Uncle Julio’s

T/​A order took awhile (20 min for queso only) so we were offered free salsa. Which was great until we got home & saw the salsa was burnt (Hows that happen??) and tons of black chunks floating in it.

Food was ok. Not amazing, but not bad by any means. Service was slow, some trouble with the checks, but I think mostly due to a new worker. No need to come back, lots more to try elsewhere.

I’ve tried to like this place, I really did. Went with my parents and brother on a Sunday night. Chips and salsa were great!
Prolly the only thing I enjoyed the entire night. I ordered the double beef enchiladas as well as my brother. However, my rice and beans were extremely bland. No flavor to them at all. For the enchiladas, the tortillas were slightly soft, borderline squishy. The beef on the inside was even blander than the rice and beans. It tasted like they just warmed it up and put it inside the tortillas without any seasoning or flavor. Also, the top of enchiladas were smeared with melted cheese and sauce. It wasn’t what I expected given the high price. I felt like I was eating enchiladas from a fast food restaurant. No flavoring, no seasoning, and especially no effort to it at all.
My brother ordered the same exact beef enchiladas. However, according to him, his beef was actually tasty and seasoned. So I’m guessing the chef got one order correct but decided not to make as much effort on the second order.
My parents both ordered the shrimp tacos and were not pleased. they said they were expecting warm taco shells and warm shrimp or AT LEAST grilled shrimp. however according to the BOTH of them, their shrimp was frozen and the tacos shells were cold. They pretty much had a frozen shrimp taco meal. My parents, my brother, and myself did not finish our plates. And I am 100% sure our server noticed this.
And just a side note, if you’re gonna order water, know that it is gross tap water. I ordered a glass of water and felt like I was drinking dirty dish water. So I asked for a Diet Coke instead.
Despite the low quality of the food, our server was incredibly sweet and attentive to us. He was friendly, funny and really wanted to make sure we were taken care of. I wish I remembered his name.
I have been to the fairfax corner location and had no problem with their food or service. I have also been to this location about last year or so and was satisfied with my visit.
However, my visit this time was shocking and upsetting. I don’t believe I will be visiting this restaurant again. Nor will my family. It seems like their food quality is not consistent each visit. which is a shame.

I hate this place. The one in Arlington was good, about 8 years ago. It’s lost its luster. It’s overpriced, has spacey non attentive staff, and crappy food. We got the bacon pineapple guac as an appetizer. Big mistake. Tasted like purreed pineapple with a hint of avocado. No other flavor. I wish we would have gotten just the regular guac, but my expectations are low at the point and I won’t be back. I got some sort of enchilada combo as my entrée. It was overwhelmed with shredded cheese and sauce, basically making a huge mess of a hot plate. The tortilla was basically a wet sloppy crêpe. The chicken was dry and overcooked with minimal seasoning. I don’t understand why this place is always so packed. The food sucks and the service sucks but just since its in town center it’s going to be busy. What a shame. I want them gone and replaced with a better Tex Mex. I would rather go to Taco Bell.

Vilma was our server and she did an awesome job. Very observant, she would watch your drinks and have them refilled as soon as you would look up for her. She would ask if she was unsure you for sure wanted another. She knew what I was looking for when I looked up again for her. And made sure she mad eye contact with me to let me know she has it coming (my tortillas) very well done. The food is amazing the tortillas are homemade here. The salsa is very different in a good way! I recommend trying the guacamole n queso combo too. Thanks so much for a great meal and service!

I’m blown away! ordered from their delivery service it took awhile but so worth it!!! everything is delicious got the beef flautas and guac it is phenomenal you got yourself a forever customer!!! l

OMG!!!
The Fajitas (filet and lobster), guacamole, and Margaritas are to die for!!!
Today its mothers day and it was so full I cant believe
the food was so amazing. No mess ups on our order.
Loved It!!!

I ordered from Uncle Julios via Eat24. After an hour and a half I actually got a call asking me if I wanted my order! Since I hadn’t ordered just for the heck of it I said yes and was told it would be another 30 min. Seriously! At that point I canceled. Two hours is ludicrous. Don’t order from here via Eat24!

