Taqueria El Comalito — Restaurant in Charlottesville

Came in around 3pm on a Sunday and was surprised to see how packed this place was. We managed to get a table outside, but after waiting for 45 minutes for our food, we were getting really hot sitting in the sun and decided to leave. As we were checking out and paying for our drinks, which was all we ended up having, it also seemed like our order was NOWHERE near the front of the queue, so we probably would have been waiting at least another half hour. I mean.... seriously?

During our wait, nobody came out to explain or apologize about the extended wait, and there were people who had been there before us who hadn't gotten their food either. It really seemed like only 25% of the packed restaurant had anything to eat, and nothing was coming out of the kitchen. I'm wondering if the crowd had been there since lunch and was still waiting on their orders. Most of the other patrons seemed like regulars who were used to the extensive wait, so I have to believe the food is good and worth it, but I guess I'll never know.

Even if the food had been amazing, I truly just don't really understand how they are operating as a restaurant. I get that the food is handmade, but is there zero prep work done to make things flow out of the kitchen faster? It's not like they had a really extensive menu, either. And if you're not able to serve customers and turn the tables around, how are you making a profit? And if you're going to make customers wait an hour for food, at least let them know, or provide chips and salsa while...

We looked up Mexican in Charlottesville so that we could stop for dinner on our road trip, and this looked to be the most authentic and delicious. We were not disappointed with our choice. Everything was delicious and tasted so fresh. They did not skimp on the avocado or cheese and the portion sizes were huge. We ate family style and ordered 6 different dishes to share between the 5 of us. We throughly enjoyed trying everything, and on the occasion that something was too spicy for us they kindly brought out sour cream. Our favorite dish was the steak huaraches. We were well taken care of by the staff who were friendly and anticipated our needs. I’d definitely recommend...

I am the biggest Mexican food snob. Growing up in Mexico I can assure ypu I can assure you I i iw my authentic Mexican food. Mind you these are simple dishes like tacos, tortas, sopes, enchiladas, etc.. However when a place like El Comalito perfects it and does it all fresh and tortillas by hand, Wuuut???? I travel all over this country and try all thre mexican restaurants and let me tell you this is the spot. Simple menu not a five to six page pretentious menu. Other places take notes. Thank you for the amazing food and service. If you are in Charlottesville VA this is the spot. I assure you when I am any where close by I will be here to eat.

P.S. Mind the heavy...