El Camino

My friend and I ordered guacamole, a carne asada burrito, tacos, and two Alejandras. The food and drinks were great. Service was friendly and the meal was priced well. A solid choice for dinner/​drinks.

El Camino’s front patio is probably the only thing it has going for it. Although people do tout their cheap happy hour, their margaritas are weak, watery, and sour, so I don’t know that a $ 5 margarita there would even be enticing. We were there at 8:30pm on a Friday and thus forced to pay a whopping $ 33 for a pitcher!
Most egregiously, they do not give you complimentary chips and salsa, which should be obligatory at every Mexican restaurant. Sucking it up, we opted to cough up the $ 2.50 anyway, but the waitress never brought any to our table because she had apparently forgotten. Sigh. In general, the servers seem very unhappy, which perhaps contributes to their lack of attention to detail and to friendly customer service. A couple of my friends had the tacos, which were nothing to write home about.
It’s a shame that El Camino is so mediocre because, given its location in a row of popular establishments and appealing patio, it could bring a lot of joy to the lives of Bloomingdale residents.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place! Drinks were STRONG, although expensive. The strength of the drinks more than made up for the higher cost point (so strong in fact that I think one little drink turned my friend into a loosey goose). The chips and salsa were cheap and really tasty. I spotted rice and bean trays and they looked and smelled scrumptious. I would like to come back for dinner when I’m feeling Mexican.

Always a good choice for tacos and margaritas. Pick a taco, any taco, you won’t be disappointed. Even better, order the guacamole. Anyone that can make guac that pleases my spouse deserves an award.

Three of us had brunch here one sunny Sunday eating our eggy dishes on the sidewalk tables. This was quite enjoyable as the waitress didn’t forget us and the friendly servers brought us everything we wanted. We had a breakfast burrito of some sort (eggs and beans and stuff inside a burrito, and a it’s a big portion), a fancy mushroom omelette with sauces on it (a bit runny and not spicy hot but sufficiently large) and guacamole and chips and iced coffee with cream. We shared a tres leches cake that was quite fresh and delicious. Bathrooms are indoors and are wheelchair accessible (yay!)

Very good tacos and a wonderful selection of tequilas and mescals. Service was prompt. The place inside is small, but it does have a bar and also tables outside.

For starters, this is my 3^rd time here in the past 16 months. The short and sweet is the food is mediocre (lacking flavor, small portions specifically). The drinks are also less than a value, unless you’re coming during HH, for which I recommend El Camino. They get bonus points for offering a late night HH. I think the customers get the short end of the «rent is too damn high in DC» stick because they are clearly passing the high cost and poor value on to the clientele.

El Camino is a great Mexican inspired restaurant that truly feels like a neighborhood spot. It is mainly inspired and artfully plays with traditional Mexican flavors.

The food and drinks here are great!
If you want super cheap chips and salsa go during happy hour and they’re $ 1. To be fair, otherwise they’re only $ 2.50.
The hidden gem is the side of Brussels sprouts. They’re roasted but also creamy and oddly enough have peanuts, but it works.
Tacos are good and $ 2.50 or $ 3.50 each. I like the cactus one.
Drink wise the standard margarita is solid, but I’m a big fan of the Rosa, which has tequila and jalapeño ginger beer I believe. Good kick to it.

I really want to like this place because it’s across the street from my house but beyond drinks, It’s the worst. I had been here for about 40 minutes and even have food, but I don’t have utensils or even a napkin. The waitress has even brought water out to the dog before giving me my utensils (that was after I asked for them).
I ordered chips and salsa and the fish tacos today. The fish is over fried so much that I spit it out in fear that I was chewing on plastic. I’ll continue to come for drinks… maybe if Crisp is full, but other than that no Bueno.

5 stars for the awesome hostess and busboys. 0 stars for our server with RBF. My friends and I came here on a Friday evening and were extremely disappointed in the food on top of the the poor service. We love supporting local community restaurants. It’s unfortunate that we had such an unpleasant experience.
To keep it short and sweet… our server (female, tallish, dark roots with blondish ombré, permanent resting «b» face) had a stick up her ass. She was as stale as the chips. We made a comment about how bad the food was (without expecting any discount) and she said she would get the Manager. She came back and literally threw the check on the table and said, «Sorry you didn’t like the food, but that’s your choice that you’re not happy with it.»
She was that rude. We started laughing because she came back and basically said «FK you, we don’t really care.» It was almost comical. Which was cool, but in the end I thought this girl should never ever be allowed to serve anywhere. She will wreck people’s lives and make you feel bad on a good day. It was that bad. Lol
Anyways, then we asked for the Manager… and he wasn’t any better. Seems like the apple doesn’t fall from the tree. He ended up trying to make up for it… but it was too late… the condom already broke.

