Pancho's Mexican Restaurant & Cantina

Pancho's is a Tex-Mex restaurant that has been a part of Buford Highway for over thirty years. The restaurant is well known for its tequila offerings and margaritas, particularly the 48-ounce Monster margarita.The restaurant design is what you would expect for an older Tex-Mex restaurant. The parking lot is small and a bit tight (drive toward the back of the restaurant for additional parking). I highly recommend eating on the patio. Half the patio is covered and offers a cool view of Highway 85 (who doesn't love drinking a margarita watching others stuck in traffic?). There is live music on the patio during selected evenings. I ordered the Skinny Rita, Chicken Soup, and Texas Fajitas. My meal came out within an appropriate timeframe and I received good service. Pancho's has been recognized by the AJC for its chicken soup. The soup is so comforting, with a nice hint of spice and seasoning. In addition to chicken, the soup contains cilantro, jalapeño, tomatoes, onions, rice (only a little), and avocado and is served with a lime wedge. The Texas Fajitas is a sizzling combination of chicken, steak, and shrimp with an assortment of vegetables (red and green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and broccoli (yes, broccoli). The shrimp was the protein highlight - the chicken and steak could have used a little more seasoning. I also felt that the vegetables could have used more consistent char and seasoning. The fajitas come with rice, beans (refried is standard, black beans is an upcharge), tortillas (corn or flour), pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole. If you are a lover of sour cream and guacamole, ask for extra to ensure you have enough. The beans and the pico de gallo/sour cream/guacamole come in tortilla cups that are not crisp enough to enjoy. The rice and beans are solid but not memorable.Portion sizes are impressive, including the soup. I would definitely return for weekday lunch (11am-3pm) and happy hour (3-6pm) specials, margaritas, soup, and their tequila shrimp entrees.

Came to Pancho's to celebrate a birthday during lunch time. It was pretty empty but we were a table of 7 so understandable why service was a little slow. To start we ordered a couple of pitchers of beers and Margaritas. I have to say drinks were great, pretty strong and tasted good! We also had chips & salsa brought to the table and it was good. I ordered the Carne Asada ($23.57). The menu said this was served with grilled onion & bell peppers, rice, refried beans, guacamole salad & tortillas. I actually got no grilled onions but grilled mushrooms instead and raw peppers. This was actually ok with me mostly because I didn't want to complain and had to wait another 30 min for my food to come out, but I definitely believe they should serve what it is listed in their menu specifically for people that have allergies!! Smh. My husband ordered the Enchiladas Rancheras ($15.76) Three enchiladas with ground beef with salsa verde or a side of Mole. Served with rice & refried beans. The whole mole on the side thing was kinda weird for me. He went with that option because we were curious but not worth it. So if you get the side of mole you get no sauce on your enchiladas so it was just tortilla and ground beef with cheese melted on top.. not great. The guac I got on my plate was already brown, the side of refried beans were super dry and unappetizing. The rice I have to say was pretty good. The place itself looks old and smells kinda funny when you enter. You do get seated right away but you do not get taken care of right away. We asked the fan to be turn off like 3 times because our server kept forgetting. We probably won't be back. ESPAÑOLVine a Pancho's para celebrar un cumpleaños a la hora del almuerzo. Estaba bastante vacío, pero éramos una mesa de 7, así que es comprensible por qué el servicio era un poco lento.Para empezar, pedimos un par de jarras de cervezas y Margaritas. Tengo que decir que las bebidas fueron buenas, bastante fuertes y sabían bien! También nos trajeron chips & salsa y sabían bien. Pedí la Carne Asada ($23,57) El menú decía que se servía con cebolla y pimientos a la parrilla, arroz, frijoles refritos, ensalada de guacamole y tortillas. Cuando recibí mi plato no tenía cebollas a la parrilla, sino champiñones a la parrilla y pimientos crudos. No me importó mucho sobre todo porque no quería quejarme y tener que esperar otros 30 minutos para que saliera mi comida, pero definitivamente creo que deberían servir lo que aparece en su menú específicamente para las personas que tienen alergias! Smh.Mi esposo pidió las Enchiladas Rancheras (15,76 $). Tres enchiladas con carne molida con salsa verde o una lado de Mole. Servido con arroz y frijoles refritos. El mole al lado fue un poco raro para mí. Optó por esa opción porque teníamos curiosidad, pero no valía la pena. Si pides el lado del mole, no le ponen salsa en tus enchiladas, así que era solo tortilla y carne molida con queso derretido encima... no muy bueno.El guac que vino en mi plato ya estaba oscuro, el lado de los frijoles refritos estaba súper seco y poco apetitoso. Tengo que decir que el arroz estaba bueno.El lugar en sí se ve viejo y huele un poco raro cuando entras. Te sientas de inmediato, pero no te atienden de inmediato. Le pedimos que el ventilador se apagara como 3 veces porque al mesero se le olvidaba. Probablemente no volveremos.

