Chilango's

Location 1	Chilango's Nov 2009, BradMandell
42 Nichols Street, Spencerport NY, 14559
Hours (As of February 2010)
Sunday-Wednesday: 4:00PM to 9:00PM
Thursday-Saturday: 4:00PM to 10:00PM    - Bar stays open later
Phone
585 349 3030
Email
<chilangosmexican AT gmail DOT com>
Website
http://www.ChilangosMexicanRestaurant.com
Facebook Page
Cityguide Menu

Getting Started, BradMandell Chilango's is a Mexican food restaurant. Chilango's is situated in a small plaza in Spencerport and serves a variety of Mexican specialties. Start off with a house margarita (on the rocks) or their homemade Sangria, enjoy the homemade warm chips (NOT complimentary) and choose from six of Ricardo's homemade salsas, choose an entree, and finish off your meal with flan or tres leches (3 milks) cake!

Photos

Chilango's Interior, Nov 2009, BradMandell

Chilango's Bar, Nov 2009, BradMandell

Chilango's Aug 2008, BradMandell	Chilango's early downfall was that it was a bit small. During the summer months, you could wait out front or eat under their umbrella picnic tables. They moved a few doors down into larger space with a bigger bar area.
Previous Interior, Aug 2008, BradMandell	Previous Interior, Aug 2008, BradMandell	The Bar, Aug 2008, BradMandell

Comments:

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See Archive Page for comments prior to 2008.

2008-01-09 14:16:05   We used to go here more often and loved it!!! However, the last time we were there a month ago, we were disappointed that the chips and salsa are no longer complimentary (or warm for that matter), and we were charged for accompaniments such as salsa and sour cream! The fajitas should definitely come with these things complimentary :( —RochesterMom

2008-03-16 11:41:00   My husband and I tried this place last night for the first time, and were disappointed. I knew to ask about the chips and salsa thanks to this site, and don't mind paying, except 1) they asked us if we wanted them before we had a chance to look at the menu, which *does* indicate they are not gratis BUT we were not told they weren't free when "offered" them and 2) the salsas (we tried two) were not even good! My entree - chicken tinga - was all right, not great, but all right. My husband's dish, the camarones diablo (which they spell incorrectly in their menu, along with rellenos, which surprised me), were not good at all - too heavy on the cumin (so both the taste and texture were unpleasant), and really not very devilish at all, despite what our server told us! The margaritas were lackluster - rather watered down. The only item we thought showed promise was the pico de gallo. Our server was brusque, as well... We're glad we tried it, though - better to try than not. —JudyBolton

2008-09-02 09:15:16   My wife and I were there on Aug 10th (the pictures above) and were again delighted on our sixth visit. We have brought in family and friends from NY, FL, VA and WV - everyone has been pleased. My wife loves their Magarita, I go for the Sangria. The avocado salsa is outstanding for those with hot spice issues. We live close to Maria's in Webster, but make the drive to Spencerport. We lament the higher prices, but recognize the owners are benefiting from the value of their product that we put in high demand. —BradMandell

2008-09-12 10:15:44   First lets get one thing straight here... we are talking about a small restaurant in a dirty little strip mall, behind a McDonalds, in Spencerport. I was not expecting to be super impressed and guess what? I was not. This is truly a disappointment because Chilangos was my last hope for a decent Mexican place in the Rochester area. If I went to 5 different places I might be able to piece together a good meal and from Chilangos I might include the rice and the salsa, but that would be it. The entree items were bland, overcooked, and overpriced. Also, for some reason you cannot order combinations of meats say on the enchilada entree? All three have to be the same. Why? So I got chicken which wasn’t that great and I was stuck with 3 not so great chicken enchiladas. Perhaps the pork or beef (which they go on & on about on the menu) would have won me over. Sol Burrito on Monroe Ave, is your best bet for hot, fresh, and tasty border food. Sorry Chilangos time for an update. It appears based on the other reviews that the food and service were better a few years ago. —BeauWilson

