On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Mexican, Latin American
Neighborhood: Dupont CircleDupont Circle (Red)
Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Loading...
Top floor is great for good weather! !
6 of us stayed for dinner until last call, all great food. I didn't drink (boo!) but the others did and enjoyed their margaritas.
I had scallops with Mexican rice and beans. I miss Mexican food in California but its pretty good. I've heard the "classic" Mexican dishes aren't very good, but frankly I think its tough for not cheap Mexican food to be as good as cheap Mexican food. I'm only a fan of the "non traditional" dishes, the nacho's did not look good and the salsa wasn't anything exciting.
Go, get a drink and order something that is a little out of the box, and I think you'll have a good time!
It's amazing how time and distance really mean nothing sometimes. Let's take my friend Jim. I was living in Reno and came down to SF to visit another friend, who I will call "Jerkface." Although I was staying at Jerkface's house, Jerkface kicked me out at 5 p.m. and said I needed to find somewhere else to stay because he had a date. As I didn't want to make the 4+ hour trek home to Reno, I had to find a hotel, and a shoulder to cry on. Enter Jim, who took me out to dinner and for drinks.
Fast forward a few years, when I had moved to Boston, and Jim moved to Rhode Island. I went to his birthday party, he went to mine, and we've been friends ever since. He gives me advice on life and love, and I give him advice on...well, I'm not going to tell you what he's into.
Anyway, now Jim is in D.C., and I'm in SF. Between our respective moves, if you were to piece it together via string, it would look like a blood spatter analyst's dream. Wait, that didn't make sense.
Although I didn't get a chance to hang out with Jim last time I was in D.C. in May, I made a point to spend time with him this visit. I left the night to his hands. He asked what my favorite food was, I said Mexican, and we ended up here.
This is not really a place that I'd recommend to someone for a) good mexican food or b) a good time. Yes, D.C. is a significant distance from Mexico and therefore can't be expected to have really good Mexican food, but I've found really good Mexican food in Boston, so that's not an excuse. My burrito was just meh (although they do have shredded beef), the chips and salsa were nothing special, and the margaritas were also uninspiring.
We didn't have to wait at all because we sat outside with the heat lamps (not too shabby), but the service was not up to par. As tequila does beckon, I could see why this place gets packed (I felt really old, and was not in the mood for a meat market atmosphere), but I'd say skip it.
When I think of Lauriol Plaza and Cactus Cantina, I see Lauriol Plaza as the classy older sister and Cactus Cantina as the clumsy-ish, awkward younger brother. CC is more akin to families and large parties. It's much more casual - with the plastic furniture outdoors, waitstaff in polos and khakis, wood floors and cute painted words on the white walls. The decor is more kitschy with cowboy hats and boots and rope about the walls. Lauriol is the opposite. Sure, it has pretty much the exact same menu but something about the atmosphere exudes class that CC doesn't.
I recently dined here for the 2nd time with a group of friends. We came on a whim on a Sunday evening and were lucky enough to snag a table without any wait. I had no idea LP was as large as it was as we climbed our way to the top floor. I imagine that in the summer months, this is a hot spot to grab a table because they open up the plastic "windows" and it's more of a deck area. (Note to self...come again in the summer.)
We dove into the chips and salsa and poured through 2 baskets before you could do a double blink. I love the salsa here. I've found myself craving it at times.
For dinner, we ordered a variety of items - I can't remember what my friends ordered. But I ordered one of the features that evening which was basically bacon wrapped beef filets and bacon wrapped shrimp. Oh my gosh. It came out sizzling and was accompanied by rice, beans, tortillas and a ramiken of butter. HELL YES. Surely I shouldn't have continuously dipped my food in the butter but that's not to say that I didn't. :-p It was wonderful.
Our server was absolutely charming. He was friendly, expedient and able to form a good rapport with us. (We chatted about how my friend was in town from Hong Kong and other places we wanted to travel to and eat at.)
You could defintiely call me a fan of LP and even though I prefer it over CC, you'll probably find me at CC. Why? Because it's closer to my apartment.
Frozen mango margaritas make me happy. Even when it's 40 degrees outside. I think it has something to do with the fact that I was rewarded with Slurpees for scholastic achievement until I was a teenager.
