Don Tito

I’m updating my review since I was able to eat downstairs this past week.
Let me just tell you, downstairs is the chill area and upstairs is the turn-​up. Downstairs was more my speed. I had a high-​top table with the BF and service was truly impeccable. I mean to the point where you have to reassure your waitress that you don’t need anything from her. LOL! She was great and she earned every bit of her tip. Again the guacamole was so good, I could slap your abuelita. Mexican chicken torta was great (again) and my 5-​spice Chinese tacos were filled to the brim. I mean $ 10 for 2 tacos makes you a little hesitant, but these were definitely worth the price. The empanadas were just okay, but the chimichurri made them better. I’ve learned recently that sauces shouldn’t make the food, but simply enhance it, but the sauce definitely made these empanadas. My sangria could have been a little more fruit, I could still taste that it was red wine, but it was still good just not as good as say Nando’s sangria. The Mexican mule was the best drink of the night. Unfortunately one of the menus was only available during football season, so get there before the super bowl to take advantage of some of those good treats on that menu because it’ll be gone soon. All in all, I’m glad I went back and will be returning in the future.

Happy hour till 8 pm. SCORE!
the chicken avocado sliders are pretty good and the $ 8 grande margarita are huge!
overall, pretty good happy hour!

Just overall disappointing. It’s like bar-​mexican. I don’t really know what to call it. I had the beer battered tacos and the mimosas. $ 9 for 2 tacos. $ 20 for a pitcher of mimosas. That would have been great if it wasn’t all ice. it got to the point where when you tried to pour a refill, all you got was ice tumbling out all over the table and unable to get to the bottom of the pitcher. i’m pretty sure there wasn’t more than a glass of champagne in the entire pitcher either.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ disappointed. will not be returning.

Once upon a time, I dreaded when my friends would mutter these 4 words: «Let’s go to Clarendon». Before Don Tito opened its doors on the corner of N. Hudson and Wilson Blvd I would have rather stayed in and cleaned my room or even worse, do laundry than to be dragged out to Arlington. The bars that were around which will remain unnamed but rhyme with «Barendon Brawlroom», «Finder Jellys» and «Sister Rays» just didn’t do it for me.
DT offers 3 floors of beautiful space, including a rooftop with a view of Arlington that you didn’t even think existed, and an awesome extended happy hour which lasts from 3−8PM Monday through Friday (that I appreciate, because let’s be real here, who can make it to happy hour on time in Northern Virginia Traffic before 6PM? *DJ Khaled voice* They don’t want us to drink after a stressful day at work). During happy hour, draft beers are $ 3, margaritas are $ 5, and they also have daily specials such as $ 8 Jumbo Margarita Thursdays (and who could possibly say no to this one??). Thursday to Saturday nights are the busier nights with some of the best djs in town spinnin, and they also have a late night taco menu that starts at 11PM daily where their whole taco list is $ 8.
Here is your complete guide to Don Tito in a nutshell from my past experiences (thank me later, I’ll accept payment in their shrimp enchiladas, thanks).
1. My top 3 favorite tacos: The surf and turf, Tuna, & Chile Shrimp.
2. My top 3 favorite misc. items on the menu: Shrimp enchiladas (absolute favorite food item here by far), the Carne Asada steak, and lomo saltado.
3. My top 3 favorite cocktails from their list: Either a Pomegranate or Mango Margarita, the Jalapeño Margarita, and the Beachcomber. Aside from the cocktails though, you’d be surprised, they have an extensive wine, and even more extensive tequila list.
4. The first floor is for quieter, more intimate dining, the second floor is where the livelier crowd usually gathers (especially Thursday-​Saturday nights because this is where the DJ is situated), and the third floor is where the rooftop is which is at an in-​between volume level. HOWEVER, be forewarned that there is usually a line for the rooftop because of the strict capacity rules enforced by the fire marshals. There is also a line that forms outside the restaurant itself but usually only on Friday and Saturday after around 9/​10PM when people come out to bar hop.
The staff, management, and owners are also great, accommodating, and friendly. So whether you are looking for a laid back dining experience, a great happy hour after a rough day at work, a date spot, somewhere to watch the game, or a fun place to let loose, DT offers all that and more. Definitely the best thing thats happened to Clarendon IMO.

We have only gotten delivery from here (through DoorDash), but both times it was surprisingly good for a) a bar, and b) food that has probably been sitting for a little while.
We’ve had both chicken tacos and the short rib tacos (good), the mini burrito (bf loved, I thought it was okay), the empanada (a little dry), and the Mac and cheese bites (good, but the sauce was kind of a weird choice).
All in all, a solid choice for bar food or delivery.

