El Olmito is solid, not fancy. Tables and chairs are heavy. Every table has a roll of paper towel instead of a dainty napkin holder. The service is very good, although there are sometimes more customers than staff! I've eaten here a few times a year for decades. Every time I go back I ask myself "Why did I wait so long to come back?" Because the food is THAT good! I was very happy, and very, very full when I left. Worth a trip, every time! read more

Excellent tacos, chips and guacamole. Best in iowa! Friendly service with a smile too!

Cravable tacos - one of the best locations in town. Fast, friendly service. Clean location. Lots of options. We tried chicken, carnitas and steak. The salsa verde is amazing. read more

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Hours are terrible! Most people eat after 5pm! I work out of town and can never make it during their open hours. Guess I will give my money and patronage to another store with better hours. Food is good but they are always closed! read more

STOP PLAYINN WIT THEMM!!! Best tacos in muscatine, best tortas in muscatine. Best RICE in muscatine, best salsa verde I buy it by the ounce. Steak tacos Mexicana style (just cilantro and onion) are the best. I haven't had anything else outside the tortas and tacos but that's what they're known for so that's what I'm getting everytime. read more

El Olmito - Steak tacos and beans and rice - Mexican Near Me - Muscatine, Iowa

My favorite Mexican restaurant in Muscatine . Authentic and delicious Mexican food !

What a great little Mexican restaurant here in Muscatine. We found this gem during a shopping trip and I am glad we stopped in. It's a small grocery store with a restaurant in the back and those are my favorite Mexican eateries. The pricing was incredibly fair and the burrito for the price OMG get outta here!! BRING ME MORE!! The grocery portion didn't have a ton of stuff but we were really there for the restaurant anyway. The menu is short, sweet and too the point. The lady got the tacos and she easily put them in her top three!! Needless to say if you're ever hungry in Muscatine please stop by and give this joint a try!! You won't be sorry. read more

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If you are ever in Muscatine Iowa, you have to stop at this little restaurant!! Amazing food, big portions, and great service!! I had the tacos, and they were yummy! read more

Super duper hole-in-the-wall Mexican grocery with a mini restaurant in the back (4 to 5 tables) and a decent sized menu offering everything from carnitas tacos and enchiladas to guacamole and flauta. I know the crew I led here was somewhat worried as we walked up the barred windows and front door of El Olmito but in the end everyone enjoyed their meal. Want a drink? Grab it from one of the coolers along the wall. The service was all no-frills. The fella serving us could use some polishing but it wasn't a big deal. I thoroughly enjoyed my three carnitas tacos (topped with onions and cilantro), refried beans topped with a slice of queso blanco and rice. I highly recommend the fresh guac (note: you may want to add a splash of salt). My meal was $10.75. My advice: look past the barred windows and check it out! read more

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I am Mexican and I can tell you this place is good, probably the best tacos we've had in Iowa. The salsa has the perfect flavor and meat has great seasoning. We ordered the steak and pastor tacos and a torta de milanesa . The meat had great seasoning. The service was great. Super friendly. Just wish they opened past 7pm. read more

If you want amazing authentic Mexican food or need to pick something up, you need to go to El Olmito

The food is always authentic and very good. Service is always pleasant and they do a great job giving you what you ordered and what you want. It is a little Mexican restaurant/grocery store that you would go to in Mexico. Very good place to go. Eaten there several times and it has been great every time read more

Went to El Olmito for the first time. The food was delicious. Not greasy and salty like other Mexican Resto. Very friendly family run this business. It's worth to drive from Iowa City. read more

Food was pretty good, and service was quick. I like their hot sauce and had steak tacos was pretty good. The server didn't speak really good English but good thing my wife speaks Spanish. No free chips, most Mexican restaurants in QC give free chips and salsa. Didn't ask us what we wanted to drink nor bring water. I just assumed we got our own drinks out of the cooler, which we did. read more

Found this little place by accident. And, I'm glad I did!! After speaking with the owner, I found out he is from my wife's hometown of Brownsville TX.!! Small world. Their food is excellent. Reminds me of my moms cooking. read more

Best authentic Mexican restaurant in muscatine!! The tacos are big and filling, the red and green Sauces are flavorful n definitely pack a punch with some heat! This place also makes some of the best tortas around!! It's a 2 for one special because not only can you get full on some awesome grub!! You can possibly buy some authentic Mexican candys, taco shells, can goods or what ever else they have to offer in the grocery store that day!! Highly recommend!! read more