I would get straight A's in middle school and be boosted that we could go get Slurpees. It wasn't until high school until I realized that my parents were geniuses. Some kids were being bribed with money, video games, cars and I was responding to Slurpees.
So with that morsel of background, you can kind of understand why I love cold and slushy drinks. And of course, tequila is just the added bonus.
The frozen margaritas here are awesome! I half pitcher is only $12.99 and you can usually get about 3 full glasses out of it. The margaritas are pretty filling and pack a punch!
When the restaurant isn't psychotically crowded, the service is wonderful as well. In the winter months, there is usually a pretty short wait for a table compared to the summer months when you may have to wait for an hour or so.
If you're just stopping by for drinks or a quick bite, I suggest skipping the bar downstairs and head for the bar on the 3rd floor in the back. People often forget or do not know that it exists, so there are usually plenty of stools to sit on.
My last visit, we ordered a small pitcher of mango margarita and a small steak quesadilla. Our margaritas were blended and served to us immediately and we were brought a basket of warm tortilla chips with a warm, flavorful salsa. We had barely got through half of our margaritas before we were served our quesadilla. It must have taken less than 7 minutes from the moment we ordered. Impressive!
You really can't go too wrong with the food here. Just be weary of the insane crowds once the weather warms up!
OK, let me say first off, I'm going to be a little tough because I LOVE Mexican food. Lauriol Plaza gets 3 stars from me. Here are my pros and cons of going there, but don't let my review stop you from trying it...it's definitely worth a trip for yourself.
CONS FIRST:
* Long waits to get seated
* No parking, or next to none, I'd say
* Wait staff isn't the most friendly.
* Entrees are just OK, nothing to call Mexico about (tee hee)
NOW THE PROS:
* The salsa is Yuuuuumy! I could just eat chips and salsa the entire time I'm there. I love the salsa so much, I would like to work at Lauriol Plaza so I can eat it whenever I want....or steal the recipe.
* The drinks are good - can't go wrong with margaritas
* Cool atmosphere - it's usually packed on the weekend, but it's a fun place with a great vibe. My girlfriends and I really like this spot and I think you will too!
Was visiting my friend in DC before the UConn/West Virginia game and he decided this place would be cool to eat at. He's eaten here plenty of times but I hadn't been.
Our wait was roughly 20 minutes. Nothing a Dos Equis Amber at the bar couldn't cure. All the sophisticated women around us were drinking pitchers of frozen margaritas. Hmm.
We were then seated on the outdoor patio. Keep in mind this was in late October. The temperature was roughly 65F and they made the dining experience a pleasant one with many heaters in the outdoor eating area. It was good to eat and people-watch as we were right near the sidewalk on a busy road.
Ok, let me say this - the chips and salsa are great. The sauce has a bit of a kick to it but it won't burn your tongue off.
I ordered steak fajitas and man, were they good. The steak was seasoned and cooked perfectly. The rice was average but the atmosphere here made up for the early crowd and 20-minute wait.
I'd definitely go back here.
For vegetarians, who don't mind refried beans, Lauriol Plaza has a wide range of choices. All deliciously smothered in cheese and sauces.
The guacamole is a specialty here and I long to taste it again!
The chips are freshly fried- with that savoury salsa.
A definite place to visit when you are in the neighborhood. This is mexican food done fancy, but come in a T shirt and you won't be turned away! Awesome.
Tex-Mex that doesn't make you feel cheap & used but classy and vibrant instead!?!?! YES PLEASE!!! Although you can't call to make reservations and the wait may be a bit longer than you had hoped, they do have an AMAZING Margarita pitcher therem that you and your friends (or just you,...I don't judge) will fall in LOVE with (because Tequilla can do that to you)....so you won't notice the time flying by. If you haven't been here with friends then there's clearly a huge step in being a DC resident that you're missing out on. Bring out the red Tex-Mex carpet!
Louriol Plaza is a cool place to go. I give it 3.5 stars.
Atmosphere: Good, there is seating inside, outside, and top deck which is covered. It can get loud inside at times.
Food: Good.
I had the fish tacos which was very nicely presented and tasted fresh but flavorwise, I think baja fresh's fish tacos are better. I have had enchiladas and other types of tacos there on previous visits and it was pretty good from what I can remember. My boyfriend had the huevos rancheros and he said it tasted good but it did not look appetizing. Just a little sloppy looking. Chips and salsa are good.
Drinks: Love the frozen margherita swirls.
Price: average
Cons: Weekends and evenings there is a rediculously long wait. At least 1 hour.
Lauriol Plaza is a great place to be seen. It's always packed and on a nice warm day it's great to sit outside with a margarita. But honestly, it's just mediocre Mexican with the addition of plantains so they can pretend to be a sort of south American restaurant.
It's overpriced, bad service, and average food. Cactus Cantina, their sister restaraunt, is in my opinion a much more down to earth place. But If your looking for some stellar south of the border cuisine I wouldn't waste your time at either of them.
Every single dish here is to die for.
I could only complaint about the long lines and wait to get in during the weekends.
Service is friendly, the place is beautiful, the memory of its food makes me feel hungry at the time of writing this review...
ate at lauriol plaza this past sunday night. went in, we were seated right away. they have tons of seating, so i guess this place gets really busy. after they brought us chips and salsa--i began to see why this place is busy. some of the best chips i've had--light/crisp but not oiley. salsa was excellent--had some sort of smoked bacon/ham taste to it.
i'm allergic to cilantro, so they made me some fresh guacamole--it was incredibly good. miy cousin got the shrinp/crab quesidillas and a salad. i had ground beef taco and a beef enchilada--both very good.
table service was attentive, food was great, customer service/responsiveness was great. had flan & plantains for dessert--both very good. I'll be back...
I grew up in Southern Arizona and this is the best mexican food on the East Coast. Sure there is a huge wait...go after 830 or for brunch/lunch and beat the line. There is a huge line because the food is great, the portions huge, the prices very reasonable, and the atmosphere is fun.
Don't listen to the naysayers. This is a great restaurant.
Its so unfair to me that we DC folks have no good Mexican restaurant to fall back on other than Mixtec, Lauriol or Alejo. What up peeps?? When we gonna get some good Mexican joints in DC??
Lauriol is not a good restaurant. People go there to have the margaritas and the great chips and salsa. other than that the place is a bust and you know it.
There is nothing that distinguishes this place from any other crappy Mexican place in DC, yet you find yourself waiting for hours to sit and eat a cheese enchilada that lean cuisine makes very well for $2.50. After that block of cheese hits your gut you are left asking your self, why did i just wait so long, push through these crowds and eat that mediocre dish? That is a good question and one i still have yet to figure out.
that being said, i still go there all the time get wasted on the margaritas and feel like a complete porker after i leave.
First time here and I'm impressed. Parking, nice atmosphere and fine service. I'm not a margarita drinker but the swirl margaritas here are tasty. Chips and salsa OK.
What stands out are the specialty entrees. Beside the common combo dinners, the house specialties deserve attention. My Masitas de Puerco, tender chunks of marinated and roasted pork was wonderful. Seems like a great place for a reasonable nice dinner out.
How does Lauriol Plaza only have 3 stars?
I refuse to even read the 1-2 star reviews -- I can't imagine what that's about. I've been here 50 times and the restaurant went from 3 stars, to 4, to 5 in my book as I explored the menu options and specials.
The menu is pretty big and has lots of interesting meat, seafood, and vegetarian options. The food is PRETTY tasty--nothing phenomenal, but never disappointing. The portions are just right. The service is excellent. The margaritas are delicious (and really one of the main reasons people go there). The ambiance is fun and relaxed. The prices are GREAT.
It's one of my favorite hang-outs.
No... they don't take reservations... ever. So go at off-peak hours or have a margarita or two at the bar on a Saturday night while waiting.
Yes... parking is tough. The restaurant has a parking lot, which is super crowded at peak dining hours and the valet crew is not the most professional or efficient. Street parking is hard to come across. So walk there... or metro to Dupont Circle and walk there... or plan on dealing with parking issues 20-30 mins.
