The world needs more places like El Rodeo. Here's why. 1. The food is good. very good. My mom and I split the chicken quesadillas and the nachos. The quesadillas were stuffed with melted cheese, chicken, and stir-fried veggies. The veggies were a unique add-on to the standard dish. The nachos! Oh the nachos! Some of the best Ive ever had. Covered in melted cheese, generous portions of guacomole, sour creme, lettuce, chicken, beef, and onions, if it weren't for my stomach feeling like it might burst I may have asked for more chips to scoop up each and every bit. Towards the end the bottom chips were a bit soggy, but nothing soupy and still just as delicious 2. The food is cheap. Our bill came to less than $20. I saw $15 margarita pitchers on the menu. Count me in. 3. The service is quick. 4. Atmosphere is welcoming, clean, and a perfect place for a family hangout or a cheap date alike. If these 4 reasons won't convince you, you crazy! read more

The food was gross! I ordered a taco salad with chicken & a top shelf margarita. It was a fried tortilla with a huge blob of shredded chicken, a handful of lettuce that was brown on the edges & a white tomato slice. NASTY! The margarita was just ok but I couldn't taste any tequila. The charge was 8.99 for salad & 8.99 for the margarita! Service was terrible. He was in such a hurry he forgot my friends dessert order but he sure remembered to snatch the check back and add it on. There seemed to be something going on in the back with lots of loud noise and yelling with laughter. Do not waste your time and money here when there are so many Mexican restaurants available. I will never go here again. Everything felt dirty. read more

Super good, super fast, and I have never seen a mexican restaurant with food this good have such a clean and polished interior especially in the restrooms. I now wish I lived a lot closer. Our server was incredibly friendly, and the prices were fantastic. All said and done, I cant wait to come back! read more

One word: meh. I felt like I was bothering them from the moment I walked in to when I paid my bill. Less than spectacular food served on very hot plates. Paying my bill resulted in me waiting for the cashier to take a break from totaling up receipts. In the middle of posting my bill someone came to ask about catering and get attention turned to that person (makes me wish o would have signed the receipt "batman" before leaving since she was no longer posting attention). There are other Mexican restaurants in the area. So far one remains my favorite and it's not el rodeo. read more

Stopped in for lunch. I got the soft corn ground beef tacos. Tortillas were good and warm. They doubled them up on each taco. It came with lettuce and cheese. 2 of the 3 had plenty of cheese. I got sour cream on the side. Tomatoes would have been good on it. I don't know where more Mexican restaurants don't put tomatoes on their tacos..chips and salsa were ok. But I got plenty full with the 3 tacos for less than $7. Got a table right away and the waiter was attentive. I would eat there again. read more

I would like to give it no stars but it will not allow me to rate it with no stars I will not be coming back here. We are the only ones in the restaurant. The waiter was more interested in talking to the girl at the register it seems about something he was not happy about ? I don't speak Spanish but he was more interested than that then seating us. Then it went down hill from there. Attitude: could care less about customers , had to ask for him as he sat us and never came back. Then a gentleman dressed in a t shirt yelled for him which he still took his time to get to us and get my husbands drink order at that point we just ordered as we didn't know if he'd come back. Then the food was cold inside but hot plates that he didn't warn us about. The burrito that I had did not take good at all. My husbands order was wrong. We will definitely NOT be back and will NOT recommend it. read more

All factors considered, this is our favorite Mexican restaurant in town. Fairly traditional Mexican food, nothing overly fancy, but the options are tried and true...and CHEAP! We've tried others, and always return to our standby. The chips and salsa are tasty - and plentiful. For some reason other El Rodeo locations just aren't as good at this one. The service is speedy, speedy, speedy - once you order, you have but a moment to try and consume the rest of your chips and salsa before your piping hot plate is in front of you! The margaritas are pretty good (I think they slip horse tranquilizers in, or something...I'm always giggly after just one!), but personally I don't care for their other mixed drinks. I ordered a pina colada once and was sorely disappointed. Overall, we love El Rodeo in Clive - we can't get enough! read more

