Pancheros Mexican Grill - Riverside — Restaurant in Iowa City

Maybe it's my own fault. I keep giving this location another chance, but it always lets me down. It's right next to my house. I'd eat there all the time if it was even mediocre. But it's so bad that I drive to Coralville or even NL instead. Every 6 months, I give it another shot. And even though it seems like the entire staff has turned over by that point, it's somehow just as bad as always.

It's been consistently bad for as long as I've lived here, but I'll just talk about the last 3 times I've attempted to go there. The first time, the employee ripped a big hole in my burrito, and then tried to place it on a tray with the hole facing down so I wouldn't notice. But the hole was so big that everything was spilling out the side. I asked if he could double wrap it or something, and he got really upset. Made another tortilla, and then purposely threw away half of the fillings with the old tortilla, just to be a jerk.

The next time, I ordered a burrito again, and the employee put the tortilla on the grill and walked away into the kitchen to talk to another employee. By the time he finally came back a few minutes later, it was totally burnt. I thought for sure he would just grill another, but he tried to use it like nothing was wrong. I just said, "Umm...I'm sorry man, but I think I'm going to eat somewhere else" and left.

Didn't think I'd return, but decided to give them another shot this afternoon. It actually started out fine this time. When I got up to get a refill, the guy behind the counter kind of gave me a funny look, but I didn't really think anything of it. But when I went to top off my drink as I left, he got mad and demanded I stop. I genuinely thought he was just messing with me, so I looked at him for a couple seconds and then said "You're serious?" And he said, "Yeah, I let you get away with it the first time. But now you gotta pay." To which I said, "Umm...I did." Luckily another employee stepped in and said whatever just refill it, but the guy kept loudly complaining about it, saying stuff like "We're gonna let him do that, and he can't even say "hey man, I appreciate it" or nothing."

It was freaking bizarre. And I don't think it's possible that he thought I never paid for the drink in the first place, because he was working the counter when I got my food, so I don't think he could've thought I was just some rando walking in off the street or something.

So yeah, I'm throwing in the towel on this place. I see that the owner responds to bad reviews with the same generic response, so I don't get the impression that they're actually interested in improving anything. It'll take Pancheros stepping in at the corporate level to ever get this place up near the quality of its...

New for 2023: I don’t bother to go here anymore. The food is over/undercooked, messy and looks unsanitary. The workers get stingy with the food and you don’t get your money’s worth. So quality and quantity have decreased here. Customer service was never there. I wish they would change this place up or something. It’s not welcoming and the workers seem to hate it. Bread garden, Estella’s and Chipotle are my winners for taste and service. Chipotle was soooo good when I had it a couple weeks ago. Anyways, Panchero’s is too comfortable and thinks people will stay loyal because of a name. Like nope, products and service 1000% still matters. Don’t spread your hate and negative energy to my food.

Don’t get me started on picking up lunch during rush hour. I like a heavy burrito like a new born baby. It was like 1/3 of that and was more costly for food, time and gas. Ingredients were also sub par.

Old review: Their burritos are better than Chipotles . Pancheros never let me down as far as a good burrito. The one guy who started my burrito was a little rude but food over people. I also like that they always make sure to mention something will cost extra. That always annoys me to find it out at the end. The restaurant was a little cold where I sat but you can't stop people from going in and out. Pancheros is the go...

GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. I HIGHLY recommend Estella's.

TLDR: raw black beans, stingy portion sizes, and general disregard for quality.

First off, the beans were not fully cooked. Love a bit of crunch to a burrito. Second, I hope you like small burritos. The fillings were barely full. The prices of the burrito has gone up and the amount of filling has gone down. Third, the only decent food is the queso. It takes a lot to mess up cheese but I am not going to tempt fate and eat at another Pancheros to find out. I suggest you do the same.

The service was fine. It didn't really feel like anyone was in charge. I also highly doubt there was sufficient training done by the local/regional managers. To be clear, the employees are not at fault here; the management/corporate are the ones to ane. Employees don't get paid enough to care, so why would you when the overpriced burrito being sold is padding the pockets of someone you have never seen and probably never heard of.

In short I have given Pancheros several chances for redemption. A previous visit to another location ended with me getting home with an online order that lacked meat. Save your money.

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