Al Pancho's Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in California

We live in Alpine. My sons and I have traveled for 24 years throughout Mexico setting up Machilas, manufacturing in Mexico. This is as good as Mexican food gets here and in Mexico. The portions are large and the service is great. A few examples: The frijoles are homemade and the caldo (juice) of roasted carnitas is used to flavor it. We could give you about 15 other examples of this "cocina magnifica." The carnitas are crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. My wife was born in Mexico City and, amazingly, she says she can't do it any better. The waiters and waitresses are fast, kind, and funny. It's very difficult to make flautas that are crisp and not greasy on the outside, steaming on the inside, and garnished with fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, chiles, and sour cream. The chile rellenos are crispy on the outside, the green chile is still a little waxy, and the cheese perfectly melted. They do it right every time. There are seven Mexican restaurants in Alpine, and we've been to all of them. If I write a review, it's usually negative but respectful. We don't know the owners or employees at Al Pancho's. Give Al...

I've lived in Alpine for over 20 years and still occasionally give this restaurant a chance because their food is delicious! Unfortunately, however, they really lack service. For a while I tried going on certain nights to sit with certain servers, but the service is so hit or miss that it makes me really not want to go back. For example, tonight, once our dinner was dropped, the staff almost disappeared. We finished our meals and the check was dropped without even asking for it. I asked for some more chips and salsa and she said, "well I already closed the ticket" and made it seem like now I have to buy some (before we even gave our card). I would have ordered more of their normally free refill of chips/salsa while eating my burrito, but she never came by to even check if we liked our dinner. Even the table next to us made a comment, "thought you forgot about us" prior to getting their bill. Unfortunately no matter how good the food is, their service will leave a bad taste in your mouth so it's a bummer that I probably won't be coming back...

Stopped for a late lunch mid afternoon on a Wednesday and the restaurant was largely empty. The food arrived impossibly fast suggesting it hadn’t been cooked fresh. My cheese enchiladas were fair, not especially flavorful and without that “just out of the oven” temperature or taste, making me wonder if they were reheated lunch leftovers. My daughter’s chicken taco salad bowl was below average, with over cooked chicken and on the bland side of flavor. My son’s enchilada and taco combo was also mediocre, with over cooked and overly dry shredded beef taco filling — and definitely not intended to be Carne Seca. The service was adequate but rushed considering that she was only serving only one or two other tables totaling 2 to 3 customers. I’d recommend stopping elsewhere if you need a...