The Loop

Not a place I will go to again. Took over 30 minutes to get basics. Queso is hot, beware! Waiter argued about time frame we had been setting there. People behind us came in after and got food before us… needless to say that is what provoked me to ask why it took so long! Hopefully others will have better luck since I am sure they have good food, we left without eating…

Great marg and okay food — but at the prime people watching location! All in all, this is a good deal. Plates are pretty large, so order one and split — no not the giant Margs, They are not for share ;-)

I cannot say enough about the quality of service, the food and all around best Margaritas I have ever had… Penelope, Melissa and Ariel are the best waitresses in the restaurant… The Micahete (?) is the best dish that will feed about 2 – 3 people if U get the rice and beans instead of the salad. Also, The Fruit Loop is the best Margarita — on the rocks of course! Enjoy! I will miss this restaurant when I move to Hawaii.

Love the loop and the molcajet soup and margaritas!!! Always come here when we are in town!

Got food poisoning from the chicken enchiladas. Missed my flight home. Been in bed for 24 hours. I would not recommend this place

The food was not as bad as some of the reviews said. The food arrived pretty fast. The service was shitty but that’s not what brought us here. We came to the loop to try the margaritas that I kept reading about. They didn’t taste no where near as good as a lot of the other reviews said they would. I don’t know who gave the loop all those margarita awards because those things were mediocre at best. I won’t come back

Stopped in yesterday for lunch with my brother and had some appetizers and a few delicious margs. The service was great and I give that 5 stars but sadly the food has fallen to the mediocre side especially for the price. I’ll always have love for this place but maybe next time I’ll stick to the booze only. Best margs ever!

Holy Margaritas Batman!!!
Look, this place is in business based almost solely on their location and the fact that their margaritas are amazing! You could drink for hours and never have the same flavor drink! I’ve yet to have a bad one yet too… and if I still lived closer, you bet I’d be trying all of them eventually!
FOOD:
Food is not really all that bad, it’s a decent meal and everything seems to be flavored nicely. Whether or not it is fresh or «authentic» (so many differences in opinion on that word) doesn’t really matter much because you will get a great meal that will fill you up for a fair price. Some of the items that I’ve tried ~
** Chips and Salsa: chips are kinda «eh» but the salsa is good, just salt up the chips and it does the trick!
** Spinach Quesadilla: this is one of my favorites, the spinach is fresh not frozen or canned, still kinda crisp making this quesadilla total worth eating again and again (which I have)
** Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas: a newer item which I have not tried, but my sister did and she absolutely loved it! She agreed on the fresh spinach and the green sauce on top was a bit cilantro-​ish, a perfect match.
** Molcajete: great flavor and the best item to share so that you can focus on those margaritas. Perfect item to share.
** Tacos: I’ve had both the Al Pastor and the Shrimp, super tasty and satisfying.
DRINKS:
** Yes, please.
SERVICE:
Alright, here’s where it gets a bit tricky… NO motivation in the service. In fact, I always remember it as pretty stinky service but last time I went I really paid attention as I knew I would be reviewing the place. 1 waitress was sitting in the empty part of the restaurant with a friend (who did not work there) and both talking about how work sucks. Our waitress stood propping herself up against the wall waiting for something to do for almost our entire hour having lunch. The guy serving our drinks, when we asked what is good, said he didn’t eat there very much but he has heard that the molcajete are good. Wow.
OVERALL:
Yes, go. Try something off the menu, try a drink off the menu. Be your own judge… for some reason so many of us keep going back time after time, so there’s something to it.
CHEERS!!! I really do love The Loop!

I noticed a lot of bad reviews based ofn food and service but I guess I got lucky.
I had been at the Loop a few times before and during the period of time that I lived in Colorado from 2007 to the end of 2010. I’ve had their enchiladas in the past and had a good experience and this past time had a not-​so-​Mexican dish. I tried a fish dish with a mango-​coconut sauce, veggies (although they tasted as if they may be frozen, not fresh), and a delicious mashed cauliflower side-​dish. I really enjoyed this healthier meal and it was washed down perfectly by a ginormous «skinny» margarita.
They also have a decent beer list if you aren’t in to tequila. As for the service, I don’t remember having a problem in the past, and I had great customer service by the bartender this most recent visit. She was friendly, mixed great drinks, and kept my water glass full. I didn’t have any issues but I do see what people mean when they say that it seems that the restaurant is run by the local high school. I did see a lot of very young looking staff but personally I think the Loop is a solid place to eat in Manitou.

It appears theyve staffed this restaurant by raiding the local high school. All servers/​bartenders were extremely young, which is fine, but they lacked professionalism. We sat to eat and overheard them gossiping about everything from the place being dead to their personal lives. Service was horribly slow as well.
This place needs to be broken down into categories to give a better idea.
Service gets 1 star. See above.
Food gets 2 stars. (Not very good)
Margaritas get 5 stars. (Why they’re still in business)
Great take on queso, but it’s extremely spicy. Be forewarned.
When we go hike in Manitou we may stop here for a margarita if the mood strikes. After this last time, the flaws may run too deep to return.

The food was horrible. Fake crab burrito and $ 15 drinks. Are you kidding me! The restaurant was dirty as well.

