Pancho’s Taqueria & Catering — Restaurant in Schaumburg Township

Panchos is one of the most pleasant local discoveries in recent memory for me. Many of the objective reviews for this place give it high marks, and I'm going to join in to echo those sentiments with my own experience, which was delightful.

The first thing my father and I were greeted by was an enthusiastic employee who gave us the option to sit down and enjoy our meal or take it to go. We decided to sit down, not realizing that he would be our server and that this small mom and pop operation actually offered full-service dining. Friendly, and quick to answer questions, he was the first indicator that we were in for a great experience.

Starting with the chips and salsa that hit the table (complimentary with every order), freshness was a theme. Every vegetable flavor was bold and characteristic. My dad remarked at how the tomatoes actually had a distinct tomato flavor compared to all the other rather watery tomatoes he has tasted from other local places. The salsas each have distinct flavors as well, with the mild green salsa having an earthy umami to it, the hot orange salsa having a delayed kick that lingers a bit, and the red salsa being a nice, flavorful middle ground.

I went ahead and ordered off their specials section, which featured combinations of different dishes (tacos, burritos, empanadas, etc in combination with each other.) and went with a steak burrito and a pastor taco. The first noteworthy thing is neither of these, funnily enough... its the rice. Panchos rice (which comes as a side of or is part of a majority of dishes) is cooked perfectly. Tender, with a slight bite, and seasoned lightly with the usual Hispanic rice spices. The burrito was also superb, and quite large. Two moderate appetites could finish this with ease and would find the steak to be both well seasoned and tender. The rest of the filling (lettuce, cheese, etc) complemented nicely and seemed to be just as fresh as the tomatoes found earlier in the meal. The taco al pastor was also delicious, however, the pork was less tender and flavorful than the steak. The al pastor was by no means bad, just not nearly as impressive as the steak preparation.

For what Panchos is (a family owned restaurant, casual setting, etc), there is more than enough merit to award a five-star review. This type of restaurant doesn't have to blow minds to obtain this, but it does have to satisfy you and subvert the common missteps so many others of its kind often suffer from. The freshness and quality of its food alone merits a look from anyone to who hasn't been...

This place cares. The place is spotless, they clean right after every customer leaves, the food is made right, and the prices aren't bad. This is by far the best burrito I ever had. It is a tall burrito, not a long one so not too much dough. They jam it full of meat. No beans to fill space, not too many veggies, just the way I like it. The rice packed tons of flavor and the meat was to die for with a perfect amount of salt. The ingredients were layered so when you opened the burrito up, it was a beautiful spectacle of rice wrapped around meat wrapped around veggies. The lady who served us was super nice and smiling all the time. They give you free chips with 3 different salsas. The orange sauce is so f'n good I could drink it. The fries are great too. 13 bucks for burrito and fries, and they give you a lot of fries too. The burrito was so big I could only eat half and I'm really fat. Also they have a giant breakfast burrito for 6 DOLLARS. Best Mexican food...

This was hands down the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. I would give this place negative stars if I could. The service was already terrible — slow, careless, and unprofessional — but the manager somehow managed to make it worse. When I politely pointed out the bad service and the poor quality of the food, instead of apologizing or fixing it, he shrugged and told me, “If you don’t like the food, don’t come here.” Beyond rude and unbelievably unprofessional. As for the food, it was cold, bland, and tasted like it had been sitting out all day. To make matters worse, the restaurant was filthy. We saw roaches crawling near the floor and even evidence of rats. The tables were sticky, the bathroom was disgusting, and it was clear cleanliness is not a priority here. Save yourself the money, the frustration, and the risk to your health. This place should be avoided...