La Capilla

CLOSED
If anyone knows what happened to the cook or if they went to another restaurant I would love to know. I think her name was Mildred.

I live right around the corner from here, and I’ve always wanted to try it. Eating in a restored church in Old Town seemed like a fun night out.
Let me start by saying, I loved the décor. Yes, it is stone and because of that, it is a little chilly. I am sure the rooms upstairs are warmer, but I enjoyed the atmosphere. It did smell a little musty when we first walked in. I don’t know if once we moved out of the foyer it went away, or we got use to it… but hey, they place is old, what do you expect?
My friend and I both ordered the steak and shrimp. Steak was meh. Lots of gristle. The shrimp were to die for. It was served with rice and a grilled jalapeño. Not a fan of the jalapeño. Seems a little raw and blah to me, but everything else was well seasoned.
We both ordered Margaritas as well. Have to say, they were some of the best we’ve had. The manager also mentioned that they were going to classes to become a certified Tequila bar also. Can’t wait for that!
I think it’s a little pricey, but I’d go back again.

I’m mostly writing this to help remind myself not to go back here. Tried it twice. Not impressed.
Super jealous of the Unilocalers who say they had a great time here, because really wanted to love it.
Our first trip was in the fall, second in the winter. Both times the restaurant was cold.
Both times the service was spotty. Forgotten drink orders. Etc. This past weekend when we arrived the music was blasting. We asked for them to please turn it down 4 times before it happened. The manager did stop by at the end to ask us how our meal was. We sort of nodded at him and he left. He didn’t seem really interested in feedback.
The food was hit or miss. Our first trip had us discovering some tapas dish that was amazing! Can’t remember what it was called, but we ordered several rounds of it, but were then told they were «out of it». We were suspicious though since we had a coupon for a price fix all you can eat tapas that night, and that dish involved a nice cut of meat. Even so, that one amazing tapas was what brought us back a few months later to make sure they weren’t just having an off night. We were disappointed upon return. I also think their chips are greasy. They have instant tea, they don’t bother to brew tea… in Virginia, who does that?
Note: Menu does not list all ingredients in the dishes, so if you have a food allergy, or are lactose intolerant, beware. That dish may or may not have a cream sauce on it.
FYI — They will not split checks. Not a huge deal– but worth noting.

The service was horrible. The waitress never remembered our drink orders. We had a LivingSocial coupon, and because of that we were forgotten over other customers. My husband ordered a chicken dish and the entire chicken came out raw.
When he confronted the waitress about it she said «Are you sure?» There was no apology, no comping of the meal, no word from a manager or owner (They I believe are the same person and present at the time — but more concerned with putting a dress on and entertaining his guests).
I will never go back.

I got the Living Social deal for La Capilla because it was on the way back from the wineries we were visiting and I figured it would be a nice stop along the way.
I. was. WRONG.
I liked the whole chapel theme. Cute. We were sitting downstairs (which is a church’s fellowship hall).
There was a draft in the place, but I told myself we’d heat up with some spicy food, so I didn’t worry too much about that.
We were dining with another couple and they did not have the Living Social deal. They ordered from the regular menu.
The experience was just bad. The food, overall, was bland. The only thing that was good was the soup at the beginning of the meal. All downhill from there.
So, trudging through bland food and slow service, we get to the check. Like I said, my boyfriend and I had the Living Social deal. So we were only supposed to be charged tax and drinks. Well, we only had iced tea. We were amazed when the bill came up to $ 57something. And this was after I gave them my coupon. I asked the waiter and he told me I was being charged for tax and drinks. Ok, cool. Got that. But NO iced tea is worth $ 57something dollars. The server, again, insisted I was being charged for tax and tea. I get the charge slip back and they swiped my card for $ 57something as if I didn’t even have a Living Social deal. By this point, I was pissed. I tried to avoid having this happen and even questioned the check presented to me.
In the end, we got it straightened out, but not before I had to create a bit of a scene. They ended up not charging me for anything at all and voiding the initial charge on my card.
I don’t know if I can recommend this place. I wasn’t impressed with the food, but the service really killed it for me.

We had a Living Social coupon and made a reservation earlier in the evening. By the time we got to the restaurant, they lost our reservation. While sorting it out, they sat a part of eight ahead of us. The night went down hill from there. Drinks came out promptly but that was the only promptness of the evening. For the four course meal, we waited 40 minutes for the soup, another 25 for the appetizer, 20 minutes after the appetizer for the entrée. The dessert only took five minute, but I think the waitress knew I was so cheesed off about the entire experience that I was ready to toss a chair. The tortilla soup was great as we the taquitos. The empanadas and the enchiladas were so so. The crepes for dessert where store bought and kind of gross. I felt like there was little effort or apology from the waitress.
After all this, they calculated the bill out with an 18% tip because we were Living Social customers. I have no problem with management adding a tip in situations like this to make sure the server is fairly compensated. I waited tables myself for a couple of years. I have problems with tipping 18% for mediocre service and a slow kitchen with little effort at making amends. I am not talking about getting something for nothing, I am talking basics, like getting more chips while you wait. Really, I wanted to like the place. It’s very close to my home, I love Old Town Manassas, etc… I just couldn’t. My experience there just ruined my night. I can’t advise anyone to go there.

This is one of my favorite new discoveries. Best tapas around and love the margaritas.
Brings some new style to Old Town Manassas.

Very nice ambiance. Beautiful church building. The food isn’t great and it’s pricey. Disappointed.

This is one of my favorite new discoveries, I have Unilocal to thank me for introducing me to this place. I was intrigued by the pictures and decided to drag my boyfriend, who was somewhat unwilling, here about a month ago. I left out the fact that I was planning on ordering tapas, tapas being something he was not familiar with. The restaurant is in a former church and absolutely beautiful to look at.
We walked up the large stairs and were greeted warmly, I believe we were one of maybe three couples there at the time. They set us under the middle area with the wood and stained glass and brought over chips and a delicious salsa verde.
I was a bit dumbstruck by the prices of the grill/​main dishes but was going to go with tapas anyway to cut costs and have more variety. We ordered the chicken enchiladas, the chorizo queso, and the chicken espanol to start. Everything was so delicious and flavor packed. We were a bit hungry so we decided to also order, now I forget the actual name of it (or any of the dishes really), but it was meatballs in a tomato sauce — it was a small portion but very tasty. The service was good — everyone working there came by to top off our drinks, clear the table, and ask us how everything was. The atmosphere is quiet and low-​key — which I like.
We ended up going back last weekend with one of our friends and getting the endless tapas for $ 25 a person. Although a bit pricey it was a good decision. Besides ordering some of the things we enjoyed last time we tried other things such as a potato dish, spicy shrimp dish, steak tacos, quesadillas, chicken and peppers, and lastly a chorizo/​potato dish. I loved everything with exception of the last dish which didn’t really strike my fancy. Everything again was so flavorful and delicious.
The service was a bit slower on our most recent visit but still good. One of the staff members, who I believe may be the manager, remembered us and thanked us for returning.
I can’t wait to return, I had an excellent time and excellent food on both occasions and would recommend this for a date or a good place to take your friends to talk and share wonderful little plates.

Dont think «traditional» Mexican food here means Tex-​Mex! The dishes at La Capilla (in a beautiful old converted chapel, hence the name) is true Mexico food, including artful renderings of ancient recipes. Fresh ingredients, with all dishes made-​to-​order, result in flavors that will surprise and delight you. The location allows a stroll around charming Old Town Manassas. Frequent live entertainment, great bar, lovely staff.

This place is quite unique and especially so being in old town Manassas.
They have some great specials and chef.
It’s independently owned and operated so it’s worthy of checking out.
You won’t be sorry.

This was our second visit to La Capilla and, once again, they have impressed. Everything was absolutely perfect. The only complaint I have is that our server, despite her best efforts, had a hard time understanding English. Other than that very minor annoyance, the experience was perfect. The food here is delectable and the service is terrific. The management (owners) are so appreciative of your business and go out of their way to make you enjoy your dining experience. The food is phenomenal and worth every dime. This particular night they had a wine tasting so we were able to taste a variety of the wines on the menu before actually ordering one! AWESOME!
This is a hidden gem in Manassas. We are even thinking of taking my parents there next week when they visit. One of my favs in Old Town!

Finally, a real Mexican restaurant in Northern Virginia — not Tex-​Mex of Salvadoran-​Mex or any other hybrid (tasty as some of these are). And it is a pretty good Mexican restaurant, too.
No burritos here. The menu is a combination of Mexican and Spanish dishes. I haven’t traveled widely in Mexico, but this is the sort of upscale Mexican that I enjoyed when I lived in Los Angeles.
Our table had a mix of entrees, appetizers, and tapas. Everything was very good. I was especially happy with the mole chicken — the sauce was rich, with a strong chocolate flavor and a nice edge of bitterness (no sweetness in a chocolate mole sauce.) The chicken was moist and lovely.
We were downstairs in the bar, pretty late on a Saturday. The service was slow and the basement was a little cold (I docked the review a star for these failings). But the staff was well informed about the food and unfailingly cheerful. They even put up with a four year old.
There is no kids menu, but my four year old son loved the food as well. He had a selection from our plates of tapas and appetizers, including a chorizo quesadilla, a mild guacamole with chips, and a dish of sauteed bits of chopped beef in corn tortillas. He loved them all. Normally a light eater, he stuffed himself until he could barely move.

Didn’t have a good meal here but since I loved the salsa that came with Chips and their hot sauce, thanks for the tip Neal, I will round out to 2. We walked in to an empty restaurant on Saturday afternoon and were seated immediately. We looked around and liked the converted church décor, it was nice and cozy. There was soft Spanish music playing in the background and chip and salsa came out almost immediately.
The chips and salsa were delicious. Chips were thick and crisp while the salsa Verde was delicious. Not spicy, but very flavorful. So far so good.
We looked at the menu and ordered a Chicken in Mole dish and a Pork in Adobo sauce dish. As an amuse-​bouche, which we didnt expect, we were brought a fried plantain with what looked like pork, raw red onions and a Verde type of sauce.
Amuse-​bouche — well considering I do not eat seafood, I didn’t like it even though I love fried plantains. I think the pork was some kind of fish and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Everything after this tasted bitter to my tongue. I asked for their homemade hot sauce to clean my mouth.
Homemade hot sauce — wow, it was spicy and extremely flavorful. Tomato based is all i could tell. I am usually pretty good at picking out what goes into a dish, but i couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
Chicken in Mole sauce — The chicken was a bit tough and the flavor was very confusing. It tasted a bit floral, like it had epozote in it. Never had it before so I do not know if it was the way it should be. Overall, I wasn’t a big fan.
Pork in Adobe Sauce — Pork was once again tough. The sauce was a bit bitter and too deep.
The Tri-​colored rice serving was delicious! All thee (red, white, green) had very different flavors and were all very enjoyable.
After a so-​so meal where the only stars were the side dishes, we ordered some dessert; don’t ask, I don’t know what we were thinking. Now this is were service, even though there were very few people in the restaurant took a down turn. our waiter just disappeared for a good while. Anyway, once he came around we ordered some Flan and Tres Leches cake.
Baked flan — very eggy, I mean, it was a cross between a scrambeled egg and custard. I have had good flan and this was not by any means, texture or flavor.
Tres Leches cake — It was pretty good. Take a simple layered cake and drench it in milk and that was basically the dessert. Overall, it was pretty good.
After paying 45 with tip for lunch we left. My fiancé and I looked at each other and said «that wasn’t worth it.» To make things worse, prices are almost 50−75% higher at dinner for the same dishes. If it was not worth it at lunch, I would not try it at dinner. Do yourself a favor, if you want to try this place, come at lunch and stick with well traveled dishes, or other dishes recommended on this site.

Sorry to say this — but we have tried La Capilla 3 times, twice upstairs and once down and would not recommend this restaurant.
The first time we went there, they made apologies for being understaffed and while the meal was actually OK, it took a very long time to get anything — including the chips, drinks etc.
Second time we went, they made apologies for being understaffed and the food was terrible. Soup was cold — they took it back and brought out 2 more bowls of equally cold soup, meal was dry and tasteless and it again took forever to get what we ordered.
Last (and final) time we went and sat downstairs and decided to try the tapas. As predicted, they made apologies for being understaffed and the tapas, while passable, were not great and took forever to come out.
Needless to say, we will not be going back — which is a shame as we have lived in Manassas for 26 years and were so excited to have ‘La Chapel’ open up again! We also love good South of the Boarder dishes so having one so close by but that just does not deliver makes it that much more disappointing.

