Lauriol Plaza Rated Best Mexican Food in DC

Lauriol Plaza was rated by the Washington Post as the "Best Mexican Food" in 2002 readers choice poll. With reader feedback like this, I was expecting nothing but the best. However, my experience started off a little odd.

I was walking down 18th Street with with my husband and to my left was a nice outdoor dining area. As we continue walking, I noticed a swarm of birds gathering on top of one of the tables- someone has left out the chips and salsa and the birds were having a feast. "Ewww, how sanitary" I said as four birds run past me dragging pieces of tortilla. Imagine my surprise when my husband said "here we are" and proceeded to walk in the door.

I rolled my eyes as the host said "Outdoor or indoor table". "Indoor!", I said and thus began my experience at Lauriol Plaza.

Luckily for me, there were no problems with the cleanliness when we walked inside. The ambiance was very nice, almost romantic. The staff was friendly and attentive. Everyone had a smile on their face and that made me feel quite comfortable. A bonus is that the food came quickly. This was especially helpful as the salsa they provided with the complimentary chips wasn't very tasty. However in all fairness my husband said he liked the taste.

I've heard that it's normally crowded but it wasn't when we arrived. I glanced at the upstairs seating and it was empty. There was only one other couple in our area and they were at the table directly next to us. This was a bit uncomfortable because there was not a lot of space between us. However, I was comforted in that the staff kept coming by to make sure that everything was ok.

By the time we left, the place was packed, and I was glad that we got there early. We walked back to the car and noticed that they provide parking in the back of the building. This is rare for some areas of DC and we were sorry that we didn't notice it when we arrived.

Pros
If you are looking for great service then here is the place to go.
You don't have to worry about where to park your car.
If you want to do some browsing after you eat, the restaurant is located on a street with lots of shops.

Cons
I didn't like the taste of the salsa.
The birds outside on the table turned me off.