Anita's New Mexico Style Mexican Food — Restaurant in Virginia

Ok. Back in the mid 1990's I started frequenting "Anita's" in Chantilly, Manassas & Vienna. The one in Manassas was not in great location so it didn't get enough business to stay open. The one in Chantilly was about a mile from where I worked for 10 years. So I went there at least twice a week. Sometimes 3-4 times a week. If it was late the one in Vienna was 24 hours so we would go there for an "after hours" spot! ALL OF THEM HAVE THE SAME GREAT FOOD!! However, this one has probably the best atmosphere & the nicest facilities of all the Anita restaurants I've visited. The only one I haven't seen is the one on Braddock rd. And before today I had never been inside this one. Even though the bar + other parts are blocked off (cuz of Covid, I'm sure) the place is very nice. I was seated quickly & waited on quickly. Didn't take any time to get anything/ everything I asked for & it was a really good experience! (Added a few weeks later)- If you are unsure of what to order-my favorite has always been the Chicken Burrito platter with red chili & extra cheese. And then I dump as much salsa on it as the platter will hold. If your not a fan of "hot" you will want the green chili sauce instead of the red. And probably not much salsa if any. I sometimes order the Spanish rice on the side. That & refried beans comes with the dinner but I prefer the "platter" cuz the chicken gets to soak in the chili sauce & salsa a lot more giving it a lot more flavor. I use to have friends over every Monday for Monday Night Football & would get a quart of salsa to...

We have been going to this location for about 10 years and up until this past year, we always received excellent food and customer service. Last night’s experience was abysmal. Michael was our server and promptly took our drinks and food orders; then we waited for an hour before we received our first update on our food. Tables seated after us all received their food but it wasn’t until I flagged down the server that I was told “the kitchen was backed up but our food would be out shortly”. So we wait and more tables are served their food but not ours. I asked our server “what happened? Did the kitchen lose our order?” And Michael responds that there was a mix up with the food and that they had to redo our order. The manager on duty was floating in and out of our section to monitor but never came over to apologize or say anything to us. Finally Michael came over after delivering yet another table’s food that the next food out of the kitchen would be ours. Finally after an hour and 15 minutes after placing our order we finally received our food. The manager finally came over to see how the food was but didn’t even have the decency to apologize for the situation. Sadly, this will be the last time we go to Anita’s. I don’t fault the server as much as I do fault the manager for not stepping in and trying to make the situation right. Great customer service will always make bad...

We visited tonight with my parents and husband, and the verdict on the Tacos and Taquitos combo was unanimous: good, not great. My chicken fajitas were equally uninspired, not terrible but just….standard. The service was really weird too. Three different servers attended to us, apparently without ever communicating with each other. For example, one would come out and take our drink order, then another would come out to take our drink order… again. The first server didn’t mention there was an option for iced vs on the rocks, and when we mentioned we’d like frozen to the second server who asked our preference, another server came out with on the rocks. No big deal, just strange. And oh, the margaritas. At $11 for a tiny glass, I was hoping for a drink that packed a punch, or at least a gentle nudge. Instead, what I got was mostly ice with a faint whisper of lime. And the lime they used seems to be the very first lime picked by Anita herself, it was so desiccated. The tequila? Completely MIA. I'm not saying I needed a Mexican vacation in a glass, but this was more like an overpriced iceberg. All in all, Anita's delivered on being a unique experience, just maybe not the kind I’d rush to repeat. But hey, if you’re in the mood for mild tacos, mid fajitas, and a mildly puzzling service dynamic, this...