La Capilla was a pretty interesting place to eat. We ate downstairs at the tapas room where it was cozy dim but a tad cold. The place had what looked like a full bar but don’t be fooled, wine and beer only. I found that out when I ordered a gin and tonic and was told okay then the waitress came back and asked what beer I wanted. What was really funny was when the table of four came in and set next to us they all ordered cocktails and the automatically got beer.
Other than the bar issue this was pretty nice place to eat. We ordered a bunch of tapas that they brought out staggered. I like that better than all at once when there are only two eating otherwise plates get cold. Everything we had was good. Food comes out a little slow but I think that fits with the downstairs mood. Upstairs is a totally different vibe. The vibe up there is more formal and when I peeked I saw a lot of people just looking at each other. Definitely start out downstairs.

I was soooo disappointed that it made me angry. My husband and I had our first date night in AGES and unfortunately this place started our night out on a foul note.
We didn’t make reservations which was our bad-​so, we were seated at the bar which is fine. We were informed that there was a Christmas party upstairs and that they were understaffed. We SHOULD have high tailed it out of there after sitting at the bar for 15 minutes with no greeting or water or anything. Many waiters from the upstairs party walked by, ignoring us-​it was only the one woman working the downstairs and bar and she was rude.
When our Tapas were ready, 7 plates were brought out at once (including our bread starter) and plopped in front of us with no explanation as to what was what… we had to catch her attention all over again to get silverware and drinks.
I thought the food was O.K., I particularly liked the butter dishes while the «fried» potato dish was soggy. My husband has a diverse hispanic palate and he hated the food.
When check time came, our waitress suddenly became polite and attentive… my husband still tipped even though (as a former waitress) I asked him not too.
With some staffing improvements and price adjustments (far too expensive for the service and food quality) this place could improve.

Hip Hip Hooray for Tapas in Manassas!
Overall, it was pretty good. Sangria was a little expensive at $ 7 for a small glass. I didn’t see anywhere that you could get a pitcher. :(
The tapas was pretty good for the most part. I really liked the patas bravis. The chorizo was a little on the over cooked side. The red peppers were also very good!
The ambaince was very nice. Downstairs seems more casual where upstairs is decorated pretty fancy. We chose to sit downstairs. Very beautiful building as it used to be church.
I would totally go back again!

As Seab H. mentioned in his review — we decided to check out what we thought was «La Chapelle» for dinner. The restaurant recently changed it’s name to «La Capilla.»
According to the lady who was one of our servers — «La Chappelle» is French for «The Chapel.» The new name — «La Capilla» is Spanish for «The Chapel.»
The restaurant is located in a very scenic, old Church building in Old Town Manassas. It used to be a Methodist Church. The restaurant has retained much of the ambiance of the church, right down to the stained glass windows. Lots of very old hard wood, including the floors. The tables are covered with classic, crisp white table cloths. The place has a wonderful ambiance. We ate in the dining room on the main level. There is a very comfortable bar and lounge area downstairs, complete with very comfy looking overstuffed leather couches and love seats. A very tight, steep, narrow spiral staircase leads the explorer from the main level down to the bar level.
We were brought some chips with a serving container that looked like a small gravy serving boat that contained what I perceived to be a Salsa Verde. The chips were tri-​color, red, blue, and a natural corn color. The Salsa Verde had a nice bite to it — without being hot. I think most people would enjoy the flavor and not feel like their tastebuds were being assaulted.
I ordered the Tacos De Carnitas De Pato and a Dos Equis Ambar beer. Our server was a young man who did not seem to be well versed in their menu — he could not answer a number of questions we had about what came with different dishes and so forth. The Mexican lady working there, however, was extremely helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. She answered all of our questions.
Food came out after a bit. What I received was a plate with a nice quantity of succulent, moist, shredded duck meat, two fried tortilla cups — one containing Pico de Gallo and one containing Guacamole, plus three flour tortillas.
I tasted the duck straight up before assembling a taco. It was absolutely fabulous! By far the best duck I can ever remember tasting. The duck was very similar in texture to a good shredded/​pulled pork barbecue. I made Seab take a forkful to try — he seemed to enjoy it. I also got a forkful of the meat in his Carne a La Mexicana — very tasty!
We wanted some heat in our meal — and served as is — we were not achieving this. We asked for hot sauce (I was expecting them to bring us a bottle of Cholulu sauce or something similar) and instead each received a soufflé cup of a very thick, tomato-​based hot sauce, that had a very heavy and wonderful smokiness to it — and it was pretty damn hot from a spice perspective. The sauce was served hot — meaning it was heated like a Marinara dipping sauce. I think our server expected us to be overwhelmed by the heat of the sauce. I always taste a new hot sauce straight up to get the full essence of the sauce and its heat potential. When I get that tingling in my scalp and instant perspiration developing up there — I know it’s got a very nice kick to it — and this rates up there with some of the best hot sauces I’ve had the pleasure of tasting!
I assembled the shredded duck, Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, and hot sauce into taco form and proceeded to devour them. I had a bit of duck left over and dipped each bit into the hot sauce.
My meal was excellent! As Seab mentioned — it seems a bit expensive for a Manassas Mexican restaurant — but would make a great date restaurant, or a nice place to take the family out for a nice meal or special occasion. The only other cons for me were as I mentioned our young server needs to become more well versed with the menu — and that the Guacamole was a bit on the bland side.
Overall, I really like this place and will plan to come back and try some of the other interesting menu options, including the separate Tapas menu.

