Baja Room at Pico de Gallo

We’ve ended up here twice by accident and it always exceeded expectations and left us with memories to last a lifetime. The atmosphere of the outdoor patio dining was spendid yet subtle: Spanish catholic décor, cheap and colorful garden lighting over embellished picnic accents. And the food! Perfectly seasoned and seared meats, fresh cilantro, chunky guacamole, and flavorful salsas. Great for small get togethers if not for the drinks alone. Pitchers of either mojitos, sangria, margaritas, or one of each! There is zero pretense here, which I love especially in a city where Zagat is king and certain celestially named celebrity chefs have monopolized their interpretation of a good restaurant.
I’ve recently learned this place is currently not open. I hope its a seasonal thing and not permanent. Haven’t been able to find any info out on the web, so if anyone knows if they’ll be reopening soon, I would appreciate an update. Thank you :)

Oops, I was here a while ago & neglected to finish my review… better late than never!
They had a nice patio & it was a good place for a summertime drink with friends. Snacks were good — fine but not outstanding.

I’m obsessed with this place. It’s so strange and lovely, and weird, in a good way.
I did not eat here as we came here after dinner for drinks. However…
The drinks are humongous and delicious.
The old records that the owner plays are great.
The impromptu dancing while listening to old records is such a good time.
Nothing here makes sense which is why I love it.

It would take a really long time to explain why this was the worst place I’ve ever dined, but I could sum it up as this: our waitress disappeared for 30 minutes at a time, when I asked about getting a burrito without the tortilla — she said no, the kitchen wouldn’t do it, but she could remove it for me? — I mentioned it was for an allergy and she stared at me blankly, half of the food did not come to our table but we were charged for all of it, then she wanted to «make us a deal» by knocking off $ 20 and came up with a random cost for the table which was $ 100 for 5 people to get a pitcher of margaritas, one burrito, and nachos (the rest never came). We left there, hungry and went to Jose Pistola’s for awesome food and drinks and service.
Also the celebrity recommendations are bizzare– with the most confusing menu in the world in a messed up order.

Never know what the actual place is called… Baja Room at Pico de Gallo or Baja Room at El Rey, the original El Rey. El Rey is what is on the tee shirt Michael, the owner, bartender, manager, etc gave us the first time we went there on Cinco de Mayo last year. Immediately fell in love. The ambiance is bizarre with Day of the Dead paraphernalia everywhere plus some other interesting items. The first time we went there, there was fruit spread out all over the bar so no one could sit there. We were sitting in church pews but they have since added new chairs. Michael runs around with aviators and a Dallas Cowboys hat on, constantly aiming to please each customer. He has an Albanian server that is excellent as well.
The food gets better each time I’ve gone. The enchiladas in particular are excellent. The menu is bizarre and includes items «as enjoyed by Susan Sarandon» or other celebrities. Michael claims he knew her from New York as she loved his cooking. The margaritas are big and usually include large pieces of fruit. They aren’t cheap though. Overall, the prices are a little high, but I don’t mind, as they ambiance, food, and drinks make up for it. There’s a nice patio outback which is the usual entrance to the restaurant as well, as the front door is usually baracaded in some way. Nothing but good things to say about this place, as it has become my favorite mexican restaurant to go to, even just for a drink and the bizarre entertainment!
Also, if you get lucky enough to be there on a night where Raymond, the «DJ» is there, cherish that time. He is an old man similar in looks to ‘Blue’ from Old School and plays with records in the back but there is a jukebox so…

I’m only going with 3 stars for now, because I haven’t actually had food here — but the margaritas are legit.
I came to a Colors and Bottles class on the patio. We wanted some margs while we painted, so we went to the bar and each ordered one. When he said the price was $ 10, I thought it was a little high — but they are: 1) huge. In a pint glass. And not weak. and 2) delicious! Fresh tasting, not super sweet either. I was told that it was all organic.
Come get a marg.

Love this place — always have a great meal here!
Love the décor and the staff, always friendly and nice to deal with. The inside dining room can get a little cramped but if the weather is okay their outside patio seats alot more people and opens up the whole place.
I love their food — the Pumpkin Mole Chicken, Roasted Chicken Enchilada, «Mexican Dinner» and the Lobster Quesadilla are my favorites although there are many other dishes to enjoy as well.
Michael (the owner) is a great guy and goes out of his way to make sure everyone is taken care of.
Highly recommend this place for aweome Mexican food!

