You know? I don't really remember the food being amazing. I don't remember the food much at all. I DO remember being there for half an hour waiting for a table while other parties (with the same number of people--4) were seated ahead of us and we were ignored when we tried to get drinks while we waited at the bar. No one apologized for the wait. I understand busy times. But I also appreciate a smile or an "I'm sorry it's taking so long," kind of witness to our waiting. We got none of that. That would've been the end of it, but when we finally got to the table and the waitress took our drink orders, our DD asked for a small margarita. The waitress actually haggled with her, attempting to shame our DD into ordering a larger drink. Not just once. Not twice. But THREE times, she went back and forth with our DD -- who politely declined every time. That's really uncool. I had been excited to try the place, because two of my friends raved about it. But I don't intend to go back. In the end, it's not the food I'll remember. read more

Yum! I love their mango margarita on the rocks. Get the large size because you'll finish the regular size really quickly. They bring out chips and salsa. Just a warning about the green salsa. It's really good, but it has a kick. If you're not into spicy stick with the red. If you're unsure, wait until you have a drink available before trying the green. You have been warned. So far I have had the taquitos and the enchilada verdes. I highly recommend their taquitos. They have a nice crunch. I chose the chicken and it was good. Tender and flavorful chicken inside the fried outer layer. Tasty! The enchiladas were good too, but between the two, go for the taquitos. The service is outstanding! The people actually enjoy what they do and are happy at work. The last time we were here, there was a longer wait. They apologized and thanked us for coming and waiting. I highly recommend coming here! read more

Went in alone, sat at the bar got a glass of wine and ordered take out. Food was ready super quick. Ordered a Mexicano Burrito with seasoned chicken. Taste was amazing and the service was very friendly. I'll for sure be back many times! The inside was nicely decorated and very clean. Plenty of space! Thank you for setting up in downtown Middleton, I needed this yummy food walking distance from my home! read more

The takeout was very disappointing. We ordered 2 Burritos - 1 beef, one chicken, and a beef chimichanga. They used around 2 teaspoons of meat on each. No exaggeration, see the attached photos! Won't be eating there again. read more

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Best Mexican restaurant ever. I come here once or twice, sometimes even three times, a week because it's so good and I am always craving compadres. The enchiladas with the compadres sauce is heavenly. Their rice is cooked to perfection with a nice addition of some beans and diced carrots. The tacos are also fantastic as well. I also recommend the horchata, it's sooooooo good!!! I also love how the food isn't overly greasy or anything either. I usually feel bloated or gassy when I eat Mexican food but with compadres I don't. (Maybe TMI but whatever). The waiters and waitresses are always super friendly and kind. And also students get a 20% discount during lunch time. I love this place so so so much and wish I could eat here every single day for every meal... I'm probably obsessed but do yourself a favor and get the enchilada with compadres sauce with seasoned chicken. Oh and I almost forgot to mention the complimentary chips and salsa. They are sooo good and fresh and every time I come the chips are slightly warm from freshly frying them and the salsa is extremely fresh and delicious. The extra spicy salsa is amazing too. It has a great kick to it. Overall, I love you compadres read more

Yummmm. Complimentary chips and salsa were very good. Fresh guacamole made at your table? Yes please. Queso dip was delicious too. I got 2 tacos -- 1 pastor, which was 5 stars. You can tell I loved it because I took a bit before I even snapped a picture. Traditional Mexican style with cilantro and onions. The shrimp tacos were 4 stars -- maybe some sauce would've put it over the top. Really friendly servers too. Can't wait to come back! read more

Compadres Mexican Restaurant - Bars Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