I had good service and good food on my visit. Presentation was better the second time around.The place was not busy and I was able to immediately grab a seat at the bar. Bartender was serving multiple tables but they were able to get to me quickly.I ordered the Frozen Texas Margarita which was stronger than I expected (in a good way). You can tell they added an extra shot of peach schnapps. Tasted sweet. Bartender asked if I wanted a rim of salt or sugar.I ordered the Taco Tuesday. It is 2 beef tacos, 2 chicken tacos, and 2 chorizo tacos. There was a lot of food but the taste was lacking. It definitely needed the salsa.

My favorite Mexican place in the city great food, awesome patio, best margarita in town. I pop by weekly for a monster.

Everything was great! The service was wonderful. The margaritas were 12/10!! Outdoor seating was nice.

Decent restaurant. Nothing special, and not sure if we'd be back, but our server Daniel was great. The chicken soup was probably a 2/5. Chicken was really dry, but the rice was a nice addition. The chimichanga was pretty good, but needed salsa to doctor it up. My mom enjoyed her quesadilla, but again probably wouldn't come back for it. Highlight was the camarones de chipotle.

I see a lot of ppl giving it a bad review, and honestly that has not been my experience. I mean at the end of the day, it's decent food. The way staff is always really helpful to me. They come out with the chips and the salsa as soon as you sit down, and that's appreciated. We got drinks, Texas Margaritas for everybody. Of course they have the big fish bowls, but I don't think that we were doing that today lol!I ordered the wings, the chorizo dip, and a steak fajita. The chorizo dip was good, really good. Just as cheesy as you wanted to be. The wings were lemon pepper wet and they were pretty solid as well. I have no issues with those. And they are actually pretty damn big so you'll definitely get closer to being full after you eat a 10-piece. Comes with ranch and blue cheese and celery and some carrots. So that way you can say you ate your vegetables lol. The fajita was okay. It came with a shell full of toppings, and I was not necessarily enough so you may have to ask for more of something. For example, if you like sour cream on your fajita, you may have to ask for more because it's only enough for about two shells worth. The steak was good, it wasn't a whole lot, but maybe that was just because it was the lunch portion. But it was tender, not a flavorful, but that's partially with the salsa is for. But it's definitely possible and I would definitely go back.

I came here for National Margarita day which was neat. You can seat yourselves which I thought was really cool. I ordered beef tacos and it was just okay, nothing to fancy about it. I really liked the chips and salsa and we ordered the chorizo dip. I'd be back to try their fishbowls!!!

I have found memories of Panchos Mexican buffet in Texas. It was a staple of childhood where the food was unlimited and you dreamed of coming back even at the end.Nostalgia leads to high bars, but either way this place did not live up to my expectations. The food was bland, and ultimately why I would not come back. The service was great though. Started with chips and salsa, thought for the $10 queso. Which was a literal bowl of cheese that tasted like plastic. Then the chili relleno that was good, but came with dry rice, and what felt like canned refried beans.Good memories with a similar name. But the food here was not to my liking.

Inside ambience was fun! Food (fajitas) were delicious! Big beautiful patio with lights for outdoor eating!