Alero Restaurant

Totally rip off. They have a happy hour of $ 00.1 off. I asked the waiter, are these beer in happy hour? He said yes, but he didn’t warned me that the discount was one cent. I’ll never be back here

I love Mexican cuisine and I can honestly say this is one of the best spots if not the best spot I’ve been to in DC. Food was so delicious, reasonably price and the drinks are amazing. The house margarita is perfect & they gave a shot on the house :). I will be back!

First of all, I really like spicy food, it is very much alike with hungarian flavouring! That is why I already knew Alero would be a great choice for us!
My afraid was how my kids would be able to make a choice from the menu! But Alero had kids menu that solved our problem!
Great food, very nice and moreover quick service!
Definitely suggest to try!

I would give a zero if possible. Stopped around 4 pm for first time as was in neighborhood with spouse. Glad to see happy hour started at 3pm. Food very mediocre as were margaritas. menu didn’t point out what was fried on all items. Sat on balcony which was nice, When check came noticed the time stamp was incorrect. They had stamped it as if we arrived before happy hour and did not give half price drinks as announced on board. I pointed this out to no avail and they stated anyway happy hour was just inside. No apology. The waiter and greeter said nothing about this. So service terrible, food mediocre, and place is run by borderline crooks by incorrectly time stamping receipts.

The best thing about my meal was the tap water. I kept it safe and went with nachos — steak and chicken. My Lady went with the ground beef nachos (no. Not chilli, ground beef). It was honestly the worst nacho I ever had. I’m tempted to say 711 has better nachos but it’s been a gazillion years since I’ve done that to myself. No cheese sauce. Just melted cheddar on top of bland meat. The lemonade wasn’t even good. No, I will not be back.

Good Mexican scrumptious food! I had cheese ground beef dip with tortillas. Definitely a good appetizer. Then I ate the Carne Asada entrée. The sauce was yummy and the rice had great taste with a delicious red sweet pepper and the crispy yuca went perfect with the beans along with the tomato avocado salad bite.
Tables are small and sturdy or slanted. Good service. Good comes on time. Definitely a chill spot. I’ll be back.

I was staying at the Washington Hilton for a conference and this place was just a couple of blocks away. I love Mexican so I decided to have dinner here one night.
First, I like spicy… I like real mexican food. You walk in and I love the small restaurants in D.C., very local, very homey. As others have said, a bit too made up and not very busy, but at least ¹⁄₃ to half of the tables were occupied. I ordered chicken tacos – 2 with beans and rice. The waiter brought me chips and salsa. The chips were great! Very light and crispy. The salsa? Not so much, very bland, not spicy. I think the store mild brand would have more flavor.
The tacos were ok, but again, bland as were the beans and rice. I usually add salsa to the beans and rice, it still was fairly tasteless. I had the waiter bring me some hot sauce and it was more palatable.
The service was good, the food? I’ve had worse, but I’ve had better. Would I recommend? Only to someone who thought Taco Bell was actually mexican food.

Esta es la mejor comida q he tenido en todos los restaurantes mexicanos q he visitado yo lo recomiendo todo es frezco y hecho en el restaurante

After work a friend and I came here for happy hour. We usually go to the U street location, but since she worked a few blocks from DuPont, we figured this would be better.
When we arrived it was literally a ghost town. There were two gentlemen sitting in the dinning area and one guy at the bar. The emptiness of the restaurant wasn’t the first thing we noticed. The décor of this location was rather ‘festive’ borderline cheesy. After taking a look inside my friend and I looked at each other with a puzzled look before contemplating on leaving. I was hungry and in need of tequila so we figured we stay.
Our sever seemed nice as we arrived but when we ordered he was slightly rude and short when we asked him questions. He wasn’t very attentive nor pleasant.
We both ordered the chicken quesadillas and they were subpar. The ones on U street are better.
Overall my visit was average

We came here on a summer evening, late and hungry and arguably desperado. Not a creature was stirring not even a raton.
Upon arrival, I requested a margarita pequenita. The waiter said no habla ingles and desaparecido. So we said we’ll take all of the meat y tortillas in da joint.
He said: «Uh…»
Food sucks. Cheaply decorated. Crappy service. AVOID!!!

