Food is delicious. Ambiance is nice as you can sit inside or out. Weather was great so we choose…read moreoutside. Service was great and food came out quick and hot.

I ordered takeout for myself and another person, we had chicken enchiladas and a chicken…read morequesadilla. The chicken was like a salt lick, it was not even edible, it was horrible, a total waste of money. It was ordered from their location in Hollins.

Tucked away in a quaint and charming little house in Salem, Virginia, I stumbled upon a true gem: a…read morefamily-run, hole-in-the-wall, Mexican spot serving up flavors so genuine, they transported me back to a little Tijuana taqueria I had visited years ago. This small and unassuming Mexican restaurant, Diablos Tacos & Tamales, is located on East 4th Street, Salem, in a small strip mall next to a laundromat. At first it was hard find. I actually passed by it and had to turn around, but when I did, its restaurant front beckoned me with its charming facade. I parked my Lexus in a parking space in front of the restaurant, who's parking lot accommodated a fairly decent amount of cars. The restaurant's front comprised of a bay window and a glass door, with a pine swag along the top of the bay window and a red bow underneath of their simple, yet effective, name with logo sign above the bay window. Humble decorations for the Holiday Season, nevertheless, clearly cheering things up. As I entered the restaurant, I immediately found it quaint, with only five tables. It was very clean and had a warm, friendly environment. Its colorful furniture seemed to give it character and transport you to another place in time. A friendly young lady greeted and welcomed me and had me seat at the table of my choice. I sat at the table next to the bay window, which provided exceptional lighting for my cellphone camera to capture the food served here. I already had a feeling that it would be a genuine Mexican Cuisine, one that tasted as home-cooking as possible. My server handed me a copy of the menu and took my drink order. I ordered an Horchata drink. She then brought me a basket with freshly made tortilla chips and a little bowl of salsa. The chips were thin, crispy, and so tasty that they easily melted in your mouth giving you a joyous sensation. One of the best, if not the best tortilla chips that I have ever had. The salsa was also very unique. It was not thick but rather very liquidy, yet tasty. When my server brought me my drink, I complimented her on the chips and she confirmed that they were made in-house daily. Chatting with my server, I found out that the owners and cooks of this family restaurant were from Mexico City, and that they had opened this restaurant around two years ago. The word "Diablos," in the restaurant's name comes from the owners love of one of their soccer team: "Deportivo Toluca Futbol Club," one of the most iconic and winning teams of Mexican futbol. Also known as "Los Diablos Rojos." The team was founded in 1917 and received this name by the inspiration of one of its best players nicknamed "El Diablo." To dine, I started with 3 Street Tacos Al Pastor (made with marinated pork, chorizo, and pineapple). They were absolutely mouthwatering, starting from their in-house made tortilla, to their filling, and cilantro, onion, and salsa. Then I was going to have a Pork Tamale, but since it was Monday, and they are closed Sundays, at 2 o'clock they were still making the tamales, in order to have them fresh for dinner. So, instead I had a Burrito Al Pastor. You have to see it to believe it. I invite you to view my photographs and video clips to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. For dessert, they were out of Flan, so I ordered their other alternative dessert, Tres Leches, also made in-house. It was the most delicious Tres Leches that I have ever had. By its texture and flavor, one could tell it was home made. For in this restaurant one felt like being at home. I highly recommend it for its quality and genuine Mexican Cuisine, it relaxing ambiance, and its amazing service. All contributing to an extraordinary dining experience.

Nice people! Our order was taken quickly, fresh chips and salsa were delicious and our meal was…read morefantastic! Try the chicken soup adding crushed tortillas. The bomb! It's a hidden gem. Small, but clean and welcoming.

Tacos Rojas started 14 years ago when Octavio Rojas moved to the United States from Pueblo, Mexico,…read moreand opened the first Tacos Rojas location on 13th Street SW in Roanoke's Mountain View neighborhood. That first location opened around 2012 inside a small, unasuming space that was formally a convenience store. Octavio runs the business with close family members, including his wife, daughters, brother, nephews, and nieces. The business has grown from that single neighborhood spot into a regional favorite with multiple locations across the Roanoke Valley, including restaurants in Salem, Vinton, Keagy Village in Cave Spring Roanoke, Hollins in North Roanoke, and the Roanoke City Market Building. The restaurants are known for homemade, traditional Mexican dishes like street tacos, birria, large burritos, and fresh salsas. And have gain great popularity for combining a casual, welcoming atmosphere with scratch-made food. Today I happened to be in Salem to do some errands and try out the Tropical Sno Hawaiian Shaved Ice, which happened to be located in this restaurant's parking lot. Since it was around lunchtime and the Shaved ice place didn't open until 12 noon, I decided to visit Tacos Rojas and have lunch there. The restaurant was very clean inside and decorated with paintings that I later found out were of family members. It had a nice size main dining room and another spacious one that could be set-up to accommodate larger groups. A young lady greeted and welcomed me at the Host's station and took me to one of the booths. I ordered a Virgin Mango Margarita to drink, and by the time she came back with some freshly made chips and salsa, I was ready to order. I ordered the Lunch Special of the Day which was a California Burrito with Beef. While I waited I enjoyed their amazing salsa with the chips. The Mango Margarita was also delicious with the prefect flavor and consistency to comfortably flow up the straw. The California Burrito was gigantic in size and very good. It filled me up but I still had space for a flan for dessert. Made in-house the Flan tasted amazingly delicious. I invite you to view my photographs and videos accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the high-quality of their food and drinks. The restaurant also had a stage setup and I was told it was mainly used for group parties and special occasions. In conclusion, I enjoyed my lunch dining experience there and look forward to returning another day for dinner to try out one of their other larger dinner items on their menu.

