Taqueria El Gallo Loco — Restaurant in Sandy

STOP everything and GO!!

I’ve only been here twice now but that was twice this week. I went myself and then I had to take my wife back for our date night.

I’m gluten intolerant so I got the enchiladas. I got el pastor, shredded beef, and Carne. The el pastor was my favorite.

Each sauce has its own very unique flavor. Each meat also has its own flavor. Unlike some restaurants where everything tastes kind of the same.

The first time I went I was extremely hungry after snowboarding and I was seriously slapping my leg and moaning the first 10 bites. The second time I was almost as impressed.

Salsa - When I went for lunch I was given chips and salsa with one salsa. It was so unique. It was absolutely delicious. But I hesitate to describe it because I don’t know if I can do it justice. It looks still have carrots in it which sounds disgusting but it was incredible. When I went for dinner with my wife we were given three salsas with our chips. Two salsa Verde‘s and the same one I was given at lunch.

Chips - their chips taste very fresh and I assume they make them fresh on site.

Sauce - they have a green and a red enchilada type sauce that goes over the burritos or enchiladas. They do half on one side and half on the other. It is absolutely incredible! Super complex flavors and fresh taste.

Beans - The beans are amazing. They aren’t too runny but they aren’t just a blended up slop of thick mess. Thick enough you can eat with a fork, but just barely. Is there a word for beans like El Dante is for noodles? That’s kind of how I would explain the bean when you bite into it. Not dry and crunchy but not just mushy.

Without hesitation I will say this is the best Mexican food I have ever had. A close second would be Oscar’s tacos in San Diego California and some place I ate at in Mexico. I give it a 9 out of 10. They put these purple or red onion things on some salad on the side of your plate. My Mexican neighbor makes those onions a much better so that’s why I give it a 9 out of 10. I asked for a lime and salt to squeeze over my salad and it improved it a lot. I wish those onions had a little more flavor and a little more salt or something.

Atmosphere - when you look at the building from the outside you expect a Batos or a Rancherito‘s type of restaurant where you go to the front and order. However that is not the case. It is a sit down restaurant. Prepare yourself for a lack of comfortable ambience or luxury to put it politely. I don’t mind and I’m not judgemental but if you are a posh person you’ll feel uncomfortable. I still think you should go and get over yourself. Haha. The food is worth it, trust me.

Staff - The Hispanic gentleman who cooked my food both times is super nice and speaks English. He came out to talk to me both times and he’s very friendly. The girl who is the waitress is very kind. She is very shy and soft-spoken and has a thick accent. There was another girl in the kitchen who was kind and gave a very nice wave and smile as we were leaving.

Restrooms - they were clean.

Parking - parking is behind the restaurant and there is a little walkway on the north side of the building that is covered. Came in handy as it was raining the night me and my wife went. Looks like they put some money into putting that covered walkway in and also a wood deck with picnic tables on the front of the building...

Tl;dr Absolutely terrific! Amazing, fresh food. Good pricing and wonderful service.

The overall appearance of the establishment is not one that draws attention, the outside and interior are very plain but comfortable. It allows the restaurant to draw you in for the real reason why you came- the food.

The chips and salsa were great, my wife agreed thst they were right up there amongst the best. Fresh, hot chips and very juicy salsa with a myriad of flavors.

We got our preferred drinks- I had freshly juiced tamarindo and that by far was good enough for me to desire to swing by. Forget Jamba or other juice places, I'll just go here!

I had the lamb barbacoa and it was DELICIOUS. This wasn't a small piece of lamb that would satisfy someone with a 200 calorie diet- this was a leg of lamb that just dripped with flavor. The meat fell off the bone with little effort. The flavor was tantalizing.

Finishing the night off with some flan(the tres leche was sold out) that was done- you guessed it- just right.

I found this restaurant extremely fair priced for the quality and quantity of food given. I recommend it to any who desire a unique, fresh and relaxing Mexican dinner.

Alberto the gentleman who served us was very open in his knowledge of the dishes and never overwhelmed or left us underwhelmed with his service. He knew and recognized his returning patrons and verbally was able to recount their usual or preferred orders and most importantly their names. I would give another star if possible...

Communication broke down with our server. Repeatedly and we got nickeled and dimed. Turns out the chips and salsa weren't complementary. We didn't discover that until we asked for a refill of or tiny basket and found out they were $3. We noticed the included items with the fajitas were sparse and asked for guacamole with our fajitas. Somehow ended up with a tiny side order of guacamole with our chips. When the bill came that was $8. The tortillas for the fajitas were tiny. We asked for more when we ran out. Another $1 on the bill. The fajitas were salty and had lots of burnt / crispy pieces of meat. Note that the fajitas are only meat, onions and peppers and a cactus leaf, but no rice, beans, lettuce, sour cream, etc like you would normally expect for $17 dinner plate. The chips weren't anything special. The guacamole was good but certainly not worth $8 for the portion size. The server was friendly, but did not communicate clearly on all the extra add-ons and when we asked about them claimed we had requested the appetizers. Overall experience was poor and we didn't feel like we got a great value for our money.

This is not my first time at the restaurant, but I probably won't be back. We were planning to go to Los Cucos, where we would have had unlimited chips and salsa, better fajitas, better ambiance, and a...