Located in Washington D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood and just seven metro stops away from College Park, a Mexican restaurant with flavorful food and tropical vibes sits on a rooftop.
Throughout this semester, whether you are scrolling through Instagram or checking Snapchat stories, chances are you saw El Techo’s signature jungle vacation decor. This week, I gave in to the social media posts and took a trip to the district to try El Techo’s Latin-inspired tapas and drinks.
After walking a few minutes from the Shaw-Howard University Metro station, I entered El Techo’s oasis. Hanging lanterns, florals and colorful lights dotted the ceiling as a projector shot videos of exotic birds on the wall behind me. I was transported into a world I describe as an adult Rainforest Cafe.
The cocktail list was overwhelming in the best way with every drink sounding exquisite, but I landed on the El Techo Margarita ($13). This drink was filled to the brim and was perfect for anyone who is an avid tequila drinker. Under 21-year-olds have no fear, El Techo is not 21 and up, and even have non-alcoholic cocktails available.
I ordered two tacos, the mojito chicken ($4.99) and shrimp ($5.74) for my meal. The tacos both came on corn tortillas with chef garnish and salsa, but I “pimped” both of my tacos, which means added shredded cheese, sour cream and pico and cilantro (additional $1.49 per taco).
While the chicken taco was flavorful with mint and lime marinade, the shrimp taco was my favorite by far and left me talking about it the rest of the night. The picante pineapple glaze complimented the grilled shrimp to create just short of a life changing taco that resulted in almost another order.
I also was able to try my boyfriend’s three birria tacos ($16.99) with eight hour braised lamb and melted cheese and the signature consume, which was his favorite followed by the shrimp taco. Because of the price, we decided to end there even though they were tapas style portions. While tapas style can be good to try many different menu items, our bill was already over $40 for a meal we finished in under 20 minutes. This resulted in almost immediate hunger which called for endless snacks once I returned home.
While the food exceeded my expectations and the service was great, I am not sure I will be a regular at El Techo. The menu seemed catered to large parties with deals like “The Kitchen Sink” where every appetizer on the menu is included ($59.99) or the “Skull” with 10 cocktails in one big skull cup ($95.00). As a college student, I think I would return with a group of friends or even take my parents there for a fun night out, but I am not sure if I could justify going there because of the portion sizes and the price for any other reason than a celebration.
I am glad I gave in to this Instagrammable restaurant and I recommend gathering a group of friends to go for an end-of-finals celebration, but be wary of the prices and portion sizes.