El Indio Mexican Restaurant

This is a nice little place to eat right next to a private air field. My husband and I came for date night and weren’t disappointed. I had shrimp enchiladas, he hands chicken tacos. The good was good, the shrimp was a little overcooked but other than that I have no complaints.

Great place to eat! I go there almost every Sunday! The staff there is always courteous and the food is amazing. There is a nice view of the valley and the planes are an added feature.

Amazing Margaritas, Amazing food, Amazing atmosphere. This is my son’s favorite restaurant in the AV and worth the drive to celebrate his homecoming. Most people who have lived here too long remember when it was Golden Cantina. Same location, hidden in the desert.

This place is awesome! Probably the best flautas I’ve had. The mango Cadillac margarita is awesome. I will certainly be coming back to this place!

Very good prices, clean & excellent. Been going there for years. Had just about everything on the menu and it’s all excellent !!! This is definitely my go to Mexican restaurant. The streak & lobster is very well priced with huge portions.

Best Margarita’s and yummy food. Every time we are in town at Willows springs track it is a must to stop here to eat! :)

wow. Since the new owners, everything has gone down hill! My grandfather came in last week to pick up an order, and due the dim lighting he fell! And the only ones to come to his aid was the only other customers in the place. No employees, ever came to check to see if he was okay. This is poor customer service! And very unsafe practices. They will never be coming back!!!

–I was not too impressed with the drink or food here.
–Plenty of parking to include a few disabled spots
–Decent size bar right off to the side when you enter
–Margaritas seemed watered down, not too limey
–Standard tortillas and salsa at the tables
–Meal portion sizes was large. You could easily share a plate with someone
–Carne assada was full of fat and gristle
–Ordered medium rare, was served medium well
–Sat outside with the large group, flies were very distracting
–Airstrip with small planes taking off and landing was something different

The family took in the Buffett yesterday. Our waitress (blonde gal) kept forgetting things we had asked for numerous times. The chile relleno’s are not as good as they use to be, very soggy. Now today is a total waste because of food poisoning.
Will visit Sals from now on for Mexican food.

They will have to start over with the Mexican
Food…it had great steak tacos. .not anymore. .they will go out of business soon
If they can’t get a handle on the bad Mexican
Food…who runs the place… unless they do a hundred percent turn around I’ll never be back…

Sorry but has gone down hill after change of owner. Only place in town to serve a large group and that is the only time we go cause we have too. Food is blah and service is even worse!

¡Ladrón! I know that other reviewers have talked about the decline in food quality and rudeness of staff since the new owner took over. Nonetheless, I decided to take my mom for a late lunch. We ordered off of the dinner menu. When he brought the check, ALL off the prices were wrong. He had added $ 2-​$ 3 to the price of every item. For example, he tried to charge us $ 10 for an iced tea and diet coke. When I asked him to check the prices and he said they were all right. I asked several times for a menu and he refused to bring one. Finally he agreed to adjust the check back to the correct prices, but still refused to bring the menu. I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it was pretty clear what was going on. If circumstances bring you here, take very careful note of the prices and check your bill!

We used to go here a lot when it was the Golden Cantina, and used to love the food and the wait staff was always friendly! We went back twice after El Indio took over and was very disappointed! Food wasn’t the same and the wait staff was not friendly and it took an extremely long time sitting before we got waited on, and then I had to stop someone that was walking by! I complained to a manager who wasn’t very interested!
We were told the new owners weren’t going to change the food! Well they did and BIG MISTAKE!
We probably won’t go back, and I don’t recommend the place anymore to people!
I cant imagine driving 25 miles round trip for another disappointing meal!

The service is great. The pinto beans are delicious and the carnitas tacos were scrumptious. Unfortunately no airplanes to watch take off on a Friday afternoon.

