The food was okay, needed a little more spices, was lacking in authentic Mexican food taste. I have had the salsa before as you can get it at the market in Cedar Rapids. This was different, missing something, could not put my finger on it. The enchiladas were good, I liked the sauce on them. The rice was very bland, the beans were good. The guacamole was good but It has chunks of avacado, I personally like mine more smooth. The service was good, they were very helpful and attentive. The ambiance was overly tacky and fake looking. Overall for the lack of options in town it was an acceptable option. read more

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Your choices are limited if you want Mexican food in Vinton. If you are hungry sure you can go here. Will you starve? No. Is it wonderful food, I wouldn't say that. It was mediocre. The free chips and salsa was my first disappointment. The chips appear to have been homemade because they had grill marks and tasted flame broiled. I am not a fan of that taste in my chips but it grew on me and was tolerable. The salsa was on the sweeter side, again not my thing but others may like that. I ordered the steak Quesadilla. It was good, none of the steak was grisly and it had a nice flavor and the portion, was good. I believe it was 3 - 10 inch tortillas folded in half. Service was good, between a younger gal and an older lady both taking turns to assist us. We hardly had to wait for anything. The establishment was clean and roomy, well lit and decorated nicely as you would expect in a Mexican restaurant. No complaints there. Will I come back probably but only because I visit Vinton occasionally and may want to stay for dinner. read more

First note... the restaurant is La Reyna (not as spelled here^). They operate a food truck, a space at Newbo Market and this small family run business in Vinton. We ordered take out (driving from Des Moines to enjoy their delicious food!) on a Saturday afternoon. The phone lines were very busy and the restaurant take out business was also busy when we arrived. We ordered chips and guacamole - two orders, the guacamole is the BEST! (You may be lucky enough to find it in some Hy-Vee stores or small farmer markets or specialty stores in north eastern parts of the state.) we also ordered pork tamales - 2 orders (come with beans and rice and a special sauce), an order of red chili enchiladas (also with rice and beans) and an order of one of their specialties - the sombrero with chicken. The food was delivered to our vehicle after we called to announce our arrival. The owner Carman and her family members are working in the kitchen, taking and filling the orders and delivering them to the vehicles. She apologized for the wait (which we did not even notice as a wait) and brought our food out in large plastic bags with sides of salsa and sour cream. The chips are very crispy corn tortilla chips - so different than chips I have had anywhere else and really enjoy them! The sombrero was chicken with vegetables (onion, pepper and tomato) in a light sauce with cheese served with tortillas, beans and rice. This is my all time favorite or has become that! The chicken and vegetables were delicious and the portion was huge! I made two full meals out of this entree! The red sauce enchiladas come three to an order - we had one of each: chicken, beef and cheese. They were so good and the fillings were tender and juicy. The tamales come 2 to an order and were also delicious! The pork was a good choice and is the more authentic filling we were told. The order for around $50 lasted us three full meals! The portions are generous. The food is authentic and so tasty and the family that runs the business is very kind and passionate about what they do and satisfying the people they serve. Definitely worth the drive from Des Moines and we will be back! read more

La Reyna - La Reyna exterior - Mexican Near Me - Vinton, Iowa

Driving through the small berg of Vinton at lunch time, and had no inkling of what I wanted for lunch. Driving by, I noticed the La Renya , and was familiar with the name from the NewBo Market in Cedar Rapids. It was about 11:30 so I was the only one in the place. Sometimes I worry about things like that, but not today. The manager greeted me cordially and I chose a spot looking out on the heartland of America main street. The manager asked if I had ever been in, and since I had not, made a number of suggestions. I chose one of his, even though I would have been happy with one of the lunch specials. I had the #31 for those keeping score at home, the Sancho. He did a nice job of upselling me on the queso for my chips. It was among the best I have ever had, but at 5 bucks it took my lunch total way up there. For more than one person I'd recommend it, since it was not watered down, and was mucho bueno. The pico de gallo and salsa served with the chips were very good, and I was told they make them daily. The flavor seemed to reinforce that statement. The burrito was served hot and huge. If you leave hungry, well... The place is clean and they have a large connecting room for parties, etc. No Mexican music here, just a radio playing in the background. C'mon Pancho, put on some mariachi music please. I'll go back when I'm in the mood for Mexican and I'm driving through Benton County's capital. But I'll skip the queso, to keep my wallet from crying. read more

La Reyna - Sancho Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Vinton, Iowa

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This the best Chile reano I have had since Cozumel. The food is truly authentic. If you can ever stop here and eat, you will leave veey satisfied, read more

