The service was mediocre at best. We first ordered drinks with water for the table. We had to ask our server 3 times for water, the third time after we saw her folding silverware completely oblivious to our request. We ordered chips and salsa, and the chips were stale. As we were eating our tacos (meh I've had better), there was a medium sized bug crawling on the wall near our table. She gave us a discount, probably due to the bug but wouldn't go back there again. read more

Went there with a large group of people with last minute plans and was thankful to still snag a table without reservations on a Friday night. We came right before happy hour was over and decided to get margaritas seeing it is a Mexican restaurant. The drinks were great... And cheap! Very rarely do I think you can find fulfilling drinks that aren't overpriced in the market square, but this place has them. They paired great with the homemade chips & guacamole! read more

My mom and I used to love this place, but it's really gone down hill. Especially the service. We were seated quickly. They accommodated our need for a highchair (tip: carry your babies - you have to walk up a flight steps to get to the restaurant. not stroller friendly.) The chips are yummy and the queso + salsa are good. That's really where the good things stop. The waitress was a hot mess. We've had her a couple times. She NEVER listens when we're ordering, but we've started to think that she doesn't understand English real well. Which is fine - except when you're taking orders from people. The food used to be fast, hot and delicious. Now It's: 1) Slow 2) My quesadilla was so soggy/cold that I couldn't eat it and had to ask for a manager Also, the waitress brought me re-fried beans instead of fries for my son's kids meal and then instead of just fixing it - she kept insisting that we said beans (for my 1 year old? I don't think so) This last experience left a bad taste in my mouth (literally), so we're back to looking for a good go-to on my mom's lunch break in the city. Blah. read more

I'm a big fan of the soups, beans and margaritas, fresh fruit as opposed to fake syrups make them tasty. The strawberry cucumber one is awesome I wish the salsa had more heat and flavor Service never seems to be very good though and the place can get loud and noisy read more

Not sure why this place only has three stars, all my visits there have been great. This is definitely an overlooked spot in Market Square. I've had the chicken tacos which were delicious. The portions are huge and great to take home for leftovers. Also, make sure to order the trio; it gives you all the chips you can eat with salsa, guacamole, and queso for $10; not too shabby. The ambience is good. Once when I was there a mariachi band played, quite a treat. read more

Las Velas is hands down my favorite place to go for after work happy hours!! Great margaritas, great food, friendly staff. I have to warn you - the margaritas are definitely strong, which has never been a bad thing in my opinion. I started going to Las Velas is 2015 and over the past 3 years they have never disappointed me. I would definitely recommend if you're looking to go have a drink with friends and have a good time and eat a little Mexican food. The trio appetizer, gives you queso, guacamole, and salsa. Their salsa isn't the best salsa I've ever had but the queso is 100% a must try. i've never had better queso anywhere. I usually get a cheese or chicken quesadilla off the appetizer menu as my entree. It's cheap during happy hour and definitely delicious. read more

I wish I could give negative stars. My husband and I wanted to try a new Mexican restaurant in a different environment. We live in the suburbs and traveled over 30 minutes in to the city. We parked, walked a few blocks and arrived 2 hours before they were supposed to close. Both online and on their door they said they were opened until ten. It was eight. We walked in and climbed the many steps up to their restaurant only to be told they were closed. When I said the hours said they were open until ten the man said the kitchen had already cleaned up for the night. HOW UNPROFESSIONAL. Side note: the restaurant smells like mildew. Not a good sign. We went to Emiliano's in the South Side and had great service and great food. Save yourself the aggravation and avoid this place. read more

If you're going for lunch you have to get there by 11:30 or else you'll wait forever for service and food. The food itself is pretty good and easy to customize and the margaritas are great. If you have a large group be aware that they won't seat you until everyone is present. Even if you get there early it's rarely a quick in and out meal. The refried beans are honestly my favorite part of the meal, I don't eat cheese but my coworker swears by the queso! read more

