My daughter and I went here yesterday. Now I understand why the parking lot was empty. We were seated around 2p; only a few tables were occupied. I ordered the spinach and chicken quesadilla; my daughter ordered the kids cheese quesadilla. After ordering, chips and salsa were brought to the table. The salsa had ABSOLUTELY no taste! Not sweet; not spicy. Just blah. When the food arrived, the presentation was terrible. No garnishments or anything. For my quesadilla, no sour cream, no pico de Galla. Just the quesadilla. I gave 2 stars because the food was actually good, but the presentation and service was awful. When I asked for a spicier salsa, my waiter brought the HOTTEST thing in the kitchen! There's no in-between with their salsa - terrible/bland to spicy as hell. Remember when I said there weren't a lot of cars in the parking and only a few tables occupied? Well, by the service provided you'd think it was lunch time or some other busy time, because my waiter NEVER checked on us! Didn't ask us how the food was or whether we wanted refills on our drinks or salsa. First and LAST time going here! Then....when I was leaving I viewed the place a bit more. Broken windows taped up, lawn needed mowing. Clearly, they struggling! Check out my bland presentation of food before you leave! read more

Plaza Azteca - Terrible presentation of quesadilla. No salsa. No pico de Galla. No sour cream. No garnishments. - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Your typical restaurant chain, i would go back here. Food was decent and people that work here are very nice. Bathrooms clean, if your wanting a wide variety i would stop here read more

Found 4, not 1, yes 4 black hairs in my food. They denied it was theirs and said it could not be possible. My hair is red,and my 2 sons and husband have very short hair. No rocket science going on here. Horrible service. Will never go back. read more

Really really disappointing. The food is not great it really lacked flavor and didn't seem very fresh. On top of that the service was awful. Our waitress never offered refills on drinks and forgot to bring tortillas for my friends fajitas. By the time the tortillas came her food was cold. We waited over 40 minutes just for the check and we were there with a young child who was getting very upset. Unfortunately I won't be going back read more

Sadly we had the worst time. Service was very slow, 3 of our guests in our party had to track down the server, our server was very rude in the fact we had orders made incorrectly. We waited 50 minutes for our food and we were not offered refills on our drinks and with our whole party was over 350$ I'm so sad we usually have such a nice time there but over all this time it wasn't up to par. :( read more

Listen, I did not have food the first time I went but I did have the notorious frozen strawberry margarita. I'm new to the city and my barber told me about this drink at Plaza. I'm thinking, man I need something more than a margarita... I was wrong. I sat at the bar and halfway through I decided this drink was legit. But by that time the little guy in my ear told me I felt great and I should keep drinking to feel even better! So I finished that and started taking shots of 1942. Who did I think I was?? Hours later I was at the local after hours spot spinning my shirt around my head like a helicopter and getting singles stuffed in my britches. Plaza helped me have the most fun I've had in Charlottesville. All it took was one strawberry margarita. True story lol read more

Food was delivered lukewarm, ordered table side guacamole it was brought to the table already made. This place has gone down hill. read more

Stopped for dinner at the Plaza Azteca restaurant in Charlottesville, VA as we were traveling through the area. The food was very good. We started with the usual tortilla chips and salsa. The chips were nicely warmed and the salsa was spiced just right for our taste. Both my wife and I had the beef fajitas. They were brought sizzling hot to our table. The portions were ample and the meat was nicely seasoned. Sides included rice, pico de gallo, refried beans and sour cream. The meal hit the spot for us and we were glad we stopped there. You'll also be glad you stopped there for some Mexican fare if you're in the Charlottesville area. read more

Plaza Azteca - Plaza Azteca - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I have been coming to Plaza for awhile and the food is absolutely amazing as well as the drinks. My review is not about that all. My review is regards to their hostesses with the glasses at the front. RUDE!!! I mean what a nasty attitude for a person who is to the first interaction to a customer. Horrible! I received my food and it was exactly how i wanted i washed her could she fix at first she stared at me as if i was stupid. So repeated my self and than she sighs and takes the good back. I'm afraid to eat i honestly think she spit in it because her attitude was that nasty!!!! Plaza I'm sorry but i will not be back until that person is gone. read more

