When we arrived here, the girl at the greeter station seemed like she didn't want us to be there. She asked us how many were in our party and we told her. Then she says it's going to be a 5 to 10 minute wait. I said OK fine no problem. The she said it might be 10 to 15 minutes. Again, I said no problem. I don't know if she just had an attitude or what, but she definitely did not make is feel welcome. We arrived several hours before closing, so it's not like we were here at the last minute or anything. Idk what her deal was. After a while, the waiter came out to ask us if we wanted a table or booth. We said table and he went to prepare it, then came back and led us to our table. He was visibly exhausted, but intent on providing excellent service. He let us know that he was new and needed some time to get caught up (thus the brief wait) and we didn't mind at all. He got our drink and apps order and came back a bit later to get our food order. He checked on us several times while we waited on the appetizers and the entrées. He was very attentive. Now onto the food itself. We got the appetizers fairly quickly, but it took quite a while to get our entrées. By the time we got them, we had pretty much filled up on chips already, but I will say that they were pretty tasty. I had a rice bowl with chicken. The chicken was pretty flavorful, I just wish they did not include some of the tough crispy ends in the bowl. I really enjoyed it though. The taco I ordered and added Aiken to was not as good. The bacon was incredibly hard and all over it. It was like having a bacon taco and I ordered a pulled pork taco with bacon added on. While we were waiting for the food, and again while we were eating, there were a couple ladies that must've been having a bad day or something because they kept meeting up near the stairs in/near that extra room they have in the middle of the place talking about how they've had enough and are going to quit. It was kind of awkward. There were also a bunch of staff just waiting/hiding in the hallway toward the bathroom for some reason. They were huddled up there for quite along. Of time, which I thought was odd. All in all, the food was really good. Our waiter did an excellent job, but the food did take quite a while to come out of the kitchen. Definitely try this place again. The flavors were there and the prices were decent. I really enjoyed the picture of fresh squeeze lemonade. I wish more places would do that. It was a pleasant surprise. read more

I waited awhile to post this review as I reached out to the restaurant directly and have yet to hear a response so I am posting my email here since the experience was one of the worst I've had. We went to dinner here May 30th. Dear Iguana Roja Owner, My Mom, Dad, and I came into your restaurant this past Saturday around 7:00 PM. My parents have been loyal patrons of your restaurant for the past six years and have always enjoyed the food, the service, and the warm atmosphere. That history is what made our experience that evening so surprising and disappointing. When we arrived, there were only two other tables occupied (each with two guests), and my parents immediately mentioned how unusual it was to see the restaurant so empty. Despite the light crowd, our margaritas, beer, chips, salsa, and guacamole took a long time to arrive. We were already a bit puzzled, but we stayed patient. However, after placing our food order, we waited approximately 50 minutes for our meals--which was baffling, considering how few people were in the restaurant. My dad eventually got up to check in, only to find all the staff gathered in the back, laughing and socializing. When he asked the male server about our food, we were told "the cook is working on it." More time passed, and when my dad checked again, the staff was still congregated in the back. When the food finally arrived, it was incorrect. My dad specifically requested no mushrooms--twice--and his fajitas still came with mushrooms. I asked for no sour cream or cheese, yet my rice and beans had both. At that point, we voiced our concerns and asked why it had taken so long, especially with such a quiet dining room. We had finally received our food at about 8:15. Rather than addressing our concerns calmly, the male server became defensive. Eventually, three staff members were at our table, each placing blame on someone or something else. It honestly felt surreal--like something out of a movie. Staff were openly complaining about working double shifts, and even the cook came out to say she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before and that she also worked a double shift. While we empathize with tough shifts, this is not something guests should be pulled into. The team did apologize, and they comped our entire bill, which we appreciated. But the apologies were laced with excuses and finger-pointing, and the whole experience felt far removed from the kind of service and atmosphere my parents had always loved here. I chose to write directly to you, not post on Yelp, because I believe you care and have an opportunity to get things back on track. My parents mentioned that the restaurant always felt different when you (owner) was there--welcoming, bustling, and well-managed. We truly hope it can return to that. Thank you for taking the time to read this. We wish you the best and hope our feedback helps spark some positive change. read more

The food, it was mid. I'm pretty sure they just mixed jasmine rice with vegetable oil and called it Mexican rice. The presentation of each dish exceeded expectations though. The service was so lameee. I drank all my water and probably had to wait like 15 minutes for a refill. The waitress was kind but clueless. She apologized like 64 times because she forgot random items (our guacamole, a salsa bowl, someone's water, and the list goes on). Don't apologize. Please. Just flipping fix the mistake and make it again. Restaurant had a cool interior. There were these cool lights in the floor that looked like lava lamps or something. I wish I would have included a picture but it is now 3am and I'm typing words on freaking yelp. Anyways. It was a chill environment. Felt very chill. read more

