Taqueria Poblano — Restaurant in Alexandria

I recently moved back to the metro DC area after living abroad for work the last two years and this particular Taqueria Poblano location in Del Ray used to put out some amazing food and the service/atmosphere was stellar.

What happened?

We arrived early afternoon and the usual bartender who I remember the two years prior was working the floor (will get to that in a moment).The moment you walk into the restaurant, it has a disgusting odor like a cat litter box is nearby. It is very off putting when you are about to sit down for a meal with your friends. And the amount of flies, in particular fruit flies, should be concerning if you have any alcohol in this establishment because of the tequila and sangria drinks tend to be very sweet. Make sure to check the bottom of your glasses.

The food was decent, the LA style tacos were not as good as I remembered, but you can definitely ell the sauces are watered down. The habanero sauce that I used to love was super spicy, but this version tastes extremely watered down (If you love spicy like I do, just ask for a side of jalapeño's).

The service was pretty awful. The guy that usually bartends was working as a server, and this is a bad idea because he has the customer service of a corpse. Wasn't friendly at all, as customers walked in he would just point as if he was bothered with paying customers. There were two employees really busting their tail to help, but the rest of the team were either at tables near the bar looking at their cell phones or talking to one another at the high top tables while customers were raising their hands for assistance. With the smell of the restaurant, I would expect cleaning to be taking place but that wasn't happening.

If I could give a half of a star I would and I truly hope that the old Taqueria Poblano I used to love returns to great food, a clean atmosphere, and much...

Listen - I hate to give a bad(ish) review to anyone. Especially a place like Taqueria el Poblano, which is an institution in Del Ray and highly regarded in the community. And I'll preface this by saying that a place like this that is spoken so highly of around town MUST be doing something right, and I'll gladly give it a second chance. But I'm sad to say our first visit here didn't impress. My dish was good - chicken mole verde, tender and in a flavorful, complex mole sauce, with rice and beans. But the tacos were... dry, unfortunately. Served in flour tortillas with lettuce and pico de gallo, and nothing about the meat shone through at all. Lastly was the queso - I've never had a restaurant serve queso cold, but our queso was essentially a cold brick to be reheated at home, which admittedly wasn't appetizing. I can't speak to how good it was, however, because we had already added the crumbled chorizo served on the side on top of the queso, and then we realized that the chorizo was moldy. So the whole thing had to go. To their credit, we got a prompt apology and a refund, so I'm giving this three stars because although two out of the three dishes we got were disappointing, I'm open to the possibility that this was a fluke rather than the standard. That said, there are some other pretty darn good taco places in Alexandria that have never let me down, and I'll probably just go to...

This review is for a catering order I placed a week ago. I ordered fajitas, taquitos, and margarita mix from Taqueria el Poblano for a party of 20-30 people. Everyone enjoyed the spread and asked where it came from!

Food was great, but I must highlight the customer service because it was top-notch. Before I placed my order, I had several questions about what was included or available. Jeff (manager/owner) was very responsive and helpful. E.g. Are chafer stands and fuel included? The answer was no, but Jeff was able to tell me how many I needed based on my order. Even after I thought I was done asking questions, I was able to get very speed advice by making a call to the restaurant. E.g. I did not know how much tequila to buy for the mix. I called the restaurant and the woman who answered had me on the right track in less than 5 minutes. She told me the exact restaurant ratios to use in two ways- large batch and single serving. She even took an extra moment to recommend a good bottle of tequila for margaritas that wasn't going to break the bank (Lunazul Blanco). At time of pickup, Jeff personally helped load the food into my car.

I cannot be more thankful for the help. Everything worked out splendidly. If you have a party to cater and you want to support a local business, consider...