This is my favorite carne asada spot. Even though the prices have increased ($30+) and the portion is not as generous, the flavor is still there. Joined during happy hour for half price margaritas. Dee used to go for the swirl and it was refreshing. Also tried the quesa-birria and the consomé was flavorful. I love their salsa and chips. I probably ate two bowls! Always come back for more and don't end up smelling like I made the carne asada, as it had been my experience at Guapos. read more

** If I could rate this place "Are you kidding me?" I would.** Let me start by saying that I have eaten inside at this restaurant dozens of times over the last 20 years, and it has always been my go-to for Mexican food. I've defended it, recommended it, and practically paid part of their rent by now. However, tonight I made the apparently fatal mistake of ordering **to-go**. The order was simple enough that a distracted goldfish could've nailed it: * One chicken fajita for my niece * A salad for my wife * A MEDIUM RARE steak fajita for me After a one-hour round-trip drive, we opened the bag to discover a performance piece titled *"How To Ruin a Loyal Customer in Three Easy Steps."* * No dressing on my wife's salad * No chicken fajita for my niece * And a "medium rare" steak fajita cooked so far past well-done that it qualified as charcoal. Honestly, my niece made out better with her *nonexistent* chicken than I did with whatever incinerated mystery meat they sent. We called to report the missing and mangled order, only to be transferred like a hot potato and met with a surly tone that suggested we were inconveniencing them by asking for, you know, the food we paid for. We hung up when it became clear the only thing they were serving that night was attitude. Needless to say, this is the **last** time I will ever order to-go from this establishment. After two decades of loyalty, this was the culinary equivalent of a breakup text. Do better. Or don't. I'm officially out. read more

Picked up takeout from uncle Julio's yesterday and here's my honest review. Fajitas are good (though a little pricey) - they give you enough protein and the guacamole is delicious. But the corn and patatas bravas with the ribs special was not the best. Both were too saucy unfortunately. I always enjoy the ambiance at rio and it's a cute spot in the water. Service was quick and our pick up order was easy on time. I'll be back likely for Happy hour! read more

Uncle Julio's - Chicken fajitas - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Me and Uncle Julio, down by the schoolyard! Nice food, atmosphere. The chocolate piñata is so much fun to whack away at.

10.22.25 My department recently held a retreat, and I was responsible for ordering a catered lunch for 39 people. My employer has a $1,000 spending threshold for outside caterers, and fortunately, our total stayed within budget. I ordered the Fajita Fiesta - Express Deluxe package, along with cheese, sour cream, lemonade, and iced tea. The Deluxe package conveniently included disposable chafing dishes to keep the food warm, as well as plates, serving utensils, and cutlery. On the day of the event, I received a text notification when the delivery team was en route. Roberto and Melvin arrived in an unmarked van and handled the setup professionally. Since our retreat was taking place in the same room where lunch was being served, I appreciated their thoughtfulness in prepping much of the setup outside to minimize noise and distractions. My only two minor critiques are that a disposable bowl for the beverage ice would have been helpful, and the provided tongs were a bit small--larger ones would have been more practical. Otherwise, the lunch was excellent. The chicken and steak were grilled to perfection--tender, moist, and flavorful. The nachos, guacamole, pico de gallo, grilled vegetables, beans, and tortillas were all fresh and delicious. We had quite a bit of food left over, though that was likely because a few attendees who had RSVP'd did not show up. In hindsight, I could have reduced the order by about 5-10 servings. Overall, exceptional customer service and delicious food. I highly recommend their catering service. read more

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Went here on Sunday and had a good experience. Got the chips and salsa to start which was good. The chips were fresh and the roasted salsa was tasty. Ordered the watermelon margarita and the mango margarita. I liked the mango margarita better. Got the crab and shrimp enchilada which was good and flavorful. The only downside was the service. The server took a long time to check on us and provide the check. Other than that, good experience. read more

