Pancho Villa — Restaurant in Madrid

I love small town finds, and this one was no exception. Pancho Villa in Madrid, IA was a middle place to meet family, so we decided to give it a try after driving by countless times before without stopping.

Service: super friendly, funny, helpful and generous.

Chile Relleno (stuffed pepper) is a favorite of one of our diners. It’s also done differently everywhere, so par for the course when he gets it someplace new. He orders it just about any Mexican restaurant we go to. Instead of an egg batter outside, this one was an entire omelet folded over the pepper. It was fantastic, a different spin on other variations where the pepper is dredged thru egg batter but not folded into an omelet, and possibly the best one we’ve had vs. other places. He will gladly go back for this dish 100x over.

Camarones a la Diablo (devils shrimp) is a favorite of mine. I love spicy food, this is one dish that I look for and order frequently at Mexican restaurants. I enjoyed everything about this dish, in terms of ingredients, freshness, presentation, etc. but I thought the sauce wasn’t spicy enough and a little bit too “ketchupy”. It wasn’t awful but wasn’t the best I’ve had.

Texas Fajitas (steak, shrimp, chicken, chorizo) was delicious. Everything was so fresh and plentiful. Great flavor. This dish alone would’ve been enough for the three of us, they definitely do not skimp on portions.

Chile Torreados (fried pepper) is a must for me on the side. However, these jalapeños were not spicy at all. Luck of the draw, did not take away from the experience.

We were given a surprise, small dessert of vanilla ice cream, topped with chocolate and honey, over a sopapilla and garnished with a dash of cinnamon sugar. A wonderful surprise for such a 🥵 and muggy day!

Iced tea is fresh brewed and not out of a gun (and if you’re an ice tea drinker, like we are, you’ll appreciate that…especially in the summer).

A quickish drive from DSM, already planning...

Very disappointed. We ordered 2 meals to-go this evening. Upon our return home, my husband's meal was slapped on a thin paper plate and my taco salad was in half of a styrofoam container (without a top). Not really an ideal way to pack food to-go, especially compared to other Mexican restaurants around the metro who offer food in completely enclosed containers to prevent leaks.

As for the food, the taco salad bowl was uncooked (usually they’re a golden, crispy brown) but this was white and crumbled to the touch. It seemed like they rushed the order because everything was messy and undercooked. The ground beef also tasted like a cheap taco seasoning mix was used. The cheese dip was the only good thing, but I had to use store-bought chips to even consume it because the chips we received were stale & 100% inedible.

I would not return (and I’m a local). I’ll make the drive to Des Moines for better Mexican...

Have seen the signs along the High Trestle Trail and so we finally decided tonight was the night to stop.

Bike racks out front were a welcome sight. Parking lot appeared to have ample spots for the size of the restaurant.

The inside was clean and uncluttered. We were there a bit late (8:30 pm) so it was not busy. The staff was friendly and prompt with their service.

Our food was delicious. I ordered the tacos al carbon (3) and my friend ordered the chicken quesadilla. Portions were good sized. Mine came with beans and rice, as well as guacamole and sour cream.

Staff was accommodating. I have a food allergy and my food was made perfectly. My friend wanted to take her leftovers home and since we were on our bikes, they brought her foil to wrap it in.

Seating: staff will seat you. Paying: at the front counter. They will split...