Soooooo good! New ownership, third generation has really tried and turned El Patio around. Please give it a chance.

This is the true definition of a homey restaurant, as it's tucked right into a neighborhood. I sat outside and it felt like having dinner in a friend's backyard, which made it the perfect spot to catch up over a meal. Our server Lori was incredible and checked in frequently to make sure we had what we needed. The food took slightly longer than expected, but the atmosphere paired with our chips, salsa, and margarita pitcher more than made up for it! read more

El Patio Mexican Restaurant - Number Three on the menu. - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Margaritas were excellent. Floutas were good. Partner loved the favorite. The patio was lovely. Prices were reasonable and appropriate. Meal was delicious waitresses were attentive and speedy & nice. Ample parking in the back. Didn't check on the restrooms. read more

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I haven't been to this restaurant for over 10 years and finally got to go and take my husband. It was a midday week and rather early so it wasn't busy. We were seated immediately, and our order was taken and chips and salsa were brought out. I love the ambience being that it's an old house turned into a restaurant. So much color on the walls. We also ordered queso. Both that and the salsa tasted delicious and the chips were amazing, definitely not a bag of chips. I ordered the chicken tostada and it was ginormous. But very delicious and fresh. My husband got a beef taco and a cheese enchilada. So good!! As we were winding down, the place started to get busy so we knew it was time to leave, but are very excited to go back and give it another try because they were other things on the menu that looked amazing. I would say don't walk, run because it's Definitely an authentic and delicious Mexican restaurant. read more

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Disappointed in their "Pitcher" of margaritas. Weak and served in a carafe instead of a pitcher!

Here's a small local business you need to try! El Patio on 37th and Ingersoll! I am a teacher and one of my students wrote on an assignment in my class that she spends a lot of free time at her dad's restaurant. So, today after class I asked her what restaurant her dad owns. She said El patio and that she works there sometimes. I asked her if she was working there tonight and she said yes. So, I told my husband that we should have a dinner date there tonight. The restaurant is in a converted house, and we chose to sit on the back patio. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of Mexican restaurants because it seems like places will just put a big slab of refried beans and rice covering 3/4 of your plate and then the remaining fourth is the tacos or burrito or whatever you ordered. It never looks appealing or fresh. Plus I don't like it when a Mexican restaurant has a giant menu with 120 mediocre options). Thankfully this place has a small restaurant and does them well! Tonight I ordered their chicken fajita salad and boy, was it flavorful! The marinade that they used on the chicken and the veggies was outstanding! The ingredients all tasted very fresh. Even the fried flour tortilla bowl was so fresh and delicious! The salsa that came with the chips is some of the best that I've had! I put the remaining salsa on my salad as it was so fresh and tasty! My husband had tacos and some rice and said it was good and fresh. The best part was that my student got to be our server! She was so sweet and fun to chat with and at the end of our meal, she surprised us with a complementary slice of chocolate cake with ice cream and whipped cream! Now, you have to understand that I rarely eat dessert! My body just doesn't feel good when I eat very much sugar and if I had to think of my top 25 favorite desserts, chocolate cake would not be on that list. However, when I found out that my student helped make the cake (a recipe she has been making with her grandma since she was little), I of course, had to try it and let me tell you, it was one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had in my entire life! It had authentic chocolate frosting that was so rich and flavorful and authentic. The cake was absolutely scrumptious! Thankfully, the owner came out and introduced himself and we were able to chat with him for a few minutes. He said his dad owned the restaurant for many years and that he just took it over within the past year. It is the oldest operating Mexican restaurant in Des Moines! The total cost before tip was $29 which I thought was very reasonable. Overall, it was a wonderful dining experience, and I highly recommend it! read more

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Such a cute place and vibe! The queso was amazing. Wonderful waitress.I plan on coming back soon!

