As a huge fan of Mexican food, and having eaten extremely well while visiting there, I’m always curious about any new Mexican restaurant that comes along. Of course, we’re often disappointed, because what usually passes for Mexican food in the US is chain-store-pseudo-Tex-Mex-cheapo stuff. And I certainly don’t mean that in a negative way. Gee, I think I just invented a new food genre!
We just got a chance to eat at the new Papa Gallo (which I keep trying to call “Papa Gallo’s”), located across from the Towne Center in Fayetteville. It’s a boisterous place, with a bar, main dining room, and a smaller room off to the side for a large party at a single table. It was busy on a Thursday night, and we had a brief wait before we got our table. My skepticism was quickly erased when I began eating my Mojo Pork Tenderloin. The meat was very tender and flavorful, and was served on a bed of what they call sweet coconut rice, which is creamy and thick like a risotto. An excellent mango salsa was on the side, with fresh herbs. A delicious and very satisfying meal!
My wife went for lighter and more traditionally Mexican fare.. fish and pork tacos, and chicken tortilla soup. These were all excellent, and were good enough to put us in mind of our visits to Mexico. The tortilla soup was especially impressive, with a well-balanced, spicy feel, and garnished with avocado and cilantro.
It’s more upscale than your typical Mexican place, to be sure, but the prices were reasonable, and the atmosphere was fun. We’ll be going back!
Note: this place is red-hot right now – wait times may be long at certain hours! Also, helpful reader Jane let me know that the phone number was incorrect – I had taken the number directly from cnymenus.com. Sorry for any confusion!
Papa Gallo
205 Genesee St, Fayetteville, 632-4789
Hey Dave!
My wife, daughter, and I had a chance to check out Papa Gallo this past week. Would we go back? Yes, for the food. However, we like the ambiance better and the food just as well at The Mission and the funky vibe and the rock shrimp burritos (when they have them) at Alto Cinco, and both are closer to us, so we would go to those places before returning to Papa Gallo.
Here are my thoughts…
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
We had the chips and salsas and guacamole to start. They were quite good. Then we moved on to a chile relleno, an avocado salad, and a greens salad with mango. The chile relleno was excellent. After tasting that I decided that I would be back. The salads were nice, but the avocado salad had small chunks of avocado buried in the salad (we were hoping for generous slices of avocado on splayed out on top)and the mango salad had 3 small pieces of mango. The dressing on the avocado salad was very good and the mango salad was full of nuts and goat cheese. Then we moved on to a Diablo burrito, a flatiron steak, and the salmon dish. All were very good, although the flatiron steak was only a narrow, albeit flavorful, strip of meat. Finally, for dessert we had churros, sopapillas, and a coconut creme brulee. All were very good. We also had the house chardonnay, which was tasty.
Service: 1 1/2 out of 5 stars
We called ahead to ask about reservations, and we were told it was a slow night and we didn’t need them. So we drove over, at which point we were told it was going to be a 20 minute wait for a table, maybe less. Okay, no big deal, so we moved into the bar. There were only single seats available at the bar, but we did spot an empty, but dirty, table in the bar area. We started to sit down there and I was going to go get some drinks. The hostess politely but firmly informed us that the tables were all for dinner service, not for the bar, and we could not sit there. We moved back out to the bench by the hostess stand, and we kept our coats on since it was a frigid night and every time the door opened a blast of cold air would come rolling in. Fortunately, we were only there about 10 minutes. Once we were seated, service was prompt. However, we were not offered any water although every other table seemed to have water glasses. When you’re dying of thirst in the desert, maybe it just looks like everyone else is well-hydrated! We ordered a second glass of wine when our entrees arrived, only to have it show up just before dessert was served.
