Good sangria. Enchiladas were decent. Dessert(flan and neugados) was excellent. Service was excellent.
Edmundo S.
Place rating: 3 Washington, DC
I’m not a regular: I stopped in for dinner on my way through town. I can’t recommend the horchata. The shrimp cocktail appetizer was good. The texture of their tamale was too soft. Their enchiladas were OK. Their rice was different than what I’m used to, but I liked it. The refried beans were excellent.
Sid H.
Place rating: 4 Silver Spring, MD
The food here is good and service is always attentive. The frozen margaritas are good though a bit light on the tequila. Overall, a solid place to have dinner with some friends.
Silvi S.
Place rating: 5 Willow Grove, PA
Great food. Great service. Everyone is friendly and laid back. The best atmosphere. Planned a little surprise dinner for my mom for her birthday and the staff were all so great. Sandra is a sweetheart and very warm. They allowed me to come a little early to set up and offered to help. Just wonderful. Was my second time here. First was on Mother’s Day which was just as wonderful. I’ll definitely be back and would recommend to everyone!!! Awesome place!!!
Chuq Y.
Place rating: 5 Washington, DC
Great Scott! We stopped here after a hike, and my wife wanted margaritas. So, we Unilocaled our way here. What a great place! We had fantastic(and cheap) drinks, and the staff was very nice. We were seated outside, had our chips and delicious salsa and ordered some food. Since we had just done a hike, I decided to eat anything I wanted… pretty much like I always do even if I don’t go for a hike. The Plata Tipico it was. This is a NY steak, avocado, plantains and the ever present rice and beans. It was very filling, and awesome. They have a few different hot sauces which is always a plus for me. The prices were great and we had a great experience. I will warn though, if you sit outside, just remember, that smokers also sit outside. Otherwise, I’ll definitely come back to this place!
Megan B.
Place rating: 5 Pottstown, PA
Food was very good! The restaurant was empty during lunch time but not sure why the food was so good.
Diana H.
Place rating: 5 Rockville, MD
Excellent food, great staff and clean place. We were quickly greeted and seated. Can’t ask for anything more. Highly recommend. We will be back soon and often.
Sharon W.
Place rating: 4 Silver Spring, MD
We went for a ride to look at fall foliage and the restaurant we had planned to have lunch at looked closed. We decided to just continue up 355 and find another place for lunch. We turned into a small shopping area and noticed Azteca tucked away in the corner. A quick check of Unilocal and 4 stars. Yes, thank you again Unilocal! There is a bar on one side of the restaurant. The fairly good sized dining room has no partitions, but the tables are spaced nicely and you don’t feel like you need to introduce yourself to the table next to yours. It was late lunch hour when we arrived so not crowded, but some people came in after we were seated and were obviously regulars who were greeted by name. We have a favorite Tex-Mex restaurant nearer to us so it was hard not to make comparisons. Azteca has more Spanish influence than«closer to us» restaurant so the menu was a little more extensive. The salsa and chips that were served were okay(first comparison to «closer to us» restaurant). The salsa could have had a little more zip and the chips were just all right. My frozen margarita(second comparison to «closer to us» restaurant) wasn’t very strong and could have been more tart. So far 2 ½ stars. But then came the food. I ordered sautéed fish with a mushroom cream sauce. Delicious. It came with a small serving of rice and a salad. Perfect. Not too much food and not all the beans and rice thing. Husband had fish tacos. He thought there was a little too much sauce on the tacos that distracted a little from the fish. I asked if he would order again and he said yes, he just might ask for the sauce on the side. The other thing that bumped them up for 4 starts for me was the service. Very friendly, very efficient. We don’t get out that way often, but would definitely go back again if in the area.
M. L.
Place rating: 4 Bethesda, MD
Had a great experience here with a large crowd and quite a few young children. The service was very attentive and accommodating, friendly and quickly responsive. The food was very good too — definitely on par with and maybe better than fancier Central American places we have been to in the area, with a lot of variety, including some meat dishes you can’t find on the menu at the«gringo» places. My only hesitation in providing 4 stars was that it took a really long time for the food to come out. That may have been because we were a large party, but there were only 3 or 4 other tables at the time we were there. We will definitely be back and recommend families in particular looking for a good regular Mexican /Salvadoran spot. Also — even though the address is on Middlebrook, it’s easier to find if you enter the shopping center from 355.
Angela P.
Place rating: 5 Germantown, MD
My husband and I(and another couple that lives nearby) have been searching for a great Mexican restaurant in the area for years. We used to go to one in Rockville but it shut down. Since then the search has continued(although truthfully the one that closed down was a bit too ‘stuffy’ for me). We had passed this restaurant numerous times and didn’t know what to think of the small little place in the corner of the plaza. However, I finally looked up the reviews and saw the positive feedback they were getting and decided to give it a try sometime in 2014. We’ve been going here ever since! This place is a GREAT local spot; a ‘hole-in-the-wall’ if you will(I believe they have one other location somewhere else). This is exactly the kind of Mexican restaurant we’ve been looking for. The food is delicious! We’ve had a range of enchiladas, tacos, burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, guacamole, margaritas, and a few other food items that I can’t remember. I have not be disappointed with any of our visits. I will say that I’m surprised it is as empty as it is when we go — but we typically go earlier in the dinner hour and sometimes catch the end of happy hour. We have never gone when it was karaōke(it’s just not my thing), but if it is your thing they have it available later in the evening. I hope this place never goes away — I don’t want to ever have to go back to any of the big chain restaurants in the area, they just don’t measure up!