I've lived in Des Moines for 48 years and can't believe I've never been to this gem! Holy moly, the flavors and service! Best burrito and margarita I've ever had. We will be back. Again and again and again... read more

Always a great place. Love the history as well and the food. Thanks you!! The House(music)is unique as well. Great drinks

The food was great! The service was fantastic! Meagan was the best! Just a wonderful all around experience! Can't wait to come back!

This is old school Des Moines. For some people that's good and for some that's bad. The menu which hasn't changed in 20 years even says this is inspire by people who liked to travel but they did not bring back anything authentic or even well seasoned. People must love it for nostalgia. Both my wife and I described it as if our grandmothers had heard about Mexican food but had never made it before. Unsalted, unseasoned, and very overcooked. The margaritas are somewhere between sub par and bad. We tried a variety. The chips are grocery store from a bag and same with basically every ingredient. The service was kind but slow even on a slow Tuesday night. Honestly, the best part. But it's a Mexican restaurant run by a bunch of 70+ year old white people. The menus is basic but not in a good way. And the restaurant is in an old house where all the ceiling tiles are discolored, the floor is carpet and gross, the walls are dated, and there's broken glass and in four different places in the parking lot and up to the door. The table salsa was decent & hot, the service was nice, and the location with a patio are what saved it from fewer stars. read more

El Patio Mexican Restaurant - Kahuna burrito. - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Food, service (Meagan) and ambiance was lovely! Chips and salsa had nice heat... water was cold. Patio was comfortable!

Honestly just not great food. I got chicken fajitas and would swear it was rotisserie chicken - literally zero spices. I wanted to like this because it's close to our house but I won't be going back. read more

Patio is amazing. Best chips and cheese dip in town! Topped with green onions! Yummmmmm love the decor and the staff is super nice! Best margs too! Get it with grand marnier read more

I grew up going to this place and have been going with my family for over 20 years. Listen - this place is all about nostalgia for me. Don't come for the food or service. Do come for the 1990's neighborhood restaurant nostalgia and a nice evening on the patio with some decent margaritas. Don't come if you're in a rush - expect to spend multiple hours. read more

charming setting inside + great outside seating on the patio. food was delish + the service was wonderful!! great job Adam + Megan, and Cory too! keep up the great work! 5+ read more

Terrible chips and salsa, terrible margs, bad food. Seems like a horror house that serves below average Mexican food. Save your money!

This is the least authentic Mexican restaurant that I have ever been to. The food is atrocious, the restaurant is crawling with rodents and is not clean at all, and the manager/owner is beyond rude. He identified himself as the chef - the worst food I have ever eaten. I encourage nobody to try this place. read more

I love the food at El Patio and the service is great. Becky Smith makes the best chocolate cake ever. You have to try it!

I lived in Des Moines 15 years and had no idea this place existed. My loss. A converted house just off ingersol. Great outdoor patio and the food was so good. Got a pitcher of margaritas to start. The chips they brought were thicker than others and nice. Want a fun Mexican place, give it a try read more

El Patio Mexican Restaurant - a plate of food - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

I want to like this place. But I'm always disappointed. The service is not good (and they are rude) and each time I come here it seems to get dirtier. This last time my plate and food was extremely burnt. Waitress never came and asked how things were, in fact we waited around a lot for her and they weren't that busy. Our server made me feel bad for asking a question regarding a sauce being gluten free. She said she "assumed" it was when I asked if she could check. This will be my last visit. read more

I was visiting Des Moines from San Diego recently. I ignored the reviews about flies, cock roaches, and rats, because they had a large crowd and I was hankering for Mexican food. I live on the Mexican boarder, so I don't expect authentic as I travel north. The food was bland, uninspired, and ill prepared. I gave it a second star because it was edible, and while experiencing flies in my food I did not see any roaches or vermin read more

Great food, great service. My boyfriend too me here while we were in town. No Mexican people were in the kitchen. However the food, music, ambiance resembled a restaurant in El Paso. read more

Love this place! The food is always amazing! My family always loves the fried ice cream. The service is also great, the owner has come out to talk multiple times and you can tell how much the staff cares about this family run business. Check it out! read more

