Gonzalos G & R Restaurant — Restaurant in El Paso

Please read this review to the end...This restaurant is nothing to write home about. I first gave it a very GENEROUS two-star across because the food was lacking overall, not an authentic Mexican restaurant as other reviewers claim. I just changed it to a ONE STAR REVIEW. We ordered a #21 plate and one of their specialties: gorditas. (And please note that, on the menu, the gorditas are listed as one of the restaurant's specialties!! and not listed as "gordita sliders" as I just noticed on the website.) The #21 plate had a good chile relleno but the enchiladas were not made with homemade red chile. You could taste it came from a can. There was a taco in this plate which was passable. The gorditas were tiny and although they were supposed to be filled with picadillo, the filling was mostly potatoes. Can't say there was a significant amount of ground beef in there. Noticed that cumin was heavily used as a spice though. As for the rice, it was fully cooked but had absolutely no flavor and the beans were bland too. Salsas were watered down. The service was acceptable; I requested my coke with little ice and the waiter brought the drink with a full glass of ice, twice. As for the atmosphere in the restaurant, it felt old and outdated. I don't really see the "hacienda" atmosphere unless people refer to the inactive water fountain that is located in the middle of the restaurant and the fiesta/papel picado banners hanging all over. There is limited parking space on the side of the restaurant--which really would benefit from a quick repaving--and on the street. Did notice one handicapped space in the parking area. Would I recommend Gonzalo's to family and friends? Definitely NOT. And we will not be coming back either. It is certainly not what is depicted on the TV commercials.

P.S. Out of curiosity, I have been reading the other reviews. Where do the people giving 4 and 5 stars eat that they give this restaurant such a high score? Don't they know what authentic Mexican food taste like? The atmosphere in a Mexican restaurant? Do they live under a rock? We are on the border! AND to top it off, I have read at least three reviews which claim this restaurant recycles their tostadas! This is absolutely gross and unacceptable! Hope the Health Department pays...

I've been before, but never again. The food was absolutely ordinary, certainly not something any one of a dozen restaurants locally couldn't have done much better, but the service was so lacking that had we not been exhausted from waiting we would have walked out. To add insult, we ordered a side of fries for a pair of picky children, two and four, the 'plate' came out last, over 10 minutes after the adult's food, and consisted of all of a dozen potato bits. A girl took our drink order and a request for 8 dollars worth of queso, that didn't show up until more than 45 minutes afterwards, a thin film of cheese punctuated by thick sliced raw onion and three corn tortillas (for four adults). I watched what seemed like the owners, a husband and wife couple who seemingly knew every single person in the establishment except for my party, exchange gossip, well tidings, and jokes for an extended period until I got up and bothered the bartender about getting someone serve us - which turned out to be himself. He eventually brought what looked to be canned leftovers out to us, so I called the female glad hander over and she seemed genuinely offended that a peasant like me would deign to complain, dismissing me. Unless you are an anointed family member or close confidant, I recommend you avoid this place as it is simply not worth the hassle finding parking or waiting hours for food that is made out...

Horrible take out experience. I ordered takeout from their online menu site. First the site charges a 4 dollar fee for pickup and requires a minimum tip of 15%, then we got there and they didn't have shrimp for the shrimp cocktail and couldn't take it off my order. They told me I had to go back online and do it myself. You can't do that on their site. Then they asked what else I would like to replace it. I ordered guacamole- not equal value mind you. When I got home most of the food was inedible. Rice and beans clearly had been cooked a long time before (dry and hard in spots). The enchiladas were burnt on the bottom and tasteless. And the overpriced guacamole has been put over old lettuce and couldn't be separated. This used to be a great neighborhood restaurant. I will never order from here again. Not for dine...