TAPAS IN MANASSAS!!!
We realized the tapas bar was open last week and couldn’t wait to try it out! Tuesday night we brought some friends and spent three hours there.
The tapas bar is in the bottom half of the restaurant. There are random tables scattered about, some VERY comfy looking sofas (which we would have sat in had we noticed at the beginning of the evening) and a lovely dark wooden bar along the side wall. The atmosphere is warm, rustic, very inviting. The chairs at the tables are not terribly comfortable, but you can’t have everything.
We arrived during happy hour, so wine and beer were half price. My husband and I got a bottle of a very nice white — we think it was a verdelho, but whatever — it’s on the menu. The bottle was normally $ 36, but at happy hour, $ 18 — nice.
So we ordered a nice variety of tapas — here’s the list and our review of each:
Tablon de Quesos Espanoles (selection of cheeses with guava paste)
excellent — all four of us enjoyed every cheese and the paste — 4 stars
Pollo al Ajillio (chicken breast cooked in white wine and garlic)
excellent — our only complaint was that we wanted more — 4 stars
Chorizo a la Parilla (grilled Spanish sausage)
extraordinary — okay, we are huge chorizo fans, but this was
seriously awesome — 5 stars
Montado de Lomo (grilled pork loin marinated with garlic and paprika on toasted bread)
really good — tasty but could have been better, maybe with a sauce?
— 3 stars
Champinones al Ajillo (Mushrooms lightly sauteed in garlic and olive oil)
excellent — great flavors and a fantastic addition to everything else —
4 stars
Patatas Bravas con Aioli grande (deep fried potatoes in a spicy sauce and garlic mayonnaise)
extraordinary — the star of the show — everyone’s favorite! a must
have! seriously — so frickin’ good! best we’ve had since Spain!
After we had stuffed ourselves, we wanted to get more patatas bravas and chorizo, but we wanted to let our stomachs settle and see if we really could eat more. We sat and chatted for a bit, finished our drinks. Our waiter checked on us appropriately, no pressure, perfectly attentive. Eventually we decided to get some sangria to share. They have red and white — I am picky about sangria, so I asked if we could get some tastes. He brought us little liquer glasses of each kind — it was so cute! We chose a pitcher of white for the women and a pitcher of red for the guys. It came in very nice carafes, probably the equivalent of a bottle of wine each.
We decided we would not order more food — enough! We were stuffed. We had a fantastic time, ate fantastic food, enjoyed ourselves immensely.
The bill came.
The food was so reasonably priced, we were absolutely floored to discover the sangria was $ 28 a carafe!!! WAY overpriced. The sangria ended up being half the cost of our bill. Ridiculous.
However, we just learned our lesson — go during happy hour, order wine and beer only during those times, and eat lots of good tapas. Olé!
I highly recommend La Chappelle and their tapas bar — it was completely wonderful and we had an amazing time and fantastic food. We REALLY want this place to do well — it deserves to do well. Please go — enjoy — I know you will!