We've been wanting to try this out for a while, and I must say, the pricing is extremely lovely and for the mass amount of food it was great! Our service was super friendly and food came out hot and fast. We both ordered margaritas, and their mango habanero is not for the faint of heart! Enjoyed our experience thoroughly and would recommend again!! Ambiance and decor is a little outdated, and our seats were a lil sticky, but I can look past that!! read more

Monterrey Mexican Restaurant - Chicken - Mexican Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

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The food was amazing! My husband had the enchiladas mexicana and I tried the pollo monterrey! Best Mexican food I ever had!! I wish we lived closer, we'd eat here often!!I also wish I would have taken pictures!! Highly recommend!! read more

Unfortunately, this was the worst food I have ever eaten. I love Mexican food, but I, respectfully, would not feed this to my dog. Staff was very kind tho. read more

Quiet and close to close yet we got a great meal. Always one of my go too restaurants. Fajitas. And burritos are our choice for the night. Always will go back. read more

If you are celiac and ask for corn tortillas, be careful! They changed them to either be small flour tortillas or they have flour or something gluten in them. They used to be all corn, but I've noticed the past two times I've asked for corn, they've been thicker and smell and taste different. I trusted them the past two times and ate them anyway. Big mistake. I should've trusted myself more. I got extremely ill both times. Sadly there is not much I can eat there anymore since their corn tortillas aren't "real" corn. It used to be our go-to. I can't risk getting sick anymore. read more

Decided to stop here since we were craving some chips and salsa, and some carnitas. Chips and salsa were good! Ate the whole first bowl rather quickly. Ordered some horchata as well that was less than great. The flavor was still good but it didn't taste like horchata. The carnitas plate was fantastic though. We split one plate/entree and it was more than enough for both of us. We finished off with some fried ice cream that we would not recommend. Can be hit or miss and it was a miss here, but the ice cream being off doesn't take off of the main meal hitting the mark. It was rather loud and slightly cramped, but it was a Friday night, so it was to be expected! Service was fast and effective! Prices weren't too bad for how much food you get. Would definitely come again! read more

Went here on a date with the lovely lady on a Wednesday evening and this was our experience. First we ordered margaritas. She ordered a mango, and I ordered a raspberry (because it's like the blue jolly rancher of Margs). Both drinks came to us very quickly which was nice! We were also given a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa which is always nice to start with. We did however had to ask for a queso boat 3 times before it finally getting to us. So that was a bit of a bummer. Considering how quick the drinks came out, I'm shocked as the slower pace of the queso was, but I've had worse. My entree was the Quesadilla rellena's (2 quesadillas) and I chose chicken as my choice of meat. I've had this before and it's been a really long time since I've been here, but they quesadillas were a little dry. The cheese was all at the bottom, where as I feel it should've been mixed in. It was still tasty, but if we're going on a scale of 1-10, I'd say this was a 7, due to the desperation of cheese. It wasn't all bad though, both were a good size, and had lettuce and sour cream in the middle, which helped bring the thirsty dillas back to life! The lovely lady got ale cart, and ordered 3 chicken tacos. According to her she said they were good, but wasn't able to finish all of them due to being full, but had a nice amount to take home to finish at a later time. Unlike me, who turns into a food vacuum when I get hungry .. Lol. Once I finished my first margarita, I was asked if I wanted a 2nd one which I did decide to get a strawberry this time, and this one was also tasty. I like my margs frozen and the flavor town of these drinks were quite exquisite. As for our service, the gentleman that helped us was a nice lad, but there was a few times where he disappeared for awhile. (Names will be withheld) Mostly it was waiting for the queso boat (which again had to ask 3 times for to get) and for our check. I of course understand having multiple tables and people to take care of, so I'm not one to stop him mid task. But, he did walk by several times and didn't check in which did kinda suck. Our total bill came out to 48$ before tip, and I did kinda feel that was a bit high for when we got. In total I would say this is a 3.5/5. Not a bad place by any means, but there are places id probably stop by first. read more

