Yum yum YUM!! Got takeout from this place and shit is gas. Got a classic quesadilla with chicken
Tracey C.
Good food! Have some street tacos and a margarita. You won't regret it! Friendly staff.
Deyna J.
Went for dinner on a weekday night. We've been here before but for the South Grand bar hop last year and only had the chips and salsa but remember really liking them. The food was generally good. The chips and salsa were as I remembered, very good . The spinach enchiladas were a little salty. The service was okay. BF ordered Chardonnay which is irregular at a Mexican spot but it was on the drink menu. They didn't have any. We asked for extra napkins when the food was brought to the table and finally got them after we were done eating. However, my biggest issue was more the kids running around, who I believe were children of servers. I'm not ignorant to costs of childcare but they shouldn't be allowed to run around. There was a guy playing live music, he was good.
Sara G.
Located on South Grand in Tower Grove, is Padrinos in case you're craving some authentic Mexican cuisine with a kick. In Spanish, Padrinos means "godparents" which signifies love, passion, and commitment. The ambiance is bright and colorful and the menu boasts many classics! If you're a fan of heat, the Shrimp Al Diabla is a must-try. Be prepared for that spicy explosion of flavor though. Here is your 2nd warning: the portions here are no joke, so bring your appetite. Behind the scenes, these chef artists are led by Christina Robles, Enrique Robles, and Ciro Trapala. They have roots spanning from Veracruz to Mexico City thereby providing us with diverse authentic Mexican flavors.
Jeff J.
Overpriced and uneven. They don't seem to care. Used to be much better. I have had multiple orders mixed up.
Pierre Cornell
The food was good. The prices was fair. Parking was difficult.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chimichanga Especial, Burrito
Suzanne Chisum
Great food. Good service. Our waitress was helpful.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mary H.
Evenings are okay, but I don't recommend daytime. I feel really bad that it's busy and there is just one person who is having to be hostess, bartender and server all at once. This led to orders not being correct, long periods of dryness between drinks and us feeling like we were being a bother by asking for drinks and boxes and our bill. Our previous two times here in early evening went much better.
Scott S.
As an online entertainment and food critic I try to be as honest and fair as possible. I will tell the bad with the good. We were at Padrinos Mexican Restaurant for the first time. The Margaritas were quite good and not overly alcohol tasting. We had a Peach, a Lime, and a Strawberry Margarita. They were flavorful, fruity, refreshing, and perfect in my taste. The obligatory "tortilla chips and dip" were, I'm sorry to say, very weak. Had the consistency and taste of a store bought or institutional chip. Their queso dip was runny and again, very institutional "out of a can" taste and consistency. While many Mexican restaurants do house make their own chips and dips, I feel they could have been better. The chicken chimichanga was good. Plenty of pulled chicken, good cheese dip that wasn't drenched in it. Plenty of lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, and refried beans on the side that had a nice explosion of flavor. The marinated pork with pineapple tacos on the corn tortilla was very weak. Nothing about it was good. The pork seemed over cooked, maybe a little dry. The corn tortilla had a grainy consistency to it. Look, restaurants are very expensive today. The bar keeps getting raised. Padrinos is certainly NOT a destination restaurant. It's nothing more than a little neighborhood storefront restaurant offering fair Mexican food. The service was good, the ambience is what it is, just a quick in and out neighborhood restaurant. Certainly not a place I would think about going again. Not with much better Mexican restaurants spread all over St Louis.
MaryAnn B.
