La Juanita

I’ve been gone from Sioux City for 19 years, but this place is about 80% of the reason I still come back to visit. This might be the best Mexican restaurant in the country. I would eat here every single day if I could. Must try!

One of the best Mexican restaurants in Iowa. Food was great, tons of meat in the burritos and all of it for a cheap price. Staff were also very friendly, service was so fast that by the time we got to the table the food was ready for the 3 of us. I look forward to coming back

If you’re looking for authentic Mexican, everything works at La Juanita! From the old school handwritten order process cash only Spanish-speaking to the perfect street tacos. It’s truly amazing.

Believe the reviews. Visited on a Sunday and the line was 10 deep the entire time we sat and ate. CASH ONLY. ATM available. Carne asada and shrimp burrito was so good. Tacos were also great.

Why are you being stingy with the hot sauce?? I bought 10 tacos, a burrito, a birria de res meal, and a seafood tostada. Asked for a lot of hot sauce since we like spicy food but she only put in 6. Made me buy 2 more $1! What the heck? Not counting the birria meal which has more tacos in it! I spent a lot of money there and the condiments provided should at least cover for the items bought. The taco/burrito alone is tasteless without the hot sauce. So how can we finish eating the rest when there is not enough hot sauce around. This is unacceptable! Love the food but not like this. Won’t be returning.

The food is good and for a fair price. My only complaint is that every time I got they always either forget something or my order isn't complete. I got 2 drinks but no straws. Order chicken nuggets and fries and didn't get the nuggets. Order avocado on my nachos but no avocado.

Consistently delicious for decades. Good prices.

Delicious food and great prices! Without a doubt one of the best places to eat in Sioux City. Don't be surprised if the line is out the door, it moves fast. My fave is the steak tacos, which come with lots of freshly chopped onions and cilantro. I love watching them chop the veggies in their open kitchen while I'm in line, like it seriously does not get fresher than that!

Great Nachos and Burrotos huge get plenty to eat price is great!!! Service fantastic, clean restaurant

Hard to beat this authentic Mexican taco spot. Everything was phenomenal while here in town

Our favorite tacos ever!! Super fast service... everything we have tried is delicious. As others have notes, they only take cash.

Great quality food & low prices¡ The only downside is the majority of time, they have a line so it can take a while sometimes. It's cash only, and they have a ATM indoors.

The food is so good it gives me energy and the spices there are really good 10/10 and the way they serve your food is really quick

Loved the nachos here! Ordered them with the pastor, extra red and green sauce. So delicious. The chips were the perfect level of crisp. The sauce had a great amount of heat. Also got two tacos, shrimp and carne asada. Both of those meats were delicious. Definitely would eat here again.

The absolute best Authentic Mexican Restaurant I have been to. It is always busy with lines out the door most weekends. Their customer base encompasses all races and all ages. They season their meat well and allow the customer to choose how much heat they want. That's a blessing to older people who are losing their ability to tolerate spicy foods. For people who love spicy foods, they offer sauces to put on your food to increase the spiciness and flavor. Their salsa Verde is delicious. I love their: Carne Asada tacos and burritos as well as their shrimp tacos and burritos. I have moved away, but my adult children still live there, I have to eat at least one meal from them every time I visit. Their staff is very friendly and helpful. They don't do gringo Mexican, they are the real deal.

La Juanita has been a staple go to of mine for quite a while. I used to always visit this place when I was a kid and lived in Sioux City, and it ended up being apart of my childhood experience. I finally got the chance to revisit this place after 6 years and all I can say is that it tasted exactly as how I remembered. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, it never really mattered. The carne asada tacos here are the best I've tasted, even better than the places around me in Texas. The sopes are to die for, it's my absolute favorite besides the tacos and burritos. An absolutely authentic Mexican restraunt, it's a hidden gem in the North but worth the miles to visit.

Food was amazing!! I tried the asada burrito and let me tell you it was more than enough food to fill you up at a reasonable price . Great service to go along with the great food ! 10/10

I prefer the Sioux City location. South Sioux food always seems messy and not prepared like they care. Service at the Sioux City one is great. Watch out for the big line though during lunch!

Perhaps the most well-organized and hard-working restaurant I've ever encountered, I recommend you sit near the counter both so the cashier can flag you down easily when your food is ready and so you can observe and appreciate his near-ruthless efficiency. It's a simple menu of mostly tacos and burritos, complicated by the fact that you can choose one of perhaps ten (I was too amazed to count) meat options. Our local insider suggested the steak, although we also sampled the pork pastor and shrimp and enjoyed all three. Menu items are served with marinated carrots, made in-house, and tacos have plenty of cilantro - yum! You'll be eating off of paper and styrofoam and with a plastic fork, so just know that in advance. They are open until 2:30am, which I think must make for a very entertaining late evening/early morning. !

