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    Pancho's Mexican Restaurant

    3.9 (481 reviews)
    ModerateMexican, Bars
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated a few days ago

    Pancho's Mexican Restaurant Photos

    Business Info

    PANCHO'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Juke Box
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Pancho's Mexican Restaurant

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    Scott C.

    Full of delicious flavor! Perfect place for a Sunday dinner while watching the game. The service was prompt and completely complimented the food and drinks! Come on in and enjoy!

    Mom's bday lunch
    Lauren C.

    Great selection of food from American to Mexican. Tastes great! Chips and salsa are brought to the table. They are on it when it comes to refills. It is more of a bar atmosphere than a family restaurant. Half of the place is a bar and there are booths on the other side. The music is good, but WAY too loud. You can't even have a conversation or hear yourself think. I guess the bartender likes it loud (as we were told by our waitress). Fun atmosphere, but not family friendly.

    Cheese Enchilada rice & beans
    Lisa P.

    Panchos is what I would consider as a dive restaurant. Very laid back, a lot of regulars, it can be busy and also dead. I haven't figured out that pattern yet. They have two sides to the restaurant with separate entrances. One for dining side and one for bar. Be forewarned sometimes conversation can be hard to hear on the bar side if it's busy. Music can sometimes get too loud on that side too. Lot of tvs though to watch whatever sports you're into. The inside is very dated and dark. Except for the bright LED light right above your table. Food is mediocre, I've tried burritos, nachos, enchiladas, Mexican pizza, mini tostadas, tacos, guacamole, and taquitos. Prices are decent. My favorite items have to be the taquitos and tacos. Plenty of meat, and cheese. Filling to say the least. I've grown to like their salsa, some days it's hotter than others. Chips can be good some days and too hard/stale on others. Guacamole is very bland, like it's almost smashed avocados only. I do love their strawberry blended margarita. Get a double, you'll thank me. We mostly go there for the company with friends and servers. We love Salvador! He's the best! Very very hard worker and all around great guy. He'll treat you like family. The last two times we missed him and almost decided to leave but stayed anyways. Oh and if it's your birthday, you'll definitely want to let them know. It's quite the experience lol.

    Cute Mexican flags they put on food plates!
    Areli S.

    This is the second time I come here. First time was on Saturday 4/20/24 in the evening and I sat at the bar. Wonderful experience. The food/drinks are amazing and conveniently priced. Salvador gets the MVP award! He went above and beyond to ensure my friend and I were catered to. He brought me spicier salsa without me asking (which I love) and helped pack my leftovers. His service was excellent. He was very attentive, funny and made sure we left happy. The only person I'll complain about is the older white lady who waitresses day shift, Kelly Ca. I told her I don't eat meat and she kept insisting on giving me sauce with "the least amount of meat". I had to explain to her 5 times that I wanted the sauce that had NO MEAT. On top of that she brought us a large side of sour cream which my gf and I thought it was weird. We didn't touch it. Asked her if she could remove it from our bill bc we didn't order it and she got defensive saying "I wrote down everything she said. She did order it." With a very entitled/rude attitude like I'm right you're wrong. I said, "not a big deal it's only $2.50 you're removing and she didn't even touch it." She acted like I cursed her out. I feel bad leaving this review but bad employees unfortunately ruin it for the good ones. Hope this changes as I'm willing to give them another try in the future. Thanks Salvador for saving the day... literally! 5 stars for you buddy.

    26. Special - Choose Any 2 Items Combo Plate 1/2 Chile Colorado and 1/2 Pork Chile Verde.
    Dave H.

    Food was incredible and the service was even better. The chips and salsa were great the Chips were warm and the Salsa had a little kick.

    Beer taco/beef enchilada combo platter with rice and beans.
    Ryan N.

    I came here with my folks yesterday 5/31/25 for lunch. They ate here last weekend and told me the food was good so I agreed to have lunch with them. We were promptly greeted and seated in a booth. While receiving complimentary chips and salsa we placed our order. My mom ordered the menudo, my step dad got beef taco and chili relleno plate and margarita while I got the beef enchilada and beef taco plate and rootbeer. The waitstaff which was a older hispanic gentleman made sure our drinks were filled and our bowl of chips filled. The food was delicious the rice was cooked properly, the refried beans were hot and both my items were good. Everyone enjoyed their meal. I would definitely return and recommend Kudos to this restaurant for the awesome experience.

    Menu
    Joe F.

