This is my fajita's joint. My girlfriend and I go here frequently. The chips are thin and crispy and the salsa is pretty good too. Be careful not to fill up on chips. I always go for the chicken, steak, or combination fajitas. She sometimes get's the tamales. The quality of food is pretty consistent. The place is always packed. In terms of the wait, there's often a ~20-30 min wait at night on weekends. The wait for food can vary sometimes, but generally is not that long. read more

Uncle Julio's signature swirls are delicious with nice layers of sweet and tangy. The complimentary chips and salsa are great. I wish the chips were thicker so it doesn't break every time I go for more salsa. I've gone here many times for lunch, dinner and happy hour and I've tried the tacos, fajitas, frog legs, quail (which they don't have anymore), and enchiladas. All are seasoned very well and tasty. The portions are huge. Most entrees comes with rice, beans, and salsa so I would recommend sharing with a friend. read more

There was an hour wait on Saturday night, so try call ahead seating. Had the fajitas and they were delicious. The chicken and steak was a good quality and juicy. The one issue I had was with the noise level. It was so loud that it was a challenge to hear the others at the table. read more

Uncle Julio's (or as I call it Rio Grande) is my favorite and has been for years. I always get their chicken fajitas. They are perfectly to die for every time. For an alcoholic drink, you can go wrong with a reverse swirl with a Grand Marnier meltdown. This is a swirl of their frozen sangria and frozen lime margarita. They taste simply delicious. Watch out for the wait times on weekends or nice summer days. It can get pretty crazy, but very worth it. read more

Extremely disappointed on this place. Felt really bad for the one waiter serving ten plus tables alone. Not given low star for that, I appreciate him working and doing his best giving circumstances. Food was not good at all, salty. Had chicken and steak fajitas and both were salty. The margaritas were very very sour too much lime. Not many options on their menu either. I hope they improve. read more

This was a really great experience. The food was great. Loved the table side guacamole! The server was more than superb and attentive. I'm glad we made a reservation there was a long wait. I'm definitely interested in visiting the location closer to home. read more

I am currently sitting in Uncle Julios in the Rio. we came And tonight because it's my son's second birthday as well as Father's Day for Central American families. we were greeted by the hostess to informed us I will be nearly a two hour wait. that's fine it's really busy even though the restaurant looked have to empty we were told that we couldn't be seated promptly due to the lack of service staff. we were in an hour and 45 minutes for a table. when we were seated we were greeted by a young man who was in training was incredibly nice and very informative. we ordered promptly drinks and food as well since we have been waiting for a long time. my husbands beer came before my childrens water and soda. when the drinks finally arrived shortly after our food arrived. The food was good, however when we went to order another dish for our son the server was so busy since they're sort of stuff there was nobody to take the order for quite some time. when I went to order dessert we were told that there was no chocolate piñata to Covid we weren't aware of this because of me as the hostess when we arrive she said that there was a Chocolate Toledo navahoe. normally normally wouldn't be a big deal because it's our sons birthday we really wanted him to enjoy that. the serve brought the manger over when I expressed my concerns he basically said that I was wrong about everything I told her. and told me that he was sorry that we wanna come back next time but really in a very sarcastic manner. we used to come here for every holiday my kids birthdays Father's Day etc. I'm so sad to see how things have changed. in the photos you can see how her table was. read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

I went with the wife and I have to say major let down. We were immediately seated and about 5 minutes later the waitress showed up with chips for us. We had to inquire and were the salsa was, and the waitress told us they were out and were making more. The chips were so oily that they were resting in oil and I only ate a few. I actually took a picture of how bad they were. When the salsa came, it was so spicy that my wife turned red and started coughing. She has eaten it many times and said she couldn't eat it. I had ordered a sweet tea and when it came out, I took a sip and asked the waitress if it was water. She said no and I noticed it was in a red cup so it definitely wasn't water. She brought me another and it was the same thing. My pulled some out with the straw and showed the waitress that it was tea, just so weak that it had no flavor and they definitely failed to sweeten it. We just left it as I felt bad for the waitress and didn't want her to have to run back and forth for something she couldn't control. My wife ordered the carne asada and when it came out, she realized that the waitress never asked her how she wanted it cooked. We were told that it was always cooked well done...which it was. She ate it as she didn't want to wait for it to be redone as I was already eating. But, she said that although it was decent, if she knew her only option was well done she would have opted for another dish. I ordered the steak and chicken fajita which I get every time. The server handed me the tortilla container and said "tortillas for the table". When I opened up there were only 2 of them in there, with one being folded over. By the time I saw my waitress again, I had already just gave up and ate my dinner only eating the one tortilla as the second one ripped and was stuck together. read more

