Penca

We had a nice time at pence. It makes an impression as you walk up, under the Mexican flags and the hostess greets you on the side walk. We had a reservation and they put us at a lovely corner table against the window. It was perfect. Our server was extremely helpful and friendly, although it felt like he checked in with us a bit too often to see how things were and it chat in general. The drinks were really good. Unique flavor profile. The food was mixed for me. Chips & salsa come complimentary. We ordered queso to go with it but I didn't love it. It wasn't very dip-able. More like quesadilla cheese that was melted and I had to cut to put in my tortilla. I ordered the short rib with goat cheese hominy which was just so big and bold and after 1/4 of the dish I was tired of it and wish I ordered something else. Overall, pleasant time but wish I had different food choices. I'm glad we went but I probably wouldn't come back.

Wow, five stars, Penca!The yummiest, freshest ingredients paired with skill and ambiance creates a phenomenal dinner experience. Our server was a delight and the drinks came out perfect, I favored the gin cocktail. This is downtown Tucsons gem for a belly warming romantic date or business meeting at the bar for drinks.

I ordered one appetizer Bone Marrow - it was really good. ( you need to acquire the taste and know how to enjoy it LoL- but first - Tate the top part with a spoon and let the salt touch your paladar fist then en hoy by small portions. Both pieces were deliciosos ) know that this is an appetizer so one bone will bring 4 small spoons ). Entry : chile relleno : flavor/taste was good. Salsa was good ( too much salsa for my taste but that's easy just to move over to the side ) meat was good - soft and good Taste. Chile cover was to thin for my taste. I like to taste the Chile - green outer part - and combine with the inside. But overall it was good. Dessert: churros - well! For me taste those were not the bomb flavor that I was expecting on my mouth BUT putting that aside- I focus on the taste and texture and it was good with the caramel and chocolate. I will say - if you have a pre conception of flavor then remove that and be open to try a new flavor and texture for this churros. Overall those are good but you need to acquire the taste. Ambiance is good and service was excellent t for my experience. 20% service charge was match. Drink : i tried lemonade. Same as churro review. $$$ above was below $80s for one person

We were downtown for a show at Arizona Theatre Company and decided to grab a bite at Penca first. Since we planned on appetizers, we sat at the bar. I ordered guacamole and esquites, which turned out to be a meal! Penca serves their corn tortilla chips with several fresh salsas, and I enjoyed trying different mixtures of guac and salsa, guac and esquites, and esquites and salsa. My partner ordered pozole blanco, which also was meal-sized. He enjoyed it and also tried the different salsas with chips. When we arrived, we were the only ones at the bar, and we received attentive service while we were there. The space has a blend of wood and metal finishes for a modern, sophisticated look. We'll go to Penca again when we're downtown for another show.

Although I recommend reservations and we had one they were not needed, we were seated right away. It was not busy at 8pm when we arrived. The restaurant has a cute ambience, candles throughout every table although ours was off I asked another worker if they could turn on. We ordered the queso fundido which was really good. Unfortunately we had no plates to eat from, and our waiter could not be located not even for water refills. Got the jalisco draft beer and margarita both ok. I ordered the chile relleno stuffed with pork and my husband had the steak both delicious. The portion size is on the smaller side but expected for this type of restaurant, so no complaints on that. I was disappointed that they do not offer desserts.Overall we enjoyed the food but service was just not what we expected. I hope they can work on it.For now I don't think I would come back, due to the lack of service.

I came here with a friend for Sonoran restaurant week a couple weeks ago and we decided to try the fixed menu. The evening started off really well with friendly service and a nice quiet atmosphere for dinner. Their outdoor patio seating is nice.We got complimentary chips and salsa, which were great. The chips weren't overly salty and the salsa had a nice flavor. The starter for the restaurant week menu was roasted carrots on cashew crema, and it was not like anything I've had before. The carrots were sweet and a mix of soft and crunch. The crema added a really nice flavor, so the dish as a whole worked really well and was probably my favorite!I chose the salad next, which was a mixed organic greens salad with an assortment of nuts and seeds. It had a hunk of a corn on the cob that was a strange addition to the salad. It seemed to be more for garnish. I didn't love the salad and didn't finish it.My friend and I both ordered the coconut poached sea bass, but there was a mixup with our orders and they forgot to make our entrees initially, so we ended up waiting over an hour and a half for our entrees! That was frustrating, but when we did finally get our sea basses, they were alright. The menu said it came with calabacitas, but it was more garnish-looking. The size of the sea bass was pretty large so it was a lot of food. It was not my favorite part of the meal, but by this point I just wanted some food!I finished the meal with the churro dessert. It came with two dipping sauces, the chocolate one I didn't like. But the churros themselves were fresh, hot, and crisp, when were great. It was a nice way to end the meal.Overall, I think this was a good restaurant week menu. The mixup with the entrees was disappointing, but it was a lot of food, and I think a good value for the $55 price.

Penca has a European feel ambiance and is I'm the heart of downtown tucson. Has a nice open feel and seating outdoors. Lovvvveeee the hongo and tocino tacos (bacon and mushroom). Such a good combination. Perk: complimentary chips and salsa

I had high expectations of this place. I was really underwhelmed with the flavors. The empanadas were lacking filling so the majority of the flavor was from the pastry. The pastry was good, but I really wanted to enjoy the filling and it was hard to given how little filling they had. I also tried the grilled fish taco. The homemade tortilla was really amazing - probably the best I've ever had. However the fish had no seasoning which made the taco very bland. I did love the side of grilled cactus and onions - that was the best thing I ate. I also really enjoyed their house salsas. It's a very nice restaurant with fast service and friendly wait staff. I love the vibe. I'd like to go back and try other menu items to hopefully find a flavorful experience.

I wanted to like this place, but neither the food, the price nor the service were satisfactory. I can see this place as for a romantic date night spot, but it was so dark inside I needed to turn on my phone flashlight to know what I'm eating. I usually consider myself someone who has an adventurous palate. But I didn't enjoy the 2 entrees we ordered. Pescale en Mole Verde- the mole sauce smelt and tasted weird to me. To be fair, my friend said she liked the sauce. The fish didn't seem to be seared, at least not the skin side. The oyster mushroom was the best part of this dish. Definitely not worth $33. Costilla de Res - short-rib is alright, but the ancho sauce was sour and did not add to this dish. Hominy with goat cheese is a good idea.Esquites - this was my favorite dish of the night. Sweet corn with cojito, pickled onion, and pieces of serrano were a pleasant surprise. Service was another let-down. We were seated at the counter, which gave us a good view of the kitchen. We waited for quite a while to order, and waited for another 20 minutes after we said no dessert to get the check.

We had a group of 23 last night at Penca for a rehersal diner party. I can only say that everything was excellent! Individuals in my party had a variety of dishes and everyone was very impressed, starting from the chips and wonderful salsa and guacamole, to the soups and salad, the main dishes and the dessert! Everything was just delicious and the service was also excellent! We will be back!