Distrito

I came here for University City Dining Days with two friends, and while it was tasty, it was not worth the $50 we each paid for the meal ($35 + tax + tip + coffee). Perhaps 3.5 stars for our experience.

For appetizers, we shared two ceviches, one guacamole, one salsa, one chilango chop salad, and one esquites.
For my entree, I got the salmon a la plancha and the pollo entomatado. I also had one of my friends' tacos de mahi mahi.
For dessert, I ordered the frutas con crema--coconut and lime panna cotta with tropical fruit.

THE GOOD:
-Decent food: The guacamole, salsa, and salad were great.The pollo entomatado was delicious! Surprisingly good despite the underwhelming description. The chicken was very tender and flavorful, and it came over grits. I was also surprised by the amount of chicken in this dish, much more generous than most of the other dishes. The salmon was tasty but nothing extraordinary (I didn't like the smoked grapes and the broccoli rabe was over salted). Mahi mahi taco was good but not complex in flavor. The ones at Honest Tom's and Loco Pez are better. I loved the dessert! So refreshing and the panna cotta was not too sweet.
-Great service: We loved our waiter, who was very knowledgable, passionate, and friendly. We were pleased with his recommendations, and felt he was quite attentive but not overbearing.

THE BAD:
-Portion sizes: Teeny tiny! The salmon was miniscule, and plating made it look even tinier (at least they're honest?)
-Disappointing ceviche: The shrimp ceviche was tomato-based and not in the least bit acidic. It kind of tasted like shrimp cocktail, or a Bloody Mary. We made the mistake of ordering two in our excitement. The plaintain chips were a nice touch though.

Decent, but not worth the $35 Dining Days deal.

Warning to those that are expecting a Chipotle experience -- this restaurant is mostly small portions of tasty food for exorbitant prices.

On top of that, Distrito's atmosphere reminds me of what Candy Crush would feel like if it weren't virtual. The service was just... weird, as in fluttery and dismissive and hurry-the-hell-up all at once.

Great tacos, delicious horchata, huge selection of alcohol. But we spent at least $60 and left hungry, which is a shame.

This place has great food, hands-down one of the best Mexican places I've been to.  It's definitely not authentic, but it's fancy fusion Mexican.  I had the enchiladas and they were great, as were the salsa and guacamole.  The reason this place does not get 5 stars is for two reasons - the waiter did a poor job of explaining the menu (all items were not available at that time - and by that, he meant anything on that menu I was staring at).  Second, the prices are high for the portion size.  Small portions, high prices.  You also don't get any sides with your meal, which is strange for a Mexican restaurant.

But strictly rating the food, this place is great.