Best Mexican food I have ever had. Never disappointed. Fajitas are good. My go to is combination #11; two enchiladas, one taco and rice. Or choripollo. Do yourself a favor, and get some queso and a big margarita! read more

We stopped here for dinner while in town for a few days. It was about 6pm on a Friday night and just beat the rush--the place filled up fast while we were eating I am pretty impressed--it's very clean and the decor is nice. Hubby tried the dinner special, daughter got the kid's taco, and son ordered his usual chicken strips. I'm a vegan and just ordered some guac to go with the tortilla chips. All of us enjoyed our food--DD reports that the taco tastes exactly like the one at her favorite Mex restaurant at home. The food is good but two things really stood out. The price for the food was amazing and the service was fast, efficient, and friendly. We were in, seated, fed, and ready for a check in about 35 minutes without ever feeling rushed or unwelcome. This place is a well oiled machine!!! The whole family was happy. Definitely stop by! read more

One of the best Mexican places I've been to in a while. Super fast service. Great prices! $7.99 for dinner combos. Their cheese dip with spinach is so good and comes with little "eggrolls" filled with chicken or beef. I highly recommend it! The monster margarita is gigantic. I'll be back! read more

El Rodeo - Monster margarita - Mexican Near Me - Clive, Iowa

Had to wait before someone would knowledge me. I finally got a table but the waiter (Rigio) was rude and short with responses. Slow down and talk to your customers. Food got to my table way too fast. I'm worried. I was right. The tamale was dry, the beef enchilada was good. It was nice and big with a god taste but the taco ......I'm not sure what that was? Why is there a pound of cheese underneath it? I heard the fajitas are great, maybe I should should've gotten those? read more

El Rodeo has been ... And will probably always be my go to for Mexican in Des Moines. I came in today around noon. It was hoppin'. I branched out from my usual fajita quesadilla and ordered shrimp tacos with sol. I always get the queso dip too. The salsa had a little more heat today than usual which I didn't mind at all. Good stuff! read more

El Rodeo - Shrimp taco with Sol - Mexican Near Me - Clive, Iowa

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Definitely a family favorite! Stopped in last night for a quick dinner (needed to be in and out in less than an hour) which was no problem! My staple item is the Chicken flautas, definitely the best in gown! We were able to eat dinner and dessert well within our timeframe. Staff is always friendly and on top of it! read more

El Rodeo has some good Mexican food at a great price. Like to go here and sit in the bar area, not a big fan of eating in the dining area. Really like their chicken nachos, and their chips and salsa. The menu has some good choices, some they could do better on. For the price it's a great stop for some cheaper good food. read more

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Not bad, kind of bland. Have never been charged for more salsa and chips but they did...oh well. Good margarita. Went back, waiter not friendly. Food ok. Paid our bill asked if the margarita special was everyday. All she said was I charged you wrong price no special with coupon on margaritas. You owe two more dollars. Oh we'll. read more

Prior to moving out of the midwest 8 years ago, I thought all Mexican food was the same. I soon learned that there are major differences between red sauce heavy mexican food of my youth and more of a minimalistic southwestern green chili mexican. If you dig sauce heavy midwestern kind of Mexican, El Rodeo is a very strong option. Food is tasty enough (never been disappointed), prices are on the cheaper side and the ambience is fun. Stil pining for a southwestern option in DM. Once you have had good green chili, you question how you consumed any Mexican without it. read more

