Fuego Cocina y Tequileria

2 stars for service. Our server was friendly but they must have been understaffed because we were there 3 hours – mainly because he only came by once every 30 min.
5 stars for my «mala suerte» spicy margarita. Cheers to the bartender because it was perfect. Wish they had them by the pitcher!
3.5 stars for food. Make sure to get the side of fried Yuca (like fluffy fries) with garlic aioli (like mayo) for dipping. It was the best thing we had. Queso fundido is also good. Skillet chicken and carne asada were very tasty but don’t ask for flour tortillas because they don’t have any:/ Only corn. The guacamole & salsa were underwhelming. Green and red salsa were standard and probably premade or canned. They have a wide variety of 3 star tacos. Skip the churros. They are small & thin & too crisp all the way through. I like them when they are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.
They seem like they are able to accommodate large groups. We sat near several groups with 15 – 20 people. Good luck getting served!

So bad experiency for a sándwich i wait 45 minuts and was so dry. I never go back to that place …

This is one of the only places in the area that serves pezole and it is fantastic! The tacos are pretty good, but I would highly recommend the guacamole. The atmosphere upstairs is unlike anything in Clarendon and is perfect for a date or a gathering with friends.

Fuego seems to fly under the radar as far as Clarendon restaurants are concerned. I usually forget about it when I’m trying to think of places to eat. But the food is actually pretty good and the happy hour specials are a nice deal. They also pour stronggg tequila drinks, if that’s what you’re looking for! I recently went for brunch and was surprised at the great brunch deal they have — $ 19 for three courses! And if you order that, you also get $ 2 select alcoholic beverages with it! They don’t skimp on the three course brunch menu, either. They let you choose from all of their appetizers and tacos (and you can mix and match tacos!) for your first course, a wide selection of their entrees for your second course, and all the desserts for your third course.
For brunch, I went with the shrimp taco and baja taco for my first course and was pretty impressed. They were flavorful and the sauces that Fuego provides to pour on top are really good. For my entrée I got the pollo enchiladas. They were pretty plain, with shredded chicken and 2 types of sauces. And I got the abuelita chocolate mousse with cherries on top for dessert. Wasn’t a fan of the cherries, but the mousse was delicious and not too rich. I’m definitely going to try to keep Fuego in mind in the future when thinking of meal spots! It’s not anything amazingly outstanding, but as far as Mexican food in the Rosslyn-​Ballston corridor goes, it’s A-​OK. A tad more refined dishes than at Uncle Julio’s in Ballston.

This place has pretty good food and a great atmosphere with a great selection of food but the service here is terrible.
If you have time to wait around then please stop in and try them out. I came in today after many prior visits. If you can, sit at the bar — they are quick.
If you want a more authentic taste and good service try Guajillio. ⁵⁄₅ stars

Came here for a meal and drinks after work and was pleasantly surprised by the experience.
Got seated and served VERY quickly at the bar. Impressed by the service on a busy Tuesday evening. Tacos came out in maybe 4 minutes.
We got 4 orders of tacos ($ 5 for each, in sets of two, for Taco Tuesday) and a few different drinks (also $ 5 apiece for happy hour, which goes until 9 pm!). The tacos we ordered included tongue, chicken, shrimp, and carnitas. The tacos were solid — not as mind blowing as some of the hole-​in-​the-​wall spots in the area, and none of the meats jumped out as spectacular, but each was tasty and all were a good value.
For cocktails, the Amor Prohibido was a bit sweet but the Mala Suerte had a nice habanero kick — highly recommend.
Will come again for a happy hour deal and solid Mexican food/​drink.

The food is good!!! Service is sorry and slowwww!!! It takes forever just to get your drink and food!!! It’s crazy! I go durning happy hour, and it’s not really crowded, the servers are just sorry, they are very slow. The manager could really care less! The ladies at the front door, are doing a good job. They are happy and friendly, every time.

Pretty good food, attentive bartenders, close to home, and am amazing tres leches cake… what more can a lady ask for? :)

Mexican food is my weakness!!! I’ve heard a lot about this place so I jumped on the opportunity to try it out.
First of all, their happy hour goes until 9 pm and they have some kind of special every day! They also have a large selection of tequilas, if you’re looking to go that route. I tried a traditional margarita and was quite pleased. Not too sweet, not too weak.
The menu isn’t a huge as a traditional Mexican restaurant, but the options are diverse. I went with vegetarian enchiladas because the description was enticing. Again, I wasn’t disappointed. They weren’t covered in sauce like you see in many establishments, and the enchiladas were topped with pickled onions — commence to drool! They were so delicious that I skipped on a second margarita so I had room to squeeze down the third enchilada! I even had to ignore my charro beans that came with my meal — #sadface.
Overall I enjoyed my experience here. I can’t wait to go back for more!

