Juan More Taco RVA — Restaurant in Richmond

My sister and I tried Juan More Taco for the first time this past Saturday, and while the food was tasty, the service and overall experience left a lot to be desired.

Days before we arrived, I messaged the restaurant on Instagram to ask if they could accommodate my sister’s garlic and onion allergy. They said yes and asked for her protein preferences so they could leave it unmarinated. I told them shrimp and steak, and also mentioned we'd be there at 4 p.m. — right when they open.

We arrived on time, and I ordered the corn fritters. The server told me it was a great choice, then came back moments later to say they were out. Confusing, since the place had just opened. I asked how that could be and was told their supplier hadn’t delivered more. I ended up ordering the cheese dip instead — it was solid.

We ordered drinks next. My sister asked for a cocktail with top-shelf liquor. I ordered a mocktail with salt on the rim. Hers wasn’t great (she left more than half of it), and mine was basically a glass full of salt — not just on the rim, but throughout. I sent it back and declined a replacement.

When our main entrées arrived, my sister’s quesadilla only included her choice of proteins, cheese and cilantro (she requested the cilantro), but it was missing lettuce and tomatoes, which she had hoped to add. When we asked, we were told we needed to make that request with our server. Upon checking with the kitchen, the server said they were out of lettuce and that the tomatoes were only used in pico de gallo, which contains onions and wasn’t safe for her allergy. We appreciated the honesty but were surprised that such basic ingredients were unavailable.

When I asked about removing the drink from my bill, the bartender/manager told me I should expect salt in a drink where the rim was salted. I clarified that yes, but not so much that it’s undrinkable. He said he’d talk to the owner, who agreed to comp half the cost. I mentioned to the bartender/manager, that most places would just take the $11 off to make it right and ensure customers return — but that wasn’t the case here.

It seemingly got worse. The bartender/manager then told us how the restaurant doesn’t usually accommodate food allergies and basically acted like they’d done us a favor. My sister explained that allergy accommodations are common at many restaurants these days. If they couldn’t do it, we would’ve just gone elsewhere.

Also worth noting: there were cobwebs above the tables by the windows. A small detail, but not great for ambiance.

My sister visits Richmond a few times a year and loves exploring the food scene here. I try to make each visit special by choosing new local restaurants, but unfortunately, Juan More Taco will not be on our list again.

Overall, this was such a letdown. The food alone is worth returning, BUT service, attitude, and cleanliness really matter. Sadly, this visit made it easy to decide that we won’t...

We arrived a tad before 6 pm on the Friday evening before Christmas. None of the three of us had been to the Family-owned Juan More Taco previously. Some people already dining but no problem getting a table. It did get busier by the time we left but still no wait time. We enjoyed that there were tv's behind/above the bar showing college football with sound off and captions on.

I originally wanted red wine, our wonderful wait staff explained they just didn't have enough people ordering wine to keep it on the menu. They would open a bottle to pour a glass and then no one else would order wine and they would be left with the rest of the bottle. I'm SO GLAD they didn't have wine. All three in our party ordered the Pornstar Martini. It was vodka, and passion fruit (and maybe something else??) served in a martini glass with a large shot of Prosecco on the side ready to be poured into the glass after taking an initial sip or two. I'm not one to spend a lot of money on cocktails or wine (house wine thanks) but these were wonderful tasting and fun. Salt, sugar, tajin, or without was offered on the rim of the martini glasses. Two of us ordered without resulting in a fruity sweetness but not too sweet, and one ordered with tajin - totally changing the flavor and still wonderful. Think I'll always order a Pornstar Martini when I regularly go back ($15 each or 2 for $20 during happy hour = arrive before 6 pm for the happy hour price).

One in our party was reluctant to choose a "taco place" as our restaurant for the night bc they love traditional Mexican food with beans and rice. They were completely won over by the fabulous food, flavors, home-made corn tortillas (soft and thick), and quantity of food. We all ordered three tacos but all three of us ordered differently. SCOOP - if you hate those single use containers to bring home what you are too full to finish, then bring your own reusable container bc you are going to need it. Again, the home made corn tortillas are great and don't fall apart like many corn tortilla tacos do. One in our party said, "the filling in a single taco is what I would've expected spread across all 3 tacos." LOTS of delicious food and flavors in the tacos. While we were sitting there we felt the need to remind ourselves about Juan More Taco's origins and the food/flavors are traditional from Honduras. Don't think I've had Honduras food before but will have it many more times at Juan More Taco. Oh - and go read their background story - they are a wonderful community participant supporting other local small business and during covid supporting isolated elderly residents and healthcare personel.

I'm going to go read some more of these reviews to decide what to order differently next time I go to Juan More Taco.

And Finally (no one has read this far have they?) our wait staff...

My wife and I dined in and ordered 4 items: Tacodillas (2x Birria, 1x chicken), Burrito Bowl (chicken al pastor), Loaded Nachos (carne asada), and the seasonal juice, which was Passion Fruit.

For the price point, the portions are massive and incredibly generous. The Loaded Nachos with Carne Asada are easily our favorite! It was practically a mountain of nachos, plenty of well seasoned and juicy meat, and lots of toppings and sauces. Each table also has a bottle of a house made, green hot sauce; this hot sauce went super well with the nachos! 10/10

The burrito bowl with chicken al pastor was quite good, and the bits of pineapple gave it a nice and unique flavor. Not the best dish, but definitely good. 8/10

The Tacodillas were so huge and heavily packed with meat and toppings, I couldn't even finish all three. You can mix and match the proteins, so I went with 2x Birria Tacodillas and 1x chicken tacodilla. Chicken was good, but the Birria was definitely really tasty. However, without the consume dip, I found the Birria meat a bit dry and not as tender, but with consume, it really elevated the meat. Also worth noting is they make the corn tortillas fresh to order, and I'm not a fan of corn tortillas normally, but these were absolutely worth it! 9/10

Lastly, the passion fruit juice tasted very fresh and was quite tart and sweet at the same time, and really helped to balance out the meatyness of our meal. 9/10

Gave 2 stars to atmosphere due to the majority of the restaurant being a large bar, which definitely does not make this place family friendly. Also, the music was so loud the night we dined in, my wife and I couldn't even hear each other.

Overall, food and service were absolutely excellent. Also, I love that the owners are using halal meat only on their menu; I personally think the Carne Asada is their best protein. Will...