We're on our way to Yellowstone and stopped in Cody. Went out to eat not really knowing what was here. Came up on Zappata's and it was packed so, we thought it must be good. The server, Cora (sp?) Was very busy and the place appeared to be understaffed. Cora was holding it together really well. She was very efficient and friendly. texted. Turns out a bus of 45 stopped in unexpectedly. Everything we ordered came out in a timely manner as well. Lastly, the food is the bomb. It was not americanized like so many other Mexican restaurants are. Try it if you're looking for authentic, not texmex. read more

Zapata's - Mexican Near Me - Cody, Wyoming

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Just another Mexican restaurant. Nothing special. Expensive. Seating is crowded. Not worth my returning.

I ordered a cheese enchilada dinner to-go. The inside was what you'd expect at a Mexican restaurant. Service: The Young woman at the front was kind and helpful except when I asked if they have Mexican soda's. (Such as Jarrito's) She brought me to a cooler with American soda in a glass bottle. (Coke, Sprite, Fanta) Food: I was handed my food in a bag and red enchilada sauce had spilled out of the styrofoam container and into the bag. I asked for another bag just incase it leaked. When I got home, my enchiladas, rice and beans were a sloppy mess to be frank. (Not necessarily meaning anything though.) The rice did not taste like Mexican rice and the enchilada was more like a taco. The sauce was fine on top. Had the right amount of kick. The refried beans were bland. My meal came with chips and salsa as well. The salsa had way too much cilantro for my liking, but the spice was medium and alright overall. I would be weary about choosing this as a spot to grab dinner. read more

First time being going here and expected the typical "Mexican food" in a hick town. Sure enough it was typical. Nothing special. Pros: the outdoor dining, the salsa and chips (first batch is free, any others are charged) salsa seemed homemade but if you dislike cilantro, it's not for you. My server was kind and seemed kind of newish. Cons: the all you can eat taco bar looked kinda questionable. But for $15, it is a good value. I had a Mexican pizza and it was pretty plain. Just a tortilla with ground beef and toppings. I've had Mexican Pizza in other restaurants that were 5x better. The margarita tasted like it was made with cheap tequila (we ordered top shelf), we couldn't even finish it cause it was pretty gross to be honest. The bean dip was more like a soup instead of homemade frijoles, like advertised. All in all, in a cowboy town this is what you get. read more

Zapata's - Good salsa , bad huckleberry margarita. - Mexican Near Me - Cody, Wyoming

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The server was kind and did their best, but they were clearly overwhelmed. The whole staff seemed new, though they were eager to help and remained friendly throughout. Unfortunately, our food orders were incorrect, and the overall quality was well below average--especially the Mexican corn side, which really missed the mark. It also felt like management wasn't present or engaged, which may have contributed to the disorganization. There's definitely potential here, but stronger leadership and more training could really help bring the experience up to par. read more

Here's my reminder to not eat Mexican food north of the Red River. This is way north... Nice place. Nice service. Just not very New or Tex Mex. read more

Fantastic food, good service. Great enchiladas, tamales and Chile Rellenos. Highly recommended.

First of all, there was a transgender waiter/waitress, I was disgusted and disturbed, and I could hardly eat or finish my food. The food on the other hand tasted the same as microwaved dog feces. Like I can't stress enough how horrible the food was and like I said before there was a transgender waiter/waitress very gross. Do not recommend. read more

Dinner at Zapata's included tamale dinner and a taco dinner. Nice size portions and delicious. The restaurant has some nice variations on the traditional salsa from what we are familiar with in the Midwest. The Texas Twinkie was a flavorful appetizer and a recommended must try. We recommend the brisket filling for the Twinkie. Nice venue with nostalgic 1960 style chairs and a bright paint scheme. Had a lovely chat with Michael the nephew of the owner. He was very friendly, loves his customers and has a mind full of recipes. Stop in and enjoy. read more

You'll see many places to eat as you stroll down the main street in Cody, Wyoming. You've got your steakhouse, your BBQ place, pizza, a couple bars, even a bona fide soda saloon. All good options to be sure. Even with all these great choices, it would be a real shame to miss out on Zapata's. The atmosphere inside immediately recalled my favorite Mexican restaurants in Arizona - colorful and full of chaotic energy. The availability of outdoor seating sold my wife and I on eating there instead of getting takeout, allowing us to soak in a warm and lovely Wyoming evening. Our server, Eric, came out to greet us quickly, offering immediate suggestions with a clearly deep knowledge of what was on the menu. With his help we settled on not only dishes that satisfied our craving for excellent Mexican food, but also the right salsas to go with it, a great dessert to finish it off, and plenty of good conversation along the way. Eric alone made the experience a memorable one... But the food itself sealed the deal. Ordering a quesadilla and a beef chimichanga is usually an easy win at most Mexican restaurants, but here it becomes something special. With big flavorful chunks of chicken in the quesadilla and a healthy helping of delicious shredded beef filling the chimi, the star attractions were delightful. The beans and rice that came with the chimi were also a cut above - there's simply no way those beans came out of a can. I have the feeling that pretty much everything at Zapata's is made from scratch. Great food and a delightful experience overall - if you're in Cody, you owe it to yourself to give Zapata's a try. read more