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I was skeptical of all the glowing reviews for a place that has been open only three weeks. Whether the reviews are legit or not, this place is good. Another review hinted at "Tex Mex" which makes me think of Larado's (which makes me think of a rock in my stomach), but this is more of the Taqueria El Jalapeno-style Mexican, and a step up from Tienda Los Gemelos style Mexican (and a step down from La Mestiza Mexican... but I would gladly eat at any of these places, any time!). Wife liked it because it has more than the standard tacos/burritos/enchiladas than a lot of places (she got shrimp). Kid one liked the chicken strips. Kid two liked the monster sized burrito. I liked the chicken molé. Between this place, Gloria's, and Taqueria Gonzalez, we're doing pretty well for Mexican in the west-side / Middleton area! And as others have noted, staff was nice, enthusiastic, and friendly, and the food came out fast and reasonably priced. Hopefully the'll add some stuff to the walls and ceiling to dampen down the sound in the main dining room over the next couple of weeks. read more

Came here one time so far and based on that experience I loved it and will definitely be back. I started with a margarita and for my meal had one gordita and one veggie tostada rice and beans. Both delicious! I really liked the ground beef good flavor! The gordita is kinda messy but worth it the fried thick shell and combination of meat and all the toppings..it's just so yummy. The veggie tostada has actual veggies on it like squash cauliflower and carrots. Didn't think I'd like it but I loved it! No complaints here! Staff was really friendly too and I like the layout of the place. Check it out! read more

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Menu is enticing and the service is excellent, but I found their signature fajitas to be pretty bland. My companion had the chicken mole enchiladas - these were much better. I did enjoy the complementary salsa. Compadres is probably worth another try. read more

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A group of four of us went the other night and had a really nice meal. The space is clean and spacious, and has a nice bar area for anyone looking for a casual dinner. We were seated around 6pm with no wait. I'll start with the bad. We ordered a pitcher of the lime margarita on the rocks, and it was undrinkable. It had absolutely no lime flavor and no tequila. It was essentially watered-down Triple Sec. We pointed this out to our excellent server, and she immediately took the pitcher away and offered us something else - no questions asked. We did blended margaritas, and they were all very good. I think there must have just been some oversight with this one batch. I'll definitely try the rocks version the next time. As for the food, we all ordered very different entrees, and they were all great. The table ordered steak/shrimp fajitas, shrimp ceviche, seafood enchiladas, and a plate of a la carte tacos/sopes/gorditas. I did the a la carte plate with the veggie tacos, chicharron sopes, and carnitas gorditas. Each was the best version of the dish that I've had since living in Southern California more than a decade ago. All of this, and the prices were very reasonable. Dinner for four, with tip, appetizers, and a round of large cocktails ran $120. This is our new go-to Mexican in Madison. read more

YES! I LOVE HAVING THIS PLACE IN MIDDLETON. I don't even know where to start because I have so many good thoughts about this place. I love their story - the family immigrated here from Mexico to open a restaurant. This is a small, family owned business and the pride they take in their business shows. The ambiance is nice. It's not over done, and has modern, sleek lines. It's a little more upscale than a traditional Mexican restaurant, but it is still casual. We started with margaritas which were fine. Nothing special. Everything else that came out was amazing though! I went with 3 other people, so we ordered quite a few items on the menu and everything was to die for. Even their rice was good, and I never eat Spanish rice. Our faves were the cheese dip, pollo Santa Fe, and chimichangas. The servers were all very attentive and helpful. The menu is huge so we had a hard time selecting what we wanted. Our server went through it with us and shared his favorite items. We talked to one of the women at the bar (I wish I could remember her name) and she gave us details about her family and how their grand opening went. It really felt they were giving us this personalized experience, and like they will remember us when we go back (which we will, very soon!). BTW - the green salsa they bring out once you are seated is pretty spicy so be ready. :-) read more

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This was just OK for me. I went twice, once with friends and another with my wife. The service is extremely friendly and snappy-fast. If you are looking for a smile, kind servers, and in-and-out in about 30-40 minutes, this is your place. But the food wasn't special. I had the seasoned chicken quesadilla the first time. It was light on filling. I found myself wanting for more, although the tortilla was tasty. So the next time I tried what others told me was good: a grilled chicken Chimichanga. Again, it wasn't bad, but there was a premium put on the tortilla part and less on the chicken and cheese filling. The prices were reasonable. It's a very cost-effective place to have a sit-down meal compared to other restaurants in Middleton. If I go again, I'll probably try the tableside guac and the fajitas, both of which looked great as they were delivered to the tables. read more