I enjoyed my meal at Don Tito. I came here with two friends who love it, so I was really looking forward to it. The restaurant is HUGE; two floors with lots of seating on each and a good sized bar on each floor also. We ordered shortly after we sat down, a chicken quesedilla for me, which was delicious. Lots of chicken! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. My friends enjoyed their food also, I forget what they got but it looked delish. Chips and salsa came with the meal and were also delish. My only complaint was that the server took what felt like forever to bring us the check. She walked past us a few times and didn’t even look at us even though we were clearly done eating. She was friendly, though. I’d definitely go back.

I have to say this place is THE place to come for all things sports related. There are TV’s everywhere so you can’t possibly miss a free throw by Lebron or a touchdown by ODB (Giants fan). There are 3 floors including a rooftop which I have never been yet because of this cold weather. But I love upstairs, there’s a DJ and just a fun vibe when you are into being loud and free. Downstairs has a more lounge-​y feel which you may need from partying too hard upstairs. It’s usually darker and my kind of vibe for the days I don’t do my hair.
I have been here multiple times with friends from VA and friends/​family that visited me from home on my birthday. No complaints from them either! I have always enjoyed it here and the welcoming vibe.
The margaritas are delish and those mini tacos can just about make me happy on my worst day. Which is the reason my boyfriend prob brings me here to shut me up now that I think about it. anyway, you must try if you haven’t already!
The business owner Scott is fantastic and if you need him he is there in a flash or secretly batman either way he’s great!
Enjoy :)

I called Don Tito this past Saturday morning to make a reservation for the Skins game. I was told by the hostess that they do not accept reservations on Saturdays. So we just crossed our fingers and showed up about an hour before the game started.
When we got there, there were a few large tables (which is what we needed) that were «reserved» and that we couldn’t have. I asked how they had been reserved, and the hostess told me «Oh you can go online and reserve tables on opentable»…don’t you think the hostess on the phone should have told me that when I called in the morning? We put our name on a waitlist, which they assured me would be a 20 – 30 minute wait. Almost TWO hours later, we were STILL waiting, and the tables that had been reserved were STILL empty.
We complained to the manager who was on duty, and props to him for saving the night! (And this Unilocal review.) (The manager also told us that you can’t even reserve tables on opentable, and that he had no idea how these other people had reserved tables.) Within 10 minutes we were seated at a table right in front of a tv, and we had the best night ever watching the game. What a great place to watch a Redskins game — I especially loved the Hail to the Redskins song being blared after every touchdown! We stayed well past the end of the game, and everyone had a great time.
I am still confused whether Don Tito accepts reservations on the weekend, but I highly recommend calling AND checking opentable before giving up on a reservation.

We came for our holiday work HH. I’ve been here many times before because its a great place to grab drinks, flirt, dance and eat. but not in that order. Today we were on the second floor because it’s too cold for the rooftop. There is plenty of space at the bar but it was nice that they tried to set up tables so we could sit and eat together. There were just so many people so we ended up spilling over to the bar anyway.
I ordered the sliders ($ 12) and the Margarita ($ 6). They were both really good. A coworker ordered the fish tacos (you get two). She liked it so much that she got a second order. I made a mental note to get the fish tacos on my next visit. Overall I had another great experience.
So in conclusion the service, drinks, food and location (near the Clarendon Metro) are really good.

We stopped off here for a happy hour dinner and the staff did a fantastic job getting our order before the Taco Tuesday Happy hour ended.
There was plenty of room at the bar for us to enjoy our meal and a couple drinks without feeling crowded.
The staff worked together quite well ensuring that we had everything we need and that our plates were bused only when we were both done with everything.
The Surf & Turf Taco and the Carne Tacos were both quite good. We’ll be back when we’re in the area for another quick bite.

Went for a football game a week ago, and maybe 2 months ago on the rooftop.
I was sort of surprised when the bartender couldn’t recommend anything he thought was exceptional, and finally settled on chicken nachos as his first pick. I was sort of taken back he didn’t seem to like the menu, and really, on a menu that diversed you go for chicken nachos? Anyway, what really matters is he did make a couple good drink selections for us, and maybe latin cuisine wasn’t his dig. Food was pretty good– but certain menu options sort of reminded me of being in a chili’s i.e. it was sort of one note and typical.
The décor is pretty cool; it’s definitely a good place to catch a game, but nothing about it says that it’s Latin. It’s still very open, and has a cool vibe with plenty of TV’s. There’s some weird astrotruf on the walls around the rooftop I thought was sort of strange.
The one thing that really put me off was on the rooftop the restrooms are male/​female and allow for one user at a time. When I went into the bathroom there was literally a puddle of pee around the toilet, and soggy toilet paper everywhere. Thinking maybe some drunk fool trashed the restroom I told the bartender, and went to the second restroom– and I was floored to see it was the same situation! Pee and soggy toilet paper everywhere with a toilet that looked worse than I’ve seen at most frat houses! I may have even overlooked this, but it was 4pm on a Sunday with few patrons around. At that point I could have just went down a level and tried another restroom, but my inner germophobe won, and we migrated elsewhere.
All in all its okay.