Definitely not my favorite mexican joint out there but I wanted to try somewhere I hadn't had in awhile so I opted for El Rodeo. I was on my lunch break so I wanted somewhere quick with hot and fresh food. If you come around noonish-one pm lunch hour its packed....you can hardly find a parking spot...which is usually a good sign. I was with a few coworkers so we were sat pretty quickly but everything else was slow as molasses! The time to get our complimentary chips and salsa was very slow, with cold, staleish chips too...our drinks got to us slow with no offer of refills or anything, we had to ask several times, our food got to us very slow to the point to where we had ten minutes to get back to work. A Yelper on here had mentioned problems with her check being way too expensive, ours was the same way! I didn't get a chance to take pictures but they had charged my coworker way too much and she noticed it up where you pay and actually the employee argued tooth and nail that it was correct, but finally my coworker was fed up and just paid the extra money because she was tired of arguing. The food wasn't that great either..pick another place where you wont be ripped off and where you can have better food! read more

Staff was very polite! Our server was continuously saying please and thank you. We had our food in about 10 mins after our order. I had the chimichanga and it was amazing! The strawberry margarita is great--not burnt and not too fruity. Lighting and atmosphere is appropriate and current. They were very courteous and accommodating to our 9mo son such as willingly providing a high chair. read more

$15 Margarita Pitchers....cheap tasty food, good portions, great waitstaff...what more can you ask for?! Most definitely a fan! =) read more

Food wasn't bad - nothing to write home about but wasn't terrible either. Their "spicy" salsa was much better than their regular salsa, but had to ask for it. Drinks were great - and their Monster Margarita was just that - not bad for $12. Their menu had lot of choice, but everything was rather traditional. The highlights of all our meals were the shrimp enchiladas - pretty flavorful. I'd stay away from the cheese enchiladas though - something tasted off. read more

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We eat there last Friday afternoon. Seated quickly, order our food which arrived in a timely fashion but, I was not very good. Bland dry beans and rice. My chalupa was supposed to be beans and beef, well no beef and no flavor. Would have said something to the waiter but, he never returned till we were about done. Never asked if I wanted a to-go container as I didn't even eat half of it. Mentioned we ate there to someone else and they agreed it was not a good place to eat. read more

As many people say, I would give this place ZERO stars if I could!! They're online, pickup, call-in, and delivery programs completely stink. They have no idea what's going on, nor do they care. They also don't endorse any of their OWN internet discounts. They just went your money and don't care what happens to you... and the food is only mediocre at best anyways, so don't even waste your time. Just terrible!! read more

As a road-weary family of five with a toddler, this restaurant was the ideal dinner spot (and actually the reason we chose the hotel next-door). Service was friendly and incredibly fast. Prices were very reasonable. Husband liked the El Rodeo margarita and I thought the sangria was well above expectations. I'd expected frozen chopped spinach in my spinach enchilada, but it was fresh and delicious! Guacamole is mild and good, though not really my favorite texture (I prefer chunky rather than smooth). Portions are not huge, which we appreciated since we were out of town. Food in general was tasty and fresh, and our hostess and server were very pleasant and accommodating. Also some nice outdoor seating. I'd return without hesitation! read more

We recently stayed at a hotel right behind this restaurant. Despite wanting to try something new we decided on the convenience of just walking over to El Rodeo vs. driving all over town. The restaurant itself has great decor and is very spacious. However from the moment we asked (yes we had to ask) to be seated, the service we received was quite pitiful. We asked to be seated outside on the patio and the gal led us out begrudgingly and without any words. She merely pointed to a table and disappeared. We waited a good while before a waiter appeared and asked if we were ready. We weren't and so he disappeared as well. It was some time before he appeared again to take our order. Slowly our food arrived in waves and once we had all our items, the waiter was gone for good. I got a striking feeling they don't like to service people on the patio. We didn't receive any chip, salsa or drink refills. No one checked on us or asked how things were going etc like a normal restaurant. In the end I went inside to ask where I pay and we settled up and left. Take my advice if you're going to El Rodeo, sit inside or go somewhere where customer service still exists. read more

