Guapo's Restaurant — Restaurant in Virginia

Our family chose Guapos to celebrate my mothers 50th anniversary, and our night could not have gone worse.

On a busy Saturday night we expected a bit of a wait, after asking for a table we were told it was a 30 minute wait absolutely no problem with us. A group of a similar size asked for a table about 10 minutes after us. Both parties waited side by side for about 45 minutes. Way past the initial 30 minute quote.

At the 45 minute mark the party that came after us was seated before us, at this point my oldest brother went up to the hostess to ask about our wait time, when he politely pointed out that the party after us was seated before us, the hostess looked panicked at her mistake. Instead of apologizing she mentioned that the party that was seated had children and we did not. This was weird to us because we were not aware that children had priority seating…..? Something that does not make sense to us, it was evident that she was making an excuse as to why the other party had been seated. I am not quick to make judgments, but it was very clear to everyone in my party that a white family had been made priority being seated rather than my Latino family. This is just inexcusable behavior

We called over a manager who apologized and told us we would be seated very soon and they were going to take care of our bill, a very kind gesture but not a solution to the problem, that not everyone is treated equal in this restaurant.

Even after the managers promise, we waited 20 more minutes and were never seated. My family left to instead go home and arrange dinner plans for my mother birthday, and my brother stayed behind and had a conversation to the manager about looking over families. At the end nothing was accomplished and our family waited around for an hour and half. We didn’t yell, we didn’t make accusations, we didn’t make a scene, we waited for the situation to be fixed, we were kind and respectful, but we were looked over time and time again.

This is such a disappointing experience at a Mexican restaurant, and in...

We were on vacation and happened down this way looking for a late meal (it was about 8pm). Most shops were closed but Guapo's was open and bustling so we gave it a shot. Their free appetizer chips were incredible, especially if you get a fresh warm batch, and the pico and salsa (not sure of ingredients but warm brown dip). Wife got a chimichanga which she loves and I got a combo of cheese and chicken enchiladas which were fabulous! We came back at the end of our trip and had margaritas which were best I've had (not too sweet or "alcohol-y) in a while. That led to a 2nd dinner which I ordered the Cinco De Mayo platter expecting a couple fajitas. I read the menu wrong because what arrived to the table took most of the available space: a plate with three BBQ pork ribs, strips of grilled chicken, strips of tender steak, chorizo, fajita onions/peppers, and two of their shrimps as well as a second plate with baked beans and yellow rice and a third plate with scoops of pico, guacamole, and sour cream and a basket with three free warm tortillas. Every single thing on this plate was out of this world delicious!!! Pricing was very reasonable too, staff were very friendly but soft spoken and the atmosphere inside was pretty noisy (although patio/outdoor seating is nice if the weather is to your liking). They had desert too but I didn't get any because I was too full both visits. We ended up eating at a nearby restaurant on a different day and the value comparison was night and day. Guapo's is your best value on this street in Shirlington regardless if you're looking at taste, price, or customer friendliness (hours,...

I HAVE LIVED IN SHIRLINGTON AREA FOR 28 YEARS, HAVE BEEN EATING AT GUAPOS IN SHIRLINGTON SINCE IT OPENED.

BROUGHT CLIENTS TO LUNCH HERE ON A FRIDAY 12/6/24, THE AMBIENCE WAS NICE, THE SERVICE AT GUAPOS IS ALWAYS EXCELLENT, THEY ARE THE BEST SERVERS IN ALL OF SHIRLIGNTON SURPASSING EVEN CARLYLE NEXT DOOR.

MY SERVER WAS MADISON, (I BELIEVE) SHE WAS EXCELLENT, THE FOOD WAS GREAT AND I WAS QUITE SATISFIED WITH THE VISIT.

SO I WENT BACK FOR DINNER ON 12/10/24 WTH A FRIEND. THIS TIME (4 DAYS LATER) IT WAS LIKE I WAS VISITING A TOTALLY DIFFERENT RESTAURANT, THE MUSIC AT THE BAR WAS SO LOUD I COULD NOT EVEN HEAR THE HOSTESS TALKING TO ME ABOUT THE WAIT.

YOU COULD NOT CARRY ON A CONVERSATION, IN THE WAITING AREA OR AT THE BAR, EVEN A YOUNGER CROWD COULD NOT LINGER TO EAT AND HAVE A FEW DRINKS WITH FRIENDS WITH THAT LEVEL OF NOISE

I HAVE EATEN AT GUAPOS BAR BEFORE, AND NEVER EXPERIENCED MUSIC SO LOUD AND REPELLING IT FELT LIKE THE BARTENDER OR THE MANAGER ON DUTY WAS TRYING TO IMPRESS NEW CLIENTS THAT THE BAR WAS HIP.

I HAVE GROWN UP IN THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS AND MY SUGGESTION IS THIS:

THE MUSIC CAN BE LOUDERAT THE BAR BUT NOT SO LOUD THAT IT PREVENTS YOUR CLIENTS FROM CARRYING ON A CONVERSATION. PEOPLE GO TO A BAR TO SOCIALIZE AND THAT INVOLVES SPEAKING WITH PEOPLE, THE MORE THEY TALK THE MORE THEY DRINK. MUSIC SO LOUD THAT A HUMAN BEING CANNOT CARRY A CONVERSATION IS HURTING YOUR BUSINESS.

ILL BE BACK FOR LUNCH AND BE HAPPY TO EAT THERE IF THE MUSIC IS REASONABLE. LOVE GUAPOS OTHERWISE AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND...