Botanas Restaurant & Bar

This is THE BEST Mexican/​Carrabeian restaurant in Branson. We visit Branson once or twice a year and this is the first place on our favorite places to eat. Buiding not much to look at but the food is fabulous. Street tacos are excellant. Lamos saltado plate substitute refried beans for fries. WOW.

Super good salsa and guacamole! The place looks a little sketchy from outside so we almost didn’t stop but inside it’s great! We both got fajitas and I couldn’t have asked for better! Also great service. our waitress was very attentive

Came in a rainy Sunday evening after 3 gray, cool and rainy days (so much for outdoor vacation time in Brandon). Restaurant was not busy yet and Mitch had us seated and with drinks in hands. Gave Mitch the paper with the wife’s 5 (send me to the hospital) ingredients and he gave her a rundown of her «safe» options. Food was delicious, service top-​notch and we got at head of rush and were out before moderate crowd (rainy Sunday after Thanksgiving weekend) started filling the place up. Wife and I did the steak fajita special for 2 and it was full of tasty veggies and savory steak strips. Daughter had a kids taco plate and cleaned it right up without a fuss. Mitch asked how we picked their place and I told him a smartphone search for «Gulten-​Free Mexican» pulled them to the top of the chart and on-​line reviews sealed the deal. Next time we are in town (please let it be sunny), we will be back.

Great food, great service, friendly atmosphere. Husband had the steak and it was wonderful. I had a street taco. It was awesome. The queso blanco was good too. Plain traditional cheese sauce. yummy. I am from Texas, and I am picky about my mexican food. Our usual place at home is very traditional. This ranked right up there with their food. We will go back next time we are in town.

It is very hard to find a good Mexican place, but this is one. The food was authentic, and the staff is awesome.

Very, very good salsa. Just perfect. I’m a huge fan of salsa. I make my own and this was just how I like it!
I had the street tacos and added the rice and beans. Yum! I mixed and matched my 3 tacos. Pollo, chorizo, and al pastor. All great! Go for the authentic food at this place not the Americanized stuff like hard shell tacos because they really know what they’re doing!
Two thumbs up! We will be back next time we’re in town!

Best Mexican food in Branson. There’s an occasional wait but the food is usually worth it. If I were asked I would suggest more consistency. Sometimes I come and the food is good and then sometimes it’s amazing. Possibly different chefs? Definitely recommend it regardless

Great margaritas. Welcoming wait staff. Authentic Mexican flavor. Spicy but not overwhelming. Loved the tamales and my husband said the Camarones Diabla very tasty. A keeper.

The Mexico city special is delicious. My husband loves the street tacos. Last time, I had a dish that consisted of rice, covered with cheese sauce and fajita chicken. I loved it. Very authentic Mexican food. My favorite in the area.

This place has the potential for more stars. The service was great, the staff friendly, and the décor very nice. I was disappointed that my food came to the table barely warm. I found the need to use a lot of salsa to give flavor to the beans and rice. On a Saturday night, the place was packed. Not sure if all were «out of towners», locals, or a mix. Not a bad place, but just a bit disappointed after seeing all the yummy food photos.

Stopped by for lunch, no lunch crowd so we were seated quickly. Food was fair, ordered pollo especial, which is supposed to be covered with white cheese sauce, but maybe had a tablespoon drizzled on top. Chicken nacho appetizer was ok, made with nacho cheese, would have been better if made with white cheese sauce. Service was ok, server never refilled our water cups.

Solidly in the 4 – 5 star range. Service was friendly and quick. Our server came by several times to check on us. The Choriquesa appetizer was spicy and good. Our entrées were the taco salad and shrimp fajitas. As it should be the fajitas were served sizzling hot with all the accoutrements. I haven’t been blown away by most Branson restaurants but this fit the bill for its genre.

The street tacos and tamales were excellent.
More authentic than most mexican restuarants.
The service was really good.
The price though was to much for the food.
I would go back but be careful of the price.

Service was good. We sat next to the bar and when they shaved ice we couldn’t hear each other talk. We ordered the chicken fajitas, hubby said they were good. I ordered the tilapia. I didn’t realize I was ordering a cold tilapia salad (ceviche de tilapia) though. It was good. A little too much lime for me.
Overall it was a pleasant experience, we would go back for sure. Food was good, not something I couldn’t get anywhere else but good.

Pros: Good food, clean place.
Cons: noisy, diner style tables aren’t comfortable, ½ of I door space has a clear view of the kitchen
The menu was full of great food that lived up to the pictures. It just felt that the lower level where we ate didn’t quite match the overall experience. Someone at a table nearby was watching a sports game o his phone. We could hear everyone’s conversations. Felt cheap.

Went here on 6 – 30 for a quick lunch. Was in the middle of meetings and needed a quick bite. Let me first say that the server was awesome. The one thing that was surprising was there were no lunch specials. I stopped here thinking there would be some. The salsa is good, and they kept the chips coming.
I paid 13.00 for a Chile Releno and a drink. Pricing was a bit steep. The food was good, but not worth the asking price.

I’m from Texas and I eat a lot of Tex Mex style Mexican food so for me this place was ok. Mango Salsa was watered down and had no spice. I ate the beef chimichanga with beans and rice, meat was too salty for me. The queso blanco was good and the waitress was very attentive.

Excellent food. My husband even order dessert. Prices were good for the amount of food we got. Our waitress was very friendly. We would come back. One of the locals told us is were he eats.

We were in town for the weekend and our local friends invited us here for dinner.
It was great. Good service. Great food. Chips & salsa were really good. The Sangria is one of the best I’ve had.
We will definitely be returning the next time we are in Branson!

My first tip to those who are interested in trying this restaurant: call ahead and make a reservation! We were able to get a reservation for 15 minutes from the time I called, and when we arrived a few minutes later, we were seated immediately. We even passed by a few other people waiting. It’s definitely worth it!
On the menu, they list many things as being able to be «vegan» or «vegetarian» which I appreciated! They also had a vegetarian tamale… I love tamales!!! My sister ordered the cheese tamale, which we shared, and I ordered the vegetarian sopes (so, basically, no meat added… there were no substitutions for this dish). The tamale was so good, but similar to a cheese enchilada. The sopes were crunchy, fried (I’m assuming?) masa disks topped with refried beans, lettuce, and cheese. I think that the meat version of this dish would probably be very flavorful, but without it, it was lacking. I suppose adding their white queso would help, but I didn’t think of that at the time!
As for service, our waitress was very attentive and friendly. It took a bit of time for us to get our food, but there was plenty of chips and salsa to keep us satisfied. Be aware though (if you love your unlimited chips and salsa), they charge after the second refill!