The Waukee Brief
Waukee has a genuinely good and growing lineup of Mexican restaurants, from family-owned cantinas with housemade tortillas to taco-and-torta spots and a fast build-your-own counter. Here's the local rundown of where to go, what each is known for, and where the metro's bigger selection sits just over the line.
For Mexican food in Waukee, the local favorites include Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant and El Guacamole Patio & Cantina for full sit-down menus, Blue Agave Street Tacos and Margaritas and TNT's Tacos N' Tortas for tacos and tortas, and Panchero's Mexican Grill for a fast build-your-own burrito. Tastes vary and spots change, so treat this as a starting point and check current hours.
Both sit along the Hickman Road corridor, and Waukee keeps adding restaurants, so it's worth exploring past the first result.
Blue Agave Street Tacos and Margaritas (9500 SE University Ave) builds its name around street tacos and margaritas, and TNT's Tacos N' Tortas (1184 SE University Ave) adds Mexican tortas to the taco lineup. Both are the taco-first, casual end of the Waukee scene, and both sit along SE University Avenue on the town's south side.
Panchero's Mexican Grill is the quick, build-your-own choice in Waukee, with the tortilla pressed to order and fresh-mashed guac. It's an Iowa-grown quick-service chain rather than a sit-down cantina, which makes it the easy weeknight or lunch default.
Waukee sits right on the West Des Moines line along University Avenue, so the metro's larger selection of taquerias, food trucks, and cantinas is only minutes east. If you strike out on hours in town, the Jordan Creek and University Avenue corridors in West Des Moines are a short drive.
Chasing a particular craving? See our guides to the best restaurants in Waukee, the best pizza, breakfast and brunch, and the breweries and bars for the full local food map. Can't decide? Let our dinner picker choose for you.
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Local favorites include Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant and El Guacamole Patio & Cantina for full sit-down menus, Blue Agave Street Tacos and Margaritas and TNT's Tacos N' Tortas for tacos and tortas, and Panchero's Mexican Grill for a fast build-your-own burrito. Tastes vary, so try a few.
Blue Agave Street Tacos and Margaritas on SE University Avenue focuses on street tacos and margaritas, and TNT's Tacos N' Tortas on SE University Avenue serves tacos and Mexican tortas.
El Guacamole Patio & Cantina on West Hickman Road is known for guacamole made to order and margaritas, with homemade tortillas and a patio. Blue Agave also builds its name around margaritas.
Yes, Panchero's Mexican Grill is the fast, build-your-own choice in Waukee, with the tortilla pressed to order. It's a quick-service Iowa-grown chain rather than a sit-down cantina.
Yes. Waukee has family-owned Mexican restaurants including Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant and El Guacamole Patio & Cantina, plus taco-and-torta spots like Blue Agave and TNT's Tacos N' Tortas. For an even bigger selection, the West Des Moines side of University Avenue is minutes away.