Had a wonderful lunch today. Low prices. I got seafood enchiladas $9.00. Tacos $7 and under for combos. The chips and salsa were fresh and delicious. Service was fast and friendly. Definitely coming back! read more

The food was delicious and we did not wait a long time for it. The service was wonderful and we were seated immediately because we purposely avoided the Saturday evening dinner rush. I will definitely return. read more

So so service, and worse food. premium marg was marginal at best, service was marginal at best, and food was marginal at best. 10/10, wont be back. read more

Food Poisoning!!! On January 27, 2024, my daughter ordered A.C.P., which is Grilled Chicken, Rice and Cheese. Well, while she was eating, her stomach immediately started to cramp and she spent the next several hours vomiting. This isn't the first time that this has happened to a family member either. A few months ago, I ordered a chicken salad for my 80 year old mother and she also ended up with food poisoning and vomited for several hours. She was sick for several days, after eating at this location. read more

Monterrey is a great place to get some Mexican food. Have been here many times and this place always seems busy. The service here is always quick as well. The food also comes out quick too after you order. They've got really good salsa too. One of the more recent trips here I tried the pork carnitas, the pork was extremely tender and flavorful, was very impressed with how good it was. We also got the fajita burrito, they usually put more cheese sauce on top, but was still good. Also don't forget to get cheese dip or guac or both. This Monterrey has always been a choice when craving Mexican Update: This place has become our go to place for Mexican food. Get the Choripollo(flattened chicken breast with chorizo and cheese sauce) so good. The Fiesta fajitas are insanely tasty, the bacon on it put it above other fajitas I've had. Also the Chicken and rice(cheese sauce too) is now my wife's go to. Always good. read more

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3 adults. 11:10am on a Friday. They get the job done. They hustle out a serious amount of food over the lunch hours. We were sat at a table, thumbs down on that, but it was the rotation of seating for the servers. I won't be too B hurt about it. Fast. This place is like faster than freaky fast. It's almost disturbing. Is this microwaved? Do I care? Nope....it's so good! I had the chimichanga lunch, it comes with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and a side of beans. $6.50. Hands down, the best deal! I think a happy meal costs more. Three of us, all with drinks and one side of cheese sauce $32. That's it. Chips were nice and warm and the salsa was good, not spicy at all. (Sometimes it does have some kick, but it's homemade, so it varies.) Didn't have to ask for refills, not even on the complimentary tortilla chips. These guys are on it! Sorry, no pics, it was a girls lunch and they are really tired of me taking pics of everything. Next time! read more

The fajitas and shrimp were delicious and the salsa was great. The food came out quickly and the price was decent. I read more

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I'll give you the quick comments. Great food, terrible service. Ok now I will back up and justify my comments. I went to lunch with Steph, and her parents. The wait staff was supper fast to seat us and take our drink order. In fact they were so fast Steph could not even order me a Diet Pepsi. I came in after parking my truck and had to flag down the wait staff to order my drink. When he brought it back he asked in a very snappy fashion is we we're ready. We really were not, however he seemed to be in a huge hurry so we all ordered. Everyone had Taco salad except, I ordered shrimp fajitas, no rice no beans ( I'm on Keto) All the salads come out and my side plate and had shredded lettuce and sour cream and Guacamole. 10 mins passed, everyone was eating so I mixed up my side plate and started to eat it like a salad. Just as I was about to call our server, he showed up with my lunch. He placed placed it in front and left, as I was trying to say Hey, I ordered shrimp. 5 mins go by and he started to walk past and I flagged him down. I told him of the error and he said, he would fix it. Two mins latter our Oder taker comes back to the table and question me on my order. He said" are you sure you asked for shrimp, I really thought you said Chicken. This kinda of upset me as he was questions my integrity. He clearly miss understood my order. If I just changed my mind I would never ask for him to change it. I gave this place a 2 start because the food was really good, but the wait staff needs to slow down and listen to their customer. I'd say give it a shot, just be vocals and tell them to slow down. Thanks Cris read more