I am an avid fan of Mexican and Hispanic food and this place really hits the mark for me! They have the best tacos I've had (I think it has to do with this amazing sauce that they top them with). Their service is quick and amazing and the view of Market Square from the restaurant is beautiful especially if there is something going on in the square! The only downside is that it's a second floor restaurant so you have to walk up a flight of stairs but like I said - the view is well worth it! Even on a busy night service is outstanding and the food is delicious! read more

Short version: It is bad. Don't go. Long version: I wasn't expecting a lot with a Mexican place in Pittsburgh but this was way below even this low bar I set. The chips are extra, they were mediocre at best. They were cold, thick and on the verge of stale. It took forever for my drink to come, but it was a drink at the bar so it's understandable. It was kind of hard to eat the bad chips without anything to wash them down though. 45 minutes later we got our extremely cold enchiladas. Even if they were warm the taste/seasonings were awful. I will never go back. read more

I stopped in for happy hour yesterday at this place and what a disappointment. The waiter was not helpful in the least and even had a bit of an attitude. He paid close attention to every table save for ours. I think in the two hours we were there, he checked on us once, maybe twice. The drinks were way too sweet and syrupy while the food was bland and luke warm. My friend received the wrong food order and it took an hour for her to finally track down our waiter. Terrible service and the atmosphere and food were mehhh. Definitely never going back. read more

The greatest margarita menu I've ever seen. The strawberry cucumber was my favorite. I also tried the mango cayenne and basil agave. All are amazing! I will never go anywhere else for one. The food was great. Left full and happy. Definitely a place to try and enjoy! The service was attentive and food came out quick. read more

Las Velas - Basil Agave Marg! Amazing! - Mexican Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Great chips, Good food. Staff from work eat here for lunch 'at' times. Your entire party must be present in order to be seated, even when half the seating is empty. Pork tacos, rice, beans, soda and 2 way split of chips $15. Was very good. The biggest and only downside is the service - once your are finished eating. The waiter practically grabbed the last person's plate while he was finishing, had food on fork and eating. Once you pay, the manager comes by to ask if there is anything else you need. We've tested it, within 12mins. of paying, he came by and looked at us 4 times. If people were lined up on the entrance stairs, that would be one thing. But this past Friday there were several empty tables. What's the rush on getting or throwing paid guests out? It makes for entertainment after your meal... LOL read more

This is by far the best Mexican place I've been to in Pittsburgh! I was recommended this place by a good friend of mine in the industry. I had the chicken enchiladas with green sauce, my girlfriend had the Tex Mex tacos with a Marg. Service was slightly slow, but the incredible food made up for it. I'd recommend to anyone. We'll be back! read more

The tacos margaritas and atmosphere were amazing! Really enjoyed this place. Will be back soon for sure!

A tantalizing taste of Mexico with a quaint second floor view overlooking Market Square. Friendly, attentive staff, full bar with creative drink menu, charming decor, and delicious dinner choices served at generous sizes. My wife and I tried two brands of tacos (with a little mixing and matching), while the kids, 8 and 5, split a fajita, which they couldn't stop raving about the whole walk home. read more

Food is always excellent along with drinks. The service is always great! Would highly recommend this place for lunch happy hour or dinner. Yummy! read more

Mexican food is Mexican. In my mind it's hard to mess up and hard to be knock your socks off good. So here's why 4- stars. Drinks were pretty cheap especially given its location in downtown Pittsburgh. You could get a giant marg for like $12, and a very large beer for $5-9. BUT Here's the really sweet bit. If you've ever been to Mexico, not your perfect white resort, but I mean real Mexico you know what spicy food really tastes like. This place definitely has the closest thing to authentic-prep your bum for the next day - spicy that I've had in a while. read more

I've been here multiple times over the last few months and Las Velas never disappoints. The food is always great and our service has been excellent. The bartenders are knowledgeable and the margaritas are always delicious. Will keep coming back. read more

