Viva la Bamba

Its good but not amazing. There are places where you can spend the same amount of money for a better meal. I’ll still eat here occasionally though just because its close to my house when I have a craving for chips and salsa and fajitas. I liked this place more when it was La Bamba for sure.

This place is great if you want well seasoned, juicy steak tacos and large margaritas. You get chips, salsa, and refried beans at the table, and the prices are very reasonable. The atmosphere is very laid back and the service was very good. I will definitely be returning!

First visit and I don’t understand the negatives comments about the service, because our’s was fast and polite. Maybe the place is under different management? Anyway, saw a friend whom I had not seen in years and she recommended the chili rellenos. She lives even further away from this restaurant than I. I did not take her advice. I ordered the very piquant chili verde, at 11 bucks a plate with frijoles refritos and rice a bargain. My next door neighbor did order the chili rellenos and found them excellent. The other gent of our party ordered the taco plate and pronounced it muy bien for portions and price.

The parking lot is always packed when going by this place in the evening and tonight I popped in for a late solo dinner at 9 pm. and was seated on the patio. Ordered a margarita which was delivered and set down across the table from me so not only could I not reach it, I had to stand up and stretch across the table to get it. Found the drink to be all bottled mix and alcohol and the mix was too strong. Someone immediately brought chips, salsa & bean dip which occupied me while waiting for my entrée. I consumed the chips, dip, and salsa and had enough time to look at every photo, read the photo captions and read every article in the free «Inspire» magazine I picked up inside the door and was still waiting for my entrée after that. I really wished for a napkin as you know how eating with your hands can be with salsa. At long last my entrée arrived — seafood enchiladas which I ordered reminiscing about a restaurant called «Chi Chi’s» in West Des Moines that had the best ever seafood enchiladas. My plate was occupied by an additional serving of the bean dip I’d just eaten, rice and rather skinny enchiladas. The food runner asked me if I needed a fork as eating utensils were as scarce on my table as napkins. Let’s go for it and use a fork since rice is hard to eat with my hands, I said, and he rustled up the item wrapped in a napkin. The heat I had been wishing was in the salsa turned out to be in the enchiladas and completely overpowered the taste of the meagre amount of seafood in the enchiladas. Sigh…
Here’s the other thing about the evening… and this was totally beyond the control of the restaurant… there was one table of four on the patio. One of the women who looked both pregnant and a few sheets to the wind kept loudly asking one of the males at her table how to say a two word phrase of a sexual nature in spanish with the second word being «job». I wish he would have just told her, but he wouldn’t and she continued loudly asking him multiple times throughout the entire time I was there.
My time here seemed strange with the wierdest service I’ve probably ever had and having to listen to weird conversations close by. It was like being in an indie comedy that uses forced humor and just doesn’t cut it.

We used to frequent this place years ago and we’re very happy with the restaurant. However, the atmosphere, service and prices will now keep us from coming back! We came here twice recently, hoping after the initial not so great experience that it was a fluke. Unfortunately, this is the new Viva La Bamba. Service is extremely slow. We had to ask several times for the margaritas we ordered, the chips refill and the guacamole. Our first recent visit we sat on the patio and everything was very slow. Our second time the garbage bin in the parking lot certainly did not help with our appetites, and the service was terrible! We went for lunch and all four of us ordered from the «discount» menu. Only two of us had something other than water to drink, and our bill was just over $ 45. Not acceptable for a Mexican lunch!

I usually write excellent reviews, but our visit to Viva La Bamba was not good. We sat on the patio on a beautiful day and it was very nice. However, the bad experience started with the open dumpster in the parking lot walking into the restaurant. I held my breathe walking up to the restaurant. Then, they were doing construction and had the lawn and sidewalk torn up, along with fresh concrete poured on the sidewalk. There were no cones, no tape, no people directing anyone so I thought I’d have to jump the fence to get into the restaurant.
All of that aside the service was awful. The food was overpriced for the worst Mexican food I’ve ever had. I got chicken enchiladas and the tortillas were rubbery and the portion of rice and beans was very small. My friends ordered different flavors of margaritas and they were pure sugar, hardly any alcohol. The only saving grace was the decent chips and salsa and gorgeous patio.
I won’t be returning and was sorry to have this experience. I can tell they are in a transition and hope they iron out some of these kinks along the way.

