Garibaldis Garden City — Restaurant in Garden City

On 7/5/24, I visited Garibaldi’s in Garden City for the first time with a dear friend, who recently retired.

This is Garibaldi’s Mexican Restaurant’s fourth location. The original location is in Twin Falls. It has been a local favorite for 28 years. On Google, Garibaldi’s has over 1,500 reviews and a 4.4 rating. Other locations are in Jerome, and Elko, Nevada.

I didn’t take many pictures of the interior. Just one when I was trying to test the lighting, as well as a photo of the front door. The interior is very nice, down to the rustic stone sinks in the bathrooms. There is lots of stone and wood, with black accents.  Garibaldi’s has a large menu with Guadalajara, Michoacán and Tex-Mex influences.

We started off with an order of Guacamole & Chips ($15). I didn’t get a picture of the chips, but they were freshly cooked and delicious! The guacamole was excellent! The portion size was generous, and it was freshly made. I liked that they tossed some pomegranate seeds on top, which not only looked nice, but complemented the flavor. The beautiful presentation which included three tortilla chips in the colors of the Mexican flag was a nice touch!

We chose to get two entrées and shared. We ordered 2 Birria Tacos ($17) - braised short rib beef, blend of cheeses, cilantro, onion, consommé. We also ordered 2 Baja Fish Tacos ($18) - Wild caught cod marinating in olive oil, citrus juices, parsley, & spices served on a flour tortilla & topped off with cabbage mix, pico de gallo & chipotle mayo. We liked that you could choose between 2 or 3 tacos.

The presentation for each of the taco plates was beautiful! I was impressed that each came with a different rice and beans. There was Spanish rice and a white rice flecked with corn kernels. There were refried beans and black beans. The Spanish rice came in a small pyramid shape. The white rice was in a rounded shape. Both rices were garnished with micro greens. Both beans were topped with fresh cojita cheese. We liked both rices and beans, but our favorite and the most flavorful were the black beans and Spanish rice.

The Birria Tacos were excellent! They were full of delicious meat, and much crisper and more cheesy than most. The consommé that accompanied it wasn’t remarkable.

The Fish Tacos were very good. They were generously proportioned and made with cod. Next time, I would ask for a little more of the Chipotle Mayo, which I would’ve preferred if it had been a little bit more spicy, or some salsa.

For dessert, we ordered a special, Lemon Tres Leches cake. We also ordered Chocoflan ($10) - Vanilla flan with layers of cajeta and rich chocolate cake presented with cacao nib brittle & passionfruit macerated strawberry.

Both desserts were excellent! The Lemon Tres Leches cake was very moist and lemony. The Chocoflan was a refined version of the traditional dessert. Mechelle and I liked both desserts, but her first favorite was the Lemon Tres Leches cake, and mine was the Chocoflan.

We also received excellent service from our server, Jonah.

If you’re looking for an upscale Mexican restaurant dining experience with great food and excellent service, be sure to check out Garibaldi’s.

Highly...

This restaurant's "food" was beyond poor. This was their opening day. The atmosphere is excellent and the people were lovely. Every detail is perfect for a lovely Mexican dining experience, even down to the cutlery and the build-out of the rooms.

However, the prices are medium high, but over-the-top for the quality of food. To start, the were no chips brought to my table, which is uncommon for a Mexican restaurant. It is important to taste a Mexican restaurant's chips, so I ordered an appetizer of chicken nachos. It was big pile of soggy chips on the bottom. I separated the bottom out from the top chips. The chicken is pulled or shredded, flavorless and tough. I did not eat it and requested it be removed from my tab. It was not. That was $14 wasted.

Also, I share a warning, my nachos came with 3 RED, seeded hot jalapeno slices as decoration. I grew up on the Mexican border and eat jalapeno easily, but they can be too hot for any average person, especially from this part from of the country. Picking them up to remove and then touching a chip, got the jalapeno oil on my lips with heat. Most people would not be able to deal. If you see those on your food, ask for the dish to be remade. All you need is for one person to touch those and then touch their eye or a child in tears.

The chips are concerning, there is a difference between real fried corn tortilla chips and maize flavored pressed snack chip tortillas that are made from a press. Garibaldis serves the snack chips. They were a lime, some artificial flavor. Complete lack of authenticity. That is what made my nachos soggy!

I ordered mixed steak and chicken fajitas as my meal. The sizzle skillet is a nice touch. I took one bit of steak and pulled grizzle out of my mouth. It is a poor quality meat with too much collagen that makes it tough to cut or chew. The chicken was DRY. The best part of the fajitas were the grilled onions and even then several were not cooked to the same consistency. I had two bites of the beef and two of the chicken, left all the rest of the food. I spend $67.31 and did not eat the nachos and only a few bits of the main dish. The $5 beer was good!

Also, I asked to try both a flour and corn tortilla for the fajitas. They can't possibly be home made, which is a huge disappointment. They both had a very funny smell, as if they are adsorbing from the surrounding area where they are being stored. Mine smelled like a pantry, maybe with other than food stored in the vicinity.

I felt bad for my waiter and I did tip him a $20 bill on a $67.31 lunch that had one margarita and 2 beers. I coughed up the money, tipped the waiter, said thank-you and left. I did not want to make a scene on their opening day, especially when all the people working there were lovely and very professional and gracious towards me.

I wanted to call the owner before leaving this review to share my disappointment and charge for the nachos that I had asked to be removed, BUT there is no phone number listed that I can find.

This is my honest review of my experience at Garibaldis on Gleenwood in Garden...

I have made so many plans to go to Garbaldi's with some of my friends and they never stuck. Today, today our plans to go were going to stick and I was so excited about it! Garbaldi's has been around for a hot minute. It's right down the road from my house and it's been a bummer that it's taken this long for me to come check this joint out.

Of course the night before, I stalked their menu online to see what kind of lunch options they had. They offer quite a few things that caught my eye so I needed to make my final lunch decisions when I got there. Everything sounded so good!

I met my boss/ friend for lunch today. Walking in, the esthetic of this joint is very clean and simple, not a lot of color. The windows that were decorated were simple and fine lined. I liked the look of this place. The wood, black detailing, pretty light fixtures. Most Mexican joints in have been to are very colorful and vibrant which adds to the experience. So, it was quite unexpected to see such a different esthetic. I appreciate the classic simplicity of this venue.

Trey served us today. He got drinks started for us. We worked on our salsa flight while drinks were getting made. My go to is a mango margarita at every Mexican joint I go to. And boy did my drink not disappoint today. That baby was nicely blended, tart and tasty! I love the tajin on the rim of my cup. My drink was beautifully executed! Trey gave me every ounce of that drink that was blended into my cup. It overflowed and I enjoyed every part of it!

For lunch I ordered the 2 enchiladas with shredded beef. It also came with a gracious side of beans and a helping of rice. I slapped some sour cream onto the enchilada and it was so good! The shredded beef was so tender and flavorful. The cheese was perfectly melted on top. The enchilada sauce was rich in color and flavor, it enhance the flavors of everything. The rice, where do I begin, Fluffy, flavorful and delicious! I love rice in general but this rice was fantastic! The beans were savory and creamy. My favorite is mixing the rice and beans togther as a bite, so good!

I can't believe I could have been coming here for long time and it took until now to stop in. My husband isn't a very adventurous eater so I'm stuck waiting for friends to try different spots. I have been better going out on my own and enjoying different foods. This joint is going to have to be one of them. Just coming by myself, getting another fabulous margarita and a huge plate of delicious Mexican food! I look forward to my left overs for dinner and I look forward to my next visit...