I absolutely love this place! I’m not really into salsa and I love gonza’s. I’m also not a big steak eater-but I ordered the steak tacos on a whim. I loved them! I even got them to go for my boyfriend and they heated up beautifully. the quesadilla may seem like a boring option, but theirs is anything but boring. my recent addiction is the shrimp tacos. I like spicy and they definitely have that great kick. service is impeccable to the point where I walked in not realizing the kitchen closed in 10 minutes and the food was still wonderful. I even ordered a to go order 45 minutes after the kitchen was closed and they still graciously made them for me. I’ll be going back again and again!
Susan C.
Tu valoración: 5 Wake Forest, NC
My husband and I go here *all the time*. Great margaritas. I do the stuffed plantain, he gets the burrito. When my mom comes into town she gets the mole enchiladas. Service is fantastic.
E H.
Tu valoración: 5 Raleigh, NC
I’ve been to many Mexican restaurants and the measure, in my opinion, is whether or not they can make an enchilada. Gonza is the only place on the eastern seaboard that gets it right. Order the Mexican Flag You won’t be disappointed. Forget that the location is in a crappy strip mall, this place delivers on the food. The ambience is eclectic for sure but it’s the food you should come for.
Dan S.
Tu valoración: 2 Wake Forest, NC
In shock, kids meal is $ 7, who in the world charges that much for a kids meal. I guess they dont want families here.
Elizabeth C.
Tu valoración: 3 Rolesville, NC
Ehhh. I didn’t get an authentic Mexican meal. Which I was looking foward too. Service was good but the food was not something I will go back for.
John F.
Tu valoración: 3 Colleyville, TX
Not bad. But, not great. We have been here twice since moving to wake forest three weeks ago. The food is good but not spectacular. Plus I’m not sure you’re getting value for the dollar. Now, we did move from Texas. So, we may be a little biased. That said if I’m gonna spend $ 50 for two people to eat fajitas you should give us enough food for two people to eat fajitas. Giving us three corn tortillas and three flour tortillas and then making us beg for additional tortillas is a little silly. The salsa and Queso are very good but the chips are hard, overcooked and oversalted. Try making them a little thinner and less salt. I think this place has decent food but I think the manager and owner should take a trip to Dallas, Austin or Houston or maybe Brownsville, Texas and visit some of the restaurants there.
Christine W.
Tu valoración: 3 Wake Forest, NC
The Raleigh location is far better and the original location. The food is still good in Wake Forest, but if you’re used to getting the same menu items at a fairly inexpensive Mexican restaurant, then this will seem pricey.
Hilary Z.
Tu valoración: 4 Apex, NC
We wanted to go someplace different tonight, and Gonza was a great selection! We had the chicken tinga tacos and the shrimp tacos. Both were well seasoned and came with either cilantro-lime rice, soup, salad or beans. We ordered the rice and black beans. The tacos were on the small side, but there were three on each plate, and they were packed with filling. The strawberry margarita was good without being too sweet, and our server was friendly, energetic and helpful. We’re excited to have a new go-to place for Mexican/Columbian food!
Harleysydney C.
Tu valoración: 2 Raleigh, NC
Just not impressed at all and I’ve now given this place three tries. The salsa is plain awful… it’s like canned crushed tomatoes. The salsa at on the border believe it or not is way yyyyyyy better. Chips are stale and bland. Everything else however seemed over salted. And the tacos are teeny tiny, like appetizer size, they really should be ashamed chargin 14 dollars for that. There are so many better places for Mexican… salt and lime for one. Will not give it a fourth try.
Atri B.
Tu valoración: 4 Cary, NC
Margaritas — spicy pepino, just fantastic Apetizers — Chiles Endiablados, oh man… sooo good. Ask for their habanero sauce, goes well with everything and just enough heat to not overwhelm the other flavours. Fantadtic salsa and chips, the chips are warm!
Brent W.
Tu valoración: 3 Wake Forest, NC
So this is the story, my family likes the food here and I disagree. First they are family friendly and nice to those with children. The décor will please some but appear to other like me as an annoying want to be mixture of Carnival, and a Mexican wrestling match. The food is in my opinion of good quality but poorly executed. For instance the Fajitas I’ve order had steak that was the proper cut(most likely hanger) but too long and or large that they wouldn’t fit in the fajita tortilla so you are constantly tugging at it making it not a good fajita. The chips are good salsa is average. The tacos are undersized and aren’t as flavorful as they look and are so fu fu they just aren’t authentic. Also what type of Mexican restaurant only has hot sauce that the waiters have to warn you is 5 alarm?!? It’s so damn spiced that it literally eliminates all other flavors you will have tasted. The drinks are average at best the margaritas are overly sour and not balanced, and even though they have a huge variety of tequila the waiter had no idea about the differences between them. Overall I don’t like it but my family does, for the price of this I would rather go to any number of places with more authentic Mexican food.
Andres C.
Tu valoración: 5 Wake Forest, NC
Had Sunday brunch here today and it was awesome. I had the egg tacos and my wife had the red chilaquiles. It was fantastic. Our waitress, Kacie, was the perfect example of what customer service should be, courteous and friendly; kept our chip bowl and our drinks topped off. The manager came around to check that everything was good. This place never disappoints. Even my picky kids live it.
Christy E.
