MXDC Cocina Mexicana | By Chef Todd English — Restaurant in Washington

Last night was my first time at this establishment. I purchased a ticket about a week ago. To the all black affair birthday party I was there by myself. because I party by myself frequently this is my typical practice. I asked the bartender who was serving me my drinks for the night. Can he place my drinks behind the bar while I step off and use the restroom? He pointed to a young lady named Crystal who was serving the tables where I was standing. Crystal agreed and I tipped her. This young lady was Spanish and before I walked off I made sure she understood the mission. Please do not allow anyone to do anything to my drinks. She nodded her head and said okay. When I returned from the restroom Crystal was nowhere to be found and my drinks were left unattended. when I finally found Crystal I asked her what happened my drinks were left unattended? Crystal gave me a look as though I was bothering her. Then she pointed to another gentleman. That was coming from upstairs and told me she turned the task over to him. I told her my agreement was not with him it was with you. If you could not do it you should have stated that and you should not have taken my money. So I went to the gentleman and asked him why he would leave my drinks unattended? He looked me dead in my face and lied and told me he was standing right there. I had to take my shades off to look this man in his eyes. To tell him he's lying he was nowhere in sight. Then he says well we don't watch drinks. At the same time the gentleman who checked me in and the door was walking by. I stopped him and asked him if he could please get me the manager. Eventually this older gentleman in all black walked up to me, and asked me what's the problem? I asked him for his name and title? He asked me why? I told him I need to know who I'm speaking to. And just in case I might have to file a complaint. He would not give me his name but he did tell me he was the general manager/owner. I told him what happened. and I also told him that I expected the establishment to give me fresh drinks. He walked away and went to Crystal and said something to her. He came back to me and told me he needed me to leave his establishment. I said what!!! He walks away from me again and goes and gets a young lady who introduced herself as the promoter. So she can tell me to leave, I looked at him and told him you need to get security to have me leave. The GM comes back with Mr Roberts. Myself and Mr Roberts walked outside and he looked at me and he asked me with so much compassion his voice what happened? Before I can even start the GM walks up and grabs Mr Roberts and pulls him away. And as he's pulling him away I hear Mr Robert say let me talk to her and the GM says" I don't want these people here". Now I am a woman of color and I am a part of the lesbian community. What part of me he didn't want there. I stood there for a good minute.... processing that this can't be how people are moving in the world. Reality hit me and I felt it in my gut. I turned around and walked away quietly. When I got to my car I couldn't even pull off right away. My heart was feeling some kind of way. So I sat right there and filed a complaint...

Had the pleasure of dinning at MXDC about a week ago with a large group of friends. After spending the day bar hopping throughout DC we were pretty rowdy and hungry. About nine of us got to MXDC around 8pm with no reservation. While the hostess checked on a table that could fit almost 10 people I was greeted by Ani (one of the managers) who made us feel super welcome and her staff promptly showed us to a table that could quickly accommodate my party.

Being that this was our first time at MXDC, the waiter made sure to point out all the all-star items MXDC had to offer as well as their large selection of tequilas. Everyone in my party was pretty stoked to hear that list. After we got our drinks, Ani came back to check on us and recommended that we try the Lobster and Guac dip. I don't normally get excited over dip but LORD! Honestly, I think I'd come back just for that dip.

As we grubbed on chips n' dip and chugged a couple of Modelos, out came our meals (everyone ordered tacos). I would also say the price is definitely reasonable and the presentation was great! The meats tasted soooo good! It was like butter melting in my mouth (Kudos to the Chef)! After I finished my tacos I ordered the Flan, which was rather small but I loved every bite of it. Overall the food was excellent and it was cooked to order.

For the ambiance, the vibe was chill and the space was large so it didn't feel like we were annoying anyone with our drunkenness. The display of the tequila bottles were nice to look at and dream about drinking them all.

Throughout the evening of loud laughter we got paid a visit by the head manager and he too made everyone feel extremely welcome while expressing his gratitude for choosing MXDC that evening. I highly recommend MXDC to anyone and everyone. Even though the portions are not what many would prefer, I definitely believe in quality over quantity. If you want an overstuffed burrito with a staff that doesn’t look you in the eye, then take your culo to Chipotle. MXDC quality ranged from food to a friendly staff that actually looked like they loved working there! Again, Ani and her crew did a phenomenal job making our overall dining experience one to remember. I definitely plan on return to MXDC soon for that...

It's no surprise this restaurant gets 3.5 stars with overpriced food and sugary cocktails lacking authentic flavors. There are more misses than its.

The mango margarita and the red sangria were really sugary and hands-down the worst cocktails I had. The Pino Noir was another miss and so bad that I took it back.

The Tempranillo from CA was surprisingly a delight and quite smooth. I wish I had gotten Tempranillo in the 1st place instead of the sugary cocktails.

The guacamole is really skimpy for $10, there's definitely not enough to go around for those delicious crunchy chips! The refill of chips should accompany a complementary refill of guac.

The cheesy Huitlacoche quesadilla with truffle oil topped with mushrooms was the highlight of the meal. It was really rich from the truffle oil and chihuahua and mozzarella cheese. I was surprised there was no cotija or oaxaca cheese. I'm glad my husband ordered the quesadilla, the whole table enjoyed trying it!

The vegetarian Chile Relleno wasn't the chili that I was expecting and disappointing. The presentation was interesting with a bell pepper stuffed with brussel sprouts, mushrooms, and cauliflower and smothered with cheese. I like cheese, but the flavor of the veggies got lost with the overload of cheese. I wasn't a fan of the soggy pepper overflowing with beans underneath. The best part about the dish was the saffron rice. I recommend getting the saffron rice as a side! Lemongrass rice is offered as side, which may be the saffron rice? But I would ask for saffron!

My husband enjoyed his salmon as he devoured every bite and commented that it was cooked perfectly.

The Dulce Leche didn't look right and tasty funky. The churros were another disappointment. They were quite bland, I wish there were filled. The Godiva Patron coffee cocktail was my choice of dessert and a sweet ending to the meal.

After my husband and I spent $200 of a $400 dinner with friends, we were both disappointed as there were more hits than misses. Walk to Penn Quarter or Chinatown - Oyamel and Rosa...