Good food, good service, decent decor and ambiance. However, it used to be very affordable, but their prices are getting out of hand. Also, the online menu shows the old prices, which is frustrating. That said, I still enjoy the place and would recommend. read more

Really good food. I love love their Guadalajara special but I'll try whatever because it's so good and their!! Are so amazing they are 10/10

We visit this restaurant any time we are in the Des Moines area. The food is consistently good...especially love their fajitas! We were especially pleased to see all restaurant staff wearing masks and we were completely socially distanced from other restaurant guests. Felt VERY safe eating here. The staff is very friendly and the food came out quickly! Wish we had one in Omaha! read more

You can't find a worst Mexican place to go to in Des Moines area! It is so sad as we have ate at this place many times...now we can't wait till it closes! Just ate there and the Manager on duty really sucked. We had 2 margarittas and they both came in glasses so hot that our Marg turned into a glass of water. Who likes that? He couldn't believe we didn't like that and told us he would not replace them. We were wasting his generic margarita product. Hopefully if you still go there you don't have a problem with anything because they think you should take whatever you get. They refused to make customers satisfied on a small problem...is that worth losing business over? We have had less issues than this at other restaurants and the Manager was so embarrassed...this manager told us we we're wrong to complain about his great product and told us he didn't care if we gave him a bad review... What owner wants to read this? read more

They food here is always consistently delicious and the staff is always busting their tails off. Fantastic place for fast, but amazingly tasting Mexican food. read more

My daughter & I went for lunch today. It took 3 tries before they got our order right, & at that point it was cold & clearly was the same food that had the unwanted stuff scraped off. No one seemed to care that it wasn't right or that it was awful. No comp or even a price adjustment was offered. The guy at the door (I assumed he was the manager) just looked clueless when I told him about our experience. I will say that the queso was decent, but that's all that was edible for our $36 tab. I will never return to this place. read more

Service was fast and we got our food about ten minutes after ordering. Quality of food was about what you'd expect for the price. Nothing spectacular about my combination meal. Good place if you need a quick bite and are in a festive fiesta mood! read more

*Duplicate Review* There is already a page for this restaurant. This Mexican restaurant does not stand out from others I have been to. Their staff is friendly, but not talkative, which is fine, I go to restaurants to eat and not have an extensive conversation with the staff. Food is hot and flavorful, served quickly after you order which is a plus; it is one reason I enjoy Mexican restaurants. I always leave here satisfied and full-bellied. I have eaten here on multiple occasions. read more

Food and service is amazing. Definitely one of my favorites. I eat here at least 2-3 times a week and I haven't been disappointed yet.

Not even joking the best mexican place to go to in practically all of Iowa. I live right down the street from Monterey & it's dangerous because I come here like every other day. Anyone that has ever said anything bad about this place probably doesn't know what good food is. PERIOD!!! read more

Called our order in for pickup. They charged me more than expected when I got there because they've updated their prices in their menus but not online and they didnt see any problem with that. 2 bowls of salsa, no chips. Cold food. read more

I thought I ordered floutas. First pic is the soggy mess I received, second is what floutas should look like. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Best part of my meal was the chips and salsa which is sad. So disappointed. read more

Monterrey Mexican Restaurant - I ordered floutas and this soggy mess is what I got. Not fried at all. - Mexican Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

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The place was busy for 8pm. Wife ordered a blended margarita which was huge and had a good amount of tequila in it, very good. I had the Chile Colorado. Beef chunks in a pepper sauce with rice and beans, probably sat in the warmer for a while cause some chunks where dried out but plenty of sauce. Portions were huge, service was just ok, and it's just an average Mexican restaurant. read more

