Gallo Negro — Restaurant in Leipzig

EDIT 2022: I returned with high expectations and came out somewhat dissapointed. The "Tacos al Pastor" remain the saving grace of this restaurant, but the quality and overall taste have diminished considerably.

Drinks: still awesome. Still well made. Still good.

Service: still lacking. Still slow. BUT very friendly.

Hope this place kicks it up a notch with the flavors, because overall it still trumps any other mexican restaurant in Leipzig. Let me start by saying that I'm Mexican, so I know good Mexican food when I taste it.

Atmosphere: indoor seating affords you a comfortable blend of tile, brick and nice artwork. When choosing outdoor seating you will enjoy pretty lights and the shade of a big tree which I recommend for a sunny day or a warm evening. Both are enjoyable and encourage a good time.

Service: while at times a bit slow, the staff was always friendly and available to clarify questions about the menu. It never took more than a look for one of kind waitresses to come your way and refill your glass, inquire over your needs or point you in the right direction to the bathroom.

Food: simply delicious. My husband and I ordered Horchata and Jamaica as drinks. Both were sweet and refreshing. As entrees we chose the Queso fundido con Chorizo and the Ceviche de Pescado. Good portions and excellent mix of flavors. For the main course we selected Tacos al pastor, Carnitas and Cochinita Pibil. All of them were served with corn tortillas (as they should be) and served in the traditional Mexican way. I'm happy to note that it was not an odd combination of Tex-Mex, weird gravy or overabundance of side dishes.

We were faced with two small problems: one personal and one with the restaurant. The first, the portions were a bit larger than we expected, so we couldn't finish it all. I could feel the shameful looks of my deceased abuela for not finishing my tacos. That's 100% on me. The second problem was that there were no "salsas". Any good Mexican establishment usually offers at least 2 choices (red salsa and green salsa), but here we only had the option of green salsa (which wasn't spicy) and it was only offered with the complimentary "nachos" (we call them "totopos"). My recommendation to them would be to add at least one more variety and leave it at the table.

I'm sad (but not really) to say, we had no room for dessert. Guess we'll just HAVE to go back, try more food and leave a bit of room for dessert. Definitely something to...

I kept hearing for so many years about how "authentic" this restaurant is for Mexican food, and that the owners actually come from Mexico City and such... And while we do really like certain dishes on the menu, many of our favourite (molé based) recipes have been all but scrubbed from the menu and much of the rest can be best described as "Mexican fusion" perhaps, rather than "authentic, classic Mexican". Yes, yes I know, like almost every other cuisine, Mexican cuisine is regional rather than national. There are the staples such as Tacos al Pastor or Tacos de Carnitas, but everything else is either some kind of fusion or perhaps variations diverging from the originals, better described as "Mexican inspired", rather than "Oaxaqueña", "Poblano", "Veracruzana" or whatever. As an FYI, the menu seems to favour northern Mexican food items over southern Mexican overall.

We will certainly come back for our favourites, but if you, like we were originally expecting real, authentic Mexican food as you can find in the various regional cuisines of Mexico, please disabuse yourself of such notions. Then you will not be so deeply disappointed as we were. If you're German and have never stepped foot anywhere in Mexico, the food here will indeed seem "authentic" compared to many of the Germanified Tex-Mex offerings you can find in Leipzig and Germany in general. If you, like me, have spent a number of years wandering around many, many regions of Mexico, sampling the wonderfully diverse and delicious cuisines of the country, you'll definitely need to adjust your expectations to appreciate what is offered here...

I will say, that if you come in without the weight of expectations and experience with regional Mexican cuisines that I had, there are delicious options to be had. But please, let's call this cuisine "Mexican fusion", "Mexican inspired", rather than the misleading and mostly untruthful "authentic Mexican".

Also, some tips when and if you decide to go here: do be aware that many of the staff are unable to understand either English or German, so if you have some basics in Spanish, it can help. Our order has been misunderstood more than once. Definitely also eat a bit before you come here, don't come here famished, because just like the contents of the menu itself, the portion sizes are definitely NOT like what you'd find in Mexico either. If the food really were like how you'd find it in Mexico, I wouldn't even mention this, but in my opinion the price you pay sadly doesn't correspond to the...

I'll start with the good. The atmosphere was great, with good/chill music and lights. It's a comfortable place to have some drinks and catch up with friends. I ordered a Quesadilla Polo with chicken and a cola zero. The food was a bit average taste wise. Please have a look at the picture attached. The consistency of the cheese showed that it may not have been fresh, with similar microwaved cheese consistency. However, the guacamole on the side was okay. After eating, I asked for the bill, and the waitress came back and said it was 20 euros but didn't present a receipt showing the cost breakdown(1st red flag). She further asks if I'll pay with cash or card. I paid with a card plus a 7% tip. Thereafter, I asked for the receipt because I suspected something was off, and I needed to confirm the actual price. She took a while before coming back, and eventually said that she apologised for the mix-up that my bill was actually 16 euros, according to the printed invoice. Quesadilla Polo- 12,5 euros, and Cola light 3,5 euros. She therafter returns 4 euros. This may have been an honest mistake or a very dishonest attempt to get more money from a non-german speaking person. Nevertheless, I'll advise you to ask for a receipt whenever you visit this establishment and cross-check what you're paying for/ change...