Pancho's Méxican Buffet — Restaurant in Arlington

Tonight, I made the trip down from the H-E-B area to the Southwest Arlington Pancho's, because it's been awhile since I've been to one, and the location on Rufe Snow in North Richland Hills closed down right after the "pandemic". I wish I could rate this location nearest me 4 or 5 stars, but it's a 3, imo, which I will discuss shortly. Most of the food was hot and OK to good. I recommend the beef enchiladas, tacos, and red chili stew over rice. Chips and salsa were also good. The flauta was room temperature, so were my first two tamales. My second two tamales were hot and fairly good. Tacos were better though. Service was very attentive, and my server was very nice. Now for the awkward parts: The restroom could have been cleaner, and the trash was overflowing. The soda and soft drink station was out of service except for the ice dispenser, and the air conditioning didn't seem to be cooling very well. I felt quite a bit warm during my visit. Finally, the salad bar didn't look great, and seemed to be depleted. The dessert bar was worse. Just a few cookies, Jello, and flan cups. No churros or brownies, and the soft serve ice cream dispenser was out of commission. There were no cups or toppings for sundaes. These "awkward parts" are the reason for my 3 star rating. Especially since the Senior Buffet price with soft drink tonight was $20.09! Again, that's the Senior price! I understand everything is going up, but please understand that for $20 and change, expectations are higher. You need to make the restrooms are spotless, the HVAC is running right, and the full buffet is available! Including the dessert bar (complete with working soft serve dispenser), and the soda station. At $20-plus, there's no justification for letting...

Pure nostalgia. It's like traveling back to 1998. It's like Mexico meets a 90s cowboys starter jacket meets awful Texas suburbs. I wish there was a Blockbuster down the street I could stop at to rent a Godzilla VHS. Maybe in the same shopping center as a K mart and a red roof Pizza Hut. Haven't been to Pancho's in maybe 7 years, and visits were scattered before that. The Duncanville location was my Pancho's growing up before it closed. That was back when there was a line going nearly around the building if you got there too late after church cause someone at the Pentecostal church was speaking in tongues and giving the Baptists a head start out of their parking lot. Not gonna talk much about the food here. Highlights are the cucumber salad and the charro beans. Solid rice and refried beans, which is all anyone needs in life. Your main entre if you're vegetarian is gonna be the Chile rellenos or cheese enchiladas. If I weren't a vegetarian now, I'm sure the flautas would still be my favorite. There isn't a restaurant chain on earth with a better ambience. It's just cafeteria style sloppy cheesy food. If you want great whatever go make it yourself. But if you wanna feel something, if you wanna travel back in time before 9/11 ruined country music, when God had just barely created the mcflurry, and Bruce Willis was saving us from destruction in Armageddon, you come here. We must protect Pancho's at all costs. One day there will be a last Pancho's in Texas, and whichever location is still standing needs to be a protected...

Growing up in El Paso, Texas in the 1980's, Pancho's Mexican Buffet was a weekly affair in our family. On Sunday after church we would often meet other families there, sometimes taking up an entire room. Pancho's has always been a symbol of friends and food and how they are inseparably linked. So dinner here today at one of the very few remaining restaurants of this once sprawling enterprise that had franchises throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana was an incredibly nostalgic experience. Everything was exactly the same as I remembered, and as I shared these photos with family and friends they all commented on how NOTHING had changed from how they remembered Pancho's, too. Let's face it: Pancho's has never been known as the highest quality Mexican food, or the best tasting representation of any single dish (except for maybe their absolutely perfect sopaipillas!) But no one goes to Pancho's for quality; no, this is all about quantity! And in that regard, Pancho's is still the long-reigning king. Yes, we raised that flag again and again. And it was marvelous (though tonight I'm beginning to regret eating like I was 17 again!) It's really hard to beat their prices, too. The full buffet costs less than a combination platter just about anywhere else. The unlimited guac, sour cream, and pico de gallo with non-stop taquitos, flautas, and tortilla chips is worth the price alone. So "Thank You" Pancho's for all the memories and one more...