El Rey Azteca - Bloomington

Really good authentic food! Very tasty. Best tacos I've had in bloomington

Really good authentic food! very delicious. best tacos I had in bloomington

I personally never heard of a Mexican restaurant having a buffet, but decided to check it out with my wife when I saw the “Buffet” sign when driving by the “El Rey Azteca” on 3rd street last week. Best spur of the moment choice I made that week. I grew up with homemade Mexican food, and usually judge any Mexican restaurant based on their beans and rice. All restaurants I’ve gone to in Bloomington have usually had decent food, but they always seem to have the beans tasting either watered down, or canned. I can’t really blame most places for their beans not being up to standard, as making food in volume can cause people to take shortcuts, like using canned beans (My family would use canned beans when they didn’t have time to make the normal way so I’m familiar with the flavor). This restaurant however truly surprised me as the first thing I noticed is that their beans tasted homemade. Their rice also tasted great, a bit strong in flavor, but really good. Their main dish options, whether pork, beef, or vegetable, were also pretty good. Almost as good as my mom’s cooking. :P So this is just my first impression. They are not a perfect buffet, as their desert option was basically regular donuts and jello, but I honestly didn’t care as I was too full from the other options that all tasted really good. I’m looking forward to trying their regular fare when I have a chance on a weeknight/date night sometime soon . Their buffet is available on the weekdays from 11 to 2pm.

The food probably would have been good, but the water they use for there drinks and cooking is city water extremely strong with chlorine. The chlorine was really strong in the drinks from fountain machine. I have also never had carrots and potatoes included in my rice and in the ground beef. In my opinion not good. The service and staff were very friendly though.

My lady and I stopped in for a late lunch. The restaurant was clean, we were seated immediately and had a few minutes to peruse the menu. The salsa that was brought to the table was excellent, very fresh and delicious. We asked for a suggestion from the host and chose the Sope. I asked for sour cream on the side. When the dish arrived (quickly) it has the sour cream on top. When we told the host, he took it away with absolutely no fuss or bother, apologized for the mistake. Just as quickly I was presented with a new plate. My wife and I enjoyed the entire meal and the experience. The staff was very nice and friendly. He even offered for us to sample some of the ice creams they stock. Wow! The tequila ice cream is amazing! We felt welcomed and well taken care of. We will be back.