El Rodeo - Dinner Combination - Mexican Near Me - Clive, Iowa

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Overall i think El Rodeo was a very good mexican restaurant to go to. I thought the service was very nice and the waiter gave you your spouse to eat instead of checking on you ever 5 min which i appreciated.I would go back to them again. I would also recommend El Rodeo to my family and ,my friends looking for a restaurant of this type. I got the Enchiladas El Rodeo and it was pretty good read more

Went in for early supper, got seated and was brought chips and salsa which was good. Ordered our food and waiting 45 MINUTES still no food we had to ask what was going on because no one would come back to our table. We ended up finding out a problem in the kitchen. Needless to say we walked out without eating!! Communication would have been easy read more

Visited on Father's Day at 4:00 to beat the rush and was seated immediately. Took 5 min for our server to get to us but I could tell he was the only one taking tables. Cheese dip was awesome as always, but my chimichanga was super small. I asked if it was the lunch menu size which the server replied no, it's just smaller now (still the same price). My wife's burrito was huge and delicious but I was left hungry. Server did a great job, didn't have to ask for refills. We will continue to return, as I've been visiting for 20+ years at all the locations but I will have to find somewhere else to go to get my chimichanga fix from now on. read more

Food was great okay. I ordered the cheese quesadilla & that is exactly what I got - a flour tortilla folded in half with melted cheese - no lettuce, no tomatoes, no toppings of any kind. When I remarked on it, the waiter said, "That's how it comes." Not " Oh I'm sorry, let me bring you some toppings " or anything. My husband's enchiladas were okay. read more

We went with a group last night to the Clive location. They accommodated the size of the group. I got a fajita and it was bland, no flavor. I got two margaritas. The first one was lime and was good, not a great amount of alcohol in it but whatever. Then I got another and the second one was not lime although I asked for that so I waited for the guy to come back around and I asked is this lime and he said yeah we added orange juice. Okay it was not lime and orange juice it was definitely mango. I don't understand why they would alter my drink without asking anyway. Then they never removed old glasses from the table. We got our bills and there was no indication of what exactly was being charged for it just said the price. And our server never offered boxes and by this time we figured oh well just leave the food and head out. I won't be returning to this restaurant. read more

Who wouldn't want mexican food?? This is a great place to stop by when drinking while having awesome tacos!!! Or just have some tacos!!! Nonetheless, it's a good place to bring friends and family. Servers are nice and helpful read more

I just came back from eating here. I was on the road all day and this place was right next to my hotel. The place was packed, and as I was alone, I found a seat at the bar. The service was fast and prompt, despite the crowded Friday night atmosphere. The food was good, and they have a pretty average selection of beer. Good location and parking, and they have good food. read more

We come here every year when we make it to Iowa for the World Pork Expo. Usually we come here twice in the week we're here. It's pretty good Mexican food, and that's coming from a Texan ;) read more

We went to El Rodeo because it was convenient, and because I had been thinking about Mexican food all day. Dinner was, in a word, great. My combination dinner included a couple of outstanding tacos and a burrito that was excellent. The default salsa was very mild and rather sweet, but tasted very good. Still, I wanted a spicier salsa and when I asked it appeared almost instantly and seemed to be solidly habanero-based. I liked it, but others might want to mix the two. The Margaritas were more than acceptable too. We went to El Rodeo because it was within walking distance. Next time we are in the Des Moines area I think we will go to El Rodeo because we liked it. And did I mention that out tab was under $29 for two full dinners and two drinks. read more

The food was delicious and an excellent value. For just over $20, I had two drinks, a very large meal, and dessert. The service, however, leaves much to be desired. The restaurant was very slow, I was there on a Sunday evening (Valentines day 2016) several hours before closing, but I felt unwelcome and rushed the entire time. My server barely talked to me and seemingly wanted me to end my meal as soon as possible. When I went to the counter to pay, the man behind the register never acknowledged me, never talked to me, never looked at me, and never ceased his conversation with a server that was hanging out at the counter. I was only passing through town, so maybe I don't matter to them as a customer, but if I come back, I WON'T be giving them my money. read more

