Visited on 12/7/2025 Sad to see the low ratings, because I thought that this is a great, colorful Mexican restaurant with really tasty food and friendly ambiance. Started with great chips and salsa along with Guadalajara especial for me, the Fajita texana for my wife, Polo con chorizo for my grand daughters fiancée and some Birra tacos shared with my daughter and grand daughter. But the highlight of the evening was Abby... our wonderful and wonderfully entertaining waitress. She kept the bunch of us laughing all night (not really ALL night... but a lot!) Glad we came here after my younger grand daughter was 'dying' for some tacos, but when it came time to order, went for chicken nuggets and fries. Abby really went to town bustin' her chops. So funny. Anyway... happy to come back next time we're in town. read more

We just left this restaurant hungry after planning to eat here on my birthday. When we entered, one side of the restaurant was very noisy, which is pretty standard. But we're older and prefer quieter tables because we like to be able to hear each other comfortably. The tall young male host greeted us but when I asked to sit somewhere that was quieter, he said only one section was open. In the past we'd been seated in other sections as a courtesy, but this time, he didn't even attempt to accommodate us (even though it was 4:45pm and they were only a few minutes from opening other sections anyway). Nor did he offer to help us find a quiet-ish table in the noisy section, or do anything helpful -- he just stared. It was clearly a "take it or leave it" situation, so we said goodbye. He didn't care in the least that he had insulted two older, local, repeat customers. We wouldn't have chosen this place for my birthday meal if I hadn't enjoyed it in the past. Every other time the service had been decent to very good. But this host was rude and unyielding. We won't be back. read more

The birria here is amazing! They also always participate in taco week. And this year they did burger week. The burger was so good that we went twice. read more

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Absolutely unbelievable! Amazing service - our waiter was very kind and funny - and the food was so good. I will for sure have to come back and get the exact same thing. I only wish I'd asked for more of the sauce!! It was incredible!! read more

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant - Fish Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

We haven't been here for years! I think they only had 1 restaurant back then ! The food is typically what one expects for Mexican food in Virginia! We were happy with the combination choices! It took a while for the waitress to get to our table! Once she arrived, she was excellent! She made sure our order was correct and very polite! We did sit for about 10 minutes while one of the two hostesses figured we were not being waited on and got our beverage order! The food was a little spicy, but I enjoyed it! The burrito, soft taco and a tamales was my choice! We added sour cream! BE AWARE!!!!!!! Combination menu can be dicy! I didn't think the waitress understood our order! The biggest issue was the foul language from the hostess! I think she let loose about 10 F bombs! I do think she is a sweet young person, but still learning professionalism! I think the food is good but this place is poorly managed! read more

Food tastes authentic Mexican. The taquitos were amazing. Ever try big was freshly and freshly. The staff was friendly. Got seated right away and they brought me chips and salsa. Which it was amazing! read more

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant - Lunch Taquitos - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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This pace should have a higher rating based on ur visit. The food, from the chips and salsa to the chimichangas we enjoyed were delicious. the beef I had was well seasoned and flavorful as well! all the food tasted fresh and came out hot! We didn't have a drink there but they had a wide selection to choose from. We didn't have a drink there but they had a wide selection to choose from. Staff was attentive and very helpful. The ambiance was fantastic! very unique but tactfully done. The music was a little louder than I would have liked but that is a minor quibble. all in al a great place for a wonderful meal! read more

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant - Beef Chimichanga. Came out fast and really hot! - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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Quickly seated and provided chips and salsa (which was REALLY good! nice spice). After that, it was a really long wait before our orders were taken. The waitress apologized kindly. Food came out quickly with big portions! I got the fajita quesadilla with chicken. It wasn't anything different from what I've had at other Mexican restaurants - it was pretty standard. That said, I love quesadillas and thought it still tasted really great! One consideration for some folks is that the seating area for the booths is quite narrow. I had a few inches of room, but I felt a little cramped. If you are plus sized, have alternative accessibility requirements, or just experience discomfort sitting too close to your table, it might be worth asking to sit at one of the tables with chairs. I think they fill the booths along the sides of the restaurant with smaller parties first before filling the tables, but don't hesitate to ask for what you need! Overall, I enjoyed my visit and if I find myself craving Mexican while in cville again, I'll surely stop by. :) read more

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant - Fajita Quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Was my all time favorite. But then the owners changed the menu. So sad. No longer house made chimichangas - but industrial pre made. Sigh. No longer the best chicken soup with pico de gallo in town, but now just an average mix of chicken & veg WTF??? I spoke to staff, seems I'm not the only one to complain. Owners don't seems to care. Actively looking for a replacement. Sigh. read more

