Surfside

Address: 2444 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20007

Phone: 202-337-0004

Neighborhood: Glover Park

Cuisines: Tex-Mex, South American, Mexican, American

Opening Hours: Open daily 11 AM to midnight.

Wheelchair Accessible: Yes

Kid Friendly: Yes

Price Range: Inexpensive

Dress: Informal

Noise Level: Chatty

Reservations: Not Accepted

Website: Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes Guacamole; Nevis tacos (corn tortillas with grilled shrimp and pineapple-jalapeño salsa); grilled fish tacos with bean-and-corn salsa and lime sour cream; make-your-own salads with outstanding green-goddess or honey-peanut dressing; Acapulco quesadilla wi

Price Details: Appetizers, $3.95 to $7.95; main courses, $7.95 to $18.95.

Special Features:
Kid Friendly

With its frozen margaritas, reggae soundtrack, and wooden roof deck, this Glover Park hangout makes you feel closer to the beach than any other place in town. The Cali-Mex menu reads like it’s laid-back, too, but David Scribner is a serious chef who pays attention to the little things. There’s not a trace of fake cheese in the warm queso dip, and tortilla chips are freshly fried. Shrimp tacos feature plump, grilled crustaceans topped with house-made pineapple salsa and lime-infused sour cream.

Even the healthy stuff—ultra-fresh salads with toppings such as grilled salmon and grilled pineapple—is satisfying. For dessert, we like the chocolate-iced vanilla cupcakes from the bakery Something Sweet, run by the wife of Surfside owner Bo Blair.

Also good: Guacamole and chips; steak and veggie quesadillas; carnitas tacos.