Casa Brava West

It was very strange going here for dinner, glancing at Unilocal,and seeing that a few hours before, someone had a meal so bad they only left one star. I normally don’t criticize other reviews, but that one seems out of line. Complaining because they don’t have margaritas? The way liquor licenses work, they probably only have a beer/​wine license.
One tomato on top of the salad? Lazily thrown? I think someone has a chip on their shoulder.
My girlfriend and I had our customary wonderful experience. Her salad also had one tomato on top, and was exactly as advertised. My chicken quesadilla and rice was outstanding as always. The food was beautiful, hot, and quick. The cheese sauce is one of the best around! It starts hot and runny and slowly solidifies as it cools.
Be wary about bad reviews of this place. It’s good, and it’s consistent. There’s a reason they have been around a while and have so many locations. Good stuff.

Rarely do I ever have anything negative to say about a Mexican restaurant, but this place was just altogether disappointing. Went in with two friends, one of which only wanted a margarita– only to find… They don’t have margaritas! Only beer. That was a first. Next, we ordered a $ 5 side of guac that was so incredibly runny and bland we couldn’t eat it. Finally, I got a $ 9 taco salad that had no cheese whatsoever in it (despite the menu saying it came with queso blanco and shredded cheese). And, even worse, it only had one lone tomato slice lazily thrown on top of the salad. All in all, spend your money elsewhere for Mexican cuisine in Bloomington. You’ll spend around the same amount at La Cha or Juanita’s and get way better food (and margaritas!!).

I had Choriopollo, and it was very good. The atmosphere is warm and more upscale than most Mexican restaurants. I look forward to dining here again.

I ordered the chicken and shrimp fajatas– they were amazing! The chips and salsa were so good! Best chips I ever had! We will definitely be coming back. The restaurant was nice inside. The wait staff very friendly and hardworking. We will definitely go back!

Great place for lunch. Good prices and service. Best chips and salsa in Bloomington.

It was an awful experience, I will NEVER go back! I took my Goddaughter & her parents out for lunch. I ordered water with lemon, waited 15 minutes for them to bring out the lemon. My guest order coffee, asked for creamer and waited 20 minutes for them to come tell us they had none.
Our food took 45 minutes and the restaurant was dead! Our order wasn’t right, bug in one guests food. I asked for guacamole and the waiter argued with me that it didn’t come with guacamole and finally I yelled and said I know, that’s why I ordered it to be added! Sure they took stuff off the bill, but I was horrified! I WILL NEVER GO BACK!!!

Been coming since 1998. Always has good service and food. Service today was good. MAKE SURE TO PAY AT TABLE though manager kinda off to send us back to table to pay with a comment of «it’s been that ways for years» — no it hasn’t. Might avoid now

Ever wonder what Mexican food would taste like if midwesterners had invented it?
Spoiler alert: not spicy at all. This place really is the worst. The service I received when I went was actually okay, but the salsa was so tomato sauce-​y Chile Relleno was so pathetically greasy this place gets one star.

Good food, love the macho nachos. Reasonable price. Something for the kids. Quick too.

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant ever (other than the one I ate at in Mexico if that says anything!) SO GOOD! Everyones nice and joke w the costumers a lot and just have a fun atmosphere, clean, amazingggg food! I take my family from out of town here to show off that my fave Mexican food place is better than whatever theirs is, and they always agree after their meal. :)

All in all a good place to eat. I’ve had this at other restaurants and was no better or worse. Good service. Clean.
I’ll come back.

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in town. As a vegetarian, I always order the cheese-​version of any dish but sometimes the kitchen staff gives me chicken or beef. The wait staff always takes care of the mistake immediately, and the food is so good that I will keep coming back even if it takes more than one try to get my order right!
I love the bean taco, chili rellano, and cheese enchilada. I’m not a fan of the cheese tamale anymore. They used to be filled with melted cheese, but now it is chewy.

It’s gotten worse. Chips stale and disgusting. They changed the menu so it’s full of random new names for typical items, e.g. tostadas are now «chalupas» and flautas are now «taquitos iguana.» Dumb. The blonde hostess sits at the bench by the cash register chatting on her cell phone ignoring customers. You have to ask for plates for appetizers and for silverware. Different servers approach your table to the point you can’t tell whom you’re supposed to ask for service. The ground beef in my tacos seemed off somehow. Don’t think I’ll be back.

Bland salsa. Bland food. Can this really be called Mexican?

I know their sign says that they are authentic, but it is far from it. White cheese sauce drenched food is NOT authentic mexican food. Their salsa is tomato sauce :-(and their food has no traditional flavor. In fact, it appears that everything comes out of a can. They even translated their name wrong. Casa Brava means Brave House, not Spicy House. I laugh that they think they call themselves that to begin with it. There is NO authentic mexican food located east of Arizona and this is the worst excuse for a mexican restaurant I have seen. Their refried beans taste funny (out of the can!) If you want great mexican food you need to go to California. I make better mexican food at home cheaper and better tasting!

I don’t think this is the best Mexican restaurant in Bloomington, but I certainly don’t think it’s the worst.
The main issues I had were with the service and the lack of an authentic feel.
The first strike was when we arrived and the two servers argued in front of us about who would serve us. Then, Dave’s tacos didn’t come out with the rest of the meal… and then about 10 minutes later the chorizo that was supposed to come with them came out.
The food, overall, was very good, albeit salty. I ordered the fish tacos, which was blackened tilapia with cheese and generous portions of onions and cilantro. Dave ordered tacos that came with beef and chorizo. the chorizo was beyond salty. We also ordered a tamale to go with it, cause that’s how we do. Again, very very good, but very very salty.
I do have to say, though, that the salsa was spot on.
Overall, I can see myself coming back but probably not as my first choice.

There’s nothing really special about Casa Brava, but I don’t mean that as derogatively as that may sound. You’ll get your standard Americanized Mexican food for a decent price. Everything’s really tasty and there’s a huge variety of dishes. Service is good. Chips and salsa excellent. If you need a Mexican fix in Bloomington this is a good spot to hit. I’d give them 3 ½ stars.

Pretty good food and very cheap. Used to always be able to get lunch for under 6.00. I definitely think this is the best mexican in btown

I went to Indiana University and ate dinner at this spot on the regular. Unfortunately it didn’t open until my junior or senior year, but in retrospect that’s probably a good thing because my freshman 15 would have easily become my freshman 30.
Now I live in Miami and I have yet to find a place that can even hold a candle to Casa Brava. Don’t ask me how Bloomington, IN has better mexican food than Miami, FL (it baffles me) but Jean-​Claude-​Van-​DAMN their nachos are FINE!
Casa Brava’s delicious queso, and fresh ingredients… mmm mmm mmm! I have considered going back to Bloomington for the food alone. Surprisingly the whole town is full of ethnic and yummy treats. Who knew?

The only thing missing is margaritas. The salsa is very tasty. It has a nice smoke flavor to it. The chips are fresh and hot. The prices are great.
Quick Tip:
Lunch Enchilada is $ 4.49!