Let’s review Carlos O’Kelly’s!
The restaurant advertises themselves as “Inspired Mex”. This family owned and operated chain originated in Marion, Iowa in 1981. After growing to over 40 locations thirty years later, they now have just 17 locations nationwide with three here in Wichita.
For the purposes of this #SaturChains review, we swung over to their 47th & Broadway location for dine in. Our family loves Mexican food and from their webpage, they say “Maybe not what you expect from flavor that’s distinctively Mexican. Then again, you’re not looking for something expected. You seek out the amazing.”
We went in with open an open mind and were prepared to be amazed.
Our dinner started off complimentary chips and salsa. It was the thick style of salsa one would find at many Tex-Mex spots. It had a high garlic content. Here’s the thing about salsa. If it’s placed in front of me, I’m going to pig out as I find it extremely addicting. I knew this was the type that would leave me burping salsa for the rest of the day.
For dinner, we had a mixture of burritos, enchiladas and chimichangas (some of which you can see below). The delivery time and service in general were great. Everything arrived in a timely manner.
Our dinner though was, for the most part, uninspiring. A few things that stuck out in our meals: the chicken was dry, our rice was cold and the enchiladas were bland. The enchiladas had a room temperature sauce had the texture as if it was nuked in the microwave. None of our meals had that big bright pop of flavor, it all felt like the same meal but with different looks if you know what I mean.
We always try to seek out amazing and this wasn’t it.
Here’s their menu:
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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We eat at this Carlos O’Kellys location regularly. My husband and I love it, my favorite is the chicken/shrimp fajitas. We also like the salsa and the Queso with our chips. It is not traditional Mexican cuisine but then again it is not advertised as that. Tex mex is a different flavor. We have also ordered some of their Meal’s to go and we were happy with all the different ones we got. There must be some reason Carlos O’Kellys has been around since 1981. People need to understand that a review is just one persons opinion. You may think some restaurant is awesome and the next guy may hate it.
I’ve ate there a handful of times, it’s food from a franchise so I knew what to expect. None of the food I ever order is nasty or gross or lacking taste. It’s pretty good food for a fair price. nothing to really complain about unless your an entitled picky person that needs attention writing bad reviews. No chain restaurant in the world is gonna make food like your mom made for you while you lived in her basement until you was 37 years old.