Mariscos El Barco — Restaurant in Manassas

Came here honestly as a last-minute option for my birthday. I walked in about 9:15pm. Waited for about 5 minutes until someone from the staff acknowledged us. The place was a mess, maybe due to a big party or something that occurred. Finally, someone asked us if we needed something, I simply said I wanted to set at bar and get a drink and some food to go. We were told to wait a little longer and finally told to set at the bar area. The bar was messy and cluttered with various items. Staff was all over the restaurant, which appeared to be cleaning up from a big event. A young lady came over after we grabbed the menus ourselves and asked what we would like. I requested a l I make my mind up about the food selections. My man, decided he wanted a beer and aked the bar tender, who by the way was by himself making a ton of drinks, seemed to be a language barrier so, my man aksed the lady again to grab him a beer. Bar tender was friendly, though. I ended up ordering the chicken tacos. They were served hot and fresh and were delicious. They paired great with my margarita. While all this was going on, there was a live mariachi band playing, too. That honestly made my experience a little better since the customer service could improve. Doesn't matter what time someone walks in, people should still be treated with upmost respect andatleast greeted with a hello. Since it was my birthday and man wanted to get me a shot. He requested a top shelf tequila, which they placed high on a shelf. No one on staff seemed to know the prices of these shots off hand and asked each other how much. We were told several different prices, which was confusing. All staff, dealing with bar and alcohol should be trained on prices. This older man came out, which I assumed was the manager. I asked if he was, and he seemed to be busy moving bottles, etc. I gave him compliments on the food at least because the tacos were good. I also mentioned his establishment seemed cool and my first time there. Well, his response was poor and laethargic and didn't seem genuine. He said something like, "Oh, thanks for coming in this low tone." My man even picked up on that response. It's about the tone that didn't sit right with me. I probably will never go back to this establishment, and it's probably nice on a different night, but I wasn't...

Finally after all the hype I had to give this astonishing and new restaurant in the area a try. Authentic Mexican fresh seafood!! What a blast!!! Very original and explosive and quite risky investment inplanted. I'll break it down to you from con to pros, the business the food and the idea is phenomenal but definitly needs some adjustments if they plan to survive. First off, the impresion, decor the ambience, amazing. Quite spectacular decor, comfortable settings 5 star. Let's get to dining experience

X water monopoly, 💧 yoooo the basic h2O of human needs and survability is denied once ur seated, u need to beg for water 💧 no h2O provided at the table, sure you can ask for their bottle 2$ water but I think that's a little steep, considering this is not even a half foot step of 5 star dining restaurant. So right away, bad start! No water! Complimentary chips w an explosive spicy salsa that will burn your throat. Monopoly. Started with the fresh half shell oysters... this are no fresh oysters, right away you can tell, they r canned, the way they r full of water and no flavor at all, not even stuck to the shells, canned oysters placed on top of recycled shells. No flavor how so ever, also where is the horse radish or cocktail sauce? Terrible!! I had to experiment w their table side of unknown spices to gulp them down. Hideous! We then proceeded to order their paella 🥘 which actually turned out and became our surprise, it was outstanding, well condimented and full of flavors!! Spaniards have nothing to envy, big plus. Highly recommended, their cold ceviche with tangy sweet flavor and spices is a must try as well, service wad gracious and curious, I will definitly return but I hope the management team considers making a few adjustments and along the road I can see this place...

I understand that it was Mother’s Day and entertainment was a plus, but I’d think with all these families they would bring their young children and the volume of the music they were playing is damaging to young ears. My baby literally was scared at cried at the top of his lungs and you could barely hear him. Our family had to take turns holding our baby outside while some ate because we couldn’t risk his ears to the loud music. Now the food. For their extensive menu selection we assumed that whatever we chose would’ve be delicious and we all selected very different items but to be honest everything lacked seasoning. Two of us got the fried fish, and neither of us tasted any salt or flavor, just fish. We got a plate of tacos and 2 specialty dishes, besides the side of rice, fries and salad we were not given any dressings or sauce. Besides the hot sauce that was on the table, we had to request it from our waitress. That was a challenge among itself as we had to scream our request over the loud music that played the whole time we ate. We also decide to get some margaritas and it honesty was good, good flavor and we could taste the tequila. We did have an issue with 1 of the drinks as a mosquito was in it. Thankfully we showed the waitress and she remove the drink from the bill. Overall, we had high hopes for this restaurant as it was our first time here and it had just celebrated its 1 year anniversary. But we were disappointed and not pleased with...