Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant

My husband and I recently went to Guadalajara’s in a different location and had agreed that we would not ever go again due to the food being terribly bland. We had friends talk us into trying it again, though at a different location and WHAT a difference! The salsa had a nice kick to it and the food was incredibly delicious. I had the Chicken enchiladas and asked for hot sauce on the side. The waiter brought out some that they make there at the restaurant. This hot sauce was amazing. It put the meal on the next level! I will absolutely go back now, plus they have good margaritas!

What happened Guad? We been going to all the wonderful Guadalajara restaurants in town forever and this service was here was slow. Not sure if there is new management or if they were short staffed but every empty table here has dirty food dishes on it, and we JUST got our waters to drink after 25 minutes of being of here. We sat ourselves as no one was here to help us and we had no one even come to our table for over 15 minutes (till I went to back to ask someone to come see us). We aren’t hard to please people, but with if you’ve been a long time local you’ve come to know Guad as a place for great QUICK and CHEAP food. They also did away with Sunday kids eat free, which they’ve had forever.
Lastly, there are o my two other small tables of people here, yet EVERY other table in the whole restaurant minus one is full of dirty dishes from the last customer. Will now take pics which are from being here for 45 minutes and all these tables were vacant when got here with those same dishes.

Salsa out of a jar, uninspiring tacos. Took forever to take order and ages to get food.

Decent. I ordered the chicken fajitas and it came out looking like a stir fry. It wasn’t all that flavorful, and didn’t come with any toppings. The one thing they have is decent prices– their lunch specials are small in size but you can get a meal for $ 5. I also enjoyed the chips and salsa.

I love this place! Walking distance for UVA campus students and from JPA residents. The prices for the food is inexpensive and tastes very authentic to me! I love spicy food so ask for their homemade hot sauce! I come here almost every week and rheir lunch and combo deals are amazing! I sometimes even have left overs so the portion sizes are acceptable for the price :)

Mediocre experience. This is the only Mexican restaurant I have been to with a limit on chips, and it’s not like they are that amazing. Our server created for a very tense and awkward vibe. She was very serious, never smiled, and seemed bothered by our requests. I ordered the shrimp quesadilla; it was ok, I have definitely had better elsewhere.

Tuesday night $ 5 face-​sized margaritas.

Guadalajara does the job if you’re looking for good, cheap Mexican food. The location is so convenient for anyone living on JPA, first basket of chips and salsa is free (though you can get more for free if you order an app), and combos are very, very reasonably priced. Service is nice and the place is small but has a fun ambiance.
I’m a huge fan of guacamole and queso, so we got the choriqueso (queso + spicy chorizo yummm) and guac for the table. So worth every penny, particularly the choriqueso omg. I could eat that as an entrée just with chips. Great kick, warm and melty, crispy tortilla chips… so great.
The chicken quesadilla I got was a little disappointing, more like a taco than a quesadilla in my opinion. But sharing a yummy jumbo margarita with my friend of course made everything better. And choriqueso! ¡Sí, a mi me gusta!

I like this restaurant but of all of them in Charlottesville this is the one that I’ve gotten the worst service. We spilled a water and our waitress told us that she «didn’t have time» to help us clean it up. There were only 4 other tables in the restaurant and there was another server. She was continuously rude and I will be going to the other guadalajaras from now on.

Guad is a solid place to go for cheap Mexican food. Has a pretty plentiful menu with a section that is specifically different combos you can get at a really good price.
The portions are deceptively large and you wouldn’t expect it at first because it’s so cheap, but don’t overestimate yourself when you’re ordering food because you might overwhelm yourself like I did. Free bowl of chips and salsa when you first sit down, which holds you over nicely until the food comes.
The food came very quickly and service was fairly good. I got the Burrito California which was absolutely massive and quite tasty. Sundays and Tuesdays are also margarita special days where you can get cheap jumbo margaritas. I am partial to sangria so I ordered one during a special and got a $ 4 sangria which tasted great.
I also participated in an Orderup taco eating contest where I got to eat a buttload of Guad tacos, which was pretty awesome. Their tacos are nothing extraordinary, but they are certainly better than what you would find at Taco Bell or whatever.