    First thing I will say is the staff here was on their game, super helpful and attentive. They were nice enough to recommend a few dishes for my toddlers and we now know my 2 year old love chili verde. We got seated right away. While were there it was constant stream of people picking up to go orders as well. Seemed like a good amount of locals in the restaurant. And one of the things you don't find as much in locations as they dropped off two bowls of tortilla chips, and two salsas for a family of four at no charge. The chips were over cooked which is kind of a theme for the tortillas in our visit. However, I really did enjoy their salsa. I thought the beef tacos were solid. The meat was delicious but I will say the shell was way over cooked. The chili Verde I had was excellent. To me the beans were OK but I really like the rice. My wife wasn't a fan of really anything she had the beans and rice, chicken taco, which her shell was also overcooked. My girls worked on their meal they loved it. They had some pork tacos and a cheese quesadilla. And they really loved the beans. Overall, I'm gonna give it a four for the service and some of the food. They were definitely some things over cooked but overall some strong meals and good flavor. I've seen some of the reviews to talk about a bar it does seem like there's a second entrance to the location. So you've got sort of a dining area and then a bar area on the other side of the wall. Decor is a little dated, but hey, you're here for a good meal.

    Combo (I chose Shredded Beef Taco and Cheese Enchilada

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    6 months ago

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    1 month ago

    First time going it was a great experience great food and fantastic atmosphere definitely will be going back

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    6 months ago

    Soup is great here but no longer offering soft drinks to go so I'll be eating elsewhere.

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    1 year ago

    Best menudo in town. We come just to eat their menudo. Service and prices are great too!

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Worst food ever omg ! First and last time lol I think they were trying to make Mexican food? Better off going to Taco Bell !

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    Page 1 of 13

    Ask the Community - Pancho's Mexican Restaurant

    Are the soups beef or pork?

    Do your beans have lard in them? Do you have any good options for vegans?

    I dont think they do have lard in them, and vegan options here are pretty slim.

    When did Panchos close? We have been there several times over the last few weeks and they are not open. For a while they had a handwritten sign saying they were closed for the afternoon but now that's gone.

    a friend and I had lunch at Pancho's a couple days after Christmas. if there was a closing, they appear to be back open.

    View All 6 Questions

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    Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen

    Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen

    3.9
    (2.9k reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    Overall a great experience…read more The pros: Came in on a Saturday afternoon and was sat down to be greeted by a lovely server. Had red and white sangria. Both were good but we both preferred the white. Queso fundido was good but didn't come with chips so we ordered chips and salsa. Mole tostadidas were delightful, full of flavor. Esquites: the bomb. Super flavorful and we cleaned the plate. Churrosnwere good, but the dipping sauces left something to be desired. A little runny and preferred the hot churro on its own. The cons: the only thing that was a little disappointing was the fact that they served us the end of a bag of chips. While the chips were fine, it was surprising that at a michelin star restaurant they didn't serve homemade chips. Worse still, we got the tail end of the bag of chips. The top of the bowl had regular sized chips but they were just hiding the smaller broken odds and ends that you find at the bottom of the bag.

    I'd like to start by saying the service was not the issue. The staff were kind and happily offered…read morerecommendations when asked. In my opinion, the restaurant should just be called "Gabbi's Kitchen," because that would be more appropriate. This is the type of "Mexican" restaurant that Mexicans don't actually go to. Basic concepts and dishes that are either done incorrectly or have way too much going on. We ordered the Al Pastor Gordita, and it was easily the worst gordita I've ever had. The meat wasn't traditionally seasoned the way you'd expect al pastor to be, which could be fine, except it was overwhelmed by the taste of either cinnamon, allspice, or some other seasoning I couldn't identify. It was distracting and unpleasant. Then there was an overwhelming amount of pineapple. There shouldn't even be pineapple in a gordita, but if there is, it shouldn't be the main ingredient. Instead of lettuce, there were one or two spinach leaves, and no beans. We also ordered the Arrachera, which was basically carne asada on corn and nopal. This was the most expensive dish, yet while the cheaper dishes came with sides, this was mainly just a piece of meat on a small mountain of corn. No beans, rice, or salsa. I asked for salsa and received an overly sweet, somehow-not-spicy habanero salsa that they charged $4 for. And if you're used to going to literally any authentic Mexican restaurant and getting complimentary chips and salsa, don't expect that here. They offer it to you like it's free, but it's not. I wanted to try something new, and the hostess at the front said the food was "really good" (not her fault), but unfortunately, it's just another Americanized Mexican restaurant that makes you regret not going to a place you already know and trust.

