El Fogon Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in West Des Moines

Hello, I would like to preface this review by saying that I usually don’t give out ratings on restaurants. My fiancé & I work a lot during the week and sometimes going out to eat together is the only highlight we have. We have been patrons at El Fogón for over 2 years now and never had a bad experience until recently.

We both ordered the blue margarita and they were delicious as always. That’s one thing they do well.

My fiancé ordered the Pollo a la crema & what she received was a plate of chicken & cream mixed with broccoli & jarred jalapeños. The food was pale & looked like a mush. The plate did not look visually appealing. Additionally it was unseasoned.

I ordered the Pollo con Chorizo and received a plate of chorizo, ground chicken (which virtually was not there either) & what seemed to be half an onion mixed in. I don’t mind onion, however it seemed like they were using the onion as a plate filler to reduce the amount of chicken they have to serve.

Neither of the plates came with a side of beans and it seems like they changed the rice recipe as well for the meals. The way they plated the food seemed like they were trying to enact portion control by providing a bed of lettuce, sour cream & pico on 1/4 of the plate. Another 1/4 of the plate was a rice volcano centered to fill up the empty space. The other half of the platter was the onion, chorizo & ground chicken part of the meal which I had to pick through to fill my tortilla.

With all that being said, as a former server, it is a cardinal sin to ever have a customer leave hungry. Additionally, in our shared culture, when you go somewhere to eat, you never leave with an empty stomach. I am not angry or mad, I am just disappointed.

As I looked at the empty basket of chips that was never refilled I realized this was the worst dining experience my fiancé and I have ever had. Please take this as genuine constructive criticism to do better. We ordered the same meals least year and they did not come out like this. I understand menu changes do happen, however, this experience showed us that providing equal value to paying customers is...

We met a couple of friends here for a later dinner but still 90 minutes before close. My husband and I only wanted a couple of appetizers dips. We ordered the “stone guacamole and the cheese dip”. The waitress brought us the large queso without asking which size (I’ve never been somewhere that did not clarify before bringing a large size that is double the price). I would have assumed she thought we were all sharing but our friends ordered their entrees at the same time we ordered our dips so it was clear that’s all my husband and I wanted. I did not want to complain to her because I could tell she was busy by how long it took to just to get chips. The dips we ordered were good but the service unfortunately did not get better. We had separate checks from our friends who paid with a card and my husband and I paid cash. I gave her $25 and the tab was $19. I have a job where I receive tips so i believe in tipping well but I would never have tipped over 30% for the service we had... but she never brought me change. She dropped our friend’s card receipt so fast I didn’t even have time to register that I didn’t get change. It’s not the matter of the $1 or $2 I didn’t get back, it’s the principle that she charged us for a large queso that I never ordered and assumed I would tip her over 30%. I thought it was always normal practice to bring someone’s change unless they specify not to. This was a go to place for us as we live within walking distance but this has completely changed my preference of...

I ordered here last week twice through Uber eats because I was craving a chori pollo dish. A chori pollo is a dish made of a chicken breast topped with mexican sausage, caramelized onions and smothered in queso. It is delightful and it was just what I was wanting that day. The second time I decided to order it again because it was really good but this time with no sour cream. I also ordered a side of what said to be rice, beans, and fries for my son because those are his favorite foods right now but instead received just rice.

I was a bit confused that I received just rice but didn't feel like reporting a $3 item. The mexican rice was a 5/10, it didn't have much flavor and my son refused to eat it. Chips and salsa were perfect. I would like to advice that they fix that option of rice, beans and fries because it is misleading. Also would love if they have the options to add or subtract ingredients/sides for a easier checkout. Other than that I look forward to dining in this place next time I'm craving...