Boveda

Hmm. Not the type of tacos I would go for. It was empty and expensive. I’ve had better tacos. I came here because I saw good review but this place just isn’t that great for me

Came here for happy hour for the first time with my friends yesterday despite the fact I have been passing by this place almost daily for three years.
The restaurant is attached to the Westin Georgetown Hotel and thus from the outside the restaurant is not terribly noticeable. It was rather dead despite the fact it was 5:30 going on 6:00 when we got there. The low attendance was most likely due to it’s unassuming outside façade since the HH was pretty awesome in my and my friends’ books.
They offer serval appetizers for happy hour ranging in price from $ 6 – 8. We got several appetizers (nachos, calamari, wings, empanadas, pork tacos, and chicken flautas). All were delicious with generous portions (particularly in regards to the calmari and nachos)! They have decent drink specials as well (margarita, sangrias, draft and bottled beer, and house wine) for $ 5 – 8. I got the sangria which slightly different from what I was expecting. Instead of citrus fruit, they used berries. I don’t know if they use whatever fruit is seasonal or if this is the usual, but it was tasty regardless. Three of my friends got margaritas and they were all pleased. My one friend was particularly happy because Boveda carries imported beers from South America.
The staff was attentive and friendly. The inside has a modern, slightly swanky décor perfect for happy hour or dinner.

They did not have enchiladas I ordered, did not have the style of margarita, did not have beer, didn’t bring utensils with meal, and did bring credit cards to right person, tacos were average. Drinks average.

Not what I was hoping for. I brought a large group in to try out the free Salsa lessons they offer on Thursday evenings. I’ve been to other free lessons in the area, and this was nothing like I expected.
First of all, there were way too many people for the space allotted. Everyone was bumping into or stepping on one another. Secondly, the people in the back could not see the instructor. Thirdly, the ad online advertised specials during the lessons and those were nowhere to be found either. If you’re looking for Salsa lessons I’d head elsewhere.
We didn’t get the chance to eat, but it does seem to have a nice ambiance as a restaurant.

Really more of a 3.6 star review, so rounding up. Nice ceviche, decent fired calamari, good cheese plate with high quality cheeses, plus nuts and jam. Efficient service.

2 stars for the setting. I hate to pile on from below reviews but the food was lukewarm, the service was slow, and 2 of the 4 things we ordered weren’t available even though the restaurant was 75% empty. The skinny: skip it.

As one who travels regularly to Central and South America, this did not remind me of food I get down there.
We went for happy hour. Drinks are so full of ice that there isn’t much actual drink. Not sure why they used so much ice since it was 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside!
We shared the beef skewers, the chicken skewers, the tuna tostada and the truffle fries. Beef skewers were by far the best of the four dishes — very tender. The tuna tostada was okay but it was not a tostada… more like nachos. The truffle fries had me asking «where’s the truffle?» The chicken skewers… nothing special.
Unless you HAVE to go here, I would avoid it.

Good food, service ok, pollo con mole was good and let me tell you i only eat my grandma’s mole, (Real Authentic Mexican Mole Made from scratch its a recipe from past generations) the thing that bothered me was that the bartender was eating in front of customers, i think thats so disrespectful for the customers !!! Don’t you have a lunch time or didn’t you eat at home?

Saturday night. Not too busy. Yet the bartender sucked tonight. WTF? Strawberry margarita pitchers listed on the menu but they couldn’t make us pitchers… There’s something wrong with this picture. We settled with the red sangria which tasted completely watered down. People celebrating bachelorettes and bdays here tonight… Maybe there’s something about this place they enjoy but I see nothing special about this place!

This was my first time visiting this restaurant. My friends and I went around 9:00 pm on a Saturday and the place was dead. There was a few people at the bar, but we were basically the only people in the restaurant. The waiter for our table was very slow. He forgot about half the tables drinks. I had a Brazilian drink and it was complete disgusting and warm. The drink sucked all together. The food was pretty good. I kept it simple and just order calamari. My friends ordered nachos, tacos, and seafood pasta. They all said their food was delicious. Again, the waiter was very slow, but we didn’t understand why because we were their ONLY CUSTOMERS!!!
In all the food was great, but the service sucked.

Boveda is located in the Westin and the inside of this establishment reflects this. As you come downstairs into the entrance of Boveda you see an upscale looking modern bar, which is great. The not so great starts after that.
Another co-​worker was leaving to move on to bigger and better and the office planned a departure happy hour here. I didn’t arrive until after 6: 30 and the place was mostly filled with my colleagues. Service at the bar was slow but when I finally got a bartender I ordered a margarita (which is part of the happy hour menu for $ 6). I paid $ 10 cash and the bartender had to leave (I don’t know why) for change. She comes back hands me $ 3 and leaves again. Simple math tells me I’m short $ 1 and it takes 10 minutes for the bartender to come back. Then another 10 minute wait for her to get my buck and at this point I just say take it as a tip.
I tell this story to a co-​worker and he checks his bill and they have overcharged him as well. And later that night they were rude claiming that we were creating a fire hazard by standing by the door. WTF?
This is a one star establishment but I gave them 2 because I’m reasonable and the night I was there they had salsa lessons which many people were enjoying.
Morale of the story — check your bill before you leave here.