South Grand stop for a standard selection of Mexican fare. Enjoyed lunchtime tacos. Chips and salsa served at the table. Will say the salsa was some of the best ever! Service friendly and helpful. Very casual dining but you won't be disappointed with a visit
Came for dinner on a Wednesday night and the restaurant was half full when I arrived. When I left, almost every table was taken. It was a lively atmosphere and people were enjoying their meals. One downside is that it gets very loud and hard to have a conversation with the people at your table. For having only two servers that also bartended, they did a great job attending to our table. The complimentary chips and salsa were outstanding! Thin crispy tortilla chips and tasty salsa with a little kick. We devoured it quiet quickly and the waitress was happy to replenish our supply. House Margarita Jalapeño (on the rocks) $6 - Refreshing, served in a cute thick margarita glass with slices of fresh jalapeños. Draft beer Modelo Especial (large) $6.50 - Served in a huge mug. I can skip bicep day at the gym after one round of beer here. Great deal for the price! El Padrino $15 - Taco (choice of ground beef or chicken), enchilada, and chile relleno with a side of rice and refried beans. The sauce on the enchilada reminded me of chef boyardee sauce, in a good way. I like that not everything was drowning in sauce and cheese. When we got the check, I appreciated the clearly stated discount offer for paying by cash vs 3.5% surcharge if using a credit card. Street parking was easy. .|---/| | @_@ | ..\_^_/..2024
Jamal Williams
I went here for the Yelp Experience. I chose Tuesday because it would be perfect for taco Tuesday. I had the potato taco. I had never heard of that before. It was interesting. It was good but I prefer beef or chicken. The margarita was great. The Pollo Ranchero was good. I would have given them 5 stars, but I didn't get guacamole with either dish. It was supposed to have guacamole with both entrées. I love Mexican food. I rate them often on the salsa. I may not go back if the salsa and chips aren't up to par. The salsa was good, but not my favorite. I can definitely go again. My server was Cice. She did an excellent job.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Rhonique Smith
Every part of that experience was cool. My issue was with the bill. People going there and paying cash please be aware of the "cash discount". They are charging you for it. I have confronted them 2xs for charging me for cash. And they still charged me for it, then subtracted it, and never gave me my. .035% off. I am insulted how they tried to play me for a fool.Disappointed in this place for that.But just an FYI for those going to them.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
ashlynn smith
Was scammed about pricing after ordering. Also very argumentative towards customer.
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 2
Kate M.
I stopped in and enjoyed a very nice lunch. The space gives a traditional Mexican restaurant vibe. The staff were friendly and helpful with the menu. My go-to is always tacos Al pastor. The meat was tender and flavorful with sweet chunks of pineapple. The corn tortilla had a nice crisp bite and held up well with the ingredients. The Mexican rice was exactly how I remember from the taco shops I frequented when I lived in So-Cal. I prefer a very thin tortilla chip so these were just ok in my opinion. The salsa was nice and had the perfect balance of flavor and heat. The margarita was my favorite part of the meal. I went with a watermelon and jalapeño. The perfect balance of sweet and spicy!! If you're in the area this is a great spot for lunch. It looks like they host a very nice happy hour Monday-Thursday. I will have to stop back by to check it out!!
Yum yum YUM!! Got takeout from this place and shit is gas. Got a classic quesadilla with chicken
Good food! Have some street tacos and a margarita. You won't regret it! Friendly staff.
Went for dinner on a weekday night. We've been here before but for the South Grand bar hop last year and only had the chips and salsa but remember really liking them. The food was generally good. The chips and salsa were as I remembered, very good . The spinach enchiladas were a little salty. The service was okay. BF ordered Chardonnay which is irregular at a Mexican spot but it was on the drink menu. They didn't have any. We asked for extra napkins when the food was brought to the table and finally got them after we were done eating. However, my biggest issue was more the kids running around, who I believe were children of servers. I'm not ignorant to costs of childcare but they shouldn't be allowed to run around. There was a guy playing live music, he was good.
Located on South Grand in Tower Grove, is Padrinos in case you're craving some authentic Mexican cuisine with a kick. In Spanish, Padrinos means "godparents" which signifies love, passion, and commitment. The ambiance is bright and colorful and the menu boasts many classics! If you're a fan of heat, the Shrimp Al Diabla is a must-try. Be prepared for that spicy explosion of flavor though. Here is your 2nd warning: the portions here are no joke, so bring your appetite. Behind the scenes, these chef artists are led by Christina Robles, Enrique Robles, and Ciro Trapala. They have roots spanning from Veracruz to Mexico City thereby providing us with diverse authentic Mexican flavors.
Overpriced and uneven. They don't seem to care. Used to be much better. I have had multiple orders mixed up.
The food was good. The prices was fair. Parking was difficult.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chimichanga Especial, Burrito
Great food. Good service. Our waitress was helpful.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Evenings are okay, but I don't recommend daytime. I feel really bad that it's busy and there is just one person who is having to be hostess, bartender and server all at once. This led to orders not being correct, long periods of dryness between drinks and us feeling like we were being a bother by asking for drinks and boxes and our bill. Our previous two times here in early evening went much better.
