The atmosphere here was amazing! We sat on the patio and the weather was very nice. Service was okay. It was kind of fast with the drinks, but ordering and getting boxes and bills required a bit of waiting. I got the taco salad with shredded beef, which was so much better than I expected. Not that I thought it would be bad, but the seasoning was so tasty, definitely not a basic salad thrown together. read more

Old West Mexican Restaurant - Taco Salad with shredded beef. - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

I moved to the Des Moines area recently and have been on the hunt for a good Mexican restaurant, because the one right by where I used to live was AMAZING. After trying many places, this is the best. The margarita (lime on the rocks, no salt on the rim) was strong but sweet. The chips are good (crisp, not stale). The salsa had a delightful heat that wasn't too hot. Their chicken fajitas were tender and flavorful with a good amount of veg. The service was attentive, but not overbearing. The music wasn't too loud when I went around 5:15 on a Monday, and about half the tables were full. Truly a delight. Definitely my go to place for a margarita in Des Moines! read more

See all

Stopped in over busy weekday lunch time. All tables and booths were filled but fortunately I got a spot in a front booth. Dining alone so server came quickly with chips and salsa and to take my order. Ordered the lunch western burrito. Healthy portion and very tasty. It came with rice and beans on the side. Server was very friendly and came quickly with my check. I was finished with my lunch and out of the restaurant in about 20 minutes. Very good lunch meal! read more

We stopped for dinner here tonight on the recommendation of someone we met. I should never have listened to him because it was a huge disappointment. It didn't taste like Mexican food and everything was so bland and unseasoned. I ordered the #9 combo plate. It was two enchiladas and came with rice and beans. My husband ordered the Burrito Western which also came with rice and beans. We both agreed that the beans were nice and creamy and the only good thing about our food. The chicken in my enchiladas and in my husband's burrito was completely unseasoned. It tasted like boiled chicken that had been shredded and put into tortillas. It was completely white-bread and unauthentic. Other Mexican restaurants that we love have the chicken seasoned with spices and it has so much flavor. But this chicken was very bland; as was the rice. It had peas and carrots in it, too. What's up with that? The enchilada sauce that was on top of both of our dishes was also flavorless. It tasted like tomato sauce that came out of a can. The only positive was that the food came out fast. I don't think we waited ten minutes for it. But I would rather have waited longer if it meant better tasting food. Our server seemed kind of grumpy and unfriendly, too. I do not recommend this place if you want great-tasting Mexican food. read more

An 11 and 8 year old review warrants an updated one. Old West is a staple in this area that is always mentioned when people are looking for Mexican food. The parking lot is often to the brim and there's a reason for that. We came on a Sunday, after church, for lunch. The parking lot had plenty of spaces available and plenty of open tables. We were greeted and promptly seated. They have your standard Mexican fare of tacos, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, etc. We appreciate the well-priced kids meals and the options they have for the kids. Our daughter loves their kids quesadilla and adds shrimp to it. It's one of her favorite things and she begs to eat here. Our son is hit or miss on Mexican food so he'll often get a more "American" food item. My husband appreciates the amount of food they serve and never goes hungry, even at lunch. I've always enjoyed the food I have received and usually have enough to take home for another meal. Between good service and good food, this is a great choice for Mexican food. read more

See all

This is my second time in Des Moine. My first experience I had take out fajitas. They were absolutely delicious!! My second time I fined in and had a chicken quesadilla. It was shreddedchivjen not my fav but I ate it. ! Get the guac! read more

Old West Mexican Restaurant - Quasidilla - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Just finished an early dinner. Food was great, service friendly and the place is super clean.

Chicken from pollo fundito was pink/under cooked and I didn't realize it until I'd ate most of the dish. I was sick vomiting and pooping all of last night and today. Never had this issue with them before and have ate there for years but now will never be back. Not worth the pain! read more

I live in the Pacific Northwest, and was in Des Moines last year to visit family. They treated me to a meal at Old West. I had the seafood enchilada and it was the best I've ever eaten. I can't wait to get back to Des Moines for another great meal at this restaurant . read more

Enchiladas are properly seasoned as one would find in Mexico. No big chunks of onion or peppers.

