THE PANCHEROS HYPE IS REAL. This is my absolute go to for a quick meal! I think it's better than any of the other 'Chipotles' of the world! Pancheros is very affordable and they don't skimp you on quantity! They don't have a tonnnn of topping options, but the quality and flavor of their meats, tortillas, and salsas is GREAT. Their tortillas are especially special haha - hand pressed in front of you! They also mix all of the toppings with a spoon if you get a burrito, so every bite is perfect! My special secret - absolutely get their cilantro vinegarette (or two!). The staff is always friendly and they keep the line moving even if it's busy! I recommend using the app if you're in a rush, it's very easy to use and they sometimes push out deals! Plenty of seating and the vibe is fun, but I prefer takeout. 10/10 recommend! read more

Pancheros Mexican Grill - Golden Valley - Steak burrito bowl - Mexican Near Me - Golden Valley, Minnesota

The local Chipotle is not good (you can read my review of that later) so I wanted to try this competitor. The space is clean and spacious and the staff are friendly. The options are basically identical to Chipotle. I tried a chicken bowl and added guacamole. The flavor is very good, has a hint of sweetness, not sure why, maybe the rice? However there were a couple of negatives: the portion size is much smaller than at Chipotle (or at least my particular bowl was since it is very subjective). Also, the chopping of the onions and tomatoes was sloppy and not appetizing. If they can get their act together and improve I would make this my go to! read more

Pancheros Mexican Grill - Golden Valley - Chicken bowl with added guac - Mexican Near Me - Golden Valley, Minnesota

Pancheros has a leg up on Chipotle in my opinion. They use fresh tortillas and mix all the ingredients before wrapping. They also have awesome rewards for app users. I usually get 2 burritos free each year versus bogo. Location is clean and staff is nice. Parking is a little confusing though. read more

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Pancheros was something I had growing up! I enjoy their homemade tortillas. I decided to do the bowl with a side of tortilla (it's an extra cost) and I love how warm the food was when I got it! I also got to use multiple coupons which was $2 off my entree and a free chips and queso! I was surprise they could take both coupons. Highly recommend visiting! read more

Pancheros Mexican Grill - Golden Valley - a man reading a menu - Mexican Near Me - Golden Valley, Minnesota

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Pancheros is the best of the chain burrito shops. The tortillas are much better than any other place. Also, the size of a burrito is much more aligned with what I expect in a meal. It is big enough to be full, but not so big I have to question splitting it into a second meal. This location has always been very clean when I've been here and the staff has been generally friendly. I had one visit where the staff was very quiet and not helpful, but not rude. At a point in time where the cleanliness of many fast casual places seem to be lacking, the cleanliness of this location has me coming back again and again. read more

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This Pancheros is elite. Bloomington one always gips is on our queso if we do a pick up order. It happens every single time. I have never had a bad anything here! It's a family favorite! read more

I do not like this place for Mexican food because it really is about as close to authentic Mexican food as Panda Express is to Chinese food. However, I do like it for tasty, quick, affordable Tex-Mex style food and it has a similar popular service model to Chipotle where your item is assembled in front of you at your direction. Great for people that love to customize their orders, request everything on the side, and exhibit other behaviors that simply serve to hold up the line. :) However, I like this place much better than Chipotle for these reasons: 1. If your item requires a flour tortilla, they press one out for you from fresh dough and heat it on the flat top right in front of you. Their tortillas come out doughy, chewy, warm and comforting. They blow any pre-packaged ones you get at other places away. I have known people to come here and just order fresh tortillas and salsa because they are that good. 2. The salsas here have a better flavor profile. That may just be personal taste preference but I do prefer them over the salsa choices at Chipotle. I also like that they have bottles of their own red (Flavolcano) and green (Greenade) sauces for your table which resemble decent Mexican hot sauce where as Chipotle offers bottles of Tabasco which is available everywhere, is delicious in its own right, but definitely not a Mexican sauce even if the Louisiana Purchase had never occurred. 3. The price point here seems a little better. Not by much but who wouldn't enjoy saving a little $ when you can? Another savings I experienced was that on my visit yesterday, I was going to leave a tip for the counter workers assembling my meal but was told by the manager that they do not have a tip jar and don't allow tipping. I was pretty surprised by that statement. I never mind leaving a tip for good service and hard work but I also appreciate a no-tip attitude of a place especially if it means that they are compensating their workers fairly (which I hope and assume that it does in this case.) The only thing I have had here that I did not care for has been the steak, tried on 3 different occasions. Tough and flavorless would be good descriptors and the chicken and carnitas are much better and tastier options for fillings. For the heathens among you, there is a tofu vegetarian option too but I have never opted for that because I would feel bad that innocent soybeans were killed and processed for food. Definitely check out Pancheros and brighten your day if you are stuck in a Chipotle rut. read more

