Pancho Villa's Authentic Mexican Cuisine — Restaurant in Sterling Heights

The decor is gorgeous, but if you plan to eat (or drink), go somewhere else. My better half and I stopped in for dinner because our favorite Mexican place shut down (Guelaguetza in Eastpointe. It was well worth the drive! Great, now I'm sad :/ ) and I ordered chicken flautas (my fave), he ordered a giant burrito. Oh, they charge extra for guacamole, onions, and lettuce... Frigging lettuce. I ordered coffee to drink, he had water. OK, let me back the truck up - We sat there awhile (we were one of three tables occupied in the whole place. It was a Friday evening, and they were pretty dead), and someone finally came to take our drink orders. Again, coffee and water. The girl was friendly, but brought stone cold coffee. Some time later, another waitress came to take our drink order, and we told her someone had already done that. She went on to yell at the girl for taking 'her table'. That was lovely to watch. I very politely told the girl my coffee was cold, and she said she'd make another pot. She came back with another cup, and told me someone had forgotten to leave the burner on. Welp, she must've thrown my original cup in the microwave, because it tasted like it could walk by itself. I know what fresh coffee tastes like. This wasn't it. They food was just like it is at any other "authentic" Mexican restaurant. Nothing to rave about, though. I may seem petty, talking so much about a cup of coffee, but for Pete's sake, it was disgusting, and since I'm limited to what I'm able to drink at restaurants (because of a health issue... Not difficult to guess. Hint: I wear an insulin pump), it's...

Pancho Villa's and Qdoba are the only Mexican cuisine that metro-Detroiters need (unless they're in Mexican Village) when it's time for their fix. PV's got it all covered: the food, drinks and service are all stellar.

The full line of Traditional plates are offered, as well as plenty of house specialties. A wide selection of beers and mixed drinks (including frozen Margaritas of generous size) are served-up from a stand-alone bar. The atmosphere is cozy, while remaining family friendly. Those dining alone, with a significant other or in a larger party all coexist comfortably here.

If you're on a lunch break or dinner's not the evening's main event, you can be in-and-out of PV's in well-under an hour. Otherwise, if you want to linger and enjoy a few drinks, wait-staff are always attentive, yet unobtrusive. Parking is free, plentiful and just steps-away.

Pancho Villa's is really a local gem, almost hidden amongst its unlikely surroundings. Yet, it thrives here in perhaps the nicest strip-retail/service development in the "Little Baghdad"-section of the "It's a Small World"-community THAT IS Western Sterling Heights. The long-tenured patrons of PV's are legion in-number.

There is today, precious-little variety among local dining establishments. Unless one is in the mood for a fresh fattoush, a chicken shawarma or some pita and tabouli, Pancho Villa's is among the very few alternatives. And as such, it remains a welcoming redoubt for the many who fondly remember a different landscape of dining options...

I give this place a 1 star because 0 stars does not seem to be an option. We had to request for fresh chips because the things we were served were not even under a heat lamp, and it was noticed immediately. The salsa needed anything other than black pepper for heat, and about everything lacked cilantro. We ordered the Fajita Trio for 2, more like the tomato platter with a side of meat snacks. In addition, the whole thing was "flamed" which means they pour a ring of liquor around the dish and set it aflame, where they most (Un)enthusiastically say "olay"; the sizzle of the dish was more exciting than its presentation. Not only was the presentation disappointing, but the dish it's self was no better. With a mountain of tomatoes, a couple bell peppers, and some onions, this dish was 70% vegetables. Not to include that there was no meat on the platter larger than my thumb. But the thing that really ruined this scarring experience was the liquor they pour on the dish, IT RUINED ANY FLAVOR IN ALL OF THE MEAT, everything had this very overpowering brandy flavor to it. The tortillas were hard and cracked, not fresh at all, the best part of this dish was the beans. In conclusion, we were deciding between this and azteca neither of which we have been to, and we have come to the conclusion that azteca is much better simply because, It would be hard to do worse than this.

0 of 5 stars Do...