Excellent food in a great atmosphere. Service was wonderful and our needs were attended to with…read morecareful attention to detail. Highly recommended!

Out of all family-owned Mexican restaurants mini-local-chains with more than two restaurants in the…read morearea, Alejandro's Mexican Grill is one of them. The others being El Rodeo, Tacos Rojas, and Pancho Mexican Restaurant. Besides this Alejandro's Mexican Grill in Salem, Virginia, there are two more locations in Roanoke, Virginia. One is on Campbell Ave in the Historic Roanoke City Market area, and the other is in the Hollins area at the corner of Peters Creek and Williamson Rd. Established in Downtown Roanoke, in November of 2007, by co-owners Moises and Lisa Nucamendi. Their second location in the Hollins area was then opened in December of 2008. And finally this, their third location, located in the Mill Lane Commons Shopping Center, in Salem, Virginia, was opened in June of 2019. I have already dined and reviewed the other two restaurants and invite you to read those reviews and view my photographs accompanying them. The restaurants are known for their authentic California-style Mexican Food, their popular salsa bar, and award-winning margaritas. Their menu includes traditional and authentic Mexican items such as Mexican Sopes, Tacos, Enchiladas, Tortas, Chiles Rellenos, and Flautas, among others. Their dessert Flan is made in-house by their head cook, and have the reputation of being delicious. When I arrived, their restaurant's front did not look at all very fancy. And from what my server told me, the restaurant used to be twice the size, but they gave up the extra space due to the poor economy caused in part by the Covid years. Their interior decor and furniture is outdated yet in good condition, clean and very comfortable. Mexican artworks decorate the walls of the place and is what gives it an air of distinction. The ceiling lamps and lighting treatment also help give the restaurant some class. As soon as I entered the restaurant, a gentleman Host greeted me and took me to one of the booths of the restaurant. It was early for dinner but since I hadn't had lunch so I didn't seen to mind, and there was a large party dining there at the moment as well. My server, a friendly young gentleman from Honduras, gave me a warm greeting and took my order. To drink I had a Virgen Mango Margarita and a glass of iced water. For appetizer I just enjoyed their wonderful chips and the salsa from the Salsa Bar. As my main entrée I had 4 Flautas (2 pork carnitas and 2 shredded beef). They came accompanied with Mexican rice and refried beans. And topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and shredded cheese. The salsa bar was very clean and the salsa looked very fresh. The tortilla chips were also freshly made and one of the best tortilla chips I've ever had. However the flautas had much to be desired. The tortillas that they were wrapped in were not fried crunchy as they should have been, and the shredded beef was overly seasoned and too spicy. Yet the pork from the carnitas was seasoned and cook to perfection, and the rice and refried beans were good as well. My servered came to check on me at the appropriate times and in time for me to order dessert for the Grand Finale of my dining experience. Of course I ordered their in-house made Flan dessert. And I can assure you it was delicious and wonderfully presented. In conclusion I found the ambiance of the place to be pleasant and friendly, even though the decor was not too modern. Most of the food was good, and the customer service was excellent, so I wouldn't hesitate to return next time I'm around the area. I particularly enjoyed the Virgen Mango Margarita, their Chips and Salsa, and their in-house made Flan.

We enjoyed a fabulous meal in June 2026 at Alejandro's restaurant in Salem, VA. The prices were a…read moregreat value with large portions of terrific tasting food! Our order was not quite right (they brought 3 floats instead of 4), although eating just two of them with beans and rice was more than enough after snacking on delicious chips and the MANY choices of salsa. They then over compensated by giving us even more floats that we had to take home afterwards. The server was very competent, attentive, professional, courteous, and quite helpful. We are eagerly planning our next visit to this restaurant we very highly recommend you enjoy!!

I found myself in Roanoke, VA for Cinco de Mayo, and found this joint somewhat close to my hotel…read more(Springhill Suites which was awesome). I pulled up and I'm 99 percent sure this used to be a Pizza Hut. The 1% skeptic in me didn't see a table top Pac Man machine, so I could have been wrong. Back to the Mexican cuisine, I kept it simple with tacos, and loved that I could order 3 different tacos. I went with the Al Pastor (good), Chicken (great), and Steak (dry and meh) tacos and was in and out pretty quickly. It was already later in the evening so it wasn't too crowded. I'd probably hit something else in Roanoke if I was here, but it wasn't bad for what I was looking for on May 5th!