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Uncle Julio's has always been a solid bit... not today, unfortunately. Low score for two reasons: bones in the fish taco, and the tableside guacamole was terrible. We had to make it right ourselves. However, stars because the drinks were on point, and the manager apologize profusely for the dangerous bones in the taco our server was so kind and polite, we really appreciated that. Would I go back to this location? Not sure. The ambience was a little muted, not typical of my normal Uncle Julio's experience. read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

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You gotta try taco Tuesday! We've been meaning to for awhile and it did not disappoint . We all know Uncle Julio's isn't what it once was when the Rio Grande staff told us "we don't do happy hour we don't need to". Well now they have half priced drinks during happy hour and there's never a wait or crowd anymore on weekends‍ It's still the best free chips and salsa anywhere, nice servers and the ability to handle large groups is a plus. The pricing on taco Tuesday is not transparent but here is how it works... regular ground beef and pulled chicken make your own tacos with all the fixens was $12/per person and a reload on the meat was 6 bucks which doubled the amount of tacos. Upgrade to fajita steak and chicken was $20 per person and we didn't reload on the meat cause there was plenty. They didn't charge for extra cheese or sour cream or corn when we ran out. #worthit! read more

Uncle Julio's - Beautiful presentation for $12/person at lunch on Tuesdays - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Usually when you're starving, food tastes even better. We were so disappointed with our meals that we literally ate a few bites and were done. The server was really nice about it and asked if we wanted something else but I just wasn't feeling it anymore and kindly declined. My bf got the pork ribs dish that included corn that was mixed with sour cream (I think), sausages that were super spicy and cheesy wedge fries w/bacon. He only ate the ribs and a few sausages. I got the Maria dish which includes a chicken taco (hard shell), chicken tamale & cheese enchilada. None of it was good. We'll go back as we do like their carne asada & steak fajitas though. But the dishes we had today just didn't workout. Super disappointing. read more

Uncle Julio's - Ribs & sausage combo - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

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We made reservations for 6 pm on a Friday in August. WOW. Good thing we did - it was packed! I like how spread out the dining room is. It's not your traditional Mexican restaurant where there's a bunch of booths and tables squeezed together. The tables were spread out and big enough for large parties and even a double wide stroller to sit between our table and the wall. The service was great. Our server was quick despite how busy it was. The food was prepared quickly! I got the steak fajitas. OMG. It was delicious! A large mound of thinly cut strips of streak, accompanied by a large portion of rice, fried onions and peppers, sour cream, guacamole and shredded cheese. Don't forget the three warm tortillas! Everyone in my party was happy with their large portions. This resistant is in a busy area and parking in the parking garages can be a nightmare but it's a beautiful area with a nice paved loop around the lake. read more

We dined in a few times. Usually get the table side guac so I can customize it without tomatoes since I can't customize the other ready made guac on the appetizers. Which isn't a big deal to me since I'm still getting what I prefer. Fajitas were great, I love that the tortillas were so warm & soft. My husband just grabbed a steak quesadilla since he wasn't too hungry. The server was good but seemed overwhelmed juggling multiple tables in different sections. Throughout the time we were there she did check up on us & refilled our chips. We weren't in a rush but some tables were waiting a bit to check out especially the bigger groups. We actually had a different server check us out since we waited so long. But, since she was so attentive we didn't mind it. We have not yet tried any dessert, but plan on to next time. Parking on the street was available at the time. But, there's also a huge parking garage right a few steps away. read more

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Honestly, food just wasn't good. My fajita plate wasn't even hot. Everything was bland.. maybe because they were busy this night but the only thing that was good was the kids quesadilla and supreme nachos. Thank you to my server Yazan for being attentive. I don't recommend returning though. read more

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My party of six people was seat at a booth meant for 4, we asked our server if we can switch tables and our server went to go ask one of the managers and they said no. We were squished and uncomfortable, horrible customer service. read more

Uncle Julio's - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Always fun and food is satisfying. Beans were delivered to table cold. Server fixed issue. Took a minute. Manager came over and apologized. Excellent customer service. We have been here before and will be back. We always enjoy our time here. read more

