Blue Habanero - Street Tacos & Tequila — Restaurant in Richmond

I come to Strawberry Street often and I've been waiting for this place to open up! Comparing this to the Mexican restaurants in RVA, this place is 5 stars and the best Mexican restaurant I've been to in this city. Comparing it to Mexican restaurants in general, this place is 4 stars. We ordered the Quesabirria tacos, La Paz tacos, The Trio starter, and the Spicy Cilantro margarita.

Amazing birria tacos, they could use more queso though. The consome that goes with it was delicious. We also ordered the La Paz tacos with fried fish, which were definitely not as good in comparison. The fish was dry and plain. There wasn't enough sauce on it to make up for that. The Sopa Azteca I ordered as a side was very good! Lots of flavor. The queso dip in the Trio was fantastic, very flavorful and tasty. The salsa was great, your standard restaurant salsa. The guacamole on the other hand was not my favorite. It was too plain, maybe it needed more salt.

The Spicy Cilantro margarita blew me away! Best margarita I've ever had, not only for the flavor but also for the way it was prepared. It definitely is very spicy and I love that. If you like margaritas and you like spicy, I recommend it.

I love the Day of the Dead decor and the blue theme. The atmosphere is casual and fun while also upscale. It was pretty busy when we came. The service is so friendly!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience here and I would definitely return. I already told my friends...

We went to Blue Habanero for a second try at getting service. (The first time we went, the host didn’t even look at us so we just left after 2 minutes). This time, the host was a different person. He did acknowledge us, but must not have been paying attention when he promised us a table, because when he grabbed two menus and took us around the corner, there were no empty tables. Instead of asking us to wait, he grabbed a small table that was next to the host stand and dragged it into an open area where we were awkwardly spaced between a booth and another table that was actually dining-sized. It wasn’t long before I noticed that our improvised spot was causing traffic jams for the servers and people trying to leave. My partner later pointed out that an employee was using a chair to wipe down menus on and that takeout orders were being put precariously on a ledge. Apparently we had been given the menu-wiping / takeout table! XD I would’ve rather waited than feel guilty for sitting and eating in a restaurant. Our server was nice, at least. We got margaritas and tacos, both of which were below average and definitely overpriced considering the quality. My blood orange margarita tasted like Tropicana OJ. I didn’t drink much of it. The rice was bad, which is like... c’mon. My partner's refried beans were obviously straight from the can. Overall, a mediocre experience and I won’t be returning despite its...

I never write negative reviews, but, I’m rather embarrassed that Richmonders like this place so much. The food is decent, with not much variety. Servers are friendly enough, but on more than one occasion I have waited 45 min+ for a table when I was told the wait was 20 min. There were clearly tables open and there is little to no space to wait, and most servers will have the presumption to ask you not to block a certain area…if those waiters focused that energy to cleaning more tables (there were more than several cleared tables but no movement with waitlist), then I think the operation would run smoothly. When I asked the host what the status was after I had been waiting patiently for 45 min, he explained that some people were just sitting at their table talking. While I understand this, it is also the restaurant’s responsibility to ask people to adhere to a time limit at the table. Especially MORE SO if you have such a long wait. My friend and I ended up going to a different Mexican place and got our food by the time we got a text that our table was ready—1.5 HOURS later. The food is just not that exceptional for that wait or organization; I would expect God to be serving food for that ordeal. I think it’s just more so just one of the few Mexican restaurants in the Fan. I would...