2 /5 Billy F.: I’ve been going to Pancho Villa for many years, basically since it first opened, and even before that, when it was still El Potro. The food has always been pretty good, and the portion sizes have often been on the small side, especially when it comes to the meat.
What finally did it for me and my family was our most recent visit. The smell when you walk in the door and around the bar area is really bad. I’m not sure what’s causing it, but it’s something that’s been there for years and needs to be addressed. Because of that odor, I always ask to sit in the back of the restaurant just to avoid it.
As for the food, the quesadillas taste good, but again, the amount of meat inside is very small. On this last visit, I ordered Al Pastor tacos, and the portion of meat was disappointing and will attach a picture to show what Im talking about. I’ve ordered the same dish at other Mexican restaurants and received nearly double the amount of meat in the taco. As for their chips and salsa, I like their salsa and its not overly too spicy, but their chips are generic cheap not so great chips. The chips that 1800 has are much better quality and recommend Pancho Villa also change their chips because if most customers are like me, they love a good chips and salsa.
The prices are affordable, which I appreciate, but I’d rather pay a little more and actually leave full. My two biggest gripes are the portion sizes and the lingering smell inside the restaurant.
On a positive note, the water is always clean and drinkable, which is actually rare and appreciated. The atmosphere is your typical Mexican restaurant setup, colorful, lively, and with appropriate music. The service has always been solid, and our waiter this time was very attentive and did a great job.
Overall, the service and atmosphere are good, but the restaurant really needs to fix the odor issue and reassess their portion sizes if they want to keep longtime customers coming back.
