ISLA Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar

Service is quick
The people are friendly
The ambiance is wonderful
The presentation is cleverly done
The food is great!
What more can I say?

Made a reservation here for my sister’s 21^st birthday, because it looked fancy, she loves nachos, and the prices were acceptable for everyone in the party.
Our waitstaff was awesome. Half of the party ordered drinks, and man were they strong! If it hadn’t been the youngin’s ordering them, there might even have been complaints that they were TOO strong. Definitely a plus in my book…
The Chips and Salsa that is brought to the table is delicious! I love the different flavors they give you, and you can tell the chips are made fresh.
I split the fajitas with another person in the party. I would DEFINITELY recommend splitting dishes. They are HUGE! The fajitas were flavorful, and didn’t need any hot sauce (I am a freak about hot sauce, I ALWAYS need hot sauce).
I had a couple bites of the steak burrito — yummy, flavorful meat! I also tried some of the nachos — very well made; a good amount of cheese and toppings to fill every chip.
At the end of the dinner, they even brought out a complimentary dessert for my sister, and we procedded to embarrass her beyond belief by singing as loud as possible.
This is a good restaurant to go for a more low-​key or romantic setting, without getting too serious or expensive.

Good: queso fundido, chips and salsa were good
Food: ordered barbacoa enchiladas. The barbacoa at Chipotle is way better than this place! The corn on the cob was salty.
Drinks: strong cocktails with tequila. The mojito with tequila was a little strange. But for $ 10 it was alright.
I wouldn’t come back here again. There are far more superior places to eat in Las Vegas!

We made a 7:45 reservation here before going to see Mystere. We came at the recommendation of my sister and were very happy we did.
It didn’t start that way though… We ordered the peach margarita, which took about 10 minutes to arrive. The waiter didn’t come to take our order until after the drinks arrived. But, we didn’t like the drinks. They were frozen (didn’t say so on the menu) and they tasted like a fruit smoothie, not a margarita. The waiter was nice about taking them back and we ordered the raspberry margaritas instead. Those took about 10 minutes to arrive also and the waiter STILL didn’t come by to take our order.
We loved the raspberry margaritas… could taste the tequila and the raspberry flavor was very intense. I ordered the achiote salmon and my husband ordered the tacos al pastor. The chips and salsa were pretty good. We both liked the tomatillo salsa best.
We like strong drinks, so we ordered a shot of Cazadores for each. It was a HUGE shot, but it was also $ 12. That was the kick the drink needed.
Our food arrived and I was disappointed with my salmon. The tomatillo-​mango salsa was cold on top of the salmon and had a lot of raw onions in it, which are not my favorite. Also, the salmon was too well done for my taste. I wasn’t going to send it back, but the manager asked me how it was and I hesitated and after our conversation, he insisted on making me a new one… medium this time. The manager told us he was new, so he was probably a little over-​eager to please, which was fine with us. He also gave us 1 shot of tequila on the house, which was really nice.
My husband really liked his tacos. The pork was super tender and flavorful.
My new salmon came shortly and it must have been missing the chile morita sauce last time because this new salmon was AMAZING. That sauce was spicy, tangy and had a lot of depth. On top of the new, tender medium salmon, we both dove in and finished the whole thing. The corn tamale it came with was a little too sweet for dinner. The charro beans were good.
The sent us dessert on the house and we picked the recommended crepes, which were just okay. The homemade vanilla bean ice cream was pretty darn good. I’m not sure if I’d come back here. though… the salmon was really delicious, but Vegas has SO many good restaurants.

I was very impressed with the décor, the service and the food! My colleague and I were staying at Treasure Island for a trade show and decided on Mexican food for dinner. I’m happy ISLA was the choice.
Warm, crunchy tortillas with three dipping sauces came out and made no need for an appetizer, although they had very tempting choices. My co-​worker ordered the steak pyramid and it looked amazing on the menu. When it actually came out, my first impression was that it was smaller than I expected, but it did come with a side of rice and beans. I got a bite of the meat and ohhhhh la la, that’s some tender ass meat! I don’t know what they use to marinate it but damn it was yummy.
I, on the other hand, ordered the pork sliders with fries (I am a french fry fiend!) There were 3 total and I got full after the 2^nd one. The entire experience, lighting, décor, food presentation was all very impressive. It was definitely a far call from the hole-​in-​the-​wall joints in SJ. If you’re ever by Treasure Island, drop by ISLA, you won’t be disappointed!

My girlfriends and I had a great experience at isla. Located in the treasure island hotel.
We were in town for my girlfriends 24^th birthday we had dinner here on a Saturday night not a long wait at all we started off with the best strawberry margarita I’ve ever had with real strawberries blended in! delish :) some chips salsa guacamole and for my entrée I had the steak tacos they were great!
Management came over multiple times to check up on us I think he had a crush on the birthday girl ;) our waiter was fantastic split our bills 5 ways. Definitely recommend.

