Pancho’s Mexican Food

Panchos never disappoints. I have tried a few of their burritos, and my absolute favorite is the carne asada. The jalapeño cheese dip is delicious too (and spicy!) I have to admit I’ve never tried an «entrée». I stick with what I love.
Your wait time is slightly longer than most fast food places, but 100x better! And there’s never a line.
Edit:
I have to add to my review because currently I am sadly disappointed with panchos. First off, I tried to eat here for breakfast last weekend (yes I like it that much) at 9 am on Sunday. Their sign states open 24 hours, however the locked door and lack of employees clearly stated otherwise. Second, I just got take out tonight and asked the man at the window for 2 red sauce and NO green sauce. I love he red and hate the green. Got home only to find 2 green. No red… And on top of that a mediocre burrito :(

YES. FINALLY.
This place is actual Mexican food you can find in San Diego. No other Mexican food place compares as far as I can find.
Carne asada fries? Check.
California burrito that’s delicious? Boom
²⁴⁄₇? Now THAT’S a true taco shop that I’m used to back in San Diego.
Need a good Mexican food fix but can’t afford the trip near the border? Come to Pancho’s.

I love Pancho’s! I drive by this place hundreds of times until my wife and I decided to give it a try and we love it ever since and became regulars. We’ve never dine-​in, we’ve always used the drive-​thru since we like our privacy. The gentlemen at the drive-​thru window is super nice and friendly too. When most mexican restaurants are pretty plain Pancho’s is packed with flavor. Combination of both green and red salsa add awesome body and kick. It’s open 24 hours a day, it’s great food for anytime of the day, like convenient good street food without the fancy schmancy. Love it!

You either love or hate Pancho’s. I actually love «some» of their menu items. The four stars is mainly for their food. Unless you speak spanish, it can be a rough go making special request. Of all three locations, the Olathe site is by far my favorite. The KC, Mo location has had many struggles in the past with customers and the health department. Lenexa location isn’t bad. Especially now that they are finally remodeling the place somewhat. Another big big plus for Lenexa Pancho’s is the fact they stay open 24 hours a day. I will save some funny stories trying to get the workers to wake up and take my order during a review of their lenexa location. Oh yea, the workers snoozing in the back have happened to me at the Olathe location in the past also.
In my opinion, the burritos are the star of the show in Olathe. Their authentic tacos aren’t bad, but the burritos are a must try. I don’t know what t is about their burrito tortilla’s but they are heaven on earth! So good I request that my burritos are double wrapped with two tortilla’s. Amazingly, their tortilla’s are the closest thing to my grandmothers growing up back in the day. Soft and chewy with little crisp griddle marks stamping these tortilla’s. I still don’t believe the cook I was talking to one day that told me, «Our tortilla’s are supplied by Sysco Foods». Don’t believe it and never will.
Anyhow, some of the best burrito’s on the menu are the breakfast burrito’s. Served all day but cost a little extra after 11am I believe. Here’s my #1 Burrito at Panchos: Refined beans, eggs, grilled onions, potato’s, rice, and occasionally cheese. Double tortilla and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Squeeze 2 – 3 limes inside the giant monster burrito and dip that sucker in some of their green or red sauce… Oh my God!~!!! Wash it down with Mexican Coke or a glass of lemon ice water. I’m good for the rest of the day.
There are a ton of other burrito combinations, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. California burrito is pretty good. Texano is really good. They have combo’s and all the usual suspects of a Mexican American restaurant. Here’s the deal with Pancho’s; Their menu consist of the usual over cheesed americanized items, but they also have the gritty authentic dishes most Americans shy away from. I’m telling you it’s a vast menu and somewhat overwhelming for first timers.
The few things I don’t care for at Pancho’s are for one; their guacamole. The stuff is really weird. The guac is a light light lime green color. Has no flavor and way too runny. Their meats are a tad too tough and chewy. Lacks seasoning and too much dark meat for their chicken dishes. Like I said, customer service is non-​existent.
The Olathe Pancho’s used to operate ²⁴⁄₇. That ended a while ago. Ton’s of complaint that workers would NOT answer the phone or come to the drive thru window during the night hours. I was told they were sleeping in the back of the kitchen on more than one occasion. In fact, the owner even had the restaurant phone calls forwards to her cell if the phones were not answered after a certain amount of rings… Too funny. Still, if you get to the Olathe location in the mornings don’t be surprised if there are no workers present during normally opening hours. This too continues to happen. Oh well, take the good (food) with the bad.
I miss Pancho’s dearly. Always try to make a once-​a –month Pancho run when I’m able to. Give these guys a try. But remember, it may take a few times to get comfortable with their set-​up and find what you like.

