New to Celina and wanted to try a new to us local place for my birthday. We had 18 people so I called a couple of days before to see if they could accommodate us - the person who answered the phone said they do not take reservations, but recommended we arrive a little ahead of our group and that it should be no trouble at all. We arrived 15 minutes ahead and the restaurant was virtually empty. We got a little push back from the hostess, but they ultimately pushed some tables together and it was all uphill from there. Nice atmosphere, great service and delicious drinks and food. Will definitely be back! read more

This was a miss for me and I'm not sure why. Nice cozy place enjoyed the service but something was a miss. I will go back. Heard too many good things about it. read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - Chips, salsa, and bean soup - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas

We've eaten at Papa Gallo's several times and have always enjoyed it, which is why this visit was so disappointing. The food was perfectly fine, nobody at our table had any complaints about what they ordered. Unfortunately, the service was the worst we've experienced here. Our server was friendly, but she seemed overwhelmed from the moment we arrived. She kept getting sat with new tables and never had a chance to catch up. While that's frustrating for customers, it felt more like a management issue than a server issue. One example was when we ordered a large queso for the table. The queso arrived, but the small plates we needed to actually serve and eat it didn't come until 5-8 minutes later. We were a larger group, so not everyone could reach the bowl directly. The manager spent much of the time on his phone and would look directly at our table without stepping in to help. Meanwhile, our service suffered. My husband's water was never refilled, and it took a very long time to get tea refills for the table. One person in our party ordered a frozen margarita, but it arrived half melted. We sent it back, only for the replacement to come out the same way. If the frozen drink machine isn't working properly, it would be better not to serve frozen margaritas at all. We understand restaurants have busy days, but this visit felt poorly managed from start to finish. The food saved the experience from being a complete disappointment, but the service and lack of management support made this one of our least enjoyable visits to Papa Gallo's. read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - Half melted margarita - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas

Highly recommend Papa Gallo's! We had a fantastic meal. The food was some of the best Mexican food we have ever had. Sonya was taking care of us and her service, attention, and recommendations were impeccable! The ambiance was nice and relaxed and made us feel right at home. We will definitely be recommending this place and look forward to returning again soon! Thank you! read more

Over the weekend let me tell you, this place hit the spot. Mexican food with a cocktail is something I started having in recent years and it hits the spot every single time for me. If I don't feel like traveling to other towns in the DFW, this place is it. Good soup as well. Four stars from me! read more

Great food and even better service. They had the standard Mexican fair but also some unique specials like Crawfish Enchiladas (which were pretty good!). The best thing is they give a very good $2 Margarita option with any of the specials! read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - Crawfish Enchiladas - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas

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I'm so bummed. I came here for my 40th birthday dinner- and unfortunately a glass of water was dropped and broken on my 8 year old. He was soaked. I had to leave my own birthday dinner and take my son home to change. Only to come back with 50 minutes left of the restaurant being open. They didn't even comp a $5 corn dog for my son. I mean for real? I was so shocked. The girl was sweet and apologetic (when I left, according to my husband) which I appreciate. But management should have come out and at least comped my son's meal. Not even the whole meal- just his corn dog. I'm super disappointed that that wasn't even a consideration. Or attempt. There was 7 of us, it was clear it was my birthday, the spill was not minor in the least- but the principle of the matter to not be addressed better with management was incredibly disappointing. And I've been raving about this place based on their food and their SERVICE. Tonight was far from what I've been sharing. Not because of the waitress- but because the matter was not better addressed and handled with management. I couldn't imagine having that happen to a customer, especially a child, during a special dinner and not taking better care of the customer. read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - Margarita & Modelo - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas

Rice, chips, food was stale. $60 for three with one a child's menu. Used to love this place. read more

Since when are Mexican burritos drenched soggy in sauce ?? I am Mexican and that's not how burritos are made . They should specify that in the menu. I am super disappointed. The carnitas tacos also came cubed?? Carnitas are supposed to be shredded. Other than the great service I received this place was a big disappointment. I ate half of my food only bc I was starving but it was not good.. read more

