El Mariachi

Always delicious. Always great service. We go there when we need the comfort of great Mexican food served with warmth.

We asked the waiter if they served bottled water to which he responded with a no.
What is the Perrier doing on the table next door was our response. It sort of went downhill from there. No white table cloths or a new can of paint can make up for the lack of home cooked Mexican food. This is not your grandmother’s Mexican food. Let me explain.
The guacamole comes right out of the Sysco or Restaurant Depot large plastic jug. At $ 9.99 per portion u would expect freshly made guacamole with a hint of peppers or spice. The chicken fajitas arrived in a portion controlled strips with a high price tag that was not commensurate with the quality of the dish. Again it tasted as if it came from a frozen food service bag. Does this restaurant know the word marinade? The only thing on the plate that was home cooked is the beans and dry rice.
In short, head to Hyattsville, Md. if you need real authentic Mexican food. Both the quality, amount of food and price will make the drive worthwhile.

3.5 stars.
I like this unpretentious little Latin-​American restaurant. It looks like nothing at all of worth from the outside, but inside, it has bright, cheerful décor, a friendly atmosphere, and crisp white fabric tablecloths to dress things up a little. Being in a strip mall, parking is plentiful, which is nice. Service is quick, polite, and friendly — overall, El Mariachi is a cut above the average suburban Tex-​Mex option.
I’ve dined here 4 times, and have enjoyed everything I’ve ordered. The broiled shrimp (Camarones al Cancun) is a particular winner, as is the duck and the carne asada. My husband liked the Sacramento platter very much, and colleagues I’ve dined with have enjoyed the beef fajitas, the seafood soup, and the ceviche appetizer. I’ve ordered seafood specials twice and been very pleased. I think they’re particularly good with seafood; it’s never overcooked, and is always seasoned well.
The menu is of only a moderate length, but is nicely varied and with a few unusual options. Food comes out promptly, and piping hot, and your water glass never runs dry while you’re waiting. Portions are plentiful.
They’re not changing the face of Latin American cuisine … but El Mariachi serves good, hearty, Latin American fare with a few nice surprise entrée options, and does so with friendly service in a cozy, pleasant environment. Not what you’d expect from an unremarkable strip mall!

This place is really good, im not sure what some of the negative complaints are about. The service is simple and quick and the food is inexpensive and delicious. There is enough space to come in with a group.

1. The women’s restroom was clogged the entire night, no management to take care of the situation. A simple plunger would’ve done the trick but waiter after waiter was flagged down by all of the female patrons inside the restaurant to no avail!
2. I’ve had better steak fajitas elsewhere for the same price (one down the street in particular). The tortillas did not come out quite as hot :/​
3. One positive: the sangria was to die for.

This place is consistently good, I like the fresh salsa, and the chips are light. They serve a mix of Tex-​mex and other south american dishes, with a lot of seafood options. Not a fancy place, but tablecloths and good service.

Good service and great food. Lots of different flavors. Seafood soup is a must. Actually… anything on the menu.

lovely service and exquisite food

Awesome! Fantastic staff, service, and food! The décor is nice, and it did not take long at all for my order to arrive! Will definitely be back!

I’ve been coming to El Mariachi for years, for lunch and dinner and it is consistently good. The service can be slow, and the drinks are small – but they are strong – and the food never disappoints. They have a nice selection of vegetarian options (my favorite is the Plato Verde) and though the guacamole is expensive, they don’t fill it with lettuce the way some places do. The tamale elote and the salads are some of my favorites. The place is clean, and so are the restrooms. My only major complaint is that the salsa they serve is mostly large chunks of raw onions. Not enough tomatoes, not enough anything else. And yes, I realize it’s fairly subjective to judge what makes a salsa delicious or not. Regardless – I’ll be back again soon.

Had the crab enchilada tonight. Mariachi consistently delivers best Mex food in Rockville. Décor is comfortable, clientele upscale, very nice looking crowds. Will someone tell me how Trump plans to put a million Mexicans on a bus and deliver them to ??? How do you even do that? Open refugee camps in Tijuana and Nogales? My idea is to simply declare everyone legal and forget there is s problem which I don’t even see that there is. One way or the other Mariachi is terrific and if some of these haters would try the fajitas here, they might think differently. Only other Mex joint at this level of delicious around here. is Tia Queta in Bethesda. Toss up between the two. Mariachi’s fajita a bit juicier. They also have some slow cooked ribs that are very good. Like this place very much.

Food delicious … The ceviche very fresh, the Service very nice … The only thing I didnt like was that the Manager treat poorly to One employee. I hope These doesn’t happen anymore…

Solid 3 stars. Came for lunch today for the first time. Had the Don Pablo platter lunch special. Good food, VERY good and nice service. I personally think Plaza Azteca next to the Home Depot off Westlake Dr is a bit better food but I would definitely come back here and try other food.
BTW, very fresh — my dining companion had the spinach quesadilla. Super fresh, right out of the ground spinach. No frozen stuff here.

