Back in my home town of DSM this week, and wanted to visit one of my favorite spots!
ordered my marg flight as usual, before even opening a menu. The waitress hands me a one page menu, which I automatically assume is a seasonal and/or specials menu. Boy was I wrong!
Gone are all of my fave menu items that made Rita’s unique & standoff, replaced by very lackluster tacos (no beans or rice in sight on the menu) generic versions of the once very flavorful enchiladas. I could go on, but won’t. In closing, whatever happened there in the last 3 yrs was not for the better. I wouldn’t be surprised if my next visit, this establishment has closed its doors.
Service: 1
Abigail Grant
Food is TERRIBLE. I paid $7 for ONE street taco. The street tacos did not even come with rice or beans. I drove by a taco truck on my way here and I’m so disappointed I didn’t stop there instead. Drinks are strong, but also expensive. Our waitress was nice but honestly a terrible server.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Kris James
Where on earth are these 5 star reviews coming from? Rita’s is a shell of itself. The new condensed menu is down right awful! The food used to be beyond delightful, full of flavor and SO many options. No rice or beans at a cantina? What a waste of beautiful space.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
J W
We tried Rita’s Cantina recently and had a mixed experience. The menu was on the smaller side, which limited the options a bit. I ordered the Steak Burrito—while the filling was actually very good with a generous portion of steak, the tortilla itself was tough and inedible, so I ended up eating just the inside. We also shared the appetizer trio with salsa, guac, and queso, which was solid. Our server was great and was quick and attentive. Overall, the food was just okay—some hits and some definite misses. Makes me sad because we used to love coming here, and it's not up to par anymore.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Robin Hills
Ava was an amazing server.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tiara Draisey
Came here for my foodie friends birthday. Servers were great. Atmosphere was calm and enjoyable. The patio was roomy. Menu is quite small.
Ordered the house on tap Margarita. Not even close to best margarita I've had but not the worst so that's a win. My guess is the type of tequila used howeverothers might prefer it? Could be mescal?
👉This is what really got me....the prices were not it. $7 for a street taco! One. Only one. My 13 year old ordered the corn.
We also ordered the chicken hangover nachos. Chips we not your traditional Mexican restaurant kind but all in all pretty good. $19 Potato no les with their queso was pretty tasty. Ample cheese. $9
Steak burrito was nothing impressive but still good. This is only the burrito and no rice, beans, or chips. Definitely added some queso from the potato no les cheese to the burrito. $15
2 house margs and all the above, before a tip was around $75. Honestly was quite bummed about the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Casey Johnson
I really wanted to like Rita’s Cantina, but my experience was disappointing from start to finish. It’s obvious that many of these five star reviews are fake. When we arrived, the restaurant wasn’t busy, but it still took almost 20 minutes just to get a margarita. We actually considered leaving but stayed because we had a friend joining us.
The menu is extremely limited, with very few options and no sides included. Even the chips and salsa cost extra, which feels ridiculous for a place that positions itself as a casual cantina. We saw the price of the tacos and assumed it was for a set of 2 or 3, but nope — that’s the price per taco, which felt very misleading.
Trying to keep costs down, we ended up just splitting nachos, which were fine but totally unremarkable. Nothing about the food or drinks stood out, and the overall value just wasn’t there.
Between the tiny menu, big prices, mediocre food and drinks, and slow, inattentive service, there’s nothing about this place I’d return for. Definitely not worth the time or money.
Service: 1
Missy Shepherd
We tried margarita flights and the hangover nachos. Everything was so good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Violet
First time here. Everything was wonderful from the food, drinks and service. Very attentive service. We will definitely be back!
Kailee was fantastic! Margaritas were the BEST! We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
nikki k
This new owner took the entire great menu and deleted it and replaced with close to nothing that tastes like tacos I could make at home and there’s no sides. Such a shame.
Derrick Brandt
Leaves you feeling unsatisfied and almost ripped off if you get the tacos. I can’t speak for the other food items, but it was $47.73 total after an 18% tip for four shrimp tacos (2 for each of us) and an order of chips and queso($9). No drinks just water.
