El Cerro Azul — Restaurant in Virginia

4/2 update:

Stopped in on Tuesday for a celebration lunch! We took note of the $5 house Margarita special and enjoyed 2 rounds of those. I love how efficient the service here is and we were the only patrons in the restaurant when we arrived. The food was delicious as always and we love the self serve salsa bar (white dip is our fave). My bf had the lunch carnitas which was still a good portion and delicious. I had shrimp chimichangas ($2 upcharge) and a soft taco (I love that the tacos here are always filled with meat and not flat and lump like other places). All our food was fresh and seasoned well and it was nice to enjoy the restaurant while it wasn’t too crowded. Always a recommendation for me!

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This was my first time coming to this location and I was very pleased. I’ve been to the Powhatan location about 3 times. My boyfriend and I came here on Cinco de Mayo and were told it was a 50 minute wait. They gave us buzzers so we were able to wait in the car. Once we were seated everything was so smooth and prompt. I definitely think the staff was well prepared for the crowd because all of our food came out quickly!

Our server Walter was amazing. He gave so nice and gave us great recommendations and didn’t forget anything. The food was delicious! Our second refill of chips were warm and they have a salsa bar with masks so you can pick anything additional you’d like.

I can’t wait to go back for the quesabirria tacos again because they hit the spot! We ordered jumbo margs and apparently they have a mucho size that’s even bigger. This establishment adheres to social distancing spacing and mask provisions. I also think the owner greeted us which was super nice. Definitely a spot I...

Absolutely terrible service on Wednesday nights, which yes, I know they're busy, but they treat you like they hate you for wanting to eat there. The food is okay, however I can find just as good food at any other Mexican restaurants around here. Last time I went, my waiter was usually no where to be found. Had to wait 20-30 minutes in between visits, usually during those visits we had to remind him of things we ordered which were never brought out. They charged us for a soda with the dollar tacos, which we never even got the soda. I told our waiter I felt he needed to remove the soda from the bill but keep the tacos a dollar each. He said he couldn't do that. I understand the policy is we need to get a soda in order for the tacos to be a dollar each, however when you don't even bring us the soda in the first place then we shouldn't be charged for it. He said then he would charge us full price for the tacos. We argued for about 10 minutes, when finally he said it was our fault for not reminding him to get us the drink. First of all, we could barely find him to even remind him...second of all, it's your job to bring us a drink if we order it. It's not our fault if you can't do your job. After realizing we weren't getting anywhere with him, we asked for a drink to go and haven't been back sense. I really never make a fuss over stuff at restaurants, but after having so many bad experiences there, I figure it's not worth going there anymore. I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 just because the food is okay and the Wednesday dollar tacos is a great deal. It's a shame they don't let you do carryout anymore with the tacos, because having to sit in their dining is just a...

Oh, El Cerro, how I've watched you grow from a hole in the wall to a local legend. You can't put one foot in the door here on a Wednesday night without seeing at least half a dozen separate parties of people that you personally recognize. If you just say "Cerro?" to almost anyone in Midlothian in any context, you'll almost always get a subtle, knowing nod of quiet agreement in reverence to the little restaurant that has won our hearts over many years and shared memories- dinner has been agreed upon.

The food is about as good as you could reasonably expect for a kitchen operating at the quantity that they do, but I wish they could find a way to reopen the bar area because it really helped lessen the wait time on Wednesdays which has kind of gotten out of control recently. All things considered, I have something of a personal connection to this place and many of the staff know my regular order off of the top of their heads which is more than I can say about anywhere else around Midlothian. If I could somehow tally the total amount of money I've spent here every week for almost a decade now I would probably just about lose consciousness. Cheers to many more...