Pancho-N-Luigi’s

closed… as in out of business… sort of like they were not doing well enough to pay the rent… meaning if you go there the door will be locked and service is highly unlikely.
Capice?

Came here for a friend’s show. The pictures they have up for this location are extremely misleading. I was afraid to order food. The staff was drunk and rude. the cheap beer was way over priced, not to mention the entire place was disgusting, beyond dive bar bad. I will never come back here.

I absolutely love this place. Great tacos and great beer selection! On Monday the tacos are 1 $, Wells are 2 $ and margaritas are 3 $. On Tuesdays the tacos are $ 2 ! What a great deal :) ill recommend this place to anyone who loves a great Mexican/​Italian food!

Quality food, drinks not so much. Beer tastes like they sell expired, had a pitcher there twice already and both times it was old stale beer. Mixed drinks kind of taste like they dilute the liquor with sanitized sink water. Food is amazing though and they do have some interesting folks that hang around just for the love of god get drunk before going or you won’t be able to.

Pancho need help on food, steak taco wasn’t season and over cooked. what ever Chief they have need work. Now I see why they don’t have but 20 guests a day

Finally I had a chance to sample Pancho n Luigi’s Deep Dish pizza! I joined Lance F. here for dinner Tuesday evening for a long over due pizza dinner. Lance had called head due to the 45 minute cook time and by the time we arrived the pizza still had about 10 minutes to go in the oven. We had a very nice server named Lorna who is from Israel and told us some interesting stories while taking care of us through out the visit.
Once the pizza arrived it was immediately apparent that it was the real deal. The pie wasn’t overly large in diameter however it was it about an inch and ¼ thick and filled with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and cheese. Topping it off the entire surface was covered in a delicious tomato sauce.
Lance and I managed to eat 3 slices each. Between that and a couple of Devils Backbone Vienna Lagers I was stuffed. I ended up taking the last 2 slices home and had them for lunch the next day.
This was my 4^th or 5^th visit to P-n-L’s and I have to say I’ve enjoyed every meal I’ve had here. The food is not only good, they take the time to make the presentation of their dishes look excellent and service is always on spot.
Last but not least, if you know you’re going to have a deep dish pizza here, you should call your order in about 30 minutes ahead of time if you don’t want to wait the full 45 minutes once you get there.

This place is solid, with a lot of potential. Fore vegans, they have some great options, like chorizo and chick’n, and a bunch of other stuff that isn’t on the official menu yet (just ask). They also have vegan cheese to top everything off with, which is always a nice option that not many restaurants have, and they are very helpful with vegan orders. The best thing by a good margin is the vegan deep dish pizza though– daaaamn! There is no other place around that does a vegan deep dish that I know of, and it is dang tasty. It takes a long time to cook, but if you plan ahead and order on the discount nights, don’t even hesitate. Other things I enjoy are the chick’n quesadilla and the BBQ Chick’n pizza (not on the official menu). The burritos are pretty solid as well. The vegan food all around isn’t anything mind blowing, but they are definitely trying, and I’m glad they are!
Now on to the bad about this place: I reaaaaaallly hate giving any place that serves up a bunch of vegan options a bad rating, but good lord– the service here is just terrible. Some servers are better than others, but a majority of the time we will sit at the table for what seems like 30 minutes before we get checked on. The only way you can order is by flagging someone down or yelling at them before they bypass you for the fifth time. On top of that, the servers don’t seem to know much about what the kitchen has available, or what beers are on tap. There isn’t that much to remember, so it shouldn’t be hard, but it is obviously not a focus of theirs. A few of the servers are very impersonal and make you feel like you are bothering them by ordering or asking questions too. And orders have been forgotten/​wrong on multiple occasions. I have become so annoyed with the service that it is definitely keeping me from frequenting as much as I used to. Other negatives include the cold draft from the front door in the winter, and the incredibly high noise level when bands are playing, making it impossible to have a conversation with anyone (although to their credit, the music is sometimes good). And as many vegan options as they do have, I feel like they could still step it up. Pelon’s has better tacos and vegan meats, and Tortilla West’s Chick’n chorizo is far superior. The chorizo here doesn’t have much flavor or moisture, unfortunately (and where is the vegan sour cream??). Also they often seem to be out of things– and not just vegan things– including beers.
So to conclude: Good vegan options, poor service, too loud, good music, food could be improved, get a draft list, stop running out of food, make a new menu with all of the vegan options on it. I think they can do some cool stuff if they keep trying!

