Came here for brunch last weekend, and for a place I already love for happy hour it may be my new go to on weekends around noon. Their take on Mexican is phenomenal especially the tried and true entrees we ordered. My wife went with their Mexican Mornings ($21.95) which includes an entree plus bottomless mimosas (she mixed it up, but I recommend the hibiscus). I loved the sample bites I was allowed to get of her chilaquiles, topped with al pastor. They were fantastic and I love it when the tortillas still keep some bite to them. I went with my Mexican standard, huevos rancheros. Simple, tasty and perfect, and just what you are in the mood for. However the main reason I will come back is for their verde mary, with their house-infused jalapeno/cilantro vodka. Just a fantastic, delicious drink and one of the best "bloodys" I've had. So refreshing, herbal, bright (and strong) that I said to hell with plans this Saturday afternoon and had to order another. Best brunch drink in DC, and one of my new favorite cocktails over all. read more

El Chucho - Verde Mary - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

El Chucho is my go to die All night Happy Hour Monday's! 2 tacos for $3.50, draft margaritas that are great for $4.50, and A+ elote. They have great vegetarian and meat tacos. The brunch is a sleeper - get the boozy coffee cocktail for sure. Ask for their house hot sauce made with habanero - it packs a punch and adds a ton of great flavor. read more

El Chucho - Vegetable tacos 2 for $3.50 at happy hour. - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Had the Birria/ al pastor and both were amazing!!! Equally loved the grilled corn as a starter. Great new discovery!

The dipping sauce with the queso frito was delicious. Al pastor taco was good but the meat was a bit dry. I really loved the elote as well. read more

Since my first visit, I've been back multiple times. Unfortunately, it isn't the same. The tacos aren't as good as they used to be. My favorites were the carne asada, octopus and shrimp tacos. But the shrimp tacos are now cooked in a different sauce, the carne asada is always dry, and the octopus is still good. But not enough to keep me coming back. read more

Saturday brunch review. Based on old reviews, it sounds like this place changed up chefs or something and gotten a lot better. Good on them! It was a beautiful October day so the patio doors were open and the sun was shining. (real quick, speaking of the doors being open, the downside = bees) Anyway, service was good, the ambiance is really chill like somewhere you can wear your sweatpants at. You know after a hard night of partying, somewhere you can stroll in, sunglasses on without any judgment. On to the food, I ordered the steak, potatoes, and eggs and I highly enjoyed it! The steak was cooked medium and just perfect. Also, I really liked the chipotle mayo that came with the dish. The oj mimosa was just okay, I definitely had better. 4 stars for food, ambiance and being a chill spot to hang out at. read more

El Chucho - Brunch nachos added steak - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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I stayed a week in DC and ate at this El Chucho twice. I still think about the Calabacita. Yum.

I came here for their bottomless brunch and it was pretty good. The portions are kinda small but it filled me and my friend up pretty well. We got the breakfast burrito and chilaquilas. The chilaquilas were so good and the burrito had so much flavor. Their hibiscus mimosa is really good too. Super cute atmosphere too. read more

El Chucho - Small portions but good! - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

So, probably this place is super amazing during happy hour, but we had a great time nonetheless! Delicious margaritas (but definitely on the small side) with FRESH FRESH lime. The tacos were EXCELLENT...the Calabacita was a real delight especially for my veggie buds! One star off for SUPER slow service, but otherwise, I thought this was a great little spot. read more