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I should've known than to come to a 3 star Chain restaurant but we parked next to them, the food smelled good and I had 2 hungry kids with us. We were seated at 11:20, the place was nearly empty so we figured we would get serviced fast. By 11:50, we still hadn't even gotten our chips. No one came by! By the time our server finally came, he looked so overwhelmed but, we immediately placed our orders and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally at 12:30, I went to speak to the kitchen manager (who btw looked like he had no light in his eyes either) about how we waited over an hour and we will probably need to leave if food doesn't come out by 12:45. He said that they had a big party they need to serve first and then 2 table after than it'll be us. We left empty stomached at 12:50pm. By then the restaurant was filling up and I am almost certain the food wasn't gonna come out anytime soon. We had to pivot to potbelly's cause my kids were gonna lose it at this point. I don't wanna give one star because I never even got to taste the food. I mean, it smelled good but they need to get it together. read more

We decided to go here after some recommendations from friends, I don't know if it's a knock on the restaurant but unfortunate that they don't have many vegetarian options. The ambiance and space is super big on the inside and nice! Easily could host a large party or even a private dining in the back room! The food we got was delicious... to the point we didn't get a picture of it! Haha, and there's plenty of parking. read more

Came to update my review. I finally revisited Uncle Julio's after my last experience and I was pleased to my surprise. I tried the Birria taco appetizer, and had a beef taco salad. Everything was delicious and fresh. The place was packed so we sat at the bar and got immediate service from the bartender who was also lovely. She wasn't shy with the pours and the bar was clean. The food came out fast which was nice because it was so crowded. Had an overall great experience and wouldn't mind coming back. read more

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I enjoy this Uncle Julio's location at The Rio. It is a good option for traditional Mexican and TexMex at a good price and casual feel. The customer service and food is always good. I normally visit on Sunday afternoons and have experienced foot traffic that you'd normally expect from people enjoying a meal outside of their homes on a Sunday. That said, I've never had to wait for a table on a Sunday afternoon despite how busy it normally is. In general, virtually all of the restaurants at The Rio are busy on Sundays, however, the restaurants are so large it's virtually impossible to have wait times. The fajitas here are absolutely delicious. They are always fresh and so are the flour tortillas. The baja fish tacos are also delicious. Their complimentary chips and salsa are delicious. Uncle Julio's also has a decent kids menu and while basic, they have typical American and TexMex options. There is parking lot and garage nearby. Give them a try. read more

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Uncle Julio's is about great Mexican food made from scratch, with love and dedication. They believe true passion can transform a good dining experience into an unforgettable one. Each and every bite and sip is bursting with terrific flavor. I gotta say, I'm really impressed. When I want Mexican food, it's either Unc J, or Guapos. No questions asked. Lately they've also gone more sustainable and healthy which is phenomenal. Gone are the humongous servings of rice, beans, and chips that accompany family meals. Instead they use individualized portions which are so much better for portion control and for healthy eating. #healthy #tasty #sustainability #Mexican #Cuisine #NomNomGood read more