Stopped in for supper with my husband. We were seated quickly and they were moderately busy. Waitress was a hoot the entire time. We always order the table side guac . It's a must have for us! Food came out within a reasonable time frame and was delicious as usual. I love their cheese enchiladas. They have great flavor. The only thing off putting was as we were getting ready to leave the waitress started telling us jokes and the more she told the more off putting they got. Kinda turned us off to the place. I'm sure we'll be back but we're giving it a cooling off period. read more

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Drake was extremely helpful and really nice. Food tasted amazing. Fast service. If you want good Mexican food and great service, give this place a try! read more

Iguana Roja Restaurante - American Style tacos - Mexican Near Me - Ozark, Missouri

Waited 20mins, besides one other table the place was EMPTY. Table told me they'd been there an hour and only seen their server once. After another 10 mins of waiting and yelling "Hello?!" Gave up and left. Do NOT come here. 0 stars if possible read more

My favorite Mexican place in the area. Their pulled pork chimichanga is amazing. I've always had great service and tasy food.

I absolutely love this local stop for my wife and I. I usually get the blackened shrimp chimichanga. To die for. My wife usually gets the fajitas and they are always full of flavor. We normally call in an order for pick up since we live close to The staff is always friendly and very helpful when calling in our order and picking it up. We have dined in a few times and I love it when we do. It's in an old building on the square in ozark so it has all the old charm of these kinds of buildings Love Iguana Rua and will be eating there for years to come. read more

We came in on Monday, about 7:00, and it was very easy to get seated. They we're out of the carne asada we wanted for fajitas, but the chimichanga we had with pulled pork ( a first for us) was big enough to split, and we are two big guys! The waitress was attentive and pleasant. I love their chips with the "fairy dust" seasoning on them. read more

Cute place, we were seated right away. Aaron was our server - friendly, efficient, helpful. Margaritas were lovely & refreshing. I had the Chili Relleno - came with slaw & was very filling. Delicious filling w/quinoa. R had 2 tacos and when he asked for some spicier salsa Aaron suggested trying the habenero/garlic hot sauce. He warned us it was FIRE and it was a R loved it! The only super salty things we found were our margarita glass rim & if you got a bigger chunk of Cotilla cheese which is supposed to be salty. 10 out of 10 read more

First experience with Rose was terrible. We walked in the door an hour and 40 minutes before close and our greeting was " we close in an hour so you'll need to place your order quickly" eager to try this restaurant we've heard such great things about, we stayed. Second visit, we are greeted by Rose. " Bad news! It's gonna be awhile before we get you in" we said that's fine we will go sit at the bar grab a drink and wait. " actually we have no glasses" Train Rose or terminate Rose and we will try again. Until then, we won't be back. read more

Fabulous food - unbelievable salsas - great little restaurant on the town square - recommend the tacos, especially the veggie

What an adorable place!!! This restaurant is just fabulous. The food was tasty, fresh, and felt healthy, not heavy. I'd consider the cooking authentic with a flair. My family had burritos, a veggie bowl, and a salad. It was all wonderful. I look forward to returning one of these days and trying different menu items. read more

Food is really very good. The unique margaritas are great as well. But the delivery of the food to the table still just misses the mark. We ordered the queso chorizo dip, which was very good. It took a little over 15 minutes to come to the table, and another 15ish to get a chip refill to eat it. That's after asking two random servers twice for chips. It then took another 20 minutes to get my wife's chicken tortilla soup. That being said, the food was great. The soup had a great broth flavor and the rest of the ingredients were perfect. You read it here before, great food, but multiple years of marginal service. read more

Iguana Roja Restaurante - Queso Fundido Loco. Very tasty queso dip. $6.99 - Mexican Near Me - Ozark, Missouri

Usually a favorite place to stop when we are close. 3/14 was disappointing. Got to restaurant at 7:30 Greeter looked like someone off the street. Barely acknowledged us before disappearing for 5 minutes, leaving us wondering if she was coming back. Once seated it took an hour and 15 minutes to get our food, one enchilada dinner and a taco. Food was good. Water glasses never refilled. Guacamole was SALTY!!!!!!! read more

This might be some of the worst Mexican food I have ever eaten. My food was so salty it was inedible. I would never recommend this place to anyone. The chips were bad. The salsa had little to no flavor. My chicken quesdilla was terrible. How do you mess up something as simple as a quesdilla? My husband's burrito was the same-a salt lick. Save your money and go elsewhere. read more