Zapata's - A quesadilla with chicken, sour cream, guacamole, and all the right flavors. - Mexican Near Me - Cody, Wyoming

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Got the taco bar..worst ever. Overly salty meat..Rice was terrible, salsa and sour cream extra..go to taco hell..it's better. Yuck

Food was genuinely disappointing. The "carne asada" was a few small pieces of bland, fried cube steak . Service was decent at least.

Great mexican in downtown Cody! The Salsa was perhaps some of the best I have had and the Texas Twinkies (bacon wrapped peppers with cream creese), and WOWSER! My Chimichanga was very good. Service was a bit pushy with the dessert and the mens bathroom door would not unlock, but help did arrive and I was out after a few minutes (!). Never had that ever happen in my life. Would I come back? You betcha! read more

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We came here for dinner and the place looked mostly empty, we soon found out why. After waiting several minutes to be seated, we noticed there were lots of employees but very little service going on. The food was cold and bland. There was an employee sitting nearby talking loudly on his cell phone, another roaming around never helping anyone. No refills on anything, weird music playing the whole time. We watched several people come in and quickly change their mind and leave. You'd think this would've been a clue to the staff but they just carried on. Our waiter might've been the only one actually working in the entire place. When we finally got the check I was happy to pay it just so I could escape this place and hopefully never ever have to go back. I've eaten a lot of Mexican cuisine over the years and this was by far the worst experience of them all. I'm assuming it's only unknowing tourist like ourselves that keep the lights on in this place. I'm throughly confused now by any of the good reviews I've read about this place while making mine but I don't know how anyone could think this place was good unless they were fallen over drunk. read more

Great service. Nice ambiance. Food was excellent. Recommend the Chili Verde. Family also thought the Chimichanga was very good and they accommodated a special order on the tacos read more

Pros: -Staff was nice -Outdoor dining was great on a beautiful day Cons: -Food was mediocre -Had to ask for our appetizer (guacamole) and remind the staff we ordered it. It arrived after our entrees were served -Pricey for the quality of food read more

Zapata's - Tacos, corn, refried beans - Mexican Near Me - Cody, Wyoming

Still the best salsa in town. The mainstreet location is handy to shopping and easy for a good lunch. It took awhile to get seated, but once we were, the server was attentive. read more

Great food - homemade chips and salsa - authentic Mexican food - fun and kind waitress and hostess Don't buy into the 3 star ratings A it's great place to eat with the small western town feel that is Cody WY read more

Great customer service! Kids menu was very accommodating. Would come again! Super cute atmosphere

There were 7 of us eating today. All of our food came out hot and tasted fantastic. Our server was amazing and on top of our drink refills which doesn't always happen at other places. The music playing was at the perfect level. Loud enough to make out the words but low enough where we could talk without raising our voices. This is one of our favorite places to eat in Cody. ​ read more

Super good food! The chips and salsa were amazing and our server was friendly and down to earth.

The dining experience was good. The food was delicious! I had the carne asada and it was amazing!!! The chili relleno was also delicious!

The staff were friendly but very slow to bring out food and drinks. The wait was not made better by the taste of the food because it was not very good at all, so much so that we couldn't even finish our meal. Definitely not worth the wait and "especially" the price we paid. read more

We had lots of fun and the place was very accommodating. Our server was fantastic and the food was delicious--everything exceeded expectations! read more

The fajita burrito is my favorite! What a great restaurant! Our kids even like it! Service was spot on. Food came out hot and fresh.

Great food, great service! The ground beef queso is sooo good. The chille relleno is also delicious. The staff was super friendly. We will absolutely be returning! read more

food was terrible service took forever music is annoying the whole vibe is ugly don't eat here read more

After a long day exploring Yellowstone, my wife and I enjoyed dinner here. The server was very friendly and efficient. My wife had two soft shell tacos and I had a chimichanga. There was a lot of ground beef in the chimichangas. They also offer an all you can eat taco bar. read more

Growing up In small town New Mexico , never seen a omelet labeled as a Relleno Who ever came up with that must have been on the gringo little Texas side of New Mexico . Cook might need to return for retraining sent a Photo of a real Relleno to compair to your breakfast egg and chile crap read more

