Garcia’s Mexican Resturant

This is one of my favorite spots to eat when visiting Watkins Glen. It’s wonderful to sit outside. The wine is inexpensive. The food is decent, but americanized. Some dishes are done pretty well, but I really think the cheese in the quesadilla was processed american cheese product.

A reasonably good Mexican restuarant. Nice staff, friendly and attentive. Nice outdoor dining area. Prices are reasonable. Bottom line – it is a good place to get your sit down Mexican dinner in a casual setting. Good margaritas and draft beers.

So I finished my meal and turned to my husband and said, «Well that was terrible.» He replied, «Really? Mine wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either.»
There are not many places to eat around here, surprisingly. There is a festival in town and many restaurants I called only had late availability. That’s how we ended up at Garcia’s.
The dining room smelled old and dirty. The carpet looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or vacuumed since the ’70’s. A waitress nearby, approached an empty table with a wet rag in hand, and swept debris off the table and onto the chairs and floor. No wonder the place looked and smelled so bad.
Our waiter started out asking us if we wanted to order deserts. When we looked at him puzzled he corrected himself and asked if we wanted to order appetizers. Maybe it was a long day for him. I ordered Vegetarian A. My husband ordered a combination plate. Our food arrived swimming in red sauce. I could go on, but there’s no need. It was just awful.

It’s terrible that this place has the nerve to charge for food and drinks. I’ve never had a worse dining experience in my life. We really wanted to have a good time before the Fourth of July fireworks but we ordered food and they couldn’t even manage to cook it. This place is a complete waste of time. Staff are awful and rude and management is useless.

The food is always served quickly, and you know what to expect from it every time. It’s great to have Mexican food in a small town that tastes good.

At Watkins Glen for a long wekend. Our foursome stopped in for drinks. They let us stay after closing to finish our margaritas. We had so much fun we went back the next night for dinner.
All the food was very good. Perfect portions for an excellent price. The staff was super friendly and very fast. The House Margarita is a must! Also try the Chile relleno. Definitely worth the short walk from the main drag.

I always come to Garcia’s when I visit Watkins Glen. The food is delicious and comes out fast on hot plates. Service is prompt. They start you off with chips and two salsas, which are great to snack on while you enjoy a margarita (mango is awesome). Patio seating is nice in summer. Best chile relenos I’ve ever had. Inexpensive too. I love Garcia’s!

I ordered steak pablano. The steak was half fat and the rest grizzly. The rice & beans were tasty. Salsa was ok. Service ok.

This place was a disaster. The complimentary chips came out warm but quickly cooled and were stale. I ordered the taco salad with chicken but when it was brought out it was with beef. I waited for the waitress to come back to check on us but she never came around. We had been seated on the patio so I picked up my plate and carried it back inside to find the waitress. When I walked back into the dining room about 7 employees were gathered around the bar laughing and talking with no concern for the customers. The new meal was brought out almost immediately which means nothing was cooked fresh, just precooked chicken which was dry and reheated beans which were mushy and tasteless.
My boyfriend ordered the Carnitas and the pork was over cooked and dry.
We could not get out of this place fast enough.

Four for dinner. All good. Burrito macho was huge and vety tasty. Enchiladas were good but looked like too much lettuce over it. Chile relleno was very good. Other food was all good and staff was friendly and attentive. Worth another visit.

The 5 star rating for me is deserved based on our most recent trip to this restaurant. This is a rating for me that encompasses food quality, service, and atmosphere in relation to price. There are some restaurants that may have exceed in one of those three areas but at the expense of the others (great food but expensive, cheap good food and lousy service). Garcias had excellent food, friendly service with quick food, and was very reasonable (at least for lunch).
Before we even got to ordering we had chips and two types of salsa (both very tasty — one more spicy and smoky and the other a simpler chunkier style) and the bartender (who was our server) brought back several reloads for us. We had 5 of our children with us so this was really appreciated as chips and salsa help keep happy and quiet children in any circumstance (at least in my family)
I had the Pollo Loco — extremely flavorful, served piping hot. I really appreciated that the rice that came with it was well seasoned and could stand on its own. So often rice or beans served at Mexican joints is bland and not at all interesting to eat. This stood out for me.
My youngest son ordered the Buffalo wings appetizer for his lunch and it was a huge serving for like $ 8 (a dozen). These are on my top 5 of wings ALL TIME. They were perfectly cooked but the winner was the sauce. Spicy yet very flavorful with a nice consistency (somewhat viscous but not thick or thin and plenty of it). Makes sense given the location but I would not have thought to try these and I am a wing fanatic. They avoid the mistake of so many places that under-​sauce their wings, and their sauce is well done.
My wife had the taco salad and she enjoyed it. A very nice portion at a lunch menu price and flavorful. Was a little heavy on the sour cream but that was easily remedied.
My other sons each had combo platters and these were gobbled up in short order with nothing left on anyone’s plate.
If you like a great balance of good food at a good price with good service, this is a good stop for you. None of these is the best you will ever have (unless you try the wings) but they are all very good and achieving that balance gets 5 stars from me.

Portions were extremely generous all around. Food was freshly made and everything was tasty. Prices were reasonable… even for the drinks. Servers were polite and on point. Stay away from the margaritas, though. They come out of a machine. If you want traditional Mexican food, this is a good choice.

Dinner for five tonight on the deck… burritos, enchiladas and a vegetarian plate with salsa and chips. I thought the hot was hot; I mixed them. All plates cleaned. Fast, friendly service.

As far as Mexican food in New England goes, it was great. Clean, casual atmosphere with excellent service. We were late for the lunch special but they let us order them anyway. The chicken and beef tacos were very well seasoned and the enchilada sauce was good. The salsas were disappointing but the rice and beans were tasty and fresh. I hear the Margaritas are excellent!

Granted we had a small meal here and it’s in a tourist trap of a town but still what we had was mediocre. They do, however, make a good guacamole. Two salsas come to the table with chips. The one described as hot was mild, maybe direct from a jar? and the mild one was plain puréed tomatoes? Mains included a mushroom quesadilla which had canned mushrooms, ick, but we also ordered a side of mole so once slathered in sauce and topped with guac, it was perfectly fine. The cheese enchiladas came as a meat, oh well, and tasted like a frozen Swanson’s TV dinner. Kids quesadilla with refried beans earned a thumbs up from a 12 yo. Service was friendly, prompt and accommodating. Atmosphere is casual family and has an outdoor patio.