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Azucar Restaurant Bar and Grill
Category: Restaurants Latin American Latin American [Edit]
14418 Layhill RdSilver Spring, MD 20906
(301) 438-3293
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
28 reviews for Azucar Restaurant Bar and Grill
Review Highlights
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"Their complementary chips and salsa are ridiculously good." In 4 reviews -
"...bistec a la criolla, stuffed shrimp with crabmeat, zarzuela..." In 2 reviews -
"I absolutely love Mexican food, and this is the best I have..." In 7 reviews
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28 reviews in English
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Review from Krista P.
Washington, DC
5/8/2012
Chips and salsa: yes please! I would have been happy to just eat the salsa, but you know, that's not a real dinner.
My meal (cheese enchilada) was pretty good. The menu items are a little pricey, but they serve so much food... for me it was definitely two meals' worth.
The server was super sweet!!!
Oh and I love the name of this place. I just hear Celia Cruz in my head singing, "Azucar! Azucar!" -
Review from Chuck K.
Laurel, MD
The place has become so popular they have expended to more than double size. The food is just as good and the atmosphere is wonderful.
Service is good with excellent happy hour specials. Now that they have more seating, I feel like I can finally share this "best kept secret" in the area.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/18/2009
Tasty Latin food at reasonable prices. The portions are more than fair. The bar is all but… Read more »
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Review from Jay H.
Highland Lakes, NJ
3/21/2012
Everything here was awesome...but I can't give it five stars with how damn expensive this place is....sheesh.
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Review from Ali T.
Chevy Chase, Washington, DC
2/24/2012
For sure the best food ever!! I love the place so much. The food is great..however the music is loud sometimes and the service kinda sucks...but it is a hell of a place. My fiance and I go here probably like 2-3 times a week. We love this place.
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Review from Sharon W.
3/5/2012
Our favorite neighborhood Tex-Mex/South American restaurant is moving so we've been to Azucar a few times recently. I don't know all of the "official" names of the dishes we've tried but they've all been good. Husband, daughter, granddaughter and I have shared the buttery shrimp appetizer, so good sopping it up with crusty bread. Granddaughter loves salmon (how many 6 year olds love salmon?) so she and her Grandpa usually share a salmon salad and the seafood soup. I'm stuck on the boneless whole chicken--so different from anything I've ever made or thought about making. Daughter has had a steak which was served with a small salad on the plate. The second time we went I asked if I could just have the salad with my boneless chicken instead of the rice and beans--no problem (Yay!). My only complaints are I don't think the salsa is as good as our favorite neighborhood place, but more importantly, it's the margaritas. They are tasty but not really frozen icy and they serve them in a ridiculous little glass like they'd serve wine in a cheap, dive restaurant. I like a big icy, frosty beer mug full of margarita. So the food is good if they just could get some big frosty margarita glasses!
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Review from Brian S.
Columbia, MD
12/20/2011
Definitely just A-OK! Went there on a recommendation from a friend.
The complimentary chips and salsa were very good. The chips were nice and toasty and the salsa was just right - not too hot but not bland either.
For the main course, we ordered a chicken fajita and a something made of chicken+mushroom+spinach (don't remember the name). Both items came with plain white rice and beans.
The chicken fajita was pretty good. The chicken itself was quite juicy and served with a bunch of tortillas and some greens on the side.
The chicken-mushroom-spinach thing, however, can only be called average at best. The portion size seemed tiny and there was a bare minimum quantity of rice and beans. Also, the mushroom just about made a brief appearance with a couple wedges at max. The best part in our entree was the fried banana that came with the spinach dish. It was just delish!! I have had that at a Brazilian Churrascaria before and boy do I love it!! This item may be the only reason I may go back to Azucar a second time.
Ended the meal with a dessert called Tres Leches. - meaning 'three milks' in English. I usually am a sweet tooth as far as trying desserts in restaurants goes, but this one was a dampener. The cake felt soggy from the 3 types of milk - condensed milk, evaporated milk, and cream. And even though there was sprayed cream on the top, the sogginess just didn't quite get us excited about the dessert.
The wait after placing the order was just incredibly long. A group had reserved one half of the restaurant for their party and I guess most of the wait staff was attending to them. We waited about 40 minutes for the server to bring us our food. I have only been here once and I guess we just went there on a really busy weekend day. So I am not sure what the average wait time is like.
