Small quaint location in a plaza. The dark tint on windows does not make it inviting from the outside. They lost 2 customers contemplating outside if they were going to enter or not. They decided not to because of the questionable appearance. Inside isn't much better. It's very blah inside. Stools at the bar are way too low for the bar height. It makes eating at the bar very uncomfortable. 2 ladies working the bar were not very friendly. Neither one of them were attentive during the dine in meal. They never came over to ask if anything was needed. Not once. The TV was on a spanish channel, and so was the music. I asked what all comes on a taco and was told just meat and cilantro. Well, the tacos arrived with onions also. A mixed cocktail was served in a 6oz glass, which was gone in 3 sips. No joke. I was charged $16 for a 6oz cocktail! I asked for Malibu and Pineapple. 2 drops of juice was all I received because the cup was so small. That and the 2 pieces of dry chicken breast will keep me from returning. If you don't play pool (630pm in the back room), or speak fluent spanish, you'll receive subpar service. read more

El Tucan Restaurant - $16 for a 6oz mixed drink - Mexican Near Me - Dumfries, Virginia

Rude service! Persons on duty would not answer the phone; they just hung up. They added an unexplained, additional "service fee" of $8. I strongly recommend no one stop here. read more

Mannnn these old bad reviews are blowing me. This food reflects the new management, sooo good. Best papusas I've ever had, and I've had them at different places. All you want in one. CHEESY. LOADED with meat. Perfect ratio of meet to cheese to dough. But let's shine the light on the taquitos Dorados...I thought they were going to be like those nasty kiddy ones from Costco. No. They were bigger and filled with grilled cubed well seasoned meat and cheese. Doused with this delicious sauce, lettuce and tomatoes. (Make sure to get it with the jalapeños) probably my new favorite food. If you live on base, come off base down the street to your new favorite spot.. You're welcome. I live in Laurel, but hands down I'll come back here in a few weeks. And I heard they have: Karaoke, pool, a DJ, etc on the weekends. And I hear it's poppin! Anyway, come to Dumfries ASAP. No other papusa will ever taste the same read more

El Tucan Restaurant - Taquitos Dorados - soooooo good - Mexican Near Me - Dumfries, Virginia

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I ordered baleadas con carne y aguacate. I received baleadas con carne. The service was good. The tortilla was perfect. The crema tasted like straight mayonnaise. Honduran crema is usually more sour and less savory than Salvadoran crema. The crema ruined the entire experience. The tortilla was good enough I would try again.I would be specific with my order, hold the crema, and check my order before leaving. read more

Their pupusas are delicious, not the greatest service. However their pupusas are worth it. read more

El Tucan Restaurant - Pupusa - Mexican Near Me - Dumfries, Virginia

The restaurant music was very loud, it was hard to hear the person sitting across from me. They brought out the wrong food and said that it was what we ordered. We ordered a chicken enchilada and received a "salad". The salad was just thickly cut vegetables with hot chicken on top. The people working were more concerned with their friends sitting at the bar then the one table of paying customers. The only good food we had were the Papusas, and they were average at best. Would not recommend. read more

What a pleasant surprise! I discovered this restaurant thru Clipper Magazine. The Dumfries location is in an older shopping center, and could easily be overlooked due to the deceivingly small entrance. I really had low expectations, especially after reading very misleading negative reviews that I notice are 3-4 years old. When I entered, it was a charming, spacious, fun place with friendly staff and good music and videos in the background. But let's not forget the best part. The chicken wings appetizer was tasty, but the mixed fajita entree was amazing!! It was delicious, the meat and shrimp were fresh, cooked perfectly, and tasted awesome. And the banana pudding dessert was to die for! Check out my pics. The portions were very generous, and everything was reasonably priced. I highly recommend checking out this well kept neighborhood hot spot. You won't be disappointed! read more

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Order from here tonight through DoorDash. First it took forever to arrive and not because of DoorDash but because the restaurant didn't have what I ordered(Torta"taco sandwich"). With my order was a Cali burrito. Well because the restaurant waited until my driver arrived to inform her they were out of Tortas, the Cali burrito sat for a long period. When it finally arrived it was sooo soggy! The "Mexican" rice was everything but Mexican. It tasted, had the same texture, and smell from box rice. NAVER AGAIN read more

El Tucan Restaurant - a close up of a plate of food - Mexican Near Me - Dumfries, Virginia

Food was solid. Liquor was over priced to hell. Shots at a club are the same price. They tip themselves and add it to your check even for a party of 3. Waitress never checked up on us and took forever to get food. Never again. read more

Went there again today, new year, food is even better! Shrimp tacos and grand casino burrito.