Andrea was an amazing waitress and the food always blows me out of the water. I'd post pics of my meal but I ate it so quickly there's not much evidence left. I got the burrito salad, it was awesome! If you love mexican food it's the place to be read more

Went 30 minutes prior to closing to order some food to go....door was open...lights on....but staff informed me that the kitchen was undergoing work..or put another way, closed. And it had been since the last table two hours prior. At least post on facebook that you're closing early so people can know not to come. read more

I really enjoyed the food here, and will make sure next time im craving tacos that this is the place I hit. My food was hot, spicy, tasty, the salsas were delicious the chips were home made ( i think). Everything was as I wanted it to be. I so desperately craved some mexican food and this just filled me up and made me want to go back. The view is beautiful (as everyone else had said), the ambiance was great, the decor was a little goofy but I loved it. We'll all be going back there soon! The margaritas were sublime. SO much better than Mad (tex) Mex. read more

Came in here Friday for some lunch and was impressed the space - they have a couple different levels, with a bar and tables overlooking a square-in-progress. I tried the Las Velas Lunch Combo for $10 (one burrito, one enchilada, and one taco served with rice and beans.) The enchilada and taco were pretty dry, but the Cancun burrito (Marinated steak and shrimp, melted cheese, pico de gallo and guacamole) was pretty good. Chips and Salsa were good along with the service. read more

I have eaten at Las Velas several times throughout the years and have always found it to be consistently good. This was not the case for my visit yesterday. My party started with the chips and salsa, both were good, but a little different than they served in the past. I ordered the lunch chicken enchiladas with the roja sauce. In the past, the chicken enchiladas were filled with flavorful shredded chicken and the roja sauce was thick, robust and smokey. This time, my enchiladas were filled with tough, flavorless chunks of chicken and the roja sauce was thin and watery. The others in my party ordered chicken dishes - burrito and quesadilla and they also had the overcooked, flavorless chicken. I am not sure if they were having an off day or if this is the "norm" now, but I was really disappointed. They had a really good thing going with a great space that overlooked the square. I am hoping this was a fluke. read more

Las Velas - Mexican Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I had the fish tacos, and highly recommend them. They're a little spicy with a nice, crisp cabbage, which is exactly how I like them.

I'm not one to typically write reviews on here. Pittsburgh is a place with few good Mexican restaurants and this is one of the better places, but after the customer service my friends and I received last night I doubt I will ever return. We had already eaten at another restaurant earlier that day and just stepped in for drinks and dessert. My girlfriend and a mutual friend ordered a pitcher of sangria, which our friend had mentioned she had gotten there for $11.00 several weeks ago. There were not sizes mentioned on the menu, but they did show for a price for about 8 ounce and a price for 23 ounces = around $11 dollars. They naturally assumed this was the pitcher and order it. We got the pitcher, and were at first excited since it looked like the container was holding about 40 ounces--maybe they didn't account for the ice, we though. However, when we got the receipt it showed a $35 dollar charge for a margarita pitcher. We called the server over who explained that the pitchers weren't on the menu and that the pitchers for sangrias and margaritas were recently made the same price (even though 23 ounce mojitos were listed at over $20s on the menu?) She got a manager who agreed that there was about 40 ounces in the pitcher, and I asked how then would it be more expensive than buy two "large" sangiras which would have been over 46 ounces. He then simply stated that the owners set the price, not him, so there was nothing he he could do. I asked about price discrepancy for the sangrias and margritas and the menu, and again he blamed the owners. He then took our cards and rushed away. I was livid and mentioned I wanted to talk the the owners if that was the case. We got our cards back and stay away debating what to do. Maybe 15-20 mins past and another server (or manager) came over with shots of tequila and apologized, saying that they recently changed their glassware and that is why the pitchers were off the menu and there were no pricing options. They couldn't even keep their story straight. The staff here obviously was trying to take advantage of us, either because they thought we were relatively young, more drunk than we were, or both. The comp obviously did not make up for this ordeal or the fact we were fed lie after lie to cover themselves. Its a shame I can no longer recommend this restaurant to any friends or family. read more

