The restaurant itself is gorgeous. The murals on the wall, the roses on the ceiling the entire ambiance is beautiful. The food on the other hand was bland and needed more sazon, very Americanized flavors. The mixed drink “michelada “ was very bland and watered down, needs more Clamato. The service was good though the lady was helpful and took our order and delivered the food in a timely manner. The menu was hard to read due to low lighting inside the restaurant I think they need to brighten up the lights a bit more. It was all around a pleasant spot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Taylor
Upon arrival, I was impressed by the atmosphere. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and feels well suited for special occasions—I could easily see myself hosting a birthday dinner here, as the space is also great for photos. The complimentary chips and salsa were fresh and flavorful. While I would have been satisfied with just the salsa, I ordered the queso to accompany the chips. The queso was good, but the salsa was the standout. Although I do not drink alcohol, the waitstaff recommended a mocktail that was the closest I’ve felt to having a margarita in quite some time, which I appreciated. For my entrée, I ordered the Al Pastor fajitas. I am a fan of Al Pastor and have tried it in many places, including restaurants in Mexico City, and I would rank this version among the top. It was incredibly flavorful—slightly greasy, but well worth it. The meal was served quickly and fresh, and the portion size was generous enough to split into three meals. The staff were all incredibly welcoming, including one of the owners, who stopped by our table to check on us. I took the tres leches cake to go for dessert; as someone who prefers a sweeter cake, it wasn’t quite to my taste, though I would be open to trying other desserts in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed both the atmosphere and the meal and look forward to returning to try more items from the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christina Calkins
WE LOVE THIS PLACE!! We love everything about it. The food is great. The service is fantastic and the atmosphere is extremely pleasant. The last time that we were there, we did have to wait a bit for our food BUT they also had a party going on upstairs, so we understood. Normally we do not wait that long for our food. I would recommend this restaurant and have.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gary Gray
First time for me but Cheryl has been a few times with friends so we went in her bd . Great meal with a blueberry marguarita that matched perfectly with the 4 enchilada Mexicanas. Will go again and I could eat that meal as it was once a week. Nice to see smiling faces on a cold winter nite after our fourth big snowfall in this early cold December . Thanks for singing happy birthday for Cheryl’s birthday as it was and a nice memory for us.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Trevor Edwards
Very good food and drinks
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Elaina Liechty
Great place. Great service. Great food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mary Liechty
Awesome service and amazing food. The atmosphere is beautiful. Can’t wait to come back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brian Mulcahey
Our server was fantastic! Food was very good. The food had spice and flavor. Margaritas were very good. Will be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Arnie Hart
Friendly and helpful service. He took the time to point out and explain popular choices on the menu. Portions were big and the food was great. We'll definitely be back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jeannette Aguilar
Great atmosphere, food, and service! Highly recommend!
Had a great time at Xolo for the first time. Jerry the manager and Michael our waiter took care of my friends and I. Food was great and the atmosphere is super nice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lizzie Hannan
This place is fantastic! Such good Mexican food and great drinks. While we were there Jerry kept coming around and adding extra tequila to our drinks which made for an extra fun night! If you are looking for the best Mexican in the Iowa City area, I highly recommend this restaurant!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jenny Unternahrer
This restaurant has the potential for all 5 stars with a little tweaking of how they operate so my notes will reflect on why I marked accordingly. I was a solo patron that joined a group for the evening.
Service was phenomenal in the knowledge and personality areas. It did lack in the timing of everything. It was not busy (Wednesday night) and it took our food a while to get there. I don't know if anyone else noticed or maybe not since there was so many introductions and chatting. My chimis were a little soggy and not super hot so timing needs to be better. At the end of the meal it took a while to get the bill and then get payments and change made. (I paid with cash and had to ask for my change.)
The restaurant looks great and very colorful. Music was a little loud but manageable except for some of our conversations across the U shaped booths. I was seated in the center so I could hear OK. I don't care for U shaped booths but that's a personal opinion. With large serving plates and the chips and salsa, water glasses, pitcher and ordered drinks it was cramped for 6 people.
I ordered the chimi-special and chose the shredded chicken option. It is two smaller chimichangas smothered in queso sauce and salsa ranchera (I had mine on the side in case it was too spicy. ) It is served with large portion of guacamole, pico de gallo, lettuce and queso fresca, rice and beans. The salsa ranchero was not spicy at all, in fact it reminded me of tomato soup. The inside of the chimi was plain white shredded chicken with onions. A little dry on its own but better with all of the toppings and sides. (I added photos of other dishes had at the table.)
Food portions were plentiful and so I had leftovers. I ordered a tres leches cake slice to go. I've never had one and so I had no idea what to expect. It was fantastic. My only suggestion is more strawberries to eat with it.
I drove almost an hour to get there and I would gain with hopes that the food service timing is better and waitress more timely at the end.
P.S. and heads up. The drinks with alcohol menus had no prices listed so if you order from there keep that in mind. I didn't so I don't know what the prices were.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Deana Buell
Lack luster service at best. No follow up from wait staff regarding food flavor/taste or if additional drinks needed. Food and drink speed was non-existent (took longer to get soda vs alcohol). Would not recommend.