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I've been coming to Pancheros for about 4 years and the customer service is always terrible. The food is cold within minutes of receiving it, and to top it off today I paid online for a bowl just to get there and be brushed off countless times. I showed my confirmation and my bank statement and that wasn't enough! So today I don't get to eat on my lunch break of a 12 hour day. I'm now back again and again got brushed off again and watched the employees scatter to the back like roaches. All while they laugh and speak Spanish! read more

Pretty much the same as chipotle and Britos Burritos with a few small differences. The person who prepared our burritos stirred the ingredients together before rolling. Kind of unnecessary I thought. The fresh pressed tortillas were great and similar to Britos so in that instance, better than Chipotle. All in all, Britos has the best customer service and so probably my go to burrito place. read more

Nasty, only one rice with silontro, pinto beans, chicken, cheese, it was cold!! Wife had taco hers was cold as well, they gave us small cup of meat, say what. rotten attitude as well as over priced. Never again. read more

I absolutely am obsessed with this place! I fell in love living in Fargo and was stoked to find one here. Seriously, chipotle and qdoba have nothing on this place. Those fresh made tortillas literally add an entire dimensioned flavor that cannot be denied and the queso is straight up legit - i would bathe in it if it were sanitary and socially acceptable - it's really that good. You've got to try this place i promise you won't be disappointed !!! read more

Pancheros Mexican Grill - Golden Valley - Mexican Near Me - Golden Valley, Minnesota

The burritos are kinda bland. Nothing over the top amazing, but it'll do. Their queso is what gets me in though. Soooo much better than that other fast casual burrito joint across the road, and I make sure to slather it on my burritos for that flavor kick. I do wish they'd put their shrimp for the seasonal shrimp tacos into an option for the burrito, cause I'd be all over that. read more

Man seemed really annoyed to be working, and when he was making my order he confused it when someone else's and add veggies to mines and then just picked it out. Then I asked for light red sauce and he slapped on a huge amount the burrito was too hot to even eat. What a bummer! read more

Pancheros has the best burritos in my opinion. It's a great spot and has some of the best ingredients. The fresh pressed tortillas are awesome and I would highly recommend getting their queso. Every time I have been here it has been good which is unlike some other burrito chains. read more

Pancheros has better ingredients than the competition. Fresh tortillas and blue chips set this place apart even further. Service can be a bit inconsistent here, but never bad. Lunch can get super crazy, so get here early or you may not get a place to sit. They even have rewards, which means free burritos and more! Considering there is a Chipotle across the street which is always busy and horrible service, this place is a winner. read more

Ordered lunch I had a time for pick up for me and my friend, it was freshly made right when I got there right at the time of pickup! Overall tasty and fresh - solid go to as a fun different twist on chipotle read more

I was appalled by the state of the bathroom. Management needs to spring for some new hardware in there and schedule enough workers during shifts for them to clean these, because this was awful. I'm not blaming the workers because I've done jobs like these and I know you don't just leave the bathroom nasty unless your manager makes it impossible to clean. We're in a pandemic for god's sake, do better. read more

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First time coming here to try out their burrito bowl and I've got to say I love it! It's delicious! It is so much better then chipotle and so much fresher to! Also you get more in Pancheros burrito bowls then Chipotle's. Place is very clean as well and the employees there are super nice! Definitely coming here again! Sorry Chipotle. read more

I am a huge Chipotle fan so have been curious about its new competitor. I stopped by for lunch while running errands and ordered a burrito bowl with exactly what I would order at Chipotle - brown rice, meat, fajita veggies, salsa and guacamole. It was very good, I liked that the portion size was smaller than Chipotle and the ingredients were fresh. They also have queso (bonus points). I didn't like the beverage selection. Chipotle offers sugar free, fresh brewed teas and Pancheros does not. That leaves pop (which I don't drink), sugary lemonade or tea, and water as the only options. Overall, Pancheros is worth a try but, for me, Chipotle still comes out on top. read more

Pancheros Mexican Grill - Golden Valley - Pancheros burrito bowl - Mexican Near Me - Golden Valley, Minnesota

So much better than chipotle!!! Fresh tortilla and queso!! Really nice service every time and I really recommend checking it out

Chipolte, Qdoba, Baja, they all follow the same general blue print. Fast good tex mex food. What puts Pancheros on top for me is the tortillas. As others have said they press and grill them fresh, right when you order, they dont pull them out of a bag like the more popular chain. In addition to the fresh tortilla the coup de grace is the queso dip. Add a ladle of that to your burrito , and you are eating a big ol roll of heaven. If a burrito is too much for you, tacos or quesedillas are available as well. add a bag of blue corn tortilla chips and a side of the queso dip to finish it off with. in fact thats the one drawback to the burrito. Its so big, I dont have room for the chips and queso. read more

Good food, they were there way before chipotle. Great queso and chips. Very good mex food. They have some good weekly specials.

