The food is amazing! Authentic for sure. The service was also very good. We had the tacos and a gordita, very tasty.

Love this place highly recommend it's very delicious their quesadillas and their consomé are personally my favorites read more

El Garage - Quesadilla de Tinga - Mexican Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

WHAT I ATE - Virginia @ El Garage Restaurant Manassas, VA We stumbled on El Garage Restaurant while shopping around Manassas and are happy with our find! There are tons of Mexican and latino eateries in the Manasas area. Some good, and some great! We think this a great one for great tasting food, affordable prices and authenticity. They have a pretty extensive menu of items. We were curious about the food kept hot in the steam tables, and we were introduced to BARBACOA! We also wanted to try something different and had not had goat or lamb done Mexican style. What a treat! Warm, tender lamb and goat, seasoned perfectly and accompanied with Mexican rice, black beans and fresh, hot tortillas. We'd say the portions of meat were generous, and so good we ate everything! The green chile sauce was spicy, but not terribly so. Watch out for the red sauce, as it may be spicier than most people can tolerate. I'm not normally a fan of Mexican rice, but this rice was very flavorful, with perfectly cooked tender grains that had the rice amount of "stickiness" to keep it on the fork or in the taco. For drinks, the cooling, sweet/tart house made Tamarindo was so good and kind of lemony in flavor. They also have Jarritos brand tamarindo in bottles, but trust me. Fresh made tamarindo is better! El Garage Restaurant is on our list of place to stop for lunch or dinner when we are in this part of Manassas. VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/GfoSv3cZ2pE read more

El Garage - Mexican Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

Place is amazing! Family owned, not a chain! Little hole in wall with great flavors! Loved everything we ordered! Coffee with cinnamon! Carne Asada Tacos, guacamole. All amazing and great portions. Definitely coming back and recommending that a must eat at place!!!Carne Asada Taco read more

El Garage - Guacamole and house made chips! Yummy - Mexican Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

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Good authentic Mexican cuisine. Precious works down the street from this place so every other Friday she'd pick up some tacos from this place on her way home. I am particularly fond of the tacos de lingua (beef tongue tacos). This is an authentic Mexican restaurant. It's not Tex-Mex. They have traditional Mexican food like chilaquiles and tortas. Another thing they had was mole sauce in jars. I love that stuff. It's a very complicated process making the sauce so it's not something an amateur can do at home so you get a jar of this and use it on chicken or whatever when you get home. It's delicious. read more

El Garage is a hidden gem in Manassas located in an old strip mall. I ordered the carne asada, carnitas and chorizo sopes. The food was delicious. read more

El Garage - Carne asada, carnitas and chorizo sopes. - Mexican Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

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Me & James stopped in for Friday dinner...mi hilo said he was jonesing for some Mex and found this place on Yelp. He thought it was funny that I had written a review for this place almost 6 years ago. Still quite good as James agreed. The service is excellente! It's family owned business and they want to please. I had the fajitas which were great with a mix of shrimp, chicken and beef. The flour tortillas were a little on the thick side but nice they were house made. James had the Chicken Verde Enchilada and thought it was quite good. We also had the home made guacamole which added another start in it's self, the best when it's fresh and this was! James always thought it was cool that you can get a Mexican coke in a bottle for $2 bucks...he says they are better. Who am I to argue? read more

Service was great really nice. food- had chicken fajitas and thy were really authentic! Beans and rice were great. The tortillas are made hot and fresh! read more

El Garage - Chicken Fajitas and beans and rice - Mexican Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

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We were on the way to the airport and wanted to eat good food before we had a long flight. This El Garage had great reviews. Also a good giveaway was there were lots of locals there getting the food. It was different from our usual San Diego food but it was Sooo delicious. I got the Huarache. Amazing! Never had one before but will definitely go back when in the area and have another. We also had the enchilada plate. Another outstanding choice. Service was great. People very friendly. It is located in a very unassuming shopping center. Don't let that fool you. The food is authentic and delicious! read more

