Los Portales — Restaurant in Maryland

The food is decent if you order it from there but none of it really travels well. I literally live less than a mile away & still when I got home the taco normally it's soagy & the fried sampler platter wasn't very good at all. Other things like their tortas though are extremely top notch so I will just stick to the things I know I like & stay away from anything in the sampler. It cost $17 (I gotta the sampler such says $11 on the menu & extra side of guac)..I threw everything out cuz it was either old (jalapeño poppers, chicken tenders) or just nasty the quesadilla...(I always wondered how someone could make a quesadilla inedible.. But it was done).. their soups are good & their lunch special number #1 is decent but it's MUCH different than other Mexican places. La Tolteca (which has the exact same lunch special #1 is infinitely better), butt considering this place is less than a mile from my house I want to like it... But many times a person that likes to venture out & try new things is often left upset that I wasted $20 on food that's not that great.. that said their torta when eaten in the restaurant is one of the best I've ever eaten & their chilaquiles is pretty decent. 1 thing that lacks though is the ability to add a fried egg which is perfect over chilaquiles!!!!!!! Now they'll do it but everyone acts confused. It's such a traditional breakfast you'd think that a traditional mexican restaurant should be able to accommodate this without any confusion, but I've ordered it 4x now & each time I'm met with what almost sounds like disgust is their voice.. considering you go to other REAL Mexican taquerias & restaurants this is how the chilaquiles come naturally... Just is a bit of a let down. Basically.. stick to what you know you like & be careful venturing out to try other things, they're not ever as good as they...

I got a beer and tacos. Bartender recommended fajitas i said yeah plus it's a lunch special. I go to order he said oh it's Sunday so there's no lunch special. Ok tacos it is. Can't find it in the 6 page menu he points it out i say cool. All him off they have the green sauce that comes with tacos he says yes, I ask for tomatoes or if he had Pico he says yes. Great. I'll take it. Food comes out. Not the green sauce I was looking for. He have me green salsa. Too hot for me. The chicken taco was super salty so I ask for sour cream from another employee because I haven't seen the guy who took my order. Brings it out I finish the taco because I don't want this whole thing to be a waste and the sour cream helped a lot along with some hot sauce. I get the check why do I see two 2 dollar charges? One for sour cream and the other doesn't even have a reason but apparently it was for the green salsa. As a restaurant manager I make sure to inform customers of upcharges before I bring anything out. These are things that at any other mexican restaurant I've been to are included but still 2 dollars is excessive. He tells me it's on the menu, so I was supposed to read every section of this menu? In reality I don't know anyone doing that. Do you read the whole menu at the cheesecake factory? No you read the sections figure out where the thing is you want and order. Either way when someone ask for a sauce or a side that you have an upcharge for you tell them first. I left the other 2 tacos right there. I still tipped the bartender a little over 20 percent because industry standards and whatnot. I won't be back. For all this is could've went to Chipotle and had better food for a better price with the...

Los Portales is one of the best mexican restaurants ive been to anywhere! We’ve been coming here for almost 20 years now and have yet to leave disappointed. I dont live in the area anymore, but every time i come to visit we make it a point to come here at least once. The staff is always very friendly, efficient, and accommodating, and their restaurant is very clean. Their food is always delicious no matter what you order, but I especially like their chili verde, fajitas, tacos, tortilla soup, and their pozole (only available fri-sun or until they run out) is nothing short of AMAZING! Also, their margaritas are excellent. They do not taste like the typical ho-hum pre made “mix” margaritas that many other places seem to serve. These taste fresh, and you can tell there is more than just tequila and lime flavored sour mix in them… While their regular margarita is excellent, the cadillac margarita is a step above and is my favorite. It is quite potent but well balanced so its not harsh and goes down smooth. It tastes delicious and in my opinion is what a perfect margarita should taste like especially if you like your drinks on the stronger side! Seriously, one jumbo cadillac margarita and you feel ready to join the mariachi band!! We love Los Portales and highly recommend...