Mary’s Restaurant Pollo A La Brasa

Worst customer service I’ve seen at any latino restaurant. Waited a few minutes before they noticed someone was in the restaurant. One of the cooks look at us and rolled her eyes. We decided to walk out and not eat there. As we walked out, they started mumbling in Spanish we did not hear what they said. if you would like to have bad customer service go here if not, STAY AWAY!

Definitely very happy that I decided to take the plunge and eat my lunch here! I had two papusas. One pork and one with beans. I am giving four stars because, while the employees did eventually get the food to the non-​Spanish speaking patrons, it sometimes took a while because they called out the orders in Spanish when they were ready to be picked up from the counter. Another nice thing is that the kitchen is visible right behind the counter… I personally like being able to see what’s going on in the kitchen!

I actually ordered the pupusa with beans and pork and it came out very good … Don’t know what the bad reviews were about! My dad doesn’t speak much Spanish but they were super nice and patient

Probably one of the most lackluster Peruvian chicken joints I’ve been to. This place is located in a small strip mall that was renovated on the exterior, but the interior of the business feels dismal and looks dirty. The folks working here seem indifferent to customers. Kinda felt like leaving but wanted to give the benefit of my doubt and ordered the chicken with some sides. Chicken was just ok, nothing terribly special. Definitely not worth coming back.

I’ve been there a few times over the last two years. The food is always decent with good prices. After my experience on ⁸⁄₂₃ I will never go back. The place was dirtier that usual. I asked the staff to clean the table, They just wiped the table with an old used rag that did nothing more than smear the grease around the table. I asked for trays for myself and my kids. The staff pointed to a stack of trays. The stack were the used uncleaned trays that the previous customers used. They said that those was the only trays that they had. The whole place was filthy. If the dining area was that filthy and their standards so low, I would hate to see their kitchen.

I couldn’t believe the rating for this place after trying their food. I have lived in the area for over a year and neglected Mary’s solely due to their Unilocal rating. I was told by a half Peruvian gentleman that it was actually quite delicious so I thought I’d give it a try. DONT BE FOOLED BY THE DECOR. This is a hole in the wall type of place (those seem to have some of the best foods) so the appearance may be misleading. I have the Lomo Saltado and it was great, especially for the price and portion. Based on quality, portion, and cost this was a great deal. It is also a place that seemed to have alot of locals which is always a good thing. As I always say, don’t trust a skinny chef! Anyways this place is definitely worth trying!

Avoid this place if you can and drive to a different place with better customer service and better food.

The food is average good and you have to expect long waits even when you order ahead of time. The people working seem to hate their jobs and therefore their customer service is just terrible. Especially when it comes down to the owner. It used to be an ok place to stop by now the waiting and bad customer service will make us dodge this place.

You have to be determined to find this place tucked between a carwash and a laundromat (and not where the Unilocal map indicates it is).
First, some don’ts. Don’t go for the atmosphere. The furnishings are shabby and haphazard under fluorescent lights. Don’t go for the service. There is none to speak of and the staff is borderline surly. Don’t go for the chicken, in spite of the top billing it is given. Don’t go for the chopped iceburg lettuce salad without dressing.
The food is authentically Peruvian. We had the carne asada and lomo saltada. Judging from the wait time, they were freshly prepared. The meat was tender and flavorful. The rice tasted as though it was straight from Lima.
This is a place where you sit down, eat, and get out. In spite of all the negatives, we would return for the authentic cuisine.

Just tried this place for the heck of it and its close to my place. Was not happy with the chicken and other side orders. Chicken was not moist and flavorful. It was dry. I know I won’t be going back to this place.

I ordered ¼ chicken, rice, and salad. It was pretty good and the staff was very friendly!
I saw that they had beer which was nice. A few construction workers had some with their meal.

