Love this place. Fast service, great employees, and great food! My go to spot for Mexican.

I used to love this place. It's in walking distance from my job. I loved sitting outside and watching the people walk by and eating in the fresh air. Then one day I came in with my fiancé and when we went to sit down we placed our items on the table, my purse, his wallet and our Vapes. The waitress looked at me and said your not allowed to smoke that here. Well obviously! We were just getting ready to sit down and get comfortable. At that point we walked out. I haven't been there in almost 2 years and I usually went there once a month. The waitress made us feel extremely uncomfortable. Who would think they could Vape or smoke at a restaurant, even in an outdoor seating area. Sheesh! Sorry you lost our business. read more

Absolutely ridiculous service! Tried to seat 5 adults in a booth with a chair on the end. This is a restaurant when served food you get more than 1 plate for each person and would never fit on the table. And the wait staff were clearly complaining about having to serve us because we asked for a bigger table which they had several open. It's very clear that the customer is wrong and should have to cater to the restaurant staff's needs. We will never go back!!!!!! read more

The BEST Mexican I have ever had in my entire life! Huge fan of this place! Every time I am in Winchester I have to come back! If you go, make sure to get their queso which is out of this world! read more

Factory made, boxed taco shells. Enchilada sauce tastes suspiciously like ketchup. Dry, flavorless chicken. Ditto for the rice. Our son is nuts for any kind of rice, and he wouldn't touch this. I know this is Virginia, but I'm​ visiting from California, and if you're telling me you're serving Mexican food, it ought to be just that. Insulting. Giving two stars because our server was nice. read more

Very good service! Great veggie quesadilla and flautas. The wait staff was wonderful. Beautiful décor. The guacamole was the smoothest I've ever seen. Highly recommended! read more

If you've ever eaten somewhere and felt like your meal didn't stack up to the price you paid then you know exactly how I feel about el centro. The service is ok, but the food is best described as "meh". Drink prices are a little on the high side. I'd much rather go to Taqueria Guadalajara and savor every bite. read more

Food is good, restaurant is clean unfortunately service is terrible. Waitress was so rude or maybe didn't understand English no offense but every request I made like asking for my free check in offer queso (after we already ordered a regular priced one) or asking for lettuce & tomato garnish seemed to annoy her. For a slow Monday lunch you'd think they'd be a little more welcoming but they couldn't be anything more opposite. The restaurant was dead for good reason. read more

Great Valentine Day lunch special. $25 for appetizer, combo for 2, and amazing warm sopapillas for dessert. Food quality is best Mexican restaurant in Winchester. read more

El Centro - Mexican Near Me - Winchester, Virginia

When I happen to be in Winchester, this one of the spots I enjoy visiting. Their food is tasty and consistent. The sitting area is well maintained, if not a little small. But they have plenty of outdoor seating for when that time of year comes along. The food is good, I love Mexican food and they have a solid menu of the normal favorites. The chips and salsa are nice, but I have had better. Their in house hot sauce is definitely a high note and worth trying. If you happen to be on the walking mall, this is a spot worth trying out. read more

I've been here twice now during dinner hours and haven't had anything food wise I didn't like yet (I've tried the fajitas and carnitas, and one lady really liked her mango salad). Sometimes the service is a little off, not picking up dirty dishes in a timely fashion, drinks go un-refilled for an extended time, no menu or the staff is unable to maneuver around the table with their hot dishes, etc and I don't feel the customers should be having to scream across a table to order or pass drinks down. One person complained the bathroom was so dark she had to turn her phone on to see. Also with 4 hostess upfront when I walked in you would think at least one of them would have greeted me but nope so, I just kept walking to where my group was. They do have a back (or side) area that can probably seat up to 30 people comfortably which I guess you can call and reserve ahead of time. It does seem they seat additional customers back here because the place isn't that big. read more

We have dined at this Mexican restaurant quite frequently in the past few years but don't plan on returning any time soon. The food was decent, but our waitress seemed to be inconvenienced by our visit. No smiles and little to no eye contact. After the long wait to be served (with no offer of drinks) once we were seated she was absent during our meal except when she dropped off our bill. I wanted dessert, but she turned and was gone before I could order. Disappointing. read more

Wow...my husband and I were visiting and site seeing Winchester and happened to fall upon this little gem! The food here is delicious. The chips and salsa are really good and the chips are not too fattening. They have great vegetarian options. The three corn enchiladas are really good and if you get them without cheese, their vegan! Their rice and both kinds of beans, refried and black or scrumptious. My husband and I were sat in a booth by the window and it was great to watch people walk by while we were eating on the mall strip. We had a great time there. The food was amazing full of flavor and the wait staff was really nice. They like to call you "AMIGO". Great restaurant! read more

Delish !!!! We visit Winchester every year for Christmas & this is always one of the stops - love !!!!

