Diego’s Mexican Bistro

We went on a Sunday when they had some specials going on. $ 6 wings and $ 6 chilli fries. They also had all taps for $ 2. The place was not to busy and we were greeted promptly and sat at the bar.
I ordered wings and a Diego Burrito. The wings were good. They were large and crispy but not a lot of flavor. I had the garlic chorizo sauce, I guess I was just expecting more of a kick from either of those two ingredients,. The burrito fell apart as soon as my fork dug into it. Again, not a lot of flavor. Actually, the burrito was just bland. The special price on the wings was worth it but the burrito was not sadly. I will go back to try some different things and update this when I do.
The saving grace of this establishment was the bartender. Very friendly and super upbeat. That being said check out their daily specials. They have some good drink ones and it would be worth it to go. Also a large selection of tequila and margaritas.

The only reason why I give this place 3 stars is b/​c of the horrible customer service once I walked in. The hostess looked so miserable like she didn’t want to be there. I walked in and said, «Hi, how are you?» I asked her if they sold chicken tacos and she just shook her head yeah. She takes me all the way around the world for a table (that was dirty for one) and sat the menu down, walked off and didn’t say enjoy your meal or anything. I started to leave, but the waiter was so nice and apologized for the greeting from hostess. Went back down to the bar area and the same waiter took care of my order and my drink. Apparently she needs to go to customer service school of some sort with the rudeness. At the end of the night, I did end up enjoying myself, especially with the $ 2 Taco Tuesdays and .99 margaritas.

Stopped here for lunch yesterday after an event at the Overture Center. I was looking for someplace that still had outdoor seating, given the beautiful day and this fit the bill. They don’t seem to have a lunch menu, though Tuesdays are $ 2 tacos (excluding the seafood tacos) and they had a decent wrap selection. I went for the steak fajitas wrap which was tasty, but light on steak. The 99 cent margarita was overly sweet as another reviewer mentioned.

From start to finish, our party of seven on a Friday night spent over three hours at this establishment. The waitress was impressively neglectful and rude. I stepped away from the table at the end of our meal, explaining how long we had been waiting that night. The waitress then followed me back upstairs to our table to confront /​scold me in front of my friends, accusing me of yelling at her in front of her manager.
I felt extremely uncomfortable by her misplaced anger.
None of our food had been compensated. The waitress also accused us of trying steal from them, when in reality, she never brought us the seventh persons’ bill.
The one redeeming moment from the night came when the manager visited our table to apologize for our servers’ behavior.
These guys have no idea what they’re doing. Save yourself time and money by going to Taco Bell instead.

Don’t bother with dollar margarita Tuesdays. They’re so syrupy it’s impossible to drink an entire glass. I recommend splurging an extra two bucks and going over to Madison’s where they serve a delicious, fresh $ 3 margarita on Tuesdays.
I also was not very impressed by the tacos. I don’t get why there are such mediocre restaurants in such a prime location in Madison!

Came here fairly late at night the Sunday before Labor Day. It took a while to get my party of 5 noticed and seated. The two servers seemed a little stressed out despite the place not even being half full.
Two trays of free chips & salsa came promptly. We ordered the bucket of Mexican beer, which was the Sunday special. I chose the chicken flautas appetizer since I wasn’t too hungry. The food didn’t take too long to come out, but I could tell that it had been ready for awhile.
The flautas weren’t as crispy as I would have liked, but tasted ok. The overall consensus was that the food was alright, but the service was slow.

The food was good but there was this man sitting at the bar with a laptop who I assume was the manager or owner and he kept yelling at all the staff. It made us feel VERY uncomfortable. He kept going behind the bar and grabbing the drink shaker out of the bartenders hand and yelling at her In front of customers for making drinks wrong. I get it if you are the owner and you want the staff to do things a certain way you don’t yell at them in front of customers. I could tell our waiter was so embarrassed every time he came to our table. I don’t want to come back here because of how uncomfortable I felt.

This place was awful, slow, and the bathrooms were disgusting. It took me 68 mins from seated to check to get a root beer, tea, soup, side salad and fajitas. Took the waitress about 15 mins to get me lemon and Splenda for the tea. The chicken tortilla soup is basically chicken noodle soup with tortillas and avocado. Thank god my company paid for this meal. Gross.

This review is just for Taco Tuesday! 2 dollar tacos, everything on the menu except for the pescado (fish) and camaron (shrimp).
The chorizo taco is where it is at! Delicious, definitely my favorite one since it is the most flavorful. The Al Pastor is supposed to be topped with pineapple, but it wasn’t. I’m not sure if that’s because if you’re only paying 2 dollars for a taco you don’t deserve pineapple.
$ 1 margaritas as well, only in the lime flavor. Which aren’t bad. I usually like mine frozen.

