Chapala

Good Mexican food for the middle of Iowa. Probably the best Mexican restaurant I’ve been to so far in Iowa. The fajitas are really good, the meat is seasoned really well. The salsa is some of my favorite. It is hot for a white dude like myself but I just take a sip of water and drive on!

It’s a gringo-​friendly place with numbered combination plates. I love chili rellenos, so I tried theirs, & their interpretation was unique & delicious. Melty cheese inside, light breading, smothered in white gravy, & a sprinkle of crumbled cheese on top. I’ve been sampling ethnic restaurants in Waterloo during outrageously excessive waits for truck loads out of the incompetent Tyson plant. Anyway, there’s industry that brings people who know how to cook to town.

Chapala is a good place to eat, it’s near my son’s house and they have a varied menu. I tend to get the carne asada or the tamale and tostada combo. The margaritas are excellent and inexpensive. However, their salsa is too hot to enjoy; and I’m from Texas and like hot things. They have a «sister «restaurant with the exact menu called Fiesta Jalisco, I give them 5 stars for service, salsa, and I don’t have to make a run to the facilities afterwards, I’m not sure why this always happens at Chapala.

This place has the best fajitas in town! Go for lunch & only $ 7.99! You can’t beat it! Everything is fresh & delicious! Service is friendly & the restaurant is clean. Food is brought out in a timely manner. Drinks are delicious. If you are a light weight drinker DO NOT order the Cadillac margarita. It tastes good but will knock you straight on your butt! Lots of tequila In that. I highly recommend this place!

This is the best mexican that I have had in the cedar valley. The service has always been fast and friendly. With that being said it is still stand americanized mexican. However, their pollo (chicken) mole is the best that I have had.

Solid 3.5 stars. No issues… Good service and food was pretty typical Mexican. Serving sizes are HUGE so keep that in mind when ordering lunch… could easily split with someone.

This restaurant doesn’t even deserve one star if you ask me! !! My family and I were in town visiting relatives and had a craving for Mexican food, when we were first sat at a small table for 4 when there were 5 of us and when we asked for something bigger she pulled up a chair and said you can sit here. We sat for 6 mins before anyone said anything, when finally asked what we wanted to drink we ordered and asked for a side of queso. It took forever to get drinks (we just ordered soda too) our queso beat our drinks. When returning with drinks she took our order and put it in. While waiting for our food i had to get up twice to refill our drinks. When the food came our 2 out of 5 of us had wrong food. My son’s tacos had lettuce and tomato on them and I ordered a seafood chimi I got some sort of steak burrito in a distinguishing brown sauce. When I said something she said no you ordered that. I tried to eat it anyway and it was terrible. When the bill came she changed me for the meal that was ordered wrong by her and not eaten! I will never go back or have a good thing to say about this place!

So a friend of mine had his birthday party here and he received some cards with cash in them. Everyone had dinner and when he went to leave he forgot his cards because they were under his plate. He stood outside and talked for a few minutes and he remembered his cards. He went back in to get them. Ah yeah, at first the waiter said he didn’t know what he was talking about. When he talked to the manager, they went and dug the cards out of the trash. Oh wait, no money.
The manager wouldn’t do anything about it. Cold day in H before I’ll darken their door. Makes you wonder what kinda food they’re serving you when you got people like that working there.

Just stopped by here for a quick lunch and ordered a steak fajita. I was a little worried when I went in because I was greeted by only very non-​Mexican people, but I figured it is Iowa, what did I expect? The salsa was sort of interesting. Spicy for sure, but very runny, without goodies inside to make it thick. Made for a messy table, what with salsa running all over the place. Based on other Unilocal reviews I ordered a large Queso, and it did not disappoint. The chips were sort of bland and were not the «baked in the restaurant» type one would expect. But the steak, guac, etc was very good. All in all, a very very filling lunch for only $ 13 including tip. Would I be back? Possibly. A solid 3 stars.

Noisy atmosphere that one could tolerate but the food was a disappointment. The shredded beef chimichanga was blah! No spicing whatsoever. Not identifiable as Mexican food at all. My husbands steak burrito was also tasteless with tough chewy steak pieces. Portion sizes were good but did not make up for lack of taste.

I went to this restaurant last summer. I went in during my break around 2 – 3 PM. There were a couple people in the bar and a couple tables in the restaurant. The service was good. I ordered the Camarones al mojo de Ajo, it was good too. The rice was GREAT though! It had pees and corn.

