Wow....what is up with Dahlgren having some awesome restaurants!? For a middle-of-nowhere town they sure do pack a foodie punch! This joint in particular has some really special menu items. Not everything is something to write home about but they have some unique and authentic items that I was happy about. I am surprised by the negative reviews. I guess my bar was set low when I went and I was pleasantly surprised. I am from Los Angeles....so I know my Mexican food. And I know that the east coast has a different style.....less street, less authentic and usually smothered in queso. So....I know what to order. I don't waste my time on the taquitos, enchiladas or chimichangas. I look for house specials and I usually skip the rice and beans.
I recommend their empanadas, pozole, pibil (to die for!), mango ceviche and the cauliflower rellenos. We were happy with the table guac too.
I completely completely disagree with someone calling this Tex Mex. I think maybe we have different definitions but um....no. There is nothing that fits the regional cuisine that is Tex Mex. I would accept Americanized Mexican. This is true. But oh well...it is still good!
My daughter and I eat at this restaurant pretty much on a weekly basis. We've been dining here for 3 years. The tableside guacamole is the best we've ever had! We never have to wait long for our food and its always hot when we get it! We always see the same server Chris and we have yet to be disappointed with the service or the food at Panchos :-)
Review Source:Ok food. We used to go 2 or 3 times a month, but they raised their prices so dang high its only maybe once every other month. Wait staff leaves a WHOLE LOT to be desired. They seem to have tons of people working there, but most of them stand around and do nothing. They should fire those ones and lower their prices back down!! Worth the trip if you are looking for 'ok' Mexican fare and don't mind cruddy service.
Review Source:My husband and I visited this small Mexican restaurant, but will not do so again. Â Simple bean burrito and poorly cooked fish dinner disappointed. Â
Dessert:  plantains with ice cream arrived with pitiful offering for $5.99:  practically no cajehta sauce and no chocolate sauce (as advertised).  Someone managed to find a very small  spoonful of ice cream to include under this light drizzle.
As for the spices: Â zero. Â Nada. Â None. Â The sauce over the burrito was tomato sauce from a can and barely heated. Â No spices in view. Â
The side of guac, however, was excellent. Â
I can't fathom how they charged us almost 50 dollars for this repast. Â We drank: ice water. Â They certainly disappoint with their food and their prices: Â proverbial highway robbery. Â Perhaps you'd do better just about anywhere else.
Oh the chips: Â something tough and industrial. Â The dip for the latter was thinned out with water, I think. Â The hostess tried to sit us next to the kitchen while the place was empty completely as we ate quite early. Â When we requested a different booth, we tried to sit but the space for each bench was tiny (though I weigh just over 100lbs). Â The place could use closer oversight by whoever has invested therein. Â Perhaps they're Mexican and could taste the food served. Â I suspect any Mexican could improve the taste.
Had lunch specials, soft chimichanga & hard tacos. Both dishes came with beans and rice. Neither dish any but "special". Do not drive out of your way to eat here. Government employees must like it because the service is fast & their willingness to issue separate bills to all at the table; no matter how large the table. Otherwise, this is run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex grub.
Review Source:Pancho Villa is a restaurant we frequent often. However, i dont think we will be back for a while..There was a drunk girl at the bar, which is in the restaurant area. She had been drinking a lot as it was her birthday apparently. She became ill and stumbled for the front door but didnt make it. She got sick in the foyer and on herself. As if this was not bad enough, the staff, who obviously knew her, were laughing and loudly talking about cleaning it up,and calling to her to come back, ect..it went on and on... A few moments later she came back in, having removed her shirt that she now held in her hand, she was wearing her camisole. She sat back at the bar where the staff and she talked loudly about her getting sick and as they put it "puking" all over the place and herself. They then put a sombrero on her head and proceeded to sing her the birthday song, when what she really needed was to be driven home. The whole incident was so gross that we could barely eat. It would not have been so bad it they had just kept it quiet..instead it was turned into a stage show. Not a professional enviroment. I felt like I was a teenager in someones basement. Just sayin..
Review Source:It's all about the table side Gauc! It's made with fresh everything! The avocados are always fresh and come straight from Mexico. I love the steak and bacon wrapped shrimp- make sure u tell them to cook the shrimp well because the first time the bacon was well cooked but the shrimp were a raw- the waiter took them bk had them cooked and I was pleased. The second time I used asked them to be cooked well and my meal came out great. My hubby had the Sampler and a side soft taco and he was pleased. We go to Panchos just for the guacamole.
UPDATE 03/17/2013
we went back here twice since my first review & the food was gross! The last time my rice was dry & burned! my shrimp was still raw-yuck,
my husbands food was terrible. Our waiter was terrible, barely checked on us! Won't be going back.