Love Diego’s for their Tuesday night specials!
Boyfriend and I decided to come here in search of some yummy nachos on a Friday night. We ordered a few drinks (margarita and he ordered some sort of margarita-​crispin mixture) and they were very good. Service could’ve been a bit quicker, though.
We also ordered nachos, an order of flautas and some carnitas tacos. We were just going to order the nachos, but the waiter made it seem like that wouldn’t be enough food. LIES LIES LIES LIES. The nachos are huge!!! Unfortunately we made the mistake of overindulging on the free chips and salsa they bring to your table. The salsa was good, but the chips tasted kind of stale. Which was weird because they were still warm. Another issue we had was we wanted the nachos first and told our waiter that, but he still brought all 3 plates together. It was all very overwhelming. There was so much food that I didn’t even get to try my tacos. The nachos were good, though. And the guacamole was amazing. We ended up taking most of the food home but much to my dismay my boyfriend ate it all at 2 AM that night (haha). I think I’ll have to return just so I can properly enjoy a meal here.

The salsa they bring to your table is fresh with a little bit of heat. We had the nachos appetizer and was in luck, they had a special so we snazzed it up with chicken and guacamole and sour cream. The chips were not too thin nor too thick and had a great hearty corn taste and crunch! It was quite tasty and they were good servers. I’d come back and try another taste… might be soon, I’m getting a hankering.

Serious mixed feelings on Diego’s, almost gave it 4 stars but since I personally don’t feel like the food is very authentic I have to give it three. They have good specials, Monday and Thursday is half priced house margaritas (house includes a bunch of flavors including mango, guava, coconut, raspberry and more, not just lime — woohoo!!). Tuesdays they do 99 cent house margs and discounted tacos. The food is decent and the menu has all of there gluten free options labeled. I went with a bunch of girlfriends and we split the queso fundido, empanadas (gluten free), and nachos with chicken (gluten free). The apps were good, I would pass on the guacamole though as it tastes kind of fake. Basically, go and get some margs and free chips and salsa Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday and you won’t be unsatisfied.

Not a fan of:
1. Slow service. My date and I were seated right away, but waited at least 15 minutes before our server came over. The food came out very quickly, so that sort of made up for it, but our server still didn’t come around very often after she initially took our orders.
2. Pickled onion overload on my ground beef and chicken tacos. Easy enough to pick off, but I think next time I’ll probably ask for my tacos without the pickled onion party on top.
Definitely a fan of:
1. Taco Tuesday prices! I am so glad we decided to see what the hype was all about, because it was WAY worth it. I had 3 tacos, my date had 4, and we had 3 margaritas between us — barely more than $ 20 after tip. Such a great deal.
2. Deeelicious tacos. One of my favorite things about good tacos is the tortilla, and Diego’s nailed it (warm and flexible, but not falling apart). Generous and tasty fillings, too.
3. The margaritas. I’ve had margaritas at Pasqual’s, and Diego’s comes in at a VERY close second. (For a classic lime margarita on the rocks, it might actually be better. Must drink more margaritas to confirm.) Great balance of sweet and tart, and none of that nasty aftertaste you get when you go too heavy on the tequila.
Two words: Taco Tuesday. You won’t regret it. (Sorry, six words. Oops.)

This place is fun and cozy if you’re willing to hang somewhere that isn’t high-​end.
Their food is average and enjoyable for a night out with friends or some munchies while drinking, but I wouldn’t take mom and dad here if they’re visiting Madison. Drinks are reasonably priced and typical Mexican fare.
I really like their burritos the best. The veggie one is my favorite.
It can get a little crazy on Friday and Saturday nights, since they do karaōke, but if that’s what you’re into, stop on by.
Overall, it’s pretty fun and a nice little hole in the wall. Also, it has 3 floors with ample seating, so there’s almost never a wait.

We walked in on a Tuesday night with our child. The Unilocal info said it was kid friendly. It most certainly was not. We felt like we walked into an American Apparel ad or an Of Montréal concert. The place was packed with 18 – 24 year-​old drunk kids. The only things missing: face paint and glow sticks.
We had about a 15 min wait. As we were being taken to our seats, one of the waitresses said, «Who brings their baby to a restaurant?’ To which I replied, «We do, you ass!» Nothing like a 22-​year-​old punk with a holier-​than-​thou attitude trying to ruin your night!
The food was only mediocre. We all agreed that the tacos were overly greasy and all kind of had the same flavor. Margaritas are margaritas. The «empanadas» were not empanadas I have ever had. They most resembled empanada-​shaped eggrolls. The best part of the meal was the chips and salsa. They also charge extra for a refill of the salsa. I’ve always thought it was lame to charge extra for a condiment.
Overall, the food is not bad for a cheap Taco Tuesday. I’d keep the kiddo at home next time. However, If I decide to bring her somewhere it will be my decesion and not up for review by some blond, jerk-​off waitress… thank you very much. I give it one star because of the rude staff (even just that one girl). I don’t have time for poor service and bad attitudes when I am paying for food that I can make better at home.