Came here for lunch with coworkers on a beautiful day. They had all the windows open in the front of the restaurant which allowed us to enjoy the beautiful weather from our seats.
I tried the guacamole, carne asada tacos, and ancho short ribs.
Guac — I felt was just ok. Needed more salt and cilantro, but had a chunky, homemade texture.
Carne asada — definitely the best of the two. Very flavorful, juicy beef. Beautifully served on a corn tortilla with caramelized onions on top. Perfect!
Ancho short rib — was our waiters pick but I thought it was a bit bland compared to the other choice.
Tacos came with two types of sauces on the side-​verde and rojo.
House made tortilla chips was fantastic as was the smoky salsa. I just wish they gave you more salsa!
Great service! We had a late arrival and the waiter was great about checking in on us without making us feel pressured. Wonderful job!
Tips: parking is a $?!#%* and I don’t even know what to tell you bc if you park in another restaurants lot you’re bound to get towed. Try to find some street parking close by!

Place is huge, lots of TVs, good for games
Food is not very good. And there are lots of places with TVs in Clarendon so doubt I’ll be back soon
Large selection of tacos but they weren’t very good, and a bit pricey (4 – 5 $ for a small taco). Don’t know how they call the queso fundo that, since it’s basically velveeta with a tablespoon of chorizo

What an amazing brunch!!! I previously visited Don Tito for drinks only so I had to try the brunch. My wife and I (and two others) were extremely impressed.
First, the service was right up there with incredible and flawless. Our server checked on us frequently and kept filling up our water. The manager came by twice to ask how we were doing. Absolutely no problems with the service at all.
The food then arrived and it equalled if not surpassed the service. I had the Surf and Turf tacos and I was blown away by the freshness and quality. The shrimp was enormous and the skirt steak was plentiful and seasoned beautifully. You can certainly taste the freshness of the cilantro and cole slaw as well.
Overall, this brunch was exceptional. I will be returning soon AND recommending this place to other people!

Saturday was my second time at Don Tito — this time for brunch! The first time I came here I remember the drinks being a little weak and the food decidedly Meh.
The second time I went back I was proven wrong by my first time experience. We arrived around noon for our brunch reservation and were taken to the second floor bar and sat in one of the noteworthy, extremely comfy booths. Also I’ll mention the layout of the bar in general. It’s extremely spacious on all three floors so when it gets crowded, you still have some room to yourself.
Our server D.G. came by to give us a rundown of the menu and take drink orders. We ended up getting the pitcher of red sangria which was only $ 20 and ended up being 5 – 6 glasses total so a good value there! We ended up getting 3 pitchers through brunch and each was as tasty as the last.
We each ended up ordering from the brunch menu and everything we had was delicious. I got the shrimp and steak tacos. First of all, the presentation of the tacos was really pretty. It definitely looked like something I would get excited for and the taste matched up with the presentation. They were delicious. The shrimp was fried perfectly and the steak was nice and juicy to go with the spice of the sauce on the taco.
We all also dug a little bit into the huevos rancheros one of our friends got because it looked so so good when they brought it to the table and that too was really good.
Overall I was extremely impressed with how Don Tito did brunch and I’m sure the next time I come back, the quality will be reflected in the dinner or happy hour! I mentioned in my initial review the happy hour here goes until 8 Monday — Friday but I will mention it again since that’s one of the better HH’s you’ll see in Arlington!
If you’re looking for some good sangria, food, or a good HH, this place will do you well!

I can’t believe we came to Don Tito for brunch and it was completely empty! This was by far the best ayce/​acyd brunch restaurant of the DMV, everyone who hasn’t been/​brunching elsewhere is missing out!
5 stars for food selection, taste, service, location, and view!
Food selection — at least twice the number of choices offered at El Centro!
Taste — everything was freshly made and beyond delicious! My favs — the empanada (overstuffed with chicken and chorizo), shrimp and fish tacos (so fresh and love the tangy, sweet slaw!), chili relleno (that cheesy rice, out of the world!)
But wait! there are desserts too! Fried ice cream with caramel sauce, fresh churros, flan, and tequila cupcake… Why did I ever waste time/​belly in other ayce brunch before?
Service — the sweetest, most attentive server. She even timed our courses perfectly and made sure our table wasn’t cluttered with too many items all at once.
Don Tito, don’t change a thing! I can’t wait to come back!