So sad.. I did a review and it was taken down. The service and food was terrible. Ask for coffee an was told they don't have coffee, then ask for hot tea, they have none. All good was from can, frozen and food was cold. I will never go again.Tableside Guacamole read more

Very much enjoyed this restaurant with my family. Great food and great atmosphere! The service is incredibly fast so it's a plus if you're hungry but if you prefer to have a more leisurely dinner I'd recommend ordering one course at a time. The drinks were pretty fabulous too and the servers all very friendly. Only minus was they were missing many of their deserts the night we visited. read more

No, no, no & just no! Food was HORRIBLE! Even the queso dip was terrible.... how do you mess up melted cheese? read more

food is disguisting margaritas are too strong whole bunch sfuff on it and of alcohol too much I wouldn't recommend this place.... only chips nothing all of that.... read more

This place was amazing I was in town visiting family and we tried this place I will visit each time I come to this beautiful mountain city read more

Plaza Azteca - Chicken fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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I've been coming to this place for about a year 1/2, my fiancé and I like eating here, the staff are very friendly. The waitress are right on time with drinks.. food.. etc! Very clean bathrooms.. food is great.. read more

Great Mexican restaurant! There was music sung in Spanish playing throughout my visit, and they make a huge portion of guacamole fresh right at your table. The tortilla chips were free-flowing and always warm. I ordered the Enchilada Suiza listed in the "Lunch" section on their menu. It was a great value, although not exceptional in the flavor department. I would recommend a visit for lunch anyway if you are craving Mexican food. read more

This is one of the better Mexican restaurants in the area. They're very consistent with the quality of the food and have a lot of vegetarian options. Great for vegetarians! I came here with my family and we got the Sonora, Durango, Spinach Enchiladas, and some Chile Rellenos. They were all very good but heavy. La Azteca often uses a cheese sauce on the enchiladas which is good but very creamy and heavy. I really like the mushroom quesadilla that comes with the Durango. It's just sautéed mushroom but it's so good!! The chile relleno can be made vegetarian (yay) and is the kind with both potato and cheese (double yay). Warning: when ordering a la carte, things get PRICEY. The chile rellenos were only on the lunch menu so my dad ordered them a la carte and they ended up being $10 EACH. Absolutely ridiculous. The waiter never mentioned it when we were ordering so it was definitely a shock. read more

I came here with my family for lunch. Food was gross, I ordered Chile relleons. The pablon pepper was so tuff I couldn't eat it. The sauce covering it was white an watery instead of being a traditional red or green sauce. This is a very americanized Mexican restaurant. The guacamole was so full of lemon juice thats all u tasted. I would never eat here again. Maybe come have a cocktail but food no. Only good thing about this place is the service our waiter was excellent. But wasn't his fault this place fell short on. read more

Plaza Azteca - So gross. Not real Mexican food. - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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We love this place. Atmosphere is awesome. Jhojan is always our waiter, the owner and his wife class act, always greet us by name, Cinco de Mayo a blast, dancing, lighted robots, dj. Looking forward to this Friday night, special celebration with dancing, we already have a table reserved. Bartenders, chips and salsa, latino party..I'm here and this place is festive, great prices, and greattt people.. Entire staff is amazing...Nelson very good bartender.. Love his drinks There is no better.. read more

Plaza Azteca - I'm here and this place is great - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Browsing our favorite Charlottesville coupon book, we came across a BOGO for Plaza Azteca and decided to check it out. No wait on a weekend night with tasty food at hearty portions. Hubby had the fish tacos and I had enchiladas and chile relleno. Along with the complimentary chips and salsa, it was a terrific meal. We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed this chain restaurant! read more

Loving the new menu! Al pastor tacos were so good and the black beans and rice were so tasty much better than before; great changes; looking forward to tasting more. read more

THIS REVIEW IS ONLY ABOUT THEIR FLAN We only came for the flan after having our dinner elsewhere and the flan might have been the best we have ever had! The consistency was perfect! The flavor wonderful and the plating was beautiful! The raspberry jam on the side was a perfect foil to the flan! All topped with a nice dollop of homemade, fresh whipped cream. We both agreed we'd go back just for the flan! Don't miss it! read more

I ordered the chicken fried rice which was great. The chips and salsa were also good. The server was very attentive. Would come here again! read more

