La China Poblana Taqueria — Restaurant in Manassas

I’ve passed this place a million times in the last two years and have been wanting to stop for a while. Tonight I did. My DD and I ordered a cheese enchilada platter with a side of chile relleno and a Birria Ramen. We were reading they brought a basket of chips and three salsas. One was a mild green tomatillo with very little heat, one was a smoky chipotle with medium heat, and the main one was a traditional salsa. The chips were good. They are on the thicker side so they are great for dipping and have a great corn flavor. The weight staff was extremely friendly and made sure to refill our drinks and clear our empty plates promptly, which I appreciate. Call my daughter took her first bite of the Birria Ramen, she said, “this is literally the best th. I’ve ever put in my mouth.” Important to note that she developed a fondness for Ramen when we lived in Tokyo. Adding it to the birria, took it to the next level. If you order it, be extremely hungry, or share! They serve a ridiculously generous bowl of soup with tons of Ramen, chock full of the most tender and tasty Birria. I definitely thought a little squeeze of lime was a necessity! Love that little bit of acid. When I was five I used to go to a Mexican restaurant with my mom. It’s because of this that I judge every Mexican restaurant based on their cheese enchiladas. Do not do that here. These enchiladas are authentic! And that is completely different than what we are typically used to. That’s not to say don’t order them, it’s just to say don’t expect them to be your typical cheese enchiladas. First of all, their salsa Roja is quite a bit spicier. Also, the cheese is a white Mexican cheese with the texture almost of a paneer (Indian) or block of feta. It doesn’t melt. That all said, it was delicious. And spicy. I think I will try them next time with a salsa verde or even molé. That same cheese is in the Chili Relleno, So once we got used to the idea that our cheese was not going to be melted, we could just enjoy the flavor. The sauce had a hint of cinnamon and it wasn’t spicy, it was just delicious. Did I mention how friendly the wait staff was? Even though we didn’t have room for it, we were intrigued by the Oreo cheesecake. It was really good but seemed like it had been prepared elsewhere and had been refrigerated for a while. Next time I think I’ll go for a flan. Anyway, if you haven’t been here, try it! They have sandwiches, burritos, the most amazing Ramen etc. Just make sure you don’t go thinking it will be like any other Mexican restaurant you’ve ever been to...

I've wanted to try out this place for over a year but rarely get to Manassas. Convinced my wife to try it with me today even though she wanted to go to our regular place. Came in at 3:30 on a Sunday. Good crowd. Started off with a Sangria only to find out it's non alcoholic and has 34 grams of sugar in it. No way we're drinking that. Easy mistake although I've ordered a hundred Sangria's in my life and it was never a sugary nonalcoholic carbonated soda. Ordered a queso and chips, both were good. Ordered a Chile Relleno and enchiladas and a burrito to take home. Food took a minute but looked great when it arrived. Food was cold, not warm at all. Plates cold as well. Waitress never stopped back so eventually I stood up and got another servers attention. He apologized profusely and said it would be 5 minutes. Food came back out and wife realized her order was wrong. She got chicken instead of cheese and IT WAS STILL NOT HOT. Warmer but not hot. I took two bites and realized my cheese in my Relleno was solid. Not melted at all. No sign of original waitress so after 3 minutes I had to go and find the guy that had helped us to tell him we wanted to cancel the burrito and wanted no part of the wrong order. I did take my Relleno home figuring I'd heat it up properly at home later on. We were under a time crunch and had been there for 30 minutes with only some queso to show for it. Gotta mention our original waitress had never appeared again from when she took our order. We got the check and I spent $33.34 for Queso and God only knows what else. EVERYBODY DROPS THE BALL ON OCCASION. What matters is you're response to the screw up. We never complain and there is not a single restaurant that we frequent that the staff isn't thrilled to...

It's a taqueria. This is a super good taqueria. Yes, there are a lot of mex/tex-mex/spanish/central american food joints in the area. But this is that "go-out-of-your-ways" place to eat especially for these food items done so well that there are no close competitors that I am aware of.

So what should you come here to eat (and this list will surely grow and get updated as I incrementally sample their menu over time):

-- Birria (beef slow-cooked stew) dishes -- It is jaw-dropping full-bodied beef consommé. When you were a kid and your parents describe some food as light-bodied or full-bodied but you just have no clue. Well come try the birria consommé here and you'll get it right away.

-- Birria ramen -- A formidable sleeper and culinary rival I would bet with anytime when up against the tonkotsu ramen.

-- Menudo, menudo, menudo! -- Hands down the best, most gelatinous, silky soft texture honey-comb beef tripe soup in my life. And it is an entire bowl of menudo + a nicely stewed ham-hock to gnaw on at the same time. This is so good, it's getting on my death row meal list!

-- Black beans & rice -- It's so good here and only here, I actually ordered extra beans & rice to take home. Almost everyone's beans and rice is the same but this place is special. I believe the beans & rice here is better than Popeye's.

-- Flan -- Hard to describe but I feel like I start to dream when I start eating their flan. No, there's zero cannibis/THC/CBD/CBG/CBN additives here. To describe the flan as velvety smooth is an understatement here. Tres leches cake comes in very close second here as well.

So that's the 4 major food groups described above which you should ever need in your life. Hope you will come to love the food the...