Palenque Grill McAllen — Restaurant in McAllen

So the plan was to hit up McAllen and try lunch somewhere we've never been before. This place has been on the to-do list for some time. We've heard good things and thought we would give it a try. First impression was the greeting by the host. Excellent service, very genuine and welcoming. We're assigned to a table, server is there within seconds taking a drink order and dropping off chips, salsa and chorizo beans (which were absolutely delicious). We needed a bit cause we've never been. Finally decided to place our order and bamm, it's out within minutes. It's fresh, it's hot, it has great presentation and smells fantastic. I ordered the Mar y Tierra. Fajitas, shrimp, white rice, charros and guac. Charros were substituted for smashed beans. Again, it looked great but it wasn't excellent. Fajitas were whole, I had to slice them. Usually that's not a big deal but the skillet didn't allow for very much room and they were really tough. They tasted ok but a stretchy fajita isn't a good fajita. The grilled shrimp had spices on it but it had no flavor. Rice was good, beans were great, grilled onions and guac were good too. I've had worse but the expectations were not met. Wife had a tampiqueña. Fajitas, Mexican rice, beans , guac , a green chicken enchilada and a flour quesadilla. Actually the quesadilla was a choriqueso quesadilla. She had a similar issue with the fajitas, the quesadilla was also surprisingly chewy and the enchilada was ok. Again, we've had worse. What really made the lunch great was the service. Our server really made sure we were comfortable and that our meals weren't missing anything. Atmosphere noise level was lower than average. Definitely my speed. I was able to have a great conversation with the wife. I'm not sure if I would come back because it was very very expensive in comparison to the quality of food. We knew it would be pricey and didn't mind it if the food was off the charts, but it didn't come close, in my opinion. Again kinda mixed feelings about this place cause the service was excellent and atmosphere...

To be honest, this place is all right. It's pretty nice in terms of the look and the feel.

I want to start out with the things that I did not like mostly because there's plenty to like about this place and in my opinion if they fix these things, it's worth the four stars and maybe 5. I'd need to go at least 2 more times to give the 5.

Anyway. The small Ramekin used for salsa is illogical. It's too small to dip a chip into. See photo. The bartender did not give his name. How can I praise him here if I don't know his name? So from a standpoint of being personable, he wasn't really. But he was also doing several things including service bar so maybe he was too busy.

Bars should NOT put the dish washing sinks near the bartop if at all possible. Because what happens is that the dirty dishes and the dripping water from the ones just washed, will invite gnats. Plus someone eating nearby doesn't want to eat near the dish washing.

The tortillas were inferior. Too thin. Stuck together. Unevenly cooked.

Now. The margarita was good. And very affordable. The fajitas were dry but had taste. Definitely better than some other places but I'm still on the hunt for the best fajitas that I can eat indoors, at a bartop, that isn't fast foody.

Overall my meal was okay. I would go back. In fact I will go back and try the tacos and then another time I'll go back and I'll try the chicken plate.

The manager was very nice and checked on me more than once. That is worth 1 star alone because too many places have managers who suck.

Here's the places with managers that DONT suck according to MY experience so far: howling rabbits, reynas n.10th, here, ambra, oak uptown, olive garden mission, pappadeux, prime, salt grass, and there are plenty of places in haven't been or haven't interacted with the mgrs.

Back to Palenque. I can definitely come back. Most people probably won't be disappointed with the experience. They're festive for your birthday. It's a bright decor.

I say if you haven't been, give them a shot. My first time wasn't bad at all....

We were looking for great Mexican food without the TexMex vibe. We nailed it. I was skeptical as it was at LaCantera but was pleasantly surprised. We didnt have a problem with parking or a wait. Went for lunch on a Friday and was delighted. We were greeted by a smiling hostess with a heavy accent. She found us a booth at the back of the restaurant that was perfectly quiet which we preferred. The decor is upscale and not junky TexMex. No bright colors but pleasant and sophisicated. The rest of the place was full with large tables. Our waitress was pleasant and came right over. We were served chips with homemade salsa and refried beans. The presentation was very nice. My hubby loved it. We took our time ordering as the menu was extensive and everything looked fabulous. They even had pictures which for me is always a plus. I noticed the regular prices v lunch prices were significant. We both choose the lunch specials. The food arrived in a nice amount of time. I mean that we had time to visit without wondering if they forgot about us. I ate the Matamores which danced on my tastebuds. I got three tacos which actually had two corn tortillas per taco. There was so much meat that I divided it up and actually had 6 tacos which I gladly shared with my hubby. He had two chicken enchiladas that came with rice and beans. It was nicely presented and filled him. up. We took our time and enjoyed everything. I definitely will return. I would like to sit on the patio but honestly the inside toward the back is the best. The bathrooms were clean and smelled like they had just been cleaned. As we left, there were several employees in the front and every single one said goodbye. That's what I call great service, great food and you betcha we...