Raul’s Mexican Restaurant
1261 8th St, West Des Moines, IA, 50265
Raul’s Mexican Restaurant Menu
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Visit below restaurant in West Des Moines for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in West Des Moines for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in West Des Moines for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
1261 8th St
West Des Moines, IA, 50265 - Phone (515) 422-7802
- Website https://www.raulsmexicanrestaurant.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Tue
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Categories
Mexican Cuisine
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
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Rebecca W.
We live just down the road from Raul's and it's totally the "we're starving and want Mexican food" staple. The Pros- The Silver Margarita. So good I dream about them. The food - there's some superstars - like the fajita's, the shrimp quesadilla's, and the tacos, lots of solid things like the tamales, taco salad, and the rellenos. They aren't the best at everything but they're consistently tasty. Space - it's fairly open with comfortable seating - you're not crammed in on top of each other and you can hear the person you're dining with. (geez-that makes me sound like I'm 60!) Prices - they really have a huge variety on the menu - you can get a couple tacos ala carte for a cheap, quick meal, or other big. Cons - The buffet-I've never ordered from it because every time I've gone by it looks dried up and gross. Salsa - the mild is ultra mild but the spicy is sinus clearing. I wish there was a mid range because the flavor of the mild is nice but I like a little heat. Service - it's hit and miss. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's slow. Ironically the service seems to lag the most when they aren't busy-go figure.
(5)Mike R.
Nice place with a wonderful atmosphere. The bartender, Kirby, was wonderful. Attentive, knowledgeable, and patient. I had the Grandpa Margarita, which was well composed, albeit a little sweet. Also had the Open-Faced Chimi which was unique and actually wonderful! Like I said, the atmosphere is wonderful and inviting. My only complaint is that the prices are really quite high. From this experience--good food, good drinks, good service, bad prices....
(4)Mike B.
Raul's was infamous when it was on the East side. Now it's almost inedible. The place was modern and nicely decorated but the excess of drunk and loud groups of people was a turn off to my wife and I. They were all white customers, too. I'm white too but its a rule of thumb. If an "authentic" mexican restaurant is only full of white people it means the food is subpar. And it was. The taco pizza was a joke and the chile rellanos were disappointing. Nothing had much flavor at all. Bland! The beans and the enchilada were edible but they used cheap chicken and a ton of chile powder. CMON! Chile powder in mexican food! Thats the equivilant of putting ketchup in spaghetti sauce. Disgraceful. The waitstaff did their best. We had to wait longer for everything since the larger crowds were more demanding. We left a barebones tip and swore we'd never be back.
(1)Optimus P.
Awesome food!! Chips and salsa will be to your table before you sit down. Great price Great Service Great Margs
(5)Vic J.
This is the BEST Mexican restaurant in West Des Moines. Huge portions, excellent service and delicious, authentic Mexican food. A great place to take the whole family.
(5)Catherine V.
Really, I would say 2 1/2 stars, but since my husband loves this place so much, I will bump it up to 3. He was a happy man when we discovered that Raul's had re-opened. I could take it or leave it. Mostly leave it, but I get dragged here every time we are in town. Jerry lives for the original flour tacos. The shells are deep fat fried, fairly tasty by themselves, but the ground beef filling is grease overload. Prepare for an orange oil slick on your plate. The other favorite is the Plato ranchero. Ground beef, rice, beans, and cheese sauce served with tortillas. This is good and filling. Enough for 2 people or 2 meals. The margaritas are good! The ambiance is poor.
(3)Monica G.
The puffy flour tacos are delicious, but can you believe they were once soooooo much better!? My family has been going to Raul's since the beginning. We frequented the restaurant when it was located downtown next to an "X-rated" movie theatre. The tacos were so amazing back then that I have been chasing the taste of that light, flakey taco all my life! They haven't lost the family friendliness of their service, but I sure wish they could rediscover that original recipe.
(4)Jody S.
Sorry I have to give it any stars. A 15 minute wait when we can see several open tables, rude bartender, lousy but pricey margaritas, disappointing food, to top it off vacuuming and putting up chairs while we were still eating. Never going back!
(1)Heather B.
A friend took me there for dinner and service was friendly and they even have wifi. I thought the atmosphere was very fun. I like the way it is decorated as well. We ordered nachos and quesadillas. It was a lot of food and we enjoyed the flavor.
(5)KD S.