Zapata's - Mexican Near Me - Cody, Wyoming

The best $5 margaritas on this side of the Rockies. They also have really delicious cantina style chips that come out warm and the salsa is pleasantly spicy. Is it gourmet authentic Mexican food? Nope. But the staff is friendly, they have a great covered patio to keep the sun off your back and their food is pretty good for when you have a hankering for heavy American style Mexican food. read more

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Ok. So, I'll start with we went early, 5:30pm. Seated immediately waiter took drink order! Top shelf Casa Migos margarita were fantastic! Chips warm and fresh (although only the first basket is free). Salsa great! Blanco cheese dip great. Then... ordered combo beef/chicken fajitas for two. Waiter brought the sizzling plate and foil wrapped tortillas and that's it! No plates, no beans, rice or corn, one small sour cream and guacamole. Had to ask for plates. Let the sides issue slide (never got the grated cheese I asked for 3 times) The fajitas were good. No complaints. But this place needs someone in charge! Tons of folks waiting, several left without ever being acknowledged at their tables! Management needs to take charge! Food is good but the rest is failing! read more

Zapata's - Combo fajitas! - Mexican Near Me - Cody, Wyoming

Zapata's contacted me in Burns when they were alerted to a huge high school event happening in Cody. The manager said they were normally closed on the days of our event, but they were opening a buffet if our school wanted to reserve a time. Long story short, this made our trip so much better as we didn't have to fight to find evening dining with 1,000 students inundating Cody. The food was awesome, and while the nacho bar was a limited-option buffet, there was enough to satisfy 15 teens, of which some can be a bit picky. The service was great as well. Servers were slammed, but they were ready for it, so spirits were high and pleasant. read more

Had a 30-minute wait to be seated and, after ordering an hour and a half later later, still waiting for our food to be served. Won't ever eat here again. Food was mediocre and fairly expensive for what you got. . read more

Just had a wonderful meal with my wife. Food was very good as well as the atmosphere and service. Would definitely go back

Our family enjoyed this restaurant very much. The outside patio was very enjoyable and the service was very good. The variety of dishes offered was good and the quality of ingredients was superb- I was craving greens/veggies and had the fajita salad with steak. It was delicious. The burritos do have a LOT of meat in them (but then, what would you expect here in WY) so if you don't like that order them with rice and beans in the wrap. Kids enjoyed the fried ice cream. We were so hungry, no pictures were taken! Sorry! Prices are very reasonable and the margaritas are awesome! read more

My partner and I came here and the food is SOOO tasty!!!! Highly recommend that anyone orders the salsa and takes some home because it is some of the best salsa I have ever had!!! For our meals we got tamales and chicken chimichangas and they were both so delicious!! 10/10 read more

Zapata's - Tamales, Chicken Chimichanga, we also got the salsa which was DELICIOUS, just didn't have time to take a picture because it was SO good!!! - Mexican Near Me - Cody, Wyoming

This place was packed so I thought it'd be a good stop while passing thru Cody. The server was kind and attentive, but the food was a super long wait and what came was disappointing. Tamales with beans and rice tasted like all the items had been prepped a long time beforehand and reheated in the microwave - yet we waited ~45 min for mains. It was also crummy that the chips and salsa weren't unlimited (the initial serving was free) considering how long we waited for our meals. Expensive for what you get with long wait times; we won't be back. read more

While our server was cordial, our food took 40 minutes to be served. And it was way below mediocre. A green salsa that was a soupy and reddish. A pork breaking apart from being repeatedly overcooked. Rancid, dry beans. Mushy rice. Stale tortillas. A cluttered, messy and sordid ambiance. Just avoid this tawdry trap. read more

This was the absolute worst Mexican food I have ever had. The service was great, but the food was awful.

In the area for a wedding. On our last night before flying out of Billings, our party voted for Mexican food. Zapata's was intriguing, given the wildly all-over-the-board reviews. Walked in just before 7pm, there was a waiting list. Usually a good sign, right? Popularity! We added our name, were seated outside within 10 minutes. Our server Cora was attentive, friendly, checked back on us often. Food coming out of the kitchen was slow for Mexican cuisine. Are they perpetually short-staffed in the back? Could be. Servers and bussers were plentiful, clearly not the problem. But, on to the food. Chile Verde was delicious, spicy, tasty, with perfect chunks of pork. Tortillas felt and tasted homemade, not mass-produced. Others had the chicken burro, fish tacos. All were pleased, plates were empty. Washed everything down with Negra Modelos. As long as you're not pressed for time, Zapata's is a perfectly serviceable destination. The bill for the table was lower than a similar experience in San Diego, LA, SF, Portland, or Seattle. Lastly, what's with all the unmuffled diesel pickups blasting up and down Sheridan Avenue? Given we dined outside, we were treated to this frequent (unwanted) distraction. read more