La Reyna - Inside of eatery. - Mexican Near Me - Vinton, Iowa

Even though the name was spelled wrong, still delicious! " La Reyna**^ Currently on a work trip and decided to yelp this delicious and cute spot. I got the carne asada, it was on point! I would definitely come back to try some more of their delicious looking menu read more

2nd time here and the last. Margarita was strong, not of tequila but syrup, could t finish. 15 chips for a table of 5 never got more until after we got our food. Enchiladas were good. Service was slow and unpleasant until about time to pay. All a repeat of the first time, there won't be a 3rd. read more

Fresh authentic Mexican food. My burrito was fantastic. Not just your run of the mill Taco Bell food at all. Spices and herbs added just the right amount of flavor to give it an A+! Beer cold and Margarita super refreshing! read more

The Ranch Style Beans are absolutely the best. We order 5 different dishes to go, along with the Ranch Beans, Guac and Salsa Rojas. The Molè was very good. The Cameron's were very good. The Carnitas was very good. The Carne Asada was very good. The Enchiladas were very good. The serving sizes are big, so bring your appetite. There are a lot of other dishes that sound delicious, but those Ranch Beans are something that we'll drive back from California for! read more

Good. Mexican fare. Hard working couple making affordable Mexican food of good quality. Their homemade chips & salsa are so popular, the nearby big city organic food store picked it up. Also has a food booth at NewBo city market of Cedar Rapids, medium price range but justified for the quality offered. Nice service. Can't go wrong, read more

Went to Vinton for work, nice small town that seemed friendly enough. Seen this place wasn't to out of the way and I had downtime to eat. I had the steak tacos and they were delicious, got them in a hard shell style. The steak had well seasoned flavor and was overall impressed with my food. Salsa for the chips was also pretty good. I could see myself giving a 5 for this place, but would like to try other dishes first. Has great potential to be 5 stars, if you are in town give them a try. read more

So we gave in and tried this place tonight and it was a decent price. I think the one waitress was new our service from her wasn't a great experience the other lady saved her a lot. We waited about 5 mins to be sat at a table. After this we waited for at least 10 minutes before she finally took our drink order. We then ordered our food she didn't write it down and of course when the meals came to our table mine was wrong. The other waitress knew exactly what to do and took it back to fix it. My meal was removed from the bill what was more then I thought would happen. Over all the food was good and the prices where low. We will return to give them another chance. The margaritas were strong and for $5 you get your money worth. read more

La Reyna - Mexican Near Me - Vinton, Iowa

This review is actually a combination of my last six visits. I've tried La Renya, really I have. I want to like you since you are the only Mexican place in Vinton. I want to like you because I like to see a small business succeed. But your food and your service haven't lived up to the hype. I came in this week and decided I needed to write a review. The building is in a great location. On the main street and next to the movie theater. Parking is on the street and free. You can park in back and walk around, but they have a variety of La Renya vehicles and food carts parked there. Inside is nice and spacious. Clean enough and bright enough. The chairs seem a little creaky, but since it didn't collapse, I guess it was fine. Drinks: Of course what does one want at a Mexican restaurant? Margaritas!!! But not only are they over priced for what you are getting, there is a distinct lack of alcohol in them sometimes. Note, I did say sometimes. Sometimes they taste great....but the other times? Lime Kool-aide has more tequila. Beer selection is ok, but again over priced in a small town where beers tend to be cheaper. Chips and Salsa: A staple that should be considered. They came out with two types of "salsa". The first was a runny canned tomato based sauce that tasted more like spaghetti sauce than salsa. The second was a type of pico that had fresh veggies in it and avocados. Now I love me some avocado. But this doesn't work very well, especially when it seems a little old...that metallic taste that tells me "old and stored in a metal container". The chips are ok, but much thicker and have a different taste than your standard chip. Appetizers: The run of the mill selection. Why does white queso have to be so runny all the time? Entrees: Have tried several of the grilled meat items. More often than not the meat is cooked so long that it has lost it's flavor and moisture. The green chile pork seems like the pork is cooked independently of the chiles because there is no flavor to the meat. The fajitas are obviously cooked in a skillet first because they then slide them onto the iron skillet at the table. The problem with this is that the meat doesn't have much grill flavor, it's cut into tiny little strips and then "stir fried" with the green peppers and onions until it is curling up into jerky. I have been to several Mexican places where this seems to be the cooking method and it sucks. I long for the days of Chi-Chi's where the meat was grilled whole and sliced after cooking. My husband also feels the same way about the meat items he has had. Kids had enchiladas and they were very bland. Service: It and miss. This week my husband and I and one of the kids stopped in for supper at close to 7pm. Only two other tables in the place with a total of three people. The two female servers seemed more concerned about their own food then they were with taking care of the guests. Time before we came in with a group and the young woman was totally overwhelmed with a group of 18 and no one else came to help her. So, will I be back? Not unless I'm really willing to take a gamble on the margs that day. Food? No, I think I've given La Reyna's enough opportunities to get it right. I'll head down to the Lotus or over to The Voo! read more