Being a fan of Mexican/Southwestern cuisine, the explosion of burrito joints a decade ago was a welcome sight indeed. Chipotle blew my mind back then--getting fresh ingredients made they way I want it for a low price point. And the kicker was, it filled me up. It was no wonder more and more places of this nature started appearing nation-wide. Qdoba, Baja Sol and others are all over the place now. Panchero's, unfortunately, happens to be a poor variation. It's too bad that Panchero's doesnt come through on food quality and taste because they are conveniently located for me--right along highway 55 in Golden Valley. The restaurant is fairly spacious and there is ample parking. Additionally, there are all kinds of other shops and restaurants nearby, even a DQ & Red Cherry if you want dessert afterwards. The food, however, is where Panchero's really falls flat. I keep thinking that giving it another try will improve it somehow, but it never does. The flavors are just not to the caliber of Chipotle or even Qdoba. The quality and freshness just doesnt seem to be there as well. But one thing they seriously need to work on is reducing the liquid you get in your beans & meat. If you choose the burrito route, you will inevitably be wearing half of it once all the juices melt away the bottom of your tortilla. Whatever is left will be a sloppy, soggy mess. I cant even get my brother to go back to a Panchero's just for this reason alone. Overall, I think it's a no-brainer. Chipotle is, literally, across the street--go there instead. Pros: Ample parking, spacious dining area for a burrito joint, good location Cons: The food isnt at the level of similar restaurants, prices should be a lot lower to be more competitive, Chipotle is across the street, food comes out sloppy and soggy read more

When you buy queso, they put it in the smallest container possible and it's $1.45! Food is much better than Chipotle, but they seem to hold back on toppings more than Chipotle. Fill it up, we want as much as you can fit :) read more

I don't typically review fast food places since it's not like folks go on Yelp to decide between a Noodles Inc and Dairy Queen. But, since work has me across the street from this location, I figure I should go ahead and give it a review. As many reviewers have stated, Pancheros doesn't quite live up to Chipolte. Maybe a Stephen Baldwin of the fast food Mexican world. Pancheros will try to draw you in with promises of fresh pressed tortillas and all fresh ingredients. The tortillas are fresh pressed and grilled, but admittedly, I haven't tried one yet. The ingredients are all pretty similar to Chipolte with one moving down the line asking for toppings. Pancheros does have more salsas to offer and queso. In addition to burritos or tacos, you can order a quesadilla. I got a bowl and salad for my visits and both were pretty disappointing. bowl: I usually sub the fajita veggies for rice when I go to Chipolte but Pancheros wants another $1. salad: no substitute for the rice/shell. just more iceberg lettuce. Apparently I could've had a dressing instead of salsa, but I'm not sure anything can make iceberg lettuce taste good. I might give one last ditch effort for a quesadilla, but the generous offer of one salsa is too much for my brain. read more

PLEASE SAVE YOURSELVES! Chipotle is right across the street, and I would highly recommend you go to them for all of your burrito needs. I have never regretted spending $12 on a burrito and chips, like I did today.. The rice was flavorless, the meat(chicken) was dry, and my favorite part of a burrito- the guac, was nasty! I got chips and queso with my burrito, and the chips seemed store bought, and the queso was very bland.. I don't like giving bad reviews, but this place made me wish I had never walked in to try it. GO TO CHIPOTLE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE! read more

I despise Chipotle, so I thought this might be a good quick "mexican" alternative. It was just mneh. I made the mistake of ordering 2 soft tacos instead of a burrito the size of a baby. They came smooshed together and weren't very filling, flavorful, or ingredient-rich. However, the guac tasted very good and homemade. Much better than normal chain restaurant guac...and it comes with blue chips Fresh! Overall, I wasn't completely disappointed, but I definitely wouldn't choose this place over other options. read more

Love it here! Great customer service and the food is consistently great. The dining room is always so clean!