After my first visit, I am a huge fan and this now may be my favorite mexican in the Madison area. Everyone at this family owned restaurant are super friendly and the food is outstanding. I opted for a sope, gordita and a vegetarian taco. The shell for the Sopes and gorditas are made in house and served as an excellent platform for the rest of the ingredients. The pastor on the sope really highlighted the marinade-bright and sweet. The chicharron in the gordita was amazing-fatty and rich without being greasy, I would easily get it again. And finally, a first for me (and not the last)-a vegetarian taco. Holy cow. Sauteed squash, broccoli, cauliflower, onion with rice and beans wrapped in a double homemade tortilla. As a card carrying carnivore, I could eat these each and every day. With great staff and great food, I would recommend this to anyone and everyone looking for a great meal. read more

So delicious! We stopped in for lunch. My son had the Compadres Enchiladas and I had the Huraches Vegetarian, a side of guacamole and a Rajas tamale. I especially liked the vegetarian version of Huraches with roasted carrots, summer squash, broccoli and cauliflower. My son gave the Compadres Enchiladas a. If thumbs up. The staff is friendly and helpful. The interior is beautiful. Parking is easy too. read more

Compadres Mexican Restaurant - Compadres Enchiladas (shrimp and crab) - Bars Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

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Don't take the best pictures, BUT....Great environment. Very clean and well presented. Two salsas were served, and told an even hotter was available. The default hot was enough for me. Chips and salsa homemade. The margarita was enough to get my attention, but not overly tequila, lime, or sweet. I usually cannot have more than half a margarita without heartburn, but this left me wanting another. Split the fajitas, which was more than enough. Meat was well spiced and flavorful. The owner was active, which is a huge plus. He introduced himself and was very friendly. I've been looking for great Mexican cuisine in Middleton/Madison area and this definitely hit the spot! Will go back once my girlfriend and I have another free night. read more

Compadres Mexican Restaurant - Bars Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

After reading all the great reviews, we thought we'd give Compadres a try for lunch. We weren't disappointed. We found the decor classy with quality furnishings, unlike some other typical Mexican restaurants. We were greeted warmly and shown to a window booth. Chips & two types of salsa were delivered promptly. The menu has much to choose from. I chose the lunch special with a choice of two smaller entrees. The grilled chicken enchilada with mole sauce was excellent, but even better was the chicken chimichanga. It was accompanied by sides of rice and re fried beans. Everything seemed fresh and homemade. The restaurant is staffed by, I believe, family members from Mexico, leading to my only negative comment. There was a slight language barrier communicating our order. All in all a quality lunch experience. A restaurant we'll likely return to considering the other interesting offerings. read more

Food was decent but they messed up our order. We asked for flour tortillas and got corn, and one meal came with no tortillas. When I called, they did nothing to remedy the situation but asked if we wanted to come back to get the right ones. I don't feel that was an adequate response. Otherwise the food was decent. read more

Yummy. Ordered delivery. Food was hear at my hotel in a few minutes. It was hot and delicious. Nice people. Best Mexican I've had. read more

We visit this restaurant nearly every month. Whenever we don't know what we want to eat, this is the restaurant we default to. When my customers visit, I recommend this restaurant. You ask why? Let me tell you, they actually serve authentic mexican food. Not that taco bells junk or those fake burrito restaurants. They make their guac on the spot for you, they don't burn their beans, their burritos have real ingredients in them. Even deadpool would die to eat here. read more

The second (& 3rd) time we came here we got the pastor tacos (him) and veggie quesadilla (her). It will be extremely difficult for either of us to EVER order anything but these respective two dishes. Done. read more

The food was good but my biggest gripe with this place was the carelessness for following Covid guidelines between employees. Three of five front workers (that we saw) had their masks barely covering their mouths and completely off their noses and were serving tables that way. One worker in particular was sectioning the chips with his bare hands which he was then touching his notepad with and other employees and even eating food. I feel bad for service worker because of the times we are facing but none the less following the safety guidelines are our best attempt at having things go back to normal. read more

Just love everything I've gotten to eat here. Always busy but it's worth the wait. I've to recommend it to a lot of my friends.

