MI VIDA — Restaurant in Washington

This is my second time here. We were a group of 5, including 2 elderly people in our party. We arrived at around 7:45-8pm, and thankfully the hostess said they were able to seat us right away. (Person behind us was told an hour wait, so we got there in the nick of time!) It was an unseasonably warm evening, so people were eager for outdoor seating. We were seated on the second floor, and the hostess kindly took us upstairs via the elevator to accommodate our disabled guests. We had a round table indoors, right by the window with a lovely view.

We ordered some drinks: two vodkas straight up with olives, a limeade, and I tried the serrano pepper infused watermelon margarita with chili salted rim, which was delicious and the perfect balance between sweet and spicy. I can't take a lot of "heat", and this was very palatable and not overwhelming at all.

We ordered a guacamole for the table, which was also very good. Just a little kick, but obviously freshly made. Chips had a fair amount of salt to them, which I prefer.

We had a vegetarian in our group, and she ordered the vegetable enchiladas (rancheras I think they were called). Another had the chicken enchiladas and she said it was very good. I had the carne asada which came with a mushroom sauce. It was very tasty; I have never had it prepared that way before. We ordered a side of fried plantains, as our two guests were from Germany and had never tried that before so I insisted they try it (I love plantains!). The fourth in our group ordered the steak tacos, which she too enjoyed. The curmudgeon in our group ordered a seafood type of appetizer as his entree, with crab meat on a crispy tortilla; he has his without the black bean sauce that normally comes with it, and they were able to accommodate his request. He asked for cocktail sauce (yes, at a Mexican restaurant), which they were able to bring to him as well.

We didn't have room for coffee or dessert, sorry to say.

The only thing I should warn is that is was loud as heck in that restaurant. Perhaps it is slightly better outside, but inside you really couldn't have any kind of meaningful conversation. And I was with old people who are loud to begin with, yet we all had an equally difficult time hearing any specials, placing our orders, or talking amongst ourselves. So skip this place for a first date or a romantic evening. Food is great, but just waaaaayyyy too loud for...

I have frequented this place since it opened for in-person dining and pick-up and used to rave about it, but it appears to have new management and subsequently went downhill. Long story short, I spent $78 for 1 guac with chips and 4 pre-made frozen Sauza margaritas for pick-up. After waiting 45 minutes, I walked in during the estimated pick-up time and they only provided the chips and guac. After turning back around and asking for the 4 drinks, they argued with me about how many drinks I ordered, even after showing the DoorDash receipt. A woman who appeared to be the manager said that she would check on the drinks. After 10 minutes of waiting for the drinks, I had checked back in, at which point they finally decided to dispense and bring over the 4 drinks, but each only half full! After I pointed this out and explained to them that I order these often and know that this is incorrect, they continued to argue with me about this as well. She asked me to walk over to the bar so that they could prove me wrong by pouring one of my take-out drinks into the glass that it is normally served in when dining in. She poured it into the glass and it was only 3/4 full. Instead of apologizing for trying to rip me off and wasting my time and energy, she added a few drops to each cup, barely making up for the 1/4 of the missing drink and was rude/sarcastic the entire time.

We took the order home and noticed that we were shorted about 1/4 on the guac as well. I can't believe that this is how they treat their customers these days, especially after spending that kind of money for a simple order ($14 each for a pre-made cheap liquor drink and $16 on chips and guac). It completely ruined the experience for us after trying to treat ourselves after a bad week. We should have taken our...

My wife and I went to Mi Vida at The Wharf for our anniversary. The restaurant offers a nice setting with a lively vibe, but our experience was mixed. We started with the guacamole, which was fresh and well-seasoned. The carne asada was definitely the highlight—tender, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. The cod tacos, however, were just okay. They were tasty, and the quality was good, but for $21, they felt a bit overpriced for me. If I had to do it over, I would stick to their platos principales, which seemed to have more value. We also had the flan for dessert, which was good.

One downside was the seating—we were placed on the mid-level at a table between the stairs and the kitchen exit. They have three levels with very nice booths on the first floor and tables on the third. We were seated in this kind of pseudo area. It would have been ok had we been further in. I do not recommend the table right next to the floor's entrance, which was more hectic than enjoyable given the contstant traffic of people taking pictures on the stairs and staff moving in and out of the kitchen.

At some point, it was comical. There was a self-proclaimed Instagrammer that had a handheld LED spotlight that I didn't even know existed, but it was bright! Every time she repositioned or put the light down, I got a sudden flash of the beam. I don't think I saw any aliens that evening, but who knows because she neutralized me at least a dozen times.

Overall, the food was good, but the overall experience didn’t quite live up to the expectations set by the location and price point. One thing to note is that if you're driving there, the weekend evening parking pricing is about $30 for a normal dinner duration, so that should be factored in. We'll give it another shot, but maybe at a...