Melo R.
Place rating: 4 Rockville, MD
The employees are very nice. I have been a loyal customer since they opened. You can’t go wrong with the $ 5.95 lunch combos(Monday to Friday, 11am-2pm). Unlike some other Mexican food joints in the area, ABI has well seasoned food. I love their pupusas and enchiladas the most, and the costilla asada is also very good. I will continue to support this restaurant in the hopes it remains.
Will D.
Place rating: 5 Mill Valley, CA
Delicious Mexican food at a great price. Moreover, it was immediately apparent, even from the relatively brief time we spent there, that there’s not so much of the anomie that typically clings to small restaurants. People talked to each other… people saw each other! When they offered to help me carry my order out to my car(it was a lot of food), it didn’t feel like they were obeying a corporate script. It really felt like they wanted to help.
Jarred S.
Place rating: 4 Boyds, MD
My wife and I went here recently… the food was good, and the service was top notch. We will be back soon.
Stuart W.
Place rating: 4 Damascus, MD
The wife and I went last night on the strength of the reviews. Despite getting there at 6:30 and happy hour running until 7, we didn’t get any alcohol — but beers under $ 3 and margaritas for $ 4 are great deals. The chips provided were warm and crispy and the salsa was delicious too. We had 2 pupusas as an appetizer, one with cheese and one with pork — they were really delicious. For main I had the sizzlin’ steak fajitas and they were excellent — only complaint is I wish there were 1 or 2 more tortillas provided, but this is a common theme at restaurants with fajitas I have found. My wife’s chicken dish had a ton of food and she really enjoyed it too, I forget the name of it though. Was fairly quiet here for a Friday night before 8pm, maybe they get busier after 8. Despite this, the service could have been a little more attentive. There were times when we waited a long time between server visits and then at times 3 servers came to assist us within a few minutes so they seem a little disorganized in that respect — although always polite and friendly. Also not sure if the karaōke is every night and it was mostly bearable, but towards the end of our visit we were hoping he was going to stop — purely because it became more and more difficult to have a conversation! So overall excellent food and good prices, just need to improve the service a little and avoid karaōke night(if possible!). We will definitely return!
Diane D.
Place rating: 4 Germantown, MD
Went for Cinco de Mayo. Great happy hour margaritas always; had the special= mole chicken, was sooo tasty. Good salsa, chips, and guac too. Great friendly service too.
Ben W.
Place rating: 3 Gaithersburg, MD
Friendly atmosphere, and good food and drinks. Went for my wife’s birthday, and she was very happy with the margaritas and fajita. I had a chiccarrone burrito, which was just ok. They had a lively bar scene with a good mix of people. Would definitely go again.
Jake D.
Place rating: 1 Potomac, MD
This place is horrible. We came on a Saturday night and the room was almost empty. And when the foods were served, we were not surprised any more. Neither the quantity nor the quality worth the 1 star given here. Please avoid this place. I am very unhappy with it.
Priscilla A.
Place rating: 5 Chevy Chase, MD
We came here late Saturday night(for the first time), hungry as a bear. We said lets order take out and go back home. The moment we walked through the door we got a very warm welcome by Nelly. Worry free, she told us to sit down and order as we pleased and ended up, very easily, convincing us to stay and eat in. The best most personable experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant. By far Nelly made the entire experience enjoyable. She was very attentive and knew how to make you feel important. The food was quickly served and it was delicious. We ordered Lomo Saltado w/o rice & fries. Substituted the fries for yuca instead. Great food. We will absolutely come back to this spot. It’s a gem within itself. The customer service was impeccable and the food was tasty. You won’t be disappointed.
Henry M.
Place rating: 4 Gaithersburg, MD
Good, inexpensive tex-mex and Salvadorian dishes, friendly, attentive staff, and great happy hour eats and drinks, with a full-bar backing the big menu. Yeah, baby!
Denise L.
Place rating: 4 Germantown, MD
If you’re looking for good Mexican food in the area, this is the spot. I used to go to Mi Rancho but then we found a very long unclaimed hair in our salsa and vowed never to return. ABI is clean, well decorated and has friendly staff. Like others have noted, the restaurant is pretty empty but several guest were in and out during my wait for takeout. Nelly was great and assisted us in ordering the combination fajitas(chicken and shrimp) and the beef and cheese enchiladas. We had water and salsa during the wait and Nelly checked in on us a few times. After about fifteen minutes our orders were presented and everything came out just as we ordered. I also want to note that I requested a few extra condiments and was not charged anything extra. :-) The food was great and this will be my go to for Mexican in the future. ABI will not disappoint!