Tempted to try, but didn’t, the chicken mole; you don’t see that on too many East Coast menus. Instead we treated the appetizer section as a tapas bar. The shrimp dish was excellent. The pork sliders were the weakest of the courses. The tacos were very good. My wife had the pisco drink; sort of like a South American mixed cocktail using grapa. Service was friendly, informative and prompt. I’d go again.

Boveda is a 10! Boveda serves best Latin Hispanic food in #DC with friendly staff and top DJ along with football screens. You must eat the smoked short rib tacos! These tacos are the best and remind me of Native American food. You have options for tapas here. The Red and White sangria is overflowing for you, come and taste esp. per Latin Thursday’s in DC’s classy #Georgetown regio.

I like the happy hour here. Both food and drinks on happy hour, I like the tacos they are interesting. Sliders are also really good. Not a very crowded restaurant but I enjoy that, I think it’s because it’s in the Westin hotel. The service is fine, not anything to praise or dislike. The restaurant is in the basement of the Westin so no windows, but décor is nice.

$ 11 for a premixed margarita? They were also out of caipirinhas for my entire one week stay, why is it even in the menu anymore? Don’t waste your time here… did I mention last call is 11pm on a Friday night?!?

Boveda bills itself as a Latin speakeasy; that may be going a bit too far. It is located in a hotel after all (the Westin Georgetown, actually in the West End). Boveda means vault in Spanish, and it certainly has a cave-​like feeling since you do step down to get to the windowless, stone-​walled space.
Four beers on tap, including Negro Modelo from Mexico ($ 5 during happy hour) and DC’s own Atlas District Common, plus another 16 or so in bottles and cans, including Presidente from the DR (also $ 5 during happy hour). The menu is kind of all over the place, with tacos, ceviche and churrasco, but also sliders, wings and charcuterie,
Not bad for a hotel bar I suppose, and decent enough place for a group happy hour, but not the kind of place I would go out of my way for.

Loved loved loved the chicken en mole. Was meh on just about everything else.
Margarita tasted like cheap tequila and sugar, had to add multiple limes to balance the sweetness. Guac was nothing special.
They also mixed up my reservation and initially sat my date and I in the wrong restaurant. They also told me I must have made my reservation wrong, and changed our table when I showed them the online confirmation.

Had a family reunion reception here. The whole experience was wonderful.
Jessica helped me plan it, since I would need enough space for about 25 people. She reserved a nice area.
I came in a couple days before to double check the reservation, and spoke with the manager, Juan. He was very helpful and friendly, and even took me on a tour of the hotel space, since I was accommodating one person in a wheelchair. He showed me that is was accessible, and how to get there.
I stopped in the week after for brunch, and he was there to greet me and ask how the evening went. I feel very welcome here, and it is one of my new places downtown to escape for a while with great drinks and awesome Latino dishes!

Took some colleagues here for a work event. There were 10 of us. Half the group was late so we waited at the bar until they showed up. The bartender wasn’t busy but didn’t seem willing to serve us. It was like pulling teeth!
Highlights: Food was really good. We literally tried every dish. Top dishes include: tuna ceviche, carnitas tacos, shrimp, pork belly, and the rice dish. It would be a great environment for a small group.
Lowlights: They were out of the first 4 wines we tried to select. We asked them to ensure whatever dish we ordered would have enough for everyone to try it. They seemed completely unable to do this. It was so frustrating!
I realize 10 people is a lot for tapas, but it could’ve been easy and we gave them carte blanche to make it work but I felt like we were poor hosts because we tried to trust our servers to put us in the right direction.

Located in the Westin Hotel on the border of Georgetown, Boveda styles itself as a «latin speakeasy.»
My buddy and I sat at the bar and asked to see the cocktail list. However, the bartender said the cocktail list was being revamped and so they didn’t have it available. Given that Boveda is brand new, I’m not quite sure why it was being ravamped. Not a good start for a speakeasy because cocktails are supposed to be the bread and butter of such an establishment. Nevertheless, Boveda is supposed to be known for its tequilas, so we asked the bartender for suggestions other than the tried and true Patron Silver. He suggested the Corazon Reposado tequila. I said ok and asked him to make me a margarita, which was served in a martini glass and was fantastic. Good save.
My buddy and I decided to sample some of the food while we sipped on our drinks and ordered the chorizo empanada (notably under the «Fiery» section of the menu) as well as the tostones (crispy plantains). The empanada was disappointing because it was by no means «fiery» and there was barely any chorizo in it. The tostones were ok. I was more excited about the guacamole and chipotle-​honey dipping sauces, which doesn’t bode well for a dish.
The interior is very well done. It’s classy, dark, and stylish. Like Bruce Wayne.
For a hotel bar /​restaurant, Boveda is not a bad choice for tourists. It was not crowded at all, but that’s not surprising given that it’s brand new. But changes will need to be made in order to attract DC locals by the droves because right now it’s just average.