I swear if it wasnt for my dude Arturo who was our bartender for the night, my night wouldn’t be as entertaining. This guy is the real deal. Luckily my gf copped us a 2 for 1 cocktail deal, courtesy of TI. I basically had rum and coke and another glass of vodka and cranberry juice. I did get a bit tipsy and I did have a great time talking with Arturo and my gf! He is so helpful with the types of drinks too. He gave us the details on each tequila and told us what was hot and what was not.
He introduced my to some expensive ass tequila called Ansom Broso which was anejo and cost $ 125 a shot!!! Holy crap! He even gave me a swig of the tequila azul which cost $ 25 a shot! He is legit I tell you.
If you ever visit TI and drink through ISLA, I suggest coming around 12 am and having Arturo as your personal dude.

Awesome! Located in TI
Best Upscale Mexican food in Vegas IMO. Service here is always great as well.
Gratis Chips and Salsa. Three types of Salsa are included.
–Margaritas are great and have a good kick!
–Guacamole with the Pumpkin seeds is so excellent and flavorful!!! YUM!!!
–I didn’t try, but my friend was really into the chicken quesadillas
–Enchiladas are on Point and so flavorful.
–Steak Taco’s are also very excellent with good cuts of meat that are marinated well.
–Steak Fajitas are excellent and come out sizzling. Steak is so great. Can order both warm and fresh flour and corn tortillas with it.
Basically, everything that I have tried here is great. Not a bad order or experience yet. Been here twice and look forward to enjoying many more meals here when I am back in Vegas.
Make sure to get the habanero hot sauce for your meal! Awesome!

3.5−4 stars
While waiting for the rest of our group to arrive in Vegas, the boy, my best friend and I decided to grab some dinner. At 9 p.m. the place was packed but we were seated after waiting a few minutes.
Our server was really nice but took awhile to take our drink and food orders. My friend was checking-​in and I went with her to find her room and help her get settled. 15 – 20 minutes later and they still hadn’t taken our order! They did give us chips and 3 different kinds of salsa — pico de gallo, tomatillo, and salsa verde. Anyway, here’s what we ordered:
–Regular Mojito’s
–Grilled Steak Quesadillas
–Tacos Baja
–Isla Rice & Refried Beans
The mojito’s were okay — they were a little too sweet for my taste. They also came in a smaller glass so you couldn’t really see all the fresh ingredients. I had the steak quesadillas and I thought they were okay, a little on the dry side but that was easily fixed with adding some of the salsa on top. I had a bite of the tacos baja, or fish tacos, and they were really good — I wish I had ordered those! The side of rice and beans was pretty basic but really good when paired with the tacos.
This is another great option inside Treasure Island to grab some dinner. It’s also really nice and dimly-​lit inside so you kind of forget that you’re in a casino.

Isla is really a big contradiction. The room is quite nice and it’s arranged well. Then you’re brought chips and salsa. Someone decided it would be cool looking to have a metal frame that holds chips on the bottom and 3 bowls on the top for the salsas. They are fixed – they don’t move lazy Susan style. It makes it a bit challenging to reach up into one of the small bowls to retrieve some red salsa (no heat), tomatillo salsa, or pico. If my wife had been with me, those little bowls would have been removed and placed on the table for easier dipping. But, it does look different.
I ordered the carnitas dish. While another reviewer noted the saltiness of the dishes, I looked for salt and pepper on my table. There is absolutely NONE! I guess you have to ask for it. There was also NO Cholula nor Tapatio on any table. By the time I got my server to stop long enough, I was ²⁄₃ of the way through my meal. Is this really a Tex-​Mex place? My carnitas were OK but nothing that I can’t get in any number of places around town for a lot less. The redeeming part of the meal was dessert. The crèpes were quite good and the ice cream in the sweetened tortilla bowl was very good and a great ending to a lackluster meal.
My server had too many tables to cover including those in the bar area which is semi-​closed off from the restaurant section. I don’t think I’d return to Isla. I’m glad I had a Groupon.