El Chucho dominates Columbia Height's 11 Street as the fantastic dive to grab a fresh margarita and a few delicious tacos. I've now been to El Chucho twice in the last month, and I still can't seem get enough. They have a variety of tacos, from marinated steak (Asada), to crispy beef (Tripas) to fried zucchini (Calabacita) - each order coming with two tacos - but by far my favorite is the adobe marinate pork (Al Pastor). A stop in El Chucho is not complete without a frozen margarita, preferably the lime and strawberry habanero swirl, with spicy salt! You won't be disappointed (unless, you think the strawberry will be sweet and girly, like my friend Jess did her first time!) With outdoor seating and a rooftop patio, I imagine El Chucho will quickly become a day drinker's dream. El Chucho isn't a one trick pony of tacos and margaritas either - try the Elote Callejero aka street style corn on the cob. With queso fresco and melted cheese perfectly spread across this corn - it will be difficult to stop from ordering a second. Make sure to leave room for dessert - my boyfriend and I went here for date night and split the chocolate habanero mousse with sea salt whip cream. This rich dessert was a scoop out of El Chucho paradise, and might even warrant a trip back just to have it again. The only quandary I have with El Chucho is that service can be a little slower than desired, but given that every time I've gone this small dive on 11th is packed - I'll give them a break. Its a popular place! read more

Stumbled upon this restaurant by mistake yesterday and boy am I glad I did. My husband and I are always in search of the perfect margarita so every Mexican restaurant we see we try. While we did not find the perfect margarita, we did find a unique little restaurant that serves darn good food. I heard raves about the $5 batch margarita and tried it. It was tasty but I thought, hey, let me try one of their signature margaritas. It has to be better. Well.... They weren't. The $5 margarita was just as good for half the price. I recommend sticking with the batch marg. The food was delicious. The guacamole was tasty, the corn on the cob was delicious and the Al Pastor tacos were out of this world. We also tried the calabaza tacos which were good as well. The restaurant is tiny but they have a nice roof top deck which added a nice touch to the evening. All in all I would recommend coming to El Chucho. Solid food! read more

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I finally had a chance to check this place out since my friends have been telling me to go when I moved to the area. I didn't get to try out their drinks, but we did order the guacamole and that was delicious. We also ordered three different tacos: pulpo, al pastor, and vegetales. My favorite was the pulpo tacos. The others were okay. We sat by the bar and our bartender was super friendly and attentive. I would go back to try their margaritas. Should've gotten it already. read more

El Chucho - Al pastor, pulpo, and vegetales tacos - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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I left feeling confused as to why this place has below 4 stars! This is a very authentic Mexican taco spot with good margaritas and fresh, inviting dishes. Each taco is built with love-you can tell by the careful choice of toppings: from shaved radish to fresh cilantro and lime. Happy hour is one of the best in the city!!! Try out the cute cute patio rooftop. The service was excellent. Guacamole fresh, cool and made correctly. To be honest, I had low expectations, but left full and happy. Get the pescado taco-you've never had crispy salmon in a taco like this!!! read more

We were here for happy higher with a really large group. The drinks and appetizer pricing during happy hour is great! I had the chicken tacos and they were delicious too. Our server was helpful and friendly despite our large group. It wasn't until we were ready to get our checks that we were told we can't split our checks. She then told us that we can split it 4 ways. She then split our check into 2 checks that can be split 4 ways each. After all this, we still couldnt split it across everyone and it was a major hassle to be able to pay for this check. I am taking 2 stars away from the review purely because the restaurant needs to update their policy on splitting checks, otherwise it leaves a horrible experience in the guests minds. read more

El Chucho - Happy hour menu - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I am from SoCal, but I am not even going 'there.' This is about a version of Cal-Mex street food as processed through a particular chef's worldview. Went with husband and 12 year old son. It was good -- the quac was tasty. The 5 dollar margaritas on tap with chile salt were solid. The pastor, asada, and squash tacos were all yummy Son had the sonoran dog - minus tomato, onion and mustard-- I think it lacked those things, but it was not BAD just kind of bland. The tripe/foie gras taco was just, weird not bad-bad but kind of a wasted concept (like dipping tortilla chips into pate). The chicken taco was meh "This is canned chickem, but I like canned chicken, " said Hubby. Oh and the corn was really tasty! Far better than I expected. The homemade 'sodas' were more for adults I would say, and prolly intended more as mixers. The have a nice rooftop, and happy hour meant everything was half price. It is walkable from either petworth or columbia heights metros. So guac, corn, cheap-o margaritas, pastor, asada, squash tacos, and try the hot dog with full fixins; that is my reco! read more

