Because every restaurant is more than just what’s on the plate.

Type: Mexican / Tequila Bar Price: $$ Location: 1620 N. Lacrosse St, Rapid City, SD

I have a theory about Mexican restaurants.

The fajitas will tell you everything you need to know. Not just whether they taste good, but whether the peppers have any life left in them, whether the meat got some time to marinate, whether the whole thing feels like somebody back there gave it a second thought.

A fajita is simple enough that there’s nowhere to hide.

Which makes it funny that the fajita started out as something nobody wanted. Back in the 1930s, Mexican vaqueros working Texas cattle ranches were getting paid partly in throwaway cuts. The skirt steak, what they called the faja, a tough little belt of muscle along the diaphragm. So they pounded it, soaked it in lime juice, threw it over a mesquite fire, sliced it thin and wrapped it in a tortilla. By 1969 a guy named Sonny Falcon was selling them out of a festival concession stand in Kyle, Texas. By the early 1980s the sizzling cast iron skillet was showing up in dining rooms across the country.

A throwaway cut turned into one of the most ordered dishes in America. Not bad.

Settling In

Puerto Vallarta has been on North Lacrosse Street since 2019, but the Andrade family has been doing this since 1985. That kind of history shows up in the food whether they mention it or not.

The building used to be a TGI Fridays. You can still feel it a little if you look around. It’s split down the middle, dining room on one side, a big bar with extra seating on the other. The decor doesn’t try too hard to convince you you’re somewhere else, and that’s fine.

We got there early and grabbed a quiet table. By the time we left, the place had filled up.

The Little Stuff

The salsa here might be the best I’ve had at a Mexican restaurant in Rapid City. There’s also a salsa bar with a few different options, though fair warning, they’re all pretty serious on the heat.

The guacamole is made fresh. Onion, tomato, radish, cilantro, nothing overreaching. That kind of attention early on tells you something about how the rest of the meal is going to go.

The staff is attentive without hovering, and the food came out fast.

If you end up on the bar side, take a look at what they’re pouring over there. There’s a difference between college frat tequila and the kind you’re actually supposed to sip and think about for a second. Puerto Vallarta knows the difference.

The Reason You’re There

I went with the chicken fajitas. Flour tortillas, red and green pepper, onion, tomato, everything cooked right and nothing feeling like an afterthought. These are some of my favorite fajitas in Rapid City.

Victoria went with the Cancun platter. Real crab meat, fresh shrimp, and chicken sautéed in wine with onions and cilantro, then topped with Monterey Jack and cheddar and baked. It’s a lot going on, but it all fits. The seafood is real, the flavors are clean.

Portions here are generous. You could split an entree and still leave full.

Same goes for the margaritas. We ordered an 18 ounce and neither of us was quite ready for what showed up. It just sits there and looks at you. But it’s well made and tastes great, so hard to argue.

What Sticks With You

What keeps coming back to me is the freshness. From the salsa bar to the seafood to the fajitas, you can tell things are being made, not just reheated. It’s Tex-Mex with a real Mexican soul, and it feels right for this city.

The room doesn’t shout at you. Neither does the food.

Victoria’s Taste

“The Cancun platter won me over. The crab and chicken were both the real deal. The shrimp leans briny rather than sweet, which is worth knowing going in depending on your preference. And don’t overlook the rice. It’s some of the best you’ll find at a Mexican restaurant in Rapid City.”

Final Bite

I came in looking to see what they’d do with a fajita.

Turns out, they do it right. Fresh ingredients, real flavor, nothing trying too hard. The Andrade family has been at this for forty years and you can taste every bit of it.

That’s usually enough to get me back in the door.

Taste the Room pays for every meal we review. We don’t accept comped food, and restaurants aren’t notified of our visit in advance. It’s how we keep our reviews honest and independent.