Great food! The food taste like real Mexican food and the pizza is Chicago style pizza. There is tons of different beer to pick from.

3.25
My brother’s girlfriend of nine years (telling you that so that you know she is pretty much family at this point) was singing with her band, Last Fair Deal, here on Saturday night. I just happened to be in town visiting my folks, so we came out to enjoy the show and have a few beers. We also skipped dinner in favor of a nap because the band didn’t go on until 10pm, so we were pretty well famished. Although we were hoping for good eats, we didn’t exactly let our expectations soar…
Imagine our delight to find some mighty tasty grub at this confused establishment. Seriously Italian AND Mexican??? Hmmm… well, we ordered exclusively from the Mexican side, so my rating is for Pancho more so than Luigi. For Dad, the spicy green enchiladas, for Mom, the taquitos and grilled chicken salad, and for yours truly, the Torta Carnitas. The torta was no joke. The torta was as big as my head. The torta eventually became three meals for me. The stuff inside the torta was out of this world! The bread encasing the out-​of-​this world carnitas was fabulous and held up to a night in the fridge without turning into a soggy mess. The fries that accompanied the torta were super skinny, fried to perfection and sprinkled with the perfect amount of salt.
Now, let’s talk beer. They keep a really decent selection on tap and I was pleasantly surprised. At least four IPAs were on the beer menu, and the one we chose to indulge in was the New Belgium Slow Ride and we were happy enough with that to have more than one ;) I’m a fan of New Belgium’s Fat Tire, but this Slow Ride is quickly edging into the number one spot for me.
Ready for the bad? Service sucks big time. Three different servers were at our table never knowing who had done what and they were SLOW! Yeah, I know. Go figure. Still wondering who actually got the overly generous tip I laid on the tab. All I can say is that I hope they were just woefully understaffed and perhaps didn’t expect the band to draw such a large crowd maybe? Dunno. The band has a pretty sizeable following, so I would think they would know better, but whatever.
TORTA — I am coming back for you baby!

We came as a work group and there was only other table here. It took over an hour for us (12 of us) to get our food. Several items came out incorrectly. I suppose if you are drunk and bar hopping up and down Colley this place would be ok. Never again.

First and foremost, I love food, especially Mexican and Italian. I also realize this is right next to a college campus and the owners are not known for quality food in one of their other establishments. I have also been to Pancho’s twice — once before the grand opening and again last night.
My friends and I (four in total) show up to PnL”s around 6:45. Our waitress was really nice (one of the two positive comments about this place), and we eventually all ordered by 7:00. Though we had ordered, no one had any silverware (pretty standard to seat guests and give them silverware, or so I thought), and whenever any of us ran out of drink, it took a long while to get a refill. I think this all just comes from bad training on the restaurant’s behalf, since the night didn’t get any better.
We were initially interested in the Chicago-​style deep-​dish pizza, but we didn’t want to wait 45 minutes for food, and we even joked about calling in an order while still at work just to have it show up in time right when we go to the restaurant next. Turns out the joke was on us.
In the time it took for the food order to be placed and us getting our food, we could have literally all gone to the grocery store, bought the ingredients, gone to any of our houses, cooked and ate the food, swung by somewhere for dessert, and sat back in the booth with time to spare. It took almost an entire hour to get our food! Maybe spending an hour on crafting artisan during a slammed dinner hour would be worth it.
It was not. There were two other tables. Two. The food quality was quite poor. I can’t speak for my friends — that none of them finished their food but opted rather to go home and eat says something — I can and will elaborate on my meal.
I ordered a Mucho Burro, mostly because it seemed to have every ingredient and closest resembled the Burrito San Jose at Plaza Azteca. They weren’t lying when they said it was big (two of two nice comments). While it looked appealing, when I cut into it, I could smell burnt meat. Off to a great start. Then, I had a bite. Literally every single ingredient (rice, beans, potatoes, chicken, chorizo, and I’m sure other stuff) was dry. I’m honestly impressed. I never thought it possible to make something so bland. Maybe it was one of those space food burritos and needed more water. I’ll try that next time.
I will never get any of their Mexican food. I’d be happier eating a taquito at 7 – 11. I will go back to check out some live music, though.
In short, save your time and money and eat elsewhere. I am hard-​pressed to think of worse Mexican food.