Uncle Julio's - Look at the chips swimming in oil. Figured this place would know how to make them correctly. - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

One of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Gaithersburg! The food is consistently good, it's nice to have a table outside facing the lake and feeling the breeze with a glass of margaritas! Just beside to make an reservations when u have a larger group to dine in, they are alway packed in the weekend. read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

See all

Bad food and service, the food was cold when we got it, and they refused to give us a discount.....BEWARE

Cute Mexican restaurant overlooking a busy market area and water area with ducks. Quite charming. The food was plentiful and delicious. I came here with a large group and we all ordered separate things and shared and ended up with more food than we knew what to do with, but we kept eating anyway because it was all so good. read more

I love Uncle Julios, formerly known as Rio Grande Cafe. To me and so many others it will always be The Rio. The Swirls and Camerones A La Parilla are to die for. The Swirl (Uncle Julio description: Uncle Julio's signature drink. Frozen Margarita layered with home-made frozen Sangria) have the right amount of slushy ice mixed with the right amount of alcohol. Goes down so cool, smooth and delicious. The Camerones A La Parilla (Uncle Julios description: Spicy shrimp served fajita style with rice, beans, guacamole, pico de gallo and warm flour tortillas). The shrimp has the right amount of heat that goes deliciously with the warm flour tortillas and accompanying sides. The Rio has a great view if you sit outside or if you have a window seat. In their grand back room they have a fire place to keep you warm in the winter time or a great center piece in the warmer months. I highly recommend The Rio. read more

Swirls are to dieeee for!! I've had their fajitas, which are pretty good, but I've been to other places with better fajitas. I will admit, though, that they're beef is pretty tasty and tender. The jalapenos, I warn you, are MASSIVE and super hot. So be careful when trying to eat them. I have also had their Lunch Nacho Especial, which was super simple, but quite filling. I gotta say, service here is always....entertaining. I've always had such fun and amusing waiters every time I have come here. Overall, food is okay, but the ambiance is great. read more

This is Uncle Sam's NAFTA Cousin that's cooks really well. Everyone should have an Uncle Julio...really, everyone should. Great Happy Hours, Great Tex/Mex atmosphere...but most importantly, the food is really good. Food: I like their salsa. Roasted peppers into the salsa...just serve it slightly warm...and heaven. The tamales are wonderful. Pork and Chicken with the correct red and green verde salsas. This is one of my favorite Ceviche's around and they do make it fresh, but make sure you get here early on a Friday or Saturday or it's gone. Fajitas...what's not to like here. But, what I really like is the fact that you can get quail and you can get frog legs. Nice, moist, tender frog legs that don't smell gamey. Hmmm. Frog legs. Service/Staff: Attentive and quick..but, bear in mind that during happy hour... it can get a little dicey and slow. Bar: This bar just isn't big enough to serve the masses of the Rio/Gaithersburg area. How they don't run out of Tequila is beyond me. Price: Reasonable. Return rate: Can we say Happy Hour! Bottom Line: For Gaithersburg, For Tex/Mex...this is a great establishment that does things that other Tex/Mex don't do...offer good variety (even though it's a chain) and do it well. read more

Chambord frozen margaritas. I absolutely LOVE these. They are amazingly strong, but sweet and tasty at the same time. The fajitas are definitely the stars of the menu, but be warned, they are BIG! We usually get the combo of steak and chicken. one time they had a special that included lobster with the steak and chicken, and that was pure awesomeness. SO GOOD. Tamales: Get 2 chicken and 2 pork. 4 of the same thing is just too much. Chips & salsa: fresh tortilla chips are always great, and the salsa is good too. the flavors vary from time to time, though. sometimes the salsa is spicy and watery, other times its chunkier and mild. kind of weird, but not a problem. Guac: very good, just go for the original one. the other flavors/added ingredients detracts from the flavor. great service, good food, amazing drinks. I also love the fact that you can call ahead of time to put your name on the waiting list. read more

