Stopped by on a whim on our way back home, based on reviews. At first was a bit nervous, because it had a rundown "redneck" feel. Once seated, I struck up a conversation with the very friendly server. She found out my daughter and I liked spicy food, so she brought us some of her personal homemade arbol salsa that she had made herself that morning. It was nice to have such a personal touch to a restaurant. It was both very spicy AND very delicious. The house salsa was a bit bland for my taste, but adding her personal salsa helped kick it up to yummy. Everyone else enjoyed the salsa as is, so it was more of a personal preference than a critique of the favor. I got the daily special "Tacos Arrachera" which were three steak tacos with pico, rice, beans, and a spicy tomatillo sauce... it was amazing. The steak was tender and very well seasoned. The tomatillo sauce was great by itself, and complimented the steak perfectly. The pico was fresh and crisp and also added to the steak. My daughter got the Burrito Caliente, which was a steak and chicken burrito with jalapenos, rice, beans covered in a spicy tomatillo sauce and guac. She loved it. My wife got the flautas, which were huge. She was quite happy with her selection as well. Well priced. Don't let the location and the appearance of the build fool you, this place is a hidden gem. I highly recommend. read more

Wrong to go order AGAIN. Don't waste your time or money going there. They're awful. Couldn't even make a margarita. Had to tell the server how to make one last time I ate thete read more

We made our way to El Mariachi for an early dinner. My squad and I had been hiking all day and had a king's thirst. Luckily the big beers were flowing and that turned out to be the exact remedy we needed. The chips and salsa were superb and it was clear the salsa was freshly made. Our meals were delivered all at once which is always convenient. There is really nothing like that fajita sizzle sound getting closer and closer to your table then placed right before you. Personally I opted for the fajita quesadillas, which I found to be a tasty blend of all the good things I love about fajitas placed in a crispy tortilla. The portions were generous and we were able to replace those calories we burned on the hike in a most delicious way. Don't sleep on the gift shop section of the restaurant either, we found some very interesting items including a sweet blue alpaca cardigan that was very well made. We will be back. read more

El Mariachi - the front desk of a restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Lovingston, Virginia

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Prices are double what's listed online, Sprite tastes like Seltzer, Food was nasty dry and flavorless!

As isolated location but we found this restaurant to be authentic. Not blown away by the appearance and the food was hit or miss. The meal did take awhile, but the servers were very nice. I would still recommend to check it out as this seems to be the only mexican restaurant in the area. We enjoyed the tacos and fajitas ( not the burrito nor Chile Relleno); though they had a huge menu to try. FYI: The dips for the chips were just ok ( runny) and beans lacked a lot of flavor. read more

The food is very good. We are from the west coast and this is very comparable. I love the taco salad. Perfect size. Leaves me craving more.

Food- HORRIBLE! I never knew it was possible for your Mexican food to be tasteless! Not one speck of spice seen or tasted. We should've had a clue with the chips and watered down tomato salsa. It had the taste of a can . My daughters best friend ordered a quesadilla and guess what it didn't have? CHEESE!!!! How can it be a quesadilla with no cheese to bind it? I ordered a flautas and it was made with a hard shell taco that was deep fried. The chicken inside was canned meat that wasn't flavored at it and they had a nerve to put a tomato slice inside of the taco. My daughter had fajitas that came to the table, not simmering at ALL! None of the meat was seasoned. The beans and rice looked like a can of cat food from Dollar General. Lastly my friend ordered a Bloody Mary and it was horrible. The young lady said they put rum not vodka in their BM's. It tasted like Tomato Juice cut with water. Unbelievable Service- The young woman who waited on us was nice however the food didn't match the service so this is a little obsolete. Ambience- The outside of this restaurant says great Mexican food. When you get inside of the foyer, I was expecting the smell of well blended flavors that would excite my pallet but there was nothing to smell! All of the decor to suggest Mexican food but no smells to match. read more

I don't know what happened, but the food has really gone down hill starting around Spring of 2023. I just tried it again after not going here for 3 months and it's still bad. It's overly salty, sad dishes with dried-out almost crunchy rice and generally messed up orders (I specifically ask for chicken on two dishes and got beef on both) my wife who is a pescatarian and used to love the vege enchiladas (last two times she got it the only vege were sad canned mushrooms) and the arroz con camaron (this time no sauce). We used to get your food around 2-3 times a month but now we're afraid to try anymore. What happened guys? Service is still great, I hoped it was just that the chief went on a long summer vacation but no, it's still bad. Please make you food better once again, I love having a local Mexican place but I am now forced to go to Charlottesville. I'm sure we'll try again in several months when we feel like gambling again and are feeling too lazy to cook, please go back to making delicious food again. read more

The food was perfectly flavored with no lack of spices. Service was quick and easy. The ambiance was full of color as well as nice and clean. read more

