Mi Patria Ecuadorian Restaurant — Restaurant in West Des Moines

We wanted to try out a new cuisine. Since, we are vegetarian, our options are always limited. Someone informed us about this Ecuadorian Restaurant. I called up this restaurant to inquire about the vegetarian options. I was informed by the staff that they do have few Veg. options on the Menu, and that they can customize some. So, off we drove to this place for Lunch on a Saturday, mid-May.

We were seated by the staff. The staff was very cordial and welcoming. Rony helped us out on the table and the menu. Nice attitude and personality. It's not a very huge place. But, the restaurant ambience is great, with nice booths. For bigger parties, the staff do make arrangements with the seating. Plenty of parking as well.

We started off with the Appetizers - Llapingachos and Totillas De Yuca. Llapingachos - These are round potato patties / pancakes, stuffed with cheese served with mani sauce. The patties, on their own, were very bland. The mani sauce was okay. But, personally, this dish could have been lot better if there was more salt and spice in it. Totillas De Yuca - These are patties made of Yuca (cassava), and stuffed with cheese and served with Ensalada Criolla (kind of salad). This dish, too, lacked spice and salt in it.

The wait time for the dishes to arrive was around 20 minutes, which is the standard across.

Then, for the Entree, we ordered Bandeja Vegetariana. This dish comprised Rice, Bean, Corn, Fava Beans, Ripe Plantains, Potato patties, Lettuce and Ensalada Criolla. I had requested for additional spice on these dishes, but all they had to offer for spice is the Home-made sauce, which was good, but not spicy enough for us. Price was okay.

However, overall, the food lacked in taste, spice and salt. It was bland. I would not repeat here again. Sorry...

I'm a little baffled this place has so many raving 5-star reviews. I think I just may not be the target audience for Ecuadorian cuisine. It's incredibly bland as a rule, it seems.

I will say this; everything I've had here has been cooked well. The rice is properly soft, the pork is juicy, and the corn has a nice tooth to it, however, spice nor sauce is anywhere to be seen. My pulled pork was naked (no acid or sauce to really liven it up) and it came served with 4 sides--3 of which are "naked" as well. The rice, corn, and potato patty all have nothing going on and taste the same and add nothing to the meal except bulk calories and the "salad" tries to complement the pork (I've had the same duo elsewhere but better done) but it too is lacking even the lime juice that would really make the combo work. Again, this all seems to be a consequence of the Ecuadorian style but at which point it just kind of feels like Mexican food sans all the spices and sauces and makes me wonder why I didn't just go get some Mexican food instead.

Everything else about the place I thought was fine. You get a lot of food for the price. Service is normal, acceptable service. The ambience is adequate but nothing special.

Despite the 3 star rating I'm giving it, I think it's worth a try if you go in with the expectation of eating some rather simple food with a fairly "midwestern"...

I have heard many a great thing about Mi Patria, and finally had the chance to check it out. It's a hole in the wall, and seems unassuming from appearances, like any other hometown diner. However, everything was clean and I rather liked the simple decor and set up. Sometimes it's nice for the focus of the experience to be on the food and the company you are with, and not with any flashy decor or place settings.

Our service was great. They were very kind, explained the menu, and even offered to add an additional menu serving of one of the items we ordered since it came with 3 and we had a party of 4. That was a thoughtful touch!

Chicken Empanadas: Wowza. Crispy, flaky crust filled with savory chicken and veggies. These reminded me of a hand-held chicken pot pie, and are a MUST ORDER!

Mi Patria Platter: This is perfect for date nights, family dinners, or first-timers. You get one platter of meat to share, which included pull meats, steak, chicken, etc. Then you each get a plate of sides, including rice, hominy, an egg, beans, and plantains. It's the best way to experience a bunch of different meats and we really enjoyed the experience of really sharing a meal together. There's plenty of food too! We had plenty to take home.

I highly recommend giving Mi...