I came here on the recommendation of my employers. The food was pretty good. I thought the guacamole was overpriced though at $ 8.99 the Tamale Elote was amazing. I got a beef chimichanga and for dessert had Sopapillas. The Sopapillas could have been a bit crisper and would have been perfect with Vanilla ice cream imo.
Service was amazing. They were spot on with service. I haven’t had service that good in a long time. They were friendly, fast, and efficient. We never felt rushed and our waitress was incredibly friendly.

I enjoy this restaurant and go here almost every week. The staff are friendly and bring out the food in a timely manner. While waiting for food, I enjoy my salsa with chips. I usually order the Marisco salad as an appetizer which comes with nice shrimp and ceviche.
For the main course, I have mixed beef and chicken fajitas which come with beans, rice, Guacamole and sour cream. The chicken and beef come on one of those sizzling hot plates along with onions and peppers.
For desserts, you have options of chocolate mousse, flan and vanilla ice cream among other options.
This is a very nice Tex-​Mex restaurant located in a Rockville shopping center with various international restaurants. It’s definitely worth checking out.

El Mariachi is your standard Tex Mex restaurant. It’s tucked all the way in the back of the same shopping center as IHop. There’s a Peruvian restaurant next door, so don’t confuse it with that one… are maybe you might want to.
Once seated, our waiter took our drink orders promptly. Chips and salsa soon followed. The tortilla chips were fresh, but needed to be salted. The salsa… yikes! It was completely watery with chunks of tomato thrown in the mix. I’d definitely avoid it. The menu, in addition to your standard menu options, had two lunch sections and a «light menu» that didn’t even seem to over any healthier alternatives. There were only a few other patrons dining at the same time, but they all seemed to have fajitas on their tables. So, I decided on the steak fajitas.
Food came out in a timely manner. However, instead of steak fajitas, I got chicken. Since I was there for a work meeting and in a time crunch, I didn’t make a fuss about not getting the steak. The chicken was moist and had good flavoring to it. The dish came with tons of onions, but only a couple of bell pepper pieces. Tortillas were hot, but not freshly made and were store bought. I could care less for the rice and beans, which were standard. The gaucamole and pico de gallo made up for the watery salsa.
Overall, the food here was just okay. With other Tex Mex options along the Pike and in MoCo in general, not sure El Mariachi will be on the top of my radar.

I was excited for the lunch special here but found it a little overpriced for what it was.
The service started off a bit off but seemed to get a little better because we had commented on how salty the beef was.
I got the cheese enchilada/​beef taco/​chicken taco plate with rice and beans. The chicken was dry, the beef was super salty, taco shells soaked through, and the cheese enchilada had congealed after my first bite. The yellow rice was also overcooked and beans were pretty standard.
My dining companion got the beef burrito and only got a quarter through before calling it quits. The manager (?) must have overheard us talking about the meal and sent out a dulce de leche on the house and when we got our bill, they had knocked off 15% off. Super nice of them.
I really wanted to like this place but I’ll have to give it a go later on after working on my sodium intake and drinking lots more water.

The food was good, Staff was friendly and it’s a cute place. I had the platter with chicken enchilada and tamale. Yummy also the tres leche was so delicious. Great place

After an afternoon of brief shopping, we all wanted Mexican and the Unilocal app led us here, hidden in a strip mall of multiple ethnic restaurants. It’s not much too look at from the outside, but the inside actually has a really nice layout with plenty of tables.
I usually always resort to some sort of combination plate and stayed true this time, going for an enchilada and chiles relleno. I was a little surprised it was only a duo platter instead of a trio, which I’m used to.
While waiting, we devoured a whole basket of chips and salsa (awesome), prompting our waiter for offer another. Nah. Once the meals arrived, I had no issue taking care of the entire plate. Yeah, it was really good.
Really, no complaints with this place minus the pricing, which seemed a bit elevated for my liking. A fuller stomach equals a lighter wallet, but it’s delicious, thankfully.

El Mariachi is a quaint little gem not too far from Rockville Town Square. It is nestled in a strip plaza off of Rockville Pike. The predominant food place in this strip plaza is IHOP.
Upon entering the establishment you are instantly whisked away to what is reminiscent of a large family dining room. You are not reminded of the hustle and bustle outside the doors until you leave.
The service is great and the food is even better.
Their spinach quesadilla is delicious. The spinach is so fresh. It also comes with rice, beans, guacamole and sour cream. My taste buds are still having a party.
I got a frozen margarita. It was so-​so. I could not taste the alcohol, but that’s okay. My food was delcious.
I would definitely go back.