Great margaritas. Chips and salsa good. Queso is fabulous. Service had always been very fast and very good. Sometimes our food comes out too fast so we wait to order till we are ready. I love fish tacos and chapalas has horrible fish tacos. That’s the only thing I wouldn’t recommend. Otherwise love this place!

I think this place serves the greatest Mexican food. I am truly in love with their chips& salsa too. The only thing is that the service is sometimes good and sometimes like they don’t see you there!

Excellent food every time we have been here. Awesome salsa. I always get the lunch fajitas and they are the best! We have a lot of authentic restaurants 15 minutes from us but drive 45 just to eat here.

Want Mexican and want to sit down? Try Chapala out! Nice staff, consistent food, and enjoyable atmosphere! My husband and I love going here! My favorite has to be their fajitas! Delish!

Food fair. Portions huge. Service hit or miss, but the miss can be pretty bad.

So, I’m actually a terrible person.
I’m one of those vegetarians who is really bad at being a vegetarian. I don’t mean that I «slip» and eat meat ever, because I don’t… I mean that I never quite learned how to eat. I know that sounds weird, but if eating were a class in school, I’d probably be getting a C in it at best. I say this, because I actually hate vegetarian food in general. I want to eat what every one else is eating, but I can’t. I can’t because I’ve forced vegetarianism on myself since I was 5.
So, while this place did have a good few vegetarian options, I chose none of them. I chose to make my own vegetarian option… which confused my server. I’m a terrible person.
I wanted a burrito from the regular menu, but without cheese, and with broccoli. And perhaps tomatoes. I’m getting bolder with my ordering these days, as opposed to before when I refused to order something that I had to make any kind of amendment to. I was afraid of annoying someone, or worse, getting that look. If you’re a vegetarian, you know what look I’m talking about. In fact, you probably know what I’m talking about if you’re not a vegetarian. It’s when someone looks at you with «seriously?» written across their face. All you can do in response is write «…yes?» across yours.
Anyhow, my food was brought last. That was to be expected. It was also covered in cheese. Everyone around me was looking at me with big eyes. «What’s the vegetarian going to do now?» They all wondered. I looked up at each of them in turn, with apology in my eyes. I’m not sure what my eyes thought they were apologizing for. Perhaps they were tired of their owner repeatedly making people feel sorry for her for this exact kind of thing. I opened my mouth to explain to everyone that they needn’t pity me. I would simply scoop the cheese off to one side. This is my life burden; I am used to it. However, before I could stammer anything out, my server grabbed my plate.
«Oh, sorry.» He said. «They put cheese on it.»
And the cheesy food was gone in a flash. The fear and pity disappeared from everyone’s eyes, the panic and apology from mine, and all was well again. Crisis averted.
Also, the food ended up being pretty okay. It was not excellent, but it was not by any means bad. The servers were very friendly, and the bathroom was clean. That’s all I can really hope for in a restaurant. So, yay? Yes, I think.

This is one of the best restaurants I have found in the area. The salsa is quiet good but could use more fresh veggies. I usually order the pork carnitas. Excellent!

Me gusta.
The service is always attentive and friendly, although there can be a language barrier.
You get a gang of food for what you pay, and it is delicious. The margaritas will also knock you on yourass. I recommend the cadillac margarita.
The salsa is too spicy for my taste, but I have a low tolerance for spice. Queso and guac is good, fajitas are fantasic, and their burritos are massive.
I highly recommend!

The salsa was decent — I thought it was a little bland (not as much cilantro or chile as I like), but my husband thought it edged on being too spicy. The prices were great for the sheer amount of food you get — neither me nor my husband finished our meals (he’s got an excellent leftover lunch).
The food was solid, but nothing special. I got the Tres Amigos, which has chile verde, chile colorado, chile rellano, and rice and beans. The chile verde was delicious, the chile colorado flavorful but NOT at all spicy (every other time I’ve had it, it’s been super spicy), and the chile rellano ok (it only tasted like cheese). My husband got the carne asada, and gave me a bite — that was *fantastic*! I was jealous :)
The service was good — the wait staff was attentive, but not hovering.
The highlight of my husband’s night: they’re the first restaurant we’ve found in Iowa that serves Bohemia (a Mexican beer that he fell in love with when we lived in Tucson).