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We were a party of 5 seated immediately when every other restaurant in the Rio complex was at least a 45 minute wait without reservations. That should've been a read flag but we were exhausted and hungry. Server was new and told us that this was only her fourth day but she was great. Everyone had trouble communicating their order to the server because the restaurant ambiance is loud! However, she nailed our orders. The salsa and table side guacamole were our starters and they were delicious. After that, the wheels fell off! It took nearly 40 minutes for our entrees to come out even though the restaurant was mostly empty. I got the hand-pulled chicken burrito bowl. The chicken didn't taste like anything, lots of toppings, and the rice tasted like lime....so much lime. I was hungry but chose to go back to chips and dip. My daughter got chicken fajitas and the chicken looked like frozen grilled chicken breast and had the texture of it. She ate very little and followed me to the chips. Her boyfriend got some beef thing and abandoned it half way. My son got the steak bowl. He ate the steak and left the rest because of the limey rice. We were a party of 5 seated immediately when every other restaurant in the Rio complex was at least a 45 minute wait without reservations. That should've been a read flag but we were exhausted and hungry. Server was new and told us that this was only her fourth day but she was great. Everyone had trouble communicating their order to the server because the restaurant ambiance is loud! However, she nailed our orders. The salsa and table side guacamole were our starters and they were delicious. After that, the wheels fell off! It took nearly 40 minutes for our entrees to come out even though the restaurant was mostly empty. I got the hand-pulled chicken burrito bowl. The chicken didn't taste like anything, lots of toppings, and the rice tasted like lime....so much lime. I was hungry but chose to go back to chips and dip. My daughter got chicken fajitas and the chicken looked like frozen grilled chicken breast and had the texture of it. She ate very little and followed me to the chips. Her boyfriend got some beef thing and abandoned it half way. My son got the steak bowl. He ate the steak and left the rest because of the limey rice. read more

Food is good and they listen when you make special requests. The chocolate dessert with the fruit is amazing.

The place has a much a Mexican atmosphere as your common fat food taco joint. The service was OK at best. After we got our drinks, nobody came by to fill our water, maybe because we were a party of 8, and they knew they were getting tipped. The little bowls of salsa were ok, but once the small portion was done, we got no refills. The portions of food were ok, but everything lacked taste, it was a thou they made the bare minimum to get a resemblance of Mexican look, never mind taste. Needless to say, the DMV doesn't lack for Mexican places, but uncle Julio is not for my family. read more

they used to have the best carne asada dish but now they changed it so it does not taste as good. meat is not as good

Overall, it feels like Uncle Julio's service and food quality have declined. The portion sizes seem noticeably smaller and it no longer feels like youre getting the same value for the price. We were there to celebrate, so we ordered the chocolate piñata. While it tasted good it was overpriced, with too much chocolate forming the shell and not enough churros inside. We ended up leaving a good portion of the chocolate behind. read more

I like Uncle Julio's. The food tastes good, the portions are nice and the service generally is good. They put chips and salsa (two different salsas!) on the table upon your arrival and are good with keeping water glasses filled by serving the water in a large bottle (we older folks would call it an old milk bottle). Anyway, this post is about the Tuesday Taco Special. For $12 per person, you are served a rotating wooden serving plate with pulled chicken, ground beef, shredded lettuce, tomato pieces, two cheeses, roasted corn pieces, jalapeno and two sauces. Each person gets three soft or hard tortillas. Went there yesterday and there was plenty to eat for two - in fact, we couldn't finish all the chicken. I recommend. We sat outside as it was a nice day and it can get pretty loud inside the restaurant. read more

Uncle Julio's - Taco Tuesday. $12 per person with a 2 person minimum. - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

It's over. Uncle Julio's is no longer Uncle Julio's. The queso is no longer good, the tortillas have changed and are tiny - another corporate take over has tanked a brand. Uncle Julio's had survived many acquisitions over the years, previous owners didn't mess with recipes -- this time they did and they also took down the quality. It was a slow and then abrupt change, I'll be at Guapos until the real Uncle Julio's returns (prob never). read more

Has such a great experience at Uncle Julio's last night my friend and I went here for a pre movie dinner and it was spectacular. They had an amazing taco Tuesday deal where you and a friend (or more) could order a revolving taco plate to build your own tacos for $12 per person. We ordered that but then discovered that the ground beef and shredded chicken inexplicably had gluten it in. As I have an allergy? Our sever came by to check and was able to upgrade us to steak and chicken. He checked several times with all the toppings as well and I was extremely grateful. We even had the manager to come by and assure that all was taken care of allergy wise. I was so impressed! I don't think I've ever been somewhere where they took allergies so seriously! I really appreciated that. The restaurant also has the cutest decor and the food was excellent. We'll definitely be coming back, especially on Tuesdays for that taco deal! read more

