El Pitayo Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Lovettsville

Very excited about a New Mexican food joint in Lovettsville, and it was amazing. I had the chimichanga, one chicken one beef tip. The tortillas were fried perfectly, nice crisp, then soft and chewy. The meats were expertly marinated and the portion was perfect. Agreed with another reviewer, guacamole wasn’t necessarily bland, but certainly a little too much “avocado”. Along with the salsa, I imagine flavors are tailored to the demographics. ;) Would be nice if we got a choice in spice level maybe… My Son got the steak fajita burrito, and was blown away by the flavor. Lots of steak, plenty of fixins on the plate. He even ate the onions! $15 a dish not too bad, $7 guac was a little light on the portion, but I suppose this is the inflationary world we live in now… The decor as others have mentioned, is beautiful and inspires an excitement about eating some great Mexican food. Makes me wonder if it’s off the shelf and I’ll see it somewhere else, or if they had an artist do it all? Either way, great job! The service was very good, everyone seemed happy to sell the product. If I had to nit pick, it was closer to diner service than fine dining and showed a typical lack of formal training that is common in family run restaurants. Things like a 2 minute check back, unsolicited refills and pre bussing make such a big difference in the experience. I wish more restaurants would understand, we go out to eat for the experience. Great food is simply how we decide where to have that experience. Rant at end, so maybe most didn’t make it this far! Great place, we are soooo happy...

Man, I'm reluctant to review this place cause we loved it so much that we wanna keep it all to ourselves! Just kidding, it's not like my recommendation is gonna create a "land rush" to this excellent Mexican restaurant, so I'm gonna tell ya what's up. This place has cultural authenticity from the moment you walk in the door. The artisan chairs, tables and wall decor, along with the music and bilingual waitstaff give this place an excellent vibe! But none of that really matters unless the food and drinks are good, right?! Well, you're in for a treat because they're excellent. From our multiple visits, we've had steak, carnitas as well as their chicken. Even had their flan for desert. Yum! The drinks by Luis, their bartender, are also top notch! Especially if you like tropical stuff like their mango margaritas. Note: If you show up during their dinner rush on a weekend, and there's a wait, just go grab a drink at the bar and they'll take you to your table as soon as it's available. Btw, our table was ready quicker than they said it would take, so don't be surprised if you don't have the opportunity to finish your bar drink and have to take to the table with ya. It's not a bad...

I had a mixed experience at El Pitayo Mexican Restaurant. The service was friendly, and the staff tried to make things right, but the food just didn’t hit the mark.

I ordered a soft chicken taco, but it was absolutely drenched in chicken juice—so much that it soaked through the tortilla and made it pretty unappetizing. The Burrito Grande looked promising but ended up being very bland. It really lacked seasoning and depth of flavor, which made it just okay at best.

We also ordered a chile relleno à la carte, but it never showed up. When the waiter brought the check, we let him know, and since we had already finished eating, we asked him to just take it off the bill. He apologized and came back with the corrected receipt—and to his credit, he also brought us a complimentary flan.

The flan was excellent—smooth, rich, and flavorful. It was definitely the best part of the meal and helped end things on a better note.

Overall, I appreciate the gesture from the staff, but the food needs work. If the kitchen focused more on seasoning and presentation, this place could be...