When will people start realizing that they can’t just order whatever food they feel like having in a given restaurant and just rate the restaurant based off of what they ordered? You have to order specifically for what that restaurant specializes in. I have a huge list of restaurants that I go to either for a particular dish or drink.
I’ve been here over 20+ times and let me start by saying this is the best Uncle Juilio’s of the 3 I’ve visited. (Fairfax corner no good) I would never go to another Uncle Julio’s because it just does not taste as good as this location.
What do I order each time?
Table side guacamole — extra onions, tomatoes, and 2 extra lemons squeezed in the mix makes it the perfect guac.
Steak fajitas — they are the best fajitas you will ever have. Medium-​rare is the standard preference. (The chicken is not bad but the steak is soo much better)
Chicken Quesadilla — I only order this if I come with a group of people enough to share this as an appetizer. The chicken is so moist and the quesadilla has the perfect balance of the cheese, meat, and fluffy dough
Don’t get anything else. The empanadas aren’t that great, don’t get how people order salad at this restaurant, and can’t really say too much about the other dishes. I might have tried a few other things here and there but obviously only the steak fajitas stuck with me.
5 stars for the steak fajitas and table side guac!
Btw — I had Tina as a waitress on 5÷2÷16 and she was by far the best waitress I’ve had at Uncle Julio’s. Very personable, attentive, and just a great server overall. Never had to ask for water, more fajitas wraps, chips, and she even split up the plates for us to make it easier to eat our food. Give that woman a raise! :D

My fiancé and I come here all the time and we’ve never had a bad experience. We always get the fajitas and they never disappoint. The chips and salsa are amazing too.
It can get crowded on weekends but once you’re seated food comes fast so that’s a non-​issue for me. It’s worth it for the fajitas.

My wife and I booked a table on a different app in advance for a Friday night dinner and good thing as this place was jumping at six pm on a Friday night. There were quite a few folks waiting in the bar area and outside the door. Their tortilla making machine is just off the bar area and good to watch for a few minutes if you have to wait.
We were promptly seated by the rather indifferent hostess. Things were better once our server dropped by to take our drink order. He was super friendly and took good care of us.
The dining room was packed at this time and quite a few families with kids were eating here. Maybe because it is one of the cheaper spots at RTC? The noise level consequently was higher but we could still carry on a conversation without too much trouble.
I ordered their tacos carnitas with refried beans. Make sure you specify the type of beans you want as they default to charro beans which are far from my favorite. Their refried beans are awesome as were the tacos. I could only eat two of the three though despite their smaller size.
We skipped dessert but have had their sopapillas in the past and loved them. We look forward to returning again.

Average Tex-​Mex and if you love Tex-​Mex that’s a good thing. Quick service and it was exactly as expected.

I am surprised that I haven’t written a review on Rio yet! I’ve been coming here for many years and it’s hands down the best Tex-​Mex place around. ⁹⁄₁₀ times we get great service and food. Last time we went my enchiladas weren’t heated all the way through, which seemed super strange and I am hopeful was a one-​off. I cannot recommend Rio for Brunch unfortunately. They really shine at lunch and dinner items. If anything they should
Improve the brunch items and presentation. Seriously lacking creativity! Their salsa, chips and queso are ridiculously good.

Pretty good. Lots of kids at lunch on a Sunday and got a table right by the bathroom which was pretty high traffic. The food was good but not amazing.

In town on business and visited Uncle Julio’s for the first time last night. The décor seemed corporate, but upscale. I hit them at the dinner rush, so the place was pretty slammed. I sat at the bar, and the entire bar staff was attentive and efficient, although no one had time for small talk.
The salsa that came with the free chips and salsa is about the best I’ve ever had. It was pretty smokey — so you’ll need to appreciate that — with a nice bit of heat that builds up on you after a few minutes.
For dinner, I had the pulled chicken traditional taco salad and could not have been happier. Instead of coming in a fried tortilla bowl — as so many place serve it — the fried tortilla was shaped like a cone, so it kinda looked like a cornucopia with the salad pouring out onto the plate. The salad was rich with southwest salad fixin’s; tomatoes, beans, corn, avocado, and it was served with a southwest-​style ranch, which was pretty tasty, but honestly, I also dumped the rest of my salsa on it too!
I will definitely go back — perhaps tonight! ;-)

My last visit to Uncle Julio’s was so good, I feel compelled to write a review! Our server was sooo attentive, refilling waters, salsa and chips before we had to ask. He split our check without us having to ask and was very pleasant. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such great service like this anywhere, especially at Uncle Julio’s. Past visits have resulted in the disappearing waiter. Not this time! I just wish I had gotten the server’s name!
Food was fine. It’s always just fine. Love their salsa and cheese nachos. El Tio in Falls Church has my heart and supreme loyalty in the category of Mexican food though. Uncle Julio’s just doesn’t hold a candle to them.
Anyway, margaritas are heavenly at Uncle Julio’s. The restaurant is just a tad loud for my tastes. Hostesses are welcoming but it was that amazing server who earned the four stars!

