Plaza Azteca Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Charlottesville

I visited this establishment for the first time on 2/14/25, Valentines Day. Around 9:20pm.I am a foodie. Every where I go I take pictures of my food and atmosphere. I ordered a cucumber jalapeño margarita ( which I must admit was Amazing).,I also ordered a seafood dish which many consisted of shrimp. I am familiar with the Spanish cuisine and culture so I was excited when stumbling across something new. Wrongggg. The drink took about 30 minutes to get to me even though the server was very courteous and apologetic. Refills took 25 minutes each time for non alcoholic beverages. The place is gorgeous very colorful full of life but the lighting is a bit too bright. We ordered our food after about 40 minutes it arrived still being understanding because this establishment had such a large crowd. When my food arrived I questioned how it looked and how it was prepared. The server assured me it is a dish prepared like s ceviche,(which I am familiar with). This dish was nothing of the sort. My shrimp was comply RAW‼️ When I questioned this the server stated it is supposed to cooked from the acid from the lime and lemons which means the shrimp socks have had to soak in lemon/lime juice for a minute. Which it had not. I explained to the server I could not eat the meal for fear I may get severely sick with illness such as vibriosis, anisakiasis, and norovirus . The norivirus which is currently on the rise. This worries me on a Department of Health point of view. He stated I’d need to speak to a manager to have the item removed,which I did, while just completely disappointed. I asked for them to take the dish back which was about $30. They did so. I then asked just for a side of guacamole which they complied but not without charging me 20$ for the dish which we should have been accommodated for due to being dissatisfied with the dish. We were charged $70 for a burrito a sweet tea a, a margarita and a side of guacamole. I feel they invested a lot in the establishments design,decor and maybe even staffing, but fell short on investing in a certified chef. Which is the last thing you should do in a food restaurant. Please do better. Being in a area where there are high Healthcare workers and this being a area thriving for UVA College students and their families. This establishment could dominate the Mexican cuisine in this area if it produced or provided the service that the owner has intended for it to do. I hope this does not fall...

Very Disappointing. This is a typical Mexican restaurant, 'rustic' decor, very long menu of different combinations of roughly the same food, etc. The waitress did not smile at us once the entire time. She was on her cell phone before 'helping' us.

They gave us very little salsa, much less than any other Mexican restaurant I have ever been to.

I asked if a certain dish came with rice and beans (none on the menu specified either way except in the Combinations section). She said she didn't know and asked if we needed a couple more minutes. I asked if she could find out. Of course it didn't, so I asked how much extra are they. She didn't know, had to go find out. $2 each, no surprise.

The food was bad. It is basically 'which slop do you want in a tortilla?'. I couldn't tell the difference between the cheese enchilada and the potato burrito by looking at them (or even after a few bites). The potato burrito was mashed potatoes in a tortilla. The mushroom quesadilla had a ton of mushrooms but very little cheese. The manager took my plate, it had a pile of mushrooms and half the potato burrito. He didn't ask how anything was (food still on the plate should be a bad sign to anyone in the restaurant business). My wife's nachos were the typical, lots of stuff piled on chips, most of which were too soggy to eat.

The at your table guacamole wasn't at your table, although he was within site. The onions and tomatoes are pre-chopped, I would expect everything to be very fresh and done right there.

We tried to get dessert. Had to ask for a menu, it didn't have prices. I even checked the little display fridge of desserts, no prices. I didn't feel like 'bothering' our waitress about prices again so we gave up and went to a local ice cream place afterwards instead. The cheesecake looked exactly like what I could get in a grocery store anyways (small slices, 'sauce' already baked in to the top, etc.).

Mexican food should have flavor. It is spicy, flavorful, a variety of textures, it is a culture in a every bite. Anyone serving this as Mexican food should be embarrassed and ashamed. It really was just another pick your slop in a tortilla Mexican restaurant. This is why I am afraid to...

My wife and I had been meaning to drop by for the last year as Al Azteca has very nice curb appeal and seemed very charming.

The crowd looked a little rough. Lotsa tattoos and fat people, but the staff at the door looked sharp and were helpful.

We were shown our table and things seemed fine.

Our waiter spoke very-broken English, making it impossible to get information on the drinks. I ordered a margarita and my wife ordered sangria.

Amazingly, both drinks were the worst in their respective categories my wife and I ever had. My margarita must have been made with expired margarita mix from the Dollar Store. My wife’s was equally-bad, but I have no idea of what they did to ruin her drink as well.

While waiting for the waiter, we were swatting fruit flies left and right, but we figured we’d run out of them eventually. Unfortunately that was not to be the case as the cart with the guacamole was near us and was infested with them.

I told the waiter that the drinks were awful. Not sure he understood; but in most restaurants, the staff would have asked what was wrong and if our complaints were accurate, we would have been asked if we wanted something else.

When I realized he did not understand, I asked for the check and he appeared confused. I told him we would not be ordering because if the drinks could be so awful, I had no faith the food would be any better. And the fruit flies buzzed.

I left a ten percent tip because I felt sorry for him. He should have gotten nothing as he violated all the rules of service; but I just wanted to leave and split the difference. Normally I always leave 20% for basic service.

This mistake cost us $32 for two drinks and the mercy...