This place is the real deal. Having grown up In Los Angeles, I am accustomed to a certain quality of authentic Mexican dining and El Olmito really impressed! My wife and I ordered tacos (her carnitas and me steak) to try and go the safe route. Being still new to Iowa, we have been disappointed by purported "authentic" Mexican cuisine numerous times, so when this place was recommended, we were admittedly skeptical. That said, after the meal, we talked about how good it was, and the friendliness of the staff for at least half an hour. Delicious! Highly recommend! read more

El Olmito - Mexican Near Me - Muscatine, Iowa

Ms T and I have spent a considerable number of nights back in Muscatine lately and finally had a chance to eat at a few of the local restaurants that we had not been able to try before. I had three meals at El Olmito and found here an excellent homestyle taqueria. Muscatine has at least four credible restaurants; El Olmito, El Allende, Las Lomas and Guadalajara. I have tried them all and rank them in the order given, but all are OK. I have not tried Restaurant Izalco. El Olmito is the real deal. I ate lunch here twice and both times had tacos. The lengua is excellent. It is actually shredded, rather than the usual cubed. Twice I had chorizo and egg tacos. They have a little tomato and chile in the eggs. Perfect. I also had one barbacoa (cheek) and it was delicious, tender and flavorful. Top your tacos with one of two very good homemade sauces. The red version is dry toasted red chile and surprisingly is not vinegar based. The green has decent heat and consists of tomatillos and chiles jalapenos. Both are so good that I never know which to use on the tacos. I just wrote a less than glowing review for hugely popular and overrated Mission Taco Joint in St Louis. All I can say is, "They wish". Popularity and following the herd are no guarantee that you will find something good. For my one dinner here, I had a dinner of barbacoa (cheek). It is very rich and good but you can't let a little grease scare you. It came with shredded lettuce and rice. The serving was huge and I took a big serving home. So here is the deal on El Olmito. It is a little grocery with a few tables. Don't let any of that deter you. You won't get better, more honest and authentic tacos for hundreds of miles. This is comida casera. When we lived in Muscatine we bought groceries here and I don't think they had the menu and tables that they now have. We frequented El Zarape until Paul and Gloria sold it and then we were regulars at Imelda's. Both are long gone but we had a lot of good meals there with our kids. If I lived here again, I would be pretty happy with the selection of Mexican food and would try to rotate through El Allende, Las Lomas, Guadalajara and probably Izalco (Need to try it). I would reserve a special place on my lunch schedule to get tacos at El Olmito. I hope Muscatine appreciates these places. I am saying this place deserves one of the five star ratings that I reserve mostly for special little places. read more

El Olmito - Dinner of Barbacoa (cheek). This IS the real deal. - Mexican Near Me - Muscatine, Iowa

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I come here every time I'm in Muscatine. The food is amazing and the service is excellent and fast. Highly recommend for authentic Mexican!

Without a doubt the best and most authentic Mexican food this side of Chicago. Every other place around here is for squares! My wife and I get carry-out once every week and the whole time we're eating we're also "hmmm-hmmmming" while we chew our food. I consider myself a true connoisseur of Mexican food, having lived in southern California, Chicago, and El Paso. This is as good as it gets. read more

Beat steak tortas and beans in town, tacos are also delicious.Love the authentic taste.

We went there yesterday and let me start by saying that when you pull up to the place smells of Heaven are emanating from the building. Service was absolutely great super nice. We ordered a little bit of everything. The tortillas are hands-down the best I've had in a very very long time. The tacos are huge and just as delicious. Finally the gorditas will melt in your mouth. This is a hidden treasure. It is absolutely worth the drive to go an hour and a half away from us just for this place. It's a One-Stop shop for some great tortillas and amazing food. read more

El Olmito - Mexican Near Me - Muscatine, Iowa

Awesome authentic Mexican. The ingredients in the tacos are super fresh and the salsas that they have are spicy and flavorful (there's a spicy one and a mild verde one). The chips and salsa are different but interesting - the salsa is hot as in temperature hot. A little strange and I don't love it but it's worth trying. I hear the tortas are good so I'll be trying them next. They also have bottled Mexican coke (cane sugar!) and Jarritos, yum! read more

A hidden gem in Muscatine. Super authentic food made to order behind a small tienda. I'm here today for lunch on a Saturday and it's packed. Don't come if you're looking for something fancy, but if you want an authentic experience and something to delight your taste buds, this is the choice for you. read more