My husband and I were regulars there until a recent visit when someone "assuming the server" added their own tip to the 20% tip already given on the debit card. At first it showed up correctly on our bank account and then all of a sudden a higher charge was shown. We have the original receipt. We disputed with the bank but obviously they were told we okayed giving them a 43% tip! Obviously we won't be going back because of this and will hopefully save others from having money stolen using a debit card. FYI...the cashier's name is on the receipt if we wanted to dispute further. Sad, isn't it? The food was good. read more

The food is excellent. Service was slow and stood waiting with open tables for longer than we should, but once we were seated, the food made up it. Reasonably priced and fun atmosphere. read more

Iguana Roja Restaurante - Chicken burrito bowl - Mexican Near Me - Ozark, Missouri

Best chips around, with a special fairy dust on them. I generally get the chimichanga which is big enough to split. Home made guacamole at your table, made to order. Chicken quesadilla is also really good. Tacos are tacos, but always good. Great local business. read more

Delicious food, impeccable service and a surprisingly unique ambiance combine to make Iguana Roja a magnificent addition to Ozark's town square. I ordered the shrimp spinach salad during a recent work lunch, and was delighted with the lightly dressed, ultra-fresh greens. However, I was validated in my decision to order it with chicken added, because the serving of shrimp I received would not have satisfied me otherwise. Whereas my portion size was questionable, the towering stack of nachos my company ordered was too much for her to finish. Fortunately, that meant I got to sample her leftovers, which were delightful. All in all, our experience with Iguana Roja was a good one, if a little pricey considering the amount of food we were served and the location of the restaurant itself. I wouldn't mind returning, but will likely do so sparingly due to the cost vs. value proposition. read more

Iguana Roja Restaurante - a plate of chicken and spinach salad - Mexican Near Me - Ozark, Missouri

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Convenient location and I was waited on quickly and my food was delicious. Thank you all.

Iguana Roja is one of our favorite home-town restaurants, although the fare is not what you'd expect at a home-town place at all. A lot of people call it Mexican, but it seems more South American to me. There's a nice selection of a little bit of everything, but certainly not one of those multi-page menus where you decide you're going to order lunch entree #78. My favorite menu item is the HOP Chop - a salad full of jicama, citrus, and other things that make it completely unlike any other salad I've ever eaten. At my last visit I ordered it along with ceviche, and the two went together wonderfully. Hubs tends to order more traditional fare, like burritos and tacos, and loves them all, and the kids enjoy the items from the kids menu. We always devour at least one bowl full of their tortilla chips, which are very thin and crispy and dusted with a layer of seasoning that I really like. The wait staff usually leaves a bit to be desired, and the busier it is, the longer you can expect to wait for service/food. Our last server must have been new, because he struggled with answering my questions about menu items and daily specials. On the upside, staff has always been pleasant, and with the chips and kids coloring pages to keep us busy while we wait, it's not been anything excessive. read more

Iguana Roja Restaurante - The HOP Chop - Mexican Near Me - Ozark, Missouri

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Well I'm updating this review because of our latest visit. My wife and i cane back to give this place another chance but with no luck. I have nothing against high school aged wait staff but when the young ladies would rather chit chat at the hostess station than refill drinks or tend to patrons then that becomes an issue. Last time i mentioned this restaurant was slower than molasses in winter time, i think that's an understatement. The food is really average if you can stomach it and extremely over priced for the quality you receive and the selection from the menu is very slim almost fine dining slim. If i could give advice to the management here i would definitely tell them to tighten up their shot group with the quality of food and the quality of service. This place has great potential it's just high and to the right of being on target. read more

Their Queso fundido, chips, salsa & margaritas are top notch. I always sit in the bar for faster service.

If I could give less than 1 star I would. Waiting 10 minutes up front to be sat should've been the first red flag but to top it all off I waited an HOUR.. that is (1) hour for a burrito. I'll never come back here and this was most definitely the worst service I've ever had at any restaurant ever. Roasted chicken burrito surprisingly came out hot and was good. Black beans were decent, brown rice tasted like microwave rice tho. Personally, I'd go to market house across the street instead. read more

Second time to order take out. Second time the order was wrong. Was told they would give me gift card or discount my meal. I got more chips instead. Sad. read more

Iguana Roja was good and had a creative menu and spices. I liked their pixie dust seasoning on the chips. $11.00 for 3 avocados guacamole seemed high at first but remembered I was visiting Missouri they probably don't grow many avocados around here. Everything tasted great and fresh. Great place to bring your kids too. The service was slow but the food was good. Beautiful location on the Ozark town Square. read more

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Wonderful portions very well priced! No complaints from me at all. Better then your standard Mexican food place, but not amazing.

