Unearth The Voyage
There is a place in Des Moines, Iowa, where you can pile your plate high with slow-roasted birria, handmade tortillas, rich mole, and creamy tres leches cake, all for one flat price. Most people drive right past it without a second glance, which means the ones who do stop are treated to something genuinely special.
An all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet sounds almost too good to be true, but this spot delivers a spread that covers nearly every corner of Mexican cuisine. Once you find it, you will wonder how you ever missed it.
Where to Find This Mexican Buffet in Des Moines
Not every great restaurant announces itself with a flashy sign or a prime downtown address. Margaritas Mexican Buffet and Catering sits at 1810 Army Post Rd, Des Moines, Iowa 50315, tucked inside the Clarion Inn.
The location might catch you off guard the first time, but that unassuming setting is part of its charm.
Once you step inside, the atmosphere shifts completely. The dining room feels warm and inviting, with a clean layout and enough space for families, couples, and groups passing through the city.
The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday, with Saturday and Sunday hours starting as early as 9 AM, making it a solid brunch option too.
Knowing the schedule before you go matters, since the restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Plan accordingly and you will be rewarded with one of the most generous spreads in the city.
The All-You-Can-Eat Concept That Sets It Apart
A true all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet is genuinely rare. Most Mexican restaurants operate a la carte, so the buffet format here immediately makes Margaritas stand out from every other option in Des Moines.
You pay one price and eat as much as you want, which changes the entire dining experience.
The freedom to try a little of everything without worrying about the bill adds a relaxed, exploratory quality to the meal. First-timers often find themselves going back for seconds not out of hunger alone, but out of sheer curiosity about what else is waiting in those warming trays.
Weekend pricing runs around $21.99 per adult, while weekday visits tend to come in a bit lower, around $17 per person. For the volume and variety on offer, most people leave feeling like they came out ahead.
That value proposition keeps regulars coming back consistently.
Slow-Roasted Meats That Anchor the Buffet
The meats at this buffet are the main event, and they earn that status. The slow-roasted birria beef arrives tender enough to fall apart at the touch of a spoon, carrying deep, earthy flavor from a long braise.
It works beautifully as a taco filling when paired with the fresh tortillas and fixings nearby.
The lechon, a slow-roasted pork dish, is another standout. It has that soft, pull-apart texture that only comes from patient, low-heat cooking.
Both proteins show real technique behind them, the kind of cooking that takes hours and cannot be faked or rushed.
Beyond birria and lechon, the buffet also features options like asada, pollo, and puerco prepared in various styles. Having that range means everyone at the table can find something that suits their taste, from those who love bold seasoning to those who prefer milder profiles.
Fresh Tortillas Made to Order
Few things at a Mexican buffet signal quality the way fresh tortillas do. At Margaritas, you can request fresh tortillas brought directly to your table, and they arrive warm and soft with that slightly charred edge that only comes from cooking them fresh.
Pre-packaged tortillas simply cannot compete with this.
Having warm tortillas on hand transforms the entire taco experience. You can layer them with birria, asada, or whatever protein catches your eye, then finish with salsa from the expansive salsa bar.
Each bite has a completely different character depending on what you choose to add.
The fact that the kitchen keeps up with tortilla requests during a busy buffet service says something about the operation. It would be easy to skip this detail and let the buffet run itself, but the extra effort makes a noticeable difference in how the meal feels overall.
The Salsa Bar and Taco Station
The salsa bar at Margaritas deserves its own moment of appreciation. Multiple salsa options line up alongside classic taco toppings like chopped onion, cilantro, and lime, giving you full control over how you build each bite.
It is the kind of setup that rewards people who like to customize everything on their plate.
The taco station nearby keeps things simple and effective. Proteins sit ready in warming trays, tortillas are fresh on request, and the toppings are right there waiting.
You can build a traditional street-style taco in about thirty seconds, then go back and build a completely different one on the next trip.
For taco lovers, this setup alone justifies the visit. The combination of protein variety, fresh tortillas, and a well-stocked salsa bar creates a taco experience that feels personal rather than assembly-line, which is a tricky balance to strike at a buffet of this scale.
Flautas, Mole, and Other Regional Highlights
Beyond the taco station, the buffet stretches into dishes that reflect a much broader range of Mexican cooking. Flautas, both beef and chicken, arrive crispy and satisfying, the kind of snack you keep reaching for even when you think you are already full.
