Great experience and great food. Van was an outstanding server and made this a great Sunday brunch. Sorry that Ellen was annoying, that's just who she is. We love el centro!! read more

I've not left many reviews on yelp. Unfortunately most of those were because I was too busy stuffing my face, taking food pics, and plotting my next visit. In the early days I found this hole in the wall Tex mex place to be a decent place to grub for happy hours. Having moved away I thought I hit the spot again on a recent visit to the city. Oddly enough it seems they missed the obvious fact that I am black the first time. This was an unpleasant trip through time back to the days of segregation as a I was denied access for no reason. I subdued my rage and decided to head towards U st. I had forgotten to write this review until I read a story about this place on The Root (a spinoff site within the Kinja network). Refueled I thought I would leave this racist dump in the former chocolate city the review it deserved. read more

We loved the steak fajita's and shrimp tacos! Table side guacamole was wicked good and served with warm chips! Staff was attentive and welcoming...from the front end staff to the waiter and bus people! Bartender definitely knew what she was doing, great margaritas and sangria! read more

El Centro - Dining room - Bars Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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The brunch is so much fun and the service is TOP tier. Jane was the nicest, fastest, and best service I've had in DC and I will be at El Centro's brunch regularly. Bottomless food, bottomless drinks, what else could you ask for? I'll tell you - Jane! read more

First time at El Centro tonight. We will definitely go back. The atmosphere is so cool, the staff was friendly, service was prompt and we loved our food (shrimp Diablo and chicken enchiladas). We even got an added surprise of a dessert thrown in at the end for my husband's birthday. Would definitely recommend it. read more

Hanging out with some friends down at the National Mall and we were hungry after a long walk. We found El Centro on Yelp and headed over for food and drinks. Nikki was our server and she was great. My biggest issue was management. We had major issues and the manager never came by the table. First off, when Nikki delivered our food, a roach ran off the plate. We caught the roach and showed it to her. She immediately apologized and told us she would speak with a manager. He walked briskly past our table to presumably discount our meal. Didn't stop by though. We were hungry, and my sober self is saying you should have left then.... but I was hungry, and the margaritas were really good and strong. So we send back the roach nachos, get a new order, another round of drinks..... and then my 2 friends start flipping out, saying they saw a rat. I'm thinking there's no way. But sure enough, a few minutes later, I spy the furry creature running around. Staff claims they have no idea but cmon. I've worked in the restaurant industry for 5 years. You know when your restaurant has a pest issue. At this point, we want out. We ask for the check. Well, the system is down so they can't print a check. They end up comping our entire meal and we gave Nikki a handful of cash and got the hell out of there. I really should be writing a review to the D.C. Health Inspector but I wanted to shout out this restaurant for possibly having the worst management staff of all restaurants that ever existed. read more

Good casual spot to get some food/drinks. I love their frozen margaritas or the spicy mango margarita! The food doesn't taste like authentic Mexican food, but the portions are filling. The place itself is large so seating doesn't seem to be a problem. read more

We ate here because we wanted to sit outside in Georgetown. Bad decision. The food was so-so, and the service was terrible. I had to ask three times to get a fork/knife/napkin. The tacos came without limes. I asked for them twice, but they never arrived. When the water asked how the food was, he walked away before listening to our response. (That's one of the times I asked for limes.) The chicken fajitas were pretty tasty, but the hanger steak tacos were miserable. The meat tasted old, and there were lots of gristly lumps. The al pastor tacos were okay but not great. read more

Went a couple Saturdays ago for the unlimited brunch food/drinks. Tried everything worth trying off of the menu. The food itself was decent 5/10. It was on the heavier side so couldn't eat that much compared to other small tapas brunch places (aka bigger portions which is good/bad for some). The margaritas off the brunch menu were watered down and sour. They were super busy and understaffed when I went so that might be part of the reason why. Because they were understaffed, (I sat on the bottom floor and only saw 2 waiter's taking orders), I had to constantly flag down the waiter to reorder food/drinks. It took about 10-15 min every time to get new drinks. If the service wasn't so slow maybe it would have been a better brunch experience. read more

El Centro - Brunch Menu (June 2016) - Bars Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

We came here for the happy hour special on a Thursday afternoon. We found two seats at the bar, and there was plenty of space. I ordered a frozen margarita, which was only $5. It came in a tall drinking glass instead of the small, typical margarita "cocktail" glass. So, it was a lot of liquid and felt like approximately 2.5 shots of tequila. The drink also came with free chips and salsa! I think they serve chips and salsa to everybody who sits in. The salsa was delicious. It didn't taste like a lot of cilantro or onion and had a more tomato-ey taste, with a little kick as well. There was an event, so we didn't get to check out the patio but seems like a great location if it's open. Would go again. read more