Read the reviews on Yelp and everyone is correct - the service is extremely pleasant! I asked for a recommendation but eventually just settled on the Compadres Fajitas because everything sounded good. They were solid with really good corn tortillas. The salsa were both good and the green was spicy. I asked for hot sauce with the fajitas (I saw a review that suggested they didn't have any) and was offered more of the green salsa which I accepted. I think they might have an even spicier option. Beans are coldish like others have said. Will come back and try something different. read more

First the good: the salsas are very good. Too many places have the Sisco salsa of basically ketchup and onions. These were homemade and delicious. Downhill from there. The Modelo draft beer was pretty flat to start with and completely flat in less than 5 minutes. No head when it came because there simply wasn't enough carbonation to generate a head. I ordered the carne asada. Every Mexican restaurant should have outstanding carne asada. Yeah no. I've never had a chewier piece of meat in my life - although I've never tried horse. Even though it was a thick as 2 sheets of paper it was an exhausting jaw workout. If you stuck a big wad of Bubblelicious gum in your mouth at the same time I took a bite of this leather asada, you would have chewed it and swallowed it faster than me. I tried cutting against the grain, cutting smaller pieces, eating with more grilled onions - nothing. It exhausted your jaw muscles. I can't imagine going back for more mastication madness. read more

So first things first....this place doesn't have hot sauce. Like...none. I asked for hot sauce and the server pointed at the salsa they brought out with the chips. Nah....that's not hot sauce. Both salsas were flavorful and delicious, but how does a Mexican restaurant not have hot sauce? The food was very fast, and filling portions. Very clean inside, and everything was groomed very well for a new place. It was nice to have plentiful vegetarian options, but still...very odd to eat Mexican food without hot sauce. If you are looking for authentic, there's definitely better places around here. This was definitely a more blandish Tex-Mex style of food, but the demographic of the area probably would argue that it's plenty flavorful, so maybe they toned down the flavors for their locale... If I wanted to sit and eat chips and salsa, I'd come back here, because they're salsas were wonderful...but I'm not sure I'd come back for the food. read more

Beautiful presentation of food. Tasty sauces. Everything made fresh. Great service. I like the authentic music and contemporary interior. read more

Compadres Mexican Restaurant - Bars Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

If I could give this place no stars I would. I just walked out because the service was literally the worst I ever experienced. I worked in the bar restaurant business for over 15 years and I have never had service this bad. The bartender/server literally talked to any and all coworkers while we sat at the bar unserved. Even after he took our drink order he started talking and forgot what we ordered TWICE. It was ridiculous. read more

Still our favorite Mexican resteraunt in all of Madison. Fast, friendly, and they remember their (semi) regulars.

Best Spanish food so far in Madison area hands down enchiladas,chimichangas burritos and there cheese and chorizo dip is amazing. Also give a 5 because the staff are nice and make sure your comfortable and happy with your order. When you cook authentic it's very hard to find but this place has it all. read more

Freezing cold inside. It made dinning uncomfortable. They were nice but the dishes tasted over salted. They give you complimentary chips with two salsas. read more

Middleton is blessed to have this place. !!! I'm from Chicago and this place was legit Mexican. Highly recommend it. Everything was delicious. read more

Best nachos ever! Friendly staff most of the time. Fairly priced. Glad I live so close!!