Can you please please consider using fresh oil for frying your chips? They repeatedly have a rancid, old oil flavor and it's not an isolated instance. The best birria around, but the chips smell and taste awful. Giving 4 stars because the birria is good and I don't want to hurt ratings, but please fix your chips. read more

The minute we walked in & saw the beautiful colorful chair, tables, and decor - we knew it was going to be good! We enjoyed a late lunch here on a Friday - service was friendly, quick, and efficient. Warm chips, salsa, and water was served about 5 mins after sitting down - love! Hubs got the Lunch Special 3 & he couldn't stop raving about how delicious the burrito tasted. I believe it's homemade & the texture was not gummy (sometimes this happens with burritos). The rice that came with the dish was seasoned & flavorful which was a nice surprise. Pomegranate margarita was a generous size but a little sweet, next time he would try another flavor. I had a frozen NA mango pina colado & that was really tasty - not too sweet & hit the spot on a hot day. We've tried quesa-birria tacos at a number of restaurants & these by far were THE BEST! The consumé was a deep rich flavor, the meat was generous, the tortilla tasted homemade & it wasn't overly greasy. We were visiting from out of town & seriously debated getting some for the road we stayed strong but will def try again when we are back in the area. I think you'll enjoy this place! read more

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We were pleasantly surprised at this restaurant. The service was great and the food was above average. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and has an outside area as well. I would definitely go back. read more

Being from close to the Texas-Mexican border, I am always skeptical of Mexican food from other states. This spot is legit! Food was great and the service was attentive. The Tacos de Carne Asada we fantastic. We will be back read more

My absolute favorite Mexican food in cville. The cheese dip is unmatched! Authentic food, great service. Love!

Always an experience. Could be better, but definitely could be worse. for sure a big menu.

Good food! It was reasonably priced. The salsa was delicious as well as the guacamole. Our food came out quickly as well.

Best cheese enchiladas. Worst service in Cville. Ignored by most staff when solo. Bad attitude when they clearly ordered the wrong entree because English is not understood. This has happened on multiple occassions. Open your ears instead of hanging out at the kitchen. Pantops location is so much better. Need a new manager in this place. read more

Bro let me be real cause I was too harsh about this review at first, the food is absolutely bussin if you go inside to eat but for the life you never and I mean never order food from this restaurant to go they will purposely mess it up or give you a smaller portion whereas if you were to eat inside they would give you above and beyond so deep down this restaurant doesn't deserve a bad review if I were to give any negative review it would be for the take out area this restaurant attempts to do I literally think they're just doing sketchy stuff on purpose if you don't eat in the restaurant so just don't order take out from here dine in instead. The service is great though they are fast about giving you anything you want, but like I said though so not order door dash from here at all because they purposely mess up the door dash orders to get you to eat inside. I don't blame them for doing that though door dash literally sucks because they take a huge chunk of income from the restaurant owners which I did not realize until I spoke to someone who knew about it. I love you Guadalajara I can't stay salty forever at you, you already know that though lol read more

While the service was a tad bit slow, who cares when the food is spicy, abundant, and delicious??!! We had a variety of foods and they were all excellent. The salsa is literally the hottest standard salsa in a Mexican restaurant I've ever eaten, and I've eaten all over the US, lived in Tx, and worked in Ca for a decade. Love Mexican food? Eat here. Their delivery packaging is solid, and I get that often as well. (Their house margarita is meh, but the draft beer is cold and refreshing.) read more

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This is a review for the GREENBRIER location only! I hate giving this place only 2 stars. I truly do. You know what you're getting with Guad. It's fine. It's Mexican food. We don't have a ton of great options around here. Everyone knows that. Despite, that I would have given this four stars. I gave the other locations (BESIDES PANTOPS which I will discuss in that review) four stars. Why? Because I'm not super picky with my Mexican food. It's fine. It's good enough for me to give four stars. Again, not picky. For the MOST part, the service is quite good! Almost all of the servers are attentive and extremely friendly! There is one server, however, who is ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. I mean, incredibly awful. I do not want to name this person publicly, but there is NO WAY that other people haven't complained about them. To say that this server is rude is an understatement. It will make your jaw drop. The first time it happened, I thought, "Maybe they were just having a bad day." After it happened two or three more times, I thought, "The only way this person is still employed is because they must be the owner's spouse. There is no way this person should still be employed. Customer service is NOT for them. Why do they hate life so much?" And there is NOTHING you can do to cheer this person up: tip super crazy high amounts, "kill with kindness", crack jokes, etc. The last time I was there, this server showed up to greet me with their arms crossed, as if to say, "WELL?!! What do you want to eat, dummy?" No "Hello". No "Hi there". No "My name is ____ and I'll be taking care of you", etc. Just folded arms and a stare like I just ran over their dog. I have never seen anything like this in my life. I do not visit this location anymore.... solely because of this ONE server. I will drive further to go to a different location, and I would suggest you do the same. Trust me, if you get the bad luck of getting this person, you will have a MISERABLE meal. If you are the owner reading this, are you aware that one of your servers is this rude? You might want to take a little inventory with who you are hiring because at least at this location, you completely lost my business. read more