I had the queso appetizer, shrimp tacos, and sides of the house salad and the poblanos in cream sauce. I also had a mojito and a water. I'd say good food, good drinks, good portions, moderate prices, and excellent atmosphere. I took two stars off for service. It took about 15 minutes just to get out drinks/appetizers when there were only 4 tables being served. We then had to wait til our meals arrived to receive our utensils and napkins se we had queso all over our hands until then. I got one refill on my water but that was after I finished my entire meal, so my mouth was filled with pepper spice the whole time. read more

I have a mixture of feelings about this place. The decor and ambiance is pretty cool. They have lots of seats next to a huge window overlooking Market Square, and there's not a lot of cheesy faux-Latino decorations strewn about. The food is also good. It's a little fancy for Mexican, and it's a little pricy for the quantity, but it's interesting and tasty. The service is where things go downhill. Patently inattentive and slow. The drinks were also bad, including the draught beer. If it was in my neighborhood, I'd probably give it another try; but since it's across town, I'll probably never go again. read more

Always a go to favorite of ours. The restaurant is family owned and they couldn't be better people. David and brother Hugo use family recipes and service is top notch. Not much I don't love. Their homemade chips and salsa, anything mole and tacos are our go to. We had a lovely lady bar tender that we had not met yet and she recommended some tequilas for us to taste and what was a Monday post gym meal turned into a fun night. Tequila will do that. Other best choice would be the stuffed jalapeños. read more

My wife & I visited Las Velas restaurant early on a blustery winter Saturday evening. The crowd in the restaurant was sparse. I'm sure the weather & the construction hurt the crowd. Fortunately, the food was first class. We had an appetizer of tortilla chips & guacamole. The tortilla chips were hot & crunchy and the guacamole was fresh & tasty with a hint of lime & fresh tomato chunks. My wife had a frozen Margarita; it was very good with just the right amount of tequila. I had a Negra Modelo. Our entrees were prepared table side, flambé style. I had the "Mar y Tierra OK Maguey", steak & shrimp grilled in lime/mesquite marinade with a creamy cilantro & avocado sauce. The steak chunks & large shrimp were tender. My wife had "Carne Cambalache", a steak chunks marinated in tequila and mesquite-lime vinaigrette that were finished table-side flambé style. We both a side of potatoes that were seasoned with lemon or citrus and were quite good. I had rice & black beans as sides. My wife had a side of Rajas con crema, that were poblano pepper strips in a cream sauce. They were excellent with just the right amount of heat/spice for me. They were too hot for my wife's milder taste buds. For desert we shared an order of Sopapillo. It was vanilla ice cream drizzled with a chocolate sauce served with two fried tortillas dipped in cinnamon & sugar. It was a fine finish to a good meal. The servers were friendly & efficient. The food was well prepared & presented and the portions were generous. We plan to return for another meal. We have visited a number of Mexican restaurants in the Pittsburgh area and I would rate this at the top. Our other favorites are "Patron" in Wexford and "Azul Bar Y Cantina" in Leetsdale. read more

This place wasn't good, but not bad either. I came to eat here with a friend and her family after walking in the Pittsburgh Pride Parade this year. When we arrived, it wasn't super busy. It was kind of clear that the wait staff was understaffed, as they were running around from table to table. We ordered our drinks and had a wait quite a bit before we could order our food. I went with the veggie quesadilla with extra guac instead of sour cream. Although the quesadilla itself was never basic and nothing special, the guac was really fresh and delicious. My friends and her family enjoyed their meals. We waited so long for the bill that I ended up giving cash to her family and walking out with my friend. I think this place has a lot of near by competition, considering they are in Market Square, and I think they should really staff more. It got rather busy as we were leaving and I can't imagine how overwhelmed they were when we left. read more

