Luzmary's Bolivian Restaurant — Restaurant in Falls Church

Arriba es en English y abajo para los que hablan Español: As I'm sitting here in this sorry excuse for a restaurant I am writing this review. Our waiter is some skinny guy with a hunchback and glasses (never caught his name). He brings us our bread and never gives us plates! My family is eating on napkins for 5 mins till he comes back and I have to ask him "¿tienen platos?" - "do you have plates?" And he laughs and leaves. It takes him 8 mins or so to go get our plates and we are done with our bread. Me and my wife ordered an empanada and a cheesebread and we never recieved them but got our sopa de mariscos- seafood soup. He wasn't going to give us our appetizers if my wife never asked for them, midway through my wife asking the waiter he literally walks away from her mid-sentence. He comes back with our appetizers and kinda tosses them on the table at us, the empanada was cold and had no flavor. The soup at first looks good but once i dig into it, the hidden problems appear. Their were clam shells and muscles that were cracked on the corners with fragments swimming around in the soup. All of the muscles in the soup were sealed shut meaning that they were dead and never properly cleaned. Me and my wife unknowingly took a spoonful of the soup and bit down on a piece of clam shell and it hurt our teeth. The cluster of the crab legs tasted gamey and nasty as if they were sitting around for a while. There was imitation crab meat all throughout and the soup itself tasted a little funky. We couldnt even finish it because it was so gross and old tasting. Then my stepmother ordered something just for the waiter to say "no hay de eso"- "we don't have that". Then why have it on the menu? Finally, It was time for us to leave and my stepmom asked for a "to-go cup for the soup". Tell me why this man comes out with two foam cups and expects me and my wife to pour this huge bowl of soup into this little thing at the table. Then i realized the to-go orders for other people were pizza boxes from another restaurant. I was so unhappy with the service and food only to be even angrier when i found out that they put their 15% tip on the bill for you. The service was HORRENDOUS i wasnt planning to tip him at all! I will never go again and there are tons of pictures to prove this horrible experience. I regret ever eating here, this place isn't worth the headache or STOMACHACHE! (My stomach is in shambles after eating this poor excuse for food). I suggest they get their food rated by some health department because seafood handled improperly can lead to serious illness. 🤮

ESPAÑOL: Para los que hablan español: este restaurante es asceroso! La sopa de mariscos tenia un sabor como que ya estaba vencido! Habian pedazos quebrados de los curilles en la sopa. Cada vez que iba a comer un poco los mascaba y me dio dolor de diente! Y como habian unos curilles que estaban muertos antes de cocinar, no los pudieron lavar bien. Habian migajitas de arena en la sopa! Hasta me dio dolor de estomago la comida! Y El mesero es un joven flaco con lentes y no los dio platos para comer y tuve que pedir platos para mi y mi familia! Tambien nos dio un actitud cuando preguntamos adonde estaban nuestras entradas y antes que terminara de preguntar solo dio la vuelta y regreso con las entradas y practicamente tiro los platos en la mesa. Despues de todo, la novia de mi papa quizo llevarse la sopa ascerosa y pedio si lo puede empacar. Regreso con vasos y nos dijo que nosotros lo podemos hacer! Como ibamos a poner una sopa con MARISCOS en un vaso en la mesa sin botar la sopa en nuestra ropa!!?? Al fin llega el cheque y ellos te hacen el favor de poner 15% de propina!!!! Yo ni lo queria dejar propina por el pobre servicio y el actitud que tenia ese mesero!Nunca vuelvo a esta pobre escusa de restaurante! La comida fue tan asceroso que me hizo enferma y hay fotos para que ustedes veian las pruebas. Deberian ser investigados del departamento sanitario por la pobre cualidad de "comida"...

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This late afternoon was my first visit to Luzmary on recommendation of a friend. I read Google reviews for Luzmary in the parking lot before going in and got the feeling dining here is hit-or-miss and I had that sense on entering. Lucky for me my visit was a hit for the most part. I did not have the feeling of any management presence my entire time there - that everyone working on the floor, behind the bar and in the kitchen were on their own. There were no more than a dozen customers inside the restaurant during my visit and only a couple people outside under the tent. I think the staff to customer ratio on my visit was within a span of control that liaise fare managment could be gotten away with. The atmosphere was friendly and easy going.

I was delighted discovering that Luzmary offers pisco sours which was the first thing I ordered to enjoy while looking over the menu. It looked okay in the glass. The pisco and bar mix combination was perfect flavor to my taste. But, what appeared to be egg white mirangue on top was instead very fine ice crystals that had no flavor at all of course but had the appearance of mirangue which was a strong disappointment. The glass was overwhelmingly filled with shaved ice and very little drink (pisco and bar mix). It was made to look somewhat promising by having the classic dash of bitters on top.

My pisco sour recipe is 1 to 1 pisco to bar mix (shaken and strained into serving glass), topped with egg white mirangue (whisked in a chilled stainless steel bowl until peaks form); micro-planed fresh nutmeg on top of the mirangue. Attached to this review is the photo of the Luzmary pisco sour I was served and a photo of one of mine. Upon casual viewing of them side-by-side each looks good but I assure you the one I make is run-a-way outstanding. Lastly, Luzmary pisco sour is $11.00. I object to being charged a premium price for such a corner cutting drink.

I ordered fajitas with beef, chicken and shrimp. The dish arrived at the table piping hot but I was struck by cheese covering the top which I cannot have. I pointed out there is no mention of cheese as an ingredient in the menu description. Without objection or hesitation another serving was made which also reached my table piping hot and was delicious. The fajitas came with 4 flavorful soft corn tortillas and side of black beans and rice. The portions were, in my opinion, generous.

I boxed half of my entree to go so I could try Luzmary’s flan that I enjoyed with black coffee. The flan was exceptionally dense which was fine just unexpected. The texture was closer to that of cheese cake than custard. I will come back but I am not...

I recently had an experience at this restaurant and unfortunately, I must say that the service was extremely disappointing. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it was one of the worst services I have encountered in town. The lack of customer service was quite apparent throughout my visit.

However, despite this negative aspect, I must admit that I continue to visit this restaurant solely for their delicious pastries called salteñas. These pastries are absolutely amazing and I simply cannot resist them. They are the only reason I keep returning to this establishment.

Regrettably, the rudeness displayed by the waitstaff is a major drawback. On top of that, if you happen to have any complaints about the food, the response you receive is far from satisfactory. Instead of addressing your concerns, they practically tell you to go elsewhere if you don't like it. This kind of dismissive attitude is disheartening and does not contribute to a pleasant dining experience.

Another disappointing aspect is their system of forcing a tip service. This seems to result in a lack of professionalism from the servers, as they don't feel the need to work for their tips. It is truly unfortunate to witness such poor service in one of the few Bolivian cuisine restaurants in town.

Considering all these factors, I have to advise against dining at this restaurant unless you are specifically seeking out their salteñas. While the pastries are undeniably delicious, the overall experience is marred by the lack of customer service and unprofessional behavior. It is truly disheartening to see the potential of a unique culinary experience overshadowed by such...