I came here for lunch today and it was really good! The portions are large and inexpensive so you can easily get filled without breaking the bank. I tried their brisket taco and their garlic shrimp taco. Both were delicious! My boyfriend had the carnitas taco and he loved his as well! This restaurant does a great job of making sure everyone is socially distancing and that everything is clean. Our waiter was also really nice. We had a good time.
The tacos were very good and it was nice to see proper lengua ones listed on the menu. The restaurant is nicely set up and renovated but the space isn't huge so it can fill out fast. The staff is very friendly but they need a little time to work some kinks out. Our tacos came out first and very quick but we had to wait a while after eating the tacos for our chips and salsa, which came out with our dessert milkshakes. They'll be great once they get the food timing down!
What a find! In 8407 Kitchen Bar's old space (that was a loss) it's a lovely restaurant and the food and drink is excellent. The margaritas are super fresh and not too sweet. The plantain side is so so good - caramelized and served with a slightly savory, creamy sauce. Mmmm. The smoked brisket enchiladas with mole - holy mole - seriously good, as is the wonderful street corn. The churros are delicious. The one missing there is that wonderful dark chocolate sauce usually served with them. Their version is more milk chocolate swirled with caramel which just doesn't quite do it for us. But overall, really great. The service was friendly, there is indoor seating and limited outdoor seating. A parking lot is 1 block away. Kid friendly.
Lovely spot. Nice atmosphere, good food and great margaritas! Would be nice if food came out all together especially for the shared platter. Still they let us stay past closing as we were chatting so that was kind. Would definitely come again.
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First let me say that Buena Vida and Tacos, Tortas, and Tequila are the same place: Buena Vida is upstairs and TT&T is downstairs. This confused me at first because I thought they were 2 different places. I've been to both one time each and both have delicious food!! You can read my review of TT&T on their Google Maps page (hint: I gave it 5 stars too lol). This review of Buena Vida comments on the food, drinks, and service during brunch hours: A friend and I came for brunch on Saturday around 1:30pm and it was great!! We didn't have a reservation, but it was like a 5 minute wait. Brunch is $35 for unlimited food (anything on the menu) and alcoholic drinks, and $25 for just unlimited food, or you can just order a la carte. For brunch they stop seating people at 2pm and they stop serving food at 3pm. I think I heard one of the waiters say that last call (for the bar) was 2:30pm, but he might've been saying something else. The food was absolutely delicious. My favorites were (1) the bacon and avocado quesadilla, which is a cheese quesadilla topped with egg, bacon, tomatoes, avocados. And tbh I mainly loved it because of the cheese quesadilla -- I could eat it without the added toppings. (2) The spicy milanesa, and (3) the plantains. But everything I tried was delicious! (Though I wasn't a fan of the Mexican chocolate cupcake). The *brunch* drinks (my review isn't on the other drinks) were subpar to me. I ordered the mango mimosa and white sangria, and they just lacked flavor in my opinion. My friend had the strawberry mimosa and there was absolutely no strawberry flavor in her first one -- she joked that they just put red food coloring in the drink haha. Her 2nd one had a hint more of strawberry flavor, but it still wasn't enough in my opinion. As far as service goes, this place is the best of the best! As soon as we walked in every worker said hello. We only had to wait 5 minutes for a table, but the hostess was apologetic -- I think for no reason because we didn't have reservations and we legit were only actually waiting for like 3 minutes, so she had nothing to apologize for! As we're going up the stairs and to our table, all of the workers (waiters, busboys, etc) we passed greeted us. What I REALLY loved about this place is the teamwork and overall dynamic of the employees. ALL of the waiters were very proactive. They would walk around and pick up empty plates they saw on people's tables, even if it wasn't one of the tables they were waiting on . A waitress (that wasn't our waitress) stopped by our table and asked if we wanted to order anything else, and then she took our order for more tapas. Like the teamwork here is freaking awesome!! I've worked in a restaurant before and we didn't nothing like that, it was basically every person for themselves. But you can really sense the supportive environment at Buena Vida.