Uncle Julio's - Taco Tuesday Platter - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Visited for a mid-afternoon "Linner". Admittedly I have not been here for a few months and after today probably won't ever go back. Service was fine although it was difficult to hear the server over all the noise and the soft voice. The issues were the new menu and the Swirlie Margarita. What happened to classics like a flour enchilada with choice of beef, chicken or cheese? Everything had some "special sauce". Portions are small but prices are still high for the quantity/quality. My wife likes the Swirlie Margaritas which is why we go here over Guapo's (I prefer Guapo's salsa and their menu items but...happy wife, happy life). This won't be an issue going forward as her Swirlie Margarita was not frozen and tasted "off". Someone might want to clean, I mean DEEP CLEAN that machine. Too bad because I used to like Uncle Julio's enough to go there instead of Guapo's when wanting basic simple "Mexican" food. No more read more

First off, this Mexican restaurant never disappoints with the ambience, the fresh foods & drinks made to order, & warm hospitality from the workers. The presentation for these dishes are marvelous, you can tell the chefs pay attention to detail, there's always some pop of color in there & garnishes to complete the look. As I was walking towards the restroom from the bar area, something caught my eye & I look to my left and notice one of the employees making fresh tortillas from this huge machine press. The reliability this could provide me if I had one of these things in my home?? Man.. The ceviche, enchiladas, and honey chipotle salmon are a must if you like seafood. I will say that they only give you 4 chips for the ceviche so if you are looking to munch on more than 4 tortilla chips then you could divulge in the chips the server usually provides that pairs with salsa, & it's free! I love how every dish included some sort of vegetable to make it balanced. The star of the show was the chocolate piñata, a fun & interactive way to get enjoy fresh fruits & indulge in sweet chocolate. Typically, it's ordered on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries & they do give you A LOT OF FRUIT. You may need to take some to go because it's a generous portion. read more

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It's what you would expect from a family style Mexican restaurant. Good if that's what you are looking for, but I prefer either more authentic Mexican or Taco Bell. This is like the worst of both worlds. read more

oh man this makes me sad. I've been going to UJ for years. We went on a Friday night expecting it to be very busy. We had a reservation but it wasn't busy and we got seated pretty fast. The first thing we noticed was that the kids menus were gone. No more coloring pages for this kids, just a small kids menu in the corner of the regular menu. Then our server came quickly and we ordered drinks. We ordered an app and food. Everything came out before our drinks. The "sizzling Fajitas" were cold, still no drinks. When I asked the waitress, she just offered for the manager to come over. So manager comes, doesn't comp anything, doesn't apologize, just gives a new one. Then the waitress must have been embarrassed because she pretty much stopped coming to our table. This place used to be so fun and service and food used to be much better quality. Save your money and spend it at Guapos instead! read more

The food was really good. It was snowing all day but we went out anyway. The service was really good. I like the decor. It gives the place a homey ranch feel. If you like guacamole then you should try the table side guacamole. It is great to have guacamole made at the table exactly how you like it. It's f you come here you should really try the various Fajita meals. It was very good and filling. If you want to avoid port make sure you request the black beans with your Fajita because they are vegetarian. This is a place that you can easily make one of your regular places. read more

Uncle Julio's - Chocolate Piñata - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

This place has gone downhill fast. Everything about our last meal there was terrible. The service was awful, the waiters unprofessional. The food from simple things like nachos to the main courses was badly prepared. It was noisy and crowded. We used to like this place. We won't be back. read more

