Welcome to Ponchito's Taqueria: A Culinary Gem in Syracuse

“ Incredible food. The service is amazing!! What an awesome place to eat at!! Great spot! ”

“ National Burrito day, where else would I be?!? Got a regular sized chicken Burrito and still had to knife/fork it. Quick, delicious, and more affordable than the chain restaurants. Stop here whenever I'm in the area to see Mike and the rest of the staff! Would've shared a picture but ate it too fast. ”

“ Incredible breakfast tacos!! This is everything I miss about Texas and the first place in NY I've had authentic tasting breakfast tacos!! I am ecstatic my father found this gem and shared it with me! I could eat these daily. Their chorizo is very tasty, the first tasty chorizo I've had in NY!! My kids have been bugging me when we can go back to Texas for some amazing food, so I am thrilled I can drive 25 minutes for the same experience!! I'll be back very soon!! ”

“ Great service, great food as usual. Choice of Ham, bacon or chorizo with eggs, potatoes, onions and peppers, pico, cheese and mild sauce for me. The only item I leave out are the potatoes. Everything was hot and freshly prepared. It's always enough for 2 meals for me. ”

“ Food was,excellent. Chicken super burrito loaded with great tasting chicken and other goodies. Service was good even though they were busy. Inside seating is large and they offer outdoor patio seating. One of the best burritos. Self service go up to counter, order and they prepare food right in front of you. ”

“ I've always wanted to try their birria taco Tuesday special. It was good but not as good as I was expecting. The side sauce was yummy, but the meat in the taco was a little rough and chunky. It was super busy but they got our orders out in good timing. There is a bit of a cold feeling in the actual restaurant itself, but I would give it another shot and try something else! ”

“ Parking lot is on the side of the building, so there is easy access. Nice and roomy with many tables on the inside. Pretty vast menu of different things that can be ordered. I ordered the skewered shrimp tacos- they were soooo good with a little bit of pico on top and lime. I ran out of pico and asked for more. They happily gave me another container full. Everything was seasoned so well, from the carnitas to the shrimp to the rice and beans. You don't come here for authentic...but you do come here for the portions and taste. ”

“ The quickest way to describe Ponchitos is that it's the far superior local alternative to Chipotle and Moe's. Their fundamental menus are based around that same structure. Burritos so large you need two hands to pick them up. Tacos about the size you'd expect a burrito to be. Nachos, quesadillas, salads, etc. And if you do a quick look at their website, you might think that's it. The more we've ordered from here, the more and more options we came to realize they offer, but getting them all together in one place, especially online, is no easy task. I'd love to see that clarified, because I feel like a lot of people are truly missing out on a lot of great stuff. Breakfast tacos and burritos are a requirement. Just like their regular items, the sizes are ridiculous, especially for the cost. The first one I ordered was a burrito with ham, and it ended up being breakfast and lunch. The ham is cut thick, and unless you're into that, I think the other options for meat fit way better. The next time I did breakfast, I got a taco with bacon. It's one of my favorite things to get for breakfast in Syracuse. We were surprised to find they have wings. Among a separate list of other items, it's on what I think they called their Bar Menu, and those items are not always available. We ordered some to try, and wouldn't you know they were perfect. Great flavor, cooked perfectly. There's a hand full of items that, if we see on a menu we have to try as a rule. You can't win if you don't play. And aside from wings, that brings us to the Cuban Sandwich. Honestly, when we added that to an order, we pretty much just felt like we were crossing the item off our list so we could say we tried it. Just like with the wings, we came in with no expectations at all and got absolutely swept off our feet. Incredible. That same thick cut ham I thought wasn't right for the burrito - absolutely perfect for the sandwich. And it didn't even occur to me that they've already got some of the best slow cooked pork already on hand. I've tried any of the "must have" Cuban sandwiches that I've heard of in Syracuse, and these are at least on the top 3. Completely out of left field. I'll say it again: You can't win if you don't play! Birria Tuesdays! Every Tuesday they take down the bar menu and dedicate all their space to birria tacos. Steak and Shrimp, or just Steak. They were the first I've ever tried, and they are life changing. The way they're cooked on the grill and presented has a very authentic feel to it. It's not a ton of food for what you're paying, (and I think that's the only time I'd ever say that about this place), but one of their best items, and only available once a week. Lastly, our biggest take away from the place for us has been the Chicharons. It's the perfect thing to snack on or pair with a small meal. This kind of meat is really easy to mess up, and they get it perfect every time. They're seasoned with at least cumin, and always crispy. This was an entirely new food to us, so I'm not sure if there's a "correct" way to eat them, but sometimes we dip them in horseradish, bbq sauce, honey mustard, whatever we have on hand. I could go on about this place all day. I only mentioned the stuff you absolutely have to try here. If they closed down, Syracuse would be a noticeably sadder place because of it. ”

“ Stopped in this west side joint for a spontaneous dinner. As it turned out they were having a special on birrias (a kind of taco). Never having had them, we got a trio of steak, and a trio of steak/shrimp. We also ordered a side of pinto beans and rice, and a side of papas fritas (potato chips). Lastly, we shared a red wine freeze. Seating was alright, but most people seemed to be getting takeout. The birrias came out first. Way spicier than we are used to, we could only manage to eat three and a half before our mouths were begging us to stop. The wine freeze helped, but we also asked for a few glasses of water. The beans and rice were somewhat spicy, but well cooked and tasty. The fritas were extra freshly cooked, but had a bit too much salt on them. We ate about 2/3 before we had to stop. All in all, we were pleased to see a steady flow of customers, but for us, things had too much heat. For those looking for fire, this is perfect for you! ”

“ My second visit here and I couldn't wait to come back because first visit was so good. I heard that they had Taco De Birria on Tuesday's as a special and I had to try them. I got the mixed ones which had shrimp, shredded beef and pork filling. You got three of them in the corn tortillas with a spicy chili dipping sauce!!!! They were delicious!! I'm not really an expert on Birria but they tasted outstanding to me and I ate everything . They were not skimpy on the shrimp either because each one had 3-4 shrimp on each taco. I highly recommend coming here. ”