2008-10-12 23:27:24   Beau don't feel too bad about having 3 not so great chicken enchiladas. I ordered the barbacoa (beef) enchiladas and they were totally tasteless, had to ask for some hot sauce to give them a little flavor. Oh by the way, there is a charge for the hot sauce too. I know that they are trying to make money, but do they have to charge extra for everything? You want chips: extra. Cheese for your enchiladas, extra. Salsa, extra.
My wife had the Pollo Asado and it was a chicken breast that was flattened and grilled. No taste at all.
Ricardo —Ricardo

2009-03-07 19:17:22   so-so. had the pork rajas, which was pretty good, and the pastor, which was not. pastor was like 70% onion, 15% tasteless pork smothered in an even more tasteless red sauce, and 5% canned pineapple. i get that pastor is hard to make without a spit, but this was a truly awful rendition. may try again since every restaurant has parts of their menu that aren't done particularly well, but would caution anyone else going to stick with the house specials. —RogerReject

2009-05-24 16:50:32   After hearing good things about this restaurant, me, my wife and two friends decided to give it a try. In one word, disappointing. Food was cold, bland and instant tasting. I have been to Mexico, and this does not even come close. The dinners were expensive for the amount of food you get, which wouldn't be a problem if it was good. The rice must come in a pouch they just add water to. It looked and tasted like instant rice! My wife's chicken was fatty and grisly. She didn't even eat her dinner. An over all bad experience. —johnnyspeed

2009-06-20 20:22:28   The picture on this page is of the old location. They are now in the same strip mall but at the other end in a bigger location. This was our first visit. We were going to try Salena's but after reading the mixed reviews and people likening it to Maria's (not a good thing in our book) we decided to try Chilengos. Very friendly and prompt service. My enchiladas were good, the salsa roja was spicy but tasty. Seemed to be missing cheese but still tasty. The rice was also good. My husband had the Mexican Pollo (prob not the exact name) and although it was OK he wouldn't order again - it was just too plain. But good enough that he would be willing to come back and try a different meal. They did charge us for chips and salsa, which I was a little surprised about because the menu on the website says the 1st basket is free. Maybe they charged for the salsa? I'm not sure - that online menu is not what was in the restaurant. But it was only $2 so I didn't bother to ask. We're Eastsiders so we probably would not make a special trip to this place, but if in the area again we would return. —DGandDJ

2009-07-10 01:44:41   This was just not good for us. The food was bland, they charged $2 for a small thing of sour cream, and the service was not good—had to wait 5 minutes to be served even though we were only ones there. —Tori

2010-02-24 12:40:53   Chilango's is small and intimate. The decor is tasteful and understated, with just enough hints to let you know that you are eating in a Mexican restaurant. Latin music plays tastefully in the background. It is family run, so expect to see Ricardo the owner, his wife Donna, and children performing whatever tasks that will make your dining experience enjoyable.

We were seated immediately and asked by Ricardo if we had been to the restaurant before. We said that we hadn't. Ricardo excused himself and rushed off to the kitchen and came back with a sample plate containing a dollop of each of his main entres for us to taste. We hadn't been in the restaurant for more than five minutes and we were already impressed by Ricardo's hospitality. The samples brought to us included Chicken Mole, Barbacoa, Pork Adobo, Tinga con Pollo, and Pork and Rajas. The following are descriptions of these entres from Chilango's menu with annotations:

“Chicken Mole. Tender chunks of chicken breast, covered with a truly Mexican sauce composed of ground chili peppers, many different spices, and herbs, and a bit of chocolate. Served with warm tortillas." Few Mexicans actually make mole except during special holidays. Most purchase it from local markets in chunks which they melt over low heat and mix with water or broth. You can purchase mole in jars at several of the Rochester area Wegmans markets or you can order it online from places like MexGrocer.com. Because it contains Mexican chocolate, it has to be heated slowly over a low flame and diluted with water or low salt broth. Chocolate probably sets off visions of milk chocolate. Mexican chocolate is so different from candy chocolate that they should not share the same name. Mexican chocolate is very dark, hard, and strongly flavored.

“Barbacoa. A very tender beef mildly spiced, and cooked slowly in the oven with Mexican seasonings. Served with warm tortillas." Barbacoa translates to barbecued meat.

“Pork Adobo. Tender chunks of Pork cooked slowly in a spicy sauce made of ancho and pasillo peppers. The pork falls apart and melts in your mouth! Served with warm tortillas."