WHERE: Located inside Treasure Island Hotel/​Casino! (If I can recall, it’s by the buffet?)
WHY: Try some uniquely crafted Mexican food!
WHAT: Firstly, the place was absolutely gorgeous! From the dimmed setting, to the chill atmosphere, it gave off a great vibe.
My friend and I decided we try this place out because he is a fairly picky eater, but isn’t picky when it comes to nachos! When we entered the restaurant though, we were directed all the way to this spot in the corner. It was literally in the corner, you can probably fit a full-​sized square table right next to where we were. That right there made us feel like outcasts!
While we were seated, we waited for our menus and realized the table wasn’t «cleaned». A couple minutes later, the server realized we were there, saw the dirty table, and went to grab a cloth to clean it with. We then made our orders.
One of the servers came to give us water, and he noticed my glass was dirty as well, so he gave me a new one. Thank goodness! I love me some water, and I don’t want any dirtiness in my water! X)
I tried the Isla Sliders, which included a trio of shredded pork, beef barbacoa, and chipotle chicken sliders. They were all good, but I did notice they were dryer than the usual slider.
My friend tried the Isla Nachos. On a positive not, he loved them (Although they gave us nachos with three types of salsa after we ordered, LOL). I got to try them as well, and the nachos are the way to go!
Overall, I thought this place was just decent. Thinking about if I will ever go there just to eat again? I don’t think so. =/

I’ve been trying quite a few, fairly authentic, Mexican restaurants in Denver, and so my Mexican food taste buds are pretty spoiled right now.
Enter, the Isla… had a groupon so thought we’d roll over and give it a whirl. True to vegas form, even after my groupon, we spent nearly 60 dollars out of pocket for 4 people.
Food was ok, nothing really had the wow factor. Chips and salsa was ok, again, not much excitement.
Next time we visit Vegas, we’re hoping to find a REALLY good authentic mexican food… guessing we’ll have to venture off strip?

If there’s one cuisine I love to eat, it’d be tex-​mex, hands down. I could live off of pico de gallo. Heck, I could probably make cilantro and limes the base of my food pyramid if needed. Suffice to say, I love Mexican food. Beau S. took me out for Mexican food here on 5÷21÷11 because, well, he always does nice things for me and he had a groupon to use up before he moves away this week (*massive tears.*)
I don’t eat at restaurants on the Strip because I think it’s overpriced, especially in this economy. I’m just not comfortable with paying (or anybody paying actually) jacked up prices for food. I had no idea where Isla was nor did I know anything about it. I had no expectations going in, but I was a bit nervous when I saw the place once we got to TI. It’s never a good sign when it’s dinner time, on a Saturday, on The Strip, and the restaurant is empty.
The restaurant is pretty, looks clean and as Clint B. said, is trying to be upscale. The waiters are attentive but the menu isn’t very extensive. I had a hard time trying to figure out what I wanted. I was really uncomfortable with the prices, which made ordering for me difficult. I settled on the chicken mole even though I was cringing at the $ 19.50 price tag. Beau got barbacoa enchiladas.
The chips and salsas are good. I liked the pico de gallo (of course) and the green salsa the best. I had a bite of Beau’s enchiladas and I really liked them, but I’ve never had barbacoa that I didn’t like. My mole was good, but it’s only the second time I had it (the first time I had it, my grandma made it and served it over turkey, so I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.)
If I was pricing it, I’d say it wasn’t worth more than $ 10 because the sauce covered up some slightly burnt parts on this 6 oz chicken breast. I mean, let’s guesstimate the food cost percentage Isla is operating on:
FCP= Portion Cost/​Menu price.
Let’s be ultra generous and say it costs them $ 4 to make this portion of chicken mole/​$ 19.50 = 20.5%. That’s a hefty profit margin they’re running.
The service was good, the food was decent and the prices were ridiculous, so I doubt I’ll be back, but I enjoyed my dinner partner, so I enjoyed the experience here at Isla.

Met some friends here and this place seemed like alot of fun!!! The best part is that I arrived after my friends were completely stuffed. Bonus for me!!!
I did not have to order a single thing to eat… I was able to graze my friends plates and everything was really good. I wish I could tell you what I ate but I still have no idea. It is funny when you think of Mexican Food… it contains tortillas, beans, rice, meat, cheese, avacado, crema, tomatoes, onions and lettuce… yet everything has a different name.
The Chips and Salsa were also really good too but the salsa’s were really spicy… I needed a beer to put out the flames.
On my next trip back to Vegas I plan on coming here and ordering dinner maybe even look at the menu too.

A good place to go to get out of the venetian for some mexican food. Had the guacamole and queso dip for the chips. Apparently we had too much dishes and a table meant for 4 seating 6, so things were a bit tight.
I had the Isla Asada which was an asada steak served with some vegetable sides. Pretty much a steak fajita with meat that has not been precut.