All in all I would say its a place that's only worth one trip. -
Review from Phi N.
Updated - 7/10/2011 16 photos
So since the last time I've been here, I've tried a couple more items on the menu. Plus, they've opened a new section to the restaurant. Now they have dancing on weekends and I think karaoke once a week. The places a huge, has lots of parking, and is well decorated. The service is also super friendly.
New items that I have ordered include the bistec cubano, bistec a la criolla, stuffed shrimp with crabmeat, zarzuela andaluza, and a side of platanos maduros. The bistec cubano is nice and tender, has a delicious bitter marinade to it, and comes with platanos. The bistec criolla comes with a salad, lots of peppers and onions on top of the steak and an excellent flavor. The stuffed shrimp was good, but not amazing. They were large shrimp with lots of crabmeat but the sauce didn't blow me away. I only tried a little of the zarzuela andaluza, but I thought the sauce was really tasty. The platanos are a must everytime I come here now, along with ceviche and papusas... the main orders have to be switched up because it's too much food if I get it all, haha.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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1/30/2011
My rating has been upgraded because I find myself here quite often. I felt like I needed to update… Read more »
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Review from Jessica J.
Rockville, MD
1/17/2012
Azucar is by far my favorite restaurant. They recently expanded the space to accommodate their ever expanding clientele. The chips and salsa are amazing (something special about the warm salsa) and I cannot have a meal without one of their delicious margaritas! The salmon primavera is my favorite dish. I've gone to Azucar for my birthday dinner every year for the last four years and have a weekly date with my mother there once a week. I cannot get enough!
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Review from Eric T.
Royal Oak, MI
5/7/2011
Delish!!! I absolutely love Mexican food, and this is the best I have had in the DC area.
Service can be a bit sketchy, you feel like you are intruding on them. Ignore it, and get over yourself.
The food is awesome. Make sure you get the fried banana.
The best part is probably the salsa and warm chips while you wait. Love this place. -
Review from Paola G.
9/27/2010
I really do not see why everyone is so pressed to eat at Azucar. The food is not good, the service is horrible.
I think that most of the people who like to eat here are non hispanics, ppl that do not know the potential of our cousine and find satisfaction is mediocre food.
I personally love Napolito grill soo much better. I went two times, the second time I wanted to give it another try bc not always is service and food really good every single day, but I will never go back. -
Review from FRANCHESKA A.
Alexandria, VA
8/20/2011
I went there a friday n will i ever go back, NOT IN THIS LIFE TIME.. TO get a drink it takes forever i actually had to go to t bar n get my drink, i didnt really feal it look like a clean place to eat so i didnt.. I didnt really like t energy there it was very like creapy people n t mens there they almost take u clothes off w t way they look at u, not my kind a place to go if u wanna have fun n feal safe...
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Review from Miguel L.
Washington D.C., DC
The place is beautiful, the service has improved and the food is the best latin American food you can find in The Washington area .
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Review from Ina C.
4/8/2008
Upscale Salvadorian food in 20906? What??
I was drawn here because I was outraged that I hadn't reviewed this place yet. (It's down the street from my house!) So some adventurous neighbors and I went to pay them a visit.
Upon entering into the main door, you have the choice of entering the bar on your left or the dining room with white table cloths on the right. We had come for dinner, so we decided to sit in the quieter dining room. If the lighting were brighter, the colors in the room (purple, orange and red) would seem obnoxious. But with the darker lighting, these bright colors were muted and kept the space elegant but lively.
The menu has a lot of options, and we were having trouble figuring out what we wanted. I asked our server if she recommended anything, and was a little put off that she just gave us a list of today's specials instead of telling us about the dishes she liked. Utterly helpless about what to order, my friend looked up Stephen and Lisa's Yelp reviews on his iPhone and we decided to go for the trout ($17)and ceviche de pescado ($8). We also ordered the chicken fajitas ($14) and decided that we'd try the bread pudding ($6?) for dessert.
They brought out chips and salsa first. The chips were light and warm (they seemed home-made) and the salsa was the real thing - it was a bit watery with tiny chunks of tomato - delicious. Our ceviche was a pretty sizeable appetizer. It had chunks of fish, red onions, yucca, cilantro and a lemon half wrapped in cheese cloth. At Costa Verde, I remember there being lots of other different kinds of sea critters in the ceviche besides just fish - What's the standard? In any case, it was tart and delicious. The mild yucca complemented the fish well.
