It's been a hot minute since I've been to El Aguila Real. In fact the last time might have been when they had the location open in West Des Moines on 22nd. I took the kids to the newest location, after their move North on MHR, today for lunch. Love the ample parking. The staff all wore masks. Every other table/booth was blocked off for social distancing. We were greeted at the door and seated right away. Chips and salsa arrived maybe a minute after we were seated at a pretty spacious booth. Love their salsa. Not a lot of chunks and always fresh tasting. We ordered a California burrito (steak), one chile relleno, a two beef taco combo without beans, a two beef enchilada combo. I had water but ordered soda for the kids. $43 and change before tip. $41 and change with a 5% discount for using cash.. Some basics. Your server takes your order at the table/booth. Payment is taken up front after your meal when you leave. The lunch menu is only served Monday - Saturday. You get one free refill on soft drinks. Additional refills are $1.75. There's a 5% discount if you pay with cash. Our server was an older gentleman and he did a fantastic job. He was attentive, nailed our order, and was quick to get the kids refills when their glasses were empty. The food was as good as always. The steak and components in my burrito were tender and cooked perfectly. In these days of plastic disposable silverware I'm always scared of hearing a snap and launching pieces of a utensil across the room. ;) The kids have eaten here with family since I had and love the food. Today was no different. One of the rockstars at El Aguila Real that always sticks in my head is their chile relleno. I can't seem to pass them up. Cooked tender, stuffed with beef, slathered in melted cheese. I've tried others and they just don't do it for me... I don't think they're "authentic"... But damn they're good. All in all a great visit today. El Aguila Real is never a bad choice. I need to do a better job of keeping them in my rotation when we decide to go out. read more

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I've been here a few times and the service is always good. The chile relleno was delicious! Enchiladas verdes were tasty. Salsa was ok, not great. Service has been good too. I'll stop again my next time through Des Moines. read more

We stopped in at 3pm on Saturday and were seated immediately and had great service. They had a great menu with lots of options. Easy in and out. Queso is of course excellent read more

El Aguila Real - 2/12/22 Dos Equis Amber - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

New location! This has always been and will always be my favorite Mexican restaurant. Best rice, beans, salsa, chips, guacamole( you must add pico), mole, mi favorito, Chile relleno, fajitas, chicken tortillas soup and I could keep going! The beans, rice and enchilada sauce have a different flavor than any other Mexican food and it is outstanding. The salsa has a little spice and no chunks. Chile relleno is stuffed with meat and not deep fat fried but baked with cheese and enchilada sauce. I discovered this place 20 years ago and visited 3x in the first week! This is the standard I compare all other Mexican restaurants. read more

El Aguila Real - #7 with chicken one chicken enchilada and Chile relleno filled with chicken. Favorite enchilada sauce ever! - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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I was a regular at the old El Aguila during college and was so sad when I heard they had closed due to their building flooding, something beyond their control. I moved back to the area and Viola! It just so happened they were reopening at a new location! To say I was excited was an understatement. I am happy to report that their blended margaritas have not changed a bit and continue to be my favorite in Des Moines. The food I cannot speak to at the moment, but will update my review in the coming months. Their restaurant is elegantly decorated with colorfully painted booths and art on the walls. I love it! Highly recommend. read more

Tonight I took my beautiful wife to dinner. The parking lot was nearly full. Evidently several others like El Aquila Real. Tonight it was Carnitas in Salsa Verde for me and Burrito California for her. I didn't taste her burrito, but she loved it. My carnitas were the best I've ever had -- much better than those I've tried to make. Dear wife did taste the carnitas and was ecstatic over the fork-tender pork and the full-bodied salsa. Me too! No room left for sopapillas. Maybe next time. read more

El Aguila Real - the first thing you see - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

I was really hoping this wouldn't be the type of Mexican food that is flavorless slop, but alas I was disappointed. The rice has no flavor to it neither does the salsa. I can make both myself and taste better. I understand it's geared towards white people but come on? Would it kill you to use an onion in the salsa? Or some salt? Everything was undersalted, bland and piled high to please pigs coming to feed at trough. Chicken quesadilla was very disappointing, it did not have the typical quesadilla cheese in it but instead was a mixture of shredded chicken and queso which made it get soggy fast. Giant plate of slop. It was all a big let down sadly. I'm upset I spent money on this when I could have made something that actually had flavor myself at home. read more

Standard Mexican fare. The menu is quite large and has too many options to try and read everything. They do have vegetarian list that is impressive- filler is either mushrooms or potatoes (this earned the 3rd star). The complimentary chips are not made in house, they come from a bag and I'm guessing it's the less expensive bag. The salsa is thin and without much flavor. Service was good, fast and didn't have a problem with us sitting and talking after the meal. Portion size is small- no doggie bag here. read more

This has always been a favorite of mine so I was excited to try it at their new location. The chips were ok, I wish the salsa had more flavor but my 10 year old was happy it wasn't spicy. Food was good as I had remembered. I had the dinner #7 and my son ordered from the kid's menu. I believe mine was $8.99 and his was $5.99, not including drink. The service could have been better but we were there between 4:30 and 5:00 so I am guessing all of the servers weren't there yet. We stood in line awhile to pay. There is a sign on the register that they charge a 4% fee to pay with a card. read more

El Aguila Real - #7 - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

I was really impressed with the heuvos and chorizo on the lunch menu. Not as impressed with the salsa or the margaritas, but the service was fantastic read more

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We had the chicken chimichanga and chicken fajita. When we arrived, the place was empty. Waitress escorted us to a back room clear at the far end of the facility. We plitely asked if we could sit further up front where there were a couple tv's. She did move us, but we noticed she was no longer very friendly. Another waitress took our drink order. Then our regular waitress came over to take a drink order. We told our regular waitress we already had someone order up our drinks. It took a while to get our waitress to take our food order. We did get our food order. But it was rather bland. There was little spice flavor in any of the elements of the food. Our waitress only came over again to ask if all was ok. We said yes. She could have asked if we needed a refill which we did. The restaurant seems to be trying to cut costs. That may explain why no refills. No offer to replenish chips or salsa. We won't be back. Just not the best food. Its a shame because there are a lot of Mexican restaurants in town. They could easily do so much more to make improvements. We still left waitress an 18% tip out of resect. But we will not come back. Just disapointing. Little flavor, no real atmosphere, and staff that just do not seem to take much notice of their customers. read more

What a wonderful place. They are so nice here. I made a order to go & received a 5% discount for using cash. The food was hot and wonderful.