Typical hole in the wall place , so my expectations were high. Not much to look at. Most of the time these types of places that the locals eat at, not because of cleaver marketing, but because of the FOOD. Had two steak tacos and 2 Gorditas. The service was ok, the food was decent but not outstanding. I was hoping this would be one of those hidden local secrets, swing and a miss. I'm giving 3 Stars because it was average. read more

El Olmito - Mexican Near Me - Muscatine, Iowa

Excellent food, mellow attitudes. It's the back of a bodega with tables, but clean and tasty. I'm a big fan of their Tortas, and both the Asada and the Carnitas are really good. Service is fast and the presentation is good. If you are a person who tastes based on how the building looks, you may have issues here, however you will be passing up a really solid Mexican restaurant with great food. read more

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in town! Also I work at a hotel and if my guests ask me for a recommendation for Mexican restaurant I always say El omito's hands down the best in my opinion read more

Outstanding food. There are 4 Mexican restaurants on my list for Iowa. This is one of them.

Great mexican food!!!! Was taken here by a friend and I had steak and carnita tacos as well as an order of guacamole with chips. The tacos and guacamole were both awesome. My friend also ordered us some salsa and it comes out steaming hot which i thought was odd but I enjoyed it as well. I would rather have a normal salsa and would probably skip it in the future but it something you should try since its so unique. I was not a huge fan of the chips but they got the job done. Overall this place is a must. Nice hidden gem I would highly recommend. read more

We moved to Iowa four years ago from California and this is by far the best Mexican food I have had since then. I had the Carnitas Tacos which were fried to perfection with great flavor. I tried a bite of my husband's steak tacos and they were so tasty and the steak was tender and not dry at all. The beans were yummy, the rice was fluffy, and the onions, cilantro, etc were all very fresh. My daughter's chicken taco was a bit dry, but still tasted good. The place was old, but very clean and both of the employees we encountered seemed like genuinely nice people. Our orders were correct and we didn't wait long for the food. The prices were also fairly low. We will definitely go back and will bring visiting family there, as well. read more

Best Mexican food in Muscatine, hands down. I recommend a real Coke in a glass bottle to wash it down.

Hidden at the bank of a Spanish grocery store, this is one of Muscatines hidden gems. My friend took me here with his parents one day and I was blown away, for a tiny Mexican restaurant hidden in the back of a grocery it had amazing service and the best torta I have ever had. I recommend their green salsa it had just the right amount of spice and kick. read more

I hesitate to say how great the food actually is because if more people know about this rather small restaurant (hidden in the back of a Mexican grocery store) I won't be able to get a table! The food is authentic (tacos come with two shells in case the first shell gives out). The cook and staff may not speak English so well but who cares? The decor is "hole in the wall" but I wouldn't have it any other way. Many choices of meats for all their offerings and the refried beans are heavenly. read more

Tortas al pastor (seasoned pork on a handmade bun) with everything including sliced avocado is my favorite. They make the best guacamole in Muscatine - get it to take out, too. The fish taco is excellent. ALL their food I've had is good. They sell Mexican soda pop made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. Very small eatery in back of the mini grocery area, 8 (?) tables, and we encounter many regulars including senior citizens. read more

hidden gem in muscatine. in the back of the mexican grocery store on mulberry. this is next door to Leo's garage. stopped in there last week for a bite with a co-worker. the minute you walk in it's definitely an authentic mexican restaraunt. we tried a little bit of everything, corn tacos (beef), tortas. the flavor is very good, hot sauce is a great addition. i am a little suprised they don't move into a bigger location (only 7 smaller tables) for a sit down meal. If you get a chance to try this place, definitely worth the $$ read more

I do lunch here with a co-worker once a month... only once because otherwise I'd weigh 500 lbs. The gorditas, burritos and tortas are especially good. The corn tortilla tacos are done right, too. read more

I loved the steak tacos! the food makes up for the hard to find location. read more

Wow this is the best Mexican food I ever had! The tacos ,torta, everything I ever had was delicious. A lot of people don't know that this little place is in the back of the groceries store. But it's a hidden gem! read more

The food was great so was the service. Very friendly atmosphere. Definitely would come back!

Excellent authentic Mexican food, in a quaint old grocery store. Don't be scared off by the outside or inside appearance. Not a huge variety like classic Mexican fare, so they focus on the quality. The Tortas are my favorite, but the tacos are great to. Big portions. The salsa is homemade and served warm. Sounds strange but it is excellent. The also have homemade hot sauces. The green sauce is spicy but is my favorite. Try the cocktail shrimp. Its a nice twist and different from what you would normally expect. read more