The trout came out whole and was buried in a mound of vegetables and tomato/herb sauce. It came with a salad that had a creamy dressing. The fish tasted fresh and was surprisingly free of bones! Easy to eat and delicious - Can't complain about that! The fajitas made a grand entrance as the chicken and veggies sizzled all the way from the kitchen to our table. It came with some guacamole, salsa and sour cream, onions, peppers and flour tortillas. The portion of chicken was pretty generous, though I would've liked more guac. (I'm sure they would have given us more if we asked - They promptly brought more tortillas and chips as soon as we requested them).
The bread pudding was a little disappointing. It seemed homemade, but it was a lot more floury and cakey than I'm used to. The sauce on the side provided the sweetness, and together it tasted alright, but not great. I wouldn't order it again. I'm definitely going with the flan next time.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time there. It was somewhat upscale, but we still felt comfortable. There were two birthdays being celebrated while we were eating, so it seems appropriate for both a casual dinner or a special occasion. Our bill for the three of us came out to $58. Not bad.
What I love about this place is that it's open late (11pm on weekdays and midnight on weekends, I think!) in an area where businesses go to sleep around 9pm. I'll definitely be back! Thanks John & Sarah for being my dining buddies! -
Review from Todd K.
Columbia, MD
8/21/2010
I really enjoy going here. I usually arrive around 5ish after work when its not crowded. I sit at the bar and receive good service. The beers could come a little quicker, though. I tend to drink faster than most after work.
I believe this is one of the better restaurants in the area for trout. I normally order trout, salmon or other fish related dishes. The trout comes with a light sauce, scallops,shrimp on top with a variety of other tastes on the side...avocado, broccoli, black beans and a delicious rice. The prices are reasonable and I cant complain about that. I always leave here stuffed and never disappointed after many stops here on my way home from work. -
Review from Lisa B.
Germantown, MD
1/18/2008
This place is Salvadorian/Mexican. I've been here twice for dinner. The waitstaff is professional (and a little rushed) and the food is consistent. They have typical Mexican fare (to lure in the less adventurous), but go for the Salvadorian entrees Trucha Frita a la Salvadorena (pan-fried trout) or Ceviche de Pescado (flounder) which is really what they do best. They do seem to stress the alcoholic drinks, margaritas and cocktails; and you always see people with some weird drink sitting on their table. We always seem to leave when the nightlife is cranking up (i.e. latin band), but it seems like a fun atmosphere. I like that they have white tablecloths and seem to put some work into the professionalism of the waitstaff.
Good place to stop after you've been to Fitness First and need to pack on the pounds you just lost. -
Review from N S.
Washington, DC
Updated - 2/15/2010
Second time I've been and had really bad service at the bar. I will not be returning. They should just fire everyone at the bar and get new staff. The woman is not helpful, she ignores everyone except regulars and is not friendly, the guy I think is slow which is ok, but then it should not be only him and one other person if it's busy.
I have eaten in the restaurant and had good service, but the bar is terrible. Done.
I recommend Tabasco Tex-Mex up the street. Better food, Better Service.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/11/2009
3.5 stars
Not bad. Tabasco Tex-Mex was packed so I stopped into Azucar, the sister restaurant of… Read more »
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Review from Marianne H.
Silver Spring, MD
4/15/2009 2 Check-ins Here
The food is pretty good here, but I knocked off a potential star because of the prices. I just never feel like I am getting a good value here unless I make an a la carte plate of pupusas, tamales, plaintains and rice and beans. Which are all really good here, btw.
Gambas al ajillo were not a great appetizer; you don't get a lot for your money and I've had better tasting, more plump shrimp. I had some brunch dish (probably ill advised) and it was just ok, and clearly not memorable because I don't remember what it was. My husband's beef burrito was good, but overpriced. -
Review from Lissette S.
Rockville, MD
7/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
The appetizers are great but the rest of the menu will disappoint you a lot and when the bill shows up you will probably hope u never went there....pupusas are great that is why I give them three stars. They got the space next to them but now miss hot in there that I wish we never went sweating while eating sucks. Recommendations don't eat in the new area while decoration is pretty (not the mural) the fact that A/C doesn't work well will make u want t leave without eating.
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Review from John T.
