Reviews for Chapala Family Mexican Restaurant in Waterloo, IA

Delicious food & drinks. Welcoming staff & great service.

The food was very good and large portions. Had enough left over for a second meal.

The food was good and the waitress was very friendly and gladly gave us our drinks as we emptied the glasses. Both of us were... very full when we left. We were going to try the fried ice cream but were too full for it. Will be going back. My first timethere. Had the chimichanga. Read more

Unfortunately my experience was just alright. I didn't have a bad experience by any means, but it was just overall just... average. Some good things to note are the friendliness of the staff, quick service, and clean restaurant. The staff were alwaysthere to get you more water or salsa. The food came out hot, it tasted good, and the portions were decent. While I thought thefood tasted good, i felt the presentation and quality of the ingredients was lacking (for the Pollo Fundido at least). Seeingphotos of other dishes online makes me interested in coming back and trying something new. Read more

The server sat at the empty booth behind us on her phone a few times. Just felt a bit unprofessional. The menu is too big and... overwhelming. I think if they scaled it back, they could focus more on quality. The Mole was much too sweet. It tasted likechocolate syrup. The rice was dry and crunchy. I'm sure they work hard. But,it would be nice to see less options and taste morequality. Read more

We were very impressed with this restaurant tonight. My boyfriend is from Guatemala and I just moved to the US from Mexico a few... months ago. It is impossible to find good Mexican food. While Mexican food in the US is NOTHING like the food found in Mexico,it has its own unique flavor. This restaurant had good flavors. The food was good portion sizes and had a nice presentation.Staff was quick and attentive, smiley and positive. A great experience. To add, it is the best Mexican food I have had outsideof Mexico. Usually, the flavors in Mexican restaurants are so false, strange, and food isn't even prepared like it is in Mexicothat I'm so confused when I get it and can't even eat it. This time, I ate a huge chunk of my food and brought it with me.Though I've never seen enchiladas like this in Mexico and I am sure I wouldn't find these flavors there, the American twist onthen for the American palate was good stuff. I recommend here. Read more

Food was good, but I'm not sure what it was, but I got really sick shortly after eating, my husband didn't get as sick. We... didn't share or try eachothers food, but the only thing we did share was the salsa. I ordered the chicken chipotle burrito, myhusband had the chorizo egg dish (forgot what it's called). Read more

Went to Waterloo for a weekend getaway, stopped here for lunch with my husband. The service was really good, staff is very... friendly. I ordered the Chapala Burrito with shredded beef and my husband had the Chile Colorado (both pictured). Both disheswere so amazing. Wonderful flavors and so filling. Great deals on lunch specials. If we are in the area again we will definitelybe returning! Read more