What’s the difference between a Mexican restaurant that opened because the market was there and one that opened because somebody had something to prove? Walk into El Patron on West Kimberly Road and you’ll start to understand.
The room isn’t glamorous. Drop ceilings, booths with the pleasant wear of a place that actually gets used, a bar tucked to one side with a decent selection of Mexican lagers and a margarita that doesn’t taste like it came from a slushy machine. The television is usually on. None of that is a problem, because within about four minutes of sitting down, a basket of chips arrives — warm, not out of a bag — alongside a salsa that has actual chile heat and a secondary flavor underneath it that takes a second to place. Cumin, maybe. Possibly a little char from roasted tomatoes. Either way, it’s not the generic red stuff.
The menu runs long, as these menus tend to, but the things worth ordering are pretty clear if you ask your server or just watch what other tables get. The chile verde is legitimate — pork cooked until it falls apart, in a green sauce with some tomatillo brightness and enough heat to make you pay attention. The carnitas plate is straightforward and well-executed: crispy edges, tender interior, the standard accompaniments done without shortcuts. If you’re in a burrito mood, the carne asada version is the one to get. It’s not a California burrito, and it doesn’t pretend to be. It’s a Midwest Mexican burrito made by people who know what they’re doing.
Prices land where you’d expect for a sit-down Mexican spot in Davenport — most entrees run $12 to $18, the combination plates a little less. Lunch specials bring that down further on weekdays. For what you get, it’s honest value.
El Patron has been around long enough that it has regulars who don’t bother with the menu, and new people who show up because someone at work finally told them about it. That’s not a complicated story, but it’s the right one. This part of Kimberly isn’t exactly a dining destination — it’s a stretch of road with strip malls and car dealerships — so the restaurant has to earn its traffic on the food alone, and it does.
Worth noting: the service is attentive without being hovering. The staff moves fast during the lunch rush, which gets real between noon and 1 p.m. on weekdays. If you want a quieter experience, come a little earlier or go on a weeknight, when the dining room settles into a comfortable hum rather than a full crowd.
If you’ve been defaulting to whatever Mexican place is closest to you out of habit, it’s worth the short drive west on Kimberly. El Patron isn’t trying to be anything other than what it is — a dependable, family-run restaurant making food that’s noticeably better than the category average. In a city that has plenty of mediocre options in this genre, that’s enough to matter.
