La Camelia

We ate at the new Marion location several times. Food is EXCELLENT. Authentic, hot, so very flavorful. Service is fabulous as well– very fast, friendly, and cool under the pressure of rush hour.
However, our server forgot to get us our second beverage order, and forgot to return our credit card in the folder until we asked for it. HOWEVER, to make up for this once he realized, he took off the second drink cost and brought a free dessert, without us even mentioning it!

I really enjoy the beef and also cheese enchiladas and rice! Best spanish rice I’ve found in the area. Hubby likes the tacos and stiff margaritas! Good prices. We were there on Monday around noon and the host took awhile to come greet and seat us. Server also took longer than he should have, probably 5 min, no exaggeration. The guacamole is ok, I’ve had better. I will return!

I couldnt make up my mind which place was worse, this or Adelitas. I have to say that this is worse, at least the parking lot at Adelitas is in good shape. This place from the moment you walk in you need to start thinking about walking out. The food is horrible and I was hungry. The beans and rice had to be left overs from at least a day, the salsa was from a can or jar, and I had to explain how to properly make a margarita. The enchiladas… if you read the word carefully, it is partly made up of «chil» which comes from chile (not the country), meaning its supposed to be somewhat spicy, not have the hint of Ketchup mixed with Thyme. Granted I have lieved lived most of my life in So. Cali where even the chain restaraunts such as Acapulco and El Torito are good. I understand the queso is not a traditional mexican food, but getting some slices of American Cheese and nuking them for a couple of minutes is not getting it done. The best mexican food in Cedar Rapids can be found at Taco Bell or Pancheros. Stay thirsty my friend…

I live in San Diego, home of amazing mexican food, and I to have say that this place is my go to for lunch in Cedar Rapids. They make the best fajitas and the queso dip is fantastic. Great prices at lunch and definitely worth checking out.

Went here again for the first time in over two years. My friend said it was the same owners as Adelitas, so I was game.
Seated quickly, but seeing as it was a beautiful Thursday night, I suspect the crowd was at home grilling a hotdog or something.
Décor: Dark, Mexican themed stuff (imagine that). Our table was clean and the floor looked ok.
Service: Excellent. The young lady taking care of our table was personable and prompt. All good there.
Drinks: A little pricey for the quality. My mango marg was very weak and not much mango flavor. My friend had some «special» drink that was almost $ 13. Are you kidding? It didn’t come in a fishbowl and in my opinion, that can’t be worth that much!
Food: Meh. The Green chile pork was not as good as that served by Adelitas or Casa Las Gloris. Bigger chunks, a little tougher and more fat. I will say the beans actually had chunks of beans in them and weren’t blended into the bean soup so many places serve. Rice was the same as every place in Cedar Rapids.
Will I be back: Yes, but only if I can’t get to the above two mentioned restaurants. Sorry La Camelia, you are just average.

Has Hispanic workers which lets you know this is a true Mexican restaurant. Also has Greta food and we got our food in under 5 minutes.

This place doesn’t deserve the average of 2.5 stars. It’s good enough to be frequented once a week. The lunch crowd fills half the place which is good. I’ve been here a few times for lunch only and the food is decent enough. It’s pretty cheap too. An average of $ 5.99 for lunch menus and there’s free bottomless nachos with salsa. I’ve tried lunch #1 & 4 and they taste good for the price and portion. 3.5 stars IMO.

I had never heard a good thing about this place, so had always avoided it. We went last night with a large group, so this was our «opportunity». The short review is: We will probably never go back.
The place was dirty. We were afraid to use the salt & pepper because the shakers were dirty and crusty. The food was BLAND (including the margaritas)!!! Anyone who thinks this is Mexican food, let alone good Mexican food, is unfamiliar with real Mexican food. It is more American ingredients dressed up in Mexican clothing, so to speak.
The only thing half-​way decent was my tamale, but the sauce on top and my carnitas had virtually no taste whatsoever, and came with maybe a ¹⁄₃ teaspoon of guacamole. My wife’s chimichongas were bland as well. Rice and beans? Yep, bland.
The service wasn’t great, but we were a large party of over 30, and they did try, so I’m fine with their efforts on that front.
I’m sorry, but I can find no redeeming qualities.