Stopped in this evening for Taco Tuesday and was joined by my buddy Joe D. When I was first seated, I was greeted by our server (I really need to be better at names) and ordered an El Guapo and some chips and salsa. Our server was a sweet girl but when I asked what IPAs they had, she thought for a minute and handed me a list of the beers. Perhaps she’s new but it might be worth learning the beers a bit.
I really liked the salsa. This is the first salsa I’ve had in a while that stood out from others. It was nice. The chips and salsa are not complimentary ($ 2) like in most places but I would definitely get them again. I ordered a chorizo taco and the al pastor taco. When they came out, it was two chorizo. That’s OK, I like chorizo, and didn’t even realize it until later this evening as I was mentally recapping the meal. The taco was actually quite good. I anticipated being let down but I thought they were solid. One corn tortilla unlike the traditional two you might expect but the chorizo was good and they were covered in cilantro and onion (Pancho style). I enjoyed them.
The place itself is kinda dive-​y, as others have stated. I dig dives, so I felt right at home. Lots of TVs on the walls, though not a single one was on. Odd. But, it was an overall good experience. For the Taco Tuesday price of $ 2, the tacos were great. For the regular menu price of $ 3.25, they are overpriced. So, I’ll stick to Taco Tuesday but definitely will stop by again. Next time, I’m going with the deep dish pie.

This restaurant is trying to do something different, something that some people or famous chefs wouldn’t recommend to do. However, I think bringing two different cultures together brings variety, but you have to play the menu and flavors correctly. You are basically left to be selective of dishes, so you have to serve what is popular from these cultures and bring new a stuff as specials.
Food:
I went for the Pancho side of the kitchen (sidenote: personally, they should play on this and make a Pancho menu and a Luigi menu). I ordered a Chorizo con Papa Torta, Al Pastor Torta, and a Chorizo con Papa taco. I have to say, they almost have it. The meat was nicely prepared, and they prepared the Torta well. The taco comes in a tortilla that reminded me of some Mexican tortillas. The fries were good too, but could’ve served more. However, the flavor was just not there. In fact, I feel it was too light in flavor and these two should have flavors that pop! Please work on seasoning the meat better, but you almost got it! It was good, but you need to make Pancho a proud man.
Ambience:
I agree with other reviewers, it has a dive like look and feeling. I love that they have local bands come in to perform. Looking forward to this!
Service:
At first, the bartender did not seem to interested in wanting to take my to-​go order, but was better about it as time passed. I dropped a star for this. I do get saving energy for a big event at the restaurant, but a big event was headed their way soon.
All this said, I’m going there again. Bands are welcomed, ’nuff said. Also, I’ve read from reviewers about the Chicago pizza.
You’re next Luigi!

The service was good but the food is mediocre at best. I hear people speaking Spanish in back but the taste of the Mexican food is American at best. Not a great experience and not a repeatable restaurant with so many great options in the area.

Definitely worth a return trip!
I got the monster burro while my boyfriend went for the Italian beef sandwich. We also shared chips and salsa.
The salsa was awesome, and the chips were fresh.
The burrito was massive and hung over past the plate. It tasted great, and the sauce they gave me really brought the burrito together.
The boyfriend liked his sandwich, which I felt had some great flavor to it.
We will definitely be back. The carne asada fries and Chicago style pizza are on my bucket list!

I love this place! It’s perfect for a quick bite to eat and a beer! I didn’t get the vibe that it was depressing at all, I think it depends on when you go.
The deep dish pizza is amazing but does take 45 mins to get but it is way worth it!
The tacos are tasty and filling. way more so than what you get a Pelons or colley cantina. Sweet beer specials too and fireball $ 3! Can’t beat that

Great Vegan and Veg options!
This new joint offers great happy hour drink specials, a unique menu concept of Italian/​Mexican food all with great vegan/​vegetarian options.
Service (Chris in particular) was fantastic. The experience made for a casual and comfortable experience; I’ll definitely return.

