Arandas

I’ve eaten here at least ten times so this review is totally qualified.
Service staff: Always very friendly. Sometimes a little forgetful/​slow, but always really nice.
Management: The owner is kind of a schmoozy dude who lets his staff get in the weeds and doesn’t lift a finger to help.
Food: Hit or miss. The flautas are good if you get al pastor (it tastes pretty good, but they use very finely chopped pork, and it doesn’t taste like authentic al pastor). Otherwise, the carne asada is bland and the chicken bland as well. Fajitas are never a disappointment.
Drinks: DO NOT order their blended margaritas. They absolutely suck, even more if you look at the mix they use. It comes in what looks like a bottle of bleach, and it’s labeled «lime.» If you stick with Don Julio, and get it on the rocks, it’s much better. I think they overpour, but a lot of people prefer that. Their import beer prices are whack. $ 4.75 for a Dos Equis, gtfo.
Cleanliness: Sometimes it seems the staff just doesn’t care. They’ll leave the previous patrons’ dirty table settings out for the duration of your visit. My husband once asked the our server to remove it before getting our food. It wasn’t even his table, and we felt bad, but come on! We saw three other workers just walk right past it and ignore it. The bathroom is pretty gross too… they should work on that asap.
Overall, it’s pretty standard Mexican food, so-​so experience every time. We’ll keep going back though, because sadly, in rural Iowa, it just doesn’t get much better.

Arandas used to be my favorite place in the town for Mexican food. Most of the times chips and salsa are fresh. Pollo Al Diabla (Guess, I wrote it correctly :)) is must try for those who like spicy food. From food perspective it is a good place.
From service stand point, during my recent visit, i had a terrible experience. I honestly recommend servers be trained in cleanliness and courtesy. They have their way of ignoring requests. I requested my server for spicy salsa and she never got it. Guessing that she forgot, I requested another server and she too never got it. Though, it is a one time experience, they left very bad impression.

Well this is unfortunate. I really enjoyed my first visit here, my husband and I split a shrimp burrito and got great service — chips and salsa on the house, ordered queso with jalapeños — great tea — good experience. About a week later we came back and got the exact same thing, and we brought our friend. At 3pm they were doing dinner prices so it was way more expensive. Our burrito was smaller, cold, and we were both sick afterwards. So about a week after that, only because taco Johns has terrible taco salads and that’s what we wanted, I give arandas another shot. But I am disappointed — the taco salad is smaller than taco Johns (unless you complain, as I did) and had no lettuce. They don’t give out chips and salsa for to go orders. The service has been sub pat the last two times and service is poorer as well. Needless to say we won’t be coming back and we will tell everyone who asks — avoid Arandas!

After too many times to honestly admit or even count,
Food sucks. Sorry. Service was mediocre. If you know about their lunch buffet at the BP do that. It’s 4 stars al the way. As far as the restaurant, eat mexican food when you are in Ottumwa. Unless of course, you like freezer burned food and most often, crappy service.
The one star is for their «spicy» salsa. If you like spicy, ask for it. Sorry guys, you can totally do better.
If you do find yourself eating here, get the «nachos originales»

Staff is a bit slow but the food was good. I very much prefer the buffet they have down the street at the gas station. It is also a bit pricey.
Most of my family and friends love it so I couldn’t give it less than 4 stars.

Great, FREE Chips and Salsa… Is the thing I liked most about Arandas! But they could maybe work on a few things!
Meals were not that special, my friend ordered a veggie taco salad and for the price there really wasn’t’ much food in the salad. Mostly just lettuce, beans, rice, and a little avocado. No Veggies really.
Same with the Veggie burrito that I ordered, it had more bang for your buck then the salad did but still no real Veggies in it.
The service was very slow, and not really there for most of our dinner. It took about 10 minutes, for a waiter to come to the table, and another 10 for us to get waters, (and they were not busy at 2 pm when we were there) but they did keep those chips and salsa coming, which made the lunch and experience much better.
The bathroom was in ok, shape, but the water coming out of the sink had a severe smell, that was not good! It made me afraid to wash my hands it stunk so bad! I hope they can put a little more attention into the bathroom water, and the service, cause those chips and salsa are top notch and I love mexican food and would love to go back at some point!

Where to begin… We have tried to like this place for much too long now. Today was the final attempt. Bleh. Poor service, plastic food. I need to understand how an eating establishment can not want/​strive to serve amazing food?! Or at least good food, satisfying quality food. Anyway, never again– I am free from gross. Drive to ottumwa if you’re wanting tasty and authentic Mexican eats.

The food was excellent tonight! I feel like it gets better every time I visit. The service is pretty slow. Waited awhile for the waiter to come back and take our order, but once we did the food came out fast.