Oh Don Titos, YOU HAVE MY HEART!
I love the rooftop at Don Tito’s. I love the food and I love the bar and I love the service I’ve been here three times (drinks, brunch and dinner) all have been wonderful experiences. I love [there’s that word again] this place so much that I LOOK for opportunities to go here and I live in freaking Burke.
The rooftop has a great vibe and Dante is a wonderful bartender. The Sunday brunch is delicious. It’s $ 25 and an AYCE from a pretty extensive menu and the breakfast sangria is to die for.
In Clarendon and want some rooftop fun… GO TO DON TITO’S!

Even though I live nearby, I thought I had long outgrown the Clarendon bar scene so I was really, really surprised to realize that I actually like Don Tito’s.
I found myself here for a goodbye party on a Sunday night last Memorial Day weekend. The place was packed but in a joyous, celebratory way which led to a lively atmosphere. We stood and enjoyed the bar scene for a bit but three inch heels had us beckoning for a table by the end of the night.
Even though we were stuffed to the brim from our earlier MDW BBQ, our group of six decided to order some tacos to share since we were taking up valuable real estate and didn’t want to stiff our server. It ended up being the best decision all night because DAMN SON, those tacos were good. They were so good we actually all ended up getting a second order. My favorite was the beef short rib but my husband was drooling over the carne asada. They were well marinated and oh-​so-​juicy. Totally worth every penny, and it’s a steal if you can get it during their extra long happy hour.
All of the servers and bartenders we interacted with that night was friendly and helpful. The only thing I did not enjoy was my sangria which tasted like wine mixed with soda water — but I know better to order something else next time.
I would definitely come back here again!

oh geez, oh sigh, here we go, another latest fad, latest hot to trot bar in Clarendon. Not to rain on the party, but here is an alternative view of the gushing, dime-​a-​dozen reviews by the Arlington yuppy puppies.
This place has thrown open the space of the previous place Eventide, so that there is a much more vacuous, cavernous feel to each floor. The sit down aspect of dinner has been cut out. Why bother when there’s much more revenue to be made when people are drinking more, and are happy with finger food (the sexiest of all contemporary finger foods being of course, the TACO!).
This place exudes a kind of a hip, vibe for a ‘brightest young things’ 20 to 30 something crowd. The costumed burly security dudes at the entrance are designed to make the kids feel like they are entering an exclusive club, say in Miami or in L.A. Woo hoo!
Inside the acoustics of big crowds in this big hard walled space will hurt your ears. It’s packed to the gills these days, and everybody is having a rocking good time. Bring your own ear plugs.
The bar staff are really exceptionally friendly. I have had great service each time I have been here. Even the lovely gal on a Monday night on the first floor, who was being aggressively hit upon by an uncouth young buck, who kept her cool and gave us lots of decent tips about the menu, and efficient service. I feel for her. There must be a lot of those prowlers firing rapid questions at her about whether she was single. Get a clue boys. Seduction doesn’t work like that.
The drinks. The giant margaritas are quite nice. The Ruby Red drink was like an off-​balanced Jolly Rancher candy sweet in a glass. Not on point. I ordered it based on the excited Unilocal reviews. Nope. I had to remix with my friend’s giant margarita (We used the straw as a chemistry pipette to adjust the Ruby Red with additional squirts of regular margarita and then it became drinkable.) The Jalapeño Margarita was again not as balanced as I like, rather too sharp. Their straight up margaritas *giant margarita* are quite nice. Not spectacular, but a fine margarita.
We also tried the tecate beer bloody mary spinoff and a Vodka Collins? drink. Wholly okay. Their chips and guac, again, not bad, but it’s chips and guac.
If you want my standard of exceptional margaritas and exceptional bar food, try Oyamel in Penn Quarter. That’s where you get onpoint, balanced, inventive, brilliant concoctions.
Don Tito’s is more a regular bar with a Mexican spin. It’s full of happy, fresh DC young people, who are about to take on the world (This is not Pentagon City scene with a bunch of square, military types/​beaurocratic types. This scene is definitely DC young techies and contractors).
Enjoy the hype, enjoy the buzz, enjoy the young and restless excitement… Don Tito has quite a shine going on right now. Let’s see how soon the young things become distracted by… the next big bar to show up in Clarendon… :-)