Great food. Get the cheese dip but be careful, too much will make you fat like me. The speed of service is honestly insanity, it's like they know what I'm ordering. My son's favorite place to eat. read more

I have been to El Rodeo multiple times, at least 5. I really like the restaurant and its food, so I decided to do a review. The building isn't particularly easy to find, but it has a good appearance. It is behind Wendy's and is concealed by trees, but once you get to it, it looks nice. It is a Mexican themed restaurant. They specialize in their steak tacos, carne asada, and cheese quesadillas. They play Spanish music in the restaurant at a good volume. Not too loud, not too quiet. The lighting is good, not too bright or too dark, and there are plenty of Spanish decorations and pictures around the whole building, which demonstrates the Mexican culture of the restaurant. There is plenty of food selection here. They have tacos, chicken nuggets, and chimichangas. I personally like their steak tacos and a side of Spanish rice, but you are guaranteed to find something that you like on their menu. When you get seated a waiter is immediately at your table bringing you chips and salsa and asking what drinks you would like. This serves as a great appetizer by itself. The steak tacos for an entree is a fantastic choice. The steak is always the perfect texture and taste. I am yet to try dessert at El Rodeo, but I would guess that their desserts wouldn't let you down. I really enjoyed the restaurant and everyone should definitely try it. They have great service with even better food. El Rodeo is a great place to take your friends or family, or even go by yourself. With no doubt, I would give this restaurant 5 out of 5 stars. read more

I've been here before and it wasn't bad. This time, not so much. There was a huge group of people when we got here and they hadn't even ordered their food yet. A bunch of women and some kids, so I'll try to give them a few stars as there was only 3 people working. First off, let me say the cashier is not the friendliest. She doesn't say hi or even tell you the the price when she's ringing you up. She didnt say s single thing to us when we got here or when we left. You're the first person I see when I walk in, try to leave a good impression. Anyways, it took forever for the waiter to even come by, when he finally did about 20 mins after we got sit down we ordered our drinks and then he brought them back. Fine, he came back about 10 mins later to take our order which took so long I wanted to just pay for the drinks and leave. When I did get my food, I ordered a taco salad which half of my hamburger was cold and I didn't even get any shredded cheese on it and my shell was burnt. My husband ordered the same and didn't get any cheese sauce and got all hamburger and wilted lettuce. We did order a chicken taco and it wasn't to bad. My soda tasted just like combination no flavoring but I paid for it and honestly at this point I ate my cold salad and was annoyed at how long it was taking. The waiter also forgot our silverware. I'm the type of person who likes the waiter who took my order, to also be the one to serve my food. This was not the case so the person who brought our food thought it all went to one person and barely understood English. We just told him to put it on the table and we would figure it out. When we asked for the ticketed it took about 20 mins just to get the waiter to bring it. I understand that you could be short handed or the table of about 15 women could be a handful but this place could do a lot better. It needs an update on the interior to the point it made me want to leave. If you've ever watched kitchen nightmares with Gordon Ramsey then you know what I'm talking about. I may try again on another night but it will be awhile! Oh, they do give you free chips and salsa!! read more

I have eaten at this restaurant since it opened. Always enjoyed eating here. Undoubtedly it has recently changed ownership... the food and drinks increased 40%... the salsa was like tomato juice....the recipe's have changed (yuk)...and where did the help go... after 20 years of eating here.... they've lost me for good. read more

We stopped in for a quick snack as we were driving by. The tacos were a great value - good taste, good price and good service. This is a very easy stop for food in Des Moines along the I80/I35 corridor. read more

Wow, don't know what happen to this place but it officially has gone down hill. We have ate here for a long time. We liked the food the way it was before. Now they are putting chunks of onions and peppers in Spanish rice and in everything else. It's gross! We will not be back fore a very long long time. read more