Pancho’s Burritos

Pancho is undoubtedly an original alternative to the fast food/​takeaways and ethnic restaurant all across Oxford Road. I’ve only recently discovered the potential of Mexican cuisine, and how good a burrito can be: basically, a «ball» of meat, rice, sauces and vegetables, all wrapped together, so that it’s quite hard to tell all the flavours separately, but the result is a shot in the arm!
I quite like this retailer: good prices, lovely staff, extraordinary position. I find interesting the fact that you can choose between a classic burrito or a burrito bowl, i.e. all the ingredients that you would put into a wrap but served as a salad.
During all my visits I’ve been slightly disappointed by the fact that I had to wait for a while in the queue, and it wasn’t even in the busiest hours. Moreover, the place is definitely tiny, not much room to move around; there are a few tables upstairs to sit but the room is often messy.

Wer mexikansiche Essen liebt wird das Restaurant lieben. Kleine aber feine Auswahl an Speisen. Bitte sich nicht über die Größe des Restaurantes wundern, im 2ten Stock gibt es noch mehr Sitzplätze.

I always thoroughly enjoy the food at Pancho’s. This time was no exception. Decided to try a burrito bowl rather than a wrap and wasn’t disappointed. Had the lamb with all the possible salad & extras. It was really delicious.
I do like the style of the décor and furniture they’ve gone for. However, those with a hangover or a migraine might struggle with the wall murals!
One star lost because while previous customers had cleared all their own rubbish away, the tables upstairs were all in need of cleaning.
The Pacifico Beer is good too, reasonable at £3.50

Pancho’s bring their «best burritos in Manchester» (my accolade) to a more sedate building down near the universities.
Close to thousands of students and Oxford Rd Pancho’s little place should be full all the time, considering a great feed is obtainable for just over a fiver!
Much like the original Arndale Food Market stands, it’s a simple affair, pick your type of tortilla, main protein of choice (there’s plenty of options) and accompaniments and munch away!
If you want to recreate Pancho’s at home they even sell the authentic ingredients, though I’ve not spotted the dried chillies which I usually buy at the Arndale Market branches.
The shop is nicely and airy, with large mexican murals of Freda Kahlo and similar bright artwork — it’s not haute cuisine, but it’s a good eats in a comfortable little shop. There’s plenty of seating upstairs if you want to stay in and a selection of drinks including mexican beers.

Wow! What an affordable little place. Since it is opposite to Manchester Metropolitan University and being a lover of Mexican food, it is a matter of time before I get my hands on their tortillas. I tried the enchiladas which was delicious and full of flavour, but decided to order a burrito because I was famished. All them including diet coke comes to less than £15. What a bargain!
It is even cheaper if you present your student card. If only carbs are as good for you as veggies.

Pancho’s Burritos is the proverbial small package that good things come in. They’re located off Oxford Road, next to the Nando’s that’s next to Zouk. So, it’s another easy lunchtime walk for me, from office. I had heard a lot of nice things about Pancho’s and so took the opportunity to wander here for a (no prizes for guessing) burrito.
As I walked in, there was a queue of about five people in front of me. I noticed bachata music playing on the speakers and a very catchy mural on the left wall, of a little boy and what looked like a dragon. Ordering food here is as easy as 1−2−3 or as they say in Spanish Un Dos Tres (not On Those Trays like Basil Fawlty says though).
1. You choose a size L or a size XL wrap, from a choice of plain, tomato or spinach. The optional fillings include rice (normal and Mexican), beans, onions+peppers, cheese, guac, cactus, sour cream etc. I kept things simple and went for a plain XL one.
2. You choose a main filling from a choice of the usual meats or vegetables, if you’re feeling particularly herbivrous. I had the picante lamb with cactus, I think.
3. You choose a salsa ranging from mild pico de gallo and salsa verde to the very adventurous muy picante habanero salsa. I went for the muy picante habanero.
So there you are, 1, 2 & 3 and it’s all wrapped up and you pay for it and buy any drinks you may want.
I could see bottles of desperado beer and Jarritos soft drinks. Jarritos is a Mexican brand and is based out of Guadalajara, apparently.
The people serving us were very friendly and offered suggestions too, which was very nice. They also seem to have a loyalty card and 15% student discounts. They also have tables on a mezzanine level in case you prefer to eat in.
Amongst other things they also have enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas and the all important nachos with chilli con carne and veggie chilli.
My meal cost me £6.10 and I felt it was good value for my money. Although I must admit, I do have a soft spot for spicy food and places where I as a customer, feel appreciated as opposed to tolerated.
For me, the desirability factor of any well cooked/​prepared dish is usually down to how it looks on my plate and how it feels when I taste it. As far as looks go, it was a burrito; a few fillings rolled in a wrap and packed in tin foil. As far as the taste goes, it felt like a nice combination of individual items coming together in the right proportion that left me with a good overall taste in the mouth whilst also being able to feel the contribution of those individual items. This, for me is a clear winner.
If you’re looking for another place to go for lunch, I’d definitely recommend it.
As with everywhere else, I sincerely hope they continue to maintain the level of performance that I was treated to.