Ambience: 2 out of 5 stars
The color scheme is actually kind of nice, but the building was obviously something else in a previous life (I was told it was previously an italian restaurant, but it looks like it was something before that). The tables and chairs are kind of rustic. The atmosphere is casual, but the food is upscale, so it seems like the restaurant is not really sure what it wants to be. There are blinds and valances on the windows. The blinds were all open and raised to different levels, so it looked kind of haphazard and the glare from the klieg lights at the car dealership next door was unpleasant. At one point the dealership turned off some of the lights, and that made things a little beter.
Frank,
Thanks for that detailed, candid review. Though I like the decor somewhat more than you did, I would have to agree that they’re still finding their legs when it comes to service and being organized. And if they said ‘no reservations needed’ and then boom, a big line, wow, that’s not pleasing. That you had the meal anyway shows that you’re a good sport, but it sounds like they’ve lost you as a customer.
Is this simply newbie-ness, and will it go away? Time will tell. I hope their management grasps that when this stuff happens, unless you try hard to make up for it, people won’t come back. If things get crazy like that and people get mad, Papa better start comping meals, drinks, or at least appetizers, and apologizing profusely, otherwise there may be more unhappy diners. Because it’s still new and hot, maybe they don’t realize the number of people that are actually going away annoyed.
In my case, there was a wait, but it wasn’t too bad, and the service was pretty good, though slightly chaotic. Food was great.
Not impressed with the food – as a California native, I’m used to a bit more spice and kick to my Mexican food. Most of what I had here was downright bland, especially the rice. The enchiladas were a huge let down as this is an easy dish to get right, but they managed to screw that up too. I was very surprised at how long the wait was for such mediocre food. I guess if you drink enough at the bar, you really won’t care what it tastes like by the time you make it to a table. Great business model they’ve got here…
I’m not afraid to admit that I was more than a bit surprised by your outlook on the food at Papa Gallo. I have been there twice, and both times, I was very pleased with the food, particularly the enchiladas. Now, I agree with you that the rice was rather bland, but I found the enchiladas to be quite flavorful. I am curious as to why you found the enchiladas distasteful.
Papa gallo?…I had the worst dinner of my life. I can sadly say that it is an other fake Mexican restaurant in Syracuse…. the service was very good and professional, but the food had nothing to do with Mexican cuisine. It is offensive the educated public to see how fake poor quality restaurants keep proliferating in this area. I knew the people of Syracuse have little of no knowledge in most ethnic cuisine, and restaurants like Papa Gallo confirm this idea. It’s not enough to glue tails on the walls and serves tortilla chips to claim to be a “Mexican restaurant”!
Gino,
But how did you really feel? What I think I hear you saying is that some elements of the meal were not up to your expectations. Am I getting that right?
If you thought it stank, far be it from me to disagree.
But if that was the worst meal you’ve had in your life, you’re a very lucky and well-fed man!
Gee, that brings to mind a terrible meal I had in Syracuse, not the worst of my life, but pretty bad. It was in an Italian place beginning with the letter A. And that’s all I’m going to say. I strive to be non-libelously enigmatic!
Interesting review. I may be in that part of the country later this year, and I’m very interested in trying out “Eastern US” versions of authentic Mexican Food. I am especially intrigued with the mixed reviews, which makes me want to try it out even more. I will put Papa Gallo on my list, thanks!
mexicanfoodlover,
Glad to hear it. Just as an aside, I would tend to describe the restaurant as doing good fusion cuisine rather than strictly authentic Mexican.
This philosophical argument will go on forever, as you have the strict authenticists, for whom the slightest deviation from Mom’s method is just wrong, vs. those who like experiments and extensions of a style of cooking, sometimes with great results, sometimes mixed.
Whether it’s Mexican fusion, Asian fusion, or French fusion, the chef may have some knowledge of a particular cuisine’s ingredients and techniques, and will combine them with what they already know. If they are very clever, they’ll probably get some great food. But whether or not the clientele accepts it depends on where they fall on the continuum above.
Thanks to your blog I was able to find the phone number for Papa Gallo. Keep up the good work in reviewing Syracuse area restaurants.