Service was terrible. Got there vefore lubch was over. By the time the guy got our drinks correct, lunch was over. We arrived on time and he dilly dallied to get the dinner price. Not very good business and not going to return. We'll go to Taco Bell first. read more

Everything was excellent! Our first visit to Papa Gallo's was amazing. We had lunch and was surprised we got a cup of complimentary bean soup, so good. Crispy chips and mild salsa. Our super sweet server made some suggestions so I ordered the beef taco w tortilla soup, my husband the chimichanga and my daughter ordered cheese and beef enchiladas. The restaurant was very clean. We will be back! read more

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This is a hidden gem in Celina! Good food, good service and really good drinks. What else can you ask for? You get in and out of here really quickly too. They're not playing around about getting you taken care of. read more

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The food here is wonderful. It is well lit with large windows and climate controlled. Located right off of the Celina town square with ample parking and easy access. The service was great from Lorenzo and we were well cared for throughout our dining experience. Blue or yellow margaritas and ice cold beers in 16 oz or large 20 oz glasses. Large bowls of fresh chips with bowls of roasted pepper salsa and small bowls of fresh made frijole and ham soup for free starters. The servings were very generous and the food was fresh and piping hot. We tried many of the dishes and everyone was full and happy. Then we topped it all off with a Mexican brownie. That's a small black iron skillet which is sizzling hot. They pour a butter and sugar sauce and then add the brownie, two scoops of vanilla ice cream and topped with more butter sauce. Absolutely extraordinary!!! This is a must visit Mexican fiesta under one roof. I highly recommend!! read more

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Great street tacos and great location. Staff was friendly and the street tacos were delicious. Will def be back. read more

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We hired this restaurant to cater our special event and the service was outstanding. Great communication, great service and awesome food! I highly recommend this restaurant for dinner and for special event catering! read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - Enchiladas! - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas

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We are regulars at Papa Gallo's. We normally go with shredded chicken enchiladas and bacon wrapped shrimp. All are spectacular. Recently I have tried the Birria tacos and egg rolls and they are excellent as well. Their chips and salsa is quite delicious and if you ask for their hot salsa it will be some of the hottest but tastiest you have ever had. Service is outstanding as well. Can't go wrong eating here! read more

Three stars. Not bad but not good or great just average. I hade the chipotle chicken which is a thin cut chicken breast grilled the. Covered in as much cheese as you would want on a cheese burger then a chipotle sauce that looks and tastes like brown gravy. Chicken was dry and thin and had to scrape off the sauce and cheese to have grilled chicken. The sautéed veggies were very greasy/oily yet tasted fresh just over oily and rice was oily as well. Just grease puddles everywhere on plate. Wife had brisket enchiladas. Brisket was good tortilla okay and cheese sauce tasted generic. Service was good. Restaurant is in a historical building and down town and they enclosed the porch for indoor eating. Nice spot but average food. For price point and food, we probably won't be back. Just not for us. read more

I really wanted to like this place. Perhaps I was setting myself up for failure on this one because I grew up on mexican food and my husband's from San Antonio. Definitely more Tex-Mex than authentic. Chips and salsa we're just OK. I found the chips to be pretty stale. I've had better at Chili's. Our server was very polite and was attentive. My rating on this place really comes down to the food. I got enchiladas and it had a plastic like queso on it. Meat was so greasy. I wasn't a fan of that. My husband got tacos that he wasn't a fan of. Beans and rice were just OK and not as flavorful as we would have liked. We found it to be overpriced for the quality. The food just wasn't good. Ambience was alright. It keeps pretty busy so it might be a little noisy if you're there on a Friday night. Music is usually loud. We wanted to like it, just not for us . read more

So my family LOVES this place. Tex-Mex in Texas is a dime a dozen, and they do a few things differently that we really enjoy. 1. The beans they bring out with the chips and salsa... ARE EXCELLENT!!!! Different and delicious. 2. $2 Margaritas with the specials! 3. The specials have range and change with the seasons, they are not boring. I have seen things that range from bbq vibes, to traditional Mexican dishes I had never heard of, to Cajun style to fit in with the local events for crawfish season! 4. Wait staff is always great! Food is fast once you sit down and order. 5. Location on the town square is also perfect! read more