To make matter worse, the menu says 7 bucks on the tacos, so for a split second you think you are going to get a good deal for two or maybe three street tacos if you are lucky. Then you find out it is PER taco. The shrimp tacos come out and the corn tortilla was falling apart because they put a bunch of semi-wet pico de gallo on them.
You pay seven bucks for a falling apart taco, and then you only get two because who wants to pay $21 for three street-sized tacos. Then you are not really even full.
I’ve had good experiences here before when the weather is nice, and people tell me they have good drinks. Avoid the tacos if you want to feel happy with your transaction.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Ben Hassman
I ate Rita's on Cinco De Mayo with a large group. Everything was absolutely terrible - the food, the service, the drinks, the seating, the wait time. I asked for water 3 times, waited over an hour and when none was brought to the table, I walked up to the bar and asked the bartender. They rudely refused and told me I'd have to ask my server. The food also took over an hour to get. I had to track down my own silverware to eat a cold, overpriced, tiny enchilada, not fit for a racoon. The drinks were bad. It would be nice if the owners made a genuine effort to bring back the old Rita's, but it looks like they're instead trying to bury the bad reviews with new ones - paid for with a free drink for a 5 star review mentioning your servers name. Don't fall for it.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
J Clemens
Rita’s Cantina is a hidden gem in Des Moines that deserves more love! The food is absolutely delicious, and the recent updates to the menu are seriously impressive—fresh, flavorful, and full of creative touches.
My top favorite? The shrimp tacos—perfectly cooked, packed with flavor, and even better with a side of their house hot sauce. We started with the homemade guacamole, which was so refreshing and full of citrusy zip. Definitely one of the best I’ve had in town.
I also requested a margarita made with mezcal instead of tequila, and the bartender, Jaicee, couldn’t have been more accommodating. She crafted the perfect smoky margarita with a chili-salt rim and a dried citrus wheel on top—beautifully balanced and so good.
Our waitress, Luci, was warm, attentive, and made sure everything came out just right. Great service from start to finish.
If you haven’t been to Rita’s in a while, it’s time to go back. The menu upgrades are spot-on, the cocktails are amazing (especially if you ask for Jaicee!), and the vibe is relaxed but vibrant. Highly recommend!
Some of the best nachos in town!
Service: 2
Back in my home town of DSM this week, and wanted to visit one of my favorite spots!
ordered my marg flight as usual, before even opening a menu. The waitress hands me a one page menu, which I automatically assume is a seasonal and/or specials menu. Boy was I wrong!
Gone are all of my fave menu items that made Rita’s unique & standoff, replaced by very lackluster tacos (no beans or rice in sight on the menu) generic versions of the once very flavorful enchiladas. I could go on, but won’t. In closing, whatever happened there in the last 3 yrs was not for the better. I wouldn’t be surprised if my next visit, this establishment has closed its doors.
Service: 1
Food is TERRIBLE. I paid $7 for ONE street taco. The street tacos did not even come with rice or beans. I drove by a taco truck on my way here and I’m so disappointed I didn’t stop there instead. Drinks are strong, but also expensive. Our waitress was nice but honestly a terrible server.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Where on earth are these 5 star reviews coming from? Rita’s is a shell of itself. The new condensed menu is down right awful! The food used to be beyond delightful, full of flavor and SO many options. No rice or beans at a cantina? What a waste of beautiful space.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
We tried Rita’s Cantina recently and had a mixed experience. The menu was on the smaller side, which limited the options a bit. I ordered the Steak Burrito—while the filling was actually very good with a generous portion of steak, the tortilla itself was tough and inedible, so I ended up eating just the inside. We also shared the appetizer trio with salsa, guac, and queso, which was solid. Our server was great and was quick and attentive. Overall, the food was just okay—some hits and some definite misses.
Makes me sad because we used to love coming here, and it's not up to par anymore.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Ava was an amazing server.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came here for my foodie friends birthday. Servers were great. Atmosphere was calm and enjoyable. The patio was roomy. Menu is quite small.
Ordered the house on tap Margarita. Not even close to best margarita I've had but not the worst so that's a win. My guess is the type of tequila used howeverothers might prefer it? Could be mescal?