    Photos
    The cellar table
    The cellar table
    Gotditas al pastor
    Gotditas al pastor
    Gorditas al Pastor

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    Gorditas al Pastor
    Santo Remedio

    Santo Remedio

    3.9
    (887 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    $$

    Look if there's anything I know I know good Mexican food…read morewhy because I'm Mexican I eat Mexican food every day to me. I don't call it Mexican food. I just call it food cause that's what I eat for breakfast lunch and dinner so when I'm telling you that this place has some really good food trust me you want to come out and try it. Everything they have on the menu is bomb as fuck. Their drinks are bomb. The service is bomb. That's the reason I keep coming back all the way from the inland Empire to Orange to eat their food this is one of my favorite spots to come and join the rest of my family. We all come from different parts of Southern California just to eat here so if you're yelping and you're curious to know how good this place is stop it already just come in you won't be disappointed!! I do have to warn you that this is a Cantina restaurant so the music is loud but guess what? I fucking love loud music!!

    ...... if you do not like loud music, I mean loud to the point where you can't hear yourself talk,…read morethis is not the place to go. respectfully the trio can't sing. There instruments sound amazing but the singing was not it. It would do better if they did everything without speakers The music they had on aux though was great, maybe they should stick to that. Regardless, the food was amazing. I would totally go back for the food and the beans were soooo good!! Service was also nice, we did have to wave them down a couple times but regardless, very kind people. Please just fix the music situation LOL.

    Photos
    The place
    The place
    Chips and salsa
    Chips and salsa
    Cafe de olla

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    Cafe de olla
    Avila's El Ranchito

    Avila's El Ranchito

    3.8
    (872 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    First time here, and overall, we had a good experience. What I really liked was the service…read more Everyone was super nice and helpful, from the servers to the rest of the staff. Our water glasses were always full, and they kept the table clean as soon as we finished a plate. The food was good, but not the best I've tried. I had the Grande Taco Salad, and I really enjoyed it. We also ordered the seafood tacos, but unfortunately, the shrimp had a little bit of a soapy taste. We let our server know, and they were very nice about it and offered to get her something else. A note for anyone who doesn't eat pork: ask for the beans prepared "a la olla" instead of the refried beans. I asked our server if the refried beans were made with manteca (pork lard), and he confirmed that they were, so just something to be aware of when ordering. The restaurant itself has a lot of character. It used to be a church, so it has beautiful colorful windows with designs, lots of wood inside, and some huge, beautiful lamps in the middle. They also have outdoor seating, but it was way too hot to sit outside when we went. Overall, it was a nice first visit, especially because of the friendly service and atmosphere. I'm giving it 4 stars because of the soapy taste in the shrimp and because, while the food was good, I've had better Mexican food at other places.

    Great customer service! Friendly staff and super accommodating…read more First time and it won't be the last, just discover my new dinner spot and I am going back to try the mahi tacos!! Ambiance is perfect for families, parties and even meeting up with friends. Food tasted authentic.

    Photos
    Avila's El Ranchito
    Out of the Avila's locations; Orange does the Grande Taco Salad best!!
    Out of the Avila's locations; Orange does the Grande Taco Salad best!!
    The bar

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    The bar
    Kalaveras

    Kalaveras

    4.5
    (1.5k reviews)
    1.4 mi
    $$

    I came to Kalaveras and was blown away by how fast the food came out! Not only was the service…read moreincredibly quick, but the food was fresh, delicious, and great quality. What made our visit truly special was our server, Rosie. She was so kind and patient with my mom, and without us even asking, she packed up my mom's leftovers for her. My mom is a little older, and that thoughtful gesture meant so much to us. Service like Rosie's is hard to find these days. She went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed and cared for. Because of her outstanding customer service, we'll definitely be coming back. Thank you, Rosie, for making our dining experience so memorable!

    I hate having to write this because I've been to Kalaveras in Orange many times and have always…read moreenjoyed it. That's what makes this experience even more disappointing. A group of us came in and spent around $500. We ordered several appetizers and shared different plates because everything looked so good. I personally ordered the tacos gobernador. That night and the next day was awful. I started vomiting, had severe diarrhea, missed work, and my child also got sick after eating. Because of what happened, I called the restaurant to let them know and make them aware. I wasn't expecting an argument--I just wanted them to take the situation seriously. But I was being confused for someone that had already called earlier that day with the same problem. I felt completely brushed off. The response I received was basically, "Thanks for your comment." When I spoke with a supervisor he came across as aggressive and made me feel like I wasn't even allowed to express my concerns about what happened. As a regular paying customer, that was incredibly frustrating. I'm not saying restaurants don't have challenges or that mistakes can't happen. But when customers spend hundreds of dollars, we deserve quality food, proper food safety practices, and to be treated with respect when we report a serious issue. Whether this was a food handling problem or cross-contamination, my experience should have been taken seriously instead of dismissed.

    Photos
    Cool bar area and good music
    Cool bar area and good music
    3 Quesa - Birria Tacos
    3 Quesa - Birria Tacos
    Do they have hot tamales at Kalaveras?!

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    Do they have hot tamales at Kalaveras?!

    Pancho's Mexican Restaurant - mexican - Updated August 2026

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