oh El Tio. You have changed. For the worse.... They changed the chips.... the tortilla chips are thicker and crunchier. I liked them thin and crispy! Light. Also, the portions of protein in the fajitas have gotten less, yet the price increased. And the service has gotten worse too! When the servers gave us food in the past, the gently placed the hotplate, the condiment plates as well as tortillas on our table. Now, they just plop the hotplate and put the condiment plate on top of tortillas and leave. And when I go to a Mexican restaurant, I don't wanna hear popular music. I want cultural music of Mexico. Looks like Taco Bell might be a better option. Cheaper at least! read more

They were a vendor inside of the bar where we supporting a live band. The waitress wasn't the nicest but the food was efficiently served which they brought from the actual restaurant next door. The birria tacos were delicious, as well as the refried beans, rice, & salsa nachos! I really found everything so well seasoned not too salty and surprisingly yummy! The meal lasted me 2 days it was very filling. Go, enjoy! read more

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Yummy!!! The chips and salsa were soooo good. The chips were super thin and fresh and came out warm. We got a couple refills because they were just that good. There was a ton of options to choose from on the menu. I went with the crispy tacos and they were great! Came with some yummy rice and beans and your typical fix-ins of sour cream, guac and salsa. Would come back for their chips and salsa read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - Tacos El Paso Platter - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

We love el tio!! The food is exceptional and they make their own handmade flour tortillas! Melvin and Luis at the bar are awesome! Very attentive to everything, down to the water glass! We love the ambiance and a great place to watch the game! We will be back read more

Some of the best steak fajitas around. Margaritas are gigantic and great. Must try. Service is always great and fast

Came to the restaurant for lunch and had it to go order. Food look good but it's not good. The whole dish has no flavor at all. There's nothing but oil in it, no sauce and no FLAVOR!. The only thing that okay is the white rice. I maybe give a second again with another dish but that's a maybe. read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - Lomo Saltado - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

The magic touch of the El Tio restaurant where's the inspiration of the food from Mexico 1926 in Texas 19 36 combine the best of the best of Mexico and Texas Mexican food together I know that place since 1996 wow that's a long time about 30 years and I'm also McLane resident it's a beautiful restaurant with the design that touch of the spirit of Mexico and it's the only place in McLean you can watch golf football tennis and soccer in the same time enjoying wonderful cuisine the management is superior the restaurant story was open by the Latino Salvadorian migrant who used to work very hard in the seafood place downtown in 19 79 and now he has a five locations Gainesville falls Church Arlington and McLean Virginia the location in Great falls was closed because the rent went up so much I'm telling also to the clients you know of McLean the rent is so high for the family owned restaurants a lot of restaurants like in Georgetown going out of business my favorite dish is the Mexican style steak but I like to be safe with the some eggs in avocado avocado I asked extra it's handmade guacamole in front of you and this is Polish American in McLean Virginia since 1989 and friend was the worldwide famous chefs of the restaurants many of them they are two-star Michelin from Paris London Berlin Vienna Austria to New York Washington DC and Chicago read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - EL Tio McLean Virginia 2 - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

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Affordable and Fulfilling. El Tio gives the feel of a cozy mom and pop shop. The staff is welcoming. The food is freshly prepared. The service is good. And the restaurant is clean. read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - Grilled Chicken Breast Enchilada - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

El Tio has been a great restaurant for my family. We love coming together because El Tio has a great atmosphere with people always there and the food is so delicious! There are so many options for food and beverages. I love to get the Tacos Al Carbon with steak. The steak is always so flavorful and tender and to be honest, it doesn't even need the Mexican butter that comes with it, because it's already so good. The tortilla is so soft and warm. I also really like the guacamole because it's so creamy and seasoned so well with fresh ingredients. Would definitely recommend this place! The service here is always so quick and friendly. Every once in a while you will hear the staff singing their way over to a person celebrating a birthday or people celebrating an anniversary. The energy makes this place such a fun dinner destination! read more

Very good South American food. I loved the Steak Burrito Bowl. The service was excellent and there was a nice atmosphere to the restaurant. The servers were bilingual and attentive to our every need. read more