I ordered their chicken rotisserie and although it looked yummy it was hardly yummy at all. It was over cooked and dry tasting. The seasoning wasn’t that great but I guess that’s what happens when you don’t have all the juices to absorb all the nice flavors.
I saw other people order other stuff and they looked delicious. I may come back but I dunno since the chicken really disappointed me. It is after all a rotisserie joint so they should be great at cooking that stuff right?

Went here during peak lunch hour one day. Latinos made up 85% of the clientele this visit. I’m not saying that’s good or bad… i know there are people who think because the natives/​locals of the food eat it that it’s got to be good, but that’s not the case. I also find it funny when people say «I’m mexican and i know good mexican food.» everything will taste different to everyone.
anyhow, I just ordered chicken and a couple of sides… it took much longer than one would expect to have the chicken cut in half and put into a styrofoam box with the sides. I wish they would serve such orders that don’t need to be cooked much quicker.
As for the food, the chicken was ok. On the salty and slightly dry side. The green sauce was super spicy which was good. Didn’t try the yellow sauce. The beans were all pureed… it’s not something you eat with a fork, but with a spoon or just drink it down or dip stuff in it. Or i guess you pour it over your rice. The yuca was fine. The plantains lacked flavor and were dry.
They have a $ 10 min for credit card transaction. I don’t really have issues with that…
i would go back but probably not too often. maybe once a quarter.

Barely makes 3 stars. The chicken needs more spice, and as others mentioned the skin is not crisp. Though not bad, really nothing special about this place.
Super Pollo in Arlington is still my go to for peruvian style chicken.

Not the best peruvian chicken I’ve ever had. Just down the road is Wild Chicken and their chicken is better. This place doesn’t seem to crisp the skin enough. I do like that you can choose the two sides that come with your chicken. I ordered fries and yucca. The yucca was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside! The fries were crispy, thick cut but nothing special. A quarter chicken and two HUGE sides for $ 6.00. The price is great.
I like how they have more on their menu then just peruvian chicken and yucca. They had a lot of different soups and stews. I saw someone ordered the fried fish with rice and it looked amazing. Can. t wait to try the other stuff but not the chicken again.

Pretty tasty, but the skin needs to be crispier and darker, and they need to season the chicken a bit more. Not as good as Super Chicken in Falls Church, but much closer to my house.
A whole chicken with two sides was $ 14.65…not too bad.

Traditional Pollo A La Brasa
Nice place I think they use the microwave on slow days
But food was tasty
Food 3
Service 3.5
Cleanliness 4

Really good chicken! Tender, juicy and full of flavor! I absolutely love their yuca which is really crispy and just melts in your mouth! I haven’t tried anything else other than the chicken so I can’t speak for the rest of the menu. The only thing I would change is their yellow sauce, I tend to like the thicker sauce which is more mayo based, but the one they give is still pretty good. 5 stars for being the best chicken in fairfax!

I just found this new place a couple weeks ago and stopped by to visit. The grilled chicken was great. My friend has pollo saltado and the chicken was a little dry, but the spicing was very good. Next time we’ll try the lomo saltado. The plantains and horchata were good too. It seems like a very good place serving Mexican, Salvadoran, and some Peruvian/​Bolivian dishes. It ‘s definitely worth a try.

3.5 *
This place just opened in a new building, and we were pretty excited to give it a shot since the next closest peruvian chicken place is all the way up in Tyson’s Corner (not that far on the map, but the traffic through Vienna is terrible).
The pork and cheese pupusa was quite tasty, with a generous amount of sauce and curtido on the side. The chicken itself was a little disappointing (a touch dry and not as hot-​off-​the-​spit as we like), but I chalk that up to it being a bit slow when we were there. On the other hand, my lomo saltado was delicious; the fries were good, the meat was flavorful, and there was a lot of it! As for the sides, the yucca fries were right out of the fryer and excellent, and they were nice enough to bring us an extra (delicious) corn tortilla right off the griddle halfway through the meal.
Overall it was a pretty decent value, and the food was generally good, so we’ll be back for the lomo saltado and to give the chicken another shot.