El Patron

We have several good Mexican restaurants in the area but Patron’s is the best. Great food and great service every visit.

We used Unilocal to find a new Mexican place to try that was not completely Americanized cuisine. We were thrilled to find El Patron, great food, great service and easy to find. Best Mexican food we have found in Waterloo/​Cedar Falls when we visit from out of state. Servings were huge, steak tacos the meat was very tender. We will be visiting again when we are in the area.

Great place! Good for a lunch meeting. Food was tasty and quick. Server took my food away too quickly but I think it was just a miscommunication. Would go back every day if I could!

The food was fast and good. Much better than many Mexican restaurants. Decent atmosphere and clean. Sit inside or outside. They have a grilled chimichanga on the menu. Tasty. Great lunch specials for 5 to 6 bucks. Easy to get to, not far off 63 downtown.

Rolled into town on a Sunday night close to closing time the waitress was great and patient with me and the kids we all had great meals. The relleno was good and so was the carnitas had to wrestle a bite away from my son. Churros for desert. I go to waterloo quite a bit and this may become a regular stop.

Best Mexican since I left Missouri! The food was fresh and I didn’t think about a picture sorry! The shrimp dishes were great!

So a little bit of Tex-​Mex/​authentic on my Mexican restaurant journey I have been on in everywhere Iowa. Been eating at more «authentic» places as most say, this is a bit of a hybrid type of joint. Had a little bit a both elements.
They have a very fun and nice atmosphere inside, definitely a sitdown restaurant that you will enjoy. The service was great, food comes out fast, and they do have a very large menu of a variety of dishes. Sure you will find something new here.
I myself a creature of habit got two tacos and a cheese enchilada. The beef taco had tons of seasoned flavor, yes it was delicious. The chicken had the same, flavor is a key for me and they delivered on both. The enchilada was loaded with sauce and extra cheese, this is how you do it! Very good on all three items, would love to try more here.
The chips and salsa had some spice, I wish more had that in their salsa. Spicy salsa is good salsa.

Rarely do you find yourself in the middle of nowhere and stumble on a place like this. We were on our way to Minnesota and looking for a quick bite that wasn’t fast food when we stumbled on El Patron. I ordered the chicken tortilla soup and a chicken taco which were both awesome! Taco fixings were pretty standard but the chicken itself was amazing– super moist and flavorful. The tortilla soup was not your average soup either. It had broccoli carrots cauliflower and zucchini in it which I’ve never seen. The broth in the soup was a little dull — could have been more spice or flavor.
My friend got the Mexican flag Enchiladas which I took a bite of and I thought it was better than mine! He said it was top 3 enchiladas he’s ever had!
If you’re in the area, I think this would be your best bet for a good meal!

We came here after church on Sunday for lunch. I ordered a shredded beef burrito, my husband a chicken burrito, and a kids quesadilla for our son. We’re from San Diego, so we know good Mexican, and this place definitely hit the spot! It’s pretty authentic Mexican food and the prices were super good for a sit down. Also, our meal came out really fast. Glad we were able to find good Mexican food out here in the Midwest!

Great food and friendly staff. Try the chilli relleno, best I have found anywhere. El Paton Margaritas are very good.

Quick service. Great food with great drinks.

This is a very good Mexican restaurant. My son and I shared the triple fajitas, and my wife had the chile relleno plate. Everything was excellent. Definitely will return when in town again.