Great mexican. Currently my go to mexican restaurant. Their salsa is excellent and has good balance of spicy and flavor.
They have a lot of variety, Tacos Campechanos are my favorite. If you are really hungry the el Molecajetaso or great to split with a date.
The margaritas have been very good, never once been watered down.

1 star because I couldn’t select zero. Just wanted to get dinner, literally couldn’t get anyone to serve me. FU La Camelia.

The only reason we ended up back here is because we both wanted Mexican and sitting any place other than out of doors on the most beautiful evening of my recent memory just wasn’t an option.
We got a seat on the patio, ordered our margs (jumbo lime on special for the bf, a regular peach for me) and decided on dinner.
BF ordered the Chori Pollo and I ordered the Camelia Quesadilla. I loved my dish. It was not a «traditional» quesadilla in the sense that everything is crammed into the tortilla and then cooked together. The meat and cheese was in the flour tortilla, but the rice, beans, sour cream, pico and guac came on the side. I really liked this dish and would definitely order it again.
Their chips and salsa are so good to me too because the salsa is pretty spicy. For a house salsa anyway, it’s got a good kick to it.
I still think their margs are sub-​par, yet drinkable.
All in all I’m glad we gave it another shot. The outdoor seating area sets it apart more than anything.

I feel like La Camelia would have much higher ratings if the called themselves a Tex-​Mex restaurant. I love the chimichangas, in which they actually seem to use a good quality of meat. That’s pretty rare for chimichangas.
My wife really likes their steak taco salad. I, personally, don’t eat any kind of salad.
My favorite thing might be the margaritas, though. They make them strong, and cheap; and they’re quite tasty.
Be warned about one thing, though. Their salsa is pretty spicy. I love it, but I know it’s a littletough on my wife. I also heard a couple at a nearby table asking if there was a more mild version.

Our first night here in cedar rapids concluded with dinner here at camelia. The reviews were not promising but the enticement of $ 3.99 margaritas within spitting distance from home was enough to get us in. If you want pure tequila in a glass these Tuesday night margaritas will make your head spin!
I had a steak taco salad which despite the aesthetics was actually really good. It was less of a salad and more of a giant bowl shaped taco, but nonetheless delicious. My steak was actual meat and flavor and not fat and gristle. My husband was also smitten with his chimichangas.
Now is this the best Mexican joint in town? Probably not. Is it convenient and do they serve strong drinks and good food? Yes!

The food was very bland… The salsa was horrible. tasted like the beginning of spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. The cheese sauce was ok and the only thing we could do to our dishes to make it taste like anything… the rice was gross and tasteless. tried to salt it… and just didn’t work. the shredded chicken in one of my enchiladas was decent but that was it. the beef was bland and dry. the enchiladas were not prepared like enchiladas are suppose to be prepared. there was no sauce… I will never again go to this restaurant.

I always say, I’ve never had a bad fajita. I think La Camelia were doing their best to prove me wrong tonight. We had the shrimp, beef, chicken and chorizo fajita. It was all quite bland even the chorizo. The chips tasted like they were cooked in old grease, the salsa was decent although made with canned tomatoes. Someone spilled a drink on the floor in the next room and they mopped it up with a Pine-​sol soaked mop that immediately stunk up the whole place like a cheap nursing home. Our server was inexperienced and inefficient. Despite the bad service and food, they were quite busy on a Friday night. Poor suckers, they must’ve never seen a decent Mexican restaurant.

With so many good Mexican restaurant choices in the area, do not waste your time and money on this one. My one experience was so bad that I will never return. I asked for fajita chicken in my enchilada and was told they couldn’t do it. The waitress seated us outside and then didn’t return for 14 minutes. I went inside to get my own drinks. When the food arrived it was bland & generally unimpressive. When I complained to the owner, no attempt was made to make us feel any better about the situation.
Poor service, subpar food & nowhere near as good as El Perrico, Casa, or Hacienda.

We had a nice dinner, everyone enjoyed their meals and drinks. We liked the salsa, it was spicy enough but not too hot for anyone. The service was fine too.

Do yourself a favor and keep out of this place that’s worse than taco bell. For a quesadilla they brought me a tortilla filled with ground beef, nothing else no cheese inside just that groundbeef taco bell like. NEVER AGAIN. One star too many.

I’ve eaten here a few times. Their Carnitas is the best anywhere, service is great, but Margaritas are just so-​so.