Plaza Azteca - The chicken fried rice is on point! - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Driving up to DC, I stopped in Charlottesville to spend the night. Found this Mexican restaurant close to the hotel. Portions were large as were the margaritas. Ate at the bar and would say it was good Mexican food but not great. read more

This is our go-to Mexican restaurant in town. You can't go wrong with the table-side guacamole, margaritas and the Texas fajitas. Alonso is hands down the best waiter in Charlottesville! read more

We've been eating at Plaza Azteca since they opened in Charlottesville. We LOVED the place. The servers and staff were friendly, professional and prompt. The food was great, the prices reasonable and the atmosphere was acceptable. We went this evening for New Year's dinner before heading out to celebrate. The wait time was 30 minutes - that is after a 15 minute wait with NO host/hostess. The restaurant had people waiting for tables - but there were plenty of tables available, which means they lacked staff to cover the tables. We saw NONE of the familiar faces that have been there since the beginning. Once seated, there was a long wait for drink orders. After the drink orders were taken, we were ignored. We finally got our Margaritas - and they were AWFUL. Tasted like straight everclear. Finally had our order taken - table side guacamole, and fajitas for 2. Never got the guac - and the fajitas were terrible. NO flavor. No seasoning whatsoever, the meat was tough and tasteless. There were no place settings/flatware. Finally got the flatware, no tortillas. Finally got the tortillas - you get the picture. We will NOT return. Real shame since it was our favorite Mexican restaurant! read more

I walked in and asked if they had fried ice cream before I sat down because that was all I wanted. She assured me that they had it. I asked again A SECOND TIME before being seated and they assured me they had it. Let me remind you, that was my sole purpose of being there. I sat down and my friend enjoys her entree (which I made her agree to eat here bc I wanted fried ice cream). Dessert time: THEY RAN OUT OF FRIED ICE CREAM EARLIER IN THE DAY. The manager basically said, I'm sorry they told you that but you can try again tomorrow. I won't be back tomorrow or ever! read more

This review is pretty hard to write... A few weeks ago, my husband and I went here for dinner on a Friday evening. We had a great experience - we were seated quickly, had great drinks (great prices) and enjoyed our meal. Our server was a little brusque but nothing too bad. Since it was a nice experience, we invited out friends to dinner with us two weekends later. Since it was going to be a Saturday evening, at peak dining hours, we called ahead. The phone transaction was...for lack of better terms..interesting. The person who answered the phone did not seem to understand English very well, and they transferred the call to someone that had better language skills, but also didn't assure us that we'd have a table. Once we arrived, it seemed alright. We were seated quickly. Our server was friendly, but as soon as he took our drink orders, things started to slip downhill. I ordered the same drink (watermelonrita) that I had ordered the last visit, and he seemed very unfamiliar with what I was ordering. He asked 3-4 times before I just pointed it out on the menu. I could not tell if he did not understand the menu, or if it was a challenge with language. After we all made drink orders, he took the drink menu with him, which was kind of odd. When it came to order food, I played it safe and went with a combo (with a number, 7, easy, right)? Well yeah....more on that later. The drinks came out the same time we received our guacamole. Which...despite the name on the menu, and our previous experience at the Waynesboro location...was NOT prepared tableside. Oh well, right? Well, that also meant big chunks of avocado skin we had to pull out. Not good. Oh, and that drink? I didn't get what I ordered that first round, but instead some really purple, weird and strong drink! I asked him to take it back and he seemed really confused by that.... When the food came out, I was brought a #17 - not a #7. Everyone else's orders were fine. I was brought out my correct drink, in a larger size, thankfully (needed it at that point!!) but had to wait for my meal while everyone else was eating. When he came back with the right dish, he apologized and said 'the kitchen will take care of it" - which sounded more than reasonable, but of course, that was NOT reflected in the bill. We just paid for it anyway so we could get out of there. Sadly, we would rather drink to Waynesboro than return here. read more

