Panchos Tacos Mansfield — Restaurant in Mansfield

Another gem of a Mexican restaurant in Mansfield!

I always try to have a few meals at a restaurant before leaving a review, but Pancho’s was SO GOOD, I just had to leave a review after a carry out meal and second meal while dining in.

The Mexican cuisine here is a little different because it’s authentic. I’ve been to Mexico nearly a dozen times and authentic Mexican cuisine isn’t like what most Americans have come to expect, like most international cuisine. Italian pizza is nothing like American pizza, but I digress.

Pancho’s is one of the few Mexican places I’ve dined at in Mansfield that offers El Pastor (or Al Pastor, or simply Pastor) tacos, which is pork cooked on a spit, similar to how gyro meat is prepared. Any Mexican place offering pastor tacos are usually skilled in offering authentic Mexican food.

Pancho’s is no exception! Their tacos appear deceptively tiny, but they are both incredibly tasty and very FILLING! I ordered 4 steak soft tacos after some chips & salsa, some incredible bean dip and a huge margarita. I barely finished TWO! They look small because their flour tortillas are small (about size of an audio CD) but those tacos are STACKED FAT and served like an open face sandwich.

Service while dining in was stellar. We asked quite a few questions because we just discovered the joint, but everyone was kind, patient & helpful. Their dining room isn’t huge, but it was very comfortable despite not offering AC. We were second guessing our choice to dine in when we noticed the front door was wide open, but we were surprised to see it was perfectly fine despite temps outside exceeding the mid-80’s. I don’t do hot weather and usually no AC is a deal killer, but the incredible food & drinks more than made up for the lack of AC.

Pancho’s food is consistent with regards to quality and quantity as we receive the same great food whether we order out or dine in. We’ve yet to really explore the menu because I’ve ordered those tasty soft tacos three time in a row! I’m eager to try more because it promises to be just as good as the tacos we’re so fond of.

Rest assured: Pancho’s offers great food, regardless of your experience with authentic Mexican cuisine. If you’re looking for some authentic Mexican cuisine, Pancho’s has it. If you don’t concern yourself with authenticity, the food doesn’t mind, it’s still delicious! Despite the dining room being nearly full of local folks when we dined in, the food appeared at our table far sooner than we anticipated.

I couldn’t determine any reason why Pancho’s Tacos didn’t deserve a 5 star score, even though I’ve dined there so few times. Everything met my somewhat lofty expectations and I will certainly return to Pancho’s. I’ll update here should...

So I hate to do this because I've had some good experiences here, but my last visit will almost certainly be my last. Brought a friend from out of town for dinner. They were busy, but we were seated quickly. The service was alright. But I ordered a vegetarian (not veggie, it is advertised as vegetarian) burrito. It was inedible. Basically a medley of vegetables, barely cooked and nearly raw, with no seasoning or flavor of any kind. The black beans that came with it were overpowering with onion and the Spanish rice was utterly bland. It tasted like a dish made for seniors in the hospital. My companion ordered enchiladas which were equally bland and tasteless. But as I picked through my vegetarian burrito in search of something good I found several pieces of chicken.

Now, once I flagged down staff and showed them, they offered to make me another, but I let them know it wasn't even very good to start. So they took it off my bill. That was it. They couldn't have cared less. This is a pretty egregious oversight and they're lucky my dietary choices aren't based on any religious adherence, but it's still utterly unacceptable to have meat in a dish labeled vegetarian. It also, alarmingly, tells me they do not prepare vegetarian dishes separately. Likely the chicken was just left from some meat dish they were cooking in the same pan. So if you are vegan or vegetarian I wouldn't trust for one second that they have any procedures in place to prevent cross-contamination. Assume you're eating animal products. All in all for two meals neither of us could finish and one that contained a serious mistake it cost about $20. Each time I've gone the food quality has seemed to be worse and this last experience was truly unsatisfying and unpleasant. We ended up ordering pizza. I couldn't wait to leave and I really can't imagine ever going back. Very...

updated review I had not been here in 4 years. And WOW what a change. The menu is beyond tacos. Panchos Tacos is now a full menu restaurant. I won't lie this change made me nervous. I had enjoyed the tacos before when they were just a small stand outside. So I've been a fan for awhile. I should have trusted this. Because what I ordered was on par for delicious authentic Mexican. I ordered the "deluxe mexican breakfast" because I saw chilaquiles and the cravings hit. Side note*I am here from New Mexico visiting family for a few months and NEEDED a fix. I really was craving a solid breakfast burrito (why aren't there more options for this here? Everyone is missing out!). Anyways everything came out so delicious. And the strip steak was cooked so perfect. I could cut it with a butter knife or pull it apart with my fingers. Chilaquiles were done so well. And served on a hot sizzling plate which meant they weren't going to get soggy as fast. The only thing I don't know and I'm curious about is if the beans were made from scratch. They looked a bit orange/red but that can easily happen when you're using dried Chile's.

It's a fair amount of food. So if you're not that hungry I don't recommend.

The only thing I was not a fan of was the salsa on the table. But I'm sure it's what the locals like and that's fine and understandable.

Fish tacos were amazing 4 years ago can't speak on currently....