Tu valoración: 4 Raleigh, NC
We went here on a Sunday night and the place was not packed but busy. I’ve been to their location on Lead Mine and wanted to compare. It’s very different atmosphere wise– more open and less kitschy. The menu is the same and the food is comparable in quality. It’s a fun place for birthdays if you want to draw attention to the one having a birthday– I saw no less than 4 people celebrating. Not a quiet place to dine but I wasn’t expecting that. I will definitely be back!
Katharine B.
Tu valoración: 4 Cary, NC
This location in Wake Forest is just as great as the one in North Raleigh. I made a reservation on opentable on a Friday night for a party of 5 and it all worked out perfectly. The restaurant has the same Latin icons on the wall(Juanes, Salma, Freda, etc) and the cool colorful lamps light up the entry way. There is also seating outside on the patio, at the bar or just in the regular room. Our server was really nice and menu has a Colombian, Mexican and Taco section. There is also a long list of Tequilas. Prices are reasonable at $ 11 – 14 an entrée and we also saw them celebrate a birthday with music and singing team members. We had a child with us and they brought a booster seat and kids menu with coloring book and crayons. Overall it is a fun location with great food and great for the entire family or just a casual night out.
Jeff S.
Tu valoración: 5 Cary, NC
So good. Great margarita. Great appetizers — had some stuffed pepper type thing. Spicy, but not overly so. They also have a mole sauce based meal, and that’s really hard to find in the Triangle. We got a dessert at the end that tasted like a apple pie sundae, but I’m not sure what it was called. The 4 of us really enjoyed our experience, and now I need to find an excuse to make it all the way over to Wake Forest again.
Beth B.
Tu valoración: 4 Raleigh, NC
This was my first time here, and it’s a pretty good little place! I agree with other reviewers, if you go you MUST get the mole. It is unbelievably good. I got the enchiladas con mole, which was a really great blend of savory, flavorful pulled chicken enchiladas, topped with a sweeter, rich mole sauce. It came with tasty rice and refried beans. My husband got the steak tacos. He thought the steak was good and flavorful, but they were a bit plain(only topped with chopped onions and an avocado slice, needed a little something more). It didn’t come with any sides either. :( The ambiance is casual, and the décor is fun and eclectic. There’s also a cozy outdoor dining area as well. The service was excellent. Our waitress was Nataly, she was very sweet, friendly and helpful. The prices are moderate, worth the quality of the food in my opinion. I can’t wait to give this place another try in the future.
Andy F.
Tu valoración: 5 Youngsville, NC
The story: If you want traditional Mexican food(and by that I mean the kind that mamá te hizo en la casa), this is NOT the place for you right now. BUT, this is some of the Mexican-Fusion or New Mexican(not the state) that I have tried to date! Gonza takes traditional ideas and twists them a little bit and pushes them outside of the tortilla. The goods: I have a few favorites here: Tacos Callo de Hacha, a delicious seafood taco that has some great flavor; Nachos Gabachos(white guy nachos) with a delicious chesse sauce and I get mine with chicken tinga(a red spiced/sauced chicken that is slow cooked a la perfección) on top. Beans and rice are mediocre — but I don’t go for those things! My wife and father-in-law love the Mexican Flag; though I haven’t tried it… YET! I’ve had good experiences with the staff; friendly servers, met some managers, and even the owner once! Very down to Earth and good people! Summary: When my wife and I want to go out with co-workers, we usually go here. We also just go because we like it on our own. We’re regulars and we intend to keep it that way!
C H.
Tu valoración: 3 Raleigh, NC
Ahhhh. This review hurts my heart. I had high hopes after loving Gonza on Lead Mine in Raleigh. I didn’t have that same love for this location. It’s a lot bigger and less intimate, although its decorated well and super clean. I also ordered something and got something different… which is so disappointing. It delays your meal and causes the other’s you’re eating with to feel uncomfortable eating without you. So half the time I don’t say anything. They had a watermelon margarita that was pretty redeeming, but I think I’ll stick to the other location.
Kevin G.
Tu valoración: 2 Raleigh, NC
This was a big disappointment. Atmosphere is nice and we enjoyed sitting on the outside patio. They had a decent selection of beers and the classic margarita was good. Chips and salsa were average. I ordered the mole enchilada and it was very average. Not much flavor and really not much to say about it. My wife ordered fish tacos and only finished two of them. She said the soft taco wrap tasted like it was from the supermarket and the fish didn’t taste like fish. She did, however, like the rice. Our bill was over $ 40. There’s nothing I hate more than spending above average money on below average food. We had high hopes for this place after reading positive review. But for us, it was very average and definitely not worth the price.
Lori R.
Tu valoración: 3 Raleigh, NC
Went on a Sunday night a few weeks back. Love that they take reservations. That’s a good thing for those of us who have to drive from Raleigh. This night we ended up not needing them, but you never know. When we drove up we were greeted by parking signs that warned us not to park longer than(if I remember correctly) 40 minutes. Uh, okay, hope the restaurant knows that. I realize that they must do this because of The Factory, but still, it is a bit unwelcoming. We were seated at a table in the middle of the dining room, right behind a large family table. I ordered the Carnitas Chile Relleno. Husband(of course) did the Steak Burrito. He liked his okay, but I was very underwhelmed with mine. It felt not finished. There were cheese chunks on top that needed broiling or something. There was a large amount of okay carnitas on top of a poblano, but none of it came together as a perfect unity. I would definitely order differently next time we go back and also hope for a booth. Am happy to report that we made it out to our car within the allotted time limit.