El Banditos

327 E Market St, Iowa City, IA 52245, USA

Address:	327 E Market St, Iowa City, IA 52245, USA
Phone:	+1 319-358-2836
Site:	elbanditosiowacity.com
Rating:	3.7
Working:	11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 9AM–10PM 9AM–10PM 9AM–10PM

Location

Photos 90

Reviews 9

Matt Uhlman

When youre looking for some seriously delicious Mexican cuisine that includes both standard fare as well as a little flare on the originals, this is your place! Weve had nothing but pleasant experiences thus far. Service can be a little slow if theyre busy, but its truly worth waiting for. The specials here are consistently top notch and weve found that anything with chorizo in it, is pure food gold! Their specials recently included a shrimp and rice dish w/ fried plantains which was excellent, and something deemed "Tacos Hawaiianos" - great name for an even better taco laced w/ pineapple and reminiscent of a something from Cuba! Friends had the carnitas burrito, which was delicious, and the lamb taco - a true winner! Wife had some killer sangria and incredible pork soft tacos. This was not to be outdone however by the tres leches cake and a delightful twist on Bananas Foster for desert. This has become our default spot to hit up if were A) In the mood to eat out, B) Want Mexican or C) Interested in some delicious take on a traditional Mexican dish. If I ever design a video game, the carnitas burrito will take the place of a princess or treasure to be saved on one of the levels!

Anonymous User

Decent food, but the service STINKS and to top it off BEWARE Banditos will EAT YOUR BIRTHDAY CAKE! We had a large party of 15 people to celebrate a Birthday Party for a friend. We were very excited to have it at Banditos and asked if it would be alright to bring a cake in to serve - they said "no Problem". When it was time to do the cake, we gave specific instructions to our waitress to take the cake out so we could put candles on it - you know because that is what you do when it is someones Birthday. Instead of bringing us our ENTIRE cake - they served us 15 pieces of cut up cake. We didnt get to do any candles, sing, etc. When asked what happened they didnt apologize or really explain. At the end of the evening we went towards the kitchen to request the remainder of our cake. There in the kitchen were 5 staff EATING pieces of cake. They never asked, and if service had been better we would have been happy to share - they just TOOK it! Dont spend your money here until their management gets a clue.

Anonymous User

Absolutely, the worst "mexican" restaurant in town. I did enjoy the first experience there over brunch. After that, the following 2 times were a complete disaster. I brought my child along and made it clear to the server that the CHILD wanted 1 taco with meat. She shows up with a taco with meat LOADED with pico de gallo, which was LOADED with Jalapenos. Did she miss the part that it was for a child!?? was I supposed to guess that the taco was going to be that spicy? The menu certainly did not indicate so. The third time I go there, against my childs will, same story. I say to myself (and child) we can just order you rice and beans. There is no way thatll be spicy, and if it is, the server will warn us! Nope. The black beans were really spicy even to me! Besides from the horrific experience of this children-unfriendly restaurant. The food was greasy, overpriced and awful. We order queso dip which was orange and had clearly been microwaved, it was hard as rock. Will never go there again.

Anonymous User

I got double charged for some food and politely contacted them for a refund. It took them 3 weeks to refund me the wrong amount ($6 vs. the $30 I was owed). During this time they even "lost" my credit card information so I had to get a new card. The owner, Derek, actually argued with me on the amount several times until I scanned and emailed him my receipt. He then accused me of trying to get free food and mentioned that they are not Fridays and dont give away free food and ignored me from then on. I was never asking for any sort of free food, only the difference for which I was overcharged. I have never been treated so terribly by an owner of a restaurant and I actually never did receive the full amount of my refund. No matter how good the food is there, this is absolutely insane. DO NOT GO HERE!!!!!

Anonymous User

This place is so good that Ive recommended it to evryone I know and every time the feedback is "Man! you were right..that place is the best!". Here are some of the reasons that El Banditos stands above the other many choices in the area for Mexican food. 1. the menu is full of traditional dishes that you dont see at every other joint you go to, and the execution is superb. 2. they make their margaritas from scratch...no cheap, overly sweet mixes... they are amazing! 3. they actually arent afraid to make some dishes spicy. Check out the shrimp diablo! 4. the waitstaff is very friendly (unlike many other places in town, like el ranchero, los portales...) 5. you can choose from several kinds of fresh, handmade salsas ranging widely in heat and character. Check it out!

Anonymous User

I just ordered a chicken quesadilla from Banditos. When I walked in to pick it up the women behind the cash register did not even say hello or look at me- she was just drinking a beer. Eventually a waiter came up and gave me my carry-out order. The quesadilla was 10 dollars and SUPER greasy. Pancheros quesadillas are 10 times better and half the price. It did come with a scoop of guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo on some lettuce but the guacamole was mediocre at best. I was not impressed. I would not recommend this place to my friends. Expensive and the food is disappointing (especially because when you read the menu it looks pretty good- but its not).

Joseph Wetherell

To start off, I had a few questions about the sauces and certain side dishes and the very rude waitress (C. Schmidtt) was extremely disrespectful and did not even answer my question, so I just settled for the chicken enchiladas and same with my girlfriend. We eventually got our food, and the side i asked about was completely different from what the waitress described, and my girlfriends enchiladas were completely burnt all the way through, and the rice tasted like it was not even cooked (or cooked another day). To sum it up, bad service, bad food, and not to mention they had the ISU channel playing on their television the entire time.

Anonymous User

Worst service ever! - Their food isnt even that good, and its pricey for the amount you get. - It took them 40 minutes to bring our food to us. - Everyone around us was getting their food before us even though we were there before them. - I walked up front to pay for my food and it took 5 minutes for someone to walk over and help me, when they did this man said, "What do you want?" And he didnt even know how to run the credit card machine. -My ticket already had the waitress tip on it when I feel she did not deserve one whatsoever. -Overall, their service and food was the worst I have ever had. I will never go back.

Anonymous User

Went for brunch Sunday. Had great, attentive-yet-not-overbearing service. There are so many choices, it was difficult to choose from the menu, but I had the bacon and eggs. It was so inexpensive for the tons of food that came on the plate -- three eggs, tons of delicious potatoes, tasty bacon. It was delicious. So was the fresh squeezed orange juice. And my out-of-town guest was very pleased with her order of El Guapo, as well. Service was quick and the tables around us seemed happy and enjoying their meals. This is a great place for brunch; I cant wait to go back.