This place is beautiful from the floors to the staff and don’t even get my started on the drinks and rooftop. I can’t believe how they transformed this place from what it was to what it is now.
I came here two nights in a row for their soft opening. Both nights were beyond perfect for me. I can’t say that I’ve had this much fun in a restaurant in a long time.
Let’s talk about drinks. These are the ones I had over 2 days.
* Prickly Margarita ($ 10) has a bit of a kick to it. Not spicy, but the house-​made sour probably has something to do with it,
* Pino Pomelo ($ 10) has a nice assortment of ingredients in that was half sweet and slightly bitter with grapefruit juice and ginger syrup in it.
* Sonoran Sun ($ 10) is a simple but light tasting drink with house-​made grenadine, guava juice and tequila. This drink was good, but I had preference to the others.
* Blood Orange Margarita ($ 9) this is only one of 9 different flavored margaritas you can choose from to be on the rocks or frozen. The blood orange was beyond delicious.
* Agave Collins ($ 10) lemon juice, agave nectar, grapefruit bitters. You’re getting your vitamin C in with this drink, and this was probably my second favorite. I love how refreshing it was and the tequila they used in it flavored very well with the citrusy ingredients.
* Ruby Kiss ($ 11) light, refreshing, and this is the drink you want to have while sitting on their rooftop overlooking the cityscape in the middle of the summer at sunset when it is about 80 degrees. This drink also will make you feel sexy as you’re sipping it. I sure did… or maybe it was because I had 2 of them and the alcohol contents assisted in this.
El Coco Camino ($ 11) I usually do not like coconut, but this was wonderful. 1800 Coconut tequila, horchata, and cinnamon. A drink repeat for my next visit, indeed.
Food. Oh the food… again, stuff over a 2 day period.
* Seafood ceviche ($ 10) is actually refreshing. It had a prawns, calamari, and scallops with other ingredients that made it light and so good. I have to admit this was probably one of my top 5 favorites tapas I tried.
* Seafood dumplings ($ 9) O-​M-​G. I am in love… ‘nough said. Get this!
* Guacamole ($ 8) Milos recommended. I have to agree with him that he did us right by recommending this. My only suggestion is add more cilantro! I love cilantro…
* Ahi tuna ($ 10) this fish is sexy, and it tasted sexy in my mouth. Fresh out of the sea to my plate — I won’t complain.
* Surf and turf — ($ 10) steak, battered shrimp with bacon and cabbage, and side of horseradish aioli. Sounds like an odd pairing of all ingredients, but this was solid blend to my surprise.
* Pollo saltado ($ 15) their take on the traditional Peruvian dish with chicken instead of beef is going to be a huge hit. I loved it, and don’t have a bad thing to say,
* Braised pork carnitas flat bread ($ 9.5) this was my least favorite of all the items. It’s basically small portion pizza. I wouldn’t have any issue this being removed from the menu. It didn’t seem that exciting to me compared to the other items.
* Smoked chicken eggrolls ($ 7.5) again, other options to be had than this. It is okay, but definitely order something else before making this choice. Maybe I just don’t like deep fried stuff as much as the next person…
* Mini Pepitos ($ 9) hamburger sliders with a chipotle sauce
* Lomo saltado ($ 9.5) the traditional Peruvian dish. Tasty and great flavored beef.
* Queso Fundo ($ 8) tasty cheese dip with some tortilla chips. Lovely starter.
* Blue crab croquettes ($ 10) blue crab balls. I enjoyed these. The dough was great fluffy and delish.
3 floors of awesomeness.
I am pretty excited about the rooftop above all else. The first 2 floors are beautiful with their light fixtures, and open floor settings.
The rooftop, though, boast of the most spectacular view in the area of Clarendon. 2 full bars up there where you’ll also be able to enjoy the full service menu and bar together. No restrictions for dining only on the first 2 floors.
The first floor would be ideal for brunch and work happy hours. Speaking of brunch, they’ll offer the entire menu for brunch for the flat price of $ 24.95. Alcohol is separate due to strict Virginia alcohol laws.
Second floor has a large bar in the middle surrounded by booths, high tops, and bar seating with high ceilings and a DJ booth overlooking the 2^nd floor area.
Service here is amazing. Everyone is attractive and knows their art — especially drink making. Not a single complaint about their staff. Seriously, they’re awesome.
I absolutely can’t wait to hold an event here and to show off this place as if it was my home. Great new hot spot for Clarendon, and don’t be surprised if this becomes the go-​to place for happy hour and rooftop drinking and dining.
Last comment — Milos, their GM, is going to rock this place out! Keep up the awesome work!!!