Service was extremely slow for not a crowded night. It took 20 minutes for us to finally wave someone down for them to go FIND someone to take our orders. Not sure if I would come back if this is how service is on a slow night. I can only imagine if it was busy. read more

I was in Georgetown and really wanted some tacos and margaritas... wasn't really sure where to go so thank you yelp app for telling me to come here for happy hour. I like that they have multiple bar areas and the upstairs had a lot more available seats than downstairs. So upstairs I went and the margaritas for happy hour were only $5 (yay) AAAAAND they had a special on tacos for $2/piece. Good deal. I see there are some mixed reviews for here but I thought it was good and if I were in Georgetown again looking for a happy hour, I'd consider coming here again read more

Delicious tacos, nachos, and drinks ! Also fun atmosphere and service is good, great for a later night out too

*DO NOT EAT HERE THE SERVERS CHANGE TIP AMOUNT ON CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS AND MANAGERS DO NOTHING* I had dinner here in September and the service was absolutely terrible. To top off the horrible service out server decided to add to his tip on the table. I always keep a copy of my receipts and do a check on my bank account at the end of the week or else I never would have caught it. I made sure to call the restaurant and speak to a manager that claimed he would reimburse us for the entire meal and would contact me once it was done. Three days went by and I never got an email or a call and the amount hadn't been reimbursed. I call back and spoke to another manager and was promised that he would personally handle it and would ensure the person was fired. Um, yah, duh. You have a damn thief in your restaurant I would have hoped the previous manager I spoke to would have taken care of it or spoke to him about it but okay. Another three days went by and I still hadn't been issued a refund, I called back again, again I was told that their billing department took care of it and it should be on my account by the following Monday. I never received a refund nor did they call to follow up with me. I contacted my bank about fraud charges. I would not trust a restaurant that doesn't care that they have thieves on their payroll even after pretending to promise to take care of it. read more

So we decided to come back here the next day after my initial review and actually try their menu. Absolutely awesome. Tacos are outstanding this place seems to have a great menu that will satisfy just about anyone. read more

Paola was an amazing server. She made sure my party's needs were met and never left our glasses empty. Can't wait to come back for brunch again soon! Thanks Paola! read more

The food was great and the service was even better! Our server was Alexcy and she was great! Super sweet and on top of things constantly. Our drinks were refilled constantly which is something we can't complain about haha! read more

Service was slow, food was lack luster and we were rushed the entire time. Skip this spot!!

When I first walked in I thought it smelled like pee, but when I moved upstairs I didn't smell it as much. Service was very slow but the margaritas were great! I didn't have food but it looked amazing coming out of the kitchen. read more

I came in for a quick lunch while waiting to be summoned by the council of geniuses across the street at Apple. Very pleasantly surprised by a very tasty beef tortilla. Greatly fortified for the iPhone ordeal to come. When a friend visited from out of town an asked about finding "real" Mexican in DC. I thought "why not?" Starting with the crispy flavorful chips and the deep read salsa I knew we had found the right place. Guacamole is made to taste table side. We each ordered a chefs's special, chicken and pork (although there are plenty of fish and vegetarian options.) Everything was bursting with a fabulous melange of seasonings and a very sneaky amount of heat. A winner! My friend who had lived in Mexico was delighted. It was delicious and very reasonably priced. On the "A" list for sure. read more

This bar has been there for it all. Cheap happy hour margs, open during the pandemic, perfect vibes for us Georgetown students to mingle. Awesome place! Shoutout to Van, an amazing waiter. Cheers to el centro!!! read more

Had friends from Miami in town and wanted to show them DC's bottomless brunch scene. What an embarrassment. Our table of 5 opted for the bottomless brunch option ($35 for food and drink). The waiter forgot to bring most of the items we ordered and we had to wait 45 minutes for drinks to be refreshed. Our table was littered with empty plates and glasses for over 3 hours. We were so bored waiting for food or drinks to come by that we ordered two rounds of premium shots to liven the mood. I had made a reservation days in advance and we were seated at a wobbly hi-top table by the kitchen in front of a huge TV. We ended up paying $65 per person for a few bites of quesadilla and some other low quality bar food at what essentially was an overpriced ale house. I would never in my life recommend this restaurant. read more