There are a couple things that put this place above Chipotle. 1. Obviously their fresh pressed tortilla is 10x better in taste and quality. It fits the ingredients and doesn't tear near as easy. 2. They have queso. 3. They put tomatoes in their guac. 4. Onions aren't the main ingredient in everything like they are at Chipotle. 5. They mix the stuff up. Yes you can get it mixed at Chipotle, but here it is part of their process so they have a tool that does this effectively and you don't run the risk of your request being accepted with a half hearted job and an eye roll. 6. Did I mention that onions are NOT the main ingredient? Don't get me wrong... I'm obsessed with Chipotle. It's 2 minutes from my house and is my kitchen 4-5 times a week. BUT I just broke out of my shell and tried this for the first time and I haven't been back to Chipotle since. I will return because this place is like 20 minutes away vs the 2 minutes Chipotle is, but if they were side by side, panchero's would win my vote every time. read more

Pancheros Mexican Grill - Golden Valley - Chicken, queso, guac burrito. - Mexican Near Me - Golden Valley, Minnesota

If you're looking for the next best thing to chipotle, you're looking at the wrong place right here. Came in and was treated rudely by the staff members at this location, main reason I will not be returning. As well as the tortillas being disgusting, they taste like a hand full of uncooked flour dough! Moving on to the smallest portions in the world along with the unseasoned chicken. All around avoid this location and restaurant as a whole! read more

Fantastic, fresh ingredients. Friendly service. The queso is sublime. Please don't go to the other place when there is a Panchero's a block away. read more

Pretty skimpy on the queso. It bugs me when a place has a good size spoon and uses half of it.... Otherwise the food was adequate. read more

One of my favorite places to go and get something to eat, it's a bit more expensive, but the quality of the food is great. I go here a lot and all the workers a super nice and make the food quickly. It's also nice to see the process of the food being made right in front of you overall a really good place to go, and in my opinion enter than chipotle read more

I really like Pancheros. While the meat, guacamole and chips are substantially better at Chipotle, these fresh/made to order tortillas and queso are so much better at Pancheros. I also love the green hot sauce by the soda machine. Note: this is very different than the green tomatillo salsa that's offered on the line where they prep burrito. They also mix up the burrito filling, which I like. That said, skip the chips and gross guacamole here. read more

There is a reason the place was empty. Across the street is chipotle grill. Go there. Their hot sauce has a nasty oily texture. :(

Sometimes I have to hit Pancheros, just to break up the monotony of the other nearby(to the workplace) lunch choices. I generally prefer Chipotle, but the fresh pressed tortilla at Pancheros sucks me in periodically! One could do way worse than this chain, but it could use improvements. Unfortunately, after the tortilla, things go downhill quickly. Rice is plain and often undercooked. Same with either kind of beans. Crunchy is not a feature I like in those items. For protein, I do like the carnitas, but pretty much everything else is bland. Cold items-salsa etc., are also under seasoned, and usually not very fresh. If the grilled veggies look fresh, I will get them (for a dollar---geez), as I do prefer the red bell peppers they use. But, too often, they are long past appetizing in their faded, flaccid state. And a dollar, WTH!?!? The pico, and corn salsa also seem to suffer from a less than fresh state. Visually limp and faded, and not much flavor. On the up side, the diced jalapeno does seem to always be crisp and fresh. If the guacamole looks fresh, I do like it here just fine. So far, one would read and ask why I keep going back? Mostly poor planning on my part, and time constraints due to work. I only go for lunch when at work, and if I just brought something, or could go a greater distance, there is no way I would bother with this place. But, In spite of my quibbles, It is a far better choice than many. I do really enjoy the bottled hot sauces they have on the tables. Both the red and green are spicy and flavorful. I always ask for a little cup to fill with one or both kinds, so I can add some punch to my delicious tortilla, that is stuffed with average! The thing that tipped the scales for me to review this place, is the loyalty card. I had a nearly full paper card. I handed it over for a stamp one day, and was handed back a new swipe card. I assumed what with her fiddling around for some time, the counter person had added some points to my new card. Turns out, I got one point. ONE. After like SEVEN burritos logged on my old card. I am rather unimpressed with how that turned out, as that now instead of 10 burritos, I need 100 points, to get a freebie. Points appear to be DOLLARS, based on what I am seeing on my "activity". Yikes. A hundred bucks for a free burrito. That would require "loyalty" indeed. I am afraid I am not the guy for this plan. I get freebies from other places that do not even HAVE a program, simply because I am a regular, and the management recognizes this. Will I stop going to Pancheros? No. Will I go less often? Yes. The changes in the loyalty program are unappealing, the fact that I lost credit for previous purchases in the transition totally stinks, and the utility grade food could use more diligent care. read more

Language barrier posses a problem when ordering. Wanted kids meal, very hard to order apparently. Didn't get my side or rice that supposed to come with kids meal. read more

The flavor and tortillas are what separates Pancheros Mexican Grill. Just don't ask for onions because they will change you a dollar for that. Otherwise, make sure and wrap your pork and rice in a hot freshly pressed tortilla and enjoy. read more

The flavors were really great but the food wasn't at all hot enough. Loved the quest and the tortillas were very good.

Better than Chipotle, which moved in across the street. I love their tortillas, so fresh and yummy.