Came to Buena Vida on a quiet Monday afternoon with a friend of mine. It was our first time and we were not aware of the fact that there are two restaurants in one location divided by floor level: so make sure that when you go you go UPSTAIRS first and don’t waste your time downstairs at TTT like we did. My friend and I got the $19 all you can eat small plates & The food was incredibly impressive. I had heard good things but I didn’t know it was going to be THAT good. Everything was seasoned to perfection. Although it’s hard to choose, my favorite was probably the spicy fried chicken and steak quesadilla. I can’t wait to go back. I need to try everything on the menu!!
This restaurant is wheelchair accessible and very accommodating. When my friend and I were looking for a table that we liked, the staff immediately offered to bring in a table from outside that would work better for us and when it was a little wiggly, they fixed it in seconds without us having to ask.
My friend is a vegetarian and loved her cheese tacos. I got the chicken tacos and really enjoyed them. As a nice surprise, the host brought us mango sorbet from the chef and it was delicious - thick and refreshing.
Definitely will be back.
Eliana & Travis Vaughn
+4
Amazing unlimited brunch on the weekends, food was great on both visits. Very cool atmosphere upstairs with the music and large windows. The plates are small, so just order one of everything!
Excellent brunch option in the DMV - wide selection of drinks, bites and desserts for just $35, and free parking in the nearby garage to boot!
What you must have: spicy fried chicken, chilaquiles, shrimp and chorizo grits, and abondigas. My friend, who never eats dessert, raves over the churros but I prefer mine a little softer.
I love the decor at this restaurant! Note that there is an upstairs and downstairs with different menus. Downstairs is more fast casual and upstairs is more of a nice night out. We sat at the bar upstairs and had good service and drink recommendations. My margarita was a little different- it had fresh mandarin in it and a unique taste. The chicken enchiladas come with two in a plate and are tasty. Guacamole was large; more than enough for two people. Great date night spot and right near the metro.
Much better than the kitchen bar, which used to occupy this space. We had the chips and salsa, which was excellent. The salsa Verde is awesome. My wife and I split a bunch of tacos from there. Everything was really good and will definitely be back. Nothing blew my socks off which is the reason for the four stars but good enough for another visit.
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THEY ARE ALLERGY FRIENDLY! Woohoo!
They are very clean and neat. They are on the top floor of the building. Building is very colorful. Restrooms are at the bottom floor and shared with the bottom restaurant however, they are clean. They do take reservations. Food is good. They can work with your allergies and make custom dishes according to your food allergies. Staff, Chef, and Bartender are very understanding. I have a lot of food allergies so I have to inquire about and talk to the chef at every new restaurant I go to and judge super hard cause I need to know if I can eat there or not. Parking is limited as it's in the heart of Silver Spring, MD, but it's right next to the metro so it's fine. Parking is not hard to find though.
It was my first time going there and I will definitely be returning with my friends and family. I got some custom soft tacos with chips, guacamole, salad, mangoes, and a mohito drink. They can easily cater to large parties and they play really nice Latin music in the background. I believe the straws they use are eco-friendly straws. They also have a bar that is clean and have a great drinks menu.
FOR PEOPLE WITH ALLERGIES:
So once again they will work with your allergies, just ask the bartender or chef. The chips are unlimited refills. The chips are made out of fresh corn tortillas and they are safe for people with allergies. Food comes out of the kitchen in a fast and timely manner. No long wait times. Everything is made from scratch and prepared fresh. I am a vegan so I can only give my experience from a no meat point of view. The guacamole is made from fresh guacamole. No creams, no dairy, no nuts or any allergens. They only add fresh tomatoes and onion on top. Mangoes and other fruit such as watermelon is fresh. They do offer other sauces and dips, but I didn't exactly know what they were so I didn't take a chance my first time.
The salad also comes with Tumeric dressing. Once again I had no idea what that was so I didnt try it. Will have to research if the dressing is allergy friendly. I am sure you can ask to receive the salad without the dressing. The Mexican rice and Mexican beans are allergy friendly and prepared fresh. No creams, no butter, no nuts, no dairy, or any allergens. The soft taco are also made from fresh corn tortillas and are allergy friendly as well. I tried my food, waited 5 min to see if I get any allergy reactions, saw that I got no reactions and then proceeded to eat my food. There seems to be No Cross Contamination of food thankfully.
