Arriba

Not even in the same league as a Cocina Real in New Berlin or Laredo’s in Madison (both gold standards in WI for price & quality). I really would give the food a 1 star, but the friendly bar staff made up for it. The only reason I tried this place was because I had an Entertainment book coupon, but wouldn’t return (even with coupon) unless they change a number of things.
1) They claim to have fresh homemade chips and salsa on their website. I’m calling BS on that one… As the chips were clearly not fresh (although I could tell they were homemade and not store bought, at least). THE RED AND GREEN SALSAS WERE CLEARLY OUT OF A CAN.
It’s obvious… I’ve bought canned and I’ve eaten fresh… Unequivocally it WAS canned.
2) I ordered a combo dish with tostada and taco. The plate size and portion size was obscene, and the extra (tasted old) rice and refried beans did not make up for it. I ordered chorizo for both and my stomach is wishing (4hrs later) that I made another choice. It was just complete grease. The crunch on tostada & taco were good, but also on greasy side. The tomatoes and lettuce were fresh, that was the only positive.
3) I ordered the combo (chicken&steak) fajita plate (to go) for my wife and she said they attempted to make up for dry proteins with extra oil/​grease and over seasoning. I confirmed by trying some.
4) They didn’t have black beans as an option to replace the refried beans. This is INSANE not to offer in 2016.
5) $ 5 margarita was good, bartender Heather was nice, and a few locals were friendly. I wish I had taken one lady’s advice to try the chimichungas (and previous Unilocal posts), but considering they’re fried that might be a good or bad thing for a place so grease friendly w/​o fresh ingredients, veggies aside.

I’ve been coming to this place since I moved to the area in 2003. I really like their chimichangas because they’re a nice size — smaller than what most people are used to but I like that I can order 2 or 3 depending on how hungry I am and that I can order them a la carte. One suggestion for them is to add chile relleno to their menu. Service is always fast and the food tastes fresh not previously frozen. Big positive is the Negra Modelo on tap!

I was excited to see that Arriba was open until 2 am. So I went over. I got there at 10:47 and the bartender told me they were getting ready to close, but that she’d make me a drink. I showed her the hours of operation on Unilocal say open until 2 am. She said «no, we don’t stay open until 2».
I was the only one there. So we chatted a little. I said «it’s a slow night. Is this typical?» She said «not at all, otherwise we’d be open until 2 am».
I finished my drink and left. It wasn’t a welcoming experience. I hope they consider this.

Microwaved food and weak drinks. The only up side is the staff is always nice and fast.

Food is average to weak. I had the fish sandwich which for the value McD has a better one at half the price. The bun was sat on literally. The fries overdone and greasy. Cooking needs improvement. The décor is fine other wise and clean.

Service was fast, didn’t know they charge extra for them chips. It’s not in a busy area, which can have it’s pros/​cons.

This was a great little place to eat at years ago. Penny pinching has led this restaurant quickly in the wrong direction. You would get 3 salsa selections, a green, a red, and a chunky pico. The pico is now gone, and available for a charge (not worth it). Extra chips or salsa now come with a charge. The food tastes old, and the busiest piece of equipment in the kitchen is the microwave.

I absolutely LOVE Arriba. The food is good, the service is excellent. I had a very bad experience when I was 11 — 12 years old with Mexican food made with chicken, but I decided to try it again today. IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! This is my new Favorite Mexican restaurant.

