gonza tacos y tequila

the food is consistent and very good.. the staff is typically very good and service is amazingly quick and efficient. the food is quite good - i have not had a bad meal in probably 10 visits. go on thursdays if you can, as it's tamale night. they do a special and different tamale preparation each week. the atmosphere is lively and loud - not for everyone, but i find it fun and upbeat. the decor is well, different. kind of a macabre new orleans meets funky strip mall. my only semi-negative is the price. a bit high in my opinion. the quality is there, but the portion sizes could be a tad larger. don't be put off by awaiton weekends... the tables turn quickly.

fun atmosphere, great food & service. party of 3, saturday evening at 7pm. full, but got the last open table. recommend reservations for parties of 5 or more.

highly recommend.

service: christina was the best server we've had in the 3 years we've lived in raleigh. you can easily tell it's a great team. the owner, gonza, talked with us and was genuinely interested in our experience.

atmosphere: lively, upbeat. loud, but we could hear our conversation. entertainers are placed throughout for added fun. great decor! tables are close together, but that adds to the congenial atmosphere. lots of room outside.

drinks: we had 3 margaritas: house, spicy mojito and passion fruit. you could actually taste the tequila for a change! excellent and can'twaitto return and try others.

food: tender steak for the fajitas and steak tacos; pork & pineapple tacos were a perfect combination with tomatillo sauce. some reviewers say the portions are small for the price, but they tortillas are small -- the amount of filling is plentiful. loved it!

you go gonza. i was one of their first customers when they opened. food was pretty good. now he is the talk of the town, food is still pretty good! very consistent on every visit. plan towaitthough as lots of others have discovered its goodness.

house tequila is great!

great food!. the food was very flavorful. they have awesome chips and salsa. really loved the atmosphere and good service. can'twaitto go back- maybe for our next date night!

not your generic mexican food. this is not your typical mexican restaurant where they roll up some meat and pour on a pound of cheese. the menu is comparatively smaller to most places but also include many dishes you do not normally see. take a look at the selections and you start to get a sense that these are the loving authentic dishes the chef/owner grew up on and wishes to share with others.

i enjoyed the chicken tinga tacos (marinated chicken) and all its juicy goodness but wished it had more flavor notes. the dish i fell in love with and was highly recommended by the staff was the chilaquiles! i would say it was like a open faced enchilada verde.

the decor is fun and lively and the staff is friendly. my only complaint is that i wish the portions were bigger because the food was so yummy! however, that leaves room for their delicious desserts like chocolate flan and talega de platano!

it was packed when my husband and i went but it was not too long of awaitfor the food. it may take a little longer than other restaurants but comes out fresh.

boom, yes, good stuff.. chips came warm and freshly made. the salsa was fantastic. it had that restaurant salsa taste, but it was made better because the tomatoes still had integrity rather than being completely pureed(not that the pureed style is bad).

i ordered a margarita which was easily the best one i've ever had. it was not cloyingly sweet like a lot of them are. it was just perfect.

i also ordered the carne tacos which were exceptional. the steak was very tender, the tortillas were airy, and the avocados were ripe. the tacos came with a side of soup(recommended by the waiter). the soup was a corn tortilla soup which tasted very authentic. it was a mix between creamy and brothy, likely given the creamier texture from the starches lent by the corn; it was great.

for dessert we ordered a fried tortilla dusted with sugar and cinnamon. inside the tortilla was caramelized plantanes and some sort of sauce that mixed very well with the scoop of ice cream with caramel ladled over the top.

the restaurant itself was very interesting. thewaitstaff knew the menu and the owner walked around to talk to the customers about the experience(was the food good? how was the waiter? etc) you can not beat the decor. there was not much of awaitfor food, but i used the time i had to take in the amazing art work on the walls and the awesome perforated pales they used for light fixtures.

went on advice from locals. had the pollo tacos. they were wonderful. the chicken was nicely grilled and the guacamole was amazing. thewaitstaff was very professional and prompt. there was an hourwaiton a saturday night, but there was nowaitfor patio seating. i will come back again when in raleigh.

the best mexican restaurant in town!. i have been to this restaurant now two times for dinner and once for lunch and every single time i have had a wonderful experience. not only is the atmosphere great, the food is fantastic and in a class by itself. thewaitstaff is very attentive and the manager always comes around to all the tables to ask how things are. top notch! once you dine here, you will never want to go to any other place for mexican ever again! hope they can keep their high standards up! i cannotwaitto go back there again!