Driving 90 minutes from Omaha for a meal at La Juanita is a good idea. Seriously. I'm quite loyal to a few of the many fantastic taquerias in Omaha, but "La Juas," as the locals call it, ranks among the best tacos and burritos I've ever had. They're famous for their carne asada burrito. If that sounds at all good to you, then this should be the first thing you order here. It's full of delicious, marinated steak and little else. All business and no b.s. It's enough for two meals but good luck not scarfing the whole thing down. The tacos are top notch as well. I tried the al pastor, fish and carne asada varieties. Served up on corn tortillas, cilantro and onion on top. And a few pickled carrots for good measure. Add some of the house salsas that are on the tables and enjoy. It's no secret La Juanita serves up amazing made-from-scratch fast food. The line out the door as I got there indicated that quite well. The line moved fast. Just remember to bring cash.

When you and your friend want to celebrate ending a month of dieting and she says, "Let's go get the best steak burrito ever but it's 300 miles away..." you say, "When do we leave?". Trust. "La Jua's" on Pierce has ranked by Esquire magazine as having the 5th best burrito in the whole country,and now I get why. It seems like a straight-forward meat burreet', but the flavorful meat, savory sauce, hearty beans, and perfect amount of cheese make it heavenly. It's nothing but the good stuff. I hate when other places water down a burrito with iceberg lettuce, mealy tomatoes, and too much rice. Peak times are around 6pm and bar close, so expect a line. It's CASH ONLY. And CHEAP. Modelo beers are sold by the bottle, and you'll love the homemade hot sauce and pickled carrots too.

Been going here forever, and still think it's the best Mexican food in town. From their basic burritos to their traditional menudo. This time I got the Lengua (beef tongue) burrito and it is still as good as I remember it from the last. The meat is tender and reminds you of an even softer slow cooker meat, it's savory with smooth refried beans, melts cheese, and just a bit of onions and cilantro. There is no gaminess to any of their meats thus far and let me tell you I love their menudo and there is no gaminess at all! To add some different textures to this extremely juicy and soft burrito i love to add their jalapeño pickled carrots and add some more tang with a couple squeezes of lime. You won't be disappointed and i high recommend this place. Will definitely come again when I'm in town again!

Great food made as you wait. There is takeout or eat in. It's cash only, so bring enough cash with you. You place your order at the counter, then grab a table or stand and wait. They call your order when it's ready. There is usually a line, but the line moves fast. If you like Mexican food this is a must try!

When you see the red and white tile flooring, you know you're in the right place! Yep, there will probably be a long line from the counter to the back door, but it's definitely worth the wait. This is my favorite Mexican restaurant ever. I've been all over searching for a comparable burrito - LA, MPLS, Dallas, etc. I have failed to find anything close. The burrito was voted as one of the most life changing burritos by Esquire magazine. Their tacos will hit the spot too, order the rice and beans on the side. You also can't go wrong with an order of their nachos. I love it all!

I would eat there before 11 pm Because after that hour there is a lot of drunk people coming in. That's not a nice view. Most of the time my food it's for to go Food it's great and stuff it's respectful.

What happened to this place. They have really went down hill in service as well as every time I order something is messed up or missing. Food doesn't even taste the same as it once did. You can tell they have just gotten big and complacent and don't really care about their product because people will still come. I used to rave of this place but now it's next to impossible to rave.

Place was awesome! Not a Sioux City native but my family is and I was visiting. Beef nachos, chicken / fish / beef tacos, and horchata drink (rice water) were all delicious. The whole experience was pretty fantastic as they are processing lots of meat right behind the register with an open kitchen for all to see. Pretty cool. Lots of people there that appreciated the good food, great and flexible menu.

It's ok. There's a lot of Mexican joints to pick from in South Sioux and so many people rave about La Jua's. I find it fine. Kind of like the Mexican equivalent to McDonald's. As in I'll eat here but I rarely ever crave the place. Maybe it's also because I literally live behind the SSC restaurant. Maybe that's also why I don't frequent it more. My husband goes a lot more often than I do. He likes more options. I pretty much stick to the steak and cheese tacos. Sometimes the tortillas are super dry and the meat is super chewy. Other times it absolutely delicious. And you can tell they make it right in house because the fat/onion ratio changes all the time. The chicken is pretty good as well. Their shredded beef is nothing special at all. I really love their 'spicy' carrots and celery they'll give you if you ask. Their individual hot sauce is also really good. I'll save it to put in other dishes I make at home. I like that they sell Mexican soda. In the glass bottle. They also have that rice drink people like. I don't like the rice drink. The drive-thru is a cluster. People just have no common sense or curtesy when they're lined up in the street to use the drive through. They only take cash. Their nachos are pretty good. Surprisingly their French fries are pretty good. Small sit-in restaurant if you want to use that. Walking in and carrying out is the fastest option. They sell Mexican candy, too.