Every time we visit the chips taste like old oil. Today the water tasted musty. The food is adequate but definitely not great. If there was something else close by we would go there instead. The soup beans are great but that's about it. read more

I've been here for lunch before and brought the family out Friday night. We checked in at 7:24p, we're told it would be about 20-25min; but got the text in 6 minutes that a table was ready. Not sure it is was because of the very big group next to us, but the seating seemed really cramped, like right on top of each other. Server was very pleasant and got our drinks order and came back for the order. He helped our kids with the menu options and took our order promptly. Food came out in about 10-12 minutes which is good for busy night. We have some bean soup, and chips/salsa to hold us I've troll the food came and both were really good. Our kids got the chicken enchiladas w/queso. My daughter loved hers and my son wasn't really feeling them, so we got him a side of Mac n cheese(Kraft) which he enjoyed. My wife got the poblano steak with arroz n frijoles and her plate looked amazing and steak was decent; it's a good meal. I ordered the fajita trio which came on a sizzling plate on bed of onions and green peppers. The steak carne asada was good, chicken a little dry and bacon shrimp a hit. The rice and refried beans are a nice base for a taco and I used the salsa as well. We didn't have desert but they have a fried ice cream that I would love to come back and try. Overall decent food, price is ok, if you get a booth it's good, if not ‍. It's a solid spot in the downtown Celina food scene.. read more

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I'll give my experience here a 4-star rating because I like the old-style ambience. 3 stars for the food. The service is good. I ordered stacked enchiladas. I can't say that it was my favorite. The chipotle sauce was a bit odd, but it was okay. I ordered a cucumber margarita, and it was tasty.  I'll be back to try the other items on the menu. My final thought is that it's your typical Tex-Mex food. read more

Love, love, love Papa Gallo's!!! Definitely worth the drive to Celina to check it out. Best charro beans (they serve a small cup with the chips/ salsa), very generous with meat on nachos, tamales are fabulous, as well as the tacos! I need to try more things on the menu now! read more

Loved the food and loved the service...the environment was awful!! The A/C wasn't working in SUMMER which apparently is a recurring problem according to others/staff. Portable swamp coolers were just blowing air and stuff on the table. You go to use the bathroom and it's like riding a bucking bull, the toilet wasn't bolted down properly and moved everywhere, again an ongoing issue according to those we were with. What's going on?!?? read more

What to say? Good food, good portions, good service. I like hot spicy food so asked if the salsa had a hotter blend. It does and was quite good. read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - Lunch menu Tacos - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas

We've been there before more than a year ago and it was good. This time not so good. I had the carnitas taco and the pork was cut into cubes filled into a taco shell. Carnitas is normally shredded and then fried. The other entre was the briskets taco. It was shredded watery beef without flavor. The server was very friendly and attentive. read more

Great food, excellent service - always Even when there's a wait they seem to get you in pretty quickly... read more

Tried papa gallo's for the first time since we moved to Celina 3 yrs ago. I'm not a huge fan of Tex mex since I'm sensitive to lactose and prefer the flavors of more authentic Mexican food instead. However, papa gallo's was pretty good even for someone who doesn't prefer Tex mex. I got their carnitas fajitas with the chipotle wine sauce. The sauce was EVERYTHING! I could literally drink that sauce and put it over everything, it was so good. They give you extra side of sauce so you can dip your fajitas. I loved it because it was a flavor I have never had before and it was delicious and unique. The rest of my party also got different variations of fajitas (steak and chicken) and my husband got the carne asada and everyone loved their food as well. Would definitely come back again! read more

Excellent and attentive service from Lorenzo. Great tasting food starting with very nice salsa and chips and surprise, a nice charro bean soup which my wife said was delicious. Tacos were great as well. Looking forward to another visit! Great place for families too! read more

