El Panchito's Fil-Mexicano Resto — Restaurant in Pagsanjan

Like a hidden gem of Pagsanjan except to the locals. For outsiders like me, it's amazing that a restaurant like this exist in a province. It's just a house where the yard was converted to a restaurant and it's beautifully designed giving off an authentic Mexican ambience with its bright colours of yellow, red and avocado green. The lighting and flower decors complement the design well. But of course that's just part of the package. The highlight is the food, a fusion of Filipino and Mexican dishes. I tried the anticuchos de pollo and baby ribs with Mexican rice, both very satisfying dishes. Combined this with margarita cocktail - you're getting the Mexican experience already. Too bad about the mojito cocktail, it sucked, tasted like medicine as they just used lime cordial instead of real lime and the mint leaves were overpowering. Prices are more than the average but it is a bargain if you try similar dishes in Metro Manila. So I will go back again as El Panchito is raising the bar in terms of quality restaurants...

The price is mid ranged but the food is very tasty. We ordered the chicken quesodilla for appetizer, chicken anticuchos de pollo and salmon poke for our main course. For the chicken anticuchos, the chicken was a bit dried and not juicy, but the meal comes with a mayo mix that can moisten the chicken. The fresh yogurt smoothie was also a heaven (for me), they also serve a freshly made cucumber juice which my hubby ordered and it's so refreshing. The service was also great and the crew are kind and helpful. The waiting time is not that long compared to other restaurants. For the place's ambience, it's like an ordinary cafe but it's comfortable, it's just that it lacks a bit of a Mexican touch. But once the food arrived, there'll be the mexican touch for the food really is a fil-mex dish. Below are the food that we ordered and enjoyed for the first time we visited here. We'll surely comeback to try...

I will give zero/100 with their service. My family had a terrible experience. Most of the staff are impatient, the place is not child friendly and have a way of choosing who to treat better. I cannot imagine my family just wanting to have a post new year celebration lunch where they are supposed to be welcomed but in the end, treated in such humiliating manner. The servers passing by with poker face. Even raised their voice while doing “CUSTOMER SERVICE” and the blonde waiter who clicked his tongue when my niece go around the resto and dropped food on the floor. Never again El panchitos, No recomiendo este lugar! Entrenen a...