The menu reflects Latin food from different regions so there's something for everyone. The chicken used in the burrito tasted like purchased shredded chicken, not cooked on premises and shredded. The wings are excellent as are the margaritas. Service was friendly. The location on Ozark's historic square is wonderful. read more

Iguana use to be my favorite place in Ozark to eat and I would recommend it to everyone but somewhere over the last year they've lost their quality. The food use to taste amazing and while service was slow, the wait staff was attentive and you felt like the food was very fresh because of the amount of time the kitchen was taking. Lately the service has been terrible, no drink refills and placing an order can take 20 minutes. Don't even try ordering a margarita because the bartender is always a waiter and you may end up with your food before you get your drink. The food is still good but not near as delicious as in the past and when it take 1 1/2 hours to eat, it isn't worth it. read more

Favorite Latin food in the Ozark's. Love the Cabo Wabo margaritas..got to order the pitcher!! Love the tamales.

We ate dinner tonight at the Iguana Rojas. This is NOT, the same food I had two years ago, at the same restaurant, same name. I had my wife's drink spilled on me while our server just stood there, so I cleaned up the mess. The portions of Sour Cream, and Guacamole are the size of a Ping Ping Ball, cut in half. The food was bland, what happened to spices, no pico de galo, my entre, showed up in time to pay the bill and get out. I won't be back. And I'll tell everybody about our dining experience. Bob W. Nixa mo. read more

Delicious & made from scratch Mexican Food in a quaint building on the Ozark Square. Excellent service! Pork Tamales were best I've ever had & I've had a lot! The chips and salsa were thin, fresh & really good. Margaritas were freshly made using good tequila. we'll definitely be back! Great ambiance. read more

These guys rocked us out on a fajitas set up catering order for 40 person Show Me Chefs television production crew. Everything was hot and delicious. The fajitas, all the trimmings and beans were wonderful. Highly recommend. Great food! read more

I just love this place! The food is great and the environment is so fun and inviting.

Run, don't walk ... away ... seriously not good. I'll write more later if we make it outta here ... Send Help! Please !!! read more

Service was super quick and friendly, we waited maybe 30 seconds before being sat. The chips and salsa were super good, the 'fairy dust' gave the chips a really good flavor. The queso was fantastic as well. I got 3 chicken tacos street style and they were really yummy! I will definitely be back. read more

We got take out chimichangas and enchiladas. For the price the portions were small, but that didn't matter as neither one of us could finish our food. It's hard to describe, but everything had an "off" taste to it. I did NOT expect my enchilada to have a sweetness in there anywhere. The flavors did not blend well...... And we both agree it's not sitting well in the tummy. We won't be going back. read more

Was visiting republic with my lady to do some shopping. Based on a shop keepers recommendation we gave the Iguana a try. According to her the owners are from the south and have really authentic dishes. Locally owned and not a chain? We said sign us up. First off all the place looks great. Older building updated with red up lighting from glass squares in the classic wooden flood. Service was friendly and prompt. And really enthusiastic about flavors as we asked about what fairy dust was on the guac menu. So we ordered the guacamole and were happy to have table side creation. The server was clean and orderly. Its just the result was just ok if not a little bland. We did a 2 avocado guac and almost felt like the server did seasoning for just one. Not worth a flogging but a real shame as we love the stuff when done right. She had a quesadilla and I had the pulled pork enchiladas. We both had the same thoughts. Bland. The amaerican/swiss mix of cheese on the top of my enchiladas really was the strongest flavor. The black beens on the side could have come straight out of a can and the rice seemed like plain white minute rice. Yikes guys. What happened there? Needless to say we were not expecting that. It was 4pm on a pretty saturday so maybe the regular chef was out? 2 stars for the service and decor. The rest I could have done better at home. read more

Are you a fan of poor service and lackluster food? Do you like a wait staff that dumps salsla upon you? How about staff that ignores you when you walk up right next to them to tell them you have been seated for 10 minutes and would like a drink? Do you like one of those restaurants that used to have really good food but now have been defeated by success? How about Margaritas that are watered down and overpriced? Then this is your place! I was in a party of 12. They could not bring out everyone's entree in a timely manner we waited an hour for the food. They forgot the order of one oat the table and they messed up 2 the orders as well, and to top it all off they charge you 18% gratuity. 4 instances of bad service. The food is ok, nothing to write home about however it is expensive. They also nickel-and-dime you if you want spicy salsa. To be fair the guacamole was good, and the chips are pretty good as well. I would stick with appetizers and overpriced drinks. I've also looked more on Yelp about this restaurant and it seems their biggest knock is horrible insensitive service and blah food. read more