Amanda's Cantina and Fonda — Restaurant in Colorado

This place came highly recommended, but honestly I think they exaggerated. We brought a party of 6 the first time and 5 (3 adult 2 kid) another. Let me break it down:

For food: Truck Tacos: almost flavorless. Could barely tell what we were eating. Cheese enchilada platter: The sauce was nice and spicy. And that's about it, every other ingredient was either bland, or stale. Beans: extremely bland. Arroz con pollo: tasted like a block of cheap cheddar from the dairy section next to the OJ, very basic. Again, the sauce was fantastic, but that was it. Gordo Burrito: neither the red nor green sauce carry much flavor, the meet is so bland I genuinely had to question if it was chicken or beef. I'm not kidding, I pulled it from the burrito and examined it because I wasn't sure. It was beef, but almost tasted like they washed it before, boiled it, removed the water and put in fresh water, boiled more, and after cooking it washed it. The only flavor was the sauce, which was good. Consistently, there sauces outdo their dishes. Kids mac and cheese: kraft? Honestly perfect for a kids meal, give them what they know and love. Tator tots: great. Think sonic without salt. Quesadilla: almost tasted like sliced cheese from the store.

Now, drinks were good, but not $9 good. It was so watered down after 2 margaritas the lightweight, who's usually stumbling after 2 shots of tequila, was unphased. None of us could taste or feel any alcohol. But they were the most delicious parts of the meal.

Last, and certainly most disappointing, was the fried ice cream. But I will admit I'm incredibly biased about fried ice cream and have been chasing a flavor from a restaurant gone 15-20 years now from Springs. But everyone at the table was agreed. #1, you could see the flakes and taste what we are about half certain is frosted flakes. Vanilla, flavorless coating deep fried, set on a bed of whip cream, drowned in chocolate and I can't tell if it was honey or caramel because there was so much chocolate it's all we could taste. It was edible, probably best part of the meal next to the free chips, but the simplest of dishes drowned in chocolate.

Wonderful staff and atmosphere, never let a place get half empty, always quick with food and the check, always very sweet and understanding, helpful with the menu.

The dining area was great.

But the men's room? The moment I opened the door all I smelt was porcelain and urine. Every single toilet/urinal, including the broken one, was filled full of urine. I was the only party there but still no one had cleaned. The smell was worse then a portajohn, and honestly it may be the worst bathroom floor ive seen in years for a restaurant.

I won't be returning for a third visit, but I wish them the best of luck. I've had a lot worse Mexican food in colorado springs. And the staff is great. But I feel like there's a lot better out there than what they...

I have previously visited here years ago and nothing really triggered my memory about the place. But my family and I visited from Pittsburgh area last week. First, we were ensured we were allowed to bring our small dog as long as we sat outside. We got there, approached the hostess and said 6 people with 1 dog. She said she would be right back, 7 minutes later she sat us out back by the creek. We started looking at menus and snacked on the chips and salsa. Then, we were asked by another employee to move out front because we had the dog. We said absolutely no problem at all, even though we told the hostess about the dog and she saw it as we walked to the back patio. We were sat at our new table. 5, 10, 15 minutes go by. No service, no drinks, no employees to be seen. I went inside to get my little brother a water because he was struggling with altitude sickness the whole week. Then 5 minutes later, our server came out and told us that nobody told her we were moved. Accidents happen, I get it. Although, she then forgot to get my boyfriends drink that he had to ask twice for. Another employee got our waters, to help, but slammed them on the table and walked away without 1 word. One meal was missing the beans and rice side, but we were afraid to ask since everything was taking so long. Ruby was the only employee that showed us an ounce of kindness this whole experience. I feel all her coworkers set her up for failure with our table. With all the other Mexican restaurants around the area, I would recommend them over...

As of 9/16/22: I'm reducing my review to 2 stars. We got there before the Saturday rush. We sat on the patio as we normally do. There were 3 servers and two others helping out on the patio. It took at least 10 minutes for our server to even acknowledge us and to get chips and salsa. Having been here before, we knew exactly what we wanted. Our drinks and queso came out fast, but after, it took another 30 minutes to get our food which came out cold on top. We always order the molcajete. It should be sizzling and wasn't. No one even acknowledged us in those 30 minutes. Our drinks were empty, our salsa empty, and we never did get the side of tortillas that I ordered with the queso. Worst service we've had at Amanda's. Also, the bathrooms are just gross. Get it together.

Previous Review: We do love the location of this Mexican restaurant. The patio along the creek is a beautiful spot and worth the visit. We stopped in just before opening and enjoyed a nice cool early summer afternoon on the patio. The service was just okay. The waitress could have been a bit more attentive. The salsa is really good, and the food is decent. We do love the molcajete and get it whenever we visit. I tried the Bloody Maria today and enjoyed the tequila twist, but I found the serving size small. I wish they'd being back...