I was so glad I read the reviews on yelp before I came. I immediately put in my order for the corn on the cob and the calabacita tacos. My tacos came first however and it took a little bit longer for the corn on the cob, but when it came, it was all well worth it. The place is a two-level area with a roof top for dining as well. We decided go to the roof top on a humid hot summer day--yea, maybe not the smartest idea. Although the food was great, the place could be a little bit more accommodating when it came to a group of 6-8. They wouldn't let us put the tables together and we would have been fine doing it ourselves. Aside from the heat and the weird seating arrangements, my tummy was more than satisfied with the food and the pricing was not too shabby either. I was tempted to order dessert there, but the dessert with "abuelita shavings" meaning grandma shavings did not sound appealing. So we head over to Room 11 across the ways for our dessert night cap. read more

Oh, dear. This place is really cheerful and well-intentioned, but it's the kind of hipster Mexican restaurant you should only go to with people who haven't had real Mexican food. Tacos are small and look promising, but lack punchy flavor and have monotonous textures (some tough, some mushy). Guacamole was adequate. Margarita was bland and oversweetened. But to my surprise, the elote (corn on the cob) was one of the better versions I've had. They get the third star for that. read more

Bartender is great. Made everything easy. "DONALD ERES UN PENDEJO" That's great. Tacos were even better. My friend just moved to Columbia Heights. This will definitely be a regular spot for us. read more

El Chucho - Pollo Taco - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Mezcal, margaritas, central-Mexican style cuisine. Love this little neighborhood spot, and especially on Monday nights when they offer an all night happy hour! Happy hour includes $4 margaritas, $9 for a 32oz of Corona familiar, $3.50 tacos, and $5 guacamole - they've pared down the HH since first introducing it, but it's still an amazing deal! Prices during the rest of the week are markedly higher; I'd consider this a sort of date night Mexican inspired meal situation. If you just wanted cheap, tasty tacos, there are of course many other options. Two levels plus a very small amount of patio seating. You may be enticed by the suggestion of the "rooftop" level seating, but it's fully enclosed and kind of dreary. The sink station up there produces a sort of chemical smell that's not the most pleasant while you're eating, and there's no real view to speak of because it's so enclosed. They have a lovely selection of mezcals. If you have the time, cash, and desire, I'd definitely recommend sampling a few or trying one of their flights. read more

Who doesn't like good Mexican fare in a very causal fun environment that has specialty margaritas, tacos, tortas and appetizers? I hate to make comparisons to what I know in Chicago, but that's going to happen for a little bit I imagine. El Chucho reminds me of a cross between Big Star and XOCO. You can go there for a drink, a little food, some of both or whatnot. There's a great roof top patio area that is nice on a summer evening (and that's exactly what we did). I really enjoyed whatever the margarita our server chose for me. It was tart and had a lite smoky flavor enhanced by the flavored salt on the rim. I'm sure they are known or want to be known for their tacos but they were the weakest link actually for a solid meal. Which is a little disappointing because they go to a limited menu later in the night that only features tacos and salsa. The vegetarian was by far the best between that, the chicken and al pastor. If there's one huge difference between Chucho and Big Star it's the tacos. However, we started with chips and salsa, corn on the cob, shrimp and mushroom empanadas. The shrimp and corn were quite impressive and stand out dishes. The shrimp is served with onions and peppers and a spicy delicious green sauce. VERY GOOD and MUST TRY. If you find a way to bottle that sauce up please let me know. The corn on the cob (aka Elote Callejero) was also very good. The sauce and spices on the corn was great. All in all we had a nice and relaxed Mexican meal on the roof during a pleasant summer evening. I would definitely go back to chill, have some chips, margaritas and some of the starters. I think you can find better tacos elsewhere and I didn't try the tortas. Value is very good as well. Worth checking out. read more