Waiter is efficient and smiled. Clientele is family, nice happy sounds. Noise absorption is not a priority. Chips (made here) and salsa needed hot sauce to spice it up some. (I do like it hotter). Ordered the #8. Two tacos ( pick your favorite), and an enchilada. Wanted rice and beans, ordered separately. Waiting on Mexicano Guacamole. Order came not as expected, but it all tasted just read more

See all

When we entered, the cashier girl did not greet us, just asked how many people. We got seated to a booth, they did not offer us a high chair for baby. The place was not even busy yet, and we had to wait about 5 minutes until we got our waters and chips and salsa. The shrimp i had ordered was cooked too long, looked like pieces of chicken. We also had ordered a taco salad and the beef was bland. The meat was stuck together like it was just thrown in the bowl. The steak meat was not flavorful. The servers did not come back to ask if everything was okay, and if we needed water refills. I am certainly not trying this restaurant again. read more

Old West Mexican Restaurant - Carreta steak with fries - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

See all

My favorite dining companion and I have been to Old West at least a dozen times over the years. It's pretty standard decor for a TexMex restaurant. It's spacious inside, with a large seating area, a good-sized bar, and a patio. Service has always been extremely prompt. We were seated immediately, as usual. We opted for a booth, as usual, as well. Chips and salsa hit the table within 60 seconds of sitting down. The salsa is fresh and delicious. It has a bit of heat without being overly spicy. The chips were warm and fresh. Our waiter greeted us politely and took our drink order. My dining companion opted for a mango margarita, and I opted for the traditional lime margarita. We both went for on-the-rocks. Frozen margaritas, while delicious, inevitably give me horrible brain freeze. Not a fan of that feeling! For our food orders, she opted for the shrimp, chicken, and steak fajitas, and I opted for steak fajitas. We both went with flour tortillas. While I love corn tortillas for tacos, I prefer flour for fajitas, quesadillas, and burritos. The gluten works in your favor, and makes them hold up better. The fajitas arrived in mere minutes, piping hot and sizzling delightfully, as usual. Our food was delicious and plentiful. This is standard for Old West. There really was nothing exceptional about our visit. Old West was great, as they always are. We've literally never had bad food or service here. You're not going to discover culinary genius here. If that's what you're after, this isn't the place. If, however, you want well executed Tex Mex food, and fantastic service, look no further. Old West won't let you down. We'll be back again soon, as always. read more

First time at Old West. The interior was clean and reminded me of an old time western movie. We were seated promptly and drink orders were taken. Having this be our first visit, we needed more time to look over the large food menu. We ordered a pitcher of margaritas for $16.99. They bring you chips and salsa. The chips are definitely not homemade, but the salsa had good flavor. I ordered the taquitos Mexicanos and my boyfriend ordered the beef chimicganga. The food was ready within 15 minutes and I must say, for the price was actually pretty good. It's no hands down best Mexican food I've ever had, but for the price, it's what you pay for. Food had good flavor and variety. The cheese dip is a must have. Has a nice jalapeno flavor to it but not too spicy. The margaritas I could tell were just the stock house from a jug, but they added extra tequila and after my 2nd glass my cheeks were warm. For two meals, cheese dip and a pitcher of margaritas we got out of there for less than $45. Absolutely worth a try and we will be back! read more

Old West Mexican Restaurant - Taquitos Mexicanos. - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

See all

I arrived to Old West around 5:15 for a Sunday Dinner. The décor of the restaurant was beautiful and the music that played was mainly modern. At the time, the place was not as busy as I expected but filled up as I finished my meal around 6:00 P.M. I ordered a regular fountain coke but if you prefer a smoother and sweeter coke they also have imported bottles from Mexico that has natural cane sugar and not high fruticose corn syrup. Waiter was super patience and got my order in fast and my food came faster. My order was comprised of a Chile Colorado and and combination #2 (which included two enchiladas and a taco). They start you off with chips and salsas and while the salsa was not spicy, it was still well seasoned. Both plates had come with side of rice and beans. I was in disgust when I tasted the ground beef in both enchiladas and the taco. It had appear as there was no season and the taco had like water in the meat as if it was never fully cooked. The Chile Colorado was great but used a cheaper meat option then the usual chunks it most restaurant make. Toward the end of the meal I could not stand the ground beef of the enchiladas ruined my appetite. I gave this a 4 out of 5, while I didn't not enjoy the ground beef, I did enjoy the Chile Colorado very much. The overall restaurant and the people working in this greatly impacted this score. read more

See all

Chips and salsa were good. Queso was really runny and not very good. Spicy chimichanga was bland. Steak fajitas were good. Combination #14 was good. Chicken quesadilla was decent lacked cheese. read more

Great Food! Clean restaurant and wonderful service. We would definitely go back here again.

