Ixtapa Redmond Ridge — Restaurant in Union Hill-Novelty Hill

TL:DR; Perfectly fine run of the mill americanized Mexican food. DO NOT GET DESSERTS.

I've had 4 experiences with Ixtapa (all takeout). The first was a good experience: while the entrees aren't anything special (mild flavor in refried beans and rice, chimichangas not fried but tasty, and average enchiladas), the chips and pico accompanying them are very good, with a bit of a kick to these pico and plenty of oily goodness in the restaurant chips. I'd give 5 stars for the chips and 4 stars for the food, but overall round it to 5 stars.

The second experience was a huge disaster. Admittedly I should have predicted that getting Mexican food would be a nightmare on cinco de mayo, but I didn't think that I would be stuck waiting outside for over an hour and a half (with around 30 other customers waiting outside on the sidewalk) before being told they had no idea when orders were coming and to just grab an abandoned order or try to have our orders fulfilled at a later date. This was a 1 star experience.

Which brings me to the third experience. I called to have my order fulfilled another day (2 chimichanga + 1 mix and match item) but instead of full size chimichangas, they were miniature (though I pre-paid for full size) and we didn't receive the chips and salsa I liked the first time. 2 stars.

My last experience is similar to the first, however I caution DO NOT GET DESSERTS HERE. We ordered sopapillas and flan. The "sopapillas" order was a single small flour tortilla that was quartered and fried, covered in cinnamon sugar, and then absolutely covered in reddi-whip and chocolate sauce. It was disgusting and confusing. Sopapillas are traditionally yeasted, pillowy, deep fried pastries like donuts. I've never heard of this take on sopapillas and I would have appreciated some context if this is truly a house take on the dessert (I doubt it). When I opened the flan, I couldn't see it, all I saw was whipped cream and red and brown syrup on top. I had to excavate the flan. The flan was horrible, it was a small, half cupcake sized rubber disc floating on top of sundae caramel and absolutely covered in the canned whip cream and chocolate sauce, as well as what seemed to be maraschino cherry juice. Absolutely confusing and disgusting. I honestly have had better pre made miniature flans from the yogurt section at the grocery store. I wish I took a picture but I was so annoyed that I threw them away. 3 stars overall since the food was what was expected.

Overall I'd give this...

We were greeted by friendly staff, and were served free tortilla chips, salsa, and refried beans. We got the shrimp salad and cheeseburger. The food was very fairly priced, especially if you consider the portion sizes. The portions were very large, almost excessively so. (Not a bad thing though!) The shrimp and mushrooms in the salad were a little oversalted for our taste. On the other hand, we found the cheeseburger and fries to be a little bland, and the fries a little soggy. Overall, the staff were very friendly and accommodating. The food was ok, but could be better. The prices were very reasonable. This is probably the best restaurant in the plaza it's in, but only due to the lack of choices. We will not be in a rush to come again, but this restaurant is a solid pick if you are in the area and...

Pretty typical mexican/american food in the area. Not great, but sometimes I get it on Uber eats for it's low delivery price and convenience. The food is inconsistent almost every time. Sometimes they will give good portions that are packaged decently and sometimes the portions are not balanced, the flavor will be too salty or it'll be too bland, and it'll arrive a sloppy mess. The safest items I would say are the enchilladas and the chicken tortilla soup. Last time I tried something new here I got a chipotle wrap that was 75% tortilla with very little fillings inside. I prefer the Duvall Ixtapa and would even drive the extra 15 minutes to get their food because they've always been consistent, with large portions always, and their food just tastes so...