First, it's a Friday night at 7:30 and we walk in party of 3. Only took 4 minutes to be seated. Super courteous. We sat and it took a hot minute, but we got our drinks and chips/salsa along with taking order. No paper, no pencil/pen, just a sharp mind. Took our order. Seriously out in under 10 minutes. Cancun pollo, quesadilla/fries, and Molcajete all to die for. Super flavorful and clean table to boot. When in town, will def be back. Highly recommended 12/10! read more

So, the food isn't horrible... Not fantastic, but not horrible. Definitely Americanized. My complaint is the quantities and the prices. The quantity of food-for-the-price is ridiculous. It's been almost a year since my last visit, but the dish that I ordered, and other dishes in our party that I saw are LITERALLY half the size they used to be. Half. What's not half the size is the prices. They've gone up at the same time the quantity has gone down. The service is a bit on the lackluster side. Just not as attentive as I would have liked. Also, the waiter had difficulty with our order because he apparently doesn't do well with English. read more

I've supported Monterey Restaurant in Cherokee for years, stopping in almost every time I travel from West Des Moines for business. It had become a routine stop before heading home -- until today. I ordered my usual favorite dish, but when it arrived, I noticed dried food residue around the edge of the plate. It looked like the dish hadn't been properly washed, and my meal had been served in a dirty plate. I pointed it out to the waitress and asked for a new plate. Rather than apologizing or handling the situation professionally, she seemed annoyed that I brought it up. She returned with what looked like the same food on a different (hopefully clean) plate. Her attitude was dismissive, and I didn't feel comfortable eating after that. I asked for a to-go box, but once I got to my hotel, I threw the food away -- I just didn't trust it anymore. Because of this experience, today was my last visit. It's disappointing, especially after being a loyal customer. I hope management takes this feedback seriously. Cleanliness and respectful service should always be a priority. read more

Nice staff, good food came out fast and really hot. Their Horchata is some of the best I've ever had!

Way too expensive for nasty food. Service was good. Place was clean. Prices could be a little more cheap

Really good food. Some of the workers are rude. Clean place I still gave it a 5 star food is great Margaritas are awesome too

I personally love their salsa. It's fresh and not too spicy. We always get the queso, always delicious. This order was the Monterrey salad. Portion size is huge, plenty for a take home box. Service was fast and friendly, drink was delightful. Prices also good. read more

Monterey Mexican Restaurant - Monterrey Salad Queso. Salsa/chips - Mexican Near Me - Cherokee, Iowa

Excellent service and great food. A very warm and inviting environment. One of my favorite local restaurants.

Have supported this business my entire life. Has been going downhill but our most recent visit will be the last. Chips were STALE. Asked for new chips, and was told no. Asked for a drink menu, was told "figure out what you want no menus" Charged 15$ for a drink?! No menus, no prices? Last straw was when we asked for a new waiter, and was told "I'm the owner I'm the best." Terrible. 0/5 read more

Great Mexican/TexMex food and drinks and priced very cheap. Super friendly staff and very attentive. Booths are spacious and good for groups. read more

Everything I have tried is awesome!!! I've had the chori pollo/ or Mexican chicken ( per their menu ) and the street tacos ( esada) steak. Very very good! read more

Someone in an earlier review described this place as a pleasant surprise. I certainly don't disagree! For an unassuming looking chain restaurant, this location simply does a whole bunch of things right. The price point is consistent and with N. Central Iowa, the service is excellent and the food is very, very good! I lived in Southern Arizona for a few years, and the number of excellent Sonoran style restaurants in Tucson is legendary! I never expected Tex Mex like this in Cherokee, IA. I ordered a fairly standard Combo meal and I cannot find fault with a single thing! The enchilada was first rate (great mole ), the soft shell Taco properly seasoned and a mixup on my order was promptly and cheerfully resolved. In short, I'll be back to this place for certain! read more

We ordered takeout, and it was really good! We ordered on a Monday night and they immediately seated us while we ordered. We ordered the Mexi-Tacos and the Supremeas Enchiladas. Both were good! Classic Mexican food- tortillas, beans, meat, just really good! I wish there was sour cream and more salsa included. All corn tortillas. Service was awesome and the food was good. Definitely would come again. read more

Yummmm... So good!!! The margaritas are amazing. The food comes out hot and sizzling. Plus the chips and salsa are fresh and homemade!!

This place is an insult to Mexico. The food is sub-par to Taco Bell and Del Taco. I would highly recommend not eating here. Ripoff

One of the saving graces in this small town of mainly lousy restaurants: consistently good quality Tex-Mex style Mexican (with a few more authentic treats, like their excellent tamales), and the most friendly, hard-working staff you'll ever hope to see. We've eaten here for FOURTEEN years and never had a bad meal; most have been quite tasty and expertly prepared. And the margaritas are SUPER boozy. Be forewarned; they don't skimp on the tequila. read more

Everything here is delicious. They have small med and large (fishbowl) margaritas. The service is great as well.