this is the place i go for Mexican food…

I guess I shouldve been warned about a Mexican place that is known for its burgers. It was 8pm and i just wanted food after a long day at work. Mexican sounded great.
Most Mex places can be judged by the chips and salsa. True at Arriba. I was told everything was homemade but I dont know how far away that home is. Ive never been to a Good Mexican place that serves red and green chips. The entire basket of colorful chips were stale, chewy, and cold. If the salsa and guacamole were homemade, Arriba sure has learned how to get that «commercial taste» into them. Awful start.
The bartender told me the shrimp soup was great. Little nervous that its served hot… or cold. Your choice. In my mind I pictured gazpacho with shrimp so I ordered it cold. Bartender also did not know what gazpacho was. Oops. So the soup tasted like canned tomato soup with pineapples, avocado, shrimp, and some hot sauce. Thick consistency, probably because I ordered it room temperature… err…cold? I ate half of it because I was hungry but stopped when I ate a shrimp that tasted «off». Shrimp should be hot or very cold. I pray that lukewarm shrimp doesnt keep me on a toilet today.
I also had a tamale. That was pretty good. I doubt they make it there but it was the only good part of the meal. Pork in red sauce wrapped in masa, and a corn husk. Served with iceberg lettuce and sour cream.
I think Arriba would be better if somebody went through the menu, with a Mexican person, and made it more authentic. Make chips fresh, serve them hot. Have a fresh pico de gallo salsa thats made on site. Learn what gazpazho is and serve it with grilled shrimp, not something frozen and thawed from Costco. Guacamole should be rustic, chunky, and have distinct flavors. Ive never had homemade guac that has a smooth consistency like pudding.
Im disappointed that I wasted a meal here. Next time Ill drive downtown to Cempazuchi or just go to Chipotle/​qudoba for Mexican. Maybe the burger is great, but if youre a Mexican place, at least make good Mexican food. Wont ever go back.

My wife had been stuck in the house for nearly a week and «Arctic Freeze» or not she wanted out despite the nine degree (at least above zero) temperature Saturday. Citing
her taste for Mexican, she lived in Arizona for years, I quickly knew how to satisfy us both.
Away we went to Arriba in Butler, finally returning after almost four months. Now on an active search for Milwaukee’s best hamburger, I also wanted to compare its ½ pound Holiday Burger, my top-​rated burger ($ 7) to date, with my first encounter this month with Sobelman’s on St. Paul’s ¹⁄₃ pound ($ 5.75) offering.
My wife, who at times makes her own Mexican, ordered a Combination Plate ($ 7.75)
of a chicken Chimichanga and a cheese Enchilada with rice and beans. Her plate
arrived well presented loaded with large portions and very tasty. She rated it above
average as she completely finished her meal.
My hamburger was absolutely perfect, medium well and smothered in grilled onions.
The unique golden brown Mexican fries sealed this superior burger presentation. What
I quickly noted was the unique seasoned taste, something definitely missing with the smaller Sobelman patty. Well I still have to go try Sobelman’s on Wells offering and
as many others as I can afford this year.
Arriba’s is open everyday except Sunday offering free Wi-​fi, a full bar, early bird
half priced appetizers, specials and some of the best Mexican food and burgers around.

Monday night chicken wings to die for. Grilled then tossed in sauce! A great happy hour to boot. Tasty chorizo anything. Super guacamole!

Great chorizo tacos!

Butler is a tired town, and it is reflected in the local venues. Arriba, overall, is not a terrible place to eat. The environment is fine (standard Butler fare), the food is OK (A few critiques for it, but not terrible), but the wait staff seemed really worn down and apathetic.
I don’t understand how a server can approach a table without a greeting and just stare at its patrons, waiting for an order. It’s awkward and unnerving.
Arriba isn’t a «ooh, let’s go out to eat» kind of place. It’s a «Eh, lets snag a quick bite on a lunch break» kind of place.
I’d do 2.5 stars if I could… it’s pretty average in every way. Since I can’t though, I have to round down. This place could use some personality.

I had bought an online deal so we went Saturday night to give it a try. Really liked how cozy it was and the décor was nice and relaxing. Jay our server was prompt and friendly. Menu has a so so selection of foods to choose from so we asked Jay what was good. He recommended the fajitas, which is right up my alley and another shrimp dish. He said both of those dishes were good and you get lots of food. Cool! Lunch for tomorrow then! We ordered a pitcher of margaritas with an upgrade to 1800. A small and I mean small pitcher came out to the table. It’s one of those water pitchers they leave at the table that measures about 8″ tall. Margaritas tasted like they were straight out of the premixed bottle — not impressed. After our disappointment we decided to see how much the pitcher was… $ 39 — yep, that’s right they told us $ 39 and the owner happened to be walking by and she argued with us that we wouldn’t find one cheaper. Sorry, beg to differ since we go to MANY Mexican restaurants, all types and no one are that expensive, especially for something so tiny.
Moving along, we continued on and ordered our food. Food prep didn’t take long, we got our food pretty quick and it was then that we were told there was an error on the price of the pitcher and it would be $ 29 instead of $ 39. (Still too high for this quality and size in my opinion) The woman who I assume was the owner said she was ringing up something else and misquoted us. Hmmm, you mean to tell me you don’t know the price of a pitcher and argue when we say that is really high? Strange to say the least. A regular pitcher would be $ 25 but we upgraded to 1800 so it was $ 29, again, assuming for the 1 shot they must have put in it.
Food looked good and seemed to be good portion sizes. The fajitas were pretty misleading though because it was a good skillet full of food but it was a skillet full of peppers and onions and very little meat. Frustrating. I think I managed to get 3 small tortillas out of it and the rest was just waste (unless you like eating peppers and onions)
Prices seemed pretty reasonable on the food, bill wasn’t bad at all for 7 of us it was under $ 100 with the drinks.
Been there, tried it, will not return though. I can find better quality and better tasting (cheaper) margaritas many other places without driving out to Butler.