Being vegetarians,it is difficult for us to find good Mexican restaurants that can accommodate our requirements. The restaurant which sits in the old part of the city is indeed a hidden secret. The staff are extremely accommodative. It is a family run business. Everyone in the staff made us feel at home They indeed cooked rice for us without chicken broth. They modified everything in the menu to suit our taste Don't skip the desserts!! Would definitely recommend this place!! read more

Took over 30 minutes to get our order and the taste was pretty bland

This place seems to be built out of a house and has been there forever, which is super cool. The host was a bit standoffish but the rest is the wait staff was great. The chips are fire and the big kahuna burrito was fantastic. read more

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I used to live in Santa Fe, and was visiting my parents in Des Moines. El Patio is where they wanted to go out to eat. I was very skeptical. New Mexican cuisine is virtually non-existent outside New Mexico, and I wasn't sure when I asked the waitress how their red sauce is made. To be clear, at El Patio the red sauce is Mexican with a tomato base, and their 'brown' sauce is New Mexican and has a chile pepper base which in New Mexico is called red sauce. Dang! Their sauce is the real deal! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. When I am back in DSM I will definitely go there again. As for ambiance, the owners have a very nice selection of art from well known artists. The ceiling, and carpet are a little tired as other reviewers have mentioned, and the waitress we had was not terribly well versed in New Mexican cuisine, but no matter, I came for the food. read more

This restaurant's owner is not welcoming. I will not eat at a restaurant that turns away paying customers because they don't share his political views. That is arrogant, and it suggests he thinks customers are there for his benefit rather than the other way around. read more

Wanted to try something different and certainly got that, At first we were pleased with the cute neighborhood and the house which is actually the restaurant. My family of 4 including 2 little kids were seated in the patio which is very nice with many flowers around you. However, as soon as we walked in the table next to us was 3 guys who had clearly been there awhile and had quite a bit of alcohol to the point of intoxication. They were immediately loud and vulgar and dropping "F" bombs and other fairly descriptive words I can't put on Yelp. They were also gross with constant burping.They ordered two more pitchers of Margaritas which clearly should not have been served, and nobody redirected this group. If it was my restaurant they would have been removed or at minimum redirected. Remember we have two small children. Many people were looking at them. The waiters looked stressed and tense. And the food is fairly bland and not very authentic. Even if the food was 5 star the experience would have been one star. My kids did enjoy the fried ice cream for whatever that's worth. This will be our first and last time here. read more

Walked in with a 7pm reservation for a table of 10 and had two waiters argue over who had to serve us, making it very obvious neither wanted to. Was brought to our table and we're told immediately we could not switch seats once we sat down or else it would mess everything up. Ordered a dish that came with sour cream, to which I told the server to have the sour cream on the side please. My food came out with a pile of it on top, and then my bill included an extra charge of sour cream (even though it was included in the meal, and I didn't even want it in the first place). We all ordered margarita pitchers and we're enjoying ourselves. The server came over towards the end and started taking the pitchers away, along with the chips, salsa and queso we were all eating, despite there still being drinks in them and us still sitting there. We all felt incredibly uncomfortable from start to finish, and rushed to get out towards the end despite it only being 8:30pm. Left the restaurant realizing we were the only ones there during this whole time on a Friday night. Will never be going back. So uncomfortable and unprofessional. read more

We ordered the Kahuna Burrito, which was good but would try something new next time. The green chili sauce is mildly spicy. The house salad is just greens and tomato slices. Full of pork in the burrito. The Santa Fe Sampler, which was also good, especially the chili relieno. We would recommend the chile rellenos after our experience. read more

