Gringo Jack's — Restaurant in Manchester

Worst Mexican food we have ever experienced! First of all I am local to Manchester, VT and myself and my family have gone to Gringo Jacks since the restaurant was called Candeleros. The last 3 times I have dined at Gringo Jacks it has been mediocre at best so I can no longer stay silent. This past Monday 10/14 my wife and I went there at 4:30 in the afternoon and the problems started right from the first drink. My beer a Bells Oberon was served flat right from the tap and the bartender should know better. I was still charged $8 for a flat beer and the server should know better. We ordered 2 entries. Chicken and shrimp fajitas and seafood stew. The fajita was served with cold refried beans that had zero flavor. Wilted and brown lettuce and salsa and shredded cheese. Nothing in this dish had any flavor profile. Bland and horrendous. The stew was labeled on the menu as "NEW". In this dish were tiny shrimp obviously a frozen product and the shrimp had a distinct ammonia flavor which means bad decomposing seafood and not edible. The presentation of the stew was a sloppy mess with cold toast points jammed into the stew and unacceptable. It should be removed from the menu not touted as a "NEW" dish. I should have taken pictures. I am not sure what is going on in the kitchen or with ownership but the food presentation and quality has gone down hill and they better get it together if they want to compete in Manchester's competitive restaurant market. Our bill was $70 without tip and the food was not...

A friend and I took a Sunday road trip to Vermont and decided to have lunch here; her 2nd time and my first. We chose inside seating, but there is also an outdoor option for nice weather days. I loved the decor as well as the seating (very comfortable for a leisurely hour lunch). For any sports-watchers, there is also a TV that was showing the Sunday game. Our server was friendly and welcoming and there was a nice gentleman circulating regularly for water refills. Chips and salsa (free!) arrived pretty much as soon as we were seated. Homemade, warm chips and definitely house-made salsa that had just a bit of heat. We each ordered a starter and an entree. My watermelong gazpacho soup was light and a little sweet. First time I have had gazpacho made like this and I would order it again. My friend chose the black bean dip; more of those awesome chips and a cheesy, yummy bean dip to scoop up. (I definitely sampled hers.) We both ordered specials of the day. She tried the Pollo empanadas. I didn't try them myself, but she pronounced them creamy and delicious. I ordered the birria tacos; this has become my newest obsession, and I love trying them any chance I get. First, this was a HUGE entree - 3 truly stuffed tacos! These were some of the best I have had anywhere. The shredded beef was tender and juicy, and the pickled onion was a perfect accompaniment. I asked for charto beans and rice for my side abd they were also delicious. Highly recommend...

A clean spot for sure, but our server was a little inattentive, doing the bare minimum. When it came to our dining experience, the margaritas? They were good, but my pomegranate one didn't taste different from a regular one. Food? It depends. We started with the guacamole which, tbh, needed a creamier element. I just learned that some people put sour cream or Greek yogurt in their guac to help it taste creamier and keep it from browning and I think that'd benefit them here, but it did taste better as time went on. My aunt got a chicken taco and two beef tacos. She liked the chicken one enough, but the beef tacos were really under-seasoned and the meat almost seemed like it wasn't beef. We found it odd that there was no option to go without cabbage in the taco, because it was mixed in with the lettuce. Our server said there was "only a little" but there was quite a bit in there. My boyfriend and I split a "smokin three" with pork as our meat, and we really should have just gotten the tacos because that pork taco was the best thing we ate. That pork and the saved this rating from being one star. Very moist and delicious. The mini burrito and enchilada included in the smokin three weren't as good, they became indistinguishable except for the beans in the burrito. Overall it was kind of overpriced for the quality of the food. If you put some actual spice into this food, or at least included that as an option, it'd be so...