Giliberto's Mexican Taco Shop — Restaurant in Rochester

This was my first time at Gilberto’s. I was sad for a Mexican restaurant there was no alcohol, just juice & Pepsi products. I’m not a fan of Pepsi at all. I got in line to order, but no one was there to place the order with. Finally a man was at a register and I went up to him. He asked what my number was? I told him I haven’t ordered yet. He told me the first register is to order. The second register is pick up. But there wasn’t anyone at the first register. We stood and waited until someone finally come to the register. He had zero personality and was clearly unhappy to be there. We ordered and went to sit down and get our drinks. I was impressed with the salsa bar. I felt like the salsa was fresh. But they had pickled carrots on three times. It’s like they ran out of options to stick out there. But the carrots are good. The area where you get plastic ware to eat and hot sauce is very cluttered and chaotic. Got my soda & set down. We only waited about 13 minutes for our food. This was a surprise to me, as I read reviews that it took much longer. The inside had 4 total tables eating inside, including the two of us. There were about 4 families getting carry out and the drive through is very busy. My steak fajitas were disappointing. Just onions, green & red pepper and super small, hard pieces of beef. There was quite a bit of the beef, but they were cut small like you were feeding a dog. The peppers were so over cooked, the red was more pink and only one green pepper looked green in color. The steak was seasoned well, but very tough to chew the small overcooked steak. It had rice and refried beans. The rice wasn’t hot, just warm and lacked seasoning or flavor. The beans were cold in the middle and without salt flavor. The tortilla was one very large shell I had to break into pieces to eat. Like very large in size (see photo). The person with me ordered the taco salad. They felt there was very little lettuce, the meat (ground beef) was dry and their was too much sour cream. Not a dish they would get again or recommend. We didn’t do a dessert. The food is served much like Chinese food, in foam containers. Everything is just plopped inside and it’s difficult to make a good presentation. I dislike that they are using styrofoam- in this age of recycling and trying to lessen our footprint- can’t we use paper? Anyway- I guess it’s ready for take out if you don’t eat everything. We ate less than a quarter out of each box and threw the rest away. Just not the quality of food you expect for $20 per person or more. Glad we tried it, but it’s a one & done for me I’m afraid. It’s hard to compare with so many other amazing Mexican restaurants in town that give you chips, salsa and even bean dip while you order. The decor is ok. They have tiny dolls hanging in clear plastic containers from multiple points in the restaurant- I didn’t quite understand and it was a little creepy honestly. The music was a nice cultural selection, mostly in Spanish but too loud as it interfered with having a...

UPDATE: Changing my 2 star review to 1 star. Although I appreciate the owner responding to my review, he has not responded to my email I took the time to send them, and he still has not offered any resolution to receiving old/bad guacamole and no egg which I had paid extra for. Apparently, I am still expected to pay for an item I never received. I would have rather had a response to my email and work towards some sort of resolution, but instead, I received some generic response from the owner. I would perhaps expect that from a shift supervisor, but not from the owner. I went without dinner that evening after spending $30, because the enchiladas ended up containing an item I could not consume. Unfortunately, I am finding the management to be worse than the food by not displaying any urgency, understanding, nor resolution to a negative experience. I DO NOT RECOMMEND!

I just picked up my food from Giliberto's in Rochester, MN and was excited and ready to relax. However, I opened my chips with guacamole and cheese, and the cheese is just shredded cheese blend not melted with grayish green guacamole thrown all over the chips. The image for the chips with guacamole and cheese when ordering online, shows cheese dip, and fresh guacamole on the side in containers. I ordered it in hopes of receiving fresh guacamole and cheese dip both on the side, as shown in the online image. It is an $8 item! I was planning to eat it later, but it doesn't taste fresh and it will get all soggy with old guacamole all over the chips. I will not be eating it at all. I had also paid extra for an egg on my enchiladas. I even commented "over medium egg on top please." However, there is no egg at all. Not a huge deal, the enchiladas look good but I did pay an extra $1.55 for an egg I didn't receive. The rice pudding is a HUGE PORTION and looks delicious, so thank you! A disappointing first experience here,...

I’ve been going here for nearly a year now. I’m from Texas and I have worked in kitchens all my life - I appreciate good Mexican food, and good food in general.

Overall, for a huge $10 burrito, good service with a smile, and the best salsa I’ve had since I moved out of Texas, 5/5 all day. I hear they have also started to serve beers.

My go-to is their breakfast burritos (about the size of a tall boy 24oz beer) with salsa roja. Their breakfast burritos have meat, cheese, egg, and potato. I believe the lunch and dinner burritos cost a little more.

I have never had an issue with the staff not understanding me. I do speak a little Spanish, but I’ve never had to at this establishment. The people working here are always kind, and most of them have a smile on their face.

There have been a couple times when the salsa roja was not available. Instead, I received salsa verde. I would like to thank the staff for substituting salsa when necessary.

The atmosphere is okay inside the restaurant. This is not the kind of restaurant with a host(ess) and servers, so you shouldn’t expect it to have an incredible atmosphere. But, for what it is, the atmosphere is nice and fitting. Tables have always been clean when I’ve been inside, and bathrooms as well.

Giliberto’s has never let me down. I tell everyone I work with about this spot. Do yourself a favor and check this place out.

And

Thank you,...