Best food ever the tacos are amazing and melt in your mouth you should come try it and the service is good to

Love everything!! Always get extra hot sauce -it's worth the extra money. The chicken is super moist, the steak is delicious, and the lengua/tongue melts in your mouth (no pun intended). Incredible rice & beans. Have yet to be disappointed with food quality. Sometimes orders get messed up.

Here's the thing... you haven't had Mexican food until you've eaten at La Juanita's. You only think you have. This place will be the foundation on witch you base all other Mexican restaurants off of. Once you eat here, every bite of Mexican food you take, for the rest of your life, will be compared to La Juas. Simply perfection...

They have cockroaches. When I went there to eat a nasty roach came crawling out across the table and down the wall. The food was not like it used to be. Food quality is way down and cost is way up. I would never eat food from there again. Gross.

I guess it's hard for me to give this place more because I'm from California and the tacos out there are more authentic and the asada is something they master out there, as far as these tacos.These tacos are ok, I would say the chorizo is by far the best, the asada is too dry and the red salsa isn't spicy enough. Another problem is they usually get my family's order wrong or the guy up front is always rushing you and barely makes eye contact, also maybe if they had more of a variety of salsas it would be better. It's the best place so far HERE in Sioux City.

Fantastic! We came in town to watch our nephew's college basketball game and take him out to dinner. Love that it's open late too! The food was fresh and delicious! Staff was friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back next time we are in Sioux City!

I visited from Las Vegas and had to see what my Iowa friends deem "Good Mexican". I lived in TN and their idea of good Mexican hinges on enchilada sauce and everything being deep fried. I lived in San Diego for six years so I feel I know good Mexican food. I was astounded by how good the food is here. I was stoked to see lengua, birria, and tripa on the menu and ordered them all, in addition to a carne asada burrito. Shit fire, the food was so damn good. The red salsa had a nice kick to it and they were very liberal with how much they gave. I will be eating here each time I visit my friends in Sioux City.

This got high scores from me because it was delicious. Steak burrito and chicken burrito. Would have got 5 stars but no margaritas Cash only

There is always a line and I'm not sure why. Waited one night and got a variety of tacos. They all had a horrible funky taste. We couldn't even eat them.

This place is amazing!! Always has been. Everything is delicious and they serve all sorts of interesting dishes!!! fish quesadillas r my fav!!

Awesome food. The line was out the back door but moved along fast, as you could tell these guys were pros. The lady at the register was armed with a pen and piece of paper as she took down our order she called out the order in Spanish to the crew. Authentic, well cooked with amazing flavor! I won't give a Mexican restaurant more than 4 stars unless the beans and rice are good, and they nailed it! If this place want 7 hours away from my house I'd be back all the time. Until then all I have is the delicious burn in my mouth from the salsa that's literally fire

Here in Sioux City on business and this place was recommended by everyone and I see why! We've been here three days straight and it is so good definitely recommend if you're a big taco fan like I am. It is CASH ONLY so be prepared! They have an ATM with a $2.25 charge which isn't horrible. Definitely will be back before I leave this trip!

Good authentic cuisine. Can be packed in this tiny location. Not a great atmosphere. Worth a try if you have time. Not your typical sit down dining. More aimed towards take out

Friendly service and ok flavor. Nothing really stood out on this place to me. The flavor was ok but not great. May have been authentic but don't know. Service was fast but rushed. Cheap to reasonable prices. Bathrooms not even close to ADA accessible.

La Jua's is a routine stop when I'm in the Sioux City area to see family. It's just so good. I love the carne asada and carnitas tacos. A few pro tips... -CASH ONLY -Busy on Fridays and near bar close -TRY THE CARROTS -You can add things like avocado, cheese and sour cream if you so desire -Coca cola in glass bottles

Best tacos I've ever had in my life. We order at least once a week and they are incredibly fast and tasty.

Not my taste at all. Greasy and flavorless, but apparently it's all the rage in Sioux City.

The best Mexican in town! Most people from the area would agree, it's a Sioux City staple. Just to prepare: it's cash only (although they do have an ATM inside) and expect to wait a while since the lines are always extremely long. Trust me though it's worth the wait!

That is a worse restaurant to go eat did not like the food it is not like it was 10 years ago when I come up from California it is not good

Best authentic Mexican restaurant in the area. Not a traditional "chips and salsa first" type of place. More a taqueria. Very good. Bring cash!!!!