Went for lunch. Interior is nice and clean. They have a patio but it was raining. Menu is adequate but not overwhelming. Chips and salsa are good plus they bring bean dip! Margaritas are strong. Taco salad and chile rellenos are excellent! Good options for vegetarians and staff is helpful and accommodating. This was my first visit but I will be back!

We went for a really early supper on a Monday. Our service was spot on and very friendly.
The hubby had a chicken and cheese quesadilla, the kiddo had the rolled quesadilla, and I had the carnitas. We also ordered a bowl of queso. The queso was the rock star of the group-we’re all a bunch of cheese lovers so we get queso everywhere but this may be my new favorite-​smooth, creamy, and with a bit of zip that made it stand out. We were fighting over the last little bits in the bowl.
The carnitas were really good, the quesadillas got great reviews from the hubby and the kiddo. Overall really solid and we’d definitely go back.

Full disclosure: my husband and I have been here three times, but only ever ordered three things here: guacamole or queso dip and fajitas jalisco to share. The thing is, the service has been so consistently terrible that we have literally never received the apps we ordered.
The first two times we went at lunch and had the same server both times so we sort of chalked it up to him being a bad server. But we went again last night for dinner and had a different server and STILL didn’t get the appetizer. It’s become a running joke now and we’re completely dumbfounded about how this could happen three different times with different servers. It’s very odd…
We keep coming back, however because the fajitas jalisco are AMAZING. The chorizo totally makes the dish and I highly recommend it.
Four stars because despite the terrible and confusing service, we are never disappointed in the entrée.

Best Mexican food I’ve had in Des Moines. Good service clean. A nice new outdoor seating area. Had a very good strawberry blended margarita. Had a beef chimichanga and is was filled with homemade shredded beef that was moist and flavorful and tender. Great chips. I would recommend this restaurant. Enjoy.

Every time I go here I’m always singing ViVA LA BAMBA in the sound of VIVA LAS VEGAS by Elvis! I think the King of Rock would love this place! The chips and salsa are 2^nd to none and they also bring out out bean dip to soak those chips in. I like mixing the salsa with the bean dip on each chip! I Can’t Help Falling In Love with that combo!
Now the meals are big too, I usually get a Veggie Burrito, or Veggie Fajitas, the taco salad is also pretty good! They just changed up the menu you a bit and it got a little pricier but the food packs a punch!
They have a nice new patio as well, specials every day on food or drinks, lots of Mexican beers to choose from and the Margaritas are grand!
The service is sometimes a little lack luster but never horrible!
I bet I have been here 10 times and I keep coming back a few times a year, so It’s got me hooked.

I’ve dined at this restaurant about a dozen times over about 3 years. They recently upscaled their menu a bit and added a patio.
I think it’s always been a solid place. The service is friendly. The food doesn’t come out as fast as at some Mexican restaurants, but fast sometimes means that everything was already prepared.
The house margaritas are good and do have alcohol in them, unlike some places that it’s mostly sugar. I’m tempted to give this place 4 stars, because there’s very few reviews and I think their average is way off, but I believe it’s a solid 3 stars, which is good. I’ve only given a 5 star like 3 or 4 times. The place is always fairly busy, so I think that tells you something.

This is a Waterbury/​Ingersoll Park family stop, so being a resident, I had to try it, so its off the bucket list and frankly it will not be on a future list. My family and I went on a Saturday early evening (6 pm — if that is considered early). The place was not busy, but I suspect it was because of the Memorial Day weekend travel.
Service was fine in the beginning, but it drives me crazy when they bring meals out for some of our table, not all at the same time. My wife ordered the steak and it was easily 5 minutes longer before her food came out.
The meals were average at best. The fajitas (steak, chicken and shrimp) light on the meat and heavy on green peppers; I would prefer more onions and meat. My wife’s steak was lacking to say the least. My family and I left this place uninspired to come back. There are plenty of other Mexican restaurants in Des Moines that I would recommend; check out my other reviews. Visit them first.

