Oyamel

Absolutely wonderful food. The chef’s tasting menu is amazing.

Oyamel used to be the best Mexican restaurant in the DC area and it was a favorite of mine. Sadly, the pandemic has taken its toll. The menu is dramatically reduced and the remaining dishes are not as well-prepared as before. Portions were small and service was slow. The wait staff was very nice, but the kitchen is not up to its previous high standards. The price was very high for what we got. I hope that Jose Andres will work his magic and restore Oyamel to its previous glory as we move into a recovery from the worst of the pandemic.

One of the many things I adore about Jose Andreas' restaurants is that they are all equally wonderful! Oyamel is the Mexican version & it is amazing. Start with a ceviche or two (we have the special atun pacifico & the ceviche roja), add a salad (the beets were awesome!) and a vegetable (cauliflower & brussel sprouts, so good) and finish up with some tacos. The margaritas were perfection, the tres leche cake was just the right amount and the coffee was very strong, just the way I like it.

I sat outside on a somewhat chilly day. Oyamel had outdoor heaters, so it was quite comfortable. I paid by credit card and cycled the 2 miles home. When I arrived, I had a message from Oyamel that I had left my credit card. I was very happy it was able to track down my phone number and call me ASAP. I went immediately back and retrieved it.

Fabulous flavor combinations - imaginative and SO delicious! What a treat! ❤️

Staff very accommodating to my request for quieter table. Lively decor and atmosphere. Waitstaff did exceptionally well on a very busy rainy Saturday afternoon.

Everything was excellent except for the music blaring, even outside! WHY?

Great pre-theater option, across the street from Shakespeare Theaters. Outstanding food and drinks, and quick service made for a good evening.

Had dinner outside. The tents work well and they did a good job of trying to create a nice dining atmosphere; even though you are right on the street. The food was excellent. The enchiladas were a big hit at the table. The service was great as well; it was rather busy and our drinks and food came out quickly.

The ceviche was extremely fishy, leaving a terrible aftertaste. I never had a bad meal here, so I was quite surprised. I regretted bringing my friend here that night because I had hyped it so much. I will not recommend this restaurant in the future. I will come again only because of past meals, but this time started off bad, and went downhill from there when the staff asked us to switch tables. The rest of the meal was okay. The only good thing was seeing my friend that I haven’t seen since the pandemic began. Only wish the meal was perfect.

Authentic Mexican restaurant with a flair and nice vibe. Don't stick with a stand-by...try anyone of the outstanding dishes. I have never had the anything twice and have always thrilled with everything. Service is and has always been impeccable.

It’s a nice go-to place for office lunches and meeting friends.

Delicious food. Appropriate portions. Too much up selling.

Great place for a night out or pre-Caps game dinner (Capital One Arena is two blocks away).

Highly recommend the tequila flight. Our server Ezra was great

My daughter and I were in DC for a quick 24 hour trip and Oyamel was one of the highlights. I made the rez last week bc Oyamel looked like it hade several vegetarian options for my daughter. We got to our reservation too early after finishing museums earlier than expected and they seated us soon after our arrival even though they seemed pretty busy. The service was so so good. The mojitos were the best we’d ever had with interesting and gorgeous foam concoction on top. Definitely the best and most interesting Mexican food we have ever had! We will be back and definitely will recommend.

Everything was perfect, including the margaritas!!!

Great service and great food, as always!

We returned to Oyamel to celebrate my husband’s birthday and, though we’ve been many times before, found this experience not worth the trip. The chips were stale and hard (always had been our favorite!) and the guacamole was bland and not thick at all. I think they forgot a seasoning or lime juice. The drinks were excellent as they always had been, but the food was okay at best. My husband’s half sandwich was actually difficult to cut through..the bread was that stale. Lastly, the side booths by the windows need an upgrade FOR SURE. Super uncomfortable.

Food was pretty bad . I expected much better

Lovely restaurant, good food, excellent service. Had a delicious dinner.

Menu us original and full of flavorful options. Presention and taste was very good. I'll go back.

Our server was AMAZING

Great margaritas and food. Went at happy hour and it was perfect. We were able to try multiple items that were the perfect portion

Innovative and delicious Mexican tapas with very comfortable outdoor dining area. Would readily come back.

Great food and amazing service. Highly recommend the tasting menu

Loved it. The food was so good. Great value for the menu pricing. I highly recommend Oyamel!

Wow! Mexican cuisine h!as never been this good outside San Diego/Mexico City.
We did the Chef's selection and the dishes, presentations, and dialog behin each dish was delightful. The pairings were right on and from state. We had a Latin lunch - 2/5 hours and left happy and very full. This is our first time back in 2 years (COVID) and the service and quality of the meals has not suffered. We will be back.

We enjoyed our dinner on the outside patio- thankfully it was still a warm night on 10/2. There is the noise from the city roads, but it didn't bother us. The server we had was very attentive and helpful. We tried dishes that we would not normally make on our own and it was very good! The pricing is a bit high for cocktails in our opinion- the one glass of margarita for $ 13.00 seemed a bit unreasonable to us. It would be nice to see them offer a smaller tasting experience as the one on the menu sounded like too much food. We ended up ordering a few of each thing and didn't leave hungry. Overall great experience!

Loved my margarita! Best margarita ever! I will be coming for another!

Food was delicious. Service was great. Liked Mexican small plates idea. Pomegranate margarita was divine!

A promise to my husband of excellent Mexican food during a recent weekend in DC landed us at Oyamel. We are fans of Jose Andres, so this was a no-brainer. The small plates approach allowed us to try out lots of interesting selections. Our 2 favorites (of 6 total) included the octopus and then the pork belly quesadilla. Although delish, don’t waste too much of your appetite on the chips and salsa. We ate outside, and service was pretty attentive. Didn’t care for the foamy mojito. We hadn’t eaten here for many years but won’t wait that long again…

Un guacamole et une margarita maison à tomber. D’excellents produits et beaucoup de créativité (seuls les desserts sont un peu décevants) Des prix plus que raisonnables pour DC. Un grand OUI !

Good variety of choices! Guacamole was outstanding! Service terrific!

GET THE FISH TACOS AND THE MEATBALLS AND DON'T FORGET THE GUAC AND A MARGARITA! YOU WON'T BE SORRY!

Good meal! A little noisy in the restaurant but the food was amazing and the margaritas are the best in the city.

The food was wonderful. We sat inside but didn’t feel like we were too close to anyone else. We will definitely be back again!

We showed up 15 minutes early for our reservation and weren’t seated until 30 minutes after our scheduled time. Other than that, everything was amazing.

Always amazing food!

I hadn't been here in years and had forgotton what a great restaurant this is. Sadly, the area around Capitol One Arena is a dining desert with few good choices. Happily, this is one of them!