Bad experience at many different levels. There was a lack of attention, slow service, and subpar food. We had a reservation for dinner. When we arrived, they said our table would be ready soon and they would text us. About 15 minutes later, no update. When we asked the hostess, she had no idea who we were. she seemed to have forgotten about us. Once we got seated, we saw many empty tables. They were not even that busy... It took a very long time before we were even served water, and we had to wait again a long time before we could place an order. When they brought our cocktails, they were not sure which was which and had to go back and forth to the bar to confirm. For appetizers, we shared a few things - ceviche: not great but decent - birria: this was actually pretty good - table side guacamole: by far the worst guacamole we've ever had. It lacked lemon juice and salt, also the tomatoes had a bad overpowering taste. We had to ask the waiter to bring us lemon juice for us to fix up their guac. Even after that, it was still gross because of the tomatoes that were not fresh For mains, three of us got carne asada - 2 mediums, 1 medium rare. Again, they were not sure which was which. It seems only one was medium and two were medium rare. One of us enjoyed it, two of us thought it was chewy and did not taste great. We were not able to eat more than a couple of bites. A friend packed the steak leftovers for her dog. It was definitely apparent to the staff that the guac and steak were both bad. However, nobody ever came to ask how the food was, nobody tried to make it right to us. I saw the manager stop by a few tables, but never came to see us. Restaurants can have a bad day, but things were consistently bad at many levels, which matches other reviewers opinion. I came in with low expectations but this was way worse than expected read more

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I had to make a last minute decision and I hit the jackpot!!! I was planing a birthday party for my granddaughter's 21st birthday at my house. Unfortunately, I had a fever and could not entertain here. I remember being an Uncle Julio's a few times and the one in Gaithersburg at Rio was a convenient location for everyone. I had to stay home and miss the party but there were 16 people invited and everyone had a great time and loved the atmosphere and atmosphere he food. The waitress took a fabulous picture and got everyone in it!!! That was very special for me since I couldn't be there. Everyone ordered what they wanted and got the chocolate piñata...which was a delicious dessert and enough for everyone. I was going to bring a cake, as that is allowed and then remembered the Chocolate piñata!!! The birthday celebration was fantastic thanks to Uncle Julio's read more

I had a great time there the music was great,the service was excellent very consistent. The food was very delicious it was my first time there I was told it was an expensive restaurant maybe it is for a big family but i have a family of 3 so not that bad at definitely recommend going for dates and birthday. read more

So, my family has always been regulars here at Don's at at Rio and still ar however, last week we came in with our whole family (party of 7). We were seated quickly, ordered drinks and when they got delivered our server dumped two full drinks right in my wifes lap and a third on the table. Our server clearly flustered tried to clean it up but failed but, she's was an absolute sweetheart, got us a new table and continued as our server at another table. My dish was really good (Shrimp Dinner) but my wife ordered the fried Tacos which were just not good, can't put our fingers on it, but they were bad. The manger did come over, spend like 45 seconds with us and really did not care about our issues, it was very clear. Suggestion- when we order appitizers, give the table little side plates so everyone isn't digging in the food and double dipping read more

uncle julio's has good food, but don't come in a rush! the tableside guac we ordered didn't come for 40 minutes and by that point our meals had already come out. we watched the guac cart move (veryyyy slowly) from table to table and our waitress was nowhere to be found. everyone enjoyed their food, but i do wish they gave a bit more protein for the fajitas for the price. of course you get all the side stuff but i could've eaten more chicken. big restaurant with indoor and outdoor patio seating, it can get a bit loud inside. i've never been there and had it not be crowded - make a reservation but you still might have to wait. parking is a bit of trouble bc it's in a big shopping center, but there are garages a 2-5 min walk away. would go back but not obsessed! read more

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I love coming to Uncle Julio's! Their patio is so cute with a great view of rio, it's also much quieter outside than inside. I always start off with a grand swirl, it is both the prettiest and tastiest drink on their menu! Their queso is really good too they put pico in it for a nice crunch. Their chicken fajitas are delicious I love the flour tortillas and the spread of toppings and sauces they give you. I've never had an issue with service here. The last time I went they were clearly short staffed and the manager stepped in to take our order and make sure everything was going well with our meal! They have an extensive menu with something for everyone! read more

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The happy hour was amazing! Carlos (bartender) was busy but gave great service! The ambiance was perfect and the food is tasteful with quality! read more

Uncle Julio's - "The" Margarita - Mexican Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

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