One word: RATS. I know that D.C. is a swamp, and that rats are part of that. But to have them scurrying overhead, and even beneath your feet while you're trying to enjoy a meal? That crosses a line. If you're here just for drinks, the margs are strong and they have pretty good drink deals during happy hour. But if you're looking for a meal, try somewhere else. I've gotten sick the two times I've eaten here, and I won't ever be trying again. read more

Came here for my birthday brunch yesterday with a group of 15 plus and had a great time. Our server coco was super friendly and attentive,( we fell inlove with the coco) lol. she made sure we all had drinks and food on the table. She never forget an order even with all of us requesting different items. Manger was also very friendly and helpful, Love coming here read more

Only been here for nightlife, but based on that a really good experience. The place always has a good amount of people, yet is still spacious enough. Always a good atmosphere here. Bartenders are quick and attentive too. The rooftop in the back is pretty big. One of my favorite places to go for the Gtown nightlife. read more

El Centro - Outdoor patio - Bars Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Visiting from Miami, we came across el centro because it was walking distance from our hotel and it was recommended to us. Service: very kind and attentive staff, no complaints in that department FOOD: the free chips and salsa were the best part of our meal. The fish burrito was very heavy with sauce in the middle and was very mushy. My boyfriend had the steak tacos and they weren't too bad, but also not the best (portion was also not to his liking)--the burrito is definitely more filling Overall nice to try out, but not some where that I would recommend/revisit on future trips to DC read more

Great food and drinks!!! George is a great server and was on point with keeping food and drinks coming!!

I've been to this location a few times and have always had pretty positive experiences. The food is decent, the happy hour margs are cheap and strong, and it's a fun ambiance. Service quality and speed are also good. So, why the low review? Rats. On the second floor patio. I understand that DC has a hard-to-control rat problem, but when rats are scurrying around your dining establishment during the daytime, that definitely indicates a pest control issue. Based on other reviews, this has been a problem for some time. El Centro certainly needs to get this under control, otherwise I will not be returning. read more

Two Dolla Tacos! Delicious tacos and other products but it gets a little pricey for what you get honestly. The taco special varies on a regular so keep an open mind. The haberno hot sauce is actually hot and the sangria is on point. Great for a quick drop in with friends. read more

While the food had great presentation, taste was mediocre. However, I give 4 stars for the great service and drinks. Everyone in my party enjoyed their drinks which included several margaritas - spina, strawberry chile, strawberry basil, and mojito. The guacamole was fresh, but not mind blowing. For the tacos, you can swap out the rice and beans for any of their sides without additional charge and I appreciate the flexibility. I had the crispy shrimp tacos with basil rice and plantains. The tacos and plantains were good but rice rather bland. Friends who ordered enchiladas were not too impressed. Nevertheless, the ambience and drinks were enough for a good time. read more

El Centro - Crispy shrimp tacos - Bars Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Perusing my fellow Yelpers' apparent gripes with El Centro's bottomless brunch (i.e. poor service and subpar food) left me apprehensive to try this DC staple. As it turns out, I found both the service and the food solid. My mostly positive experience may have stemmed from our group's relatively early (for brunch anyways) 10:40 reservation. Our party of six was one of the few occupied tables at the time, though attendance certainly started to pick up by noon. As such, we received plenty of attention from our waiter, who explained to us the small-plates brunch concept that El Centro offers and provided solid suggestions on what to order. Those imbibing on mimosas never found their glasses empty (or half-empty, for that matter), and others (like myself) who chose more substantial drinks did not have to wait long for refills. I stuck with margaritas (fairly tasty) during my meal, but I'd also advocate their watermelon agua fresca and bloody maria if you're not mimosa-inclined. El Centro's food menu is rather expansive, and vegetarian friendly to boot, which allows all sorts of appetites to be satisfied. Those seeking lighter fare will be happy to find a variety of tasty salads and lighter egg dishes, including El Centro's tasty takes on eggs benedict and huevos rancheros. If you're feeling a little woozy from the night before, fear not, as offerings like the superb mole fries and zesty, crispy El Centro bacon-wrapped hot dog will slay even the mightiest of hangovers. On the sweet side, the crepe style pancakes and ridiculously, ethereally airy churros (a must order) round out the meal. Oddly enough, some more standard Mexican options fared the poorest. These included relatively bland quesadillas, dry tacos, and insipid guacamole. These all benefited from a hit of the fresh, smokey salsa from the table, but weren't terribly appetizing when undressed. Service did slow as the restaurant grew more crowded, but I had a pleasant experience brunching here. It's hard to beat the diversity of dishes (and drinks) at the price and cool ambiance El Centro offers. read more

