Las Brasas Restaurant — Restaurant in Anamosa

My wife and I have traveled all over the midwest (and she lived in Texas for 17 years), and we have eaten at a lot of restaurants, and even more Mexican restaurants. Some places have a good dish I like, or a good drink she likes, but not a lot have both. However, there is one restaraunt that CONSISTENTLY serves amazing food and drinks, with friendly staff and a genuine desire to make you happy... Las Brasas Restaurant, in Anamosa, Iowa. The owners, Henry and Gerson, are gifted chefs, who work very hard to give their customers a quality meal and a fun environment. They would literally give you the shirt off their backs, that's the kind of people they are. It is a family owned restaurant, and they are a great family. When we go to Las Brasas, we have our favorites, but every choice is quality food cooked right... with amazing flavor. My wife loves the rice, seasoned with garlic and spices, and always cooked just right. It's even better with queso poured on it, or as like she likes it, with shrimp. This guy really knows how to cook shrimp. He has a secret spice recipe he puts on it and a few other things, and it is magnificent. The salsa that comes with the complimentary chips and salsa is so tasty, the perfect way to get started. My personal favorite dish here is the Camarones Chipotle, which is Chipotle sauce over shrimp. Omg the sauce is so good... I like hot spicy food, so I always ask for habanero salsa, which is wonderful and really turns up the heat. Those shrimp are cooked so perfectly, just melting in your mouth and so flavorful. I love many other dishes here too; burritos, Henry's Tacos (that is the actual name), the fajitas, and so much more. One way you can tell this is a great restaurant with talented cooks who care, is that when you order the a la carte items, they are just as good as when you order them with the dish. The beans, the rice, the guacamole, they are all cooked right and flavorful. My wife says that there is no other place she has ever been that has better margaritas than Las Brasas. Big, cold, and refreshing, they get you where you need to go guaranteed! Henry loves his tequila, and he loves bringing it to his customers. It is his way of saying thanks and that you are his friend. It is heartfelt. If you are in Anamosa or you simply want a good night dining out and want quality, tasty Mexican cuisine, stop into Las Brasas and check out their daily specials. Ask to meet Henry, and have fun. And if it's...

On the whole we like the place, but an incident happened which made us never want to return. On April 6 we celebrated my wife's birthday by having dinner with friends. At the end three staff members delivered a fried ice cream dessert which we 4 shared. Then they begin to sing happy birthday. All was good until the moment when one of the singers took a handful of whipped cream and smeared it over my wife's face. Perhaps they thought it was tradition or in fun. However, it violated my wife's presence there. It created a mess on her clothing and hair. I talked to our server and expressed our displeasure at this action. They didn't ask, nor even check for allergies to dairy products. The server seemed to understand and presented my wife with a $10 gift certificate. Upon returning home that night, I emailed the owners of Las Brasas to express my concern. They have never ackowledged my message. So maybe it's tradition, maybe they think it's fun, but it also ruined what was supposed to be a personal celebration of my wife's birthday. Thanks,...

After seeing the positive reviews, we traveled 45 minutes for an early afternoon lunch. What a disappointment. We arrived shortly after 1 p.m. (two of us) and we were the only customers. Sat there for awhile with no acknowledgement. I assume it was the owner with his young son there with salespersons. Nothing. We were ready to get up and leave and inquired if someone was going to wait on us?

Finally, a young server showed up. Our order of Burritos Chicago (ordered one steak and one chicken) were dry, very limited amount of meat, and the tortillas were chewy as can be. My wife had the funkiest looking fish tacos (came wrapped up tight in aluminum foil). It took over 25 minutes to receive our meal.

Never had such a terrible meal and service at a Mexican restaurant. Obviously, it's an old building and it was very musty smelling inside. We truly wanted to enjoy our experience but won't return.

We just ate at a local Mexican restaurant in Tipton and the food and service was outstanding.

We wish...