Food was fine but service was unacceptable. I entered an online order, got a confirmation email including pick up time My Sone went to get the order at the indicated time. Upon arrival he was told they had not started the order because they had encountered a "printer problem"???? They asked my Son to call me and get me to send back to them THEIR email so they could see what I ordered then they would start. DO NOT use their online ordering read more

Picked up for dinner a few weeks ago. I'd never tried this spot but I've wanted to for a while. We got the queso fundido which was not true queso fundido. The chorizo in this was more like Italian sausage so a little disappointing. Not pictured: appetizer platter with quesadilla and wings and a chicken quesadilla. These were both good but the quesadilla was the best. Everything was quick and they give you a lot of sauces on the side. Parking was easy in downtown McLean with a lot. Overall, not the best Mexican food but I'd definitely go back for the quesadilla! read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - Sides - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

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My favorite casual Mexican food spot. I get the steak, chicken, shrimp fajitas and they are the best fajitas in the Mexican casual game right now. Queso is good, and great chips and salsa. Always love visiting here when I'm in town. Service is top notch and super attentive read more

This is my third time dining in, and unfortunately, the service continues to disappoint. Today was especially frustrating -- it took far too long for a server to even acknowledge me. I was never offered water, and once my food arrived, no one returned to check in or offer anything else. The restaurant wasn't busy at all, so there's really no excuse. Consistent poor service like this makes it hard to want to come back. read more

I came in just after they opened (around 11:15AM) on a Wednesday. The staff was very friendly and the restaurant and bar area were extremely clean. I ordered a #4 enchiladas platter (one cheese enchilada and one ground beef enchilada) with beans, rice, sour cream, pico and guacamole. Everything was delicious. Very fresh and very full of flavor. I would recommend 10/10 times and will be back. read more

We just left the McLean location, and so extremely disappointed in the service! We come here regularly, and since our son was 5 years old, we have celebrated every one of his birthdays at El Tio...he loves the singing and wearing of the sombrero. Today, it was my son's 10th birthday and we informed the hostess upon arrival. When the waiter came, we informed him. When the kitchen staff came to drop off the food, we told them. After we finished eating, we waited and waited...only to have the waiter drop off the check without saying anything (and without even inquiring as to whether we wanted dessert). When the waiter came back to pickup the check and credit card, we finally reminded him again "Ummm...Hey, it's my son's birthday...could we please get the whole birthday sombrero thing?" He went back, picked up a sombrero and put it on the table. No singing. No dessert (we would have happily paid for it!). Nothing. Our son left and cried in the car, asking why no one wanted to sing to him. So yeah, what a disappointment!!!! read more

Really great food! We were staying in a hotel nearby and liked El Tio's so much the first night that we got takeout again the next day. The first night, we got one order of veggie enchiladas and one combo: spinach enchiladas and the chile relleno. The second night, we got tortilla soup and the tamal de elote appetizer. Out of everything, the veggie enchiladas were definitely my favorite, and I also loved the beans, rice, pico, and guacamole that they were served with. The spinach enchiladas were also great, as was the tamal de elote. The tortilla soup was just alright. We ordered over the phone both nights, and both nights our order was ready in ten minutes! I definitely think this place would be my Mi Cancun if I lived close by. I hope I'm in the area again so I can try some more menu options! (Sorry for the lack of photos - I ate very quickly.) read more

I've had my eye on this restaurant for many years but never had the opportunity to try it out. Last week for Mother's Day, we decided to have lunch there. The restaurant was empty but just a few tables taken. We were seated promptly and our server was nice. The weird thing was that our server stopped serving on us once our entrees arrived. She never came back to check on us, for dessert, or the bill. We had to keep flagging someone for attention, which annoyed me. I could see our server serving other tables but not us. We were left without a designated server. Definitely bad service especially when the restaurant was more than half empty. Here is what I ordered: - Fresh guacamole: we had this made medium spiced, but it was quite bland. Next time will do spicy. - Veggie Chimichanga: this is fried burrito. I prefer the burrito, but wanted to see how this tasted. There are several options you can pick from. This was decent for me. - Fried ice cream: this was yummy. Overall, I'll definitely go back to try the other veggie items on the menu. Don't expect much from the service though. read more