I can't believe this place isn't more popular…read more Went here for my birthday and everything was SO fresh and delicious. It was a Friday night at 5:30 and no one was eating in the restaurant! This is a SHAME as this place should be hopping! We will definitely be back! Yum yum!!!

Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant is located in a nicely designed but older restaurant building with…read morecolorful furniture off Peters Creek Road in Roanoke, Virginia. Many times my friend and I had driven by this restaurant wondering how it would look inside and how the food would be. From past experience Mexican restaurants were either amazingly good or unfortunately poor. So today we decided to go and try it out. No longer would it be a mystery to us. We had no idea of how the ambiance would be inside, nor the customer service, nor the quality of the food. We arrived around 4:45pm for an early dinner on a Tuesday late afternoon. The outside architectural design of the building was full of arches, hence the restaurant's name of "Los Arcos." It had a nice outdoor patio dining area surrounded by a low wall full of upside-down arches. Since it was a record high temperature day, there was no one dining outside, but the area looked nice with each round iron table having a large red umbrella to protect customers from the sun. When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted and immediately taken to our table and given copies of the menu. The menu was very well organized with subject tabs and color photographs of their most popular items. When our server came by to take our order, we both ordered iced water to drink and as our main meal my friend ordered the Enchiladas Mixtas and I ordered the Burrito Jalisco with grilled steak rirfrom the Specialties of the House page of the menu. As we waited for our server to arrive with our meals, we munched on the complimentary Chips and Salsa. The chips tasted good although they didn't look that fresh and the salsa looked nice but tended to be on the hot side, with no mild available. When our food arrived, my friend enjoyed his. Mine had missing the pico de gallo side. The chorizo was very tasty as it should be, but I question the steak quality. Not that it was hard or brittle, on the contrary, I felt that it was too soft and spongy. It was seasoned right with lots of lemon juice, but it's texture left a lot to be desired, especially to me who am a steak connoisseur and afictionado. The side of rice was a bit dry and lacked freshness. The dessert menu selection was a very good one, and their photographs made them look so good, yet they were the greatest disappointment of our meal and dining experience. We both ordered Churro Cups. By now the restaurant was almost half full, but this was no reason for the time to prepare and serve our dessert to have taken longer than to serve our food. Then the crust of the Churro Cup was overcooked and hard. By hard I mean I was not able to cut it nor eat it. Yet it looked so good that you would have never imagined that it was inedible. I even asked for a knife to cut it and was unsuccessful. I asked one of the servers for the manager and he told me there was no manager, that he was out until 6:00pm. So I was not able to complain about the dessert or have it comped. The menu of this Mexican restaurant is amazing but I find that the quality of the food and execution of cooking them is lacking from the part of the cooks there. And the absence of a manager on the premises is questionable. For this reason and for the problems I encountered with my meal there, I don't think I will return, especially with so many good Mexican restaurants around. It's a pity because otherwise this restaurant has the potential of being a great one.

Food: The best Tex-Mex in the Valley with great margaritas…read more Service: Good Ambiance: crowded, but worth the hassle Parking: Its bad. Small parking lot which fills up quickly.

This is a lovely family-owned restaurant located in Keagy Village, a relatively new and modern…read morestrip mall in Cave Spring, Virginia. Even though there are several Tacos Rojas around, each one is owned and operated by a different family member, with the same menu, but slightly different ambience and decor. What I liked about this restaurant was the modern yet simple exterior architectural design, and small but warm and cozy interior. Its location is also very beautiful, where from the back window you can see a beautiful landscape surrounded by mountains. A friend and I decided to go visit this restaurant for an early dinner the day after 5 de mayo and overall we weren't disappointed. We were fortunate enough to have been greeted and welcomed by the owner himself who was very friendly and kind. We sat at a table near the back of the restaurant and at the time were the only customers there. A basket of Tortilla Chips and Salsa was brought to our table and they were very fresh and delicious. My friend ordered a dish with two Chimichangas, one beef and one chicken, and I ordered the Carnitas Burrito. The food was very good and my burrito was humongous, although its temperature was somewhat lukewarm and this detracted from its flavor and rating for this restaurant. There is no reason for an empty restaurant to be be serving lukewarm food. For dessert we both had a slice of their Flan, which had the right consistency, flavor, and temperature. Overall this was a very clean and cozy restaurant, with a small bar, in a beautiful location, with an appropriate decor, serving quality Mexican food. If the manager listens to my constructive feedback and takes action, I would no hesitate in returning and highly recommending the restaurant for its food and great service.

My wife and I visited Taco Rojas for an early dinner. It was our first time there, and we were…read morethoroughly impressed. We ordered the Big Quesadillas, which were incredibly generous in size and bursting with flavor. The service was exceptional, and we left feeling grateful for the delicious meal and the friendly staff.

This is our go to Mexican restaurant in Roanoke. The food is fantastic. The service is great. The…read moreatmosphere is welcoming and everyone has fun. Mexican food at its finest!

I have become a regular. I love the food and the service . Their guacamole is great. Give them a tryread more