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Tacos and strong drinks. Can't ask for much more than that. This is a small neighborhood bar with some outside seating. I came here on a summer night and it was super hot and packed for on a Thursday night. Fans were blowing and the doors were open. So of course a frozen jalapeño margarita was the solution. read more

El Chucho - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I have been coming to El Chucho regularly since I moved to the area 4 years ago. This is a fun neighborhood spot with excellent food and great deals. Since quarantine I have been getting take out, which isn't the same but good enough for now! I highly recommend the Asada tacos and the elote. If you're a drinker definitely order the Strawberry Habanero margarita!!! It's just the right amount of spicy. If you're driving parking can be hard to find in the neighborhood. Gender neutral single bathrooms. read more

The iron fence on the patio is health hazard. I literally felt like my toe broke off because a piece of that fence has a bar that sticks out like a kick stand. An older uncoordinated person will fall and break themselves. I am athletic and do yoga and I was taken out by that kick stand. Staff that walk people to that patio upstairs need to warn EVERY person that walks around that fence. It's a financial problem waiting to be had. read more

Killer happy hour from 4-6 with $3 tacos and $4.50 beers. The tacos are really tasty and the bar has a great atmosphere. Really shines in the summer with a big outdoor area read more

This restaurant was very safe and enforced COVID safety protocols. We started with elotes and chips. Elotes were good and the chips were standard chips. I ordered a burrito, but was disappointed by its blandness. The plate was not served with any sides on a disposable plate. Seemed empty and missing a side or chips. read more

Came here with a few girlfriends on a Saturday night. We had to wait at the bar for a few minutes, which turned out perfect! The bartender was super nice and friendly, and we shared some drinks and appetizers before our table was ready. I tried the pomegranate homemade soda, which I thought was yummy and interesting - it almost tasted like kombucha! We shared the guacamole which I thought was just okay - too much raw onion for me. When we got to our table, I tried another soda, the ginger and lemongrass. This was surely the best homemade soda I've ever had. It was pleasant but pungent. I'd been having tummy troubles, and it even settled my stomach a little. We split the elote, which was very yummy - they even cut the cob in half for us to share. I had the tuna tacos which were not that great, but only because it wasn't what I was expecting. I was picturing seared tuna when I ordered it, but it arrived fully cooked and cubed. It sort of tasted like canned tuna. Would recommend if you're in the neighborhood! read more

El Chucho has ~ hands down ~ the best taco in D.C. I typically order the fish and veggie options and they never disappoint. I give el chucho 5 out of 5 tacos. read more

Great happy hour deals in DC (granted I love margaritas). Enjoy the food and service! Nice outdoor area in good weather like today!

Real rating: 3.5. Went for kind of late-night food on a weekday because I hadn't had proper dinner. When we walked in on a Tuesday night, the place was packed but we were able to get a table. It's a small dive bar/hole in the wall place with good food and service. Got the carne asada tacos and guacamole. Both fresh and delicious. The margaritas were good as well. Since I live in the neighborhood, this might become of my go-tos for late night seeing as many of the other places close by 10 on weekdays. Loved the vibe and looking forward to my next visit. read more

After our friends recommended us to visit, we decided to go. The food and ambiance were good. However: - Our waiter(s) got mixed up with our orders and received our food at different times. - We were not given napkins. - We ordered raspberry margaritas, which are kind of ok but the cost is not on the menu. Instead, there are three letters that later we were told mean "what the bartender considers appropriate." At $9 for happy hour but at $10 for regular? I don't think that's a good deal. - Then, we were asked if we wanted another one so we agreed. Our waiter charged us for the second one at regular cost without being told, at any time, that happy hour was over. - Lots of miscommunication between servers, we were brought food that wasn't ours at least three times. Overall, it wasn't a good experience. I don't think it's worth the happy hour. If you decide to go, go for the food, which is kind of good for its price. read more

Atmosphere was nice and the beer/margarita selection was decent. The taco entrees was very cost affective and were fast to create. I would come here again. read more