They hold up well under buffet conditions, which is not always easy to pull off.
The mole chicken is one of the more impressive offerings on the line. Mole is a complex sauce that takes serious time and skill to develop properly, with layers of chili, chocolate, and spice that build slowly on the palate.
Seeing it on a buffet at all is notable.
Other regional dishes like chipotle chicken, quesabirria, and tamales round out a spread that clearly goes beyond the standard Americanized Mexican menu. Each dish adds something different, and together they paint a much fuller picture of what Mexican cuisine actually looks like.
Pozole and Soup With Giant Prawns
Soup might not be the first thing you think about at a Mexican buffet, but the options here are worth a dedicated trip back to the buffet line. Pozole, a traditional Mexican hominy soup with a rich red or green broth, appears regularly and draws its own loyal following among regulars who know exactly what they are getting into.
The shrimp soup is another conversation starter. Giant prawns in a flavorful broth create a dish that feels more like a special occasion meal than a buffet item.
The size of the shrimp alone tends to surprise first-time visitors who were not expecting seafood of that quality at this price point.
Soup stations at buffets often feel like afterthoughts, but these options feel intentional and well-executed. They add warmth and depth to a meal that already has plenty going for it, making the overall spread feel genuinely complete rather than just wide.
Lengua, Camarones, and Authentic Protein Options
One of the clearest signs that a Mexican restaurant is cooking with authenticity is the presence of lengua on the menu. Beef tongue is a traditional protein that appears across many regional Mexican cuisines, and finding it at a buffet in Des Moines is genuinely unexpected.
It speaks to a kitchen that is not watering things down for a wider audience.
Camarones, or shrimp, show up in multiple preparations throughout the buffet, adding a lighter seafood option to a lineup that leans heavily on slow-cooked meats. The variety means the buffet works equally well for someone who wants a carnivore-focused plate and someone who prefers seafood.
Having these proteins available alongside more familiar options like chicken and beef creates a spread that rewards adventurous eaters without leaving cautious ones behind. That balance is harder to achieve than it looks, and Margaritas manages it with a menu that feels genuinely thought through.
The Dessert Spread That Ends Every Meal Right
Saving room for dessert is not optional here. The dessert section of the buffet at Margaritas has developed a genuine reputation of its own, with tres leches cake sitting at the center of that conversation.
The cake arrives moist and creamy, soaked through with three types of milk in a way that makes it feel more indulgent than a buffet dessert has any right to be.
Flan is another consistent highlight. The silky custard with its caramel topping is a classic for good reason, and the version here holds up to that tradition.
Cheesecake slices and pumpkin bars round out a dessert table that offers real variety beyond the expected.
Most buffets treat dessert as an afterthought, a small section of grocery-store cookies and pudding cups. The dessert spread here feels like an actual course, one that people talk about on the way out and think about on the way back.
The Fruit Bar and Lighter Options
Not every visit to an all-you-can-eat buffet has to end in complete excess, and Margaritas makes it easy to pace yourself with a dedicated fruit bar. Fresh-cut fruits sit alongside the heavier buffet items, giving you a way to reset between plates or simply lighten up your meal without skipping the experience entirely.
The fruit bar also serves as a natural draw for younger diners who might not be ready to tackle birria or mole. Kids tend to gravitate toward familiar, colorful foods, and a well-stocked fruit station keeps them happy while the adults work through the rest of the buffet at their own pace.
Having lighter options available alongside the rich, slow-cooked proteins and heavy sauces shows a thoughtfulness about the overall dining experience. It turns the buffet into something that works for a broader range of appetites rather than just the most ambitious eaters in the group.
Planning Your Visit to Margaritas
Getting the most out of a visit here comes down to a few practical details. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 AM to either 7 or 8 PM, with Saturday and Sunday hours running from 9 AM to 8 PM and 5 PM respectively.
Monday and Tuesday are closed, so checking the schedule before heading over saves a wasted trip.
Weekend pricing sits around $21.99 per adult, while weekday visits come in closer to $17 per person. Arriving earlier in the day tends to mean fresher buffet rotations and a quieter dining room, which makes the experience more relaxed.
Weekends bring more energy but can also mean a busier line.
Catering services are also available for events, which is worth knowing if you are organizing a large gathering in the Des Moines area. The same kitchen that fills the buffet can bring that same spread to your event, making it a genuinely versatile option beyond the dining room.