I'm not a fan of the long waits and drunk, frat-tastic crowd you'll find on any given evening or weekends. However, I love the chips and salsa, enjoy sitting and sharing pitchers of margaritas with friends, and the food is generally mediocre (with the occasional gem of an entree - particularly the masitas de puerco, salmon salad, and my vegetarian favorite: the santa fe platter, which includes a cheese enchilada, guacamole taco, and chile relleno with beans and rice).
It's an ordeal and not the best thing around by far. But if you go with friends and are just up for hanging out and enjoying drinks (and are not in an irritable mood) it's a great option to have.
Lauriol...the restaurant, the zoo, the place where everyone, their mother, baby, and cousin, is. Sometimes I hate. Like when I'm walking my dog and have to stumble through a sea of people on the sidewalk. Or when I eat here and the food sucks.
Lunch today, though, was great. I had the La Fernanda salad (with feta cheese, grilled chicken, bell peppers, sunflower seeds, almonds, and lots o veggies). Really good. I usually get the brazillian (salad!) but I had a lousy experience with it last time (very little chicken and generally unappealing veggies).
I breember Lauriol when it used to be in Rosemary Thyme's current location. I think it was better then but who knows - I was but a chitlin.
I do like their chips/salsa, 'ritas, and salads (sometimes). If sometimes was always, and if I fancied masses of folks, it'd be a solid 4 stars.
Wow..lot's of reviews for this!
I came here for my bday dinner...and was happy when I left.
The story: There would be 7 of us..and when we called around 5 to try to get a reservation..they told us they wouldn't take one and if we want to eat at 7:30 (the plan), get there at 6:30pm and put our names on the list.
Two of us were there at 6:30 and put our name on the list. Wouldn't you know it...at 7:32..our table was ready. The drawback..3 people of our party of 7 were not there yet and THUS...we could not be sat.
We were told to wait until our entire party got there and then come back to put our name on the list and WAIT AGAIN! That sucked...b/c our friends didn't get there until 8 and then we got back on the list. We were sat around 8:45pm. The waitstaff was friendly and helpful...the patrons kinda sucked (I feel like most people in Northern VA/DC are D-bags...and they seemed to be having a convention there last night).
The swirly marg's were good...not great. They have DosXX Amber, Miler lite, and DosXX regular on draft.
I'd return..b/c my crab and shrimp enchilada's were THE MONEY!
I didn't like the salsa with the chips...b/c it's basically all cilantro with a dash of tomato..and if you know me..you know that I HATE cilantro! This would be OK..but they do not offer a dip (other than queso) that doesn't have cilantro.
It was a good experience...and honestly...a 45 minute wait after 8pm for a table for 7 isn't that bad on a Saturday night.
Having just moved here from Arizona, I have fairly high standards when it comes to Mexican food so I will give this joint a solid 3.5 stars. We decided to swing through on a Saturday night despite the GINORMOUS line and continuous drooping off of carloads of bachelorette parties and somehow were seated right away!
We started with several rounds of corona lights (for moi) and dos equis (for my dearest) while munching on the ultra delicious chips any salsa. It was Saturday (aka: Day-to-break-all-diet-laws) so why not add queso as an additional appetizer? For my meal I went with some sort of Mexican salad which was quite tasty and fresh and my boyfriend had fajitas with Bacon (ew) wrapped shrimp. We both loved our meals and the outdoor dining experience (especially on an August weekend evening).
Food: 3 stars...very standard Mexican grub
Ambiance: 5....I would add more for summer time and weekends
Service: Great for our group of 2 but the larger groups around us were clearly being neglected. In addition, the table of 5 in front of us was told it would be a 2 hour wait...DANG!
Price: 4 stars...Standard price for standard Mexican in the lovely DuPont area.
After 345 reviews and counting, I'll be brief:
1. Vegetarians beware!
2. Don't pay any heed to the comparisons to CA/AZ/NM standards, but all told above average for DC. Good chips!
Our server, a fellow veg, upon learning of our persuasion, steered us toward the exactly 2 truly un-chicken or porkified dishes on the menu. Cheese enchiladas? Yep, con pollo! Rice? Yep, con pig! Beans? Yep, con pollo! The candidates included veggie fajitas with white rice, and the chile rellenos. Black beans with both.