Fantastic service, food to die for, margaritas that will have you coming back again and again! A must eatery!

Unfortunately, we have tried this restaurant multiple times with hopes that it will get better from a service standpoint. Each time I've been here the service has left a lot to be desired. I've requested vegetables to be substituted for meat and they've argued with me instead of accommodated the request. "We don't make it that way" is the response I received about asking for "no meat, extra veggies" on an item. Its unfortunate that a restaurant in this location wouldn't be accommodating to a variety of dietary preferences. The food tastes fresh and is of good quality, but the service and accommodations just leave a lot to be desired. read more

Our favorite spot, great margaritas and enchiladas and chimichangas.

My husband and I stopped in El Centro late last night for a margarita and snacks, and while I can't speak for him, I won't be going back. The bartender treated us like an inconvenience from the moment we walked in, and we are semi frequent patrons. Her focus seemed to be finishing her sidework before closing time, and we had to fight for her attention. The final straw was when she tossed the check on the bar in our general direction. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident with this server/bartender, but it most certainly is the one that will keep me from dining at El Centro in the future. read more

Usually, when we go to El Centro we have great service, great food and a great time. Last night my fiance's family was in town and we went as a post-Christmas dinner before they left. We should have known the night was not going to go well when we started out with finding hair in our salsa. We brought this to the attention of the woman who was working the bar, as she was serving us, and she said nothing. She simply took it away and got us a new one, no apologies or anything. Next, it took about ten minutes to get our waters and then even after we got them we had no straws which I ended up having to get up and get. As the night progressed our server was hardly around, we ordered a side of cheese dip which was not served to us, but since our server was not around we could not ask her to bring us the cheese dip. We were disappointed that the service was so bad and disgusted with finding a hair in salsa since usually, El Centro is much better. Overall it was a disappointing night and it may be a while before we are back. read more

Great food, fast friendly service. I had the 3 combo, taco, tamale, and Chile relleno, with one corona light and the bill was 20 bucks. Just like abuelita used to make! read more

Best Mexican restaurant I've ever been to. I can't decide what was better...the food or the service! Mouth-watering entrees and friendly staff mean that I will be back again and again and again! I'm getting hungry just thinking about the place! read more

A solid choice for Mexican downtown. Maybe not the most authentic Mexican I've ever had, but always tasty, and service is always fast. Thursday night trivia at 6 is a good time as well. read more

This may well be the worst Mexican food I have ever had. Fajita with flavorless chicken, watered and minimal guacamole and what looked like a tablespoon of cheese. I could not eat it. read more

I like this place a lot. I do not live in Winchester but when I am there I like to stop in- even if just for a refreshing margarita. The combination plate is good, the burritos are great and the tamales are my favorite. I am a native New Mexican and am very critical of Mexican and/or New Mexican inspired menus. I wish it was a little spicier but I know I'm not in the SW anymore ;) read more

We are visiting from NC and wandered across the jewel while exploring the Old Town Winchester walking malls. Lots of great menu options- we ended up with chicken quesadillas, beef enchiladas, burrito and fajitas- all were delicious! read more

Not impressed and expected more from a restaurant on Winchester's Old Town Walking Mall. Have eaten at El Centro twice now and each time the food has been nothing more than mediocre. The food was luke warm and lacked any real Mexican zing or flavoring. There are better Mexican Restaurants in Winchester, VA. read more

A friend and I ate here on 9/7 for dinner and drinks, and the service was so terrible, it was just shocking. We were seated quickly, but it went downhill from there. Even though staff had checked ID's at the door, the server asked to see our ID when we ordered drinks. No big deal, until the server threw our ID's back at us, exclaiming she "didn't even know what date to check for anymore". Uh, what? Management would not find that funny, and I imagine ABC control would not either. We waited 25 minutes for those drinks to come out, even though we were about 3 feet from the bar. When my food came out, the server did not bother to remove the two empty margarita glasses from the table, nor the empty chip container, and tried to squeeze my plate of food into our small high top table. I ended up putting our empty glasses and chips onto another table myself. My friend's food didn't come out until I was finished eating, and after we had asked our server where it was (they clearly had forgotten about it all together). Every time our server emerged from the kitchen, they were chewing on food, as if they were back there eating. Finally, after over two hours of terrible service for what we hoped was going to be a quick dinner, our server leaves the kitchen with their belongings and on their cell phone, waved goodbye to the staff, and left for the night. Another server seemed confused when I had to ask her for our check. read more

The food has improved, but it has some way to go. Also we got the appetizer with our entrees. The waitstaff didn't seems to be bothered by that. read more

This is my favorite Mexican Restaurant in town. There service is pretty good too. The cheese dip my favorite along with the chimichangas.