This restaurant is a Land-​Mark! This restaurant is part of AV’s history. Where else can you see airplanes landing while you’re enjoying great Mexican food!
It seems to be continuing with the best of its previous owner. Everything we ate tonight was absolutely delicious. Beef enchiladas, chicken and zucchini seasoned to excellence, beef and bean burritos. and the chips brought out were the best we’ve ever had.
Our service was quick and our waiter and good and friendly. We were served as soon as it was prepared.
This is a favorite restaurant and you will leave happy and full. Go EAT enjoy.
Prices reasonable.

Like everyone else is saying this place used to be good when it was the golden cantina but not anymore. If you want good Mexican food in Rosamond go to Sal’s off Sierra highway.

Cute little spot for brunch. There wasn’t anything that was AMAZING, but the food was good. The staff was super friendly and the view was definitely the most enjoyed part. It’s got a runway for small planes. If you sit at the right table you can watch them flying in and out of the place. Brunch buffet had lots to choose from. Freshly made waffles was my fave. Will go back for the comfort and view. I also heard that every now and then the pilots will give ppl free rides. Id call them for more info.

I flew to Rosamond Skypark and stopped at El Indio for a weekday lunch with friends. From the runway side it’s not very inviting. The airplane parking area outside has no tie-​downs (but plenty of signs saying «park at your own risk’ — bear in mind the desert winds) and the place looked closed. Walking through a pretty desert garden to the entrance on the car park side we found an «open» sign. There were exactly two other patrons in the whole huge place.
Service was OK but not friendly; food was OK but not friendly; décor was as bland as could be. I hate to be down on an airport restaurant but I’d been meaning to come here for a long time and it disappoints. There are better fly-​in options almost anywhere in the western Mohave. Maybe the place comes alive for Sunday brunch?

Salsa is yummy. Don’t count on anything else being tasty. Food is blah. I mean, it’s hard not to have flavor as Mexican food goes, but they manage to do it. Somewhat of a slow service place, menu selection is ok, but the price is not as great considering the taste.
Salsa gave it 3 stars. Otherwise I won’t know what to put it…
Nothing really special.

Waitress Debby was very friendly and helpful. We quite liked her. It’s cool sitting and watching the small prop airplanes land and take off.
Food: The Chips are okay, but the chunky salsa was great, in fact excellent, with a fair amount of «heat» but not too spicy. Best thing in the restaurant and it’s free :)
Chili Con Queso was a very generous size a group could share for chip dipping, but I’d have liked a little more «oomph» in flavor profile or spice heat level, so probably wouldn’t order it again. The Albondigas soup was okay, the meatballs were flavorful, but the broth needed something to amp it up. The guacamole was, «Yum, pretty good!» according to Mr. Picky and I agree.
I had the beef Banderillas and the waitress said it was really delicious and I’d made a good choice, so I sat salivating awaiting its arrival. She said it took a while as they cut up a lot of fresh vegetables for it. They got the «medium rare» very wrong, unfortunately, so they had to refire it for me. Got it right next time and I thought it was an interesting dish – don’t expect prime cuts of steak and be prepared to chew a little, but the grill flavor was good! And I love pretty food!!! I fed the tasty mushrooms to Mr. Picky who liked them a lot.
The Chili Relleno was very disappointing so I don’t recommend your ordering it. It was mostly batter coating and I kept forking into it trying to find some chili and cheese (go to the Rusten House for those, best in AV). We then tried the cheese enchilada — suffering from what appears to be a systemic «lack of flavor» with the food here, so I don’t recommend your ordering either.
The wait staff is great, and Debby was awesome in trying to make us happy diners. I just wish the kitchen was as good as the floor staff and the restaurant’s charm … Bummer.
In an effort to end on a high we ordered a fried ice-​cream to share and … I don’t recommend it.
Bottom line, the owner needs to figure out the kitchen needs help, and soon, before everybody heads east to Sal’s for the best mole, southwest to Azteca in Antelope Acres, or discovers Pepe El Toro in Lancaster, or …