Abuelo’s

This is not your average Mexican restaurant. It is above and beyond many ways, including service, quality of food and surroundings. Definitely will recommend to others.

The food was a solid 3.5 stars, but it was our waiter that bumped it up to a 4-​star rating for me. I believe his name was Andrew, and he was just a very friendly and cheery guy, whom sees his job as not just a means to an end.
My boyfriend ambitiously ordered The Monterrey, and I stuck with the Firecracker Shrimp Tacos. I found the shrimp to genuinely have a kick to it, though the sauce it was coated in was a tad sweeter than I had expected, which made for a different combination of flavors. The veggie mix in the taco helped mellow out both the spiciness and sweeter taste. I opted to not have the mango relish on it, since it would have been too much of a flavor mixture, in my personal opinion. I generally have a good idea of what should and shouldn’t go together, and how much is too much.
My boyfriend thought the food to be average — which we weren’t expecting authentic Mexican by any means. I actually put Mexican at the bottom of my list of favorite types of cuisine. I suppose it’s because every Mexican place starts to blur into the next, in terms of the taste and quality of the food. Regardless, Abuelo’s was more than edible for both of us, so that’s good enough I suppose.
I did get the Sangria Swirl, and I hardly ever get a drink whenever I go out to eat — and definitely not during the day either. But it was pretty good. Not the best drink I’ve ever had, but I would probably put it somewhere in the middle of the best and worst drinks. So slightly better than average.
Overall: ⁴⁄₅
Food: 3.5÷5
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Atmosphere: ³⁄₅

Abuelo’s is a precise synonym for «Tex-​Mex». Except what if the Tex-​Mex restaurant isn’t in Texas? What if it’s in Missouri? Does that make it Mo-​Mex? Kan-​Mex for Kansas? Flo-​Mex for Florida?
Anyway, Abuelo’s started in Texas, so we will go with Tex-​Mex. The strongest thing Abuelo’s has going for it is the variety in the menu. Most Tex-​Mex restaurants stop at tacos, enchiladas, guacamole, and combination platters. Abuelo’s goes beyond that to offer pastas, shrimp, tapas, and various pork dishes. The enchiladas aren’t your normal beef and cheese, either. They showcase an assortment of varieties, particularly with The Monterrey dish. Fun fact: you get your name on a wall if you finish The Monterrey or The Grande. My girlfriend categorized the Firecracker Shrimp Tacos as «different». She handles spicy well, and said there was a kick to them.
The server (Andrew, I believe?) was very fun, engaging, and checked on us just the right amount. It was the best service experience I have had in a while. He actually seemed like he has fun with his job, which is so rare these days. Props to him.
Some find the Ziosk tablets to take away from the «restaurant experience» because it eliminates the server by letting you swipe your card to pay your ticket. I think this is a fantastic implementation because waiting for the check is the most annoying part of having a server. And it’s not like Abuelo’s is fine dining, anyway.
Given the long and diverse menu, generous portions, and the fact Abeulo’s is very flavorful regarding Tex-​Mex, it’s above average for what it is.
Variety: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Tex: ⁵⁄₅
Mex: ³⁄₅

We had been to Abuelo’s about ten years ago and couldn’t remember our experience so decided that it was time to once again visit in case we were overlooking something worthwhile.
The décor and layout are nice, we had very good service. The young man was attentive, yet knew how to stay away, he clearly liked and ate the food at the restaurant and anticipate our needs. He was the bright spot of the experience.
Shortly after being seated, we were treated to the obligatory free chips and salsa. To their credit we received three different kinds, two red and one green, with the reminder that we could have more of any we liked. The green was a tomatillo cilantro lime and was very, very good, the «hot» version of the reds was a little chipotle-​ish and also very good. The regular salsa and chips were OK.
The menu is fairly extensive and has the usual suspects for an American Mexican restaurant.
We settled on tacos. All their tacos are served on flour tortillas unless you specifically request otherwise. We got the carnitas, which was a scant serving of pork with a bit of cheeses, some lettuce and a generous amount of tomatoes. They claim it comes with a cilantro onion relish on the side; however, mine was more like minced onion. I love carnitas and use it as a guide to understand the quality of Mexican restaurants. When you order it, you are expecting pork that’s unctuous as it’s been simmered and braised in fat with a nice crispiness from frying or baking after it’s been tenderized. The version of carnitas being served here is not uncommon, it’s the pulled pork version, the crock pot version, the version that, in my book, is not carnitas. Beyond the disappointment of the tacos the meal came with a signature side called Papas con Chile. Papas con Chile is mashed potatoes with some peppers, cheese and sour cream. Why is it a side here, I don’t know — better than the tasteless red rice you would normally get.
My thought on tasting and examining the sides was that they had probably prepared all the lunch dishes with a scoop of refried bean and potatoes in the morning and left them in a low oven to get dry and hard while waiting for the lunch orders in a couple of hours when they could throw a couple tacos onto the plate.
We also ordered the tilapia tacos which were fried and had cabbage and mango with maybe some cilantro and a sweet dressing. The mango chunks were a little big for my tastes and the fish flavor didn’t come through the rest of the ingredients, but they were OK.
Overall, the food was food. If you want a suburban, sterilized Mexican food experience with loads of food, beans and cheese this might just be the place you are looking for.
I will add that they have the new Ziosk table system, where you can play games, order drinks, call your server and pay your check. I hate theses things! The system is a step back in restaurant style and service. It’s already hard enough to get people to put their darn phone down, now we have a device on the table? I’m not sure what they are supposed to provide — an easy way to order another drink or to call the server? Maybe they should just have better table servers and they wouldn’t be necessary. Lastly, every time I’ve seen these they are dirty and gross like no one wipes them down, like an encrusted ketchup lid — I don’t want to touch them, I don’t want to pay my bill using them, I come to these types of establishments for table service not a drive through experience. Please remove the Ziosk!

Average food at best. The salsas are good and unique but the meals we got were fine but nothing special. You could tell this was a chain by how bland the food was. no real flavor, or spice.
If you want real Mexican food take the 15min drive to Southwest Blvd.

We (the two of us) used to eat here but their prices have risen since. A small draft beer will cost $ 5 and with dinner $ 35. I’m not cheap but frugal and the alternatives may keep this one for special occasions. They have priced me out.
This review was fresh the day or weekend we dined here.

Had high hopes for this place, but it was subpar. I have had better at taco bell. The cheese dip was basically velveeta with peppers. Everything tasted like heat and serve.

They were off there game today. Service was slow, chips cold and greasy. My meal was ok but my shrimp were undercooked. I expect more from Abuelos.
Hope it is better next time

I was really surprised that the food was really good. Being from a border town I was hesitant about trying it but I can honestly say it reminded me of home. The service was great and the place was very clean. I had the Laredo which was just the right amount of food.

Lunch special muy bueno! Enjoyed a nice lunch break from shopping. Of the three salsas, my favorite was the green. The others were too spicy and too bland. Portions were a great size (not too big) and food was hot and delicious. After a nice sangria and bean burrito later we were back on our shopping trip with a not so empty wallet!

This place was simply Amazing. The server was friendly and very helpful. This was my first experience and I will definitely be back

Great Mexican food experience!
First day in KC and i was in the mood for fresh Mexican food I looked around and found this place!
As soon as I walked in it was a good vibe. You get a good amount of food and everything is fresh! Great service from Christopher with the tattoos and great food from the guys in the back when I’m back in town I’ll be back

hmmm… this experience was not as good as the last. We had a party of 7 instead of 2 and sat in the dining area instead of the bar… I ordered the vegetarian fajitas and while there were delicious and plentiful — my lime cilantro rice was barely warm, I got flour tortillas instead of the corn, and my husband got some potato thing instead of the black beans. Our waitress made it right but then my rice came out with a very hot bowl and half of the rice that was in the first bowl. Doesn’t really matter because I prefer brown rice anyway and didn’t each that much of it. The Manager did come over and asked if we had everything we needed and apologized for the inconvience.

Three & a half stars, I’m rounding up.
Food is tasty & reasonably well-​prepared. Nothing out of the ordinary, just solid Tex-​Mex favorites. Service was very friendly & pretty fast. I saw our server go out of his way to get some extra things for the table next to us (which had someone who either had weird food allergies or was über-​picky, I couldn’t tell.) I like the «outdoor» feel of the courtyard/​dining room.

My girlfriend was told by her friends that we needed to check this restaurant out. We were pretty excited to drive up to zona and have an early dinner. Wish we could say we had a awesome time because we did not.
We arrived in the beautiful resturant and was quickly greeted and sat right away. Would be the last human contact we would have. We sat for almost ten minutes before we got up and left. No server greeted us/​acknowledged us we were there. No chips/​salsa were brought. Bussers and servers would walk by and say nothing/​ask if we been helped. I was really looking forward to trying the chicken stuffed tenderloin but like i said we left.
We stopped by the host stand and waited for another couple mins for the host to come back from the kitchen. She apologized from being away from the stand and she can seat us… we explained she sat us 10 mins ago and we were leaving since we got no service. One server walked over and said she’d take us back but explained we were done and leaving. We went over to outback and was seated just as quick and had awesome service.
As a restaurant manager, this is the worst thing ive seen. Outback servers worked as a team and took care of us. Your team needs some serious help. Btw, one server next to us couldn’t split a party of 8 checks correctly. If that was going to be our server, a simple hey guys ill be right back with you. Ill have someone bring you some chips/​salsa.

Abuelo’s was one of our favorite spots to grab Mexican food and a cold cerveza several years ago, but lackluster food and service turned us away… recently we were looking for a place to eat, and decided to give it another try, we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was.
A large dining area greets you, with the look of an outdoor courtyard, complete with arched walkways and a fountain, a average sized bar sits off to the right.
Upon being seated we were greeted, ordered drinks and the chips and salsa was served… oh yeah… the chips were extremely thin, and warm… adding three types of salsa, mild, roasted chile, and green chili with pineapple, were all good, but I liked the hidden gem, the habanero salsa, kinda heat that builds… very good…
Our entrees were all very good, and almost large enough to share. I had the enchiladas, one chicken, one beef, with a hot verde sauce, very tasty, consistent flavor throughout, and coupled with the beans and rice, really hit the spot. Washing it all down with an iced cold dos Equis, special lager, one of my favorite beers, was the recipe for another visit. The kids ordered tacos and burritos, the only hiccup, was the server brought soft tacos for my son, and he wanted crispy… but it took a good 5+ minutes for the crispy shells to come out… which seemed a bit excessive.
Overall good meal, the place was very crowded for a weeknight… a good sign the place has turned back in the right direction…

Quite a letdown here. We didn’t have the best food experience at Abuelo’s. Our server was fine. No complaints about her. Just the food.
We got the standard chips and salsa, which they give you 3 salsas to try. My wife thought the salsa was fine. We also got the queso, which was fine as well. We both also ordered sodas.
Things started to turn when we got our entrees. I ordered the steak and enchiladas. My wife got the beef chimichangas with an enchilada on the side. My steak was overcooked, but still had some decent flavor, so I didn’t complain. However, the cut was terrible. It was so fatty I barely had any meat to eat. I asked for the red sauce instead of the chili con carne on my enchilada. I now wish I had gotten the chili on it instead. The enchilada was bland. I didn’t finish my meal. Also, I have had their papas (mashed potatoes) before at the location in Wichita. Did they change the recipe and add peppers to it? I’m sorry. I do not like that. My wife said the chimi was decent, but kinda small. Her enchilada was fine.
Then, the hammer came… the bill. For the amount/​quality of the food received vs the bill, it was so not worth the $ 50+ dollars we had to spend to get out of there. The soda is overpriced. Drink water. I have gotten better steaks at other non-​steakhouses. I have gotten better enchiladas. I have gotten better mashed potatoes. I have gotten better queso.
Abuelo’s shoots for the upscale and charges you accordingly. Our meal wasn’t worth the price. There are better options, even better options in Zona Rosa. Don’t waste your time.

This was great food all around! I ordered the classic fajitas with lettuce wraps. Everything was fresh and flavorful and the grilled chicken was excellent. My mother ordered their new seared tuna and loved it! Service was fast and our server, Chandler, was very sweet and on top of things. Great for all palettes, they even offer a gluten sensitive menu and a kids menu. If I’m in KC again I will definitely revisit!

Awesome food, Mexican drinks, and atmosphere. Service was great and fast. I recommend getting some guacamole in addition to your chips and pair it with a nice cool refreshing Pacifico Beer. It’s so good. Will most likely return.

The service was good and the place was clean. Food wise it’s pretty awful.
We rolled in for lunch and immediately got our sodas and chips and salsa. Chips were okay. Salsas (three of them) weren’t so good — one seemed to be green chile, one red chile, and one some kind of mild which was borderline ketchup.
Food wise I has a cheese enchilada with green chile topping, and a beef taco. My cousin had a beef chimichanga. They were mediocre and had very little flavor across the board. I also got black beans and some sort of «Mexican» mashed potatoes, also mediocre.
Aside from the service, food was not good and overpriced. I won’t return to this or any Abuelo’s.