El Techo — Restaurant in Washington

I found El Techo on Instagram and was very excited to check it out. Before I get into my experience, I do want to say that the food was phenomenal, and the mojito that I ordered was great! The decor is also cute, and I was excited to take some pictures.

We had reservations at 5:30, when we walked in the hostess could not even be bothered to look up from her paper to say hello and seemed like she was in a bad mood. I told her my name and my reservation time. She stood at the hostess stand and pointed to the table for us to walk to. The table she pointed to was literally in the bar area, there were people standing around it and leaning on the table. (Less than half the tables had people sitting at them, so there was no need to seat someone in such an uncomfortable situation considering there were so many empty tables) I asked her if we could sit at any of the other tables, so we weren't in the standing area of the bar. With a major attitude, she said all of the tables were reserved. I told her that I had a reservation, and literally any other table would be fine. I just didn't want people to be standing on top of me as I was eating. She did agree to put us at a hightop table on the other side of the restaurant but was very clear that we had to leave in 1 hour. We sat down and ordered, our waiter was kind and helpful. Admittedly we were kind of still on edge when we sat down because of the aggressive nature of the hostess, we each got a drink and ordered tacos, and a burrito.

Within about 10 minutes of waiting for our food the hostess walked over the a couple sitting next to us, telling them that they had to leave. The woman said that they had a reservation and they were just finishing their drink. (I don't know the whole story on why they were being asked to leave. There is a 90 min time limit, probably because the place is so small. BUT again there were still many open tables to seat people at.) The way the hostess was talking to them was WILDLY inappropriate. They finally told her that her attitude was disrespectful and asked for the manager. The Manager came over and started arguing with the couple. It was then that the couple seemed to be done with the abuse. They were all screaming at each other, and I was little scared that it was going to turn into a physical fight.

We were so uncomfortable the entire time we were there. We ate as fast as we could, paid, and left. I have never felt unsafe at a restaurant in my life. From the minute we walked in to the minute we left I was on edge. No one wants to eat their food after being verbally abused and then watch a fight beak out. The owner needs to seriously take a look at the management. It has the potential to be such a great place, it's a shame that it is being...

This place is extremely hot. The fans don’t do anything for the dc heat and humidity. Would definitely suggest they invest in some air conditioning or insulation. I had a reservation for 3 pm. I arrived a bit early just because a few of the reviews stated it’s hard to find, plus parking in dc is crazy. I got there around 2:40. They had me at a table backed up against the bar, my back was literally on the bar front and people sitting at the bar were literally brushing arms with me. It was a very awkward space so luckily the host moved us to another table once my friend arrived. The fans are also in certain spots only so if you happen to be seated somewhere with no fan you are in for a brutal experience. I booked my reservation for 3 because brunch isn’t supposed to end until 4 and that was the whole reason I wanted To go, FOR BRUNCH. Remember, I got There at 2:40. I was only given the regular menu. I sat At my table without being greeted, acknowledged or offered any water until 3:15. When the waiter finally came over. He seemed a bit overwhelmed and for a while I thought He was the only waiter there because he was literally taking orders from every table in there. My guest arrived around 3:30 and we asked about brunch. We were told they were no longer selling brunch after 3:30. But mind you I had Been sitting there since 2:40, had anyone greeted me in a timely fashion I would’ve at least Been able to order brunch in enough time for both of us before my guest arrived. Everyone is super nice, especially the waiter Ezekiel who wasn’t even our waiter, but took care of all of our needs when we couldn’t find our waiter. I didnt Even get the waiter’s name because that is how inattentive he was. Did not introduce himself or anything. The shrimp tacos were not good so they were taken off the check. Again, the staff is super nice, I think They just do not have the proper staffing or space for all the guests they try to accommodate. They want that money though, so the service ends up falling short. Wishing them all the best but I will Not...

Food/ Drinks: The chips and guacamole were good. My friends had the steak and potatoes; one order was overcooked but was eaten as to not be wasteful. But that same friend got sick from the steak so there’s that...

I had the tacos and they were not very good. The shrimp taco was soggy from the juice of the pineapple salsa and couldn’t be eaten properly but I ate what I could. And there were only two shrimp in it. The chicken taco had more onions than chicken and was salty.

The margarita, like many have said, was awful. Get the piña colada instead. I wouldn’t get a soda either as it was obviously watered down. Who the heck waters down soda?? Even off brand soda tastes better.

The tres leches cakes was really good.

Service: The service was only okay after I flagged down a server. Before that, they did come a couple of times but we told them we were waiting be for another person in our party- who arrived shortly after. But no one came back. I will say our server (looked Middle Eastern/ Indian) was nice and accommodating.

Atmosphere/ Dining Area: The decorations on the makeshift ceiling/ roof, are nice but that place needs to be cleaned and updated. The floors were gross and the air vents looked like they’ve seen better days. The foliage wall with mirrors could use a good cleaning as well. And maybe paint the exposed wood because it makes the place look like a thrown together dirty shack when you really look beyond the pretty stuff. Lastly- the music was so loud! We were practically shouting to hear ourselves. Then half way through, they had elevator music playing.

They’re lucky people keep coming here. We only went because one of my friends wanted pictures for her Instagram while we were more interested in finding good food.

I don’t know that I can recommend going here. MAYBE for the cake and fun conversations with friends but that’s a huge maybe. Definitely a place for the hipster/ likes drinking/...