Let me start with, they have great pupusas. It's really the only reason I eat here and gave them 2 stars. Second, the restaurant is labeled as a "family restaurant" but it feels far from that. The waitresses flirt with customers and drink with them. One of the waitresses kept saying how tipsy she was. Very inappropriate way to be at work and in front of customers. Third, every time I have eaten here it's always full of men and very loud music. I felt really out of place with my 2 kids. If I decide to eat here again in the future I'll be placing a to-go order. read more

Stopped here for dinner. They advertise themselves as Mexican AND Salvadorian. Prices are decent, but it's not a bargain. Hubby ordered three hard ground beef tacos with rice and beans and it was $9. Hubby did say that they were decent. The beans were more like a mashed black bean dish than a traditional refried dish. Hubby really liked the beans. Kids each had a single beef taco that consisted of a soft white corn tortilla with some chopped beef and pico de gallo. Not particularly hefty in size, but ok for the kids. They were about $1.50 each. I decided to do an assortment of "appetizers". I had one tamale (I wanted pork but they only had chicken). It was good, but small and nothing different from other tamales that I have eaten. I also chose a tostada de ceviche. It was a small fried orangish tortilla topped with a ceviche of small shrimps, tiny mussels, and some diced fish. It was nicely seasoned with the right amount of acid from the citrus. Not huge, but tasty and a little pricey. It also had some fresh avocado chunks on top of the ceviche that my kids begged for and I had to share. My final dish was pupusas, a Salvadorian dish that is a stuffed flat bread. This one was much thinner than I have seen in the past. It almost seemed like a thin potato pancake with a little cheese and shredded meat in the middle. It was served with curtido (a pickled/fermented cabbage salad) that was good and a small dish of salsa rojo (red salsa). It was a good dish and nicely seasoned. I just wish it was a tiny bit less greasy and a little more crispy. I'd definitely go back again. Salvadorian food is not that common. read more

Very good , just the music is a little bit loud ut out her the that the food is very good

That was a waste of $17. I wouldn't eat that if you paid me $17. It was disgusting I don't even know what the hell they're thinking. That's not Mexican food. It tasted horrible. Unmarinated bland just salty beef chunks mislabeled as carne asada. Store bought tortillas, not made fresh, way to puffy. What was with all those raw onions... Overkill. The refried beans put into condiment containers? Then the pile of sad rice? Please try harder if your gonna over charge. read more

My experience with their menu has been hit or miss. This is not your place for a carne asada, but I most certainly have to vouch for their Pupusas and their soups. More specifically, their mixed Pupusas are delicious! Also, you will never go wrong with one of their soups; sopa de res (beef soup), sopa de mondongo (tripe soup), or sopa de mariscos (seafood soup)... Their horchata and other natural juices are tasty and fresh. I avoid their rice. Their standard rice is yellowish with veggies. It's hard and it's flavor may not necessarily go with the entree. The staff has always been nice and pleasant. They will sometimes deliver, just ask! read more

The chips and "salsa" is actually chips and tomato sauce. They heat the chips and salsa with a microwave. I ordered the carnitas burrito and got beef. First time I've ever ordered carnitas and it wasn't pork. Way overpriced for the quality of food. Not coming back. So when we left the manager came over so I could tell him the meat he served was old. He didn't want to hear it and brought me my check. I tipped poorly and he was upset. He dropped the pamphlet on the floor and took the receipt. It was very rude. read more

El Tucan Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Dumfries, Virginia

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Having been corrected that Pupusas are Salvadoran and NOT Guatemalan (which may have been the source of my ire towards pupusas), we stopped here en route to Charleston. First: the service is very slow, which may not make it the best place for stopping when you're already tired. But, they have a full bar as well as tacos and pupusas for under $3 each--yeah! Also--if you don't speak Spanish, your order may be a bit confused. Just order the taco with cilantro and onions; anything else may cause you to get shredded American cheese and dried out lettuce on top. Complementary chips and salsa which we finished off but which I have zero recollection of. Jim's order *2 tacos al pastor: these were not as expected; they were made from pork chops and not well marinated, or seasoned, aside from salt. *ceviche (taco?): meh at best my order: *taco lengua: fantastic. perfectly marinated and tender without any chewy bits *pupusa (pulled pork): great! A masa pancake stuffed with pork, beans, and cheese, and nothing like the mealy thing I was worried it might be based on past experience. I have definitely become a fan even if it is basically a pancake as grilled cheese sandwich; hot cheese on bread is always good. Total including a soda and 2 Dos XX amber, ~$20 before tip. Credit cards are accepted, and the bathrooms a bit dingy. There's a pool room in back and happy hour with cheap beers. Nice but slow service. It should be a 2.5, but it's a sunny day and I'm in a good mood. read more

