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Chuy's - An Austin-Based Tex-Mex Chain in Several Virginia Locations


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When Chuy's opened in Richmond, a few co-workers down here were so excited that they went the first day, and the second, and the third...I've never been to Austin, but I can tell you from the opinion of the biggest Chuy's (original) fan I know, and my own experience, it's just okay.  Per his review the chain-ified Chuy's is nothing like the Austin original.  I enjoyed my enchiladas, but don't believe the hype.

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When Chuy's opened in Richmond, a few co-workers down here were so excited that they went the first day, and the second, and the third...I've never been to Austin, but I can tell you from the opinion of the biggest Chuy's (original) fan I know, and my own experience, it's just okay.  Per his review the chain-ified Chuy's is nothing like the Austin original.  I enjoyed my enchiladas, but don't believe the hype.

I can see from the pictures on their own website that it won't be worth the hype.

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I can see from the pictures on their own website that it won't be worth the hype.

I'm talking with someone right now who went to UT-Austin, and she tells me it's like an "Uncle Julio's-type place," and not where she would go in Austin.

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My family and I went on opening night, and we had a great time. I'm a native Texan, and lived in Austin during high school and college. I'm a University of Texas graduate, and still recall going to the original Chuy's in the early 80's. Arguably, Chuy's was arguably the beginning of a new type of restaurant in Austin, and certainly broke the mold of places like Matt's el Rancho, El Patio, and even Pancho's (for those of you familiar with Pancho's, yes, I have some regrets.)

For an opening night, Chuy's hit a home run; there were certainly some hiccups, but the food was hot and delicious, our server was friendly, and a manager stopped by tables to thank folks for coming in. The "New Mexico Martini", featuring tequila infused with hatch chiles, was unique and delicious. I love a great chile relleno, and mine was perfect. We also had fish tacos, as well as fajitas.

By definition, there is no such thing as refined Tex-Mex. This isn't upscale or elevated, but it is fun, delicious, and the food is fresh. The comment about "not where she would go in Austin" is valid, but fairly irrelevant, since there aren't any Tex-Mex places in this area, while Austin obviously has a ton of choices.

No guarantees everyone will love Chuy's, but they have some great choices for fans of Tex-Mex.

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Three of us ate here recently. As we sat at the entrance waiting for the pager to light up, I wasn't getting my hopes up, although it was recommended by someone I trust to know good Tex-Mex. It looks and feels like any other chain. And there's no way it will compare favorably to the better Tex-Mex places in Austin (or elsewhere in Texas). But as was pointed out above, this isn't Austin. By local standards, it's quite good. You can eat well here, if you're looking for comfort food and aren't expecting elegance. And you can drink very well. 

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I live less than a mile away and have never been there. I'm glad I followed my instincts. Now that Chuy's is here, I don't know why anyone would go anywhere else for tex-mex.

You're saying the far-flung chain Chuy's is actually good? I would never guess it from their website. An Elvis shrine at every location!

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Chuy's is not only good--it's great. They make everything from scratch, the prices are good, and the food and drink is tex-mex without apology. I spent some of my best years in Austin, and ate at the original Chuy's in the early 80's. A few years ago, I lived in a town just north of Austin, and the Round Rock Chuy's took me back to the original location.

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I can echo that this place is definitely decent (visited the Fairfax location), but they do have a 'trap' to avoid - if they ask if you want queso with your complimentary chips, say no.  What they're offering is actually listed on their appetizer menu, and will add a six dollar ding to your check, and they certainly didn't inform me that it wasn't complimentary.  It's *good*, but if I had known I was going to be charged I'd have declined.  I didn't feel like contesting it, either.

