La Casa De Manuel

Looks aren’t everything and this place knows it. It’s a different kind of Mexican food. Not the stuff that Chubby’s has, not Santiago’s, not anything like that. This is home made, delicious, food, authentic wet green chili, beans that are amazing, salsa is great, the tacos are great. It’s homemade stuff, that’s always good.

First off let me say that this part of town is a bit of a food desert. Theres only like three places within walking distance that you can choose from for lunch and honestly I didn’t even think this place was open for business because it looks run down from the outside. A co-​worker brought back some tacos from here the other day so I decided to try it. The interior is by no means special in anyway but they always say not to judge a book by it’s cover. As a hispanic guy I feel like I know good Mexican food since I grew up with it ya know. This food was not great. I got the enchiladas and a barbacoa taco. The enchiladas plate was super peppery and the barbacoa taco was super bland almost tasteless. The salsa was pretty good but watery to the point where I couldn’t keep it on a chip. I feel bad for the one star review but there really is no value in the presentation of their building or food.

This place is not closed!!! My whole family has been coming here for decades this restaurant is like a member of the family and thanks to Unilocal I called everyone and told them it was closed. Which resulted unnecessary in tears and mourning… Not cool Unilocal!We love you and are so happy that you are not gone forever.
Hey Unilocal,take down the closed thing you nearly gave us all a heart attack!!!

I am writing this review as it needs to be a wake-​up call for Manuel and his family. I have been coming to La Case for many many years, I enjoyed this café when it was on Larimer. I have been many times to the other family member’s restaurant Monterrey House when it was over by Sloan’s Lake. I LOVE the food in this place, I like their brand of green chili (watery with delicious pork) and I always get the Salad Plate and a bowl of green chile.
Came in the other day in August of 2014, and it was bad. The chips tasted stale to me, and my plate of food was carelessly thrown together. My family ordered enchiladas and they were not happy, the food was not flavorful and not too hot.
If Manuel is no longer excited to have this restaurant then he needs to sell the place, give the secrets of his really wonderful food to someone else. The food in La Casa needs to be available in Denver, but the place looked more care worn than usual, and for an afteroon luncheon, we deserved better.
Manual was in the kitchen that day, we saw him, so I know it was not someone else carelessly working the kitchen.
I love your food, I want to contine coming, I am giving it one more try and then I am out. Your customers deserve your excellent food, and a clean place to eat. I want to note our server was great, speedy and attentive.
Get it together Manuel!

Terrible service, extremely RUDE young waitress. says she’s the Grand daughter of the owner… LEARN some customer service!

This is by far the worst Mexican restaurant I’ve ever been to and we definitely won’t be going back.
The place was dirty when we arrived. The tables were super sticky and the bathrooms were gross. There was plenty of time to clean as we were only 1 of the 2 parties in the restaurant.
The food is bland, boring, and a waste of money. I ordered the rice and a bean taco. The tortilla was incredibly greasy and the «beans» were of a runny soup consistency. I also ordered rice and it too was boring and flavorless.
Even with the sticky tables and bad food I would have given this place 2 or 3 stars but the service was so bad that I completely forgot about the crappy food. Our server was a young lady with a horrible attitude. She threw things on the table, mumbled and then when asked to repeat something spat back sarcastically, and never stopped by our table for water refills. I don’t need to be babied by waitstaff but I do expect to be respected as a person and I didn’t get that here.
This place has nothing to offer which is sad seeing as how they seem to have a long history in the neighborhood and it seems there may be some other nice service staff. I definitely won’t be back and I can confidently say that you’re not missing out on anything by skipping this place.

I’m bold enough to try any hole in the wall place, because you sometimes find a hidden treasure. So I tried this place (in spite of the rough look of the outside) because you just never know. I was in the area for a meeting at lunch time.
I realize that Mexican food can taste great to one person and someone else thinks it’s terrible. However. I can accurately state two things. I have eaten in hundreds of Mexican restaurants. This was the worst food I’ve ever had. EVER.
Ordered the Carne Adovada, as I do everywhere that has it on the menu. I should have taken a photo. The plate consisted of small pile of shredded iceberb lettuce, with tomatoes on top. Not pico, just lettuce and tomato. A spoon full of refried beans that were so thin, they had no texture and frankly, no flavor either. These were the highlights. The pork was four small pieces. Dry, some sort of spices on them, smothered in… nothing. I could hardly believe my eyes and why I didn’t walk out… don’t know. Within an hour my stomach started to rumble and thank heavens for some Chinese herbs for the tummy I carry with me.
Scary!!! Stay away.

Great salsa! Spicy Serrano
Wet burrito also a distinct speciality!
I have liked this place since I first ate here in 1990 (thanks to mr woo for turning me onto this place!)

Ok food. Super cheap!

Nauseating. I have a mixture of pity and contempt for anyone who would eat here more than once. It is possible to do Mexican food well. I swear to God. There is not a single redeeming quality to the flavorless, grease soaked slop that they dump straight from a #10 can to your plate.

Love this place!
The food is fast, cheap, delicious Mexican. A cup of coffee is sixty cents. But, they don’t scrimp on the food. They proudly serve all fresh, nothing from a can.
Yes, the place completely lacks ambiance. But isn’t a lack of it kind of… charming?

I’m a fan. The wet shredded beef burrito with cheese was very good. The meat is incredibly tender. I generally prefer more chili fire, but you can’t beat this place for the price.
Next time I go, I’m ordering off menu– Naked Shredded Beef Burrito smothered in their Chili Con Queso would have been fantastic.

