El Sancho Taco Shop — Restaurant in Bend

not authentic, poor service, over priced, over hyped

This place is not at all an authentic Mexican restaurant! Don't know who is the brainchild of this place and invented all the weird cuisine. But definitely they are good at hyping it and getting positive review (HOW?!). Here is the details of my experience:

Food: Foods were very bland and didn't taste good at all. They were salty, without much spices. The tacos I ordered were very tiny, spreaded with some kinds of cold white shredded cheese on top! Chips were fresh but salsa seems old and bland. Have to pay for chips and salsa. My girlfriend got their rice bowls, which was another nightmare! It was made with Jasmin rice! Which Mexican restaurant serve Jasmin rice ?! The guacamole in that bowl didn't even feel like had salt in it, forget other ingredients. It tasted plain mashed guacamole. It also comes with some sorts of white cheese on top. They had radishes as side in every items. I don't get it! Never seen it in any other Mexican restaurant. The fried plantains were sweet and mushy!! You would expect something crunchy, salty and spicy, if you go to a real Mexican/Puerto Rican or south American place. The food was expensive compared to their quality! We paid 15$ for a tiny bowl and 4$ for super tiny size taco and 5$ for tiny serving of "sweet" fried plantain!

Drink: The drinks looks super smaller size just like their food and also were expensive. After the awful food, we didn't even feel like wasting our money on it!

Service: We didn't feel welcome at all in this place. They have a red/green lights outside door in front of which all people have to wait for self-order. We felt like a cattle, other than human. Then they messed up our order and served it to other people!! We literally waited like half an hour for food after getting inside the restaurant. (Not making it up!) They also expect people to bust their own table, even though getting tip when ordering food. The tip start with 15%. If you are taking tip, then better give some service for it. Some people beside us made a big mess in their table and left. We hear them complaining about the food too and may not clean up out of anger. The server didn't clean it up for long time and we had to eat our food in that environment.

We didn't t noticed any Latino/Hispanic people working there. Pretty much everyone was white! You wouldn't expect it in any authentic Mexican restaurant.

Atmosphere: I have to honestly tell that the outdoor sitting environment was very cool. The only good thing I can tell about this place. Indoor sitting was crampy and dark!

This is an honest and real review. I am a food enthusiast and regularly review places (check my profile). It was bit late at night and we were craving Mexican food. That was one of the places open. It looked good from review. But I guess we got decevied like other tourists who will visit that area. Locals probably will go to that place one time out of hype and...

El Sancho has the best tacos I have ever had in my entire life. Tacos have always been one of my favorite foods. I was just recently introduced to El Sancho, in the beginning of this year. By one of my good friends. Before he had taken me there, I had never heard of El Sancho, I didn't even know that this restaurant even existed, I never even noticed the building or their sign, if I'm being completely honest. The guacamole is to DIE for! It IS literally THE best guac that I have EVER had, the salsa is absolutely amazing, and the chips are salted just right and always warm. I have tried many diffrent horchata's from different places, but I do have to say El Sancho most definitely takes 1st when it comes to their horchata. The shredded beef is sooooooo delicious that words can't even begin to try and describe it. The chicken is cooked to perfection. The shells are cooked perfectly, they're not to hard to where they're crunchy, not too soft that they fall apart, and they're never too greasey. They have just the perfect amount of onions and cilantro. The service is always great, and fast and the staff are always polite, and helpful, they make good conversation. I have never left without a smile on my face.  It is just an amazing establishment all around. I would highly recommend El Sancho to abide looking for mouth watering, delicious, packed with flavor meal.

My only complaint, which is actually more of a suggestion would be to advertise the restaurant better so that it would be more visible to people that are walking/driving down 3rd street.

Besides that I couldn't complain about anything...

Enjoyed my meal at El Sancho. There is street parking nearby, but they also have a parking lot behind the restaurant. The drivway is sort of hidden by trees and ither vehciles depending on which direction you come from. They have a minimal contact system set up, I assume as a response to COVID. You get in line at the stop sign on the ramp. When you look up there is a "stop light" with a red and green light. When it turns green you can go inside and place your order and pay. You can eat inside or outside. If you're eating outside, I suggest you secure a seat first, or if it's not busy, identify a table # you want to sit at bc they'll ask you. There is also a menu at the stop sign so review that bc they want you to have your order ready. Once you order, if you're eating outside (like I did) you can get your utensils, napkins, and cold water on the deck. They have sauces, etc. there as well. They'll bring your food to your table, but you need to bus your own dishes. Bins for your plates, etc. are at the same area where the water is. I ordered 3 tacos: Oaxaca cheese, Hobo Potatoes, and Mushroom. As soon as I bit into the Oaxacan cheese taco, I almost jumped for joy. It was flavored so well, I was in heaven. I wish I had eaten the other tacos first bc that one was THEE best of the 3. It's a neat place with a nice vibe. The bathrooms are decorated to match the restaurant. One had a black light. I'd definitely go back for that...