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I can tell you from my experience 2 weeks ago that I am in no hurrry to go back to that crap hole.  I find the staff to be young and unprofessional and management is slacker than Union member on break.  I went on a monday at 4 pm to check out the place and the new springfield town center...theres a reason Springfield has always sucked and it will never change.  The staff was huddled around the service bar complaining about pretty much everything possible.  I ordered the queso dip and the tortilla soup.  the soup was the highlight and actually good..the salsa was acidic crap and bland.  the queso was just plain greasy.  They have a happy hour food bar that gives you free salsa, queso, some kind of beef and refried bean sludge and a sauce of the day...I asked the server what the sauce was and he replie "it was the Spicy one...so I dont have to refill it all the time" :angry:.....meanwhile the manager was repeatedly tasting the frozen mixtures of the machines...for like 15 minutes...thats called drinking on the job in my book.  Stay away from this shithole...cause you will be using the very clean bathrooms with eco friendly lights that turn off in the mall bathrooms if there is no movement in the room for 2 minutes........I wouldnt wish this place on anyone

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With my family out of town, I ventured to the Fairfax location to see what all the hype was about.  Chips-good.  Salsa-mediocre-ymmv-a little too much onion for me.  "Chuychanga"--roasted chicken, etc., in a fried flour tortilla.  I knew I was not ordering the healthiest thing on the menu, but OMG.  40-45% of it was the flour tortilla, another 40-45% was some gloppy cheese inside, and I am being extremely generous to sat that there might have been about 10% chicken inside.  How the chicken tasted is not something I can even comment on, as it was totally overwhelmed by the cheese.

If anyone remembers Chi-Chi's, their chicken chimichanga would run circles around the one I had tonight at Chuy's.  Even if no more or no less healthy, it at least had some flavor beyond the cheese.

The place smelled like the fajitas might be good, but I am in no hurry to go back.

Also, for the second night in a row, while there was one good bartender, the other bartender was more about cleaning glassware, etc., than waiting on customers.  The place last night is at a price point where that behavior is really not acceptable.  I felt like Chuy's might have to take what they can get.

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I've never been to Mama Chuy, but I don't think it has anything to do with Chuy's, which is part of what's become a large Tex-Mex chain that started in Austin. People from Texas looooove Chuy's. There are Chuy's in Springfield and Richmond, too, plus a bunch of other locations, mostly in the South but also in Ohio.

I went once to Chuy's and it was awful - I can't imagine ever going again. This is how I picture Chevy's being.

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I have been to the original Chuy's and their first satellite restaurant in Austin on numerous occasions, albeit 20 years ago. Loved it. I really enjoy Mexican food and Tex-Mex iterations. The singular meal I had at Chuy's Fairfax last year was the worst meal I have ever eaten in a restaurant. Absolutely crap, with every dish oversalted to the point of being inedible.

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Cheezepowder, thank you for reporting that the restaurant had opened.  I frequently shop at the Trader Joe's in Federal Plaza but come in from the side, so probably wouldn't have noticed Chuy's for a while.  I'm not knowledgeable of Tex-Mex- my only experiences being at Joe T. Garcia's (Ft. Worth) and Ninfa's (Houston) long ago.  We'd been hankering for Tex-Mex and were too lazy to go to Guapo's in Bethesda (I haven't been to Mi Rancho (Rockville) in years so if it's good, please advise).

We went to Chuy's last Thursday and enjoyed it so much, we went again on Sunday.  On Thursday, I had the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (chicken/cheese enchiladas with a cheese/green chile sauce).  Really delicious.  My son enjoyed his steak burrito with Tex-Mex sauce (not the one that's reportedly "As Big as Yo' Face") and my wife, her veggie enchilada.  The chips were thin and lightly salted.  They went well with the surprisingly spicy and fresh-tasting salsa.  I had a margarita (I made it a "grande", "in our 18 oz. shaker" for $10.50).  It looked a little pequeno, maybe 12 oz., including ice.  I asked our waitress if it was supposed to come with the shaker and she said no.  We also had the guacamole ($6.99).  It was served in a good-sized bowl but I later realized that the guac was sitting on top of a bed of shredded lettuce.  It was good.  I prefer more acid, so added some salsa juice to my portion.