I wish Yelp would let me post without giving any star. But since I have to click a star I'll click just one. Not only does the waitress NADIA have negative reviews on Yelp but has an outstanding number of negative reviews on GOOGLE. Today, 02/04/2020 this also happened to my friend and I. We really enjoyed the food and the house margaritas. The female waitress Nadia, was not only on her phone the entire time but also having drinks at the bar along with eating a full course meal. By the time we were ready to head out, I politely grabbed my belongings and proceeded to go outside after paying the bill. Now this is the part that gets crazy... I walk outside and Nadia calls my friend by her name asking if she meant to give her that amount of money for a tip. We were APPALLED! How ungrateful could this waitress be, she stated that she was there for us to pay her when in all actuality she took that job because that's what she wanted to do. She made smart remarks, argued my friend down about the tip and then rolled her eyes, laughed her face along with a scuffle and then proceeded to walk away. I WILL NO LONGER ATTEND THIS RESTAURANT! I am highly disappointed and management needs to handle this matter as a soon as possible. This waitress (Nadia) is making NICK (which is the general manager) lose MULTIPLE customers. All in all Nadia is bad for business and as long as she is there my friends and I will NEVER recommend this place to anyone. read more

Awesome Mezcal selection, my boyfriend and I frequently come here to try all they have to offer. The owner is awesome, talkative, and gives great recommendations if you cross paths with him. We've tried the guac and most of the tacos as well which are delicious. The atmosphere depending on what day or time you come can vary. Last night which was a Wednesday around 8p it looked like a tinder date fest, and Sunday late nights it can be completely empty. Altogether this is a fun place to come, and we can't wait until the roof is open! read more

El Chucho - Diverse variety of mezcal. - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Let me say this place gets 4 stars as an overall score. The good was good and great price for happy hour! The chips and salsa were like $1 but the salsa is watery and doesn't have too much flavor, but it's $1! The corn was delicious I would've ordered 3 more but my bf and I got the sampler(2x) and el pastor tacos. Our favorite was the vegetable huarache, lots of heat and when you add their hot sauce it makes it even better! The other huaraches were yummy too but the vegetable one had the most flavor. I didn't get to try the tacos but my bf said they were great. All together a great meal for under $30! read more

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This has been my go to spot during covid, the short rib and shrimp tacos are just awesome! I look for other food then I think about chucho and the prices and im sold lol. Keep up the great work guys! read more

Eaten here a couple times--the burritos are really solid but make sure to ask for sauce on the side unless you prefer eating your burritos with a knife and fork. Recommend the chicken tinga! read more

Had a really nice meal at El Chucho. Most of the food was really good. The only thing I didn't like was that their beef taco were kind of tasteless. However the catfish taco supplemented with some extra lemon squeezed on top was very tasty! We just missed happy hour, but this seems like a great neighborhood joint to come for some good deals. Regardless of when you go, make sure you get their corn. It's loaded with plenty of cheese and spices and was the highlight of the experience! read more

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The brunch is really good, delicious breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros and chilaquiles! My favorite thing about this place is the happy hour, tacos al pastor y elote callejero are my favs! The service is great, friendly staff, cool rooftop and margaritas to die for! read more

El Chucho - Elote Callejero, delicious! - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Let me set the scene for you...It's happy hour, $4.50 Margaritas on tap, $1 Chips and salsa...need I say more? El Chucho can't be beat in the happy hour scene and I cannot wait to come back. Every person I have come with has always enjoyed themselves as have I. This is a go to place for me if I want to kickback after a long day at work. Great service, great food, and great drinks! read more

El Chucho - Happy Hour menu - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Absolute Columbia heights staple. I LOVE everything about El Chucho. The food and drinks are always great, but if you had to order just one thing to eat, it has to be the elote. DO NOT MISS THIS ELOTE another level delish. read more

El Chucho - DO NOT SLEEP ON THEIR ELOTE - Mexican Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia