We want YOUR review of Queso Southwestern Grill in the Roanoke City Market Building
Queso Southwestern Grill. Photo by Eric Brady l The Roanoke Times
We have asked readers to have a little fun and help us review the new restaurants inside Roanoke’s newly remodeled city market building. We will solicit reviews on this blog every Tuesday and Thursday for the next several weeks.
For rules and more information about the contest, please click here.
Today’s featured restaurant is Queso Southwestern Grill (on Facebook here), which turns out burritos, quesadillas, tacos, queso dip and other Southwestern-style fare. Please leave reviews of Queso Southwestern Grill as comments on this blog entry.
You should aim to respond to specific questions about your experiences at the restaurant. For example, what have you tried, and how did you like it? How would you rate the pricing for what you got? How was the service? The atmosphere/vibe? What is your favorite thing about this restaurant? What still needs work? Would you eat there again?
Keep it short. Try not to write more than 300 words.
We are also still accepting reviews of Allsports Cafe in the Roanoke City Market Building. Please click here to submit reviews for Allsports Cafe.
Thank you!
January 26, 2012 - 6:00 AM
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What I love about Queso Southwestern Grill is that the food is made fresh everyday. The fish tacos are the best I have ever had. I go on my lunch break and only have a half an hour. The food is served fast and the staff are always incredibly nice. It’s by far my favorite restaurant on the market.
hands down my favorite place to hang and eat. The food is fresh, vibe is great, staff is courteous. Best eatery in the market to date. Dan Mock is The Man!
Queso Southwestern Grill is a fantastic addition to the downtown landscape. I have eaten there for lunch, early evenings and have also ordered catering and to go boxes. The food is always fresh and inventive and served with incredible professionalism and fun. Special order requests have always been met with a smile. I love it!
Tried Queso for the first time this past Friday, I work downtown so co worker and I went and ate there. Since it was Friday it was free queso day and their queso is to die for! Not sure what seasonings they use on their tortilla chips, but they were addictive!! I ordered the chicken quesadilla lunch combo which came with a choice of side, I dont remember what they all were but I chose the spanish rice. I only got one bite of it but it was very good. I only ate 2 out of 4 pieces of my quesadilla, but it was very delicious! They are big pieces, so I got full pretty quickly. I also have to mention their sweet tea was pretty sweet which is how I love it! The waitress kept checking on us and even gave us our drinks to go. Overall it was great and I will definitely be eating from there again, especially the chips!!
We love Queso! You get a new treat every time. The soups are outstanding and the fish tacos are a real treat. The top prize, however, goes to the queso (cheese) dip and the in-house nachos that come with it. It’s addictive. Dan Mock has a good thing going downtown, and now we understand he’s delivering and catering. What an asset! Thanks Dan!!
Lemme tell ya’ll this place is the bomb.com! I got the nacho plate and it was delicious till the last chip! Plenty of meat and topping on every chip. Definatly worth my money. Keep up the good work Queso!
I ate here the other day with a colleague of mine. I got the Chicken tortilla soup and 3 crunchy tacos. The tacos made to order were just how I liked them, everything tasted fresh and authentic. The soup was just as delicious. The service was the best I’ve had in a long time, very nice girl at the counter that had a smile on her face the entire time I was there. I would definatly come back here for lunch again. Bravo Queso Southwestern Grill!
Queso Southwestern Grill is a great place to eat. The food is absolutely delicious! My favorites are the Queso dip and and the pulled chicken burritos. The taco sauce is very flavorful. The staff was very friendly and the food came out really quick!
QUESO-SOUTHWESTERN GRILL
A cup of chicken tortilla soup ($3.09) with chips was well-suited to warm me up for a meal while my partner enjoyed a cheese, bean and rice bowl appetizer ($4.29). From this beginning, we continued to Special Plate #5, a loaded chicken quesadilla ($6.29) that was perfect for dividing.