I had high hopes for Plaza Azteca since I have been searching for a solid mexican place in Charlottesville. However, Plaza Azteca fell very far short of what I had hoped, especially given the substantial amount of hype the restaurant put into advertising its "upper-end, fine dining mexican cuisine." When I think of fine mexican dining I think of real authentic mexican food or at least Rio Grande quality where it may be more Americanized but the quality of the food is excellent, needless to say, don't expect anything close to that from Plaza Azteca. First, our server was really sweet and friendly but his english was very poor and it made it difficult for him to understand when we ordered. We also had a rather odd experience where he completely ignored one of the guests at our table and didn't take his drink order...not sure if he just didn't see him or something else was going on but it was odd. We got the table made guacamole as an appetizer and for $8.00 it was really disappointing. The avocados were fresh but that is about where the goodness stops. We requested the guac to be made spicy and yet it was incredibly bland. I have made home-made guac that is much better than this and I didn't pay $8.00 for it. Next the entrees. One word to describe them: UGH. I ordered shrimp fajitas and found the shrimp to be extremely tough and overcooked. It was a struggle to get all of them down, but seeing as I had unfortunately paid $16 for the fajitas I made myself eat as many as I could. The rice was fine, nothing special but not terrible. The refried beans were pretty gross and were soggy and cold. Every bite seemed to push the knife a little deeper into my heart that another mexican restaurant in Charlottesville had failed me. They also only give you two tortillas for an entire fajita entree and then charge you $0.75 extra for two additional ones...wtf?! Finally, the cherry on top and why this received one instead of two stars was the checkout process. They have ONE register to check out a huge restaurant. We had a coupon that stated "buy one entree get one half off." So naturally we thought one of the fajitas would be comped, but nope. They tried to comp the guacamole and then argued with us about the fact that it was supposed to be an entree that was discounted. Finally the manager resolved the discrepancy and was very pleasant. However it did not make up for the epic fail that was my experience at Plaza Azteca. Disclosure: This was their opening night but it was so disappointing I don't see the need to go back and give the restaurant another chance. Not even close to the quality of food at La Joya, a much cheeper and less fancy mexican restaurant. read more

Plaza Azteca is pretty much your run-of-the-mill chain Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurant. The made-at-table guacamole was bland (lacking both salt and spice) even though we requested it be made spicy. They do at least provide complimentary chips and salsa, both of which they continue to refill throughout the meal. The entrees were all pretty standard and nothing worth nothing except that they only give each person two small tortillas for a fajita entree and charge 75 cents for two additional tortillas. The charge won't break the bank, but I don't like the feeling of being nickel and dimed. Overall, if you're looking for a chain Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurant, Plaza Azteca will do the trick. But don't expect anything more. read more

3 Strikes and You're Out I grew up in Tidewater where there are several Plaza Azteca locations. I was excited and proud when I saw they were opening a Charlottesville location. That luster is long gone. I have visited the Charlottesville location three times and each visit has been a bad experience. The service has been very poor on all three visits . Each time the wait has been nearly one hour from the time you are seated until your food is served. Each time my food has been cold and the wait staff seems to disappear leaving your water glass empty and or other needs unfulfilled. This location will not last with Guadalajara only 2 minutes away with hardly ever a wait and exceptional food and service at lower prices. I won't be back. read more

First things first, worst service around here in Charlottesville (from what i have found). I literally set my stopwatch just to see how long it was going to be, before I finally saw my server. Luckily the hostess was walking by and asked me if she could grab me something to drink... It remained that poor level of service the entire time. To give an idea, once the server showed up, she did not even introduce herself or welcome me in anyway... She simply asked if i knew what i wanted to eat... The food never disappoints. That is the only reason i gave it a second try. If you like good food, and EXTREMELY slow service, with a bit if an attitude this is the place for you. read more

I'm sitting at the bar and waiting a ridiculous amount of time to pay the bill. This should be the quickest served spot in the house. Staff is missing. Where are they? Out to lunch like I am? Enchiladas suizas was ok. First time drinking a Pacifico, it was good- expensive though- $6. Salsa was disappointing. This place is OK. That's about it. I won't come here intentionally again. read more