The restaurant itself is gorgeous. The murals on the wall, the roses on the ceiling the entire ambiance is beautiful. The food on the other hand was bland and needed more sazon, very Americanized flavors. The mixed drink “michelada “ was very bland and watered down, needs more Clamato. The service was good though the lady was helpful and took our order and delivered the food in a timely manner. The menu was hard to read due to low lighting inside the restaurant I think they need to brighten up the lights a bit more. It was all around a pleasant spot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Upon arrival, I was impressed by the atmosphere. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and feels well suited for special occasions—I could easily see myself hosting a birthday dinner here, as the space is also great for photos. The complimentary chips and salsa were fresh and flavorful. While I would have been satisfied with just the salsa, I ordered the queso to accompany the chips. The queso was good, but the salsa was the standout.
Although I do not drink alcohol, the waitstaff recommended a mocktail that was the closest I’ve felt to having a margarita in quite some time, which I appreciated. For my entrée, I ordered the Al Pastor fajitas. I am a fan of Al Pastor and have tried it in many places, including restaurants in Mexico City, and I would rank this version among the top. It was incredibly flavorful—slightly greasy, but well worth it. The meal was served quickly and fresh, and the portion size was generous enough to split into three meals.
The staff were all incredibly welcoming, including one of the owners, who stopped by our table to check on us. I took the tres leches cake to go for dessert; as someone who prefers a sweeter cake, it wasn’t quite to my taste, though I would be open to trying other desserts in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed both the atmosphere and the meal and look forward to returning to try more items from the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
WE LOVE THIS PLACE!! We love everything about it. The food is great. The service is fantastic and the atmosphere is extremely pleasant. The last time that we were there, we did have to wait a bit for our food BUT they also had a party going on upstairs, so we understood. Normally we do not wait that long for our food. I would recommend this restaurant and have.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First time for me but Cheryl has been a few times with friends so we went in her bd . Great meal with a blueberry marguarita that matched perfectly with the 4 enchilada Mexicanas. Will go again and I could eat that meal as it was once a week. Nice to see smiling faces on a cold winter nite after our fourth big snowfall in this early cold December . Thanks for singing happy birthday for Cheryl’s birthday as it was and a nice memory for us.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very good food and drinks
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place. Great service. Great food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Awesome service and amazing food. The atmosphere is beautiful. Can’t wait to come back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our server was fantastic! Food was very good. The food had spice and flavor. Margaritas were very good. Will be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Friendly and helpful service. He took the time to point out and explain popular choices on the menu. Portions were big and the food was great. We'll definitely be back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great atmosphere, food, and service! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Had a great time at Xolo for the first time. Jerry the manager and Michael our waiter took care of my friends and I. Food was great and the atmosphere is super nice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is fantastic! Such good Mexican food and great drinks. While we were there Jerry kept coming around and adding extra tequila to our drinks which made for an extra fun night! If you are looking for the best Mexican in the Iowa City area, I highly recommend this restaurant!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This restaurant has the potential for all 5 stars with a little tweaking of how they operate so my notes will reflect on why I marked accordingly. I was a solo patron that joined a group for the evening.
Service was phenomenal in the knowledge and personality areas. It did lack in the timing of everything. It was not busy (Wednesday night) and it took our food a while to get there. I don't know if anyone else noticed or maybe not since there was so many introductions and chatting. My chimis were a little soggy and not super hot so timing needs to be better. At the end of the meal it took a while to get the bill and then get payments and change made. (I paid with cash and had to ask for my change.)
The restaurant looks great and very colorful. Music was a little loud but manageable except for some of our conversations across the U shaped booths. I was seated in the center so I could hear OK. I don't care for U shaped booths but that's a personal opinion. With large serving plates and the chips and salsa, water glasses, pitcher and ordered drinks it was cramped for 6 people.
I ordered the chimi-special and chose the shredded chicken option. It is two smaller chimichangas smothered in queso sauce and salsa ranchera (I had mine on the side in case it was too spicy. ) It is served with large portion of guacamole, pico de gallo, lettuce and queso fresca, rice and beans. The salsa ranchero was not spicy at all, in fact it reminded me of tomato soup. The inside of the chimi was plain white shredded chicken with onions. A little dry on its own but better with all of the toppings and sides. (I added photos of other dishes had at the table.)
Food portions were plentiful and so I had leftovers. I ordered a tres leches cake slice to go. I've never had one and so I had no idea what to expect. It was fantastic. My only suggestion is more strawberries to eat with it.
I drove almost an hour to get there and I would gain with hopes that the food service timing is better and waitress more timely at the end.
P.S. and heads up. The drinks with alcohol menus had no prices listed so if you order from there keep that in mind. I didn't so I don't know what the prices were.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Lack luster service at best. No follow up from wait staff regarding food flavor/taste or if additional drinks needed. Food and drink speed was non-existent (took longer to get soda vs alcohol). Would not recommend.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Absolutely. Yes.
And can your salsa do that?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
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