Tequila & Taco

With all honesty, this place wasn't THAT bad. When walking in the workers were really nice and hospitable. They sat us down very quickly almost immediately, for it to be so packed. The food came out pretty quick too but maybe that explains why the food wasn't that good... As a person of color, I expected it to be very flavorful. The food ending up being pretty bland for a Mexican restaurant. Not authentic Mexican food! Not to mention the price. omg absolutely insane. We ordered two kids tacos, Two Birria burritos and the spicy shrimp chimichanga. The Chimichanga wasn't even spicy. It tasted like it had canned tomato soup on top and the shrimp tasted fake. Cant speak too bad on the other things because they were good but not super flavorful. But all together that came up to $89 which was a surprise because on the menu it was pretty cheap. Turns out they added a lot of tax. They also got my sweetened ice tea wrong and gave me unsweetened. To sum it up, the atmosphere was very welcoming and lively but for the food and price... your better off going to chick-fil-a.

I love myself some good tacos, and around December 2023 I decided it was time for me to explore some of Alexandria, so I decided to hit up Tequila & Taco on their weekly Taco Tuesday ($1 off on each taco)!

I got 3 Tacos: Pastor, Fried Avocado, Carne Asada Tacos with a Seasonal Margarita (Christmas Cranberry). They let you choose whether you want a flour or corn based tortilla, I decided to try both types.

I wanted to try the more traditional flavors as a baseline, and the fried avocado just sounded like an appealing vegetarian option! The pastor was tasty and a nice combination of flavors, with the plentiful marinated pork and the sweet/acidity from the pineapple, I enjoyed this one the most! The carne asada was also delicious, I enjoyed the tender steak and the flavors the salsa verde + pico combination brought to the taco.

Shoutout the bartender Juan who was serving me during Happy Hour too! Super hospitable and friendly service, and his cocktail had a beautiful presentation.

So, check it, homes. I rolled up to this joint called Tequila and Tacos for the first time solo dolo. I hit up the bar, right? But let me tell you, ese, those bar stools were so tiny, I felt like I was sitting on a kid's chair, man. Thank God it wasn't packed, 'cause it would've been tighter than a sardine can in there, you feel me? And get this, they had these little hooks under the bar to hang your ladies purse from.

Anyway, I peeped the menu, saw they had a happy hour deal going on, so I thought, "Why not?" I ordered some nachos and corn on the cob. But let me tell you, those nachos were supposed to have ground beef, but they tasted more like tofu pretending to be meat, bro. The chips were crunchy, I'll give 'em that, but the toppings? Meh. Fresh jalapeños, pico de gallo, and cheese that was just straight-up mediocre. I barely even touched half of it, man. And don't even get me started on that corn on the cob - no seasoning whatsoever! I had to ask for some Tajín just to give it some flavor, you know what I'm saying?

But hey, here's the kicker - them spicy margaritas, they were off the chain! I'd go back just for those bad boys. But as for the food? Nah, hombre, that was a hard pass. No happy eats here.

Everything was great!

From the location (quieter part of Alexandria with street or garage parking amply available) to the quick service from the host/seater to the delivery of our food by the server, the experience was superb!

Free chips and salsa came first! The food (beef tacos, bean tostadas, elote corn, queso) was all fresh, beautifully presented, tasty, and definitely worth the price. We wanted more more more!

The server, Celia, was excellent---friendly, personable, upbeat, consistent, caring, and knowledgeable! We need more servers like her!

Also the interior decor was super cool; I was marveling at the wonderful upcycled scrap metal musicians along the bar wall and other cool art and murals throughout. They were also decked out for Christmas, including lights on two patios and bows in the arborvitae trees in the planter boxes.

We would definitely return!

Where do I start? This is my second visit to Tequila & Taco. We ended up sitting at the bar and was greeted upon arrival. The bartender gave us several suggestions from the menu. We started with queso with chorizo which was good. Next we tried a variety of tacos to include chicken Caesar taco, birria, and fish taco. All of the tacos tasted authentic. We also enjoyed the spicy blood orange margarita. It was so good I ordered on to go. There is a patio outside that I would like to try once the weather breaks.

Food: Nachos 9/10
Service: Sat at the bar 9/10
Ambiance: 8/10

I will definitely be back.

Overall a great experience. Yummy food, fun atmosphere, great location, attentive service. Went with a few friends and we were able to split the check 3 ways. And our server never left us for too long but also didn't bother us unnecessarily.

I ordered the margarita flight, which came with three flavors--classic, hibiscus, and ginger. The classic was fantastic, but I felt like the other two lacked flavor and seemed a little watered down. I wish the ginger had had more of a ginger punch.

The taco menu is fun and has some unique, fun options. It's cool that you can order from a printed list at your table. I went with the pork belly, Korean bbq, barilla, and cauliflower, kale, and pumpkin seed. They were all equally delicious, but the barilla was my favorite. I like the flavor of the pork belly but it was challenging to eat and the deep fried pork was hard to bite into and not soft... too difficult to eat in the form of a taco.

Our group shared the churro dessert, which is served with chocolate dipping sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. It was really yummy.

Definitely recommend and look forward to returning.

The churros. The churros dessert with the vanilla ice cream and the caramel sauce. Top notch! I love the variety of tacos and tequilas. The carne asada taco is my absolute favorite. The carne asada is so flavorful and tender. The ginger margarita is superb and I love that it's a part of the margarita flight. The ambiance is pretty cool and chill. The customer service was great each time I came. There's plenty of street parking and a garage nearby. The bathrooms are neat and clean.

Came here for restaurant week with some friends! There is indoor and outdoor seating and a bar! Our waiter Jason was the best, he answered all questions we had and described teach flavor of margarita for my friends. The flight came with original lime, ginger, and hibiscus. The nachos were slightly disappointing, the queso tasted scalded. But the fajitas and tres leches were delicious. Prices were reasonable. Chips and salsa were also very good. I will be coming back!

Happy Hour Review:
My friend and I found this via google. They don't do reservations, and we came around 5:30pm on a Friday and there was no wait. We were sat inside at a table, and we decided to move to the bar for happy hour (can only do happy hour at the bar). Happy Hour menu was limited but we left content.

We got the frozen margarita flight (which was alright), classic nachos (which was great), and the elote loco (which was tasty but it got stuck in a lot of my teeth). Just FYI--we were asked which meat and got the shredded chicken per their recommendations and was charged more without knowledge.

The interior is pretty and seemingly clean. Unfortunately, the bartenders weren't very friendly. It was hard to track them down, they didn't acknowledge you when you do ask for something but they'll bring by more water when you ask.

Be mindful of the happy hour time, because they won't do a last call and it's hard to track them down.

We spent about $27 altogether.

Would come back to try their regular menu.