Just picked up lunch from the Lovingston location. I have been disappointed in the past individually and going with my company for a farewell lunch. I wanted to give it another TRY and once again disappointed. Got the lunch Chimichanga and that it okay outside of the tiny (not even a tspn) of guac that was plopped on top but to pay $4.99 for a small ramekin size cheese dip that literally runs like water is just ridiculous. I give up on any food place in Lovingston. From McDonald's leaving off a whole patty on a big mac to now getting tasteless watered down Mexican food is insane. Prices high but yet no quality of food. Oh and forgot, STALE chips!!!! Nothing has a taste to it! read more

I'm impressed, I was a little worried about eating here been the first time but, I'm giving them 5 stars because the food, service and cleanliness was like that. Eat here you won't regret it. read more

El Mariachi - a plate of food and a drink - Mexican Near Me - Lovingston, Virginia

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The southwest has amazing Mexican food so I am judging this on what Mexican food is supposed to taste like. The meat is not seasoned, everything is just covered with tons of sauce and flavorless cheese. Very salty yet bland. A frozen TV dinner is about the same level of quality. Did not dine is so I cannot rate the interior. Food was barely warmed when picked up. read more

We stopped after hiking at Shenandoah national park & the food did not disappoint!! Complimentary chips & salsa while waiting for your food, I got the vegetarian fajitas (I'm vegan) and it was delicious! I had to ask for a to-go container for the leftovers. My husband got the enchiladas supreme and said it was also delicious. Highly recommend! read more

we stumbled on this place while traveling through the area a year ago. today we were repeating the same route and we both remembered the restaurant just in time to look for it. For what it is, a nice family run Mexican restaurant, it is great! food is good, facilities are clean, staff are friendly. I added it to our Apple Map app Guide for this route for future trips. read more

1st visit remarkable. The old IGA cleaned up good.Plenty of space and not cramped up. Portions were great. The taste was good not too salty or spicy. Did not finish either plates. Dip left over. Only draw back is i got 5 end pieces of a tomato on the plate. See pics. read more

El Mariachi - Arroz texano, tiera e mar, televera - Mexican Near Me - Lovingston, Virginia

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Relative to other dining options in the area, this place is good. I live in Texas and frequently visit México, so my standards are high for Mexican food. Any dish with hamburger is not Mexican, so I'll recommend fajitas and anything with azada in the name. Chilaquiles and al Pastor done right are also great. Service here has always been good. read more

AMAZING. definitely worth a stop on a family road trip or if visiting the area. The Mega margaritas are bigger than your head and anything from the Grill section on the menu is delicious. About an hour south of Charlottesville. read more

The food was pretty decent, service was great. Steak fajitas are the way to go. Fish tacos too.

El Mariachi is a terrific mexican restaurant, friendly staff, funny too, menu full of options too, tables clean and the overall atmosphere's wonderful! read more

In the words of my mom, this place is "absolutely fine". Honestly, the food was what you'd expect from a Virginian Mexican restaurant, nothing to write home about, but it definitely hit the spot. Giving them five stars because the service was great and they made an awesome margarita! I asked for one with lime juice and agave (instead of mix) and it was delicious. We'll be back for margs and sizzling fajitas for sure! read more

Cool little Mexican restaurant with what you would expect to see on the menu. There is a small store inside the restaurant as well. The service was good and the food was great. I recommend the chimichangas. read more

Overall a nice place. Friendly servers. Extremely low priced. Food is definitely above average , although not the very best I've ever had. All things considered a very good place to eat. I highly recommend the RoRo dip. Amazing! read more

I was really hopeful about this place, as I've seen many places come and fail at this location. It's rather rural, so they have to be really consistent in order to succeed, and I've already had a terrible experience here. Bummer. Not another one Lovingston! I went in there last week to try a tamal. I believe if you can do a tamale right, as a Mexican restaurant, your other food is probably going to be on point. The first tamal was great, so I gave them another try. I ordered 1 tamale, 1 fajitas texanas, and a queso fundido....... simple right? Apparently not. When I made it home I found 1 broken up tamale smothered in something unrecognizable, 2 limp beef tacos, and a tiny plate with rice, brown guac, beans, sour cream, and a half slice of tomato, oh, and the fundido was there too. There was also a small bag of chips and a little salsa. Where was the 13 dollar fajitas entre? and who asked for tacos!? and I might have still eaten the food if it hadn't looked sloppy and nasty. What I ACTUALLY DID GET looked nasty. Sigh. Oh well, sometimes a place ruins their one chance to get it right, and that's exactly what happened. Waste of money and I'm not even sure the food is fit to feed to my chickens. I don't give experiences like this second chances. I just don't. I really can't believe they completely forgot the main entre, yet somehow tossed in two gross looking tacos. Maybe they were messing with me, IDK, I just know they lost a customer. read more

Love the place which is kinda located in a sleepy town. There have been many businesses at this location and failed. This one is not the best but very good and they have excellent prices. They offer many dishes with various heat levels. I highly recommend giving them a try if your in the area. read more