As an online entertainment and food critic I try to be as honest and fair as possible. I will tell the bad with the good. We were at Padrinos Mexican Restaurant for the first time. The Margaritas were quite good and not overly alcohol tasting. We had a Peach, a Lime, and a Strawberry Margarita. They were flavorful, fruity, refreshing, and perfect in my taste. The obligatory "tortilla chips and dip" were, I'm sorry to say, very weak. Had the consistency and taste of a store bought or institutional chip. Their queso dip was runny and again, very institutional "out of a can" taste and consistency. While many Mexican restaurants do house make their own chips and dips, I feel they could have been better. The chicken chimichanga was good. Plenty of pulled chicken, good cheese dip that wasn't drenched in it. Plenty of lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, and refried beans on the side that had a nice explosion of flavor. The marinated pork with pineapple tacos on the corn tortilla was very weak. Nothing about it was good. The pork seemed over cooked, maybe a little dry. The corn tortilla had a grainy consistency to it. Look, restaurants are very expensive today. The bar keeps getting raised. Padrinos is certainly NOT a destination restaurant. It's nothing more than a little neighborhood storefront restaurant offering fair Mexican food. The service was good, the ambience is what it is, just a quick in and out neighborhood restaurant. Certainly not a place I would think about going again. Not with much better Mexican restaurants spread all over St Louis.
South Grand stop for a standard selection of Mexican fare. Enjoyed lunchtime tacos. Chips and salsa served at the table. Will say the salsa was some of the best ever! Service friendly and helpful. Very casual dining but you won't be disappointed with a visit
Restaurantji Recommends
Came for dinner on a Wednesday night and the restaurant was half full when I arrived. When I left, almost every table was taken. It was a lively atmosphere and people were enjoying their meals. One downside is that it gets very loud and hard to have a conversation with the people at your table. For having only two servers that also bartended, they did a great job attending to our table. The complimentary chips and salsa were outstanding! Thin crispy tortilla chips and tasty salsa with a little kick. We devoured it quiet quickly and the waitress was happy to replenish our supply. House Margarita Jalapeño (on the rocks) $6 - Refreshing, served in a cute thick margarita glass with slices of fresh jalapeños. Draft beer Modelo Especial (large) $6.50 - Served in a huge mug. I can skip bicep day at the gym after one round of beer here. Great deal for the price! El Padrino $15 - Taco (choice of ground beef or chicken), enchilada, and chile relleno with a side of rice and refried beans. The sauce on the enchilada reminded me of chef boyardee sauce, in a good way. I like that not everything was drowning in sauce and cheese. When we got the check, I appreciated the clearly stated discount offer for paying by cash vs 3.5% surcharge if using a credit card. Street parking was easy. .|---/| | @_@ | ..\_^_/..2024
I went here for the Yelp Experience. I chose Tuesday because it would be perfect for taco Tuesday. I had the potato taco. I had never heard of that before. It was interesting. It was good but I prefer beef or chicken. The margarita was great. The Pollo Ranchero was good. I would have given them 5 stars, but I didn't get guacamole with either dish. It was supposed to have guacamole with both entrées. I love Mexican food. I rate them often on the salsa. I may not go back if the salsa and chips aren't up to par. The salsa was good, but not my favorite. I can definitely go again. My server was Cice. She did an excellent job.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Every part of that experience was cool. My issue was with the bill. People going there and paying cash please be aware of the "cash discount". They are charging you for it. I have confronted them 2xs for charging me for cash. And they still charged me for it, then subtracted it, and never gave me my. .035% off. I am insulted how they tried to play me for a fool.Disappointed in this place for that.But just an FYI for those going to them.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Was scammed about pricing after ordering. Also very argumentative towards customer.
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 2
I stopped in and enjoyed a very nice lunch. The space gives a traditional Mexican restaurant vibe. The staff were friendly and helpful with the menu. My go-to is always tacos Al pastor. The meat was tender and flavorful with sweet chunks of pineapple. The corn tortilla had a nice crisp bite and held up well with the ingredients. The Mexican rice was exactly how I remember from the taco shops I frequented when I lived in So-Cal. I prefer a very thin tortilla chip so these were just ok in my opinion. The salsa was nice and had the perfect balance of flavor and heat. The margarita was my favorite part of the meal. I went with a watermelon and jalapeño. The perfect balance of sweet and spicy!! If you're in the area this is a great spot for lunch. It looks like they host a very nice happy hour Monday-Thursday. I will have to stop back by to check it out!!