There is no place for dead pigs in the vegetarian section of a menu. Sorry. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
This place is fun, but expect it to be super fool with approx. hour waits whenever the weather is good. Oh.. and sometimes when the weather is not good either.
The good is acceptable Mexican food. Personally, I have never been impressed with their meat for the fajitas. But I do like their lomo saltado and the Zarzuela de Mariscos.
But, the food is not really the reason to come here. The reason is their frozen margaritas. They are excellent, if you like a margarita that doesnt taste like tequila, but more like a smoothie - a Smoothie Margarita.
Lauriol Plaza is nothing if not consistent. The margaritas have consistently been tasty, the service has consistently been poor, and the food has consistently been good.
I always enjoy the food. It's good. Nothing to write home about, but I enjoy it and there's plenty of items to choose from, whatever you're craving.
I always enjoy the margaritas. They're always tasty and hit the spot on a really hot day.
My complaint with Lauriol Plaza is the experience. I get that the lines are long, they don't take reservations, and it's usually packed. What I don't get is the attitude of the people at the host stand and the general confusion by the servers. This has happened pretty much every single time I have been there and last night was no exception.
Last night, I went to the hostess stand and asked how long the wait would be for 6 people. I was quoted 1 hour and 30 minutes, so I put my name down, took the pager, and headed outside to wait with my husband for our friends. In the two minutes it took to get back outside (place was packed) the pager went off. I went back to the hostess and explained that the complete party wasn't here (they tell you that they only seat complete parties and have signs about it) and I asked her if my name goes at the end of the list or do I have to come back when the party was complete to put our name down. She snatched the pager out of my hand and said to come back when the party was complete but that the wait was about to get super long.
When the full party arrived, I went back to the host stand and explained that everyone was here, did I need to put my name back on the list. I got a skeptical look and she asked me if the party was complete. I affirmed that they were, and that they were just outside, and asked if I should bring everyone inside (the reason we weren't all inside was simply because the place is too crowded). She handed me another pager and told me that if it went off and the party wasn't all there, that I would be unable to get a table at Lauriol that night. Seriously? Is that necessary? There was no need for the attitude.
Pager goes off within 10 minutes and we all go to the host stand. We check in and are told to follow the gentleman with the menus. We start following him, and he stops midway through the tables, looks around in a confused manner, and then signals to one of the managers in the upper level to try to figure out what to do. It turns out that they DON'T have a table for us, but that we'll be at the next table for six. We ask where we should wait and are directed to the stairs and told to stand around there, which is in everyone's way.
We eventually get directed to a table. We sit at a cramped table up against the window. We are handed menus and immediately the waitress appears to ask if we're ready to order. We haven't had a chance to look at the menu, so we ask for guacamole and a pitcher of frozen margaritas. She comes back in a little while with the pitcher, and proceeds to pour, but apparently has never dealt with a frozen margarita as she spills about half a margarita glass worth of frozen margaritas on the table, the floor, my shoe, and my purse (which is on the floor). I offer to take over for her and she just wanders off.
It appears that she wandered off to get the guacamole, which she brings to the table and just hands it to a random person at the table and walks away again. Eventually we are able to flag the waitress down and manage to order. We sit and chat, we drink, we eat chips. When the food comes, we're wondering why she brings one plate at a time, but realize quickly that there's no room to bring the big tray with the plates. So when the last plate (chicken fajitas) isn't brought immediately, we don't realize it at first. We ask the person who ordered it if the waitress said anything. Apparently not.
About 5 minutes later, the chicken fajitas arrive and we all have food, but we're about to ask for another pitcher and the waitress has disappeared again. When she reappears in the area, we order the pitcher and continue eating. When our meal is over, and the plates have been cleared, we're just finishing off the pitcher and there's no waitress. For the next twenty minutes, we're wondering where the waitress is because we're ready for our check. She hasn't come by in a while. We finally have to flag her down. She never came by to ask if we needed anything else (such as dessert), but was quick to bring the check and run it.
All in all, the food was fine and the drinks were fine. But the waitress and the host stand is typical of Lauriol Plaza. Just be prepared.