In a rough looking strip mall. Dont be detered. Walk inside and it is clearly homey and family owned. There was a stroller with a kid sleeping in it and some halfeaten plates with kids kicking a ball around out front in the parking lot. This is some authentic Mexican food with good portions and pretty cheap. I took mine para llavar. I ordered 4 tacos: 1 carne asada, 1 chorizo and 2 carnitas. They are "2 bite" (and only $2) tacos, but actually 3 because they come heaping with meat. I also ordered a milenesa de res torta (7$). Finally a place I have found in NOVA that has the bread i have been longing for. The meat portion was disappointing for the side of the sandwich. The carnitas Sope ($3) I got was pretty plain. The meat had great flavor, but it was only topped with beans and queso fresco. I assume some cilantro and lime accompanied it, but where's the avo slice? Being in a box it quickly became soggy/floppy and just seemed like a thick, dense tortilla as a taco. I was asked if i wanted green or red sauce and naturally, I went with both. Both had fresh flavor. Green was medium and bright tasting; red was slightly bitter from fresh pepper snd spicy. There was a good portion of fresh onion, cilantro and a lime crumbled up in some foil on the side. The tacos come on a Styrofoam plate covered in foil. How this homemade food is wrapped to go reminds me of going home from a family get together. I got a mango jarritos and a Grande horchata to drink. The horchata was perfect, not too sweet, not to cinnamony. It had a good milky white to it and nice slim milk-1% texture. It was the best I have had in a long time. There was who appeared to be the mom in the family out in the front cutting some fruit and making fruta con chile y limon cups. How random, first. And YES for me, second. The fruit was heaping out if The cups that it was amazing to me how they stood up because they sure looked top heavy. The Mexican fruit salad had fresh watermelon, mango and pineapple, squeezed fresh lime, chamoy (sauce made from pickled fruit), hot sauce and that delicious savory dry chile lime season salt. I told her the last time I ate some I got a spicy tamarind straw to compliment it and it was amazing. Then they pull some out of the kitchen and generously gave me one. This bumped it from 4-5 stars in my book. I asked for a box to put it in and it completely filled the box. Yum. read more

El Garage - Fruta con Chile y limon. (Mexican fruit salad) - Mexican Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

Came here recently and saw the food on display and ordered a plate w rice and beans, it was Pork ribs with green Chile sauce. I always like ordering to go and grabbing what food is on display around 11:45am because it's freshly made. It was $14.99 comes with 3 tortillas and I asked for extra hot sauce and lime slices. Amazing! One of the best authentic Mexican restaurants. Must try if you're in the city read more

The food makes you really feel like you are in Mexico. It's a perfect representation of the food in Mexico. The people were nice and had a variety of options. Everyone there makes you feel like family. I eat there with my family every other day. It's as authentic as it gets, it's family owned so you will occasionally see some of the kids helping out too, the prices are the highlight of this place. It's cheap compared To other places around here. The service is fantastic. If they mess up your order even a little, they make it all up. The food gets a little salty sometimes. This place deserves five stars read more

El Garage - Variety of food and taste great - Mexican Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

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The food was so good I can't. The service was good and really fast. And the theme was the best, loved it and can't wait to go back.

Was in town checking out places to live (we are relocating here in the fall), and my husband wanted to try some of the local Mexican food (he is Mexican). Found this place on Yelp, and decided to try it out. It is located in a strip mall that seems to be centered around Hispanic restaurants/stores/grocer, and is basically a step above a hole in the wall (best places in my book). Was greeted and seated right away. The chips, salsa, and guacamole are absolutely amazing. I highly recommend the guac. I ordered a steak and hongo (mushroom) taco platter, and my husband got the pork and chorizo taco platter. The rice and beans had great flavor, but the tacos fell just a tad short. The steak was on the more overcooked/crispy side, and the hongos were not even seasoned or anything, just sauteed. Maybe I was expecting better based on how delish the guac was. It wasn't bad, just not great. I would be interested to try some of the other dishes on the menu. I will come back here again if only just for the delicious guacamole. The service was great, and the tacos were good, just not great. We have a lot of authentic taco places near will I live now, so maybe my standard is just higher. read more