Food was amazing. Service was great, too. We were seated right away, and our waiter brought the menus, chips, salsa, and drinks very promptly. I ordered the chicken taco salad and my husband ordered the steak fajitas, and we were amazed at how quickly our food was brought to us. OMG it was the best taco salad I've ever had! My husband enjoyed his meal, too, and he is pretty picky. A waiter across the room (who wasn't even tending to our table) somehow spotted our basket low on chips and darted over to ask if we wanted more. It was a lovely experience and I 100% recommend dining at Old West! read more

It's a laidback atmosphere with good service and even better food. I ordered the beef chimichanga and the portion delivered to me was enough for two people, along with a good helping of refried beans and rice. My friend and I ate every morsel even tho we were getting full. Our food was quick even on a busy Saturday night, and our waiter was always available. I would have liked more chips in the beginning with only one small basket serving. We will definitely visit again. read more

Very good food. It is a nice place to stop for dinner after landing at the airport. The parking lot is very cramped though, so be careful if you drive a full size car or a pickup. read more

I didn't expect good Mex in Des Moines. I found it. Great service. Cold cervesa. Excellent atmosphere overall. Ate here two nights in a row and now I sadly have to leave Des Moines. read more

They have a carry out order fee now. They didn't mention it when I ordered. Why? Obviously, you don't need any business. He said the 'computer' automatically adds the charge. It doesn't automatically add the charge. You had to specifically add that item to the computer program when you updated your system! Stop lying to your customers. The management had to approve the programming before it was updated and knew they were adding extra cash flow to the business. read more

This place has the best chile rellenos in town! Margaritas are nice and strong. Servers are always attentive and the food comes out fast! Great place on the south side to get my fix. read more

First and only time going to this place... ordered my food, decent tacos (though they forgot the cheese), started eating the rice and beans and bit into a small chunk of plastic. Notified the waiter (whom only checked on us twice the whole visit) whom never apologized for the plastic but made excuses about how it's from the packaging. Then proceeded to quickly remove my plate and never even tried to make things right. Not even offering to take it off the bill or offer dessert. Nothing, Seriously! read more

Very good classic Mexican food I always get pick-up, it's always ready right by the door. They tell me my "order number", I walk in and grab it- take to desk- and pay then go! read more

Always awesome excellent chimichanga shredded beef great will always enjoy there food

Very good restaurant. Delicious food, nice atmosphere, great service. It never fails us. We love the carreta steak and the Diane special. Also the fried ice cream is delicious. Give it a try! read more

This place is amazing the staff is always friendly and the service is normally fast, it crazy to think there is mixed reviews on this as this has been the best place to have a family dinner outing. The food is a great price and you cannot beat the awesome Decore. The atmosphere is always amazing when i go and you cannot beat the amazing service. The place is always clean, and the food is always nice and warm. The chips and salsa are really good especially the salsa. read more

I'm from Arizona. This must be Iowa's idea of good Mexican food.. So unauthentic and so bad. Chili Relleno was soggy and smothered in a nondescript tomato sauce. The queso cheese inside had literally NO TASTE. The (so called) enchilada was stuffed with ground beef in a flour tortilla. Tasted exactly like the ground beef tacos with little to no flavor. If my eyes had been closed I would think I was eating one item not three. The music was nice Mexican music but was soooo loud you could not hear the person across from you. Please someone in Iowa teach these owners how to make REAL Mexican food. Please Iowan's....this is NOT what Mexican food tastes like. Oh read more

A very good restaurant! If you leave here hungry it's your fault. The food is great & so are the people! I highly recommend the place. The best Mexican food in Iowa period! read more

We tried this place with an unsure expectation as we are use to our go to restaurant. we were sat & we put our drink orders in. the watermelon margarita was just okay - it didn't have much of the tequila taste just a strong watermelon taste which is just preferable. the chips were very good & the original salsa was good. however, the spicy salsa they gave us was no where near spicy. my tolerance is higher to spice but this didn't even leave a tingle in my mouth. we ordered & I had the carne asada with corn tortillas. the tortillas were good but the meat was on the dryer side. i asked again for spicy salsa & thought maybe they just didn't think we could handle the spice? so, i asked if they could give me something a lot more spicy. unfortunately, they gave me the same thing. spicy salsa is the one thing I look for in a restaurant. i love using the habanero sauce which they did have but it just lacked the spice i wanted. the service was slower when it came to ordering the food but was fast with drinks & the checks. I don't know that i'd choose to go here but it was okay. read more