Super service, great chips and salsa, they made me a burrito not on the menu and it was great. Would definitely go again.

The service was good — fast, but it was at an off meal time (3:30). The food itself was fine — not the best, but not the worst. I got their 7.99 chicken fajita special — not as hearty or as large portion as some other places in town, but the flavors were all there. I didn’t love their salsa and the refried beans was lacking seasoning. I don’t know if I would go out of my way to return here, but I think their daily specials are a great deal.

6101 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA (
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I should have known I was in for a bad experience when I arrived ~1PM on a Sunday afternoon and this restaurant was nearly empty; out of the 15 – 20 tables, only two were occupied. But I had heard from someone that ate here a few years ago that the chicken chimichanga was coated in an awesome cheese sauce. So, since the place seemed pleasant enough and I had a coupon for $ 5 off a $ 20 purchase, I stayed. Bad decision.
The menus were professional, the waiter seemed friendly, and I was hungry (the chips/​salsa had arrived with the menus). Good start. So, I showed the waiter my coupon and swiftly ordered a Diet Coke ($ 2), chicken fingers ($ 5), and a chicken chimichanga ($ 9). Shortly after ordering there was a constant barrage of flies that I had to persistently shoo for the remainder of my meal. The chips and salsa (runny, not chunky) were OK but the bean dip was nearly tasteless.
Meals to the other two tables came out piecemeal, not all at once. When my entrée finally arrived at my table (quite slow for just a few tables), it didn’t appear to be deep fried and only had a thin shiny coating of sauce. Odd. I had never heard of a raw chimichanga but the rice, beans, and toppings looked OK so I dug in. The waiter subsequently disappeared for the remainder of my meal, not even refilling my Diet Coke once. Much to my chagrin, the raw chimichanga tasted as bad as you’d expect, but I was hungry; so I made the best of it.
I finally saw the waiter in the other room and beckoned him over. I told him that I wasn’t exactly sure what my total bill was, but if a fried ice cream dessert ($ 4) would bring the meal to the $ 20 required to use the coupon, to bring one out. He did. I love ice cream but this was freezer burned and again it was not deep fried. I even asked the waiter, «did you fry this fried ice cream»? He said they did deep fry it but it didn’t taste like it at all. Very disappointed.
Finally, when I went to pay the bill, I handed the cashier my credit card and the $ 5 coupon. He said, your check is $ 19.69 so you cannot use the coupon. What! I told you only to bring the dessert if it made the coupon valid. So, I told him to just add whatever was the least expensive thing on the menu to my bill to bring it over $ 20. He refused and coped a bad attitude to boot. Unbelievable! What a fraud.
This establishment is not worthy of your patronage, avoid it and maybe it’ll force a sale to new management that will make it good again.

Lunch here is excellent. My co-​workers and I dine here regularly because of the consistent quality and cost/​value of the generous portion and the good, fast service.

If I could give this place 0 stars, I would. We received a coupon for a special here where you buy 1 meal you get the other free. I’ve been to the Urbandale location, and although thought the service was bad the food was decent. So we figured we’d give this place a try.
Service: the place was dead, and there were two servers loudly chit-​chatting and signing at the front of the restaurant throughout our meal. At one point one of them was speaking loudly over the phone. Although we don’t speak much Spanish, we knew enough to know he was speaking about a woman in very vulgar terms. Not cool. And while we were forced to listen to this one way phone conversation, we were dying of thirst because no one bothered to refill our drinks, no matter how hard we tried to flag someone down.
Food: I’m just glad we didn’t get sick later. Seriously. It was that disgusting.