Rita’s Cantina is now open for the 2023 season! Located in the East Village River Market District, Rita’s offers a delicious menu of tacos, enchiladas, taquitos and more! Rita’s is known for our margarita flights, queso flights, homemade salsa, and 12 + flavors of margaritas on our sizable outdoor patio! Our Guac-o-clock Happy Hour goes from 3 – 6 pm every Monday through Friday.
Based on 444 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.1 stars. Price
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Takeout ✔️ Delivery
Address:
401 SE 5th St, Des Moines, IA 50309
Phone: (515) 777-1012
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Sunday | 11 AM–10 PM |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
Closed
Holiday hours
|
| Tuesday | 11 AM–10 PM |
| Wednesday | 11 AM–10 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–10 PM |
| Friday | 11 AM–10 PM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–10 PM |
Menu
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Menu Photos
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Reviews
Shane Howard
This was my first time at Rita’s & I was very impressed! The margherita flight was fun, the queso flight was tasty, the entrees that my group ordered had no complaints, & the service was adequate. The margarita flight has a small sample of 4 different flavors that varied from each other enough so that you knew they were 4 different drinks but they all were very good, my favorite might have been the watermelon. The queso was fantastic too! They start you out with chips & salsa but I ordered the queso for my group to share & everyone raved about the different varieties! My steak & potato burrito was great also, it was well prepared & was probably one of the best burritos I’ve ever had. The only knock I’ll give them is our server was busy watching whatever game they had on the TV that day & my group had to work to get his attention for refills. Overall it was a good experience!
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Jeff Savage
Just stopped in on a whim for a quick lunch and could’ve been any happier the staff (specifically my waitress). The food was good and the El Patron Margarita was definitely good! Will definitely be back the next time I am in the area.
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Joseph Blubaugh
This was outstanding. The food was terrific, the staff was friendly and quick. The atmosphere was fun. Come here.
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Melinda Bianchi
Met some friends here. We each got a different margarita flight. They were all too sweet for me but still fun nonetheless. The fish tacos are so good! The tamales; however, were sweet. We were looking for something savory when ordering those. They were still good, just not what we expected. They gave us a birthday cake ice cream taco since we were all there celebrating our birthdays, too. That was really nice. I’d get the mahi mahi tacos again if I went back, and probably just order a regular marg.
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Fran will
The service was friendly and knowledgeable. The food was unique and delicious. And the drinks were Amazing! I can’t wait to go back. Great place. The patio is very nice and the whole place is colorful and festive.
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Rojane Francis
Staff was very friendly & the atmosphere was amazing and welcoming!!
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Kelsey
We have driven by this place many times and always comment that we need to check it out. Today we finally did, and Rita’s Cantina did not disappoint! Food was delicious and atmosphere very enjoyable. The patio is perfect for summer dining. We will definitely be back!
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Chris Jeffrey
Fun upbeat atmosphere with flights of margaritas and queso! Both the queso and margaritas were excellent. Great service and our food was quick out of the kitchen. Our meals were great. Looking forward to returning.
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Luxury Lifestyle Group SMG
While I think that the host & wait staff are wonderful I can’t say the same about the kitchen staff. I ordered the shrimp tacos for lunch & they sent out under cooked shrimp. I was flabbergasted. However I did inform my server & they took the meal off my ticket. Because I like the vibe & environment I’m still debating on if I want to give them another try or not. Rita’s word of advice cook your shrimp all the way through, nobody wants medium rare shrimp!
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Hannah Rice
Phenomenal food but the service was almost comically horrible. My coworker and I were made very uncomfortable by both the waitress and bartender. The waitress was in general very rude and inattentive and the bartender accused us of being underage because we are from out of state. Overall very odd experience, but the food is absolutely wonderful.
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