I find it odd when a Mexican restaurant plays no music and serves no beer. This place is a bit too quiet and a bit too bright. The lighting and large open dining room may be a bit off putting. But beyond that… here’s the good stuff:
The food is pretty bomb! I had me the beef enchiladas which were prepared perfectly. Also, I had to try my date’s wet burrito. It was yummy for sure. It was smothered with more of a soup than a chili — hence the «wet» burrito name. Cheap and authentic, overall the food was solid.
There’s a definite natural atmosphere to this place. Our server was a hoot and a half. She held a conversation with us from across the room just like one of my aunts or cousins would do! Anyone who tells me her son needs to take some yoga cuz he’s too stressed and cranky is tops in my book :-) I totally felt at home and taken care of.
As I am pretty picky about Mexican food I would say this place won me over and I would return fo sho. I might go back sooner if they get some beer…

One of my all time favorites. Best burritos ever and a wonderful family-​owned business.

My wife & I visited La Casa De Manuel on the recommendation of a friend. We were told what to expect so my review doesn’t reflect the atmosphere at all. Kind of a simple little joint.
We ordered the Wet Burrito with everything on top. While it was pretty good, I wouldn’t go out my way to return. Should I find myself in the area around noon sometime in the future, I will eat here again. Will I travel more than a couple miles just for this, not likely.
Try it yourself and make up your own mind. There is better food and better atmosphere to be had in Denver but what the heck, the old boy has some neat paintings on the wall.

Yesterday was a day of distractions that ended up with rad Unilocaler Mary Jo S and I grabbing a fast, cheap, and delicious lunch at La Casa De Manuel. (Background: we decided to eat up before heading over to the Women’s Bean Project to engage in some holiday shopping, and I suggested Hutch & Spoon because I’ve been meaning to drop in forever. Well, on the way to H&S we got distracted by the Garden Patio Café, and before pulling into their lot we looked across the street and got distracted again by La Casa De Manuel. Which is a little funny, because from the outside — and the inside for that matter — it’s not much to look at.)
First off, no frills here. There are some booths lining the front window and walls, with tables in the interior. Not much deco to speak of and their color scheme is a mix of blue, orange and green. No matter. The menu is a simple two-​pager filled with combos and ala carte options, and everything is super cheap. Like, my burrito was $ 3.50 and you could have rolled me out of there by the end of the meal.
For me it was pretty clear I wanted the wet bean burrito and it did not disappoint! Came out with two tasty extra flour tortillas. Good tortillas although my all-​time favorites come from Totilleria Autentica in Loveland. I also ordered a side of beans that could have been bean dip, really. Yum. The chips aren’t anything spectacular but the fresh, mild salsa is delicious — I could drink that stuff down!
Long story short — this place is going on my rotation when I’m craving Mexican. Can’t wait to come back and sample more of the menu. If you can get past the strange parking lot and nondescriptiveness, it’s worth a visit!

The Good: The food is super yummy, authentic Mexican. The wait staff is the friendliest in town. The prices are as cheap as fast food, even though this is NOT fast food.
The Bad: They close at 8pm.
The ugly: The décor is nothing to write home about.
Trust me you’ll love this place, it’s so worth a trip!

I love Five Points. I love the history. I love the soul. I love the charisma. I love the food. I don’t love being one of the gentrifying, twenty-​something white kids sucking the life out the neighborhood.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way…
This place has history, this place has soul, and this place has pork shoulder.
The wet green chili burrito is served in a bowl, absolutely inundated with a very thin green chili. The green chili isn’t very spicy, and it would do well to combat the thinness with a little more bite. The chunks of pork shoulder in the green chili are divine. Hearty chunks of slow-​cooked, succulent, heavenly pork. The burrito was an afterthought compared to the pork in the green chili. The cheese was quasi melted, the shredded lettuce browned and wilting, and the beef was bland. But the pork shoulder. That fucking pork shoulder.
This burrito didn’t change my life, but it’s a hearty meal, and the pork in the green chili sets it a notch above. And, the most expensive burrito on the menu won’t set you back for more than $ 6. Toss in the history, the haggard contingent of regulars, and the very sweet, very cute girl running around doing everything, and you get a good experience that whispers of a time and a place that are quickly fading out of this city.

The wet green burrito is pretty unique. Their green chile recipe here is more liquid than any I’ve had, as they use no thickener. It’s sort of like a burrito served in a shallow bowl of soup. This «wet» style supposedly predates «smothered» and is true old-​school Denver. The meat in the burrito and the chile was quite good. My companion had one with beans, and liked it so much she ordered another.
We did not get charged for the second bean burrito, making this already cheap place super-​cheap: $ 3 for the bean burrito, less than $ 5 for the beef. In other respects, you get what you pay for. The interior of the place is rather like a bus station and the chips they served were some sort of generic Tostitos right out of a bag, which didn’t fit with the accompanying salsa, which was homemade and good.
The people who run this place are really friendly as well. If you come here for a unique inexpensive burrito, you will like it. If you come for the chips and ambiance, you won’t.

This is a great little Mexican Restaurant that has historic ties to the Denver community. They have been around for 51 years, which is truly impressive for any restaurant in the area.
It’s unfortunate that they were forced to move away from the ballpark area due to development. Now they are in a not as high traffic area, making most of their customer base regulars.
I would have to say you should most definitely go with the house specialty, the wet green chili burrito. I don’t think they do there other stuff as well and think going with this will make you the most happy. For example, my boyfriend got a dinner plate that had a taco and thing was dripping with grease and he couldn’t eat it.
Moving on, the wet green chili burrito is pretty great. The green chili doesn’t have any flour added to give a thicker consistency, this is why it’s seems watery but is really good. In the green chili are yummy chunks of pork shoulder. I like the burrito with shredded beef, beans, and cheese. The shredded beef is of good quality and pretty tasty. My only complaint is that I wish there was more heat in the dish. I am, a spice fiend, so there you go. Regardless, I ate my whole burrito and thought it was pretty darn good.