Great service very friendly staff members and the food was good and was made fast. Enchiladas Suiza

If you're looking for Americanized Hispanic food this is the perfect spot. 0% authenticity to Mexican culture. To tell you the truth it's a bit disrespectful flaunting the flag of an entire nation and have this quality food to represent it. My partners plate looked extremely disappointing and disappetizing and mine just simply tasted horrible. Also pricey for what it is. All the prices of everything need to be cut in half and I still wouldn't go. So many other places with way better quality food to waste your time and money here. read more

Always a great time! Love the enchiladas and fajita quesadilla, oh and can't forget the margs!

We have been wanting to try this restaurant for sometime. We had the opportunity to stop in for lunch today. We were seated and our orders were taken right away, but we waited 30 plus minutes for our meals. The food was ok. It wasn't too bad. but it was bland.It was lacking in seasoning and spices, except for the bottle of Tapatio on the table. I don't think we will be back anytime soon. read more

The food here is awful. Not even close to authentic Mexican, and while most restaurants perhaps cater to the American crowd all the food was still pretty bad. Like Taco Bell is better than this. If you are wanting authentic Mexican, this is not the place. So many past good reviews unsure why, they need a wake up call on Mexican food. My two best friends were sadly still hungry when leaving as we did not finish our food due to the disappointment in the food. Nothing worse than spending money on food you didn't like. The Chorri pollo was dry nothing like how it's supposed to be of creamy texture. Service didn't come back for refills on drinks or chips, and forgot our requested cheese. Bad food, worse service. read more

I was so excited to finally make it to the new location. Upon entering, the decor was the same as they had in the last location and had me excited that this was going to be the same El Aguila I remembered. Then we received the chips and salsa. They were nothing special; the chips seemed like they were straight from the shelf of hy-ve. Still, we hoped for the best and ordered margaritas (on special this Wednesday evening) and shared fajitas. The margaritas were huge, but lemonade would be a better name for them as they lacked any taste of alcohol. Now we were getting concerned. The fajitas arrived sizzling and smelled great. They were just ok. The brightside is they weren't overly salty but unfortunately lack much seasoning at all. Service was great and friendly like we remembered. Unfortunately I'm not sure we'll be back given the other options we discovered while waiting for El Aguila to reopen. read more

Great Food.. the Services is amazing.. Come and enjoy the food. Will be nice to have real Mariachi

Best Mexican Restaurant in DM has moved to the old Famous Dave's on Merle Hay Rd. Take out food was good, very good salsa recipe!

I stopped here for lunch while traveling through. I got the fajitas and it was very good. I would definitely come back if I was in the area again. read more

We had a wonderful dinner there tonight! The wait staff was efficient and very helpful. The enchiladas suiza was extremely good. I haven't been there since they moved and regret that. I will certainly be going back soon. read more

So happy that this restaurant has reopened after the flooding and closing in Beaverdale! We stopped for dinner and it is just as we remembered it or even better! The service was exceptional with the server paying great attention to our table, with drinks, chips, salsa and the bill. She made super recommendations for meals when asked! The michelada I ordered needed hot sauce to suit my taste but was good. We ordered the arroyo con polo and the fajitas texanas and both came steaming hot on the plate with generous portions! The arroyo con polo had an abundance of rice, chicken and mushrooms and onion with a sauce and was served with tortillas. The fajitas plate was overloaded with onion, peppers, Chicken, steak and shrimp. Also served with salad, rice and beans and tortillas. The chips and salsa were fabulous! The chips so crunchy and the salsa not too filled with cilantro or spicy but you could add your own hot sauce to taste. The guacamole we added on the side was good too - plain and ready for your own seasoning to taste. We were pleased they are back in business and will return! read more

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This food is great. Get the potato burrito...sounds weird, tastes great. The guacamole is very good and worth ordering. "Mi Favorito" is the best thing on the menu, in my opinion. Very tender, lots of caramelized onions and cheesy goodness. This new location is great. Much more room. One thing to note: They refill the salsa bowls at your table with a syrup type holder. The salsa they bring out at first in the bowl is always good and spicy. What comes out of the syrup refiller-thing always tastes like just straight tomato sauce. read more

Best Mexican food in town!! Great food the vibes are really great! Will come back for sure

Close to home so thought it would be a great eat. Once our order was taken we didn't see our waitress again until after our food was brought out by someone else who couldn't say a word. Our waitress returned to finally refill our drinks when we were about finished eating. Food isn't bad. Just nothing to get real excited about. Bathroom was dirty with trash cans overflowing. We won't be visiting again for sure. read more

El Aguila Real - Refills were next to impossible to get. - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Went with a pretty big group, 8, and the service was great! The food was delicious, I got the fajita nachos, and the frozen margs are a must!! Not over priced and will definitely be stopping back here again soon!! read more

The prices are cheap, and portions are huge. Food can be just ok at times. Their margaritas are pretty good, and the staff is nice.