Cuates Grill — Restaurant in Falls Church

First time at Cuates Grill was disappointing. In my option, El Tio is going to remain our go to option.

1. Table was not cleaned prior to seating us.

2. We were having dinner with another couple. One in our party was not drinking alcohol. Prior to placing any orders, we asked two servers to split the bill and they said no. I can understand if you have a table of more than 6 or 8, but we were two couples and they would not accommodate.

3. Service was not attentive. Several times we had to flag staff down to place drink orders, obtain water, place food orders and obtain utensils.

4. I ordered the grilled steak and shrimp Arracheras Molcajete. It should have been served in a traditional hot molcajete (Mexican version of the mortar and pestle). Instead it was served on a regular plate. Disappointing since I was telling my friend how awesome the presentation was going to be. A table near us ordered the exact same item and received the better platting. They also never asked how the steak should be prepared and it was overdone.

5. Two of our party ordered the masitas de puerto. Both agreed it was dry and lacked flavor.

Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 Received a nice response from the owner. I'm updating my rating to 2 stars and will revise accordingly if I decide to visit again.

Saturday, April 9, 2022 Revising to 3 stars for management quick response and handling of the concerns. Will revise rating after when we dine again.

Monday, April 18, 2022 Revising to 5 stars. Service and food were excellent tonight. We didn't go for the entrees above because we were gun-shy. Instead, my husband opted for tacos and I went for beef enchiladas. Both were served exactly as advertised. We sat at the bar with Alex who took excellent care of our requests. We'll be...

CG is the new place in Falls Church for Mexican cuisine, so it needs to measure up against El Tio, Taco Bamba, and Urbano.

It fails, but OTOH, I would say that I'll return anyway to try more things on the menu and because improvement is the name of the game.

Where to start, with the positives or the negatives? Let's go with the negatives first and then there can be a hopeful ending. I stood five minutes at the front entrance before anyone greeted me. Now, that could be a function of shortstaffing in these trying times. And I'm not going to make a fuss about waiting. All I'll say is that you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Chips and salsa served right away but the salsa was uninspired and chunky. A far cry from Urbano. Cuates needs to get its game up here. Drinks next and that's key to a profitable restuarant. Enchiladas were fine, mole sauce was acceptable but extra charge. Food and drink quality both on a par with El Tio but lacked the bang of Taco Bamba. Truth be told it was more on the level of a District Taco.

The chairs are not designed for lingering, let's just leave it at that.

So what were the positives? Well the drinks were good, so bless them for finally acquiring their liquor license. The service was fairly quick and the food was hot. I thought it was a bit bland, but then again I didn't order it spicy, either. The decor is actually pleasant. The acoustics are not horrible.

In general? This is a satisfactory place to go to when you want Mexican-style dishes. It's one cut above mediocre. The prices are Falls Church-ian so this isn't the place to go if you're on a budget. Might be more suited to getting together with...

Absolute worst place for "Mexican" food if you can even call it that. I decided to visit this place a week ago and had a terrible experience! 1. The rice was old, if you know "Mexican" rice or any Spanish rice it is not supposed to be sticky. This means it's old or not cooked right. 2. The beans were canned beans, I can tell the difference! 3. The meat they described as "trompo" was definitely not even close!! The worse part about my visit was the service. I waited 20 mins for just water, I asked the waiter and the person that brought the appetizers. Thank goodness I wasn't choking! I asked for limes for and waited an additional 15 mins. Basically everything was a long wait. Needless to say I will not be back to this place!!!! If you know real "Mexican" or even "Tex-Mex" this is NOT the place!!!! Being both from Mexico and growing up in Texas this food is the worst encounter I've had ever!!!

REPLY to owner response: No thank you! I am well aware the food is not up to par you cannot convince me otherwise! It's definitely not needed to have a "dish on the house". I asked the waiter what the salsa verde was made with and he literally said "jalapenos" No, pos wow!! Es ovio con chile jalapeno. I asked because it had a wasabi taste to that was not authentic to salsa verde! Thanks but...