Not worth the money and not worth the calories. I have driven by this place for 10yrs and never stopped. Finally decided today to stop in for some take out. I ordered the Diane special. The beef was over cooked and unseasoned. The shrimp were very noticeably not cleaned which ruined my appetite. The chicken, at least I think it was chicken, was so foreign that when I sent a picture of it to a friend they could not recognize it. Beans runny and no flavor. Rice was okay. I only ended up eating the chips and salsa which at $1.99 was the only thing worth paying for. Very disappointed! With a grocery store across the street there is never a reason to be so desperate as to go back. read more

Holy crap. Literally crap. Me and my co-workers figured we would try this place out for lunch via carry out. When I called to place our orders I asked for chips and salsa too since we ordered so much and every place I have ever gone to or ordered from gives them complimentary. (It's a CHEAP item and keeps people coming back) He said okay and I asked if it was complimentary just to be sure and he said no, $2 per order. I said never mind and we ordered guacamole Mexicano and a couple quesos since every person known to man would assume that chips come with appetizers meant for dipping.... NOPE. We get there to pick the food up and they don't have chips with the dips. They try to tell us they "informed us over the phone" about the charge of $2 for the little bag of chips, PER order, and kept arguing with us about how "dining in is different", you get chips with your food then, apparently. So we cancelled almost $15 worth of appetizers due to not getting chips with them (chip value= Mayyyyybe $2.) **APPARENTLY YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DRINK YOUR QUESO HERE** When we got back to work, our food was freezing cold so who knows how long they had it sitting out. Way to go Old West. read more

I have eaten here a few times and I just gotta say, for a Vegan this is not the spot to hit for Mexican Food in Des Moines.. Every Meal I have had here has not been very good! Now I know people dig this place, so there must be something going right with the meat dishes but the Veggie dishes are just not good! One thing that is also super important to me for cheaper Mexican food is great chips and salsa and this is not a good place for that either! The salsa is pretty bland and the chips were under par and felt like they maybe came from a bag! The actual location is in a great spot, on Fluer and the actual restaurant even though it's getting old, is still pretty cool and has some character. They have a good selection of Mexican beers, and margaritas so it might be a good place to grab a drink before a flight out of the airport! But if your Vegan or Vegetarian, this is not the spot for you! I will give it another shot sometime but will go in with no expectations of brilliance. read more

I literally drive by this place everyday and never thought much of it, I was not even curious about the food here until a co-worker mentioned how they were good. I decided to give it a try, and as of today the two times I've been here it's been to go orders so I am unsure how their service is. The interior of the establishment looks comfortable and clean. I've had there chips and salsa added to my order to try them out and they were okay, no different than other Mexican restaurants in my opinion. I also got the carne asada steak platter for my meals which was very good. It is definitely on par with other Mexican restaurants I eat at, which is a good thing. Friendly staff, good food, good price, and quick to go ordering, only positive experiences for me here! read more

Came here for lunch on a Sunday with our grandchildren between soccer games very nice restaurants , would come back again

Been to this place before, a few times. Food and service was great, but today not so much. Thank goodness I ordered from lunch menu. Will not be returning. Smh read more

Old West Mexican Restaurant - Speedy Gonzales. Taco, rice and enchilada. - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Margaritas were weak and tasted more like sour mix on the rocks, food took a long time. Overall it just taste bland compared to the other great Mexican restaurants in the des moines-ish area like El Rodeo and Cobo Sol. New to this part of town and first time customers. I'm guessing we won't come back. read more

We are from Texas where Mexico food is number one. We stumbled on to the Old West Mexican Restaurant. Service was wonderful the salsa was very good and the food was great. If you need a great Mexican restaurant please try here you won't be disappointed read more

Old West Mexican Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Staff: Friendly Atmosphere: Cozy but Cramped! Food: Wow! :) Service: Quick! Cleanliness: Moderate. We enter the OLD WEST restaurant around 2pm in the afternoon and am surprised at how quickly we are sat. The place is packed. The staff quickly takes our drink orders and sets a bowl of salsa and a basket of chips in front of us. I order some queso for around $3.50 and receive a small but worth it cup of queso. Before we are finished with our chips, our food is ready and at our table. Portion size was great and food was to die for. I know what Mexican food should be having grown up in Texas with trips to San Antonio nearly every year and I was pleasantly surprised to find it in Des Moines, Iowa. A couple of downers. We were sat so close to the table next to us we felt we had to take turns with conversation. The server will ask if you want change if you pay with cash. Service was still out of this world. I highly recommend this place to anyone wanting authentic Mexican food in Des Moines, Iowa. read more