I was very excited to try this place but eventually left a bit disappointed.
I came here with 2 of my girl friends for some drinks and dinner. We had reservations but arrived a few minutes early so we had to wait for our table. Since HH was still going on for another 15 min, we decided to order a drink from the HH menu at the bar downstairs.
It took us forever to place our order and even longer to receive the drinks. The wait took so long that eventually another waiter came up and told us that he would make the drinks himself if we did not receive them in the next 5 minutes.
Eventually, we had our drinks though and our table was ready so we headed upstairs.
The service there improved.
We had one experienced waiter and two waiters-​in-​training serving our table, so none of our requests went unnoticed for too long.
We received some chips and salsa once we sat down. The chips were nice, but the salsa could have been a bit spicier for my taste.
Eventually, we ordered a bunch of dishes to share:
Guacamole
Tacos — Baja
Tacos — Pollo
Quesadilla de jaiba
Taquitos de atún
Tres amigos
To be honest, none of the food items blew me away.
The guac was decent and chicken tacos were OK as well, but I did not enjoy any of the other items very much. Especially the fish tacos were disappointing since the fried flavor of the fish overpowered everything.
Once we had finished eating, we decided to order a Tequila flight to share — I can’t remember which kind, but that was probably my favorite part of the meal. lol
Overall, I would return here for drinks but for dinner I would go elsewhere.

This place was decorated very uniquely and the atmosphere was dim and chill. The menu was a one pager with the basic offerings. I was surprised to hear the waitress say I couldn’t add veggies to my enchiladas after I told her I didn’t like mushrooms. She double checked on my request and was able to add the veggies. I had rice on the side and it was bland and hard. Also the red sauce for the enchiladas tasted like hot sauce. The plantains were too soft in my opinion.
The margarita was good, not the best but tolerable. I wasn’t impressed with my experience or food. I won’t be back.

Fuego wasn’t really my scene in terms of Mexican restaurants. I believe it was hyped up a bit too much for what the food was actually like.
I first got the queso which was not what I expected personally. It’s a hard cheese that you have to eat quickly before it hardens up and you can’t get it on your chip. It’s not creamy, it’s basically just a mound of cheese melted that will harden back up.
I then got the chorizo tacos and I have had much better chorizo at restaurants not considered «upscale» like this one. It was dry and bare with little seasoning.
Lastly we got to guacamole which again just lacked in flavor. It was refreshing and OK as far as guac goes but I’d rather make my own or have wholly guac/​chipotle guac/​and various cheaper versions. Not my favorite place in Clarendon!

We stopped in here on a Saturday afternoon to cool down after drinks at Whitlow’s roof top. We just sat at the bar to have a drink and some guacamole, but the place was very empty at that time of day. Initially, I noticed the décor, and it was tasteful but not what I’m used to in Tex-​mex places. I ordered the spicy margarita, and while it was good, it could have used more of a kick. Additionally, the guacamole was a very small serving for the price. I don’t know if I would go back, but the ambiance and service was fantastic.

My boyfriend and I had a wonderful spontaneous date night here. We were able to get a last minute reservation, which surprised me for Clarendon on a Friday night.
Atmosphere:
The restaurant is much bigger than expected. The loud bar downstairs is deceiving. They took us upstairs where it opens up to a spacious but lively dining room. The décor was beautiful. We sat near a very modern fire feature (can it be called a fire place really?). Near us was a glass room filled with all kinds of tequila and other alcohols, which was fun to look at.
Drinks:
I complained in a different recent review that my margarita was sub-​par and definitely from a mix. I didn’t have that problem here! We got up sold to the margarita with the finer tequila. We figured we were at a tequila restaurant so we should try the good stuff. I didn’t think I would be able to taste the difference because my tequila palette is certainly not refined. (Don’t get me wrong, I know when I’ve been served the really bad stuff!) the margarita certainly was very good and I really could taste a hint of smokiness that she said would be there.
Food:
We ordered the steak fajitas and chicken enchiladas and split both with a side of yucca fries and Mexican rice. The steak was tender, well spiced, and cooked perfectly medium rare. It came with some very fresh chunky guacamole and really delicious peppers and onions. My only complaint is I thought the corn tortillas were a little thick and a bit dry.
The pulled chicken in the enchiladas was also really moist and flavorful. I liked the multicolored sauces that came on top.
The salsas that came with the chips — a red salsa and a tomatillo salsa were so good. I wish I could have taken a whole bottle of the tomatillo salsa home.
Service:
The service was fine. It was friendly, informative and attentive.

Don’t go here looking for an authentic Tex-​Mex experience. Do go here for delicious food and a fancier Mexican food experience. I love that they have a «drink of the day» that is affordable even if it is not happy hour. Everything my table ordered was delicious. The selection of tacos is diverse and you can get them as a meal or a la carte.
We will be back!