I’ve never really cared for quesadillas because the filling falls out and they become messy eating. Finally, Queso Southwestern Grill gave me a taste of the real thing I’ve been missing. Their #5 is eminently edible and expertly made. The abundant filling stays put, and their quesadilla turns out to be the quesadilla of my dreams. This large tortilla is filled with layers of colorful, tasty, nutritious foods: Melted blended cheeses forms the base that gets topped with seasoned black beans, sautéed onions, just enough jalapeno heat, cilantro, red and green bell peppers, plenty of pulled chicken, plus sour cream and pico de gallo.
Queso Southwestern Grill has a large bottle of hand sanitizer available on the counter for customers to use while waiting for their orders.
This was a great, satisfying lunch for both of us and we are looking forward to bringing family on our next visit.
Queso Southwestern Grill really hits my taste buds!!!! The Queso is SOOOO good. It should be on everything that they sell! Their pulled chicken is almost as good! Very moist and flavorful. For $8.75 you can get any combo like a Loaded Pulled Quesadilla a side and a drink. And they have ORANGE FANTA!!!!! I really hope that the owner & staff keeps bangin it out the sameway everytime!!! And I just learned that there is a dinning area on the Wall St side and they are open till 7pm M-Th and 9pm F-Sat and till 3pm on Sunday. Looks like the family will be going by there after church on Sundays!
I crave Queso multiple times a week! I have been so impressed by the daily specials! It keeps me coming back and curious as to what they will come up with next! The Queso dip is a Roanoke staple and I could eat it with a spoon. I am very excited to learn that Queso now does delivery and catering!! I can assure you Queso will be the center of my Superbowl party! The staff is always attentive and cheery. SO happy to have Queso in Roanoke!!
My first experience at Queso was prior to attending an event at The Roanoke Civic Center. A large group of us had a fantastic meal and appreciated the prompt service. The food was extremely fresh and full of flavor. My daughter has been back numerous times with her friends and love that it’s delicious and affordable.
didnt know much about queso until this weekend, so glad i found it! great food and most importantly to me, clean and inviting. the owner gets it, sociable and wants to make dining experience enjoyable as possible. try the cheese dip!!
Queso has a variety of southwestern style foods. Ive eaten there a few times now and I do enjoy the food, my only qwam with it is its not consistent. The prices on the to go menu are different than the menu hanging up and those prices are different then what they ring up at the end. One time I ordered food and it came with a side for free and then the next time I came in there was a charge. All in all the food is very tasty and they serve you in a timely manor. Cheers!
Queso’s food is fresh, fast, and well-priced. I love the environment and can’t wait until it warms up so we can sit outside and take in the downtown scene. The chips and salsa are top notch and the quesadillas have a ton of flavor. If you haven’t checked out Queso Southwestern Grill, you’re truly missing a fun and tasty experience.
I have not had a lot of the menu items there yet, but Queso had a nice atmosphere in the small dining room, and when the spring comes the outside patio will be great for enjoying a cold drink with some delicious queso and their home made chips…they have a a good fresh salsa too. The owner and the staff are very warm and friendly…I like going there.
This is the best fresh food I have had in years. The veggie burrito is delish. I have not eaten meat in 25 years but I had the Chicken Tortilla soup and loved it.The chicken is pulled and spiced perfectly…I didn’t taste the meat until I already loved it! The cozy dining room is perfect, the staff is accommodating…and they deliver.Queso we love you.
I am a big fan of Queso. The pulled chicken, either on a taco or in a burrito is my fav. The Queso dip is definitely worthy of being the namesake for this market building gem. It’s the best in town, hands down. The tortilla chips served with it are seasoned perfectly and obviously hand cut and prepared in house. Also, there is nothing better than washing it all down with an orange fanta in the bottle! Great job Queso! Keep it up!
I love love love the loaded burrito at Queso. Can’t decide what to order? Get the burrito cause it’s loaded with all the yummy and homemade southwestern toppings that we all love. Soooo good! I am constantly impressed with the quality products they are putting out. Homemade tortillas, salsa, and of course the QUESO!! Gotta try the cheese dip….it makes everything better!! mmmmm……writing this is making me hungry for some Queso.
I haven’t eaten there..I would like to though if they could create some gluten/wheat free options. Tacos/Mexican food is my favorite and the only place to eat that with this intolerance is Chipotle. I am super jealous by reading the different foods offered!