I stumbled upon this place after attending a birthday party for a friend that lives in Manassas. I'd originally planned to head over to my good ole standby (Tortilleria El Molino) but it was a gray, rainy day and I was craving enchiladas, which my good ole standby doesn't serve. Hence, my quest for another option. Thanks to my fellow Yelpers, I was led to explore the fare at El Garage. The reviews are right in saying that El Garage is nothing fancy. 'Course, that's not a bad thing in my book. The strip mall that it's located in is home to a couple of Taqueria trucks - which I'll have to check out another time - as well as other Mexican-themed establishments. When I entered, I was greeted warmly and asked if I wanted to be seated. After confirming that I was getting my order 'to go' I was promptly given a menu. I ordered Fajitas Mixta (w/steak, chicken & shrimp) for $12.95, Cheese Enchiladas for $8.95 and 2 tacos (steak and chicken) for $2 each. Ok, don't judge me. I was hungry... Both the Fajitas and Enchiladas were served with rice & beans. I waited @ 15 - 20 mins, though I'm not complaining since my food was cooked to order and came out piping hot and fresh! Sadly, I was served chicken enchiladas, instead of cheese, but I'll live...As others have commented, the freshly made tortillas that came with my Fajitas were somewhat thick. I prefer mine thinner, but again, not complaining too much. As for the food itself, it was pretty tasty, though a little under-seasoned - nothing a quick dash of salt couldn't fix. All-in-all, I have to say that this place definitely earns its current 4 star Yelp rating and will be added to my list of local faves. Though still not up to my beloved SoCal standards, I was happy to enjoy a tasty, generously portioned, reasonably priced meal. read more

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It's a very good flavor I love it, specially the consomé soup and chiles rellenos are delicious!!

I found my tacos to be lack luster in flavor and dry (carne asada and chorizo) where as my husband's tacos (carnitas) were soggy from too much broth. The corn tortilla's were thick and had a sponginess to them. Say what? That's right, kind of like a sponge. I also ordered tamales and horchata. The only tamales available for sale were the chicken ones. I prefer pork, but the chicken sufficed. The tamales were huge and moist. There was a whole lot of masa with very little meat. The ratio of masa to meat was 4 to 1. The horchata lacked depth of flavors. It was heavy on the milk side. Ugh! My food was disappointing. The kids ordered enchilada platters and liked them. What I did like a lot was the rice and beans on their platters. The service was friendly. The atmosphere is kid friendly "hole in the wall." read more

We always take an hour drive for Barbacoa! So far best Barbacoa in the area, authentic Mexican home made cuisine.

It's good place. I think mostly all spanish food to me tastes bit saltier. Other than that, it's good. I like their tamales. Very good price and I want to try the papusas. read more

I don't know what these people are talking about, there's nothing wrong in this neighborhood, just working-class neighborhood. But getting past that, if you want to eat some authentic Mexican food, made by real Mexicans, this is Manasses Mexican restaurant for tacos. Oh have a very extensive menu, so the hardest part was deciding on what to order. I went with one I am taco, it was really great about this restaurant is the tortillas are homemade. Then I couldn't resist and got an order of chicken enchiladas, with red sauce. Top this off of the Mexican Coke, and this is more food that I can eat in day. I highly recommend this authentic Mexican taco joint. If you're looking for five-star dining this may not be your place. But if you're looking for the best Mexican food in Manassas look no further. Great service, and the food speaks for itself. read more