Dependable, tasty Mexican food for just about anyone! Between the freshly made chips and salsa, fajitas, enchiladas, combination meals and swirls. You are sure to enjoy your dining experience at Uncle Julio's. Great customer service and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating make this place a "go to" for random weekend evenings. Great for family, romantic outings and even time with friends. This place is a little noisy so avoid intimate conversations. :-) read more

Some say that hunger is the best sauce, but I say salsa is the best sauce. And Uncle Julio has it down. Service has always been good. Staff is efficient and friendly. Fajitas are good, not as good as Guapos near by, but definitely solid. I definite prefer the steak vs. the chicken though. read more

Their margaritas are generally low on alcohol so I decided today that I'd order one with an extra shot of tequila. The drink was $12 and the extra shot was $11. I paid $23 for a drink that really didn't taste like it had much alcohol at all (my friends agreed). Lesson learned. Stick to beer or wine. read more

Uncle Julio's is a Tex-Mex chain, and a popular one at that. Must have's here are the (free!) chips and salsa and the margaritas. Less stand-out are the fish tacos but they're still good. HUGE portions, relatively reasonable prices, and speedy service in the bar makes this a decent option for a big lunch or dinner. I'd say it's probably a kick-butt drinks/snacks place if that's what you're looking for, though. read more

I could see how a trip here could fall flat, but we had a great time. After striking out at seemingly every other happy hour in both Rio and Crown, Uncle Julio's wait was only 15 minutes. I hadn't been here in at least five years! I ordered sangria at the bar in the mean time, and it was ok but for the price you don't get too much fruit. I'd probably stick to margs next time. We got the table-side guac and then shared the chicken and steak fajita platter for two. Everything was good. You can't go wrong with fresh guac and the added jalapeños gave it a great kick. The steak came out perfectly medium rare, too, so major bonus points there. You end up with a TON of food -- we got through about half of the guac, and each had 3 fajitas and still filled a takeout container of meat and veggies and dip. Service was a little slow, but when you're catching up with a friend it's not so bad. I just would have appreciated more attentive water-refilling :) Uncle Julio's biggest asset is probably its size, which will keep it competitive despite the growing competition within walking distance (Paladar and Guapos come to mind). read more

Hands down one of my favorite spots for Mexican. While it gets busy on Fridays and weekends for dinner the service is good and the food is excellent! The chips are actually addicting and they're free refills you could literally eat them all night. They also have a great selection of margaritas on the rocks and frozen. I highly recommend the fajitas - they're some of the best I've had. I've been coming here for years and the food has always been reliably top notch! read more

She said..." I remember this place being better when it was rio grande. I don't really know the difference, but the food tasted just alright. Nothing special about it, even the salsa wasn't the great. Eh..." He said..."Yea when you are looking for Italian food and you eat Mexican food, you wish you rather just go McDonalds. This place was gross. Not much to write, I mean I'd rather of ate at Taco Bell. And I hate Taco Bell" read more

The salsa is very good, and the ambience is nice. As to everything else - The waiter was very rude, especially once they found out that we were just in for lunch and wouldn't be drinking. She checked in on us three times, despite the fact that we were directly in her path. A busboy served our food and even got us our drinks. The food was meh at best. I have had better at Moe's, and everything at Baja Fresh is of higher quality, including the temperature of the food (which was cold). Everything was overpriced. Entrees started at $20+, appetizers and salads were in the $12+ range. Our lunch of a quesadilla, salad, coke, and soda water (which should have been free, but wasn't) cost $40. read more

