Don Chuy's Fresh Mex & Cantina — Restaurant in Overland Park

Unorganized, Overpriced, and Overrated – Never Again

We walked in and passed two couples waiting to be seated and chose to sit at the bar, which only had one couple already there. Despite two bartenders being present, they were clearly overwhelmed, which I could have overlooked—except we were completely ignored. A random server dropped off chips and salsa, but no acknowledgment from the bartenders for over 15 minutes. Finally, one offered water and asked if we wanted menus.

We ordered house margaritas which took another 15 minutes to arrive and tasted like powdered Country Time lemonade—absolutely no hint of tequila.

At that point, I was ready to leave (as two others had already done) and head to KMacho’s or Mi Ranchito, but my husband insisted we tough it out. After another long wait, we were finally able to order.

I ordered the ribeye tacos and was stunned to see a huge marrow bone on the plate. I’ve never been to a Mexican restaurant where bone marrow was served, let alone unannounced. My husband’s dish was supposed to come with Elotes as a side, but he received a plain ear of corn. Meanwhile, the woman next to him got actual Elotes. Very inconsistent.

It became common for everyone seated at the bar to let the bartender know when someone else needed a drink refill because no one was getting checked on. We even ended up sharing chip and salsa refills among ourselves just to get by. That’s how ignored we all were.

Worse, my meal was missing the rice and beans clearly listed as part of the entree. I asked the server, who confirmed they were included and said he’d get them—then proceeded to ignore us completely while continuing to serve other tables. I flagged down the manager, who also confirmed they were included and said he’d get them. He never came back with them either, instead chatting with staff and trying to placate angry customers walking out.

To top it off, we were overcharged for larger margaritas we didn’t order and charged extra for the bone marrow I never asked for. When I pointed this out, the bartender claimed she misunderstood my order and that it’s on the menu (it’s not). When I challenged this, she admitted it was her first day—yet still argued. I told her it was my first day too... and definitely the last.

No one ever offered a refill on water. No one checked on us the entire time we sat at the bar. And to add insult to injury, there’s a surcharge for using a credit card.

If you enjoy being ignored, overcharged, and misled while waiting endlessly for mediocre food, this is the...

I intended to create this review sooner. As a homegrown KC girl I can say that Don Chuy's has SOOOO MUCH PROMISE!! Any restaurant has a few kinks to iron out after just opening, but mark my words this is going to be the best restaurant we have seen since Mi Ranchito was established, and if you are from here you understand the power in that statement!

Any negative reviews on here I strongly believe are either the people who consider taco bell top notch Mexican food, or the Leawood crowd expecting Gordon Ramsey to prepare their food. Either way, try it for yourself, its worth that!

I was privileged in being able to meet the artist of some of the work, one of the paintings having been just painted the morning of that day. The details and authenticity of the art absolutely carry over to the food! The place is absolutely beautiful! Has very elegant and exotic vibes. The servers were all very kind, warm, lively, and I felt like they were excited to be there.

The menu has soooooo much variety, and the food was delicious!! If you like a menu with like 4 things or dont like to read this place isnt for you. Most restaurants are so cookie cutter with their menu's, but I really appreciated how Don Chuy's has a bunch of your traditional fan favorites, but also so many new things to try.

My food came in a actual pineapple bowl. As you can see in the photo. It was very fancy, it tasted wonderful which also impressed me because it had shrimp in it, and for shrimp prepared in land locked KC they did a really good job.

Also, it was extremely reasonably priced for what it was. This day an age fast-food-restaurants are nearly priced the same as regular it makes more sense to just eat the regular, but the experience I had at this place made it feel more like a special occasion than just a quick dinner while I was out. I look forward to my next visit. I cannot wait to try something else new and wonderful, and see what awesome experience my next visit brings!

I highly recommend this place, and genuinely believe this to be the next new hot Mexican food joint to hit the city....so overlook the small things for now...you...

IF YOU ARE WELL TRAVELED AND KNOW WHAT GOOD MEXICAN CUISINE IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE, DON'T GO HERE! My first visit will be my last. My Margarita tasted good but had very little tequila in it. My Chipotle Enchiladas had a good sauce but the enchilada part had not been cooked in an oven. They consisted of wet floppy corn tortillas with some chicken inside, rolled up and sauced. Never saw an oven. I would have gotten tacos, but theirs are not deep fried. They buy the ready made taco shells and fill. Heck, I can do that at home. My friend had two cheese enchiladas which I did not taste but did taste the weird orange sauce on top. It tasted like very watered down canned tomato soup. Ugh. Everyone knows enchilada sauce should be brown and taste like Chili. They only offer rice with meals which was bland and no frijoles or black beans. On top of all that, I ordered soapapillas for dessert and they had the nerve to bring me a plate on which they'd cut up one flour tortilla into 4 quarters and fried them and sprinkled the tiniest bit of sugar and cinnamon and barely preceptible chocolate sauce and honey. YUCK! The ice cream in middle was good, but I'm pretty sure they didn't make that. All in all, if you've a bland Midwestern palate and have no acquaintance with Tex Mex or SW Mex, you'll love it. If you've had good Mexican Cuisine or happen to be Hispanic STAY AWAY!!! My waiter was very good however and I tipped him liberally in spite of the crap he served me. Don Chuy's a no go.!!! Can't believe I spent $41 (icluding tip) on...