Worst experience we have ever had at an eatery. Ever. Parts of two meals were substituted at the cooks own devices without our request. The shrimp that was cooked in a creme sauce was not cleaned or peeled, and we were told there were no flour tortillas even though another guest was served flour tortillas after us. The menu stated clearly that the dish was served with flour tortillas. When we offered to pay for the drinks we had already consumed, the staff argued and took our plates away before we could finish our explanation on why we were requesting the bill. I was so disappointed, but we were only charged for our drinks in the end with one other dish. read more

what is wrong here..... ? i have eat maybe 5 times here ? I just find out the people are doing complains about the food? I did read some and I ask my self why you keep going there, but hat is the difference I did eat good food or is just me ? Any way, I am not here to help the restaurant, just to give my 2 cents, look around the food, see if looks bad, ask what is the dish of today, ask something you know has to be done from scratch do not ask for food if will take 5 minutes to be ready unless is a soup :-) if you never stop here or your taste of mexican salvadorian food is different ask anything first read more

This is really good place to eat fresh food and tasty I love it here , it take your order a little longer but worth every minute to wait the food is Wonderful I highly recommended this restaurant is a awesome read more

I have never been so disappointed at a restaurant in my Hole entire life, not just because they were having issues with my restaurant.com certificate, that was perfectly ok with me. But than even though I had talked to the manager over their phone and he said it was ok, lady in the red dress continued to argue with me over it. So once that was done I still kept a smile on my face even though she kept arguing with me for 30-40 mm after I was done talking to the manager. So now I had ordered a margarita, this drink was so salty and on top of that there was a red flake floating in my drink so My girlfriend took it back and let them know but the lady that made my drink with the flowered shirt took forever to come and help I guess it's because she didn't speaks English at all but the lady in the red mini dress didn't want to replace my drink at all. Even though I had only taken a sip of my drink ONE SIP (my drink looked like I didn't even touch it) But instead they both walked away and left my drink just standing there at the bar ( the lady in red setting down with another gentlemen and the lady with the flower shirt talking on her cellphone. So I had to go up there and call them back (she did explain to me that they also have red salt, so the red salt accidentally just got into my drink, but that fact that something that was not suppose to be in my drink got into my drink accidentally, they should of replaced it right away.And I guess they got annoyed by me and 15 mm latter they decided to replace it, and the lady in the flower shirt kept saying OH MY GOD, Oh my god, and they started talking about me and my girlfriend in Spanish saying how annoying we are, failing to realize I understand Spanish I just can't speaks it. So after all this headache my fish was uncooked it also has this yellow gowey thing in there which means it wasn't cleaned properly and when I googled it ( it says it's the gall bladder that is broken and is suppose to be cleaned out properly but was not) and that's why my fish tasted so bitter my food didn't taste good at all. So I went through all this trouble and now I can't eat my food I would really like to have a refund on my meal because I will definitely not touch nun of my plates if you want I can come back to the store with all three plates or you can refund me for my fish or how ever you would like to handle this. But my main issue is the fact that I work in customer service also, i would love to talk to the manager of this place because the vibe of this restaurant and how they treat their customers is horrible, because no matter how good the cook is if your customer service not together people won't really care about the food. ( I had such a horrible experience I had to take a picture of these to females ) because that is just not right at all read more

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Be careful. If you have a certificate from Local Flavor call first. I just drove 30 minutes to be greeted by a sign on the door that they were not accepting any coupons. The waitress verified that the manager said no coupons. Needless to say that I didn't give them my business. They are still selling certificates to their establishment on Local Flavor. Fraudulent business practice. Be careful. read more

Yikes - the food was really bad. Blubbery meat in our tacos and enchiladas, undercooked instant rice passed off as Mexican rice, $9.95 margaritas that were small and had almost no alcohol, stale chips and a watered down salsa. My husband is from Mexico and this food made lean cuisines taste gourmet. We left feeling ripped off. read more

I'm salvadoran and my husband loves Mexican food so it's really nice that this place has both. It is a hole in the wall so don't expect waiters named alfred & caviar garnish here. But it will get the job done if you want authentic Salvadoran food. Their Pupusas are tasty and served with the traditional curtido its meant for. The salvadoran horchata is spot on with its cocoa flavor. My hubby always goes for tacos and was happily munching on his steak tacos. Pretty cheap, 2 people can eat a good lunch for less than $20. Its kinda small though so its not suitable for larger groups. read more

Dont waste your money in this place ....seriously food is so dry and expensive ...!!!

To be completely honest, I think this restaurant is all just a big front to sell drugs. You guys have absolutely no desire to meet your customers' needs, and not to mention- all the waitresses were wasted. read more

So like I am Salvadoran however born and raised in NY, I have a lot of family in VA. As long as I have visited VA I longed for a good pupusa de queso (cheese only) and I finally found it. I'm not a big fan of the revueltas due to the pork making it much greasier than I would like however they serve a fabulous pupusa revueltas (pork & cheese). I really enjoyed eating REAL pupusas. read more

This place is NASTY! I ordered some pupusas and they were disgusting!!! Looks like they were made yesterday and reheated today! Such a waste of my money! If you want some very GOOD pupusas this is not the place to go to! Go to Dona Azucena or Dona Tere in Woodbridge and they are made fresh and SO so much better! I had to throw mines away!! They were that bad! read more