MY ADVICE:
If you have allergies, always discuss your specific allergies with the restaurant regardless of my review. I would specifically talk with the Bartender and Chef as they seem to have the most knowledge. Not sure if they have more than 1 Bartender but the one I spoke with was a short, very understanding, Spanish woman. My drink was also clean and very good and delicious.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
Overall the restaurant and staff and food was amazing. They earned their 5 stars and I will be coming back again in the future. Allergy friendly as well and a great experience and atmosphere!
Fantastic location with great food and fantastic service for a large group. Everyone had a great time passing the plates and sharing drinks (all amazing, even the worm salt ). The staff was attentive and able to accommodate each person's individual requests--even bringing out special dishes prepared without allergens or noting which should be avoided for those with food preferences/needs. I would absolutely recommend coming here if you want a fun experience of trying a little bit of everything off the menu. Bonus if you have a large group it's super easy to figure out the bill!!
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ROMANTIC AMBIANCE, SUPERB SERVICE AND EXQUISITE FOOD! A MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE
I made a reservation for me and husband and the hostess was nice enough to wait for us even though we were 10 mins late! We were seated right away on one of the cozy booths! Rather than ordering individual dishes, we chose all you can eat for 35$ ( it was 20$ because of opening promotion) the server explained us the concept, asked us of our dietary restriction and we choose to go with her recommended flow! So the plates come when they are ready but the flow of pretty fast and out table was always food! We pretty much tried everything on the menu except the tacos ( you can only eat so much and so we prioritized )
So, lets go through the list we tried in that order:
- chips, salsa and pickled veggie: they were okay!
- Traditional and Yucatan Guacamole: Yucatan Guac is a must try! Mango in Guac bring a whole new level of tanginess to perfectly match the creaminess!
-Salmon Tostadas: MUST TRY from Ceviche bar! the portion size was perfect and there was a burst of flavors be it tangy, spicy or sweet and the chip was adding a nice crunch to the whole dish!
-Heirloom Tomato Ceviche: Not a big fan just because tomatoes over spicy tomato juice wasn't an impressive combo for me.
-Grilled Spiced Tuna: a fresh take on Tuna by mixing it with watermelon. A delicious summery dish.
-Shishitos toreadors: The pepper were grilled good but I think a little bit of Tamarind sauce will complement the dish pretty good.
-Queso Fundido Con Chamapgnon: OMG! MUST TRY. The tangy apricot sauce along with the earthy mushroom and melted cheese is the combo out of this world.
-Sweet corn empinadas: Crispy shell stuffed with sweet and creamy corn, whats not to like!
Patatoes & Cheese flautas: Crispy shells filled with potatoes and creamy cheese topped with juicy cabbage. Delicious!
-Sopa De Chilorio: Perfectly seasoned and cooked pork.
-Chicken tinga tostada: Not a big fan of this perticular dish because there was nothing super special about this.
Open faced Chicken quesadillas : If you like Quesadillas, this is MUST TRY! Fiercy pablao peppers with mayo pico bring the mundane dish to whole new level and not to miss is the beautifully grilled shell.
- Friend green Tomatilos: The tomatoes were crispy and tangy but I am not sure if the sauce was a good match.
-Jicama and green apple salad- A perfectly summery refreshing salad.
-Spinach Enchiladas: This was the first time I actually tasted spinach in my enchilladas. Usually they are so cheese heavy and greasy but this was balanced nicely and salsa verde was pairing nice with the overall taste profile.
- Fingerling Sweet Potato Tostones: BEST DISH! I think I dies eating this ans was re-born in the sweet potato heaven! The potatoes were grilled to perfection with just right amount of char, the orange nector was adding the hint of tanginess to cut the sweetness, The cocoa nibs were making a symphony by adding hint of bitterness and to complete the set the sauce was adding hint of spiciness. My palate just had out of this world experience! DO TRY THIS as main dish or dessert!
I would highly recommend trying then out for a must have foodie experience!
Was looking for tacos in silver spring and tried this out. The rice and beans were delicious! And I usually never eat my rice and beans. I got 3 tacos. The steak, pulled pork and Baja fish. Was kinda disappointed in the Baja fish tacos. Wasn’t a fan of the crunchy shell. The steak tacos were amazing though!!! Very flavorful. Pretty good customer service. Our server was always there to refill our water glasses and answer any questions we had. The the interior of this restaurant is gorgeous and veryyy picture/instagram worthy. So be prepared to snap some photos on their vibrant floral mural outside.
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