Very disappointing experience. The rice and beans basic staples of Mexican food were poorly made and lacked flavor. The tacos were soggy, not crispy, and clearly not properly prepared. What made it worse was being told the food is "made for gringos." As someone Mexican, that felt like a poor representation of my own culture.Authenticity shouldn't be optional it should be the standard. The only reason I order that, is because is hard to messed up a hard Shell Taco. Thanks read more

La Terraza Mexican Grill & Seafood - Example of my taco - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

I only visited this place once so my review may change. We came out for a birthday dinner for a friend. We were not too hungry so we split a couple meals. The food was good but I doubt I would pass up the plethora of other Mexican places to come here. I did enjoy the salsa and chips and I have tried many! We came at 7:00 pm on a week night and there was not many patrons at this time.We are not sure if that could be why the service was good. He was polite and helpful when asked. The place reminded me of a cafeteria with the open floor plan and lots of windows on 3 sides. So, this place looks good for groups. There were some decorations but nothing too much. I will probably go back to try a few more different dishes but mainly because our friends like to come to this place. read more

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Before I get into everything else, I want to say the food was good and the margaritas were good as well. So I will return. We sat at the bar and were greeted quickly, given chips and salsa (smoked or scorched tomatoes, yum!) and received our drinks quickly but we waited a while to have our food order taken even though he was standing at the end of the bar. We had to wave him over even though we had stopped looking at the menus and set them down. It may have been a language barrier as he didn't ask us our tortilla preference for either of our orders either. The decor is my biggest complaint. It's open floor plan with booths surrounding the dining area and bar but the floor tables are set up like a cafeteria. Ugh. When I eat Mexican or Chinese or Ethiopian or anything else, I want to FEEL like I'm in a restaurant in that country. The place has been updated, painted, new chairs, etc. but these are the same chairs as everywhere else, the same booths, the same boring, flat, gray/black decor as every other restaurant. If it wasn't for the music and the TV stations, you may not know you're in a Mexican restaurant. I HATE that. The food however, is choice. My friend ordered the lobster fajita and it was impressive, he took about half of it home. It looked good, smelled good and was a good value. I saw several items on the menu but I wanted to try something I hadn't had in years, Chile Colorado. It's basically ground beef in mole sauce with rice, beans and corn or flour tortillas. The mole was good, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, smooth just the way it should be. The rice was a couple steps above your standard fare. The beans were easily the best part of the meal. I will come back to get these beans to go by themselves they're that good. My friend agreed. They had a smoky aftertaste and a slight red tint to them, so I think they added some smoked paprika to it, I definitely tasted chili powder as well. No joke these are the best beans I've had in many years. It reminds me of New Mecca Café, they top their bean dip with ancho chili sauce and cheese. Yum me. I saw 4 or 5 other dishes, mostly chicken, that I wanted to try, so I will return. Overall a great experience. read more

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La Terraza has the misfortune of having bad beans. The staff was very friendly and the ambiance was nice but the food was not good. I ordered a build your own plate with beans, rice, a chicken enchiladas and a pork tamal. The enchilada came out cold but a delicious chicken interior (which was surprising because normally I expect a dry, flavorless chicken) and the beans were orange and left a bad taste in my mouth. Furthermore the pricing was a little higher than I was expecting at $13 for the whole plate. My waiter was very kind and attentive so I was so saddened by the food. I cannot recommend this place at all. I shall not return read more

La Terraza Mexican Grill & Seafood - Chicken Enchiladas a la Carte Tamales a la Carte - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Food was OK. Average Midwest Mexican food lacking much flavor and spice. Maybe it was just what I ordered, but with the good reviews, I was expecting more. read more