Went to this Greenbriar Dr location ,one of their 4 in Charlottesville VA. It was Margarita Monday & of course we had to have some! They were huge, delicious & had just the right amount of Tequila. For $6.99 each , we ordered seconds . They give you chips & salsa for the table but we also ordered a nachos appetizer to share. A hefty serving loaded with ground beef , shredded chicken, cheese/crema & lettuce. It looked boring at first glance - it needed chopped tomatoes, jalapenos & maybe some cilantro but instead they just put chopped lettuce & a slice of tomato, otherwise it was really good! We also ordered Chile Relleno- not a fan..tasteless. The shrimp tacos were really yummy, 3 tacos filled with nice size shrimps & topped with cabbage slaw with crema cilantro lime sauce. Our favorite though were the carnitas tacos. Sooo good! 3 tacos stuffed with tender chunks of roasted juicy pork . Yumm!! It came with a plate of refried beans & a small container of pico de gallo. Service was quick & effecient. We definitely would go back especially for more margaritas & pork carnitas ! read more

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My wife and I ordered 2 margaritas,A steak fajita,.Wife got steaming fajita meat, no tortillas. After all this we still haven't gotten water or our margaritas.When asked about it ,no one knew what I was talking about.THEN WE GET THE DRINKS AND ITS JUST SOMETHING THEY THREW TOGETHER NO SALT OR NOTHING. read more

Its literally the best Mexican meal I've ever had. Hands down. Truly. If you go, which you should, get the Quesatacos de Birria. Get them, eat them, and then blast off into the flavorsphere. You're welcome. read more

Food was good, refills didn't come easy. Ambiance was nice and decorated for the holidays

I would have rated this a 5 for the food. The service was atrocious! Our waiter disappeared twice. We didn't get chips and salsa or the guacamole we ordered for 20 minutes. Then they delivered part of our meal and walked away, without completing the order. We had to ask another waiter for the check because our waiter never came back. He also didn't deliver the food. He was out behind the restaurant with a bunch of people when we left. I think the food here is amazing but service is a very big part of the experience. As much as I loved the food I am not sure we will return. The restaurant was not busy enough for the lack of service. read more

FOOD: 3/10. This is the kind of Mexican food you might find in one of those hit or miss buffet cafeteria type places. The beans had that bottom of the pot burnt flavor, tacos were greasy, and it was just bad overall. My taste buds were displeased. PRICE: If you're selling taco plates for $17, they need to be banging. This food might have had trouble competing with Taco Bell depending on what you ordered. The food was the worst part of my experience and left me disappointed at having spent $58 and change for a $23 experience - at best - consisting of two taco plates, a nachos supreme, and two soft drinks. SERVICE: So-so. They get the food to you fast enough and have the right amount of attentiveness. My only complaint is as soon as I walked the door, I was greeted with a "sigh, here comes another customer" attitude. Two of the three hosts that I took note of - one being our waitress - seemed like they had a bad day at home or were just tired. C for effort, but the bad attitude still showed. AMBIENCE: 6.5/10. The floor seemed greasy, like they mopped everywhere with a greasy mop. No big deal. It wasn't too slippery, but someone might get the idea to pull a project slip and fall. CONCLUSION: Don't eat here unless you think Hometown Buffet tacos are the bomb. If you're from the Southwest or know what Mexican food is supposed to taste like, it's a hard pass and a resounding no. read more

This is a no frills Mexican place. The food was good, the plating could use some work. Our nachos were huge and stacked with toppings, but needed some aesthetics and color (maybe jalapeños or chopped tomatoes to make it look appealing). The tacos came wrapped in foil, so it was like unwrapping a Mexican birthday gift and the toppings came on the side. As for service, pretty awkward and nonexistent. Our waitress didn't really understand certain things and kind of just left us staring in silence at each other, but she was nevertheless friendly when she did check in on us. read more

Love Guadalajara. Food is quick and great tasting. Service is always good. Love the atmosphere. I could literally eat here everyday. Unless I fall on their perpetually slippery floors. Then I won't be happy. read more

Food is good... but I wouldn't go there if you don't want someone insulting you in Spanish. (I saw a previous post and apparently this is a regular thing.) The last time I went there they were talking shit in Spanish about another customer. Whatever, she was a bit rude. I didn't really care, and so I didn't say anything. I asked for my order and waited patiently, as they were very busy... Then while I was waiting for my order they pointed to me and said, la gorda or "the fat woman" in Spanish. I may look white, but I am Mexican. I immediately left without my food. I didn't even care. You guys can keep it. Jerks. read more