We went Friday night. Very busy night. You first walk into an over crowded entrance waiting to put your name on the wait list. Once you finally reach the not too friendly hostess you are asked to wait typically an hour. Luckily we have been going here for some time now and know to call ahead. They also recently started open table reservations. I looked around the waiting area and there were at least 50 frustrated people waiting for a table. But seeing the dining area, I was puzzled as to why there were at least 6 tables open.
The wait staff is usually very friendly. They always go out of their way and are constantly filling up drinks, chips and salsa.
I am not Mexican and have only had the pleasure to visit Mexico once. So I don’t know good authentic Mexican cuisine. That being said I really like their fajitas. I think they are seasoned well and usually come with a lot of meat per serving. I love their queso! They also have a good variety of drinks. I like a margarita with salt rim. I don’t drink much so it’s a little strong for me but most of my friends say that’s a huge plus!
Mexican food is never a bad idea and going to uncle Julio’s is always a great idea. As long as you have a reservation or do call ahead seating.

The margaritas and ceviche are delicious! It’s kind of pricy unfortunately. My small plate of ceviche was and margarita was $ 20. If you’ve got the extra cash I recommend trying it out. A friend of mine had the chicken enchiladas, another had the steak and chicken fajitas and they both enjoyed their meals.
The environment wasn’t bad, a little dark. The staff was nice overall. The only down side truly was the salsa that comes with the chips, it’s just awful, they seriously need to get a new recipe or buy Tostitos restaurant style salsa in bulk. We did say this to a staff member, they brought us fresh salsa, and it didn’t make a difference.

Gosh I can’t believe its taken me so long to update my review. So I’ve been coming here for many, many years. In that time the menu has changed and evolved. Some changes for the better, and other changes I wish they hadn’t made. Apparently they now take reservations at this location (a plus if you’re coming on a Friday or Saturday night).
Changes for the better, an expanded selection of salads, I love the cobb salad and taco salad with the fajita chicken the portions are huge and the ingredients taste super fresh. They’ve also expanded their margarita selection and have tableside guacamole (it looks good if you like guac).
The downsides, they used to have a nice ala carte menu where you could order one taco, or a side of beans or rice. I do miss that because sometimes I don’t want a full platter of food. Also what happened to the soup of the day???
I beg of you if a manager or company rep. reads this bring back the black bean soup!!! Or send me a message and tell me how to make it trust me I’ve tried and failed twice to replicate it. Oh my gosh this was a discovery made last year when my then boyfriend wanted soup and we discovered this gem on the menu. We’d purposely go on Thursdays just to have that heavenly soup! We disovered yesterday they don’t have it. I really wanted to sob.
The chips and salsa are still excellent, and I still love the frozen margarita and sangria. But that black bean soup, I’m still so sad over that being gone.
The parking at RTC is still a challenge depending on the garage you park in. I now generally park in one of the less populated garages so I’m not having to dodge cars or people.
Please also keep in mind this place is loud, so if you’re going on a date with someone you’re trying to get to know, I don’t think this would be optimal. I said to my husband yesterday that the reason it took me a while to take him here is because its loud and early on we wouldn’t be able to chat. He agreed.

I really like the location of this Uncle Julios. The parking garage is a short walk away, and while I have had to park on an upper level, I have always been able to find a spot.
This location has a pretty small outdoor patio that is great for people watching. Get there early or prepare to wait as it fills up quickly. The indoor seating is in one huge room and can get pretty loud.
The margaritas are wonderful. They have a number of different ones for you to choose from, including a low calorie one. I love the endless chips and salsa that each table is provided when sitting down. The only problem is that I can totally fill up on them. I typically get the enchiladas here, which are great, but I decided to try something new. I got the tacos and they were delicious! I ordered some avocado on the side and put the slices on top. Yum! I would definitely order these again.
The service was so-​so. The waiter kept checking on us at first but after we got our meals, it took him forever to come back to us. We had finished our meals and we’re waiting almost 10 minutes before we could ask for the check. That’s a little annoying after enjoying a nice meal, but I’d still come back for the food and margaritas.

Excelente atendimento. Comida saborosa, e bem preparada.
A pimenta é equilibrada, leve fácil de identificar e remover, para quem não gosta.
As fajitas são excelentes e a Guacamole é preparada na hora, ao lado da sua mesa.
Excelente!

Este es mi favorito lugar para ir de festejo con mi familia en realidad me encanta !!