El Patio Mexican Restaurant - Menu - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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This place is set in a cozy, little house. We loved it! It took us a minute to catch someone's attention to be seated. There needs to be a bell on the door or something. I don't think they have a formal host who waits to greet newcomers. Anyway, once we got our seat, our waitress came and helped us quickly. The chips and salsa came right away. We were one of two tables seated at the moment. Our food took a spell to come. My friend, who recommended the place, found it odd because they are usually pretty fast. Eventually, the food came, and it was all right. It's definitely not authentic Mexican food; it's quite Americanized. And by that I mean, bland and no flavors. I want salsa and spices and cilantro on everything. I'll take good truck tacos any day. The owner seemed nice enough to us. He mentioned how long they'd been there and how they used to be the only Mexican restaurant this side of the tracks. It was neat to hear a bit of history. There was a lovely patio outside, which would be great in the summer, but unfortunately, us Iowans have to deal with the cold and winter! I'm not sure if I'd come back. That flavor was really lacking. Perhaps, maybe to check out the patio and have a marg or two. read more

just a really yummy good local restaurant. The pulled pork, the fried Ice cream, cheese sauce and Choc. Cake. Oh just go and enjoy

Went here with me and my brother families after thanks giving. They made us feel t home. A nice home style atmosphere. Excellent service. Very accommodative to our restrictive diet. Made changes to make vegtarian menu. The food is excellent and high quality. One must visit this restaurant. Surprisingly both fried ice cream and flanker very delicious and tastes homemade. Big thumbs up. read more

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What a treasure this is to have this place and these nice people in the neighborhood. The food is excellent, with music on the last Sunday of each month! Chicken enchiladas are tasty and the owners Becky& Brook allow you to feel welcomed.... no matter how busy they are! One of my favorites! Danne read more

I'm legitimately impressed by how bad the customer service was. I never write reviews, but this deserved it. Here's the story: I called, planning to order a takeout burrito. The person who picked up the phone said something I didn't catch, so I said "Is this El Patio?" Apparently he didn't like that, because he responded "It's Patio, yep, 80 years later" (this was about 2 seconds into the conversation, mind you). I said "excuse me?"--and I was truly just confirming that I'd heard what I thought I heard, not trying to be snarky. Then he hung up the phone. That was it. Less than 5 seconds had passed. Not gonna try here again, I don't care if their food is the best in Des Moines (which I'd guess it isn't, simply based on the quality of their customer service). End of story, end of customer. read more

The place feels like home from the moment you walk in. Fantastic find with great food and service. We'll be back again.

I'll start with the positives. I love the ambiance of this place. It's an old house and there's a nice open-air patio out back for when the weather is nice. The margaritas are also very good - a requirement for a Mexican place in my mind. As for the negatives, the food is pretty average. It's not bad, just not amazing either. I would not consider it authentic - it's pretty Americanized. I also have to disagree with other reviewers that talk up the guacamole - the consistency is more runny versus chunky (I prefer chunky), it is relatively bland, and it served as a "salad" on top of lettuce. Despite the negatives, this is a really cool place and I still enjoy going for the atmosphere, margaritas, and acceptable food. Just don't go there expecting the best tasting or most authentic Mexican - there are better places in town for that. read more

Oh come on, this place deserves a far higher rating than 3 stars. A) It's an institution, having originally opened in the 40s, and has been in its current location since the 50s. B) The patio is beautifully striking and like no other. The walls are lined so densely with potted and hanging flowers that you can barely see the brick wall of the next building or the neighboring parking lot. C) The margaritas are strong and delicious. The liters are served in glass carafes, and the waitress changed out our glasses several times to make sure we'd have fresh salt! D) The food is good! No, it's not super-fancy, but there's a homemade quality to it that is a nice change of pace from the highly-smothered type of Mexican served at a lot of other restaurants. E) I've never had bad service here. Sometimes you have to walk farther into the restaurant to find the hostess, so if it hasn't picked up yet and you're just hanging out in the front it may seem like there's no one there. I think its just that the hostess is also on the waitstaff or helps bus tables. It's a casual place; just get someone's attention and they'll seat you! We got there early to try to get a patio table, and managed to get the last two top because a bunch of the other tables were already reserved. So reservations may be the way to go to experience El Patio's patio. read more