El Garage - Mexican Near Me - Manassas, Virginia

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Five beautiful words: ¡Tortillas a mano recién hechas! Fresh handmade corn tortillas! There are places nearby in Manassas that have the delicious feather light and thin machine made fresh tortillas, which are great. But the tortillas at El Garage are hand made (flattened with a tortilla press) and deliciously soft. Each one is beautifully round but very slightly different because of being handmade. No contest between these and the machine made ones. And no need to double-up two tortillas like with the machine-made ones (which break from the moisture if not doubled) because these soft delights are always a bit thicker than those. Our table had tacos made with these gorgeous tortillas, and I had a huarache, so soft and fresh. More beautiful words: ¡Barbacoa de borrego estilo DF! Slow cooked Mexico City style lamb (called barbacoa/lamb on the menu). This stuff is really gorgeous, seasoned just right, tender and unctuous from slow cooking, and very slightly saucy from the red chile infused juices of the meat (not especially chile-hot, though, just perfect). I tried it as the meat for my huarache. I also had the beef tongue (in a taco), which was perfectly cooked to a tender and soft perfection. When you enter the restaurant, you see a buffet server displaying the various slow cooked meats for sale by the pound. By the pound it comes with fresh tortillas and salsas. Why not get some lamb barbacoa and go have a picnic? A co-diner had a carne asada taco. The meat was well browned on the flat grill. It was also tender. My other co-diner had a quesadilla de queso: Fresh masa cooked with the cheese folded inside so the cheese came out melting and oozing, and then covered with toppings. You can get these with any filling you desire. Highly recommended. The salsas were good. One was chile de árbol, and the other was a type of salsa verde which tasted like it was just made of fresh green chiles and not the typical tomate verde/tomatillo one...not sure about that, though. FYI if you are vegetarian or have a friend/partner who is and want to try this place out together, they do not use lard in their beans and they have options like mushroom, and nopalitos (cactus paddle, it tastes kind of like tender green beans, hard to explain but they are good!) so you could eat plenty of stuff here without eating meat. They also have tortas, and breakfast items like chilaquiles. Awesome place. Unfortunately, they don't have any desserts. The menu is pretty extensive, actually. Lots more to explore. I'd like to try the tinga de pollo next time. For three people, our meal came out to $17 total. Someone below complained that the TV was blasting annoying religious programming when they went. For our visit, El Chavo de Ocho was on TV, and it was loud, but when I saw El Chavo's face on the screen in the restaurant, I just got that comforting feeling that the food would impress me. read more

Very good tacos and gorditas. Fast and kind service, Love coming here to eat hispanic food

Had dinner at this place with my parents and my son. Service...horrible. The waitress took our order of drinks and completely forgot about it. It wasn't until 15 minutes later that I asked again about out drinks. Which were two coffees and one Horchata.. The good came out about 40 minutes later, With a infant it's a bit stressful to wait that long for a simple order. We ordered mix of fajitas, which included shrimp, beef, and chicken. 3 tacos of carne asada. The food was extremely greasy, to the point that it was undesirable after a couple of bites. This place is family owned and it they are proud Christians. They have a 64inch tv that has a Christian sermon BLASTING. It was a bit uncomfortable trying to eat while a man lectures about the importance of sex in a marriage, why men and woman are having sex before marriage...etc.. I don't think we will ever be coming back. There are definitely better Mexican places read more

Great service and tasty treats. I loved my mangoneada. I strongly recommend. The are very nice people. read more

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For some, this may be "a hole in the wall" , though I don't think it is, it's location isn't the best simply because it's not well maintained in the outside but Who cares, the food is what matters. I frequent, this place and "La jarrochita" right next door. Pros about this place is, it's a a lot quieter, there's more food options, and you get table service here! I normally get tacos and I love them because there flavorful and their tortillas are hand made. I am half Mexican, so I've tasted a handful of finger licking good traditional plates& this place is pretty close to authentic as you can get in the NOVA area. read more

owned and managed by a Mexican family Very clean. Excellent options. They also sell carnitas, and other prepared dinner meats (stewed chicken, beef) by the pound and the selection looked really good. If you don't feel comfortable walking into a family owned restaurant, in a lower income neighborhood (where some hardworking families are trying to make an honest living) than take yourself to taco bell or chipotle. Yes there is a TV on and the establishment is not in the best location, but it is authentic, tasty and well priced. I look white but am 100% latino and I normally surprise people when I speak Spanish. I've been here at night and on wknds and never felt threatened, unsafe or out of place. Yes there are local characters and some small groups of people hanging out. But they keep to themselves. Definitely coming back. --------- Update: 21 Feb No changes.. Still 5 stars after 3 visits! The tortillas are fresh but they are also the thick style similar to what you find in the southern portion of Mexico. read more