As a place for food, people are going to hate me saying this…
But I much prefer Taco Bell…
The variety of food was good if you are meat eater but the quality for me was not quite there, the staff are wonderfully lovely, and I see the passion within them. but when I have eaten elsewhere for burritos they seem to hold together better.
I came here with the Unilocal tribe to suss this place out… the décor is lovely and vibrant, especially upstairs and there is a nice selection of Mexican beers.
I thought in all honesty that the various meats looked good, and there seemed quite a lot of fillings, but I think the Veggie Chilli was a bit watery, and had no substance which left me with a soggy mess at the end.
Its nice that you pay one price to select as many fillings as you like, unlike other chains, but having eating with local Mexicans during some archaeological adventuring I didn’t get a taste of that Mexican flavour.
I give five stars for those that run it, and I wish them all the best,.but for me it just does not blow my socks off enough to make me come back. I think if they offered more variety for veggies/​fish eaters. or even concentrate on making a high quality veggie chilli I might change my mind. like I said the meat looked good. they just need to have the same level of care for the non meat eaters.

I came here one evening with fellow Unilocalers to
try out their burritos in this newly opened place.
once inside i was greeted by a very friendly smiling owner
down stairs they have some small two seater tables and upstairs
they have large longish tables enough for a small party of people.
We started our meal by have tortilla chips and guacamole
which was finished off very quickly by every one, then we went down stairs to order our burritos.
I order mine with the veg option which had a bit off every thing on it.
taking it back upstairs and tucking into mine i thought it was
very tasty and very filling as i only ordered the medium option.
i will be going back here again as i got great food and great service
by these guys and am sure in time for their great effort to please
they will go from strenght to strenght.
RIGHTLY DESERVED GOOD LUCK GUYS!

I attended a Unilocal event here and was greeted by the lovely owner at the door. The set up is very nice and I absolutely love the art work on the walls. There is Mexican music playing throughout the restaurant which gives it an authentic vibe along with some of the staff dressed in traditional Mexican attire.
The owner mentioned to us that in all of Poncho’s restaurants they use traditional Mexican recipes that have been handed down through his family. I could really tell this was true as soon as I bit into my burrito. I ordered chipotle chicken and it was amazing, the only thing I would mention is there was not a whole load of meat. I wasn’t overly concerned as it was still full of amazing flavours.
The upstairs section where we sat would be perfect for a birthday or private event. It’s a really nice space with two long tables and a couple of smaller ones.
The staff were all very friendly and really helpful with explaining some of the menu.
Over all it was a great night. I would recommend it as a great place for a casual, reasonably priced dinner especially if you are heading out for a night out!
I will definitely be back here if I am in the area or cruising round the Arndale.