This place is hit or miss. Either the food is really good or absolutely nasty, there is no middle ground from my experience. You learn what is good and stick with it. The shredded beef and carnitas are a good option. The enchilada sauce is nasty. The fry dish is not worth a try as the meat is tough and chewy. The burritos and chimis are good, they have the onions and peppers grilled into the meat, which adds a lot of flavor. The beans and rice are pretty standard.
The highlight of this place is that they have a drive thru. If you don’t want to cook, don’t want to go out, don’t want fast food, and are tired of pizza or Chinese, you have an alternative! Well above your fast food Mexican options.
I have never dined in so don’t know what the place is like. I have always received good service from the drive thru and never had problems with my order.
Getting into the restaurant can be a pain as it is off of 135^th (Sante Fe) just east of I35. An extremely congested intersection. If you are coming from the east, you will not have any problems, just turn onto the access road, coming from the west you will have to turn across traffic. It might be easier to go down and turn around.
Not the best, but worth a try, especially if you want to pick up a quick meal, but don’t want fast food.

Pancho’s never disappoints when it comes to quick service Mexican food. Their tacos carne asada are the bomb and their adobada tacos similarly rock. They are able to serve up way better food than either Taco Bell or Taco (no) Bueno and their service is only slightly slower than those fast food places. The quality is comparable to the area sit down Mexican restaurants. Prices are a little higher than fast food but it is well worth it. Once time they got my order wrong, but they gave me a delicious chile relleno burrito instead of what I ordered. It was so good the chile relleno burrito is now one of my mainstay orders here!

Me and my boyfriend love Pancho’s! He is from Los Angeles and this is as close as it gets to real good authentic mexican food out here. I think that says a lot. My favorite menu item is carne asada tacos. Boyfriend always orders carnita burrito with rice and beans inside. To die for! The staff is nice. I like the different kinds of salsas they have. If you haven’t been here, and you like mexican food (REAL mexican food), you need to try it out.

I have been to Pancho’s several times and loved it. However, I got a meal from the drive-​thru today and the rice and beans tasted like cigarette smoke. The cigarette smoke was so heavy in the rice that I wanted to gag and threw out the whole meal. I will never risk going back there. It was so incredibly disgusting!

This place has awesome food. I love it!!! The beans and rice are good and it’s such a staple in mexican food I think it says a lot. I’ve had carnitas and they are good, carne asada is not bad, the japeleno cheese dip is really good but really spicy. They use to have this cake there that was to die for but I don’t see it on the menu anymore.
My only problem with this place is I’ve never been inside and maybe next time I should but I’ve only been through the drive thru and They always forget, not only one or two items, but like half my meal and it’s happened the last two times I was there. I don’t live close so it’s an annoyance to have to go back. Or maybe it’s my fault for not checking my order before I leave I don’t know I always feel rushed through the drive thru.
But I will most likely go back because the food is soo good.