Chose this restaurant at random with my wife. The food, service and price was outstanding. Will be bringing our friends back here as soon as possible.

Ok food. Nothing special. Have been here a few times with large groups and have always been underwhelmed. Margaritas are decent and you can get pitchers, which is nice, but many cheaper better options in the city. Food and service are ok, but mostly bland.

Alero is a great spot if you’re looking for a fast and affordable boozy brunch. For $ 19.99 you get your choice of meal with bottomless drinks. That being said, you definitely get what you pay for.
I saw steak on the list of options and thought «oh wow, steak for the same price as a burrito? Why not?»
Rookie mistake. I got a overcooked grisly piece of meat that in no way resembled a steak. My friend had a pretty mediocre burrito too.
Moral of the story: come for the cheap combo, get drunk off the mimosas and then the food won’t taste as bad.

I came here for happy hour with friends. The restaurant is very bright and colorful. It took forever to be seen by a waiter. For the duration of time that we were there (~2 hours) the waiter barely checked on us, which was annoying because there were several times that we wanted more food and drink but the waiter was MIA.
Prices are great. We got the matrimonio (swirl) margaritas for $ 5.5. They were kinda strong at first but good overall. We all had the calamari for $ 5.5. I thought it was pretty bland. It had no flavor whatsoever, not even salt. Thankfully it came with some kind of mild sauce which was ok, and saved it a little. I also had the chicken quesadillas for $ 5.5, which also came with guacamole, sour cream, and lettuce/​tomato. That was worth the $ 5.5. We wanted wings but we were told that they were out. Lame.
I only have a month left in DC (so sad) so I’m not sure if I would come again. I would be interested in dinner, maybe. If I did come for happy hour again, I would stick to the quesadillas and margaritas.

My mistake here is that I should have written this review a week ago when I first came here. It would have been a 5 start review! All the way! In fact I haven’t stopped talking about their great weekend Brunch! A great meal plus bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s for only $ 19.99 from 11 am to 3 pm! Not only a great deal but amazing meal too.
However tonight I came in for a meal and my first time at any Mexican restaurant I always order a «Carne Asada» it’s the one meal I always grade Mexican restaurants by. So my fist clue was when the lady asked me how I wanted my steak cooked! I mean that’s like asking for a Cuban sandwich and the person asking you what kind of bread do you want! Carne Asada is carne Asada! I mean, I don’t even look at the menu, carne Asada is one of those traditional meals that all Mexican restaurants know.
So my meal came in with abundant onions (not bad but extreme for the dish) with white rice and black beans. So… Uhm… Well this is new. And obviously new is probably not the word to use for a traditional dish. So a Carne Asada it wasn’t.
However, I must say the dish was delicious! The stake was cooked to my liking and I do love me some black beans and rice and they did a great job at it! But it wasn’t what I was expecting.
So why only 3 stars? Well, they gave me a great dish but it should have never been called a Carne Asada! Call it Steak with black beans and rice or bistec encebollado, I think that might be closer to what i had.
The other thing I found odd was that when I came in for the great brunch, I had chips and salsa to keep me while the meal came in. Tonight, I had nothing. No chip, no salsa. Thought it was a bit odd and not sure that it worked.
So, great meal — YES. However a big let down on a traditional dish of Carne Asada. But I’ll be back for the brunch!

Get the steak fajita! So juicy. You won’t be disappointed. Also, be prepared to gorge yourself.