Not good. Not good at all. I wanted to like this place as it's convenient to work and a nearby playground and a nice little walk, but no. It seemed popular (I'm new-ish to the area so I don't have much to go on) and there were almost always lots of people there when we would see the place. So I figured it would be a good place to go since I had my birthday coming up. Why not. I moved out of the southwest recently and was rather missing the food. This did not satisfy. I ordered the flautas and my husband ordered enchiladas. We also ordered a kids meal to split for the kids and the bacon wrapped habanero shrimp for an appetizer. No on all counts. Flautas? Are you kidding? They were floppy and dripping in oil and had no taste. My husband's enchiladas were no better. Small and lacking and the onion one was doubly unsatisfactory. I wish my phone hadn't died so I could show you the picture of that shrimp appetizer. Truly disappointing. Look up the professional photo in the photos on Yelp. It should be near the beginning. Looks great there. That's why we ordered it. But they were four lumps of charcoal and we didn't even get a lime on the plate. Like don't give us a long plate and put your coal on one side and nothing on the other. Are you even trying? They were spicy, as promised by the name. I'll give it that. We also waited forever for our entrees. The kid meal came out first, then fooooorever for our meals. I was considering just leaving before the meals came since we'd been there so long the kids were getting antsy. Right after the meals were on the table, our burnt shrimp came. The appetizer arrived last and it wasn't even worth it. I mentioned it was my birthday earlier? Well, my husband mentioned it to our waiter as he asked about dessert, and we were brought a menu. I was kind of thinking "well this was a disaster but maybe a birthday dessert will salvage it". There was another birthday a few tables away and they were given something, so y'know. Expectations. Nope I wasn't going to spend any more money on food that was just going to probably disappoint, so when the waiter came back I declined dessert. It was *then* that he said there was a complimentary dessert he could bring. ...ok. Well fine, sure. At this point, my husband had to take the kids out of the restaurant because they were just done and I waited for it on my own. It finally came. With three spoons. I took a few bites, waved my daughter back in (we were seated outside), who also had a few small bites, and we left. The one good point? The margaritas were not lacking in alcohol. I waited a week before writing this, to let my disappointment soften. Apparently it didn't help much. If you want better quality food, go to Guapo's on the other side of the water by the paddle boats. read more

We love uncle julios. The food is really good and Astrid, our favorite server, is the best!!!

Gonna keep it short. Like other Rio Grande/Uncle Julio's Restaurants, the food here is good. I've always had a good experience with this location. Hard to go wrong with anything on their menu. Good place to take a large group on short notice. read more

The food here is ok...service is ok...but the view is really nice. When the weather is nice out; you should grab a seat outside and soak in the lake view. There are ducks and swans swimming about and the paddle boaters trying to figure out what they should be doing...pretty good view :) Food wise, I love the fajitas here. I defin recommend them over anything else. I also recommend getting a cadillac margarita with a patron silver shot...its pretty tasty :D read more

Major things went wrong but service and ambiance still warrants them a 3. First off, the Sat night wait was long enough for me to paddleboat around the Rio lake and repeat 5 times. And I wish I had. By the time our little buzzer went off, I was beyooond famished. We were seated outside in the beautiful weather. My Dos equis and chips/salsa came out really quickly (and disappeared just as quickly). The chips were thin and crispy with that nice, just came out of kitchen quality. So I ordered the fish tacos and that's when things started to go downhill. 2/3 tilapias were burnt. I ate the first over-charred one but when another was charred again, I had to send the taco back. Our server was such a sweetheart, took my plate, and did not give me an ounce of trouble. But 15 minutes later, she came back with a tiny plate and my poor, poor, lone taco. What happened to the rest of the plate? My guac and salsa? Rice and beans? I had to request for the other items on my plate again. By now our Uncle Julios experience was running 2.5+ hours long. I'm not even going into the whole miscommunication with the bill thing...we did get some free sopapillas, service was excellent, and the place is otherwise poppin'. read more

We had a dual birthday celebration with about 15 people here. I called ahead and was pleasantly surprised they took reservations. They seated us promptly and provided a super-friendly, upbeat waitress. Unfortunately, I do not remember her name, but she was fantastic with my (sometimes difficult) family, recommending various dishes and drinks. The restaurant provided complimentary chips and salsa (I prefer the ones at Guapo's more) and for our birthdays, gave us coconut deep-fried ice cream. The food was wonderful, and my finicky family surprisingly enjoyed it (I ALWAYS do). The atmosphere was great, and I'm very glad we chose Uncle Julio's to celebrate our special occasion. Loved the food; prices are fair with good service. Definitely coming back! read more