This Raul's is a lot farther than the old location, but it is still well worth the trip. The tacos are fluffy (fried) - not your usual hard or soft shell. But they are to die for. The hot salsa is HOT. I crave Raul's whenever I'm in town and have never been disappointed.
(5)Bill B.
This place has went horribly downhill. The staff is rude. The buffet is just crap. The enchiladas in the buffet are as dry as you can possibly imagine. The flour taco shells in the buffet are as hard as a rock... EVERY TIME! They're also closed on Mondays. What successful business closes on a monday? I only come here when I'm in a hurry because the buffet is convenient and under $10
(2)Jesse M.
My family and I ate there tonight and it was weak. My wife ordered the steak & shrimp fajitas and there was literally 5 pieces of sliced steak in the order. Pretty much the only good thing was our server, she was great.
(2)J D.
The price of the buffet is now around $9 instead of $10.
(4)Dennis T.
Awful. Decor is HIDEOUS, food greasy bland and without passion.... Should have stayed closed
(1)Brett J.
Fried flour tacos are excellent! Go for the spicy anchor villa beef. Also, they have an 'extra' hot sauce that isn't regularly offered. Ask for it.
(4)Ben N.
my wife and I split an entrée and were filled. The food was good, but not amazing. It took quite a while to get our food once we ordered.
(3)Gary P.
I'm 59 years old and have lived in New Jersey for 8 years. Needless to say, they don't have ANYTHING like Raul's in New Jersey or anywhere on the East coast as far as I know. I was introduced to Raul's on East Grand at the age of 17 and it was love at first bite! I especially loved their signature deep fried flour tacos and the corn enchiladas. I could get 2 of each by ordering menu item #20, as I nearly always did, even though I liked most of the other selections as well. I've tried and liked the deep fried tacos from Tasty Taco, Raul's main competitor in the area. I have to say that I like them too, but Raul's deep fried tacos were always a cut above, offering more ground beef, NO beans mixed in for filler, while including diced tomatoes, (Tasty Taco does not have them), and onions, (Tasty Taco has, but you must request them). Add to that, Raul's taco shells just taste better. They're less greasy and have a better, more satisfying texture Tasty Taco's. I've also tried Tasty Taco's enchiladas. Though they aren't bad, they're flour, not corn, (you can get either at Raul's), and their sauce isn't even close to as good as Raul's. That sauce is something from Heaven! You can't get enchiladas, with our without sauce, that taste like Raul's anywhere else on the planet. They're truly something special. I recently visited my old home state with my girlfriend and had often told her about Raul's. I was hesitant to try the only remaining Raul's Mexican Restaurant on 8th street in West Des Moines. I read other reviews and was afraid that the place wouldn't be the same, probably because Raul himself passed away in 2012, and the love and perfection he had always put into his work died with him. I didn't want to tarnish my memories of the place, let alone disappoint my girlfriend, by taking her to a diminished Raul's, but in the end, temptation got the best of me. I needn't have worried. If anything, the new Raul's was a step better than I recalled. When we came in, there was a duet playing old 60's and 70's ballads and the Restaurant was fairly busy. Although the band was good, my g/f had a headache and didn't want to sit close to where they were playing. We told our waiter, Alex, that we would prefer to sit elsewhere and why. He said he would ask the boss, David, if he could find us another table. No problem there! David just greeted with a handshake and a smile and moved us into the adjoining room. We ordered drinks and my g/f ordered the tortilla soup appetizer. I wasn't enthusiastic about an appetizer myself, especially tortilla soup, which I've occasionally tried at other restaurants and was always disappointed in it. Besides, I didn't want to spoil my appetite. I was really craving that good ol' #20! But again, I was wrong! The tortilla soup was fabulous! It was seasoned to perfection and sported serious chunks of white-meat chicken breast. My esteem for Raul's on 8th was growing by leaps and bounds. Alex kept our drinks filled and fresh chips and salsa coming as we waited. Our meal was served in a very timely fashion. Despite the fact that they were quite busy, Alex and David both visited with us. They happily answered all my questions about they place, like how come there was only one Raul's left out of 3 in their hey-day. They listened and commented as I when on about old times, etc. We both walked out of there feeling happy and well fed. My g/f loved Raul's and was happy to finally understand exactly why I had bragged about it for so long.
(5)Dereck L.
It was a nice atmosphere and great staff, but that's about it. The salsa was closer to pizza sauce. Food was pretty lame. Its back to La Bamba for us.
(2)