Went here last night with two friends after seeing a fringe show. We wanted a drink and a snack before heading home. What drew us in was the amazing smell on Mexican food from the sidewalk. We sat in the patio area. Which is quirky, kitschy and maybe a little cluttered feeling for my taste. Service was super slow even though it was 9:30 and there weren’t more then two other tables filled outside. I don’t know if our server had tables inside as well but it could explain why he was so mia for most of our time there.
We ordered a pitcher of margaritas (traditional) and I was looking to be wowed given the other Unilocaler reviews on how strong and tasty they are. Honestly, I can say I did not like them at all and I love me a margarita! It was quite disappointing. We needed to as for more limes and squeezed a whole bunch in which made it better. At a steep price tag of $ 36 (after taxes) a pitcher I want to be wowed. And we even left with almost a half a pitcher full… that’s how underwhelming they were! We also ordered a $ 13 plate of nachos with guacamole which were just okay. The guac was decent but the chips were a little too toasted for my taste and the cheese was hard instead of stringy and soft by the time it got to our table. I will say though, We did devour the whole plate.
Overall I cannot say this place was a total bummer, but I definitely don’t feel any compulsion to come back. The food seems overpriced to me, not all that great, and the service was slow. As for the vibe of the place, it was definitely relaxed and seemed like a nice neighborhood place with probably a lot of repeat customers. They just missed mark on too many points for me to want to spend my money here again.

I’m having a bit of a hard time reviewing this place. My friends raved about it before we went, so I had pretty high expectations. The menu also boasts of many celebrity loving specific dishes and the owner was very quick to tell us all about it.
The service was pretty slow. We had a group of 4 around 8:30 — 9:00 on a Wednesday, so it was not super crowded. Maybe they gave us time because we were chatting away, but it seemed like forever until we actually ordered.
We ordered a watermelon margarita pitcher, which was around $ 30. Not the best I’ve had, but not terrible. A good deal for 3 of us to split and all have a few drinks. It was weird they didn’t offer salt with the glasses, but by the time I realized, my drink had been poured. (Very picky of me to complain about, but I am a margarita lover!) I ordered the Mexican Dinner, which was a sampler platter of a few different things– chimichangas, taquitos, chalupas, plantains, beans, rice. I thought the food was satisfactory.
If I had rated this meal right after eating it, it may have been a 3, but I took my leftovers home and my boyfriend informed me that when he was eating it, he found a piece of plastic and two very long, curly hairs in the food. Yes, it happens, but it definitely knocked it down to a 2 for me. There are plenty of other good Mexican places in the area, so I don’t think I’ll be jumping to go back here.

Good place for a margarita for sure! Nice and strong on the rocks. I stopped in the with a bud while waiting for the US Airways’ four hour delay on my flight through Philly. My wet burrito was huge, filling, and pretty heavy. I actually loved the Guac and chips here more than anything. The place is very small so don’t come in with some huge party or at peak hours expecting quick seating.
I think my favorite thing about this place is the host that greeted us. He welcomed my friend by name, told her she spent too much time texting, and then he scampered off looking like a mix of your favorite uncle and Elvis.

So, I just moved to this neck of the woods and I go by here daily. After a month a friend was over to check out my new digs so off we went. Well we stopped in at about 530. The place was desolate, but our zippy waiter told us eight or nine times that they just opened for the night and you know uh i can get you some margaritas. He continued to ping and zing like a ball of meth the entire evening. I saw him the next night on the street having a smoke break… so that’s where he was!
Despite the labyrinth hallway, the creepy décor as Miriam put it, «the skulls are staring at me», and our frenetic waiter the food was awesome!
I’ve been to it’s bastard love child of a sibling across the street several times and it’s just a zillion times better. Service is still kinda crazy, but it’s worth it.
We both had chargrilled chicken entrees, she had the enchilda which was ever so tender and seasoned oh so well. I had the chicken nachos which were almost as good as Distrito’s.
I’ll definitely return because it’s so close!

When Christopher R. suggested the Baja Room for an impromptu post-​yelp event gathering, I was perplexed. How had I never heard of this Mexican outpost with outdoor seating and strong-​azz margaritas, located right on South Street?
Sure enough, we took a cab to 15^th and South and there it was, just across the street from Pico de Gallo, its sister establishment. A little entryway in the tall picket fence on 15^th led to a patio containing four large picnic tables with red checkered tablecloths.
We wasted no time ordering up pitchers of margs and appetizers. The margaritas were curiously delicious, and I later found out that they were homemade with fresh lime juice and love.
The meatless nachos were easily my favorite of the foodstuffs, as evidenced by the fact that I woofed them down like I was going to win a cash prize for speed-​eating. They were loaded with cheese, a spicy green salsa, pickled jalapenos, beans and sour cream. We had to order guacamole separate, which featured under-​ripe avocados and a ten dollar price tag. On the flip side, there was a communication breakdown somewhere between our server and the kitchen, and we received an extra plate of nachos on the house.
The tacos were served like street tacos — loaded with the protein of choice (in our case, octopus and seared tuna) and a few basic ingredients. The octopus version was pretty solid and I wouldn’t mind trying them again (I didn’t taste the tuna ones so I’m not sure how those went down).
The staff was friendly and the place was chill. I’ll definitely hit Baja Room again on another warm night.