Maybe my expectations were just too high, but this place wasn't all that great. The service is super slow even when only a few tables are occupied. Don't go here for lunch unless you've got more than an hour.
The food was so-so. The main dishes were fine, but the appetizers sucks. I had the taco salad and my friend had enchiladas. We'd also ordered chips and queso. I've NEVER had queso like that before...I've had better queso made from Velveeta. It looked like it was cubed cheese that was put in a microwave. Very elastic and not quite melted.
Pros: Awesome table-side guacamole
Cons: Atmosphere is severely lacking
Of the 5 or so restaurants to choose from in Dahlgren, this is probably the 2nd best. Â I live in San Diego & eat authentic Mexican food on a regular basis. Â This food is "chain restaurant style" food... but it's still good.
My hubby and I have been here twice and both times the wait staff was very friendly/attentive & our food was good. Â The table-side guacamole is AWESOME. I really like the Chicken Tortilla Soup bowl as well... broth based with lots of chicken with corn, squash, tomatoes, etc. Â Very hearty. Â Hubby had the Carnitas Platter & he said it was pretty decent.
Overall, we'd both recommend it as a top dining spot while in Dahlgren.
Ok, Dahlgren is not known for it culinary conquests in the dining world, in fact who comes here except Gov't guys? Well, three of us (yes, on travel) visited this place since it was close to the Holiday Inn we were staying at. Now we are from San Diego which is Mexi-town when it comes to this kinda food. This place was really good, no really, it is. We ordered a variety of the dinners and they were all good. No complaints at the table. Service was fairly good, which I say since the young waiter forgot to bring more chip dip as requested, but eventually brought it. The parking lot was full of cars, but there was still room to sit in the restaurant. Come on in, it's ok.
Review Source:OK....I'm a Texas native and know good Mexican food. Â Alas, I live in rural Virginia! Â Â
The Guacamole is spot-on, Fajita Salad very tasty, and the Tortilla Chicken soup delicious. Â The soup is one one the little surprises on their menu. Â Someone is putting in some old fashioned TLC into this dish - yummy broth teeming with spices, chicken, squash, corn cob, and of course fried tortilla strips. Â A-plus! Â My favorite fare...the seasonally offered Fish Tacos are devine. Â No, they aren't the fish tacos found along coastal California, but they are VERY good. Â Corn tortillas filled with sauteed fish, cabbage, and served with cilantro, pico de gallo, roasted chili salsa and fresh lime. Â It's a generous serving of three, so I'm always carting one home. Â The Carnitas, my husband's favorite, comes with a nice array of salsa's - a tomatillo and pico de gallo (I wish these were offered with chips instead of their house salsa) Â
Yes, I long for fresh salsa with cilantro. Â The enchilada sauce needs some zip and the ground beef tacos my kiddos enjoy lack some basic spices like cumin. Â Â Remembering where this restaurant is located is tempering this review. Â The staff is attentive, the place attractive, and its full of diners at most lunches and evening hours. Â I'll be back.......
Had lunch and dinner there in one day. Had one of the lunch specials, left something to be desired, price was decent. Â For dinner I had the "Mexican Paella", it was soupier than the Spanish version; boy was it good!! Â Great blend of spice, cilantro, and seafood. Â If you like Mexican and you like seafood this is a must try.
Review Source:It is hard to find a good quality Mexican Restaurant outside of the Southwest and Texas. Â However, there are some restaurants sparking up on the East Coast that deserve some credit, and this is one of them.
I stopped in here and was vry happy with the food. Â I opted to sit at the bar area due to that fact that I wanted to entertain myself with the large TV they had there.
The service was decent and rather quick. Â I ordered a 16 ounch margarita (they tempted me toward the 32 ounce but I was driving). Â I ordered the top shelf, because no matter where you go, if you ordered a top shelf, they just can't really mess it up. Â Anyway, it was very good and was surprisingly smooth.
I ordered the carne asada and it was very good. Â The meat was tender and not greasy. Â It came with a side of spanish rice that was very tasty and refried beans, and a small side of guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo. Â It was very filling. Â The prices are good. Â $12.95 for the carne asada and $8.50 for the top shelf margarita.
I think I will make a stop here one more time before I head back home. Â
BTW, this place is pretty popular as there are not that many good restaurants or places to go in the immediate area.
Alright, I will reinstate their 4th star. Â I just had a great lunch here today opting for their Super Burrito which was actually very good! Â This is one of the best places in Dahlgren, and we are very happy to have it. Â
Oh be aware that Fridays are especially busy. Â Many of the tables were already filled at 11am, and lines were out the door until well after that.
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