Los Toltecos - South Riding — Restaurant in Virginia

I have visited this location regularly for the past 4 years as it has been a favorite of mine since moving here, but the service has dropped significantly. This past experience wasn't pleasant. I placed an online order over the phone because I could not choose a "no meat" option for the taco salad. You must chose meat. When speaking with the young lady on the phone there was a clear language barrier. I had to repeat everything 2-3 times, which I was patient with, but whenever she didn't understand me she would place me on a brief hold and come back to ask me the same question. I ordered a taco salad (black beans-no meat) and 3 soft chicken tacos with beans and rice. Fairly simple order. I triple checked my order with her and it was accurate. Then she said "three four and four eight." I asked her to say it again because I didn't understand. She said it again. I told her I didn't understand, so she put someone else on the phone and he said the total was 38.43, a completely different number but it made sense, so I said ok and got off the phone. Then when my mom arrived to pick up the order they couldn't find the order. The person taking the order had put the wrong name (sounds nothing like the name I said) on the order. When my mom got home the order was wrong, we received 3 hard black bean tacos (not soft chicken tacos), and black beans with no rice. The taco salad was correct! I called them back, same girl, so I asked to speak with the manager. A guy got on I explained to him the issue three times then he said it was a kitchen mix up and to come back, they would fix it. My mom went back and they replicated the same mistake again, exactly. Instead of being apologetic and correcting the meal she faced 2-3 staff members that acted as if they didn't believe her, argued with her over the price of the online menu options (which is different from the restaurant menu). Overcharging her initially. She left hungry and upset, and as an out of town guest of mine I am sad she experienced this. My daughter has celebrated two of her last 3 birthdays here but we won't be...

Disappointment yet also nice

We tried it for the first time, 8:45pm, 4.17.24. They close @ 10p & there were few tables occupied during our time there

The establishment is pretty: nice artwork, remaining true to the bright, vibrant artistry of the Hispanic cultures

Pros: My partner liked their dish, Churro Pollo, & I had a couple bites to taste. It was decent. I thought the Pollo (chicken) was overcooked (burnt), however.

Cons: LOUD music. It was good music for the most part but it was very loud for having pretty much an empty place. I like to try to compare similar food items to what I already know - to have a baseline. I choose basic dishes when I go to a new place to contrast what I already know to a new store's offering. So, I had the taco salad with refried beans, ground beef & an (EXPENSIVE & TINY!) side of guacamole. It was not a good entree. I ate maybe a 1/4 - 1/2 & left the remainder. That is how much I didn't care for it. I believe they used an inferior beef variety (cheap beef). I love Hispanic foods & guacamole & these did NOT taste LIKE FOOD & made me consider maybe my stomach was upset / acting up also. Flour tortillas: again, TINY sz & few quantities. They're a tiny size & only receiving 3 doesn't permit one to completely make their taco with the chorizo & chx (& other ingredients, e.g., chopped lettuce, rice, etc).

We love Hispanic foods & were hopeful this would be our staple go-to. Thus, no, it...

It seems like going out to eat you have to sacrifice either good service or good food, usually you never get both. This is exactly the case and more at this restaurant. To say that it is a Mexican restaurant in name only is not entirely accurate but the food is absolutely underwhelming and bland, seasoning would not hurt it at all. Boring menu and super over priced even for this area especially with the experience or lack there of from the servers. The atmosphere gives early 70’s Tijuanna bar vs food truck of the 2000’s pretty much the same as the food. Service, where do I begin. Chips and salsa need to be brought out the second you sit your guests period. There should be no need to ask multiple times for it. Constantly check the table, leaving us with empty dirty plates while we are trying to eat or not refilling our glasses with water is less than basic. Overall I would avoid this place the ratings it has comes from either drunk people with dead tastebuds or old locals waxing nostalgic about a trip to Cancun in the 80’s this place is not remotely authentic nor worth the headaches. Further, I challenge anyone to show me a top rated Mexican spot that does not serve margaritas for happy hour daily, heads up they don’t here, best you get is 3$ beers at a limited selection so good luck with...