Food is good, price is good, where it's located is pretty rundown. I always swing by once a month for the carnitas(mix) plate, comes with rice and beans or your choice of double of whichever one you pick. Comes with 3 warm tortillas, 2 salsa (verde, chipotle) Ask for cilantro, onions and lime (no extra charge) $11.99. If your lucky beans will come with cheese on top. I personally like the random dishes (they switch it up everyday) displayed in the front when you enter. I make tacos out of the meal. Taste reminds me of California restaurant, good with flavor, hand made tortillas. As long as you are polite, greet them in the front, please and thank you, they will treat you like gold and give generous portions. All meals that I have ever had was to go, just a heads up. read more

After working in Manassas for almost five years I finally found some authentic Mexican restaurants. The entire strip center that this place is in is like a little Mexico. It's awesome, complete with not one but TWO food trucks dueling in the parking lot! We stopped for dinner at El Garage last weekend and it was delicious, authentic, and cheap. Checked all the boxes, gets five stars from me. Run down? yes. A bit grubby? yes. So what? The food was good. Hubby had the enchiladas verdes, the order comes with four or them! Crazy. The beans are borracho style pintos, not refried. Of course I tried his and they were, indeed, delicious. I had a couple of gorditas, one lamb and one carnitas. The flavor of the lamb was better than the carnitas I thought. Both were fresh and hot. Kiddo had a plain cheese quesadilla and enjoyed it. They had Mexican Coke of course and other bottled drinks. It looks like the do quite a bit of take out business. There was a TV on the wall showing a soccer match. I'll be going back for a plate of the tacos soon. read more

Went for dinner, I had the beef enchiladas with red sauce my wife had the chicken enchiladas with green sauce, and we shared a lamb taco. The food is absolutely 6 stars. The enchiladas are outstanding, the beef amazingly seasoned and tender. I wish we'd ordered 20 of the lamb tacos, they are that good. Simple food, the taco was meat and home made tortilla, but the way they cooked the lamb, wow, tender, delicately seasoned, just really exceptional. The red sauce is outstanding fresh and authentic. The only reason they get 4 stars is the service, it was just lacking, not horrid, but not very good. But if you want the flavor, then this is a must go when you are In manasas. read more

Fantastic meal and service! It was some of the best Mexican food i've had in a while.

This place is amazing! The food is so flavorful! The service was amazing! So nice and understanding that my boyfriend didn't know Spanish, they were still able to understand him and make him feel welcomed. The food was hot and fresh. So happy I found this place!!!! read more

Wow! This place has amazing authentic Mexican food. Love the variety of tamales offered. This is not a fancy establishment however you will be treated well by staff. This is a family owned restaurant and it's clear they put their heart into the food they serve. I highly recommend El Garage! read more

Delicious gorditas! Very accommodating with my dietary restrictions. They put cheese on my gordita (which was supposed to be cheese-less) the first time, but quickly rectified the problem. Highly recommend. read more

Nice family place with a neighborhood feel. The tacos were only fairly good, though. They just didn't have a lot of flavor and they were kind of a mushy mess. I had the lengua, the pork and a third taco that I can't remember. The problem was that I had a hard time telling which tacos the second and third ones were because they tasted so much alike. The lengua was chewy and tasty, but what I think was the pork was kind of mushy. I think there are good things here, I just didn't order well. I want to go back and order different items and then update my review. read more