I am so glad I finally tried this place! It was so good last night that I went again tonight. Plus, it’s cheap! Under $ 8 for most meals. (They also had kids’ meals, but didn’t check the price since my son outgrew them when he was 2.)
In my two visits, I’ve tried asada tacos (yay!) and fish tacos (boo!). I’m not a huge fan of pico, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that I didn’t like theirs. I asked for a side of onions and cilantro and put those on my tacos instead. Much better. But I still can’t decide if I like this weird guac sauce they put on their tacos and burritos. I may ask for it without next time. Anyway, the steak was juicy and succulent. Just fantastic. The fish was fried and very average. I didn’t like the cabbage and tartar sauce in the taco. Just not very good. Their refried beans and rice were fine, though.
The best thing about this place is that they have a salsa bar. I thought both red salsas were kinda gross. But there’s a huge upside — they’ve got 2 kinds of green salsa! The creamier kind and the more translucent kind. I don’t know the first thing about Mexican food, but I know I LOVE me some salsa verde. I really liked theirs. What’s superb is that their salsas aren’t that spicy. You know what that means? I can DRENCH my food in it and not have to drink a gallon of water! I can handle spicy, but I am more down with the FLAVOR than the heat, so I am absolutely elated that theirs are just hot enough. Happy day for me!
Oh, ambiance? Service? The interior is pretty hideous, but it is well-​kept and clean. The booths are quite comfortable. Both the girl last night and the man today spoke English really well and were very nice. Non-​English speakers don’t bother me, but I know it does others, so thought I’d mention.
In short, this place seems great. I can’t wait to try their other meats and hit it up when I have a 3 AM cravng.

OMG, 24-​hour a day Mexican food in Olathe! And near where I live! I went for a midnight burrito, and I’m a fan! It was a Monday night and I felt like a character in Edward Hopper’s «Night Hawks» as I was the only customer while I was there! However, as I was leaving, someone had pulled into the drive-​up order lane. Come on Olatheans (and others). Patronize this place! We need independent, local all-​night eateries in this part of JoCo!
The burrito was fine, although a bit undersalted. I ordered a carnitas burrito and it was served dry and wrapped in paper, for eating out of hand (like California burritos). The carnitas were properly flavored (better than Chipotle’s) and both tender and crispy at the same time. Along with salt, the burrito could have used a bit more spice. They had several salsas available (self-​serve) and I asked one of the employees which was the hottest. It was a fresh-​tasting bright green salsa, but not all that hot. Still, for late night food it was just fine. Definitely not chain food.
You can get anything on the menu around the clock — they have various combinations and some Mexican breakfast items, which would be fine late at night, like eggs and chorizo or eggs and machaca (shredded dried beef).
Getting to and from Pancho’s is a bit tricky. It’s on the north side of Santa Fe (135^th St.) close to the entrance to I-​35. You may miss it, especially in the dark, but access is on a little side lane of Santa Fe that you have to turn onto a bit east of the restaurant. If you stay on the main lanes of Santa Fe as far as the restaurant you end up in the lanes leading onto I-​35! But it’s worth looking for — you’ll find it sandwiched between a Perkins and Avis. Leaving is a bit tricky, too, if you’re headed east. You have to turn north on a small street (N. Poplar) just past Perkins, then east on the same street to N. Lindenwood. From there you can turn right to get back onto Santa Fe eastbound.
There’s also a Pancho’s branch on Bluejacket, just north of 87^th and east of I-​35 and U.S. 69, in Overland Park Check ‘em out night owls, and anyone else who likes Mexican food. The food tastes «authentic,» not just created for gringos. But they could add a bit of salt, and make that sauce more «picante» for my taste!
UPDATE 10÷6÷10: Had a very late-​night burrito attack and headed to Pancho’s. To my surprise, the dining area was closed! But the drive-​thru lane was functioning, so I was still able to get a burrito. The guy staffing the window said they close the dining room at 2:00 a.m. That’s kind of disappointing. But I did see 24-​hour McDonald’s and Burger King outlets on Santa Fe, just a bit east of Pancho’s, so that’s worth knowing. And I think there’s a 24-​hour Waffle House on Santa Fe just west of I-​35. Not my favorite choices for dining, but 24-​hour options in suburbia are definitely limited!
UPDATE 7÷14÷2011: Came in for a burrito. I overheard the guy behind the counter telling another customer they’re no longer open 24 hours, although the 87^th and Bluejacket location still is. Sound like they’re now open ’til midnight at this location.

Oh how much they’ve learned.
I’ve been here a few times now since my last review. I prefer this Pancho’s over the Bluejacket one now. The Horchata is awesome. I’m not one to like tamales. Theirs are meaty, greasy and seasoned to make me want to order them.
Being that you can order off all the menu 24hrs a day is a plus too.