Just passed by the restaurant from the outside while wandering around Dupont Circle last night, and the colorful, rainbow interior as well as the skeletons set up in the front window caught my eye. I was prepared to just have an all right dinner, coming in without much expectancy, but the night had proven to be much more than just satisfactory. The waiter who served my friend and I was extremely friendly, and we came in just in time for happy hour, which was always a plus. The waiter came to check on us throughout the night, asking us if the food was to our liking or if he could get us anything else, such as the dessert menu or more drinks. Heck, my friend even got a shot of tequila and lime on the house from our waiter after ordering 3 frozen lime cocktails! Overall, the night was really fun, casual, and great for just hanging out and chatting it up.
Upon walking in and throughout the dinner, the restaurant had a very lively, uplifting atmosphere, playing pop music like Maroon 5 in the background just loud enough to hear and sing along to, but not loud enough to make you have to shout across the table to hold conversation with a friend. There is also a TV towards the back, near the men’s and women’s bathrooms, with college basketball playing on mute, which was great for those who love watching college sports or just passing time while waiting for the food to arrive.
Despite having a bar in one corner, Alero is most definitely kid or family-​friendly. I do distinctly remember that there is a small selection of kids menu food items such as tacos, nachos, etc, all of which were fairly priced (at least for the smaller portions, the price was also cheaper than that of a full adult-​sized dish).
Onto the food, upon settling in, the waiter brings over tortilla chips and salsa for us to munch on as we look over the menu, something that whetted our appetite. We ordered the guacamole dip for appetizer and the guac dip came with these warm, fresh tortilla-​like chips (but thicker) that seemed to have been made by the restaurant itself. The guacamole tasted fresh and not too bland or too salty, which was perfect!
For dinner, I ordered the Chicken Tomales, which as expected is heavier than most foods that I normally consume, but was delicious and tasted very fresh as well (along with the side of more guacamole, sour cream, and diced tomatoes that typically go along with such dishes). My friend ordered the Chimichangas, which he enjoyed thoroughly as well. Although I was very full after picking at the entrée, I still ended up ordering Flan from the dessert menu because I couldn’t help myself– I really like Flan! The Flan, as expected after our wonderful experience with the appetizer and entrée, melted in the mouth and had a slight vanilla, caramel-​like flavor that is unique to this Mexican treat, although this Flan was a bit heavier than the ones I’ve had in the past in California.
Overall, thanks for the great night and for preparing such a lively and fun atmosphere for my friend and I to talk and enjoy ourselves in! I definitely will come back whenever I’m around Dupont Circle and craving some Mexican cuisine!

The pastor tacos are the best I’ve ever had surprisingly. Great combo of steak and shrimp fajitas with fresh guac. Their meat was very tender and juicy. Order that no question.
Paco was our server and he was great with service, cool little hole in the wall, and a place I recommend if you are looking for Mexican in DC. Enjoy!

Fried Ice Cream (⁴⁄₅ NOMs)
Lets get frycream. Exploring some fried desserts from Mexican restaurant in Dupont Circle, DC. Oh yea now thats the way to serve up ice cream. Nice big ball of fried ice cream goodness, crunchy on the outside and softly cold on the inside. Served on top of a sweet crunchy tortilla with honey all over for that extra sweetness. Its no small scoop so make sure to share with a friend or you just might have diabetic shock.

My fiancée and I were exploring Dupont and when it’s time to go home, we realized we were parked right outside of this restaurant. We love Mexican food and we weren’t ready to go home yet. So we decided to give this colorful place a try.
Margarita tasted like lemonade with salt. No joke. We told the bartender exactly that as we were sitting at the bar. She added more tequila in it. I swear that was the ONLY alcohol in the Margarita. We’d be paying $ 7 for a lemonade if we didn’t ask for more alcohol.
Okay. That’s absurd.
But the steak fajita was tasty. We were charged $ 2.50 for extra 3 tortillas. What the???
Won’t go back.

Alero isn’t anything amazing or unique among the vast sea of DC restaurants, but it’s a decent Mexican place.
The layout of this place is a little odd. They have a fairly crowded main dining room and a smaller room in the back which seems as it would be packed like sardines when full. They weren’t too crowded when we were there but we were seated in the back room. The layout of the room made it difficult to get past the other tables to leave the room and it would’ve been nearly impossible when full.
The free chips are tasty and the salsa isn’t bad either. Their house Margarita is a little on the sugary side but still worth a try. The beef enchiladas were enjoyable and they use chopped steak rather than ground beef which to me is better as it has more flavor and goes better with the tortilla. The accompanying rice and beans were okay but garden variety average.
This isn’t the place for an amazing meal but it was enjoyable and I’d return.