Fuego is an establishment that gives you the feel of having traditional Mexican food that taste like it’s made from grandma, but it’s in the big town setting. This isn’t my first redo at Fuego, but it was my first time brunching and definitely not my last! With their wide varieties of Tequila offerings it’s hard to say no to making a stop at Feugo.
Recently, I went to Fuego with my boyfriend for brunch. It was a great brunch, mostly because I’m great to be around (#hairflip). But seriously, let me tell you about the brunch and why you will be impressed. This is how it works is they give you a three course meal from their brunch menu for $ 19 and adult beverages are $ 2 if you order off the three course meal menu. So, Boyfriend and I split everything because why should you have to settle on just one thing when you can have a little of everything?
The first course
A choice of an appetizer or tacos. We decided to get Flautas de Pato (shredded bbq duck, queso oaxaca, mole negro) along with Lengua (beef tongue) tacos. So, I’ve never had beef tongue before, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to try so, I bite the bullet and got it. Shockingly enough it was good – personally, I think it would have been better shredded rather than cubed, but I think more beef tongue is in my future! The Flautas de Pato was exceptional, be sure to try this when you make your brunch stop. Note, they also provided three different kinds of hot sauces for the tacos (awesomesauce!) and they were all yummy especially the habanero sauce (I love my hot sauce!)
The second course
We went with carnitas & potato hash and torta de huevos con chorizo. Holy cats! The potato hash was extraordinary. This is a must order. Your tastebuds will be thanking you for days to come. The over easy eggs combined with the hash and green chili sauce was out of this world. The boyfriend and I both like heat so we decided to amp up the dish and a little Habanero hot sauce (which is given to you with the tacos). It brought the hash to the next level! Because we were both head over heels for the potato hash, we couldn’t finish the egg sammy so we got it to go, but it was great a couple hours later.
The final dish
Assorted sorbets along with churros. Both of these dishes were awesome and the perfect way to close the meal. I mean who doesn’t like crispy, warm, cinnamon sticks dipped in caramel or a nice sorbet when it’s warm outside in the morning?
We had an awesome waiter who was really attentive and joked with us all morning. PS– the waiter said the French Toast is out of this world, so maybe add that into your brunch options when you visit. To top it all off the atmosphere of the place was great. For «$ 19/​person» (don’t forget about the drinks), Fuego is a great place to go if you have the desire for great traditional Mexican style food! I can’t wait to read about your experience at Feugo.

Ambience is really nice. They have an upstairs seating area which is also a nice touch. However the food was average and a bit disappointing. The free chips and salsa weren’t that good — chips were stale and too salty. The cocktails were pretty good though. My bf had the fish tacos and it was not memorable. They were just okay. I had the special which was soft-​shell crab. I’ve had it a couple times and they were either deep fried or pan fried. But the one they served here seemed sauteed and the presentation of it was not appealing. The soft-​shell crabs were just okay. It came with grilled watermelons and a salad which were good, I liked those more than the crabs itself. I would probably come here for the drinks only.

I went out for brunch on a Sunday with some friends that were visiting and we came to Fuego because the wait was not an hour and the menu looked good. The restaurant was pretty empty which is a shame because the food was delicious and we had good service. I had the tuna taquitos, an omelette, and I substituted the dessert for a side item. The taquitos were a good starter and the right portion size and fresh. The omelette was pretty good. I found the pickled vegetables a little overpowering. But overall, a great experience.

First time at Fuego for happy hour and i LOVEEE LOVE this place. The frozen margaritas were really strong but quite tasty– I could barely drink two. The happy hour food for $ 5 each was excellent. We had veggie empanadas, the burger and ceviche. Delicious and large enough to share. The complementary chips and salsa were nice as well.
The only downside was the service. It was almost like we were begging the waitress to order food and another round of drinks. Luckily, the hostess or manager came over to help.
Looking forward to going back for brunch!

We heading into these urban cities during the holiday weekends… because there are no crowds! We just walked in for a quick brunch and were elated to be seated right away.
I love the Passion Food venues, especially PassionFish in Reston. I will admit that the $ 2 margaritas and mimosas was a big draw on this lazy Sunday afternoon. The mimosas were made with just the right amount of sparkling and no over powering of the OJ. We also tried the fuego mary and the tequila sunrise, both just as tasty and well worth the $ 2. The food was amazing. We both selected various taco dishes: al pastor, chorizo, and baja. The spicy habanero really pull the flavors into those tiny but powerful corn tortilla tacos.
The only issue I had with our dining experience was our server. I’m not sure if he was still sleeping or just plain olé’ clueless. What should have been a smooth process of ordering and food delivery turned into a waiting game. The place was NOT crowded and empty tables surrounded the main dining area yet our server could barely deliver a drink, and waiting for other drinks seemed like an eternity.