We had family in town from North Carolina and wanted them to experience Manitou. Well Manitou itself was amazing as usual but The Loop… We will avoid at all costs. The only thing we enjoyed was the queso which was loaded with chili’s. The rellenos were only breading and once you made it through the breading it didn’t even have the right kind of chili’s, it was made with anaheims instead of poblanos. The beans tasted odd and were a white color, the rice wasn’t cooked through. Out of our party of 8, none of us even finished ¹⁄₃ of our plates.
The inside is dirty and dingy. The bathroom are scary and in an awkward spot to get to. The place smelled almost moldy.

Good Mexican food and reasonable prices. Had their classic margarita on the rocks with salt and their regular size was more than enough. Main meal had the steak and shrimp fajitas. Really good and huge portion, wasn’t able to finish it. Came with a group of 13 people and asked for separate bills which was no trouble for her. Fast and friendly service. Great experience.

My wife wanted Mexican food and I knew better being from Texas. But we went and we ordered Queso for an app ant it was good with lots of green chiles. I ordered the T-​bone steak fearing the Mexican food. It arrived Luke warm and tasted like lighter fluid. It came with a baked potato that seemed to only be loaded with sour cream. The salad was only some lettuce with croutons. My strip side of my steak was tough but the filet side was smallish but at least it was tender.
My wife had a huge margarita and it was tasty. Her burrito was ok.
The service was good but the carpet was filthy.
The Queso and margarita saved this place from 1 star.

I was first introduced to this great little joint about two years ago by my mother in law, and I must say I am so happy that it’s a part of my life now.
Being Mexican I always enjoy trying different versions of Mexican-​American dishes. Anyone that compares this place to the real deal needs to get out of here because they have their own twist to their dishes, and they are delicious!
I have had many of their items including the shrimp tacos, shredded beef chimichanga, and their skinny margarita. Chips and salsa are scrumptious, especially if you aff the guacamole side. All perfect and different without a doubt.
Everytime I have been here the staff has been very friendly and efficient. The food comes out promptly no matter how busy they are. I really like this place and I would recommend it to pretty much anyone.

I came here while visiting after a former resident suggested I eat here. I arrived on a Saturday at dinner time. There was a long wait (it might have been an hour) but the bar was open, so I got a seat right away. I ordered the enchilada trio, which had one seafood, cheese and beef enchilada with rice and beans. It came out pretty quickly and was a large portion. It was not terrible, but «meh» is a pretty accurate description of the flavor. It was pretty bland and the seafood did not taste very high quality. The plus side was it was a very large portion, so I took half for another meal.
I did not order a margarita, or any other alcoholic beverage for that matter, which might have been my mistake. That seems like at least part of the reason why this place is so highly regarded. The service at the bar was good, so no complaints there. My reviews are highly weighted by the food quality, and I just wasn’t too impressed by my meal. A menu re-​vamp would really bring this place up – I did like the atmosphere, too!

My wife and I love going out to eat whenever we get a chance. When I ask her where she wants to go and start listing restaurants, as soon as I hit The Loop, that’s where she wants to go! We love their food and have our favorites. They have the best fish taco’s in town and their margarita’s are awesome. Try the «Fruit Loop». It’s amazing!
Always a favorite and will go back time and time again.

This place is famous. Too bad it isn’t very good. I gave it two stars because it wasn’t BAD, it just wasn’t good and there are better places in walking distance, just not necessarily Mexican.

I found myself in Manitou Springs, enjoying a nice vacation in a place that actually has a winter, when I came across this charming looking place in the down town area. Started things off with a queso for the chips, one that the menu mentioned being spicy. The queso came out, and not completely to my surprise, it just tasted like melted velveeta with absolutely no spice ANYWHERE to be found in the bowl. Decided to keep an open mind, and remained hopeful about the enchiladas. The food came out again, and the plate looked and tasted like it had come straight out of a microwave. I did notice the food truck outside the restaurant before coming in, so I suppose I should’ve somewhat expected it, but everything seemed pre-​made and pre-​portioned.
The food here is not good, unless you have never experienced what Mexican food actually tastes like, or even Tex-​Mex! The server, while nice, was very absent it seemed. We might have been one of the only 3 tables occupied that day also, so I’d say that rules out any excuse of being too overwhelmed by customers and a million other orders. Instead, the servers all seemed to be standing around the bar, and the TV.
I would not recommend this place to anyone, instead go to one of the many other places up and down the road!

Disclaimer: Let me preface this review by saying that I am from New Mexico and no where does mexican food like New Mexico.
The location of the restaurant is in a cool/​unique area — a tourist trap as others have mentioned. The service was average — not too fast, not too slow, not too friendly, not rude… just average. The menu has the usual items and some unusual stuff (coconut shrimp, etc.) I had a combination plate with an enchilada and taco. It was very bland, no flavor to the red chili or the meat. The beans and rice were also bland. Chips and salsa were decent — not hot, no real flavor. The weirdest and perhaps most disappointing part of my visit — the Dr. Pepper tasted weird, really weird.
Oh wait, the most disappointing part was actually the $ 18 tab for the combination plate and a Dr. Pepper… way over priced for a very underwhelming meal.