You know what you are going to get here, mediocre mexican, but the service was very good and quick, we were seated in under 10 minutes despite a busy weekend crowd. Parking is a pain here, I could have sold my space when we were leaving, they should build a parking garage on top of the parking garage. read more

Really, super disappointed...... I went in on date night with my daughter at around 6pm on a weeknight and, no one, not any one single person - the bartender that saw us or the hostess that saw us said a single WORD to us after looking at both of us. We stayed for about 15 minutes thinking that maybe they were taking care of something but still NADA... Not a word, no acknowledgement, nothing. So, my daughter and I walked over and had a FABULOUS dinner at Guapo's. No cares given at the name dropping. If you want good food and good service go somewhere else. I used to be employed nearby and frequented Uncle Juilo's. The food is delicious but I am not willing to be treated as less than by anyone. There is no excuse. I will no longer darken your door. Better food and, service can be found elsewhere. read more

If you want to be disappointed with your food, but love the ambiance of eating next to the water, eat here. The only bearable thing that was brought to our table was the chips and our sodas. I would not recommend this place to anyone. My belly hurts and I'm probably going to have diarrhea. read more

Uncle Julio's - This is what it looks like when you finish a meal here. - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Came here with some colleagues for happy hr. We sat in the bar area. It was pretty loud and I couldn't carry a conversation with everyone at my table. Our waiter felt rushed and didn't come by that often. Also thought that there would be happy hr deals and there wasn't other than a few dollars off the drinks. I probably won't be coming back. There are better options for happy hour in the area. read more

Let me start by saying the service at Uncle Julio's is not why you go there. I have never left satisfied with a server at Uncle Julio's. You go for the fresh Mexican food and margaritas on the lakeside. That being said, yesterday my family and I had a server named "Hallie" that left us with the most memorable experience I've ever had at a restaurant. She was extremely fast with our requests, and honestly still has me smiling with her infectious personality as I write this review. Her suggestions were amazing and she really seemed to care about our experience, even with it being extremely packed in the restaurant. If you are planning to go to Uncle Julio's, it is seriously worth calling and asking if Hallie is available! My entire family can't wait to go back and see her again! read more

Went here with some friends for lunch. We got here at around noon, got a menu around 12:20, were able to order by 12:45, and left the restaurant around 1:20. There. That's my complaint for this restaurant. As far as the food goes, I ordered Pedro's platter and asked the server if that was vegetarian. She made some suggestions for vegetarian options, and how I could get the Pedro's platter with vegetarian options. She knew exactly what vegetarian meant, and she made useful suggestions. The food was excellent - the best mexican food I have tasted to date. Seriously. I would love to go back here just for the food. read more

Love the swirl drink its has the best mix of flavors and masks the alcohol so well that u wont know when u past the second one cus u might be drunk then. So make sure u have someone else driving. ;) Food its ok but not a wow factor I think this is the standard USA Mexican fussion. read more

Such a nice scenery! Especially at night! The food Is awesome the waiter was knowledgeable of the menu.. A must visit quick service with the food and the swirl margaritas is a must try!!!! Enjoy read more

See all

Been here a number of times but have never left a review. This review is solely for my experience yesterday. Fantastic atmosphere on the patio for an outdoor happy hour. One of the best locations in Gaithersburg for happy hour and I would definitely go again just for the views and location. We went at 6:00 on a Thursday and there was plenty of seating outside. However happy hour prizes aren't all that. $1.25 off beer and $2.50 off other drinks. Except they didn't mention the margarita of the day wasn't part of that deal so we ended up paying $10 for that margarita. We also ordered the steak nachos and while they were good they should not be classified as nachos - those are tostadas and a grand total of 10 chips on a plate. Our waitress was fantastic and very friendly/fast-paced which we really appreciated. I got the frozen raspberry margarita, kiwi margarita of the day, and the nachos. All were great but prices were more than I would expect for happy hour read more

Steak fajitas for two was great and came out quickly. Service was pretty good too. Ordered a margarita and paid for the additional floater, but it was barely strong enough to be a regular margarita. Drinks not worth the price at all. read more

We had a great experience here! Got in quickly and had great drinks and guac and queso to start. The frozen margarita drink was tasty and they made it at our table with dry ice- very entertaining. We were all very happy with our food and overall experience. One of the best Mexican restaurants we have ever been to! read more