In short: I’d go back.
Went out last night with some friends for the gut-​wrenching $ 1 margarita/​$ 2 taco night.
Had 3 tacos: Carnitas, pastor, chorizo.
Had 2 margaritas.
They really try to do the whole «authentic» thing with the double corn tortillas, onions and cilantro, etc. Pickled red onions on my chorizo were a nice touch but had no place being there because of authenticity.
Tacos were a bit greasy but otherwise totally nommable. A really good deal at $ 2 and definitely winning the label of «tasty.» Chorizo was probably my favorite, except for the aforementioned grease.
Margaritas were lime, frozen, and sickly sweetening. But hey, they were $ 1 and had over a shot’s worth of tequila in them, so how can that be anything but a bargain?!
Total with a 22%-ish tip for all of that was $ 10. How the hell can I possibly complain?!
Great deal for going out on a Tuesday night. And, like I said? I’ll definitely be back.

What was once Zanders, then Moe’s, now Diegos in the matter of less than two years.
Came here for a weekday lunch and ordered the fish tacos. (see uploaded picture)
The tacos themselves were average. Nothing spectacular, but nothing to complain about. The beans were terrible. They were very bland, not very warm, and poor consistency. Rice was ok.
Service was appropriate.
Their atmosphere is hard to review. It’s basically a bar-​restaurant scene. I have nothing against this type of setup, it just doesn’t deserve any extra points. We sat at a high top table next to the bar where they were showing soccer matches on ESPN.
2 stars for a mexican restaurant messing up refried beans, and only average tacos.

3 pm on a Tuesday: about to fall asleep at work, drank 2 cups of coffee.
5 pm: About to leave work, had another coffee.
7pm: Just finished working out, had a bit more coffee.
By the time 8 o’clock rolled around, all the caffeine hit me HARD and I was bouncing off the walls.
Being a poor-​just-​out-​of-​school «adult,» I decided to hit up Diego’s for their $ 1 margaritas to drink my caffeine high away. After 4 drinks, I decided I’ve had enough, and paid less than double digits.
Moral of the story, $ 1 margaritas = awesome :)

Very good drink menu if you enjoy fruity drinks (margaritas and variations thereof). I had some variation on a margarita and really enjoyed it, and the house margarita is good too. The chips are particularly good, nice and warm, and the house salsa did taste fresh. We also ordered guacamole, which always makes me a little nervous because some restaurants try to skimp on using avocados in their guac. Fortunately, the guac was avocado-​y and tasty. Server was super attentive despite that we only ordered drinks and guacamole. Overall, I would probably go here again for drinks and appetizers; not yet convinced about the entrees given that it’s owned by the same folks as the now defunct Frida’s. However, I have read that the owners pledged they would use more fresh ingredients than they did at Frida’s, so it might be worth trying the dinner some day.
Margaritas are 99cents on Tuesdays!

4 stars on carnitas taco. The shredded pork was done right and full of flavor.
3.25 stars on the carne asada taco. But the PICKLED RED ONIONS on this taco makes life smile =) but the vinegar was over powering and Lawd help me… I LOVE VINEGAR and VINEGAR based items.
5 stars on the daily specials (Yep, they’re mostly drink specials and I don’t but it’s nice to keep your drinking friends & family members busy)
If you knew State St Bar. Zander’s, Moe’s then you know the layout. Upstairs and Downstairs. Front entrance and Rear entrance. Concourse Hotel across the street and meters plus a ramp closely situated.
Décor: Aesthetically pleasing. The murals are painted on the wall (downstairs) and now I think about it I“ve never made it upstairs as of yet. But they have Karaōke so I’m sure we’ll get back just for that. I can do without the fake greenery as the murals are pretty enough to stand alone. And if you don’t like the art — the TV’s + furniture choice (colors and style) are nice enough to stand with the art and feels welcoming.
As for the lighting transition — the guy walked over, lower the lights & no issues here.
What can change:
1^st — don’t put the salsa cup in with the basket of chips. That’s dirty.
2^nd — Stop chopping up the cilantro to place on the taco. That’s Tex-​Mex not Mexican and if Diego’s is on the path of leaving it’s Frida’s past behind then let’s start here.
3^rd — The SALSA is to Gringo-​esque. I want more FLAVAH (no typo). It doesn’t have to be spicy just flavorful. Give me zest, cilantro maybe even some lime juice in this.
4^th — Nothing else for now.
Large enough for any group size!