User Review
Taqueria Pancho Villa (San Mateo, CA)
Score: 5.5 / 10 Reviewed by: rockamole (San Mateo, CA)
As one of the few Taquerias that actually found its way into Zagat and living nearby I was honestly pretty excited to try this place. The first few times there was some good novelty value - large restaurant, many many menu choices, specifically, the 5 or so ways of preparing chicken. Having a chicken mole burrito was, I thought, a cool and not often seen choice. Then I started noticing after awhile that the meat was rather on the dry side, and the guacamole not very thick or flavorful. The pico de gallo was fine and the 10 or so choices at the salsa bar are pretty interesting but even for a "Bay Area Taqueria", albeit a highly touted one, this one seemed to have lost its edge. The aforementioned chicken mole's flavor paled in comparison to others I've had, particularly at Picante in Berkeley - I would describe it as somewhat muted. I'm sure this place will satisfy the need for a burrito fix but this is unfortunately right about there with the rest of the assembly-line burrito places that are endemic to the Bay Area. Some of the dinners, quesadillas, and enchiladas are probably fine - the corn quesadillas are real good, in fact, and of course with so many choices it makes a nice place for families to take their kids. The burritos while okay, didn't knock my socks off.
Make the trek to La Tapatia in SSF for a burrito grilled fresh with lots of flavor.
