Carlos O’kelly’s

This place had good food and drinks. The margarita specials were good. The service was fine, our waitress knew the menu and was able to answer questions and recommend items. The Chimichanga was very good, the chips ad salsa were freshly made. The atmosphere was decent. The thing that I didn’t care for was the off duty employees sitting drinking at the bar and a gaggle of on duty staff and bartender was focused on her and not the customers.

The only good things here are the drinks and fresh chips. I ordered fish tacos that were supposed too be made with tilapia, but there’s no way those thick grey fillets were anything close to tilapia. The fish was old and disgusting, the Spanish rice was overly salty, and the beans were straight of a can. The only thing fresh in the pico de gallo, made with crushed tomatoes, were the red onions. If you know what real Mexican food is, run far, far away from this place.

My girlfriend and I stopped at Carlos O’Kelly’s while we were in town because one of our coworkers said it was her favorite place to eat. When we arrived the staff ignored us for a weirdly long time, even though there were three of them standing at the hostess desk. When they did seat us we were brought to what I can only describe as the filthiest, most disgusting booth I have ever seen. My girlfriend and I do not have particularly high standards and are generally pretty easy to please, but we were both truly shocked and apalled at the condition of this booth. the aisle looked as though the servers had plowed a thin, winding path to walk on – there was garbage smashed up against the booths, with a spage about a foot wide to walk down. Chips fragments, napkins, straw wrappers, etc. We were horrified. we climbed into our booth, gazed upon the garbage-​pit around us, and could not help but wonder – if this was the part of the restaurant that they were allowing/​expecting guests to see, what did the kitchen look like? Disgusted and still hungry, we left, and never EVER plan on going back.

Fun atmosphere and the thinnest chips in town. Their salsa is a little less spicy than I like but they have great margaritas.

The food is SO good. I had spinach and mushroom enchiladas with cilantro rice and black beans. Yummy! The waitress was super friendly and checked back often. Definitely go here.

Was disappointed. Too much Tex and not enough Mex. Service was great! Queso dip seemed like it was made with some jar/​can cheese, at least tasted like it. The mashed potatoes were instant! The Cadillac Chimichanga was ok, just kind of plain.

Wow, I use to love this place, the chips and salsa were great!!! Now they suck and I won’t even eat them they are that bad. The food came hot the server was fine but the cooks added peppers to my dish. The menu does not list peppers and I know this because peppers give me heartburn. Drinks are good and portions kinda big. I will try something else next time but the chips and salsa are not worth it.

Have been in town for a week «visiting» Mayo Clinic. Have eaten at several places and had overall good experiences. Tonight I had a craving for Mexican type food — a burrito in particular. Carlos O’kellys came up on my search app and the reviews and menu looked good.
The food and service were awesome! Lots of choices and flexibility in the food and drink choices. Our waitress, Tara, was very personable and attentive. The food came out quickly, perfect quantity, and was great! Drink specials were a bonus too. All in all this really hit the spot!
I don’t take the time to do reviews often, but I thought that my experience here warranted it :)
If you want good mexican-​type food with lots of options and flexibility, with great service and drink specials in a casual atmosphere, this may be the place for you too.

Being from SoCal I’m a Mexican foodie. Probably 3 or 4 times a week. Can’t understand the reviews here. It’s not the best but pretty darn good for Minnesota. Good food. Good portions. Decent drinks. And the service was right on at the bar.

Very slow service at lunch. Disappointing portion size. The food was really good, though. But it took an hour and a half to finish.
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Really good Mexican food with a ton of choices. I had the BBQ chicken tacos and I will be getting them again! Free chips and salsa when you arrive as well!

By far my favorite Mexican restraunt in Rochester. The service is great and the food is amazing. They have a huge menu with big portions. Don’t be suprised if you need a to-​go box for the next day! The margaritas are awesome. The chili con queso with chips is a great appetizer as well. If you want great food and friendly service; I would suggest Carlos O’Kellys.

Service was extremely slow and it was only 4 pm and they were not busy. After complaining and requesting service, I had to ask for service a second time only told I had to wait for a server even though there were employees standing around chatting with each other instead of working. Not worth the prices they charge, food mediocre at best

Carlos O’Kelly’s sounds like it should be an Irish establishment to me, but its not, its Mexican food. Delicious Mexican Food.
Like every proper Mexican Restaurant, they start you off with warm chips and salsa. We ordered the guacamole to go with our warm chips and it did not disappoint.
Our table of 7 were seated and served promptly. The server was pleasant and gave us just the right amount of attention, making sure our beverages were full but not being overly attentive interrupting conversation or coming by, asking questions, when our mouths were full of food.
I tried their strawberry mojito margarita and was very pleased with the taste and volume of the drink. They have a ‘margarita tour’ right now (for ladies only). You get a punch card and try a bunch of different drinks. If you fill your punch card before Labor Day you get a cool Margarita set, including glasses and mixes.
I ordered the Seafood Enchilada’s. These were the best I have had, and it is typically what I order at these joints. They were flavorful and didn’t rely on being smothered in cheese sauce to be delicious. There were big chunks of fish inside, not just frozen shrimp. A choice of two sides came with my order; I decided on the mexican rice and cheesy potatoes (can’t remember what they called them); these were both good, but not anything super special.
Since we had more than 6 people at our table they automatically added the tip. I don’t like when places to this, but I do understand why they do. But I guess it makes it easier to pay, no math skillz needed.

Not horrible, but not all that great. Hailing from Texas we (husband and i) have high standards for mexican and Tex-​Mex food. we get that we wont find up here what we are used to back home. But good is good and meh is meh.
The chips I liked, salsa was decent. We’ve learned to keep it simple at Mexican restaurants up here. Gt the fajita chicken quesadillas and they were actually pretty good. Cant really go too wrong with chicken fajita meat and cheese in between a couple of tortillas. My husband got a combo with a crunchy taco and a burrito. He said the taco was pretty good but that the burrito was fast foodish.
*** I’m updating my review for COK’s because we’ve found a winner of a dish! A couple, actually. The chicken fajitas? DELICIOUS! So good we’ve been back several times for fajitas. Also, their queso (ADD BEEF!!!) is really good! Also, my husband has been getting a little portion of super hot salsa and loves it. Too hot for me, but he likes hot and spicy.
My RE-​review is based on their fajitas and queso =)

My daughter and I come here a lot. Good kid’s menu options. Tacos are good. Chips and salsa are great. However, today could have been a lot better. We were sat at a booth. The fabric on the back part is pretty frayed. I think it’s time to redo it. Madeline was our server. Friendly girl, but she has a lot lacking as far as being a good server. We asked for the fiesta randy for the chips twice and never go it. No drink refills. Never came back to check on us once we got our food. I don’t get why all of her tables around us were never offered a dessert, but when asked if they were ready for their bill, they said no and ordered dessert. We were going to get a dessert, but we just wanted to get out.
We will be back. I do like the tacos and chips/​salsa. I prefer a different Mexican place in Rochester, but the kids like their meals there, better.

Bad food and bad décor, wait staff was friendly. Would NOT recommend to a friend.

WHY DO PEOPLE COME HERE??? WHYYYY???
This place is beyond gross, Taco Bell does a better job of making their fake beef taste good.
Drinks– Margaritas are overpriced and gross, too bitter and not enough sugar.
Chips– Thin and greasy and too salty
Salsa– You mean flavorless tomato paste?
Pico Enchiladas– Ok ok, this was my fault for getting a «lite» meal, however this does not mean they’re allowed to make it taste awful by using frozen spinach, canned mushrooms and precooked chicken cubes. Blech, I had leftovers and refused to take them home.
Never again will I waste precious stomach space in this poor excuse for a Mexican restaurant.

My mom and I stopped here while we were in Rochester based on my neverending quest for the perfect nachos. We were not disappointed in these ones! They weren’t the best I’ve ever had, but they were plentiful and flavorful :) Just like any nacho should be!
All in all, the food was great, the service was quick, and we ended up ordering WAY too much food based on the fact that it was just two small women ordering. But they have really good lunch specials, and our bill was around $ 20 for the two of us! Not too shabby!

Yet another average Mexican place with average flavor.
The free salsa was a little bland. We asked for the «atomic» mix. After adding that, the flavor was slightly better but it still was not hot at all. It must be the Irish in it.
The food was good – much like most places are.
I did appreciate the menu offering a low calorie options. I did not take part in those options but that does mean a lot to me on a normal day.
If you have never been there, it is worth the affordable options during lunch.
Tell them Werewolf sent you… actually don’t. They have no idea who I am.