Montgomery, MD
3/27/2010
This restaurant was fantastic. Dropped in for Sunday brunch and the waitstaff
Was quite friendly. The food seems a bit pricey, but the portions are large, the quality was excellent, and the flavors superb. Very much a Southern Mexican flourish rather than your common Tex-Mex Kid-friendly, but try to go during less-crowded times, because it is a little tightly packed space. Enjoy! -
Review from Stephen H.
Lawrence, KS
3/13/2008
We have been very impressed with the Salvadoran and Mexican entrees at this restaurant. Great fried fish and excellent traditional Mexican meals as well.
The waiters are friendly, but the overall atmosphere of this place is upscale and reserved. A shame since the margaritas are absolutely the best on the block. -
Review from Ginny H.
Colesville, MD
8/3/2011
We are so lucky to have Azucar in our neighborhood. Recently, they enlarged to more than double the size and I have a feeling, with the good attention this place gets, they are going to need it. We had the stuffed shrimp, magnificent flan for desert and honestly the best margaritas we have ever tasted. Honestly, that is not a stretch; get a pitcher. The staff is so professional; -- not intrusive, just pleasant and efficient. I spilled a water glass and Marjory, our waitress arrived with help almost before the glass hit the tablecloth. She was so gracious and quick. I see that I almost forgot to say how succulent the five shrimp stuffed with crabmeat were. They were served with a creamy sauce and three vegetable sides. It seemed like everything, from the delicious warm salsa to the warm brownie with vanilla bean ice cream, was home made!
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Review from Andy C.
Silver Spring, MD
11/29/2009 1 Check-in Here
I was pleasantly surprised by Azucar. Though some of the items on the menu are a bit pricey compared to other Mexican restaurants, the food tastes very fresh and well prepared. Their pollo asado with black beans and rice is some of the best I've ever had - the chicken is flavorful and tender. They also serve their salsa warm, which always gets an extra point in my book. Hope to get back there soon.
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Review from shady h.
Hyattsville, MD
7/13/2011
What a suprise?the food is always delicioius and the service is usually good . This time an employee by the name JUDY provided the worst customer experience possible . She was rude on the phone, when we got our food she snatched everything , and we didnt even recieve a simple ''Thank you. " Other than the bad experince , This Resturant is superb minus the bad employee.
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Review from Toan N.
Arlington, VA
8/24/2010
I usually sit at the bar--good service, chips are always fresh and the salsa is tasty. I usually get the fajitas and it always hits the spot. Just like most others, it comes out sizzling with tortillas, rice, beans, sour cream and whatever other side you order.
Price is a little higher then others but the portions are bigger and the service is always quick and good. -
Review from Julia C.
Washington, DC
5/23/2010
Husband and I love this place. I describe it as latin food with a modern twist. Their complementary chips and salsa are ridiculously good. The salsa comes out warm, and the flavors, unreal, and that's just the complementary food.
I'm a pescatarian and have tried their salmon salad (awesome) though generally I get the spinach enchiladas (never fail winner). The only disappointing thing I had once was the Pescado al Horno. Otherwise, this place is sublime! -
Review from Matt P.
Olney, MD
3/6/2011
Food was good. Its has nice mexican/spanish food. Took a while for the food. The place was packed and there was a wait. The servers were a little slow. I had fajitas and they were good. Wife had chimichonga (sp?) and she did not like it much. Dad got seafood paella. He liked it a lot.
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Review from Terry S.
Silver Spring, MD
1/27/2011
So much more than standard Latin Food. Delicious sauces, dressing and everything is made in house (chips, salsa, soups, etc) Love the cream of crab soup with a Latin twist--some of the best cream of crab I've ever had. Great fresh fish selections and my husband loves the Cubana Steak. This sweet little place is a Bethesda-esque restaurant in a strip mall in Silver Spring--love the staff, the feel, but especially the food!
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Review from Nathan B.
Takoma Park, MD
1/2/2009
It's only 3 stars because I think that'll keep the average at 3.5, which is about right. This place is surprisingly good (surprising because I hadn't heard of it before and it's way out in the burbs in a strip mall...where I realize a lot of the best ethnic food in DC is found, but still). It's got a real nice menu of Mexican and Salvadoran. There's not a lot for vegetarians, but I made a tasty meal from the a la carte: pupusas, rice, beans, plantains. Chips and salsa are excellent.