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The absolute best Carne Asada tacos in the entire DMV Server and general manager were very friendly and Fully explain the menu read more

My first time in this restaurant. I was sitting at the bar for happy hour, it was supposed to start at 3. it was 2:57 literally and the bartender told me I have to wait 3 more minutes to order in happy hour. Which is fine. What makes me feel disappointed about this restaurant was when the manager was at the bar and I order a 8$ happy hour casamigos shot, and I saw him serving a house tequila In front of my face and pooring like 5% of the casamigos. And when I told him "this doesn't taste like casamigos" he just re made the shot glass with real casamigos. read more

Honestly, this place was great. We're visiting D.C. this weekend, and were looking for a place to grab dinner around our hotel. El Tio had incredible service, our glasses and chip bowls were never empty. The food was INCREDIBLE. I cannot stop thinking about the corn tortillas. It is much, much better than what you would expect from your local tex mex restaurant. Cute interior, and even though it was incredibly busy, we were taken very well care of. Highly recommend. read more

Tex Mex restaurant that delivers on its Sizzling Fajitas! So hard to find sizzling fajitas nowadays in NOVA, can't find them at La Sandia in Tyson's or Cyclone Anya in Mosaic while I don't feel like trekking all the way to Bethesda for Uncle Julio's. Glad that El Tio's got me covered. The warm soft flour tortillas with a sizzling platter of onions, peppers, squash, carrots, mushrooms with a side of guac and pico de gallo hits the spot! The seasoned yellow Mexican rice was a bit clumpy with subtle flavor that elevated the fajitas. I didn't care for the pinto beans or the sour cream. The only crucial missing ingredient that caught my attention was cheddar cheese. Can't have fajitas without some bold sharp cheese! Asked for some on the side. While I was hoping for 4 tortillas, I was secretly relieved that only 3 tortillas came with the fajitas as I was delightfully stuffed after devouring just 2 of them. The sweet Mango Margarita with fresh Mango was refreshing and dangerously masked the vodka. Definitely had a brain freeze! My hubby enjoyed the Cadillac Margarita. The complementary nacho chips are dry and disappointing. The chips are sadly clumped together and folded over on top of each other - so they are not cooked all the way through. They lacked the consistency, crispiness, and moderate saltiness flavor that I was hoping for. The bland salsa was quite runny and also lacked flavor. While I ate just a few chips, my hubby and father-in-law devoured them and successfully completed round #2. Glad to support a local NOVA chain, there are only a handful of locations in the area. Will be back to satisfy my craving for Sizzling Fajitas and quench my thirst with Mango Margarita! read more

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Located in a nondescript strip mall off Old Dominion Dr near the the Four Corners of McLean, El Tio Tex Mex Grill has never disappointed! I will bet I have been there at least twenty times. Service has always been first rate. I have never been there more than a couple minutes without having my drink order taken. The Camarones al Ajillo is the greatest appetizer in the history of Tex Mex! Sauteed Shrimp with Spanish herbs, fresh garlic and sherry wine. It comes with freshly prepared hot bread which I use to dip into the melted butter and devour. Not on the menu, but you can order this as an entree. Queso with beef is also a great starter; comes with fresh chopped onions and pico de gallo. The Margarita on the rocks with salt is okay but seems to be lacking enough flavor as of late. I also lean toward the Negra Modelo on tap; both rich and smooth. Quesadillas filled with steak are first-rate! The fajitas, always serving sizzling, are absolutely fantastic. Go to El Tio and enjoy the freshly prepared chips and salsa. I prefer the warmth and personality of the McLean over the larger Lee Highway Falls Church location. read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - This comes w/ each fajitas order - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

