Panchos Rooftop Cantina

“Great food! It was very crowded but it was Memorial Day, Happy Hour and they have been on Tik Tok so I expected a wait. My waitress/bartender was Denise and she was amazing. She was swamped but also checked to make sure everything was ok. The food was delicious! I would definitely return upon visiting Chicago again”

“Okay, so we finally tried Pancho’s after seeing the viral soft-serve margaritas all over TikTok! 🍓🍹 First, the location is really nice. It’s downtown in a quieter area, and I appreciated that. They also offer validated parking for $14, so don’t forget to ask your server to validate your ticket! Now for the famous soft-serve margarita…it was good! It tasted more like strawberry ice cream with real strawberry pieces than an actual margarita because I honestly couldn’t taste the alcohol. 😂 Our waitress brought us a complimentary shot of tequila to pour into it, which definitely helped. Just know it melts FAST, so don’t spend too much time taking pictures. 📸 I’d give the soft-serve margarita a 7.5/10. My boyfriend and I paid $32.99 for two (about $16.50 each). It was fun to try once, but next time I’d just order a regular frozen strawberry or mango margarita. As for the food, I’d describe it as American with a Tex-Mex twist, not authentic Mexican food. My boyfriend enjoyed his barbacoa burrito, and my carnitas nachos were really good. My only complaint was that the guacamole and jalapeños were much spicier than I expected, and I would’ve preferred white queso instead of nacho cheese. Our total bill came to about $90. Personally, I don’t think the overall experience was worth that price. I’m glad I went and finally got to try the viral spot, but it’s not somewhere I’m in a rush to go back to. If TikTok influenced you to check it out, I’d say it’s worth trying once for the experience—but I wouldn’t set your expectations too high.”

“Came here for a birthday party and they really know how to help people celebrate. Food was decent and came out relatively quick given how busy they were. There was a green salsa on the side that tasted interesting but I personally did not like it and ended up using the table salsa instead. Burrito was surprisingly good and super filling as well.”

“I'd heard so much about Pancho's and their famous soft serve margaritas, so I was excited to finally try it. My boyfriend and two of my friends joined me for happy hour. One of my friends and I decided to split the strawberry mango soft serve margarita, which was $16, and we also ordered a raspberry mojito along with the passionfruit, watermelon, and strawberry margaritas on the rocks from the happy hour menu. The soft serve margarita was definitely fun and Instagram-worthy, but I was a little disappointed with how it was served. The tequila comes as a separate shot for you to pour in yourself, and once it's added, the soft serve loses its consistency almost immediately and turns into more of a liquid, similar to a melted smoothie. Because the tequila isn't mixed in, it can also be difficult to get an even flavor throughout the drink. It was still good, just not quite as great as the hype made it seem. The raspberry mojito was refreshing, and the happy hour margaritas were flavorful and a much better value. It's worth noting that the soft serve margarita and mojito are not included in the happy hour specials. For food, we shared the Elote Bites and chips with queso. The Elote Bites were flavorful with a great balance of crema, cotija cheese, paprika, and lime, and they were easily the highlight of the meal. The atmosphere is lively and energetic, especially if you're looking for a fun spot downtown. However, the service left a lot to be desired. We found the staff to be less friendly than expected, and the overall experience didn't feel particularly welcoming. The bathroom location was also a little awkward, as it's tucked behind the area where servers are entering and placing orders. One thing that stood out was the reservation policy. They require a credit card to hold your reservation and have a strict 10-minute grace period before giving away your table. Because of that, it was surprising when we arrived on time and still had to wait because our table wasn't ready. It wasn't a long wait, but it felt a little odd given how strict the reservation rules are. Overall, Pancho's is a fun place to check out at least once, especially if you've been curious about the soft serve margarita. The drinks and atmosphere were enjoyable, but the service and reservation experience kept it from fully living up to the hype for me.”

“Well I knew it was going to be bad when we were waiting for our table by the elevator, there's no room for waiting. While waiting they had a tub where they put the old plates/food which reeked. Why would you leave that right by the entrance people come into the bar?? So we were finally sat at a high top right across from the elevators where you come in. Our table was wobbly so I I asked the hostess at the stand for some napkins She told me I had to go to the bar and get napkins instead of going to get the napkins for me seeing that I was the customer. So I end up having to put the napkin underneath the table so that it wouldn't wobble while over there getting napkins I noticed that it was warmer on that side by the bar and very very cold where we were sitting. So I asked the same lady to turn the heat on with she obliged but then maybe 20 minutes later the heat was off so we were cold again. Mind you I asked if we could be moved by the bar where it was warmer and she said no she'll turn the heat on. So we ordered guacamole, nachos elote, steak fajitas, steak tacos, and churros. For some reason they brought the churros out with our meal and we wanted them for dessert so we asked them to take them back until we was ready for them. Which they did. So this food is Tex-Mex and it is by far the nastiest food I have tried. I couldn't even finish my steak fajitas because it has some nasty aftertaste to it the meat taste bad. My daughter had the nachos. She had maybe two bites out of them She said those were nasty. My friend did eat all her steak tacos which I did try, and that steak tasted so much better than the steak I had in my fajitas. The rice taste like boxed rice. My daughter said the elote was the best part of her meal. So we finally asked for the churros to come out. And they brought us burnt churros now I'm just assuming all they did was refry the same churros they had brought us out approximately 20 minutes earlier. We did end up speaking to the manager Tahara or Jahara And I truly appreciate her willing to take off the nachos, steak fajitas and the churros. And this has nothing to do with her she was very nice but this is by far the worst experience I have ever had at a place of business.”