Monterrey Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

Best Mexican restaurant in the Des Moines area. We go here a couple times a month. Salsa is amazing and food is always delicious and fast

Love the Chiles Rellenos here! + the Hawaiian chicken is to die for! Good inexpensive food. read more

Monterrey Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

Good, but not great food. Huge portions. I judge a Mexican restaurant by their chips and salsa first. They were good, but they weren't great, plus when we ran out of salsa, it took until 3/4 of the way through our meal to get more of the just ok salsa. If we are already in Altoona, this place would be in the running, but we definitely wouldn't drive 20-30 minutes JUST to eat here. read more

Food is a 3. Service a 4. Ambience a 5 if you are looking for a Mexican cultured decor. Food is bland but a little salt picked it up. The beef inside the Enchiladas tasted a little strange but the queso sauce and the bottled green habanero hot sauce helped me get through it. Strange flavor is not meant as spoiled or off meat. The food was fresh and delivered 2 minutes after I ordered with my server. They have diet Mountain Dew is a big plus for me. Hot Sauce and Chips we set on the table immediately. I had to add the green & red habanero sauce to give it some heat. I am from Texas and can't wait to get back to eat some Mexican food but will probably go back here to get my fix if I have to stay here longer for work. read more

Decent mexican. It's hard to give more than 3 stars just because there is so many choices for Mexican around Des Moines. I like the food it's just pretty similar to most of the others. 4 or 5 stars you gotta stand out in one way or another. read more

I love the festa fajitas I always order that when we go there. This is a great place to go as a family, they have american food for the kids if they dont want tacos and the margaritas are great (go durning happy hour and they are a dollar off). They place is always busy but you never have to wait long. read more

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Got their fajitas and margaritas here and it was good. To be honest I can't really tell the difference between the other Mexican restaurants since they all tasty good to me. Lots of meat and veggies with their fajitas so we definitely had leftovers. Their frozen margarita tasted a lot stronger than the one on the rocks in case that mattered to you :) read more

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To start my server was a little on the rude side. I chalked it up to them being busy and placed my order. The server rushed me and had the personality of a flat tire. My food arrived quickly. I tasted each item separately as not to muddy the flavors while tasting. The tamale was basic with what appeared to be a canned or bottled enchilada sauce on top. This is not authentic and did no justice to REAL house made enchilada sauce. The chile rellenos was a mockery to authentic Mexican food everywhere it was filled with potatoes instead of cheese. When I cut into it I was waiting for the cheesy lava gloriousness that I am used too with this fantastic dish. I cut into it and "crickets". I couldn't believe it. Potatoes... Really??? One of the hostesses tried to explain it away as I refused to further deal with my server. No Bueno!! First and last visit all in the same day. read more

Monterrey Mexican Restaurant - Chile rellenos and beef tamale - Mexican Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

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My fajita quesadilla were amazing and their refried beans rock! (I don't often eat more than a bite or two...but here I devoured them:) Quick and friendly service. Several servers said hi to my 4 yr. old. Wish we had this in Lincoln:) Since then we have been there a handful of times. That is our go to Mexican place in Altoona area. read more

This is the best Mexican place around. Their queso and salsa is the best of any restaurant. Their tacos and rice are delicious. Fried ice cream is also amazing! read more

I love chili Colorado,basically It's sirloin pieces sautéed in a red chili sauce and served with tortillas,mine however was served scraped out of the bottom of the pan with a little water added to make a sauce.The burnt smell was overwhelming and the two bites I took were even worse. I left never to return read more

Went during lunch time. The place was busy and full but we got sat right away. The food was great and came out hot. The waiter was fast and always coming by to check on us to make sure we were doing okay. The chips and salsa was the best part as the chips were nice and hot and the salsa was perfect not to hot and not to mild. My nephew even enjoyed it. read more

Monterrey Mexican Restaurant - Very good alcohol drinks! - Mexican Near Me - Altoona, Iowa