4 Stars for the food. If you want your app to come out first, don't order your meal as thier servers do not know how to pace a ticket. It will come out with the main course and be cold. Don't come if you want to drink because alcohol service is not a priority for this restaurant. You'll get your first drink at least, but anything after is doubtful. Hard to believe there would be a wait for beers and frozen Rita's out of a machine. Thier bar should be for service only as allowing people to walk up and order will only weed the one inexperienced bartender they have. I'm surprised to hear this place has been around for over 4 years and these easily fixed service issues are still being practiced. Training, training, training. Good luck. read more

The salsa here is the only reason I'm giving 3 stars. It is SO good. We order it to-go all the time! Staff members are always friendly and prompt with their service too. We ordered take out for lunch and we're disappointed with the size and quality of the food that we ordered. My husband's "full size" nachos were so small I don't want to know what a half size order looks like. My tamales were much smaller than I expected them to be. The two tamales could've been combined to make a typical sized tamale. I recognize that lunch portions are usually smaller but my husband's nachos were an appetizer (so not made smaller for lunch) and the menu did not indicate that my tamales would be small due to a lunch menu being used. Overall, the taste of the food was average. Not a bad place to stop it you're in a pinch because there aren't many dining options in Celina but unfortunately certainly not a spot to go out of your way to eat at. read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - The full size nachos - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas

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Our server Bangi was amazing. Food was absolutely amazing. Birria quesadillas with consome was perfect. Definitely recommend!

If you are looking for a fun, loud ambience to take your family and not worry about your kids distracting everyone, you are in the right place here. I mean that as a positive. Great Tex-Mex food, the highlight for me is the Enchiladas, but quite a few of your favorite options and the Margaritas aren't too sweet. Service is okay, but when it gets packed just don't finish your drink too quickly or you might be waiting. read more

We have been there several times and will go back again. The food and drinks are excellent I have had the tacos and enchiladas which comes with rice and refried beans. Service was great and attentive. read more

We finally went and tried this place. The food was really good. The menu isn't overwhelming with choices but they have it narrowed down perfect. The margaritas were really good. We love going to restaurants that are in old buildings. It gives it so much character. The service was good! We will be back. read more

Have 2 stars since the server was good. Food is not very good. My kids did not like theirs nor did we. I had the fajitas and there were chewy and had no flavor. The beans were not fresh and you could tell they were 2 or more days old. The queso was bland. Definitely not going back. read more

Nice little Mexican place in Celina. Visited in the middle of the day so it was quiet but the service was excellent. Had the house margarita which was tasty along with homemade chips and salsa. Salsa was amazing but thought the chips a bit too thick but had good flavor. I had a crispy taco (beef) and a chicken enchilada. Hubby had two enchiladas (beef and chicken). Taco meat was flavorful but was disappointed when it appeared to be a taco shell from a box vs one made in the restaurant. Nothing fancy here but the food was tasty and the service was great. I am sure we will be back as there are a couple other items I would like to try. Love supporting local. read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas

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Last time we ate there (and it is definitely the last time), the service was mediocre, the food was subpar, and it was a disappointing dinner. We'd liked it in the past, but won't return. Seating us next to the kitchen didn't help, either. read more

Simply amazing!! Great food staff is ALWAYS friendly and fast!! Food comes out quickly and it's always tasty!

We were visiting Celina today and the other restaurants were closed on Monday so we saw this restaurant open and decided to give it a try. I am so selective when it comes to my mexican food... and unfortunately, the food here is okay. My husband ordered the enchilada special and it was ground beef in two rolled up tortillas! No cheese whatsoever or sauce over the enchiladas. I ordered the 3 brisket taco plate and the brisket is not like other that I have tried in other restaurants. See image attached. I don't understand why a Mexican restaurant can't serve authentic mexican food. They do however give a generous portion of chips. The salsa is a bit heavy on cummin flavor. read more

Papa Gallo's Mexican Grill - Brisket taco - Mexican Near Me - Celina, Texas