Here at El Rey Cocina & Cantina in Columbia, Mo, it is the aspiration of the Perez family and our team to help give you notable moments that we all deserve. Providing outstanding service and great quality food is our priority. The Perez family has worked in the Mexican restaurant business for more than 25 years. We chose the name Papi’s because it is also commonly used as a general term in Spanish-speaking cultures to politely show attention to any man, such as a friend, relative, or lover. We say Papi and serve our food con mucho cariño. As a family-owned restaurant. We would like to share a little bit of Mexico with you.
We thank you for stopping by and allowing us to share our traditions
Based on 85 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.1 stars. Price
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Curbside pickup ✔️ No delivery
Address:
132 S 9th St, Columbia, MO 65201
Phone: (573) 442-5389
Website: http://www.elreycocina.com/
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
11 AM–9 PM
Hours might differ
|
| Tuesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Friday | 11 AM–10 PM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–10:30 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–10 PM |
Menu
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Photo Gallery
Reviews
Elisha H
Food was fantastic! Margs are so good! I got their tacos and they were great! My momma got a taco salad and liked it, and my dad got their fajitas and really enjoyed those as well. The queso was queso, I feel like they coulda spiced it up a bit especially for being 10 bucks (for the large).
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Khushi Kumar
Great Mexican food in Columbia! Ambiance is super cute, and their frozen Margs are great. They have authentic Mexican dishes available on the menu as well. I recommend dishes with seafood and Flan here! Will be coming back for sure to try more!
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Michelle Johnson
My husband and I came downtown not knowing what we wanted walked by and this place just seem to call to us lol…. No air on so do t go if you want to be in AC but man the food and drinks were amazing. The cucumber jalapeño margarita was PERFECT!!! The Birria taco plate was amazing the meat had excellent flavor and consume was yummy!
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Nicole M
okay, food was good service was meh. the place is decorated really cute but expect to be hot in there as there is not any ac. it was overall fine but i don’t think we will go back.
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Amy Rothwell
Have been a few times now, everything is amazing! I keep picking something new every time and each dish is better than the last. My current favorite is the salmon! Drinks are delicious and reasonably priced. Service has been top-notch. Definitely a contender for my new favorite place
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Joshua Spurgeon
Just what I was looking for!
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Nathaniel Whitlock
The food was awesome, but the service was absolutely terrible. Didn’t get our drinks until we were done with our meal and never got our queso. Never got water refills and I had to physically get up and walk to a server to get her to bring our check. After fifteen minutes of waiting for just that, I was over it. The bartender also hadn’t ever heard of one of the drinks on the menu… When the drink did finally come out, it was just straight vodka. Probably wouldn’t recommend just bc the service is so bad
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Michael Collins
Like the look and overall feel of this place. The wait staff is very friendly. Food was very delicious, decent portion for the price. I do have to say the queso and guac is kind of expensive for the sizes they give you.
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John Sullins
I would consider myself a local Columbia foodie. We eat dinner out at least 6 nights a week and always look forward to trying new restaurants. Went here for dinner one night and it was a terrible experience. The service was probably the worst I have ever had in Columbia. The person that seated us didn’t give us menus or silverware. We had to go ask for them later. Drinks took a really long time, so long that I cancelled my second order. There was no interest from any of the staff in their customers. Food was average at best, but when paired with the service I would never recommend this restaurant. I have submitted hundreds of reviews online and rarely give a rating this poor.
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Jeanine Schmuke
Worst dining experience ever!! I was so looking forward to eating here after seeing some of the pics of their food, especially the birria tacos. But, on a Friday evening we entered a nearly vacant, extremely warm/humid restaurant, with zero airflow. In hindsight, wish we would of just went somewhere else, but you live and learn. I could go into great detail about how I was brought a margarita that tasted like coconut(gross), my birria tacos were more like mini tacos that were flavorless and grease poured out on the first bite, the service was slow(we were the only table there and the waitress said they had a cook walk out), then we were over-charged by about $30 and for things we didn’t order. I told the waitress and she said she’d tell her manager/owner, and I’m thinking it would be a simple fix. However, I was interrogated for over 10 minutes as to why I was wrong about my bill being wrong and the owner proceeded to interrogate and blame the waitress for putting the order in wrong. He was so rude and his behavior was appalling!! Finally, my bill was mostly fixed(I just kinda gave up bc I wanted out of that oven of a restaurant and was tired of arguing!) I can definitely see why the place was nearly empty and I’m not surprised a cook quit, given the way the owner/manager treats his customers, and his employees!
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