Some girlfriends and I ventured to El centro in Georgetown on a Wednesday night since they had $5 margaritas all night which is awesome! We usually get out of work too late to catch most of the good happy hours in the city. We sat outside on the patio since it was a relatively warm night and they had some heaters blasting. We got the house margaritas and shared some delicious food. We ordered some fish and veggie tacos that we really enjoyed. The chips and salsa are complimentary (yum) so we had quite a few of those with our margaritas. The bartender was our server and was really attentive/nice! Overall, it was a super good deal considering what we had and we will certainly be back for another happy hour sooner rather than later! read more

My little sister drove four hours from her small town in rural Pennsylvania to DC so that I could celebrate her birthday with her. She asked me to pick my favorite brunch spot, so naturally I carefully selected El Centro DC. I'm a regular there, and the food is always amazing. Unfortunately, I had the displeasure of having the most incredibly rude waiter that I have ever had in my entire life...my sister left in tears. We waited for about ten minutes for a waiter to come to the table after we sat down. It was fine because we had time to look over the bottomless brunch menu and talk about how yummy everything sounded. I kept telling her, "This is going to be the best brunch ever, trust me!" When the waiter finally showed up, he had the worst attitude ever. My sister tried to order a drink, and before she could even finish, he interrupted her and said, "You can only get the drinks on the brunch menu." There were 4 drinks listed on the menu, and she ordered a bloody mary. He says, "We can't make that. We're out of tomato juice." So we were limited to just the El Centro Margarita or the Traditional Margarita. No big deal, right? Well, we ordered, and the food came out immediately. We finished the first course, then the second course came. We reminded the waiter that we were still waiting for our drinks. He responded, "The bartender said he's busy. I'll bring them when they're ready." I was stunned. But, in order to keep the peace, I bit my tongue. Then, we noticed the food stopped coming, and we were just sitting there waiting. When the waiter walked by again, we asked him for the next course, and he said, "Y'all didn't get the bottomless brunch." We had both ordered it, AND had received the first two courses, so this made no sense to us. He explained that he charged us al a carte for the drinks and the food. We emphasized that we ordered the bottomless brunch. He was extremely combative and ill-tempered to the point where my sister was afraid to advocate for herself. So, I asked for the check, and I said, "We'll go somewhere else that doesn't treat us like we're less than human." When I said to my sister, "We're going to pay and leave," the waiter said, "Thank God" as he slammed the bill down on the table and stormed off. The audacity. The customer service was terrible. I have spent so much time and money at El Centro over the years. I will never step foot in there again. I don't care if the waiter was having a bad day, or he was just cranky, or whatever else might have been going on with him. He was at work, and lacked any sort of professionalism. He ruined my sister's celebration, and made her feel terribly uncomfortable. We ended up paying way more than the price of the bottomless brunch because of how he charged us. It was a rip off and a disaster in every possible sense. I will never recommend El Centro, not even to my worst enemy. No one deserves that kind of treatment, ever. The Human Resources department needs to train the staff to be kind to the customers. I could not believe this experience we had. Wish I could give zero stars... read more

We came in on a Saturday night, during which the place was PACKED. We put in our name, but our wait was quite longer than what they had told us - so we were starved by the time we sat down. That led to us downing the chips and salsa they started us off with. The chips were amazing and warm. The food that I ordered (chicken tinga tamales) itself was average. It was what you would expect from a typical Mexican restaurant but a little bit pricier, especially for the quantity you receive. read more

El Centro - Chicken Tinga Tamales - Bars Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

My friends and I did the bottom-less food brunch option and were sorely disappointed. Though the staff was nice, the waiter kept bringing us things we didn't order because he thought we might like it. This was kind and well-meaning but we were rarely even given the opportunity, at least to start, to tell him what we wanted to order and got filled on things we didn't want. He should have asked us if we wanted him to suggest items and if there is anything we'd like to order. We had various waiters bringing us food that kept mixing up our order with the tables around us, which also is not a big deal but became annoying after a while. The food itself was subpar and came out cold most times. Not up to my standards of Mexican food, and filled with a lot of egg that seemed rubbery. The two stars are solely for the Churros, the exception to my comment above. They were amazing and without a doubt the best I've ever had. I am normally not a dessert person (I know, I know) but these were soft, fresh, melt-in-your-mouth finger-lickin gooooood. They came with two sauces, one chocolate, and these complimented the fresh hot churros perfectly. I would return to this place and only order that. read more