Large portions, fun atmosphere. Shrimp/crab qusadillas are awesome. If you go on a Saturday night, be prepared for a wait and it does get noisy. Prices are reasonable relative to the quality of the food and atmosphere. Parking close by may be a problem.
I love Lauriol Plaza. Yes it's always crowded, yes there might be a wait, but the food is good, the specials are great, and the margaritas are excellent.
I've gone to Lauriol with just a few friends, and larger groups, and I have never had to wait more than 20 minutes even when the place is packed solid. Most recently we were a group of 8 on a Saturday night at 7 for dinner, and we waited about 20 minutes. I don't know what everyone else's experience is, but 20 minutes is nothing. It is frustrating that they don't take reservations for large parties, as we had a very large birthday party that once they couldn't accommodate. So half the group (10) left for a neighboring restaurant.
The food at Lauriol is very good, and they have an excellent brunch on the weekends, too. The fajitas and crab and shrimp quesadillas are my favorite. Last but not least, the margaritas are YUM. Strawberry and Margarita swirl is the best.
I admitted to R when we walked in that I hated Lauriol Plaza, even though I hadn't been, mostly because I'm at times a pawn of ridiculously well-crafted Yelp reviews comme ca: http://www.yelp.com/bi....
But I figured I'd set aside my yelp bias, be open-minded, and have a damn good time if it killed me.
Didn't kill me, but I didn't do much more for me either.
Only stayed for a few minutes, enough time for R and his friend T to suck down a pitcher of the lime margarita (which I going to have a glass of, but I felt like that wouldn't be the wisest after 2 pints of Guinness elsewhere).
Ordering said margarita was the reason why I'm giving this place 2 stars. Perhaps if we'd eaten, I'd give it at least 3, but this restaurant is so damn crowded! Which I don't understand because it is HUGE. So why is the downstairs bar area the size of my shoe??? And the rushed (and therefore, rude) bartenders didn't do anything to salve. We stood on the patio outside, which was also crowded, oogling the crowds waiting for a table. I nibbled on chips and salsa and wondered why (the chips were kinda bland and the salsa was unmemorable).
So maybe I'm easily swayed by yelp reviews in addition to being old and set in my ways, but I'm not in a hurry to go back to Lauriol Plaza. But I'm open to change and new things, so if I should go back, please give me a good reason and I will.
Nice margaritas but no Happy Hour specials?! None!? Booo, get with the times.
Points for large space and fast drink ordering. However, the staff themselves aren't the most professional. For instance, on my last visit, it was very hot. There are two areas out front for outside drinking. A large number of the servers gathered in the area with the shade, using all the stools. I'm sure if I would have requested access, they would have obliged--but I didn't want to ruin their good time.
The margarita mix was a little too sweet/tangy, but that's a common issue with a lot of bars/restaurants. I stayed till closing and puked in their bathroom, so I guess it did its job.
1.) Go early, and I mean EARLY (with your whole party, they won't seat you until everyone is there)
2.) Order the swirl margarita, and repeat.
3.) Get some guac/salsa/chips (very addictive).
Did not eat dinner here, but did get a little drunk, drinks are strong and delish, beware.
The food isn't good, but the seating and margaritas are.
Yep, there was pretty much no reason to pile on, but I did it anyway.
Consistently decent food, fun atmosphere with everyone pretending it's really worth the 2-hour wait. Getting shlocked on margaritas while waiting for your table is a DC institution.
The chips and salsa are awesome, and you won't be able to stop eating them. One of the best salsas I've ever had. I haven't had one bad experience here and I can't even count how many times I've been here. Enchiladas De Mariscos... mmmm mmmm and mmmmmmmm... creamy amazing and fabulous. The shrimp were never overcooked and neither were the scallops. I love their rice and black beans as well. I don't like that they put cheese on top of the guacamole, so just ask for it w/o cheese if you're a guacamole purist like myself. The crab quesadillas are good too. I drive here all the way from Frederick now, and it sucks but it's worth the trip.
oh how i wanted to love this place sooo bad.... everything about it is so cute.... until i waited 2 hours for a table.....
i understand not having reservations in dc anywhere on a friday night is a bad deal... but who would have thought a place that big you would wait for like 2-3 or more hours....