👉This is what really got me....the prices were not it. $7 for a street taco! One. Only one. My 13 year old ordered the corn.
We also ordered the chicken hangover nachos. Chips we not your traditional Mexican restaurant kind but all in all pretty good. $19
Potato no les with their queso was pretty tasty. Ample cheese. $9
Steak burrito was nothing impressive but still good. This is only the burrito and no rice, beans, or chips. Definitely added some queso from the potato no les cheese to the burrito. $15
2 house margs and all the above, before a tip was around $75. Honestly was quite bummed about the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
I really wanted to like Rita’s Cantina, but my experience was disappointing from start to finish. It’s obvious that many of these five star reviews are fake. When we arrived, the restaurant wasn’t busy, but it still took almost 20 minutes just to get a margarita. We actually considered leaving but stayed because we had a friend joining us.
The menu is extremely limited, with very few options and no sides included. Even the chips and salsa cost extra, which feels ridiculous for a place that positions itself as a casual cantina. We saw the price of the tacos and assumed it was for a set of 2 or 3, but nope — that’s the price per taco, which felt very misleading.
Trying to keep costs down, we ended up just splitting nachos, which were fine but totally unremarkable. Nothing about the food or drinks stood out, and the overall value just wasn’t there.
Between the tiny menu, big prices, mediocre food and drinks, and slow, inattentive service, there’s nothing about this place I’d return for. Definitely not worth the time or money.
Service: 1
We tried margarita flights and the hangover nachos. Everything was so good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First time here. Everything was wonderful from the food, drinks and service. Very attentive service. We will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Kailee was fantastic! Margaritas were the BEST! We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This new owner took the entire great menu and deleted it and replaced with close to nothing that tastes like tacos I could make at home and there’s no sides. Such a shame.
Leaves you feeling unsatisfied and almost ripped off if you get the tacos. I can’t speak for the other food items, but it was $47.73 total after an 18% tip for four shrimp tacos (2 for each of us) and an order of chips and queso($9). No drinks just water.
To make matter worse, the menu says 7 bucks on the tacos, so for a split second you think you are going to get a good deal for two or maybe three street tacos if you are lucky. Then you find out it is PER taco. The shrimp tacos come out and the corn tortilla was falling apart because they put a bunch of semi-wet pico de gallo on them.
You pay seven bucks for a falling apart taco, and then you only get two because who wants to pay $21 for three street-sized tacos. Then you are not really even full.
I’ve had good experiences here before when the weather is nice, and people tell me they have good drinks. Avoid the tacos if you want to feel happy with your transaction.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
I ate Rita's on Cinco De Mayo with a large group. Everything was absolutely terrible - the food, the service, the drinks, the seating, the wait time. I asked for water 3 times, waited over an hour and when none was brought to the table, I walked up to the bar and asked the bartender. They rudely refused and told me I'd have to ask my server. The food also took over an hour to get. I had to track down my own silverware to eat a cold, overpriced, tiny enchilada, not fit for a racoon. The drinks were bad. It would be nice if the owners made a genuine effort to bring back the old Rita's, but it looks like they're instead trying to bury the bad reviews with new ones - paid for with a free drink for a 5 star review mentioning your servers name. Don't fall for it.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Rita’s Cantina is a hidden gem in Des Moines that deserves more love! The food is absolutely delicious, and the recent updates to the menu are seriously impressive—fresh, flavorful, and full of creative touches.
My top favorite? The shrimp tacos—perfectly cooked, packed with flavor, and even better with a side of their house hot sauce. We started with the homemade guacamole, which was so refreshing and full of citrusy zip. Definitely one of the best I’ve had in town.
I also requested a margarita made with mezcal instead of tequila, and the bartender, Jaicee, couldn’t have been more accommodating. She crafted the perfect smoky margarita with a chili-salt rim and a dried citrus wheel on top—beautifully balanced and so good.
Our waitress, Luci, was warm, attentive, and made sure everything came out just right. Great service from start to finish.
If you haven’t been to Rita’s in a while, it’s time to go back. The menu upgrades are spot-on, the cocktails are amazing (especially if you ask for Jaicee!), and the vibe is relaxed but vibrant. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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