El garage is totally authentic, made to order Mexican. Handmade tortillas and fresh made everything. Numerous dishes that are uncommon that I have never had before. One with bean inside a tortilla with meat on top, lettuce and cheese crumbles, which is my standard. One of these for $3 can fill you. Two is enough for a meal. A (Mexican) friend turned me on to this place. It has become our favorite location for real good homestyle Mexican. It is not fancy. It is located in a strip mall "on the other side of the tracks." The name is funny. They used to cook in their garage and sell food. Hence, the name. They are very polite and welcoming. the only other place that I have found locally that also prepares everything fresh, tortillas, etc, and a favorite is the TexMex, La Mexicana Bakery (10394 portsmouth road, Manassas). read more

Came here after work one day because it was recommended by a friend. The restaurant is in an older shopping center but it was busy when I went around 3 pm. The restaurant was clean and the man who took my order was very friendly. I ordered chicken enchiladas with red sauce. I waited about 10/15 minutes and it was ready. The food was delicious and everything tasted so fresh and home made. The portions are also a pretty good size. I was able to split my meal in half and ate the rest for lunch the next day. I will definitely be visiting again soon. read more

GOD bless this restaurant and the family who owns it. My family and I had dinner here recently and we were pleasantly surprised. Although we were greeted by a boy no older than 15, it didn't bother me like a previous review I read. It's obvious this is a family owned establishment. Our expirence with both the boy and server were wonderful! They were kind and extremely humble. I think anyone can appreciate that. Although the ambiance is not the greatest, the food was AMAZING!!!!!! Cheap with generous portions! My husband ordered the plato mixto (steak, chicken and shrimp) I ordered the chicken enchiladas and the kids had steak quesadillas. All of the food was an explosion of flavors. Hands down, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone! read more

Just came back from having dinner here while visiting my girlfriend in Manassas. Not what I expected. At all. Maybe I should have read the reviews here a little more closely, but definitely a dissapointment. Granted, I was going in with high hopes of a nice establishment with good service; what we got was a restaurant that was lacking, both in atmosphere and professionalism. 1) Food - Being it a Mexican-American restaurant, I expected chips and salsa, but those are a no go. I'll admit, I was disappointed by this, but decided a restaurant shouldnt be determined by something so frivolous. After reading a review of how good their Lamb Tacos were, I decided to order one along with the Steak entre. The taco was brought first, which looked delicious; a hearty pile of shredded lamb on a fresh tortilla, served with a small selection of freshly chopped condiments. I happily took a bite, without any additions, to gauge the quality of my taco. Bitterly disappointing. The lamb, while tender, had ABSOLUTELY no seasoning, not even salt. The taste resembled that of a two-day old pot roast. Being dissapointed, I still held out hope that my Mexicana Steak entre would rectify my decision about this establishment. They brought my plate, and while the portion was more than plenty, the taste of everything was mediocre at best, with a decent amount of my steak being inedible fat. 2) Service - At first we were pleasently greeted with a smile by a nice woman, telling us to find a seat and that we'll be served shortly. Next, out came our waiter, a kid, no older than 15, who had trouble keeping eye contact and seemed like he didnt want to be there. Their menus were not bilingual, which wasnt a surprise, but was highly annoying. While both of us had ordered, there was only one set of silverware brought out, and one napkin to share between the two of us. Drinks are served in cans (should have left upon seeing the refrigerator by the door). 3) Atmosphere - While, yes, this is a hole-in-the-wall place in a Latino neighborhood, I wouldnt recommend dining-in unless you're prepared to be mean-mugged by what I can only assume are the local patrons. The building itself is okay, but with its mismatched chairs and tables one would expect from a greasy spoon, the place gives a vibe that is as vibrant as its food; mediocre and bland. Tl; dr - Go here for cheap food, not anything special read more

Such a nice, hardworking family! I always get the chicken enchiladas, so I can't speak to other food. The red sauce on the enchiladas is delicious! You get four enchiladas with lettuce and crema on top for $11. That includes rice and beans. Best enchiladas I have had anywhere. read more

Best mexican food in NoVA hands down. Divey but hey its mexican food! Carnitas and carne asada are legit.