Steak Burrito is the best. So filling and loaded with beans and meat it's delicious!! Don't let the line scare you. Make sure to get the pickled carrots and jalapeños tasty and gives an extra kick to your meal. Delicious

Gone way down hill. Used to be the best place! If you are wanting something after a bar it's great but I don't drink so not so much.

I understand why this place is so overrated. It sits in the middle of a very small nowhere city. I thought that the meat was chewy and old. It's way overrated because the drunk and druggies love to go there after they get high.

Love this place. Nothing flashy. Just great food and great prices. My personal favorite is the carne asada.

Ugggghhhhh... This place was recommended to me by some of the folks I work with in Sioux City. I thought it was odd that none of them wanted to come with me, but I strapped on my SoCal shoes and headed over to what they described as an "authentic" Mexican restaurant. The place seems promising.... It's a dump! However there were a ton of people there at lunch time. The grill was loaded with great looking chicken, so when I asked the order guy "What's good?" And he said "Burritos" I ordered one with chicken. What I got was a shredded mess... Where's all that chicken going? See the picture... Bring cash if you're going (no CCs accepted?)... But otherwise defect to Taco Bell! Here's the rundown: Satisfied: No Return: No Advocate: Hell Nooooooooooo!

Overall this place is one of the best in the MidWest (coming from a San Diegan). You can't beat their double-tortillas tacos which are packed with meat for only $1.25. Definitely try the steak, pastor and cabeza. Ambiance: This place is clearly popular with the line often extending up the stairs and out the door sometimes. Despite the patient volume, however, the staff run a tight ship with the chefs cranking orders out within 4 minutes. You can often see the guy on the grill cooking a mound of meat as large as his torso. They literally peel carrots 1.5 seconds which is simply amazing. Food: I've tried almost every taco and my favorites are definitely the carne asada, cabeza and pastor. They are all flavorful, moist, tender, and plain good. The cabeza is stewed and shredded which makes it extra tasty and offers a different texture from the carne asada. The lengua burrito is probably scary for most people but the tongue is mostly muscle and dark-meat with fat which makes for a flavorful and moist taco. My least favorite is the carnitas which is tasty but tough and a touch dry. I also like the sauce they offer which is decently bodied, complex and has noticeable heat without being overwhelming. The pickled carrots were a bit soft (common among restaurants) and grossly under-pickled. The carrots should be tangy and spicy but tasted like water-soaked carrots instead. The piña (pineapple-flavored water) is also super tasty and only a buck which is awesome. The horchata (sugary-cinnamon milk and rice water) was OK but had a slightly minty/mentholy taste which I though was weird but not totally unpleasant.

Mediocre food at best, and it's cash only. I understand Sioux City, Iowa isn't a Mexican food mecca, but there must be something better. Food: They didn't have guacamole here when I rolled in (though they did have avocado). Not having guacamole at a Mexican restaurant is like not having pasta at an Italian joint. Faggeddaboutit! They also didn't have club soda. I ordered what may be their popular menu item, the burrito combo (see pic). Putting pickled carrots on top of the burrito was novel, and added a creative new flavor/texture to the classic burrito. Otherwise, it did not taste too good, and ingredients didn't seem of a particularly high quality. Atmosphere: fluorescent lighting and wooden particle-board stalls. This place isn't romantic or beautiful inside, but I don't think that's their intent. The one upside is that seating is plentiful. Also, they have a jukebox that plays Mexican music - which is awesome! But yeah, otherwise, not exactly beautiful inside. Service: I feel horrible for giving this less-than-stellar review, because the people working behind the counter were nice, cool people. They also seemed to take pride in their food. Price: The greatest upside to this place, aside from the jukebox, is the price. My meal cost about $9 all in (drink and burrito), though the cash only bit sucked.

FANTASTIC, Authentic, Northern region Mexican cuisine. La Jaunita or "La-waas" as it's become known in local circles makes excellent, fast Mexican food at a cheap price. Their ingredients are fresh - from crunchy, healthy vegetables to excellent cuts of meat sliced daily (in front of you!). I am always impressed by the quality and consistency of their food every visit. If you're looking for a LOCAL, fantastic "fast food" Mexican experience (homemade salsa too), check them out. La Juanita's features dine-in (bench style seating) and take out. This review is for the 1316 Pierce street location. 5 Stars for Best "Fast Food" Mexican Restaurant - Western Iowa

Favorite place to get Mexican food hands down, every time I get anything from la Juanita's, it's top tier and always satisfies me and my hunger. If you're looking for the best burritos in town then definitely come here!