when we first came in the service was lacking... we put our name down and had to wait for a table pager... when asked how long she said 5 minutes... it clicked in that it was 5 mintues to get a pager.... after we got the pager we waited for about 30 minutes... we then asked her how long it would be and she said "soon"... what is soon? apparently another 45 minutes.... the entire time we were there was just a wreck... from the crowded bar to the crappy service to the woman who passed out in the front of the restaurant and the ambulance came... what a night
after finally getting a table we were seated upstairs in the top dining room. We had child with us and the waitress assured us that we would be able to get a bigger table in the downstairs dining room without waiting... she INSISTED that we got up... pretty much kicked us out of our table to go downstairs where the hostess table had no idea what was going on... they gave away our table and we had to wait another 10 minuts for a table outside... where i got attacked my mosquitos on a hot summer day...
the service was bad... the food was bad... the experience was traumatic... like i said i wanted to love this place sooo bad... but thankfully i will never go back
I would give this place 4.5 stars actually.
I went here for after-work drinks with some friends last week and then my boyfriend was craving Mexican on Friday night so I went back. This place is huge and busy, but I didn't have to wait too too long either time, especially considering the crowds.
Wednesday we got pitchers of "swirl" margaritas on the roof, topped it off with chips and their AMAZING salsa, then decided to head inside and grab a table for some dinner. I had a cheese enchilada, which was very good and very cheesy. My friends all seemed pleased with their food as well.
Friday night we put our names in for a table and got drinks at the bar while we waited. It was crowded and bustling, but I don't mind that, especially on a Friday night. We didn't wait long and ended up with a really nice corner table on the first floor. The service wasn't great, but she was quick and didn't bother us, which was fine with me. I had the sunrise salad, which was really fantastic. I can't tell you what he ordered because my head was a little cloudy with swirled margaritas and I was intensely focused on my own delicious meal. He is picky about any type of mexican/spanish food, but loved it here, so I take that as a good sign.
The prices aren't too bad, the food is good (and there is a nice variety of things on the menu), the margaritas are delicious, and once again that salsa... I would go back just for that!
This place is pretty solid, as other reviews indicate, but definitely not amazing. Straight A's for ambiance and seating (very cute on the inside), the food was pretty average, and the before-dinner salsa was great, if composed of somewhat ambiguous ingredients. Overall I think the experience was better for my carnivorous friend, who enjoyed a chicken quesadilla, than for me, munching on somewhat underwhelming cheese enchiladas. Some other folks' food smelled pretty fantastic - I think meat might be the magic ingredient.
I will say that it was a cheap meal, coming out to about $11/12 for each of us, although we did get some of the less expensive items on the menu and skipped appetizers. Overall, very reasonable for a college-student/intern looking for a classy but affordable dinner with friends, but nothing that I would revisit if I were making enough money to go elsewhere.
Mexi-can't food is all you get.
I was looking for a spot to eat in the Dupont Circle area and my friend who I was staying with razed about Lauriol Plaza. So I was like Okay I'm down.
Location: I am unfamiliar with the area but I'm sure it's in or near Dupont Circle. We drove in from Arlington, which was a quick 10 minutes ride. Looking for parking took longer then our commute. Lauroil has valet parking but it fill up quickly because it's small. So an on street-parking hunt was on until we landed a spot right by the place.
It was a Friday evening and Lauriol Plaza was packed. The outside eating area was packed as well as the bar, which is already tiny to begin with. Surprisingly we were seated without a wait (Perhaps because it was just two of us). The dinning room is big and has two levels. (For both levels you ascend stairs.)
Food: We started out of course with chips and salsa. The chips were good but I wasn't feeling the Smokey flavor in the salsa. I tried the guacamole and it was not spectacular. (It needed more lime and salt.) To drink I got the Margarita ($10) and it tasted like that stupid TGIF mix and that really pissed me off. As an entree I got the Enchilada and tamales sampler($12). It came with a side of yellow rice and beans. I hated the beans because the come with pieces of pork in it and I hate pork. The rice was tasteless. The Enchiladas were worthy of eating and the tamales were gross. My friends dish came with black beans and those were good. I never felt that yummy good feeling I get when I eat good Mexican.... Dam I get the feeling when I go to Chipotle Mexican Grill.