Worst mexican ever. As a native san diegan I know good mexican. Store bought cheap tasting tortillas, bad/bland mushy rice and beans made up my under weight veggie burrito. Taco salad was a terrible mix of iceberg lettuce and raw onions. I will never waste another dollar on this place. You shouldn’t either. Offensively bad. As my mother said “taco bell is better then this!”
I have visited Queso twice and also had it delivered once for a family meal. Each experience was equally fantastic. There is no better queso dip—it’s SPOON-LICKIN’ good! I’ve had the beef tacos, chicken tacos, guacamole, and the chicken, rice and bean bowl. They were equally YUMMY. Drizzle a little queso over everything, and WOW! Oh, and the soups–had chicken tortilla and carrot soups…such comfort food! Bueno, Queso!
I have now eaten at Queso twice. Both times it was delicious, the service was friendly, and the prices were reasonable. What a great alternative to Moe’s or Chipotle!!! I’ve had the chicken questionable and a mix of the 3 tacos. I don’t recommend the fried fish taco, but everything else tasted great. If you haven’t been, you need to go.
quesadilla*** (not questionable) Autocorrected.
I tried Queso Southwestern Grill during their first week of being open and it wasn’t memorable enough to go back. The menu was appealing and there was a good amount of variety, but the wait time and quality of the food left me disappointed.
After placing our order at the counter, we had to wait 15 minutes before receiving our food. This seemed to be common among others who had ordered, and everyone seemed to be rather annoyed. I’m sure they were still getting used to being open and handling a lunch rush, but that’s part of being a successful business. The server continued to apologize for the wait and promised that the taste of the food would make it all worth it. I wish she had been right.
I ordered the three tacos lunch special – and I decided to try the chicken, fish, and beef. There wasn’t anything special about the beef; the chicken was pretty good; but the fish was almost inedible. I was hoping the fish would be the stand out because I love grilled fish tacos, but this fish was extremely over-seasoned. It was the first time I’d had a taco that just tasted like salt & pepper. For $8, I wouldn’t consider it a good value for the quality. Again, I hope this was part of the growing pains of an opening week.
From my market building dining experiences, my meal from Queso wasn’t one of the highlights. If I give it another try, I hope there will be significant improvements from my first time there.
Blue Ridge Foodie, I had fish tacos from Queso yesterday and really like the grilled one. I ordered one fried and one grilled. I was not crazy about the fried one, but the grilled was very flavorful.
Give them another try.
I am one of the owners of Queso and would like to thank everybody for their opinions and reviews. I would say that 24 out of 26 being very positive is a great thing in our first four months and we are deterimed to only get better. To respond to the the two comments from “peaches” and “blue ridge foodie”, the opening week was very hard as we were all learning how to do everything in an efficient manor, meaning the timing and quality and we are very confident that all of those issues have been corrected. Our goal is and always will be to cook fresh food in front of the customer and not be serving a ready made, out of a box, frozen food heated up. Naturally waits are to be expected from this type of service and are usually told upfront especially any fish dish that is served, but I know the time issue from 4 months ago and the first week, hopefully this has been corrected and we truly apologize. As for the Taco Salad and Veggie Burrito comment, the recipe for all beans and rice have been corrected as this issue was documented and corrected when the customer brought it to our attention that day and on this site, there is no iceberg in the salad and all veggies are cooked, not raw, as a veggie salad and burrito I can see the complaint of size and that has been corrected. I dont believe anyone who has given us another chance from the first week would say we are anything close to Taco Bell. Thanks for all the opinions and corrections that needed to fixed.
Also I would like to note that we have brought in gluten-free and wheat-free items and have composed dishes with those items. They are available anytime by asking for that specific menu. Thanks!
I live in DC and was in Roanoke visiting friends who recommended we go to Queso for dinner while downtown. I was thoroughly impressed by the freshness and quality of the ingredients. The homemade salsas were flavorful and the ground beef in my tacos was the best I have ever had. Roanoke is lucky to have a quality place in this age where opening cans is considered cooking.