Came in here with a large party tonight and we were treated like kings! Tequila on arrival was a great touch! However if Team Pancho’s really want the food ‘to be authentic’ (as the owners claimed this was the goal) then there should be spicy condiments on the table — to add to the grub and rub around the head of your Corona, like the Mexicans do. Salt as a minimum, even just for the tequila, crazy suggestion?!
I have never ordered or seen a local eating a burrito in backstreet Mexico full stop (taco yes, on every dingy street corner for 30 cents) and I didn’t see prawn or fish on the Pancho’s menu (prawn, fish and pork tacos have fuelled my subsistence in the country of Mexico over the last few years). So did I reckon Pancho’s was that authentic? Not in the slightest. Tasty? Hell feckin’ yeah.
I think restauranteurs nowadays think we want chain food, which I feel this is. It was like a gourmet Taco Bell, which I ate at vigorously abroad, so I’ll do the same with Pancho’s. If they cut back on the gimmicks and offer real Mexican food, with no frills, guacamole or cheese (never been offered cheese or guacamole in the backstreets of Mexico City) then maybe I would think it authentic. They should look at what Café Marhaba are doing on the Indian side to see an ‘authentic’ offering maybe?
Still, this was a great venue with the most wonderful, welcoming and jovial of staff. Matthew and Julien were absolute stars and derserve a customer service medal-​a-​piece! The XL lamb burrito I ordered was enough to feed a small African nation (sadly got too full and fed half to a starving New Zealander on a nearby table) and the dollops of succulent meat seemed to melt away in my mouth. The wine and tequila they offered to complement our meal were a great choice on their part and what a wonderful story the owners tell, about how this all came about. I’m all for supporting bold ventures like these. Hats off to the owners, what an inspiring pair of gents!

I’ve gotta say that I’ve been keeping an eagle eye of developments down Oxford road every since I heard around 6 months ago that Pancho’s were opening up a second branch in this part of town.
I love Pancho’s and you won’t get a more authentic Mexican experience in town, especially as the guy who set up the original is from Mexico city. This has sometimes lead to a few people saying they don’t like it as much as some of the other places in town that serve burritos but to be honest I find the others so ‘plasticy’ and sanitised that they may as well be called McBurritos (my personal opinion here but give me some taste and not just an anglicised eating experience)
We popped in to this new store on Saturday night for a quick bite before pints and a gig and had some tasty wraps — the pork and lime going down especially well. They have numerous filling options, the guac is spot on and the extras are tasty too. They only sell standard Mexican lagers but hopefully will be getting some IPA’s in at some point in the future as that will go perfectly with the spicy food.
I’m only giving it a 4 on this occasion as although the food was a 5 (the same taste as the Arndale which is always great) they probably have a few bugs to iron out like the ordering process and general new opening stuff with staff training (my friend who’d never been before found the options on the board a little hard to follow)
Overall I’ll be back regularly here, especially as it’s open till late at night as the Arndale shuts early.

Heard of these for a while but never had one of their burritos in the Arndale. As they opened close to my place this week thought I’d pop in to see what their burritos are like this weekend.
The burrito was definitely below average, can’t see me trying this place again considering Changos is a extra minute or two walk for me (and I aint huge fan of there either). I aint a fan of Changos as you don’t get much meat there, but this place is even less, I ordered XL and asked if that was the amount of meat that should be on a XL and was informed yes but the guy did add a tiny extra bit. If that was the amount of meat on a XL perhaps the L comes without meat? So if you want a little bit of chicken in your burrito I highly recommend ordering a XL.
I’ve never seen a burrito formed in the way that Panchos did, the guy was building it like a skyscraper, hardly using any of the surface area of the burrito. Now the guy doing it was probably new but what I assume was the manager was overseeing it and as I’d heard him feedback to him on a few things I was surprised he didn’t tell him that wasn’t how a burrito is formed, so perhaps that’s how they form their burritos, very unique. They are concentrating fully on ‘girth’ and no attention to the ‘length’ of the burrito (first time I’ve used the word ‘girth’ when talking about food, actually not a term that i generally use in general).
I also ordered tortilla chips with guacamole but they thought I’d ordered the nachos and constructed them, when I realised this I said it was the tortilla with guac that I ordered which is priced at £2.20. Nachos are priced at £5.99, but you get the same amount of chips and guacamole for the £2.20 side, so for an extra £3.79 you get some melted cheese, sour cream and salsa, that is a great margin if you can get it, if you’re the customer though and paying that, I’d imagine it to be similar to having your pants pulled down and having one of those «girthy» burritos stuck up somewhere not very pleasant.
Be interesting to compare the amount of meat at that Zouk takeaway for one of their chicken wraps at £3.50 compared to these burritos at £5.80, my estimate having had those wraps a handful of times is there is 500% more chicken on a wrap that is considerably cheaper than the burrito.
You could put this down to the place just opening but if you already have two successful operations in the market, I can’t see why any of the above isn’t avoidable. Maybe I’ll give these guys another go in a few months but until then I’, happy to go to Barburito for my burrito needs, with their grilled chicken is far superior and yes you do have to pay extra for guacamole etc but I’d rather pay a little bit more for a far superior burrito.