Usual Mexican. Nice aspect is a decent vegetarian menu offering. Drinks are average priced. Convenient to historic downtown mall. B+ but not much better. Waitstaff were very nice an polite. However, nothing too special as far as food goes and for the $. read more

There is one female server who is absolutely horrible. If you treat your table like they won't tip you, you won't get a tip. I have worked in the restaurant industry and have always tipped generously. Today I come in and I get this server again. I ask to move tables. In front of me to the other server she speaks in Spanish talking crap about how I switched tables to a different section. 1. BE A BETTER SERVER AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR GUESTS. 2. DONT ASSUME THE "GRINGO" you're talking to is white, because I'm actually Mexican and could understand your snotty rude comments in Spanish. Definitely not happy with this establishment. read more

I'm a sucker for chips and homemade salsa and a beer to go with it. El Centro has that and an awesome location with tons of booths by the window and lots of outdoor seating. The service is excellent, even a minor problem with hard instead of soft tacos coming out to my brother and the manager came over and apologized. In general I'm no expert at Mexican food, I mean they have all the usual options and everything I've gotten has been tasty and fresh. The establishment is clean and has attentive staff. It's a go! read more

Our kids don't like much, but they definitely like El Centro. I also like that my wife and I can slip in for a Friday lunch, get two lunch specials and be out in no time. They've always had quick service in our experience. I recommend the El Matador plate. read more

A colossal disappointment. We knew it would be bad as soon as the plates hit the table. Poor quality ingredients and lukewarm temperatures do not mix well. Vegetarian enchiladas with steamed, bland spinach and mushrooms in a soggy corn wrapper drowning in red sauce and melted yellow cheese. Combine that with the 20 minute wait to place our food order, the $11.00 price tag and the fact that fast food Mexican looks more appetizing and there would be no salvaging the experience. The manager kindly excused us from the tab. read more

Pretty disappointed with our visit last night. The waitress was not very friendly and didn't even offer us water when we first sat down. It took 15 minutes to finally get one glass of water, even though there were 2 of us. My friend called before we got there to see if they had any drink specials and we specifically went there because the man told us that there were half-price margaritas. Well, when we got there the manager told us that the drink specials were only if you sat at the bar! I've never heard of such a thing! We didn't know the prices of the margaritas and stupidly didn't ask. When we got our tab for $8.99 per drink, we almost fell off the floor. The food was good, the waitress was horrible. We gave her a terrible tip. The chips were stale, and we really didn't enjoy our experience at all. The margaritas were not strong. We're not going back and that's a bummer. read more

I was in Winchester for business yesterday. Stopped in for a late lunch. Just made it in time in to get the lunch special which is served until 3. The service was fabulous. Food was decent not great. I had the beef enchilada which was tasty and carnitas tamale. Not much meat in the tamale. The rice was good. Black beans no flavor. All for $6.99 with a beverage and chips and salsa. Nice sized portions. read more

Disappointing. The beef tacos were watery and the beef had no flavor. Black beans also were lacking in seasoning. The best thing I was served were warm chips and salsa. I won't try it again. read more

When El-Centro first opened I was really excited. I love Mexican food and it's close to my work. I usually order pick-up from here once every few weeks when I'm in the office. The food is really good and the prices are decent. I only have one qualm - the queso dip is over $6 with tax and you don't get that much. And sometimes it seems like it's been sitting out for a while. If i am paying $6 for queso dip (which from my experience usually runs around $3 at other Mexican restaurants), I want a lot and I want it to be fresh. Lately, the food quality has seemed to go downhill as well. The flavors don't seem as rich anymore. Not sure if they have new recipes or a new cook, but from when they opened until last week, the quality of food has gone down and the prices seemed to have gone up. read more

Food was good, but I felt it was a little over priced. Somewhat slow service as well. Not sure I'd go back. Other Mexican places I prefer.

One Star, because Zero isn't an option. Poor to bad service. 35 minute wait for my food. $15 for Carne a la Mexicana that had two small pieces of sausage and 5 strips of beef. Yes, I counted. There were so few, it was easy. Food was better than Taco Bell, but much better places in town. Also, avoid the big Margarita. Asked the Bar tender for a margarita that was 3 parts tequila, 2 parts lime, 1 part triple sec. Response was, can't pour a drink per ABC with more than 3 Ounces liquor. 1. Learn how to do math and make it work. 2. If that's the most you can put in, what's the point of having the big glass margarita? To over charge folks for a lot of sours mix and and a small amount of tequila. Tried it. Done with it. read more