I don't like the pace of this place. I felt like my dishes came out to quick and were ill prepared. I guess the quickness was a good thing because I just wasn't feeling the ambiance of the place and I wanted out. It was a mostly young professional crowd that wanted to fake the diversity funk by hanging out at a not very Mexican "Mexican" Restaurant in a very diverse metro area like DC.
Usually when someone tells me I have to wait an hour and a half (starting 8pm) to be fed, I immediately spin on my heel and beeline for the nearest Wendy's or some other speedy food establishment. But Lauriol Plaza is worth the wait. And knocking back margaritas + nibbling super addictive chips/salsa really makes that wait time fly by.
When you're drunk, everything tastes good (Those margaritas really sneak up on you!), but the food here is just plain tasty no matter what state of sobriety you're in. My chicken nachos came to the table in a neatly arranged, sizzling plate of 8 huge round corn chips, each piled high with chicken and cheese. Tasty guac, sour cream, and pico de gallo nestled in the middle of the arrangement on top of a bed of crunchy shredded lettuce. SO. GOOD. Each bite was an explosion of textures and flavors, and it was so much fun to see how high of a pile of toppings I could cram into my mouth without getting smears all over my face/clothes. Mmm, mmm, mmm!
The atmosphere here is fun and friendly -- everywhere you look people are clutching mugs of margaritas, and the resulting booze high makes everyone SUPER friendly. The servers are all so efficient -- our waitress spitting out orders to her serving minions was a sight to behold. Food comes out a little slowly, but when the weather is gorgeous, and you're on the balcony-esque 3rd floor dining area munching on those addictive chips and pounding back endless pitches of strawberry margs, you barely notice the wait. Awesome.
- Delicious homemade tortilla chips and salsa served while waiting - $0.00.
- Tasty mango margaritas…
Read more »
I hate this place....no seriously hate it. This place is really overrated. Kind of like Rosa Mexicana, I think it's supposed to be upscale Mexican. Which is an oxymoron if I've ever heard one. This place ALWAYS has a wait, what are you waiting for queso and chips? The food is ok, not the best or worst Mexican I've had on the east coast. This place should do themselves a favor and take reservations. I would go, but not being metro accessible and not taking reservations is way too much for me to deal with for "ok Mexican food".
Pollo Asada features achingly tender roasted chicken topped with gloriously soft onions. The sizzling hot fajitas are a mainstay with me - I prefer them even over Haydee's. The margaritas are powerful but must also contain an amazing amount of sugar. Anyway, if everyone went with the Pollo Asada and the Steak Fajitas, I'd think the average star rating would jump from a "3" all the way up to a "5".
The homemade salsa that accompanies the chips has a nice, fiery roasted kick. The place can get LOUD and CROWDED and BUSY. Even during lunch. So keep that in mind!
Someone described Lauriol Plaza as a "feedbin" and I totally agree. Food is pretty lackluster, ambience is generic and the prices are high.
There are much better Mexican places in DC, namely Casa Oaxaca, Haydees, and that rad taco truck that hangs out at Columbia Rd and 16th on the weekends.
I'm torn about Lauriol Plaza. Laura V. and Amanda C. got it exactly right when they say this place is all about the 'ritas, the salsa and a kick ass roof top and outdoor seating area downstairs.
The place is PACKED and it can't just be for these three things because people wait over an hour to be seating inside and for what: mediocre at best food and pathetic service? I guess they don't really need to serve better food when they're packing 'em in like LP does.
There's only one time to go to Lauriol: a warm weekday at about 2pm, but then who can do that?
Washington, DC
Category: Tex-Mex
Neighborhood: Dupont Circle
Category: Greek
Neighborhood: Dupont Circle
Category: Latin American
Bethesda, MD
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Adams Morgan
Category: Tex-Mex
"Party, Party, Party let's all get wasted!"…
I present the following establishments where I…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Sometimes the best recommendations are the ones…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
I have a problem. I am addicted to chips and…
Delicious destinations for big groups & good…
Living in Houston from 1996 - 2002 gives me street…
