El Maguey

Closed as of December 2012

Arrived for dinner on Friday night about 7 pm. We were seated right away and placed orders for dinner and drinks. I think our server was new… he missed a few steps here and there.
For instance, when 2 people decide to split a pitcher of margaritas and the other 3 people are all drinking beer, it would be a good idea to ask if they want the small or the large pitcher rather than just assuming the large. While the mango margaritas were tasty, my friend and I were never going to be able to finish the 36 or so ounces of frozen fruity goodness that arrived at our table. I was surprised to find frozen drinks available in a pitcher though and next time I’ll make sure there’s at least 4 of us to work on that $ 18 pitcher. Another ding in the drinks department, water was never provided.
My husband and I split a sampler-​type platter (sorry, forgot the exact name). It had a tostada, taco, tamale, enchilada, chile rellno and rice/​beans. It was so huge it came out on 2 large plates. The tamale and the chile were EASLY the stars of this. The problem is with the ground beef. It’s very bland and I think it’s steamed, the color alone is kind of off-​putting. The ground beef killed the taco and the enchilada.
Our dining companions ordered:
A pork burrito, it was HUGE and topped with cheese, around mouth-​fulls of roasted pork I was informed it was very, very good.
Fajita Nachos, these where covered in chicken and veggies, quite tasty, we are sure to order these again.
The menu here is long, and El Maguey offers many more traditional dishes. Since the burrito and the nachos were such huge wins, I’m going to assume that the Gringo food has just been dumbed down, perhaps too far.
We’ll be back in a couple of weeks to try it again and this time, I’m going authentic. I expect to be able to add stars to my review then.

Went over lunch with a co-​worker. Good choice! I had the shrimp nachos, I know, seafood and Mexican don’t sound right together but you gotta give it a try. It’s so good. The shrimp are huge and there are a lot of them in the dish. I usually only get the half order and it’s plenty for me! Service was very good, I enjoy this place.

I’m surprised by the negative reviews! We just moved here and stopped in with a Groupon. Ordered fajitas for two and they were HUGE. Good cilantro salsa, prompt and friendly service, water refills that were consistent (a must for me and Mexican), and left with a lot of leftovers. We’ll be sure to go back!

Ok, so I’ve heard this place wasn’t that great but I thought I’d try it given I work right across the street. I should have listened…
First of all, I stood at the front for several minutes even though there were only about 5 tables seated. The servers and who I believe to be the manager saw me, but didn’t come over until I started walking into the dining area ready to sit.
First thing to get was my drink, which was not what I ordered. Not a good start already. I got chips and salsa shortly after which had cold, hard chips but surprisingly decent salsa. For my meal, I ordered the lunch Chicken Chimichanga w/​rice & beans. It literally came out 2 minutes later, so it couldn’t have been very fresh. The Chimichanga was practically all fried dough with hardly any chicken and was extremely bland. The beans were beans. The rice tasted ok, but I was dissapointed yet again as the rice was somewhat cold.
My server was the only employee in the building that looked like she didn’t hate their job, but that doesn’t make up for the lack of service followup… and the incorrect drink order.
After deciding I’ve had enough and was ready to had back to work with an unsatisfactory lunch experience, I went to the restroom. To no surprise, the bathroom was gross with a distinct frat house bathroom smell and snot laden walls.
Of course, after an experience like that, I told my co-​workers and they didn’t seem too surprised at all. They also said the food and service hasn’t been good in the past and apparently, there has been some people we work with that had their credit card #‘s stolen after going there. Honestly, I’m not sure if there is any correlation there, but just a heads up.
To say the least, I will not be going back.

The only reason it got 3 stars instead of two is they give me a 10% discount since I work across the street. The food is never great, just pretty tasteless. Service is poor. It’s cheap and filling and they are generous with portions.

Wonderful food and service! Try the Enchiladas Rancheras or the hard shell pork tacos. If you like it hot, make sure you order the hot salsas. Two different hot salsas to try. A brown tomatillo salsa and a more traditional hot salsa. Both are wonderful!

This is my husband’s favorite spot to eat at. They have pretty good food and decent prices. The staff is always friendly here and we have only had to wait one time for a table.

Found myself here while waiting for a KC Corporate Challenge event hosted at a business in a nearby office park to commence. Kinda wish I’d gone to neighboring Wendy’s, instead (although I couldn’t have gotten a Corona, there). However, fast food would probably have been more satisfying, and hotter.
I’m a big fan of fish tacos, and these looked promising enough on the menu… grilled tilapia, usually a mild enough fish for me, with homemade pico and salsa verde. Maybe I’m just used to more trimmings (I usually like them with a little bit of spicy cabbage slaw, but they were pretty much just a small, limp strip of fish in a small flour tortilla. Seriously, like, two bites and done. I like tacos to be a little bit more substantial. It didn’t help that the pico and salsa verde came out several minutes later, and I was confused about where the rest of the food was (server was not so good at communicating, and mostly absent). The fish was very, very fishy, which I’m not taking points off for, because, hey, it’s fish. I just prefer it more mild, but you win some, you lose some. Bad ordering on my part. The meal came with very bland, soupy, pale frijoles refritos… dousing them with hot sauce didn’t even help… and they were cold, as was the accompanying rice (also bland). I will take points off for cold food, unlike just not liking the fish. I could have sent them back, I guess, but I didn’t think that heating them was going to help much.
On the upside, bottled beer special was decent, and chips and salsa were warm and tasty. I usually kick myself for overindulging in chips pre-​meal, but in this case, I was glad I did.
The service was really poor… the server was pretty slow, spoke in a very, very quiet tone and was nearly impossible to hear, and we waited overly long for basically everything (and I’m really more patient than most).
I definitely wouldn’t make the trip out to west Shawnee especially to go here, and if in the area again, I’d patronize someplace else. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great, either. Maybe if I ordered something different, my experience would have been somewhat less marginal, and I’m open to trying the local outposts of El Maguey and ordering something else, and seeing if their service is any better.

I eat here for dinner once or twice a month with a group of friends. It is always consistent. They have great margaritas and always have specials. The chips are good too. The menu is your standard Mexican menu; I’ve tried many items, the chicken enchiladas are my favorite. I have ordered hard shell tacos before, but they were pretty basic and unimpressive. My husband always gets an enormous two-​burrito special, and I’m always amazed that he can eat all of it. Good stuff and very very reasonably priced.