Blue Iguana Taco Bar & Cantina — Restaurant in Destin

My 2 daughters & I came here & were sat immediately because there were only 3 of us & I was told parties of 5+ had to wait for tables. The hostess took us to our table & we sat & sat & sat. I watched a party of bridesmaids & the bride sit after us & were waited upon immediately. Finally a server comes over (Betsa) & asks if someone has come over to wait on us & I said no so she said “ok let me go see” shortly after a couple gets sat behind us & Betsa waits on them. I thought that was odd because she refused to wait on me & my daughters. Finally after waiting for about 15 min for someone to come over & take our drink order we are greeted by a guy waiter Francisco. I asked for names before I left being the only reason ik their names. Francisco was very nice & very apologetic that we hadn’t been waited on & also told me that this wasn’t his section but he’s happy to take our order. He put our drink & food order in right away, he checked on us every 5 min made sure we had everything & didn’t need anything. He was absolutely wonderful. So now I see another couple get sat in the same section in front of us & Betsa waits on them. When Francisco brought my check over, at this point I had to ask him why this server Betsa decided that she didn’t want to wait on us but instead took the table behind us and in front of us. He told me this is HER section and maybe she didn’t want anymore tables. He seemed just as baffled as I was that he left his section to come wait on us when our server decided she didn’t want to. If it weren’t for Francisco I would not be giving this place even 2 stars & if it weren’t for how kind & often he checked on us I would not have given 5 stars for service. I tipped him very well. The food was mediocre nothing to rave about at all. I got chicken soft tacos my daughter got a chicken quesadilla & my little one got fries. I would have been happier going to Taco Bell. But for me it was my experience. When we left I insisted on speaking w/ a manager about my experience & I was led back to the hostess. She didn’t seem interested in hearing anything I had to say. I was very nice & respectful conveying how I felt & how Betsa refused to wait on us in her section & she was like “ok sorry about that we will talk to her” while occupied doing a million other things behind the desk.

Obviously this is peak tourist season here in Destin & a lot of these places don’t care about customer service but rather making as much money as possible & as fast as possible. VERY EXPENSIVE OBVIOUSLY!! I spent $60 on 3 soft drinks, 3 soft tacos, one quesadilla & a kids order of fries. I tipped $30. Not worth it!!

Being in this industry myself for over 2 decades & also being a bartender myself at an authentic Mexican restaurant, this is one place I will never...

We have been to Blue Iguana three times and every time we have been impressed with the food, the drinks and the service. we love the 2 for 1 house margaritas quite the deal and the “medium” size is a very sizable libation and always delicious. We’ve had the traditional ones on previous visits and today loved the refreshing frozen strawberry. We moved to the area from Texas and we’ve struggled to find good Mexican food and now rely on Blue Iguana as a relied upon choice. I appreciate they’re open by 10am so we can come after church for an early lunch. Their salsa is fire roasted and packs the perfect amount of heat and their meals are bursting with flavor and are always delicious. Today I enjoyed the fajita burrito and my husband loved the Blue burrito each was filled with a lot of meat and delicious ingredients .. The portions were so large we each brought half of it home. Our server today was Cassandra and she was very friendly and attentive. The interior of the restaurant is enhanced each time we come with beautiful hand painted murals and updated furnishings. We look forward to our next meal at...

I'm local and have tried all the other Mexican restaurants in the area. Hands down Blue Iguana is our new favorite! Food was plated beautifully and was absolutely delicious! I had the fajita burrito with shredded chicken and it blew me away at how fresh the ingredients were. The shredded chicken had a wonderful flavor. My son shoved down his beef taco and wanted a second one which he has never done at any of the other restaurants. Salsa was different but it complimented our guacamole appitizer and food perfectly. Our server was Abagail and she was so sweet and did an outstanding job!!! Honestly being a local it's sometimes hard to find good service and good food in a tourist area. For the first time I felt like we got what we paid for. Even the hostesses and everyone we met were smiling, welcoming and asked us if we enjoyed our meal. Atmosphere was beautiful and extremely clean. I don't ever leave reviews but felt this place needed to...