On Sunday, my wife had the fish tacos, which she enjoyed, and I had the beef fajitas.  Accompanying the fajitas was a mocajete with shredded cheese, sour cream, guac, and pico.  The fajitas were ok.  I wouldn't order the dish again.  No margarita this time, just a Coors Lite (there are no beers on tap and there are 7 brands of bottled beer).

Waitstaff was friendly and quite efficient.  There were some service glitches but nothing bad or unexpected for a new restaurant.  The place is loud.  We'll return.  I hope that they'll be able to maintain quality after the Texas opening people leave.

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(ETA this was the Rockville location.)

Nothing great but in terms of Tex-Mex in this area pretty good. Definitely better than Mi Rancho in Silver Spring, which is where we usually go. (The main draw to Mi Rancho is the huge patio and the fact that it's 10 minutes from our house.) I visited the original Chuy's in Austin in 2014 and didn't think it was anything super special, either.

Our service was perfectly fine. The place was mobbed just before 6pm on a Saturday with tons of small children (including my 2-year-old). Noisy and chaotic. I felt sorry for the servers, but they were all pleasant and hustling. At least a couple of people who I assume were manager types swung by and asked us if everything was OK.

They kept the light, crispy, freshly made tortilla chips coming. We ordered queso, which I think they're known for, and it was quite tasty, although I'm a sucker for melted cheesy goodness. I think they're also known for their creamy jalapeno sauce, which I've heard Texans rave about, so we ordered some of that, too (not sure if it was complementary or not). I didn't see what was so great about it -- it basically tasted like ranch dressing. I had the chicken flautas, which were listed as a house specialty and which I'm pretty sure I also had in Austin. They were fine but nothing special. I'm no flauta expert, but I thought they could have been more delicately fried. The chicken was well seasoned and flavorful. My husband had steak fajitas, which he orders whenever they're available. He really liked them. The accompanying molcajete with fixings was impressive. I had sangria, which I enjoyed, and my husband had the 18 ounce margarita that SilverBullitt had, and we also wondered whether it was 18 ounces. He liked it, though.

We purposely got there early because we read about the big crowds. We only had to wait a few minutes (before 6pm!). I'd certainly not be willing wait much longer than that, but I do suspect we'll be back at an off hour.

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I've been to the Rockville location twice now, and although the place is pleasant, I've found that there isn't a dish there that's as good as Guapo's in Bethesda.

Again, if I was near Chuy's, I wouldn't mind going, but if I'm planning ahead, I'd certainly go to Guapo's instead.

 

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9 minutes ago, mtureck said:

Again, if I was near Chuy's, I wouldn't mind going, but if I'm planning ahead, I'd certainly go to Guapo's instead.

Interesting. I haven't been to Guapo's in many, many years (like 10+) and never think of it. I'll have to plan a return trip. I assume it's not nearly as much of a mob scene as Chuy's.

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32 minutes ago, pras said:

I always wanted to check them out, but looks like the company has fallen on hard times and Rockville has permanently closed (credit, The Store Reporter).  According to the Store Reporter, this was the last Maryland location.

Yes, I suspect we'll see some Virginia closures soon.

"Chuy's Furloughs about 40% of Corporate Workers, Draws Down Remainder of Credit Facility" by Tonya Garcia on marketwatch.com

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After last week's Store Reporter came out, the landlord got in touch to say that the Rockville Chuy's may reopen after all. If we hear this from Chuy's directly -- not likely, but these are crazy times -- we'll run an update. Our bet is that this closing will remain permanent.

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1 hour ago, Bob Wells said:

Ugh. We have a Chuy's gift certificate and had been trying to get to the Fairfax outpost. Hope we have a chance to try it at some point.

It appears the Fairfax location is still offering a limited menu. "To-Go" only.

Tip: get the creamy jalapeno

 

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