I've been eating at this place since they opened in VA Beach area and have always been incredibly underwhelmed by their food and outraged by their prices. This place is good if you want to watch someone make your guacamole (I have better things to do) and pay a lot of money for refried beans out of a can. Nothing special about the food and its expensive! I'm from Texas and I can honestly say I prefer to eat at a smaller, authentic place around town than this chain. Today my coworkers and I in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo decided to order guacamole and salsa for pick up to make our work day better. We called ahead and were told 3 minutes. When I arrived, the staff were sitting around talking to themselves and not greeting anyone. They looked at me and said "What?" I asked about my to go order and they said they never got such order. Ok so I asked them to put it in. Waited around for 15 minutes for it. When I got back my coworkers and I agreed, it was the most guacamole of all time! Needed salt and it was all jalapenos. They gave us a small bag of chips that wasn't even close enough for all the guac. Its was $8.75 for guacamole and salsa! Just yet another reminder to me why I never go here even though it is right next to my workplace! read more

This place won me over with their exceptional guacamole! I recently had dinner at Plaza Azteca with my family. It is a warm and friendly, family oriented, chain Mexican/American restaurant. There are many tv's displayed throughout for your "viewing pleasure", but they are drowned out by the rather loud mariachi band type music blaring throughout the restaurant! When we ordered an appetizer of chips and guacamole, a young man came to our table and hand made the guacamole right in front of us! It was a nice treat to have him scoop out fresh avocados. He then asked what we wanted in it, such as chopped onions, fresh cilantro, Salt & pepper, fresh squeezed lime, garlic & tomatoes. Finally he smashed it up and before we could get a picture taken the bowl was empty! see below! This was the best part of the meal! The rest of the meal was pretty basic, my combo platter was nothing spectacular. I did really like the refried beans & my son said he loved the rice. I would not order a beef flauta ever again though. I thought it was rather soggy and the beef was more of a mystery meat stuffed into a wet corn tortilla, bland & the texture was something I would rather not go into! I would recommend a chicken enchilada to be on the safe side. The chicken was tender and tasty and the sauce was .... well, hmmm, let's just say nice! Hence only 3 stars. Everyone was pleasantly pleased with their entrées. We all opted for combo plates. The portions are very large so I would recommend to arrive hungry. Our dessert was good! The chocolate cake is really delicious and it definitely passed approval from the chocolate lovers at our table! Overall it was a fun experience although we brought our own fun! The food is not outstanding but good enough and I like it better than Guadalajara which isn't saying a whole lot! I would definitely go back for the guacamole, chocolate cake & The apple churros & vanilla ice cream definitely get some points as well! read more

Plaza Azteca - Empty guacamole bowl! So yummy!!! - Mexican Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Queso and table-side guacamole. That's where you want to be. Their entrees are fine but nothing special, but their queso is delicious and their guac is made fresh right next to your table. They ask you how spicy you want your guac. Prices make sense for the amount of food you get ($13-15 for most entrees), and the quality is fine, but by the time your entree rolls around you'll already be full from the bottomless chips and salsa (and queso and guac) on the table. They have a huge space, so you should get seated fairly quickly. Pretty good. Get the queso. Also guacamole. :) read more

We love this place! Alonzo is the best, but every experience as been friendly, prompt, and very satisfying!

I did not enjoy my experience at this Plaza Azteca and I will not go again. We went during dinner time and our service was terrible. Not only did our server not deliver the right order to us, but she was not interested in hearing our issues with the food and had an attitude that showed on her face. 2 out of the 3 orders we received were cold. My friend ordered a potato enchilada and what he got were cold mashed potatoes in a cold tortilla with cold sauce. Naturally, he sent it back and the waitress was annoyed at the request, did not take the food back, and still tried to charge him for it. When he refused to pay, she left saying she was going to get her manager. Ten minutes later she came back with no manager and said "you can go now." The margaritas, however, were fantastic. Everything else, shit. read more

Superbly Average. Nothing particularly outstanding about this place and thus no reason to return. The rice was under-seasoned in my pork chop dish and the meat was over-seasoned. The texture of the beans indicated that they might have been stewing for a bit too long or were packaged and the texture of the pork was tough and quite frankly the stuff of nightmares. I give this place a complimentary star simply due to the fact that the waiters were kind and responsive. read more

The Fresh Guac is the best part of this restaurant followed closely by the decor on the inside. The pull up a cart and make it right in front of you with fresh ingredients! Very neat. That said, service is hard to converse with due to language barriers, and can be slow to non existent. Food is great! Portions are wonderful and I never leave with an empty belly. Over all its a good place and I'll go back, but maybe do a little more English training with the service... read more