I've tried a bunch of Mexican places in the city and I'd put Las Velas near the bottom. The place had nice decor, the chips were good, and the wait staff was nice. The food was typical Tex-Mex stuff. Nothing really stood out and some of my food was cold. I don't think I'll be back here, especially when there's a ton of other Tex-Mex places to choose from. read more

The view was beautiful overlooking the newly reopened Market Square. The food was average. If only Mexico City could move to this space, both the view AND the food would rock! read more

David (and his locally-famous blogger wife, Ginny) have really set up a nice place here. The location is great: overlooking Market Square. The lunch gets busy- no surprise there, this is downtown after all. The food is pretty awesome too. Try the Flautas... so good, and the chipotle sauce is amazing. Also, they may have the best salsa con queso in the city. Get it if you get the chips. The staff is really friendly and helpful, and the service has always been good too. What keeps me from giving this a four or five star rating is a couple of this little thing. Chips and Salsa are an extra charge. They are good, yes, but I prefer when the chips and salsa are complimentary. Also, the happy-hour specials leave a little to be desired. The beers are a little cheaper, but nothing impressive. There is a short list of selected happy hour food all priced at $5. While this sounds good each item is smaller than the regular menu version and aside from the street tacos they aren't really a deal. So to sum up, definitely worth a visit. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes mexican and good view. The specials aren't that special and you've gotta pay for chips, but I like it. read more

It was ok here. I went for lunch and had a Xela burrito. I ate the whole thing but my mind wasn't blown or anything. Next time I'll prolly just go to Chipotle which is across the square. read more

It's authentic, friendly, lively, and the chips and salsa will change your life. Highly recommended.

Excellent food. Intimate sized restaurant, seems as though the gentleman who took our drink order may need a little more training but with the right tools would be just fine. There were three of us and we ate lunch specials, enchiladas, mahi tacos, and chiles rellenos. I got the chiles rellenos- I was worried about the spice level but it was so great, a clean taste and just the right amount of heat. I am SO glad I decided not to take the negative reviews seriously, because everything was great. We even forgot to ask to have our checks split in the beginning, we apologized and asked at the end... even the chips and guacamole was split between three checks and we only got one order of them. We really didnt wait long at all for the food, the server girl was very nice. I will be going back again and again, that's for sure! read more

My highest recommendation to visit this reaustuarnt in market square for many reasons.... Excellent food quality, service, drinks and Beautiful view... read more

This place is a mixed bag. The food was good and the portions were large but the service was NOT good. We had no problem with our waitress, who was new, our issue was with the bill. There was some questionable businesses going on. First the bill appeared with two errors: $3 for chips and salsa (which we didn't order or receive) and my meal which was clearly listed as $14 showed up as $21. When we told them that the bill was wrong, they came back with a new bill, but exactly the same total. We talked with the manager and explained that my order was only supposed to be $14 and he disagreed with me. Only after I asked to show him on the menu did he agree to fix it and charge us the correct amount. In the end they fixed the problem but it added 20 - 25 minutes at the end of our meal, and we were ready to leave before having to wait the extra time. read more

So after visiting on a few occasions I have visited this carefully crafted pseudo Mexican restaurant I am ready to weigh in on it's qualities. First let's start on the critiques, having come from the West Coast I am intimately familiar with the awesomeness of authentic spot on Mexican food. Las Velas attempts to meet this authenticity but it all seems disingenuous and forced. They are trying to capture the feel but instead it feels like a hipsters view of a bar in Puerto Vallarta. That's it the only "negative" I can find. Now let's rock the good stuff! Their house margarita is ROCK SOLID!!! Two of their tall house margarita's had me with that warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy! Great when only having two and I'm no lightweight! The burrito's are done in the wet burrito style which makes for a great burrito but last time there was no question what kind of meat I wanted just delivery of my ordered burrito and NO MEAT! Good burrito but felt unfulfilled without good meat in the middle. The good is solid Mexican fare but nothing jumps out at me as a WOW except that killer house Margarita! If you're looking for solid food with killer margarita's then this is your stop! Trust me living DAHN TAHN I'll be back!!! read more