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Not as happy as great falls Decor This was an Asian restraurant before E Tio. Never cane to Asian First time here. Tabler's are ok, the one I was at had some finish pulled up. Feels like they lacquered over it to keep it from expanding, wish they would have used some stain to try to cover up the spot some before they did that. Otherwise Looks kind too packed? Center lane I understand, they can easily move around to crater to larger or smaller groups. Floor, walls, ceiling, Albiet old, looks good some dust around air vent which should not be like that. Please dont take me wrong. This is no attack on this place. Some things that as a customer I see that I think could be done to make it a bit more comfortable. I think I am critical about this location because when this place was the Asian restaurant, My in-laws came here for dinner and never came back. Because they saw cockroaches crawling around. Now I DID NOT SEE ANYTHING LIKE THIS NO BUGS NO BUGS NO BUGS seen on my visit. Floor is SUPER CLEAN. Tables are SUPER CLEAN. The smell in this place is of the cooking and is amazing. No dusty, smelly or old smells at all. Would I come back yes. OH HECK YES!!! Will I get the same steak again, probably not. Would I get a NY strip steak here again. YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT. LOVE THE FOOD HERE. What I had today, was not as good as falls church, and not really the blame or fault of the cooks. Steak was cooked perfect NY Strip is a tricky steak to cook. To me.. And this just might be me. But NY strip overcooked, Gets a dry texture unlike other cuts of steak. It almost feels Powdery.. But the steak, I asked for medium rare and it was cooked spot on. Under the eggs, had great grill marks, Definitely recommend. read more

My family and I love this restaurant! The food is authentic and there are a lot of choices. The fish tacos are always a solid choice. My daughter had the chicken taco plate, which she loved. The portions are right, too. They aren't loaded up with rice and beans, like a lot of Mexican restaurants do. The service is excellent. I never had an empty glass or bowl of chips. One star off because of the parking situation. It's not under the control of the restaurant, I know. But, it's a pain...really small. Get there early if you go for dinner because you'll have to fight for parking with people visiting the other businesses close by. read more

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The Uncle's steak quesadilla is banging! I added mushrooms in mine, no problem. Very good! I like how they season their rice, and how they still bring chips and salsa w/o question. Must be no secret, the place was filling up at 5:30 on a Weds. One thing that threw me off was the fast paced Latin dance music that isn't pleasant to eat to. But then the very nice manager arrived, and turned that down. Great place! read more

Terrible. What I got was barely what I ordered. My taco said it came with rice and beans, guac, and sour cream. What I actually got was rice and beans, and lettuce, which was on my taco. I also asked for cheese on it, but I didn't get it, so I had to ask again for it. When I actually tried the food, it was the worst Mexican food I had ever had. So bad, in fact, that I actually cared to write a review. The beans were terrible, the chicken wasn't savory enough, and it was just overall bad. I asked my brother for one of his quesadillas, because I thought a quesadilla couldn't be bad but I was wrong. Do not come here ever. read more

I cannot wait to make a return visit to this absolutely fabulous restaurant in McLean. The tacos Al carbon (steak) were absolutely delicious , the best steak tacos I've ever had. Salsa and margaritas were also excellent . Don't think twice about giving this place a try. Although I live three hours away I am counting down the days until I can return. Fabulous food and service. read more

This was one of the best veggie burritos I ever had. Definitely a nice little place for a great meal. The staff was so kind and attentive. Definitely one of the most welcoming places I have been to in this area. Wepa! read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - veggie burrito - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

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If i could rate this place a zero star i would. After getting off work My wife and I decided to have a decent meal for dinner. This place was the nearest & "good food choice" for us. Yes, we are latinos and we love our latino/hispanic food. We walked in around 8:45Pm friday night and we were greeted. "Hello and Welcome" We notice the left side of the restaurant had more clients than the right side. We asked the waitress/host(an older men , he was the only older employee at the time) If it was ok to sit on the right side which had less people and had more space available with out having the need to breath down on other peoples food, and we were told "no because we have a big group coming" So we sat on the left side no problem no choice. Our waitress (female/latina) took our order for drinks/appet/meals. Remind you.. More people walked in after us. After 45minutes and after we had finished our appetizer with drinks we started to realize people who walked in after us had gotten their appetizers/drinks and main meals before us. Crazy because the waitress comes up and says "is there any else I can get you guys, She though we had finished with everything!! My wife's face and I was shocked!!!! And my wife advised her "we haven't received our meals what happened????? soo the waitress face expression was the same as ours SHOCKED!!!! she said "ohh let me see what happened!! She totally forgot to put our order in for our main meals!!!!!! At no point did the waitress came asking "how was your appetizer or may i offer you guys another drink or perhaps water while you guys wait for your meals!" absolutely nothing!! I told my wife... "this is crazy Im just going to cancel the order! So i did and wifey and I decided to leave. Sadly We notice that since we were not dress "classy or fancy" we did not matter us customers! therefore giving us a good service was not a main priority or an option. i can say that everyone else who was sitting around us got that great/awesome service no problem. From all the restaurants we have been to big or small , classy/ fancy or not this has been an experience where we have felt out of place and specially by our own people. Smh! read more

