Gutierrez Cocina Mexicana - Hays

We stopped here on our way to Colorado and found a family friendly place serving delicious food. Staff was wonderful and so was everything we ordered. Can easily see why it is so popular with the locals. We would highly recommend stopping here!

Very busy, especially on Friday afternoon with a waiting list. Limited parking in the parking lot for the high number of guests. This is a local favorite. Ask for the hot sauce, which is a green salsa. Chips are thin and crispy. Nice, fresh flavor. The decor is nice. Roomy with multiple dining rooms. Bar area with space to eat at the bar. Black beans, refried beans, garlic mashed potatoes are all superb.

Gutierrez Cocina Mexicana, located in Hays, KS, is a great way to complete a busy day. The waiters are friendly courteous; the food is served cooked just right, delicious and in a timely manner. The bar is glamorous to look at and our Lime Margarita was very good!

Gutierrez says they serve 'authentic Tex-Mex ' and that 's definitely what it is. You 're not going to get true Mexican cuisine here, and there are other places in bigger cities where you 'll get better Tex-Mex, but for Hays, Kansas this place is great- and definitely worth a stop when you 're driving through. Complimentary chips salsa were delicious- chips were warm and they serve both puréed and chunky salsas. They 're both mild though- would 've been nice to have some more heat. We ordered the queso too, and while it looked like it was straight out of a jar, it was very flavorful and better than many restaurant queso we 've tried. My daughter I shared the cheese quesadilla. Unfortunately it was dripping in oil, but after we used multiple napkins to soak it dry, we enjoyed it- the tortilla was perfectly toasty and it was absolutely filled with cheese. The guacamole served on the side was some of the best I 've ever had- fresh and chunky and tasted like avocado. I hate when guac is loaded with onion and tomato. My mom really enjoyed her taco salad, except the edible bowl was a weird texture- I tried it and it just tasted off, like maybe it was undercooked. The desserts (fried ice cream and sopapillas, among them) were tempting, but we were stuffed from our appetizer and meal. The place is cutely decorated and our waitress was sweet, polite, and attentive.

The more things change the more they stay the same. Gutierrez is a Hays staple. It was here before I arrived and although it's undergone some renovations and redecorating, it's moving full steam ahead after I've been gone for some time. While the food may not exactly be authentic, it is really good. I tend to pig out on the pre-meal chips and salsa so I usually end up taking half of my meal home. It had been a bit, but this last trip was no different. There isn't much of a beer or cocktail list, but the margaritas, if you're into this sort of thing, are pretty good. It was good being back in the ole hood and it was even better dining at an old haunt. I can't wait to come back, which hopefully will be sooner than later.