The best Mexican Restaurant in Fairfield. The food is what makes it stand out compared to the other ones. Small and cozy place with decent service. Portion sizes are big, fresh and yummy. I have never had a meal here I didn’t like. Parking needs some work and the bathrooms are nothing to be desired but otherwise its a great little place.

This was the worst Mexican joint I’ve ever been to in my life. I ordered a Quesadilla and it took probably a half-​hour to get it. When it arrived, it was POURING with old grease. Seriously, that’s the only thing you could taste in the whole Quesadilla.
The waitress demanded I pay for it anyway, even though I hardly took a single bite. It was inedible! She claimed I had ordered it, so I was forced to pay no matter what. She smugly said, «not my problem» when I refused, before walking away and not returning. I will NEVER eat here again. STAY FAR AWAY.

Terrible food, terrible service. Won’t ever eat there again.

Be sure to stop and buy some baby wipes before heading home. You’ll get mud butt for sure. The service is friendly. The front of the house is clean. Not sure about the kitchen.

I was in town for business and ate here based on other reviews. I was not let down. They had great prices good food and excellent service. I will eat here again if I am back in town.

authentic mexican food! fresh, tasty, and very reasonable prices. customer service is PROMPT sweet & friendly

The best Mexican food you find in Fairfield maybe even Southeast Iowa, They cater little bit more to the vegetarian side they do the chicken and other things but overall the food quality is better than most of restaurants in the area

The best is the buffet @ the BP station on 2^nd st across from Everybody’s. Can’t beat the price or the unlimited fresh guac! Pretty decent mexican food for Iowa.

Unfortunately this restaurant got off to a slow start.
Now that they’ve worked out the kinks, the service is excellent. And the food is definitely the best Mexican we’ve had in SE Iowa. They have excellent Margarita’s as well!
My family’s favorite dish is the Bifstek a la Mexicana which is very flavorful as well as spicy. The burritos and chimis are good, excellent Guac, we just haven’t found anything that wasn’t good.
If you’re near Fairfield and in the mood for Mexican, I’d highly recommend Arandas.

I wanted to go to my favorite restaurant but it was closed for remodeling. I read the reviews for this place and was skeptical but decided to anyway. The service was fast and the food was normal Mexican food but then when I was done the service went to, well you know. I sat there for 10 minutes after they cleared the table and no one brought me a ticket. A waiter went buy and asked if I was ready, I said yes thinking I would get a ticket. 10 minutes later my waitress walked by and I asked for a ticket again. I waited another 5 minutes and got up and went to the counter. She presented me a ticket for $ 21.00. I had a $ 8.99 meal with ice tea. She could not understand why I was upset and got the manager who fixed the ticket. It was a good thing I was not in a hurry. The 1 star is for the service not the food.

I’ve eaten at my share of mexican restaurants and I really like this place. It is the best mexican joint in town!
Pro:
The prices are reasonable. The service is usually fast and friendly. The food is consistant and delicious. They have vegetarian options. What more could I ask for? Well, they always have water, and chips & yummy salsa on my table fast. Their guacamole and cheese sauce are great! They have good drinks like Mexican Coke, horchata, quality Mexican beers and strong house margaritas. If you’ve never tasted quality tequila, they have it! (I recommend Don Julio or Patron.) And the entres are what you would hope for– fresh, flavorful, sizzling and/​or with lots of sauce and cheese on top!
Con:
I hope you not on a diet, this is a place to indulge.
I wish they were open for breakfast, and on Sunday– they aren’t.
Sometimes they can get crowded or just plain loud. Just remember that you can opt to sit on the patio when the weather is nice, or in the back room which is carpeted and seldom used. Ask and you shall receive. Skip their coffee.
Disclosure: I’m a vegetarian, so I haven’t tried everything on the menu. I usually go in a small party of 4 or less.

Sorry, but this place completely disappoints. I hate giving poor reviews because, I truly want small businesses like this to prosper. I went here with a party of 4. There were only 5 other dining patrons, however it took forever to get our food, and when we received our food it just got worse. For starters, my wife ordered a tamale… it was made with some sort of corn meal, or corn bread mix with no meat, and not cooked in a corn husk… seriously masa and lard are not that expensive. This in my opinion is completely unacceptable. I had a burrito with a ranchero sauce which was utterly half assed. Poorly seasoned ground with limp iceberg lettuce and some sour cream wrapped in a tortilla and smothered in a weak tomato sauce. I really wanted pork but they do not serve pork… I have never been to a Mexican restaurant that does not serve pork. I hate giving poor reviews and I realize this a small town, but people deserve better than this and there are other wonderful options available in Fairfield. My suggestion is to look at other options for dining.