Truly excellent staff, so attentive ! We always get the street tacos , simple but excellent, and the great Patron margarita in the gigantic glass! Many families with children here, being the 1 and only child-friendly non-pizza restaurant in McLean (where there are 10+ pizza places within 1 square mile, I kid you not.) read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - Patron margarita and street tacos - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

Located in the heart of Mclean it is a family favorite for Tex-Mex food. All the typical dishes are served but my favorite is the shredded chicken burrito. Generous portions. You will be satisfied! The dining room is casual but can get very loud!! Service is always excellent. Norma is our favorite but they are all nice. Parking can be difficult. If you like slice ask for their homemade hot sauce!! Delicious! They won't bring unless you ask. The margaritas are the BEST!! BUT.... be sure you get it during happy hour to get a decent price otherwise they are pricey. There are 2 other locations- Falls Church ( much larger dining room) and Great Falls. read more

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Fantastic food and amazing service, especially for a very busy Friday night. The staff were very friendly and attentive. The food was so good! read more

It does not appear like much from the outside. Is on a side street of a main road. We stumbled on this place after getting off the I95 searching for a gas station. After a quick review; we went for it. This was worth it! The staff was very attentive although it was a very busy place. There were a few groups dining in but it didn't impact the quality service we received. The food was excellent and it came out quickly. I had the Tio platter , fish, carnitas and chorizo. The chorizo was excellent!!! Definitely was my favorite of the 3. Try the fried ice cream!!! read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - Tío platter!!! Chorizo was my favorite - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

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Enjoyed lunch here several times. Great food, good portions, attentive service.

My girlfriends and I arrived at around 6:30pm and were seated quickly. The greeter was friendly and the waiter Jovalyn ? was efficient and attentive. The lime mageritas was just wonderful! Not too sweet with enough punch. The shrimp quesadillas were delicious and cooked perfectly. We will definitely be back. read more

El Tio Tex Mex Grill - Tex-Mex Near Me - McLean, Virginia

Food is good, service is poor. The restaurant was dead when we entered around 3:45pm on a weekday. Just a party of 2, food arrived quickly but we were weary as the server repeated the order back order to us incorrectly. He didn't write anything down, but we repeated our order again and hoped it would be correct. Luckily it was, however after receiving our food our server disappeared for the longest time. Finally once he reappeared we were able to get our drinks refilled and request some extra napkins. The staff kept trying to take our dishes away when we were still working on them. I did receive a take out box but getting our check was another hassle. I figured it would come shortly after we received our take out boxes but it never came. We got up to look and try and get the attention of the staff who were busy on their phones and another staff member noticed us and came over. Finally, we requested our check as we had 1 hour lunch break and were desperately trying to return to our training on time. There really is no excuse for such poor service especially when there is plenty of staff and far less customers in the restaurant. read more

Food was amazing, drink were great! The Ambiance was perfect. Definitely recommend will be back

Amazing food and great customer service! Food was fresh...the taco salad was amazing! Well priced!

To sum it all up: Yummy, one of the better Mexican food places around Falls Church/McLean area Time: Saturday around 6:00pm Appetizer: Guacamole Dip. I love how they come out and make the dip right in front of you and then ask you what you would like in it, which I thought was kind of cool. The Guacamole was good but not amazing. The Avocado wasn't really ripe enough but it tasted very good nonetheless. The salsa they provide is also superb, just the right amount of spiciness. Main course: Steak Enchiladas with Rice/Beans: I wasn't a big fan of the red sauce that came with it, kind of made it a little bit bitter but the steak was amazing. Very juicy and flavorful. Really enjoyed it, very basic. Service: Very attentive. I believe the owner came and asked us how our food was. Kinda cool. Cleanliness: good! very fast at cleaning tables and keeping things clean. read more

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