So I went here with friends recently. My friend had a groupon. It was not a huge let down because I did not expect much based on reviews and a preview of the menu. I mean, a Mexican restaurant with standard bar food on the menu; you really can’t expect it to be your most authentic experience. I really wanted to like it though because it was close to my house and there isn’t much around where I live.
So, in true Paula Abdul fashion I will say first that the place looked great. I really enjoyed the décor. Our waitress was very nice. But the main event, the food, was not great. I expected they would at least have good guac (any gringo can sling some decent guac) but it was bad. It kind of tasted like it was squeezed from a package. The only flavor besides avocado was onion. It needed lime and salt. And it was far too creamy. Baby food creamy. Although that can happen if you use a food processor, that is what made it seem packaged I think. Also, I ordered everything I got with beans because I don’t eat meat. All they had was refried beans. No black beans, no pintos. Really? What kind of Mexican restaurant doesn’t have some black beans on hand? Otherwise, the food was fine. Nobody thought anything was outstanding and I don’t plan on going back. I’d honestly rather grab some Chipotle when I want a taco close to home.

So here I am at Arriba’s…wait for it… wait for it… wait for it…
Out of towners and found this place on Unilocal… yes they do have FREE WI-​FI!!!
Mexican Burger??? Got to try it… Overall, the quality (taste) of the burger was a 2… Dry and average taste… not juicy and flavorful like you expect a great burger to taste. The fries are seasoned but certainly not anything special.
The chips served with salsa were crunchy at best…
I wanted to like this place, but on quality I just didn’t see it…
For my guest, enchilda plate… well…guess we are not in Texas, Dorothy! He reported bland…
Sorry, Arriba… but nothing stood out to us!

I went there with some coworkers and the overall experience is so-​so
The food was the standard Mexican food you get at any Mexican restaurant. There was nothing special. The chips and salsa were okay — the chips were a bit salty. The red salsa was spice but no flavor and the green salsa didn’t have much flavor either.
The waiter we had seemed attentive at first but then it went downhill from there. He seemed more interested in talking with the other waitstaff and working on his computer (really!!!). It was hard to get his attention to order or to get another drink.
I don’t know if I would go back.

Love, love, love me some Arriba!
My husband and I lived in Butler for a year, and we ate here practically every week. I love the wide selection of food they offer — but I usually wind up getting their enchiladas with green sauce (my all-​time favorite). You literally walk in, sit down and order (you also get chips with 3 different salsas: hot, green, and chunky).
Never had an issue with any of the waitstaff, or seeing any waitresses ‘recycle’ any of the chips. I have had really good meals here and usually leave stuffed. It’s a nice place to meet up with friends or just go out for a quick, reasonably priced meal. Yay Arriba!
One tip: just park on one of the side streets. The parking lot in the back of the building tends to get parked up and hard to navigate. It’s easier just to park on a side street and walk.

OK, so when you first walk in there, it is warm and welcoming. They have the standard chips and salsa on the table. Chips, decent but a little salty.
Our waitress was overbearing. I understand that not all Mexican restaurants will have people who can speak Spanish, but at least be able to pronounce menu items. We wanted to go there for the Margarita special. She then acted as if she did not know what we were talking about. It is on-​line and on their sign outside for goodness sake. Nightly specials.
She came back to us several times and was just very loud.
Food was OK. Nothing grand, but it was an overall awkward dining experience. I would never go there again.