REALLY wanted this place to blow me away. Mainly ’cause I live in the neighborhood that is adjacent. Sat at the bar solo and was SLOW to be greeted because the bartendress had all her buddies there. Long story short got a menu and ordered to go food 15 min after sitting down. Mind you, this was at 5:30 pm on a Thursday, not exactly rush hour. I’ll try and go back with the fam at some point and sit in a booth, but so far I’m unimpressed with the mgmt’s ability to regulate staff. Good Luck!

This 3-​star review is a very tentative one and does not carry the stamp of a final «A-​OK.» It is based only upon my preliminary observations and impressions during my one and only recent solo visit.
I stopped in for lunch around 12:30 p.m. one day last week. As I approached the entrance, I couldn’t help but notice that some of the windows were unwashed. Upon entering, and throughout my stay, the atmosphere struck me as dark, dreary, and depressing. It was also chilly inside, and there was only one other diner present, who was sitting at the bar.
After looking over their menu, I finally decided upon the following:
AUTHENTIC MEXICAN TACOS: I ordered the «combo» which comes with two tacos and my choice of either beans or rice, listed at a price of $ 9.00. I would have rather been offered both beans and rice, as I always enjoy having both when enjoying any sort of Mexican combo platter.
Thier tacos are offered with a choice of either Pancho style with cilantro and onions, or Luigi style with lettuce and tomato. I ordered the Pancho style with Carne Asada steak as my choice of filling.
The two tacos came wrapped in what appeared to be white flour tortillas, with a cozy and tender thickness I appreciated. If these were actually corn tortillas, I couldn’t tell, as they were too bleached for my tastes. I would have prefered corn tortillas with a deeper and richer yellow hue.
The fillings, including the steak, cilantro, and onions, were pleasant and tasty enough. Overall, the tacos were decent, but they paled in comparison with those I have enjoyed at El Rey 2 and Jessy’s Tacqueria.
The Spanish rice which came with my platter was bland and lukewarm. Two different salsas arrived with my platter, with the green one being the spicier of the two and which delivered a nice kick. However, they were contained in plastic squirt bottles, which I found to be a bit tacky. Service was adequate but did not exhibit a whole lot of enthusiasm.
As I was eating, the atmosphere continued to put a damper on my spirits, so much so that I couldn’t wait to leave. Seriously, they really need to do something to brighten up the décor and create a more festive and inviting atmosphere.
I am giving this restaurant a little bit of slack, as they are still going through their soft opening phase. Needless to say, they will really have their work cut out for them when they will begin competing with the new Cogan’s.
I will probably return in a few months from now, perhaps sometime next spring, and write an updated and more substantive review. Maybe I will return before then, but my first visit has left me uninspired to go back anytime soon. I do want to try their Mexican pizza.
In closing with a positive note, I would like to applaud and thank them for being an active and enthusiastic supporter of the ODU Monarchs.

Newest addition to NOCO. This place is a hot mess. But dont let that stop your drunken self from chowing down on some Chicago style deep dish and quesadillas! What a combo. I mean really? There’s HUGE potential for this place, but since it’s brand new and rumor has it that funding and support ran out due to city’s crappy rules, they get a hard pass for all the lack-​lusters.
What were those lacking things you say? First problem, the Menu. I wouldn’t call it an Italian joint mixed with American-​mexican style food. There’s really one thing on the menu that would qualify as Italian, and that’s their pizza. Aside from that, it’s all super Americanized Mexican food. It’s really funny how they insist on calling it «authentic.» It’s far from it. Anyways, perhaps the best thing I had was their Quesadilla with Shrimp. We also opted for a Chicago deep dish with Vegan chorizo, which was «ok» for the most part. The crust was perfect the next day though. It’s like a crescent roll.
It’s a really divey place. Lots of screens to watch games and one mere pool table in the back. No beer taps yet though. But hey, there’s liquor! And bottled beer if you really want it.
I’m rooting for this place to get their shit together, especially since Cogans North is coming and will more than likely steal all their pizza loving customers. Watch your back pancho-​n-​luigi.