This would probably be a 3.5 if I had the option. It’s a good standard neighborhood Mexican place, but don’t expect the best meal of your life. My meals have been hit or miss — I enjoyed the Burrito California, not so much the #F. My husband really likes the chimichangas. Service is hit or miss too. You can tell management cares about customer service, but there seem to be a number of really inexperienced, untrained servers. Twice I’ve asked for queso and been asked if I mean «the sauce or the shredded kind.» It’s got a nice ambiance and has some good daily specials.

This place is awesome. Service is EXCELLENT. Place is clean and cozy. And the fooood yum. Free chips amd spicy salsa upon sitting down. The food came out fast and delicious. The rice, beans, and guac sides are fresh and tasty. There are many delicious options, the lunch specials are very cheap, and everyday they have some sort of deal or special. Drink prices are very very reasonable. This place is also a great location for students living on JPA. Definitely a must-​try.

We were an hour from Richmond in Charlottesville, Va looking for a place to eat. Found this place on Unilocal and ate. Service was great and waitress very pleasant and helpful. The food was also wonderful and full of flavor.

Guadalajara has treated my husband and I well since we were dating in high school. This is, and will always be a favorite location for us – and we will visit all of the Guaralajara’s as often as we can. Great food, great service, friendly environment – a wonderful place to visit. Try the Carnitas next time you’re there, and you won’t be disappointed!

The salsa and chips here are delicious. Let’s be real, we love the free stuff. The salsa is spicy and chips crispy.
The service here is amazing. It might be because they’re never really that busy but the refills and food come out quickly.
I love the fajitas. The portions are so big that you have at least one meal left over. Skip the sangria. The margaritas are strong and delicious.

Yea yea-it’s americanized mexican food but the waiters are the nicest in Charlottesville-​hands down and the service is fast! If you want to stink to the more fresh, higher quality authentic items on the menu, I would recommend the black bean soup which is DEEE-​lish. Fresh made every day. Ask for extra cheese & pico de gallo. Also, try the tacos de carnitas-​out of this world!

carnitas are so amazingly delicious. haven’t had anything as good as theirs anywhere else. but bathroom is gross. guacomole seems to be spicy some days and not the other. service is pretty bad. but i come back for the carnitas and carnitas only…

OVERALL ²⁄₅ This place is a bottom basement Mexican place which provides cheap, but relatively tasteless food and plenty of alcohol. Come here if you are looking for plenty of margaritas and something to shovel into your mouth along with them, otherwise look elsewhere.
FOOD ²⁄₅
Not really even average, the food here tastes as cheap and quick as it is made. The low quality ingredients and mish-​mash of premade items reminds me of a grade school cafeteria. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not terrible, it just doesn’t really taste good. About one step up from a frozen Mexican TV dinner.
DRINK ³⁄₅
The restaurant shines in its ability to provide cheap alcohol. Not the greatest margaritas in the world by a long shot, but you can get a lot of them and have a good time.
AMBIENCE ³⁄₅
There are a couple locations in Charlottesville, this one isn’t the greatest but it isn’t bad. About a dozen tables with nice warm colored walls. The big sell here is the limited amount of outdoor seating which makes this a very nice place in warmer weather.
SERVICE ³⁄₅
No complaints, it is quick and I’ve never had a problem splitting a check. About what you would expect at a cheap restaurant.

They’re skimpy on the price, but not on the chips. However, like most cheap Mexican restaurants, you get what you pay for which is high quantity and mediocre quality.
I prefer to order off their a la carte menu and usually stick to their bean & cheese enchiladas. They are also pretty cool about doing a bit of dish customization up request like changing the sauce.

I came in here seriously doubting the place. It’s actually not as small as it looks and the food is not as bad as I expected! After all the horror stories I’ve heard/​read about soggy and salty food, I was seriously impressed.
First basket of chips+salsa is free. Additional baskets are $ 1. Makes me question why… nothing special going on here.
I had the Fajitas de Carnitas. Most popular dish out of everyone’s (8). I drool when I think of those flavorful, pull-​apart chunks of carnitas that come out sizzling hot and tasty. Possibly the best carnitas I’ve ever had (certainly better than Chipotle! hahaha). Still not so sure about the rest of the overly large menu though…
Half priced jumbo margaritas all day on Sundays and Tuesdays! Available frozen or regular. So delicious. (I downed two of these myself)