The last two times that my wife and I were here, the chips were soggy. The service staff rotated through pretty quickly and do to this the service is sub par in my opinion. The food is average at best! read more

My roommate is from straight up MEXICO and he told me only his mom makes food this authentic. We used to go here years ago in Iowa City, and I now drive to Vinton to eat here. IT IS THAT GOOD. Ive eaten tacos in Texas and Los Angeles that paled in comparison to this place. If you are like the lady commenting below that says she longs for Chi Chis... this is not the place for you, because you are a Gringo that doesn't know how to work your plate. read more

Insanely good food, not just for Vinton. I've lived in Des Moines for a decade and been to all of the top "authentic" Mexican places there, and I'd pick La Reyna over all of them. Consistently good, every time. Service has been on point every time as well. What else can you ask for? read more

We complained about the margaritas which are normally awesome. We were told the owner decided to cut them to one shot of tequila instead of the normal two shots. Bad decision! Will consider not going going back. It doesn't matter how convenient if you can't be satisfied! read more

After a long day of golf, we stopped in Vinton to get a bite. Choices are slim in small town Iowa, so we debated between pizza and Mexican. Since a parking space was open near the Mexican restaurant that's where we went. Definitely not a mistake. Started with chips and two kinds of salsa. Both salsas were excellent! I had a margarita, and it was perfectly made! The food was authentic and excellent quality. My burrito was bigger than a small dog! It was the best Mexican food I've ever had, and anyone that knows me, knows I've eaten about everywhere! We will definitely be back the next time we play golf in Vinton! read more

I give it a 4, my husband says a 5. Lol In either case, it was a great place to eat, nice atmosphere, friendly and quick service. They kept the tortilla chips coming. I got the chimichanga, my husband got the fish tacos. He thought those were fantastic, especially the great sauce served on the side. read more

Great Mexican in a small town. The food and Margaritas were excellent. I eat there 7 times in twelve days. The owner even gave me his card and offered to make me some special ( HOT) salsa. The wait staff was really good ams friendly. If in Vinton do yourself a favor and go. Wednesday is 2 for 1 Margaritas. read more

I visited La Renya for lunch with a client. The food was delicious and the service was fantastic!

Excellent food, friendly service! This restaurant popped up in the yelp list, so we decided to drive from out of town to try it. It was well worth the drive! The flour tortillas were fresh, salsa and queso were perfect, and chips reminded us of LA Casa that used to be in Iowa City many years ago. We tried the fajitas as well as the chicken tacos, and they were all winners. The quality of the chicken was great as well,as all of the fat had been trimmed off. We highly recommend this restaurant for everyone, including families with little kids. read more

Get the Sombrero. It's like fajitas covered in really good Chihuahua cheese. Awesome eats. Will definitely come back here if I'm ever in Vinton again. read more

This is the only Mexican restaurant in the city of Vinton. The only other ethnic restaurant is the Chinese restaurant along the same main strip of Vinton. It is a decent Mexican restaurant. The food is slow to arrive but it tastes fresh, as fresh as possible from Iowa. I was here for a luncheon with a coworker. 4 Mexicans came in and they looked uncomfortable. They looked like they just came from a job roofing or something. Although none of the customers looked at the Mexicans, there definitely was a change in the atmosphere. It was like they were the pink elephants in the room, invisible and ignored. Too bad, no one would blink an eye in diverse Portland, OR. At least no one gaped at me with spittle from their mouths thinking I was going to suck their brains. read more

The chips seemed cheap and stale. I never really got the Mexican feeling when I walked in. The food was ok but I'm not eating there again any time soon. read more

This place sucks. Very limited and not very authentic tasting at all. I mean I assume garbage would taste worst? Who knows....

Went on a weeknight and was the first people in the place. Food was good although what i got did not looked anything like the description. The waitress had no hussle, and never even smiled. I felt like I was burdening her. The margaritas were really bad. I can't stress that enough. Don't order a margarita. read more

Took the family there last night for my wife's birthday and the staff was very helpful in explaining the food selections. The food was great and they kept the drinks filled without having to be asked. Would highly recommend trying this restaurant if you are looking for a family style Mexican place to eat at. Nacho chips were nice and warm and tasted great on a cold night. read more

Fine quality Mexican food in a very friendly and quiet environment. Nice variety of traditional food choices. Carmen the owner loves to greet visitors. read more