We stopped in on a Tuesday night and had already tried two other Mexican restaurants within a mile of this place (I'm not a fan of either one). My husband said, "I don't know, I never see any cars in the parking lot". We walked in and there were only two other occupied tables. We were greeted immediately and told to grab any booth we liked. Our server was attentive but not overbearing, and when I couldn't decide between two dishes, his recommendation was solid. The menu is huge, so I took my time pouring over it. I ordered one of the house specials and my husband is an enchilada guy, so he went that route. I love a good chips and salsa and their salsa had almost enough heat for me, with a great flavor. The food came out fast, and it was authentic and delicious! The prices were more than reasonable and if you like to get a lot of bang for your buck, this is the place, because there will be leftovers. A bonus, they serve Pacifico! We'll definitely be back, I can't wait to try their al pastor on a night they have mariachi. read more

La Terraza Mexican Grill & Seafood - New Mexican Cuisine Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Fish tacos and Specialty burrito. The sauce that was on the burrito was incredible.. Smoky and jalapeno.. Three meat.. Highly recommended,.. jumbo margaritas, on special, with a pineapple slice, lemon slice, and lime slice.. $7 - the service was incredible very attentive! The only complaint would be to change the layout.. Add ambience.( more private areas, it's going to keep people coming in for dinner on the weekends) the middle section of the whole restaurant seems like cafeteria seating - very bright lights, no privacy.. they need to make it more quaint.. Add high back booths private areas.. Make it a dining experience and attract lots of people.. read more

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Great service, cleanliness, lots of variety on menu and delicious food. The chips were always and crispy and their queso is perfect

I did take out, so I can't give a fair ambiance judgement. Enchiladas were decent and I'm grading as great assuming they were only decent because.....I made an error in judgement selecting the option of adding cheese. It essentially means drowning the entire plate in so much cheese dip the enchiladas are not even visible. Would not recommend, or specify on the side rather than over top. I got a side taco from the menu al a' carte menu that was excellent. Campechano is what they called it. Loved that. Would try again. read more

Wonderful clean restaurant and fast and friendly service for takeout. I got the 7 seas burrito and was very happy with the taste and how fresh it was. read more

Super friendly service very clean and amazing shrimp dishes. This is our go to for Mexican food.

I have lived in Cedar Rapids, IA most of my life and have seen businesses come and go from the old Godfathers site. From the minute we walked into La Terraza we were greeted warmly and shown our seats. The chips were warm and delicious, best I've had in some time!! The margaritas were very very good. Salsa was not very spicy and had a wonderful flavor. The ambiance was so welcoming and there was a very talented man playing acoustic guitar and singing. He sang in both English and Spanish. They were offering karaoke and he came to our table during a break to invite us to join in the karaoke. A group of women were there enjoying themselves and danced in place to the tunes apparently having fun!! This is a fairly new establishment and they are worth the trip every time. Their menu is large and varied. I love the dish that I ordered and so did everyone. We all agreed that this is our go to Mexican restaurant from now on. I will make up reasons to go there many times in the future!!! Please go and support them they are well, welll worth it, trust me!!!!! read more

Food is as amazing, customer service excellent. The cheese sauce is amazing. It was very relaxing and we didn't feel rushed

We brought friends with us again this week to have dinner before traveling back home since we enjoyed it so much the first time. I had a grilled shrimp taco salad which was very good. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, the veggies were fresh and the shell was crisp. It was a generous size taco salad with delicious guacamole and sour cream at a very reasonable price. The chicken and rice dish was enjoyed by 2 people in our party, who raved about how delicious it was. The beef tacos were delicious. Their menu is extensive with lots of seafood options! Their 5 dollar margaritas were excellent, came in cute cactus glasses garnished with lots of fruit and an umbrella. Super cute and tasty! The service was friendly and very accommodating! read more

So awesome! Service and entertainment were fantastic. Music all throughout and table side!

It was a nice place, be warned that if you visit late some nights there will be some live performances that can get loud which causes me to try and go earlier. However every server I've met there is wonderful and kind. The food is decently priced and tastes wonderful. read more

I was given a hot dog on my torta, which was on a hot dog bun. The bun was burnt and smashed in the carry out box. Also was not given queso which was paid for read more

The service and the food is wonderful! Amazingly good margaritas and peach is out of this world! The staff is so friendly!

Food was great. Service was professional and courteous. Ambience wasn't exceptional but it was clean, tidy, and in line with its name.