El Centro - Guac - Bars Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

El Centro to me is just alright. Came here for a farewell lunch for my coworker since he wanted to come here. I obliged since it was for HIM not for me lol. We came here around 12:00pm on a Friday I believe and it was kind of busy, but we were able to be seated right away. Our server was really friendly and served us water and chips right away. He had also mentioned that they were still continuing their restaurant week menu so we all opted for that. The 3 of us ordered all different appetizers so that we would be able to sample a little bit of everything. So we got the guacamole, shrimp ceviche, and I ordered the chicken quesadillas. Out of the 3, my two fav were my appetizer and the guacamole. The shrimp ceviche not so much and both of my colleagues agreed. Next for our entrees I believe my colleague and I both ordered the Pollo Adobado and my other colleague ordered the fish burrito. By now, we were stuffed but ate bits and pieces of our meal. I found the pollo adobado a bit bland (I didn't like it at all). I probably would've gave this dish itself a 1/5 or a 2/5. My colleague said her fish burrito was just alright. Onto dessert ,both of my colleagues had ordered the flan and I opted for the churros (so that everyone can have a taste of everything). The flan was pretty good, my churros were okay. They weren't hot like I'm accustom to, however, the dipping sauces made it better. I would give my churros a 2/5 and their flan a 3/5. Overall, I'm still not impressed with El Centro. The only thing that might have me coming back, is if someone drags me here or will pay for my lunch. I'll only eat the quesadillas lol. read more

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I was impressed with El Centro. I've heard good stories and was glad to have an opportunity to try it recently. I love the venue itself - the lighting is a soft purple and the booths are cozy but not crowded. Curious to see what this place is like on a weekend but we were luckily dining on a Wednesday evening. My friend and I decided to split the lamb skirt steak tacos and the chicken tinga tamales. While we waited, our waiter brought complimentary chips and salsa. I normally don't like tortilla chips but these, freshly fried in peanut oil, were fantastic and perfect for scooping the chunky salsa. It was hard to not spoil my appetite! The tamales are listed under appetizers and they're proportionally sized. The taste and the texture were decent but nothing to write home about. I found the chicken itself a little dry and unfortunately the sauce did not add enough moisture to compensate. The tacos though - those were amazing. Each was filled to the brim with juicy chunks of lamb and topped with an avocado slice. I loved the sauce that came with it - still not sure what it was but it cut the fat of the lamb very well. The side dishes, Mexican rice and refried black beans, were pretty standard. The meal came to a total of $26 plus tip. Expensive for Mexican food but cheap given Georgetown prices. read more

El Centro - Lamb skirt steak tacos with black beans and Mexican rice - Bars Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Food was excellent, service/drinks were sub-par. We did not receive silverware/plates for our appetizers nor did we receive chips for our guacamole. Server did eventually check back and bring chips/roll ups after 10 minutes. Decided to grab the check and leave without ordering entrees as we both work in fine dining and we're a bit turned off. read more

I've been here for bottomless brunch on the weekend, and I'm a fan! Its fun, casual atmosphere makes it great for group brunches, and its reasonable price makes it more fun for everyone. $25 for bottomless orders of whatever is on the menu, and $35 if you want bottomless drinks. The menu includes an impressive variety of options. We ordered many things including the tacos, quesadillas, sliders, breakfast benedict, huevos rancheros, empanadas, plantains, and churros. Among the dishes we tried, my favorites were definitely the empanadas, chorizo sliders, and churros. The empanadas were almost as tasty as the ones I had in Argentina - the crust was a balance of doughy, moist, and crunchy, and the meat filling was well-seasoned and savory. The beef and chorizo sliders were juicy and aromatic, and the guacamole on top was a refreshing complement. The churros were a wonderful ending to the meal; they were light, crispy, and not too sweet. They were paired with warm, decadent caramel and chocolate sauce for dipping if you have a sweet tooth like me. As far as the other dishes, I enjoyed most of them. They were pretty tasty, but I did notice a lot of them were very saucy that it sometimes overwhelmed the dish or made it too heavy. Because of this, I didn't enjoy the mole fries or the huevos rancheros. Overall, a great place for a boozy, bottomless brunch on the weekend. read more

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George of Georgetown killed it. So attentive to our large party!! Ty again :) everyone come here. great food great vibes