This place tries… They try to be upscale. But it’s located in Treasure Island. The clientele is a mixed bag of people out for a decent dinner, families, or others who look like they just got off the plane.
They try to create a cool atmosphere with the comfortable lounge overlooking the casino, chic/​modern furnishings, and open kitchen. But the entry to the dining room from the lounge seems awkward and narrow — like you’re going in a back way. The coolness factor dipped way down when I saw the clown in front of me grab a handful of toothpicks from the hostess stand as he was walking back to his table. He tried to stuff them in his pocket but only half of them made it. The other half ended up on the floor. One of the hostesses tried to move them aside with her foot, but didn’t have much luck as she was trying to balance on one foot. She walked away after her unsuccessful attempt. Toothpicks: 1, hostess: 0.
They try to lure new customers with Groupons. They had some available last year, and again this year. They’re successful on this point. I got one and some friends got one.
They try to bring a new spin to Mexican food, but I didn’t feel like it was anything I haven’t seen before. Isla is one of Richard Sandoval’s restaurants. If you’ve been to NY, DC, or Denver you might be familiar with some of his other spots (Zengo, La Sandia, La Biblioteca, etc.). The food at Isla may not be revolutionary, but they use better ingredients than your typical Mexican restaurant.
The guacamole was tasty and filled with chunks of fresh avocado, tomatoes and onions.
The ceviche was a delicious stack of rock shrimp, cilantro, and tomatoes, but was a little too hot for my tastes.
The filet fajitas were a large mix of tender beef, peppers, onions, and mushrooms with a gooey pile of cheese on top.
The beef barbacoa enchiladas were 3 tightly wrapped tortillas stuffed with a mild mix of chipotle sauce and delicious beef, topped with a red and green sauce and sour cream. I really liked how they didn’t over-​sauce the dish. I hate it when my food is drowning in sauce.
Cocktails were excellent. Both their primo margarita and mojiito were some of the best ones I’ve had in a while.
The service wasn’t bad either. After telling the guy we had Groupons, I expected to be ignored all night. But he checked up with us a few times to make sure the food was good. Although he could have stopped by more often to offer us more cocktails. When he brought the check he forgot to subtract the Groupons, so we had to bring that to his attention.
Prices aren’t outrageous, at least for the Strip. Sure the Groupons helped. After tax and tip each one of us spent less than $ 40 per person.
3.5 Stars

The 4 stars are for the Tequila bar. Located in Treasure Island, Isla has HH everyday from 4 – 7 PM and offers discounted prices on beer and cocktails. Also, the bartenders are extremely helpful and even let you sample different tequilas that they personally recommend.
They have a HUGE tequila menu but I would chat with the bartenders, specifically Teri, and ask for recommendations. Do you really want to sit at the bar and read a 30 page book? Depending on your price range and taste, they can suggest one to your potential liking.
You can either sit at the bar or on one of the small couches adjacent to the casino.
The restaurant food is another story. I would solely come here for HH or the Tequila bar. Their guacamole is extremely fresh and full of flavor but that’s about it. The tacos were sub par, especially for Vegas. I really regret not trying Roberto’s Taco Shop, which our taxi driver complimented.
If you like tequila that has a soft caramel finish, try Frida Kahlo.

I bookmarked this place in preparation for our Vegas trip and was stoked when we decided to come here the first night. We made the mistake of walking all the way from New York New York to Treasure Island, but that’s another story. hahaha. I don’t recommend doing that in 100 degree heat.
Anyway, the chips and salsa is in this fancy looking thing with THREE different salsas. Did you hear that people, THREE SALSAS. I was in chips and salsa heaven. One salsa is a pico de gallo, just tomato, onion, cilantro, lime… a class. The other one was a green salsa, and the third one is a red salsa. We LOVED the red salsa and our server was so nice to keep that one refilled.
I ordered a margarita on the rocks. It was strong! But good! Now I remember why I always order beer. :)
I ordered the chicken enchilada combo. It was really delicious! I loved the rice and beans and the chicken pibil was seasoned very well! The one thing that I would fix was that they put a green and orange sauce on top of the enchiladas, I prefer the orange sauce. It would’ve made them so much better!
We had a great time here! We also came at a good time because it was not very busy at all, around 5 on a Tuesday.

OMG! How could I have given this place ONLY 4 stars last time. Four of us stopped in for some chips and salsa, because they are sooo good, but ended up getting dinner.
We all got margaritas, best I’ve tasted. The server told us that they ordered the wrong glasses so they were bigger than usual, probably a lie but whatevs, we got them anyways. Then the chips and salsa came, mmmmh, I ordered some Habanero salsa cause you know, I like it HOT! Delicious… so after 2 baskets of chips, or maybe 3 our meals came.
Carnitas, Tacos and Enchiladas = Party. In. My. Mouth!!! I tried all of them and I just couldn’t get enough! Maybe it was my buzz or maybe this place is THAT f’n awesome. I’m getting excited just writing this review.
Isla, can you please open one of yous in Chicago?! Pretty please.

The meal comes with complimentary chips and 3 types of salsa.
I ordered the Shrimp Ceviche and was unimpressed. I’ve had better shrimp Ceviche in east san jose.
My boyfriend ordered the chicken tacos, which came with black beans and spanish rice. There was nothing special about the whole plate. They don’t even ask you what type of beans you want.
The service was better than the food, and out of all the food we tried, the chips and salsa were the best.