Excellent taquitos ahogados and guacamole dip. The flan was so good as well. I love Yelp and the feedback I read from others. The many great reviews were right on target when I was looking for good Mexican food during my travels through Middleton. read more

The shrimp tostada is a favorite of mine from their menu. Our family pretty much loves everything they offer and the kids can always find something to enjoy too. Great service! read more

This restaurant is a hidden gem. It's got a straight forward menu and Pepsi. Yes, I'm a fan. When I sat down I was provided two salsas and chips. The chips had been around a little while, it didnt have there crisp I'd like to have - it was there just not as fresh. Dealing with the lunch crowd, I can understand. I want explained as to which salsa was more spicier than the other but I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered the green salsa was the spicier of the two. It was not the cumen hot pepper fired salsa, it had some heat but not a lot. Very tasty but I stuck with the milder red. After I ordered my drink and seasoned chicken burrito mexicano she returned in quickly with my soda and not too long after my burrito. Wow! Great for the lunch time rush! I was able to ask the difference between the seasoned chicken vs chicken, the seasoned is shredded and in tomato sauce. So upon digging in, it was a tasty experience. Veges inside, like tomatoes, lettuce, and the tasty cheese and meat (I held off on rice and beans). All of this goodness with guacamole, sour cream, red sauce (it's their red salsa) and cheese sauce made it a tasty mess. I did ask for more guac and sour cream. It was worth the extra charge. Next time I might get the lunch special or try the shrimp tacos. Either way, I'm going back! Yummmm. read more

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I don't know how I've missed Compadre's. I've driven by its location several times, and I'm fairly aware of Mexican restaurants in the area, but I had never heard of Compadre's until I recently ran across it on Yelp. Pros: - Guacamole at the table is fun and tasty. Watching the guacamole made tableside is an interesting experience. I also liked how we could choose which ingredients went into our guacamole as well as the quantity of each ingredient. The end product was divine. - The fajita veggies are delicious and cooked perfectly. They were fresh, crisp and full of flavor. I would simply return to Compadre's to just eat a whole plate of the fajita veggies alone. - The fish in the fish tacos was fresh and very flavorful. I've eaten some less-than-stellar fish tacos at some Mexican restaurants before -- I think because the fish was not fresh -- but that was not the case with Compadre's. - Service was very good. Cons: -This restaurant desperately needs wall decor. The whole dining area is just tile floors, plain walls and a few interesting light fixtures. Photos, paintings, Mexican quilts, sombreros -- anything -- needs to be on the walls. Eating at Compadre's is kind of like visiting your friend's new house who hasn't had a chance to unpack yet. It's just plain and empty. -Margaritas were not good. The margarita mix/tequila/ice ratio was pretty pathetic. My entire margarita glass was filled to the brim -- even above the brim -- with ice cubes. The small amount of liquid actually in the glass consisted of watery-tasting margarita mix and barely any tequila. I drank two margaritas at Compadre's. I know what effects I should feel after two margaritas. I felt nothing. I either received virgin margaritas, which I did not request, or I received margaritas that only included literally a splash of tequila. Add some decor and fix the lousy margaritas, and Compadre's will get five stars from me. read more

I used to love this place. Today I came in to get food and it took a while before a server came to my table. Another costumer came in after me and was seated. A server came straight to that table before coming to mines. So 5 minutes later another server finally comes to me to take my order. She was rude and acted like she did not want to serve me. She barely came to check on me. Later she got my check and the server from before, who didn't even bother to look my way came and snatched the money and said thank you and walked away. I just felt really uncomfortable and probably will not eat here anymore. My food was also cold. I will be eating at los gemelos from now on read more

Delicious! The rice and beans are even good. It's been a long time since I've had decent Mexican. My family ordered takeout -- everything was correct and ready to go on time. I'm so bummed we'll only get to have Compadres when we're visiting Madison. The Enchiladas Suizas are amazing! My husband and son enjoyed their meals as well. read more

My friend recommended this restaurant to me. We had a delicious lunch, even went back for dinner that night. Fresh ingredients, drinks are also amazing. Great addition to the Middleton area. read more

Good food, liked the funded. Pleasant staff. Cost was reasonable. A lot food for the price.