I would give Monterey's a 5-star rating. We have always had excellent service and the food was always fresh and hot and steaming and delicious. The strawberry margaritas are to die for. read more

Great food! The staff is always very friendly and and quick. I thought I needed to write a review because we were blown away yesterday when we ordered the chicken wings and burger. We've been here many times and have always stuck to Mexican cuisine(which is awesome here). Any who, we were craving wings and knew people kept saying they had the best. I've lived in a few large cities and tried a ton of wings from "the best." Nope the best has been found here in Cherokee! They had a good crunch, yet are still tender in the middle, and the sauce is perfect! Burgers are hand made and blow everyone else in town out of the water. Now I'm just confused on what to order because I love it all. PS-If you've never tried Monterrey get a margarita too. Beware they pack a punch & will not cheat you on alcohol content. But that's the way it should be, right? :) read more

Please understand that I was visiting Iowa from a state with a large Hispanic population, and a wide selection of authentic restaurants, so I tend to be a pretty harsh critic when it comes to Mexican food. I ordered a combination with an enchilada, a burrito, and a tamale. The breading on the tamale was very dry and crumbly, while the pork was also dry and oddly seasoned. The enchilada was full of unseasoned ground beef and chunks of potato. The sauces, chips, and salsa seemed to me like they came from a package. Lastly, the guy who waited on me was not friendly at all. In fact I think he took offense when I was too busy talking to my wife on the phone to hear him ask me what I wanted to drink. The food did come quickly, and it was what I ordered. Having said that, it is not common for me to leave a meal unfinished. I left this meal unfinished. read more

The food is very good. Make sure to give this place a try. Brian was hangry and he is all better now. read more

Monterey Mexican Restaurant - a man in a beanie eating a plate of food - Mexican Near Me - Cherokee, Iowa

Had occasion to stop in here for lunch yesterday. Was kind of surprised when looking at the menu. Was told that they were rather pricey. Found the prices to be very reasonable. I ordered the super burrito with rice and a side of sour cream. There was a white cheese sauce on it which was spicy. Not to spicy but just right. Excellent food, terrific atmosphere and great service. The place was busy and with the great service I was seated, served my food paid the bill and was on my way back to work within 35 minutes. The bill? $10.89. Now it don't get any better than that. More food than I could consume. Had to get a doggie bag. Will go back again. read more

Obviously, Mexican food is relative, and this is a small town in Iowa, so let the reader understand. Having said that, this place is very good. The menu is extensive and included some realler Mexican food and not just tex-mex stuff. The food quality was pretty high, and dishes that are often overly greasy at similar places were perfectly cooked. My wife had carnitas that were tender and flavorful, kids had a variety of tacos, enchiladas, and burritos that used actual Mexican cheeses (impressive to me, a corner many such place cut), I wasn't feeling super well so I had a grilled chicken dish, perfectly done, still juicy, not dry, not greasy. Monterrey is not a shining example of Mexican cuisine but is certainly an above-average example of small town Tex-Mex. They also serve the usual Mexican and domestic beers and other drinks, although as I wasn't feeling well, I stuck with iced tea, which was freshly brewed and very good. The waitstaff was friendly and attentive, although the crowded restaurant ensured our food was a little slow getting to us. Definitely recommend it if you are in Cherokee and you like Tex-Mex. even if you are a Mexican food snob, you might find a couple of authentic touched to get your through. read more

I grew up on the border of Mexico, Monterays is the real deal. Service is always nice and pleasent. The food is amazing. The price is perfect. If you want good, true authentic Mexican food, I highly recommend this place. I have introduced several people to this Resturant, they continue to go back time and again. read more

Very unexpected pleasure. Stopped as we drove our semi through this town. Great prices, great food and wonderful service. Very affordable and highly recommended! read more

1st off I'm a big woman. Booths are barely big enuff for a kid let alone an adult! Figured host shoulda known better or maybe they wanted to see a whale try & squeeze into a shoe box! Not discouraged, waiting for a table. Place is pretty busy but it's Fri & for some reason folks don't like to cook on Fri & Sat! Smells good. Will continue once dinner has been eaten! I felt a little rushed by my waiter & he seemed ready to go home. Didn't deter me, the menu is pretty large. Ordered the carne asada, was cooked perfectly, mostly fork tender. The sauteed onions were awesome, texture was soft not over done. Rice was a lil dry, nothing the complimentary queso didn't fix! Never had queso come with chips & salsa before, that alone deserves a return trip! Had flour tortillas with the meal, tore them into pieces as I ate like using bread. Beans & salad came with it. I'd call it a deconstructed taco lol! Will be going back. 4 stars only because of the waiter. read more

Excellent service and a wide menu selection of succulent entres are the best things about Monterey, the wait staff are mostly excellent and very helpful--I'm sure there most be one person on their staff that doesn't meet this criteria, but I've never met him or her. (I rarely say "never" or "always".) Back to this review of The Monterey restaurant! The Monterey salad is an amazing concoction of steak, chicken, shrimp, onions, mushrooms, lettuce and rice served in a Fried Taco Bowl/shell--delicious!! Every time I am in Cherokee - Monterey is on my list of places to stop. Try it. You'll love it! read more

The food did not have much flavor. The chicken fajita had a mix of vegetables with grilled chicken breast cut up and placed on top. I would not recommend it. read more

This place never ceases to bring welcoming staff, friendly atmosphere, and excellent food!