Las Flores

We drive many miles out of our way to come to this gem of a restaurant in the middle of Oelwein. Start out with the queso, it is wonderful! Not too spicy, but definitely not bland. For dinner order the pollo cancun… a delightful mix of chicken and shrimp with mushrooms and fresh pico. It is absolutely out if this world! Make sure to get a small pitcher of margaritas, and your night is complete! We’ve been here many times, and have never had a bad meal!

I’m guessing there is a reason that after four years of being in business, I’m the fourth review. That reason? Why would anyone go to Olewein, Iowa to eat? If you have never been to this small town located on Highway 150, I wouldn’t run out and jump in the car for this place.
We hit town and drove into the downtown area because we didn’t want Pizza Ranch. It became obvious very quickly that there had been a lot more restaurants in town once upon a time but now they have «for sale» signs in the window. Too bad, the BBQ place might have been where I would have stopped.
Since hunger had forced our hand it was between the three open places. The Café, Leo’s (?) and the Mexican place.
The kids said Mexican. So, I parked.
Walked in and the sign said «Seat yourself». Ok, we did. As did the next two tables that came in behind us over the next five minutes.
You all should realize that I have a gift. That gift is that of attracting poor service.
We got our water fast.
The other two tables had their alcoholic drinks, chips and salsa before we ever saw our waitress again. The service assistant finally dropped off the chips and salsa. Waitress proceeded to take the orders of the other two tables and drop them off in the kitchen before she saw fit to take our order.
Now, I don’t usually judge servers on their person characteristics. I don’t care if they have tats, piercings or skin showing if they can get the job done. But this server was like a Mormon on meth. Too freaking perky about everything she said. How does one get that excited about dropping off silverware?
Food: Yep, it’s the standard Mexican food that you get at every Mexican place around. I will say the beef in the chimi was really dry and the chicken breast with chorizo was so thin they must have used a Ginsu Knife to cut it. I know there isn’t a chicken out there that is that flat breasted. Oh yes, perky server forgot my torts also. Oh well, I didn’t need the carbs.
Next time? I’ll try one of the other two surviving restaurants.

I thought that this place was great. The atmosphere and the décor are very wonderful and inviting. The waitress was very friendly and helpful in answering any questions. The food was delicious. I ate the whole thing and was completely happy. I will certainly be coming back next time I am in town.

Its ok. some food not very seasoned

Wow… I was favorably impressed with this place. At first glance, it looked like an old style café in an old hotel building. Only the name Las Flores (the flowers) gave it away as a Mexican restaurant.
My first impression was favorable. The salsa was very tasty though maybe just a bit light on cilantro and onion. It was still much better than average. The chips were tasty too.
The service was a little slow but it was worth it when the food came. I had ordered fajitas with chicken, beef, chorizo, and shrimp. Everything was piping hot and nicely seasoned. The food tasted … well … it seemed to have a downhome flavor. It’s amazing how many restaurants just don’t do a good job with fajitas but Las Flores did. I loved the perfectly carmelized onions, peppers, large shrimp, and tasty marinated meats. The rice was fluffy. The beans were just a little greasier than normal but had a really decadent flavor to them, probably from lard. I don’t normally like refried beans but in this case, YUM!
Las Flores is located in a small town where the pace is slow and people are laid back. The interior is clean but decorated simply. There are tufts of white fur coming out of old, torn, vinyl booths and the food presentation is not overly fancy, but it all fits together. The restaurant is here to serve tasty food to the locals in a small town, main street setting and they do an awesome job!