I Picked up what I thought would be an unassuming, good order of Enchiladas Suizas. Man! They hit this'un right over the fence! The ingredients were ultra fresh, the seasoning was perfect, even the Guacamole was FINE! In the past, I would order their Enchiladas Verdes but when I saw it was gone from the menu, I decided to try this instead. I'm SO Glad I did! Despite a fairly large Friday night crowd, the pickup was quick & efficient. read more

Whatever you do, do not get the veggie mix. It says on the menu it's a mixture of zucchini, onions, tomatoes, and jalapeños. What I got was a plate of those cooked-from-frozen mixed vegetables. You know, the packs you buy for a dollar that contain peas, carrots, corn, and green beans? To add insult to injury, it was bland. No seasoning, nothing. $12 for that? I can walk down to the local Kroger and pop in a bag of frozen mixed vegetables in my microwave and make the same thing for $1. The worst thing is, I never buy those bags of frozen mixed vegetables because they're nothing but starchy bland vegetables, so I wouldn't even buy this for $1 at my local store, but I instead ended up paying $12 for something that was barely edible and certainly not what was in the item description. Stay away from this particular dish. I'm assuming people that give this place 5 stars are getting something with actual flavor. Guad, maybe you should be more accurate in your menu descriptions. I would never have ordered this if I had known this was what I'd be getting. read more

Good, solid Tex Mex, large and filling portions. Things were a bit slow when I arrived and it took a while before the wait staff noticed me, but after that my waitress was very accommodating, checking in without hovering. I had the Special Yucatán, which came on an impressively large platter. The carne asada was rather dry and tough, but the chicken was tender and well spiced, and the carnitas and shrimp were also quite tasty. I'd have preferred grilled or more "authentic" vegetables than steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, but they were pretty decent, and so were the beans. Price was quite fair for the quantity and quality of food, and the restaurant interior was bright, festive, and cozy with cheerful but not grating music. read more

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant - Special Yucatán - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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Pretty standard tasting Mexican food. Good service and large portions. We all got fajitas and margaritas and they were delicious.

The drinks are great. The food - not a fan. Maybe because I have been spoiled and I am used to killer Mexican food. Not sure. First of all - everything has like a stale seasoning to it. Like it has been standing in a moist room with a cap off. We were all sick the whole night. The service was nice. Just not my cup of tea. read more

The very best enchilada Verde is that I've ever had in my entire life and this is a girl that lived in San Antonio! My only complaint is that there's not a location in Gainesville Virginia! read more

While the food was good, the service was horrendous. When there were minor errors with our order it seemed like an inconvenience for our server to correct, eventually resulting in her avoiding our table completely. read more

Love coming here for my mexican-american meals! First time having a Magoneada Margarita and i loved it! Its so delicious and refreshing! Definitely a tropical beachside drink read more

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant - Magoneada Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

We decided to try GUADALAJARA, given the positive recent reviews. While they are still Looking to staff up, like most restaurants, we were greeted and seated very quickly. As soon as we tasted the salsa and chips, l knew that we were in good hands. The salsa had plenty of flavor and the chips were warm and crisp. We both ordered the Ultimate Margarita and found them very tasty. One of us thought is might be a little strong but that is a plus in my book. The food came out pretty quickly. She had the carne asada tacos and I had the chicken chipotle burrito. Both of us knew, upon site, that we would not eat more than half of what what's presented. However, it was so good that, like a good Thanksgiving dinner, we ate way more than we should have. The food was wonderful. I spoke a bit with the staff and understand that there has been quite a bit of staff change over the last year, including in the kitchen. I don't know what this place was a year or two ago but, it is now worth the trip. read more

I have come and enjoyed this location for many years. I don't know WHAT was going on last night, unfortunately. I actually had a few stale chips. THAT never happens. NEVER. We had two standard dishes and the plate was cold with luke-warm food. THAT never happens. How many times have we tried to avoid getting burned from very, very hot plates? Many times. Not a worry this time. Anyway, the taste was fine, but not hot. My husband tried one of the new dishes listed on a separate menu. It was ok, but no vegetables at all. When a bowl of consumme is your only "side" to 3 tacos, that perhaps needed more thought. Service was a little slow, but there were about 25 people eating. Again, not what we have experienced before on a Saturday night, but not great. Pleasant, lovely servers, as always. Trying to see the good with the "needs improvement," but for a $60-70.00 meal for 3 people (only tea and water to drink), I may think again before coming. Signed, A local read more

We came here with a group of about 35 and the service was excellent despite showing up without reservation and being a rather loud group. The chips and salsa were excellent. The food was pretty good. Nothing great. A bit mushy. The prices were good and they even were able to split up multiple checks. Like I said, excellent service with pretty good food. Would return. read more