Me gusta! Porque? Porque it was an unexpected delicious experience. We were craving grub with a spicy kick so we found this place on Unilocal.We came here and it was pretty busy for a Sunday night ! Our waitress, who turned out to be a writer, was pretty awesome. We talked international politics with her that night as well! Anyways, the guacamole was decent. The service was great. The tacos were interesting and unique. The tres leche was unique but hit the spot. It’s not too sweet. The cactus taco is not my favorite but the rest of the tacos were very good. The papas were boring and just fries so don’t waste your calories on those. Other people were ordering large plates and they looked delicious. The restaurant is clean. The location is great. Street parking available around the neighborhood too. All in all, it was a good experience and I definitely foresee us coming back for good food and great conversation with their excellent staff.

¡EXCELENTE! This place is a gem. Great tacos (especially the chorizo and potato) for $ 2.50 a pop. I loved the cactus taco — would never have thought to add peanuts to nopales. The guacamole was chunky and nicely balanced — almost as good as homemade. Really enjoyed my margarita — Y Tu Mama Tambien — on Margarita Day. :) The tequila was tasty and the orange peel added a freshness and a zing.
The competent, friendly staff and the comfortable, relaxing ambience really push this place over the top. We decided that we’ll bring friends and visitors to El Camino because it feels like a happy oasis in overly-​serious DC.
Perfect spot for folks who eat a gluten free, vegetarian or vegan diet — dishes are well marked on the menu. That is always appreciated. If you don’t eat dairy, just remember to ask for your dishes «sin queso» or «sin crema» so the kitchen doesn’t sprinkle cotija on everything. ;)

Still on the quest to try every margarita in DC. El Camino was a serious disappointment. Although they say they use fresh lime juice, it tastes more like sour mix. Way too sweet for me. They’re cheap ($ 7), but small and blah. Hard pass.

We come here pretty regularly and like it a lot. Definitely come during happy hour to take advantage of cheaper margaritas. We tend to favor the small plates and entrees over the tacos, but I do really like the lengua.

Summary = BLAH.
I’ve been here twice and both times I’ve been less than impressed. The happy hour margarita for $ 5 was so small, I thought the restaurant had made their drinks smaller to accompany the smaller price. When I went my second time, I realized, NOPE, they just serve really small, flavorless and overpriced margaritas. Sad face.
The chips and guac are fairly standard. The guac gives you an option of «housemade or make it yourself.» We weren’t given an option (maybe because no one wants to go to a restaurant to make their own guac?), so housemade it was. The guac has a decent amount of chunks of avocado, but no real spice or flavor.
My friends got tacos, but didn’t have much to say about them.
El Camino does have a wonderful patio out front that was great for accommodating bigger groups for HH and enjoying some sunshine and fresh air with your food.
One OK experience? Okay, I’ll try them again. Two okay experiences? Okay, I’ll go somewhere else. There’s gotta be more flavorful Mexican food in this city!

Four stars for food, two stars for service… so, I split the difference. El Camino has great outdoor seating, a charming interior, and a menu that’s the perfect size. There are 8 – 10 different types of tacos ($ 2.50 or $ 3.50/each, depending on the type), three giant tortas, and some entrees — carne asada, enchiladas, etc. I had three tacos, which were tiny but overall not bad — I’m going to be hard-​pressed to say anything negative about tacos EVER, because come on — they’re a dream food. What’s not to like?!
Unfortunately, the service was pretty slow. The waitress was extremely frazzled and we had to ask her for water three times before she brought any out. She did come over and apologize after we’d been waiting for quite a while with no water, no chips, and no food. Totally not her fault, and a stressful situation for any server.
I’d love to go back for happy hour sometime, since it looks like they have some good deals.

This is one of my regular neighborhood spots. Margaritas are good, everything is priced right, and the guac is delicious!
The only time I didn’t like something I’ve gotten was the time i ordered the ceviche. The Elote Corn is only OK as well.
What is good are the tacos. Chicken tinga and the shrimp are my two favorites. i’ve had the bean one, fish one, beef and lengua. All have been muy delicioso.

Nice little Mexican spot in the Bloomingdale neighborhood. Slightly disappointed that the chips and salsa were not complimentary but I must admit that the two house made salsas were better than the average. For tacos, my favorites were the lengua (ample amount of protein unlike some other places), camarones (so good that I had to order it twice), and carnitas. The chicken tinga just didn’t have the flavor profile that I anticipated — something was missing, but I’m not quite sure what. I didn’t get to try the baja fish this time, but would definitely get it next time. The real disappointment of the meal was the scallops ceviche. the portion was just too small and the taste too tangy for my liking.
The ambiance was nice — seemed to be filled with a lot of people that live in the neighborhood. The outdoor seating area is super cute for summer nights, and great for people watching.
Overall, not a place that I would go out of the way to visit, but definitely one I wouldn’t mind checking out again if I’m in Bloomingdale.

Stopped in for a nightcap & quick snack & Bartender Mick was pretty darn cool. He had a great personality & really enjoyed doing his job.
Tried a new red wine since he didn’t have Malbec & the glass of Prosecco was very good.
I wasn’t feeling the chips & salsa, expected a better homemade garden style salsa due to the Catina vibe.
A good comeback spot for late night drinks though :-)