“Tinga con Pollo. Shredded chicken and onions cooked slowly in a mild red chipotle pepper sauce. Served with warm tortillas."

“Pork and Rajas. Tender chunks of Pork cooked slowly with poblano peppers and onions. Served with warm tortillas."

All of the options were impressive and made our decision about what to order difficult. However, as we reached the bottom of our homemade tortilla chip basket and finished off our salsa verde (the first basket is free) we made our selection. First, we ordered an appetizer of Chorizo con Queso, "Rickys homemade chorizo sausage (a spicy Mexican sausage made 70% ground pork and 30% ground beef), covered with melted cheese and served with warm tortillas." Although the Chorizo con Queso was wonderfully rich and tasty, it was a little blander than I would have expected. My wife and I shared an order of pork adobo. Our guests ordered beef fajitas. The pork adobo was exceptionally good. Our only disappointment was the lack of chilies. Unfortunately, Chilango's seems to have toned down the use of chilies in most of their dishes to defer to the Rochester palate. Even at our table, one of our guests asked "That's not too hot is it?" Restaurant owners who hear this frequently have no choice but to tone down their use of chilies and strong spices. Sometimes I wish that restaurants like Chilango's had two menus. One menu would be for locals who don't want their taste buds challenged and another for people who actually like authentically spiced ethnic foods. I don't fault Ricardo or his wife Donna on this issue, they are just being good hosts by meeting the needs of their customers.

Chilango's tortillas seem much too regular in shape to be homemade and they are unusually small, but they are flavorful and served warm.

We accompanied our meal with a Chalingo's margarita which is served over ice cubes from a pitcher. Several Mexican beers are also listed on the menu. It would be enjoyable to see Mexican soft drinks on the menu.

For dessert we ordered the Mexican Flan, “A baked custard consisting of cream, eggs, cream cheese, sour cream, and topped with caramel" and Chocolate Flourless Cake, “A fudge-like cake made out of semi-sweet chocolate, butter, eggs, and sugar. Topped with fresh whip cream and fruit garnish." Both desserts were wonderfully yummy. The flan is probably one of the best flans I have had anywhere. It has a slightly firm and at the same time creamy texture and the flavor is rich, but not heavy. The chocolate cake is intensely chocolate flavored and has a dense texture.

I would probably return to Chilango's just because Ricardo and Donna are such wonderful hosts. The fact that they serve the best and most authentic Mexican food I have tasted in the region guarantees many return visits. —MaxLent

2010-03-26 18:10:51   The chicken fajita was absolutely horrible. The chicken was extremely dry and there was not an ounce of seasoning on the chicken, green peppers or onions. To top it off the fajita was served on a cold plate over a lettuce leaf. I returned the fajita and they charged me $7 for the beans, rice and guacamole because I kept the sides that came with the fajita which was $12.50. How can sides cost more that half of the fajita meal? The guacamole, salsa, and chips were quite good. My husband got the chicken chimichanga, which was moist and tasty. If you go to dinner here steer clear of the fajitas. —RachelFeustel

2010-03-27 09:52:52   My wife and I took our 7 children and spouses plus 8 grandchildren to Chilango's on the Friday evening after Thanksgiving. They fixed us up with a huge long table, the service was great. Their Magaritas were great and the food was very good - everyone was happy with the experience. —BradMandell

2010-08-09 13:43:26   Our never-ending quest for delicious Mexican food brought us to Chilango’s on Saturday night. Considering we were coming from Fairport, I questioned whether the food could be worth the drive. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. We started off with chips, queso and salsa. The salsa was soupy and tasteless. The queso looked and tasted a lot like congealed Mexican Velveta mixed with salsa with a little garnish on top. The menu claims that all the food is “authentic” and inspired by the flavors of Mexico City and Acapulco. I had no idea Velveta was “authentic.” It is my fault really for reading into that statement that “authentic” implied “authentic Mexican.” Both cities DO have a lot of American cuisine. I ordered the Carne Asada. The steak was thin and tough. It seemed to be lacking any sort of marinade or seasoning and was cooked well-done. The meat wasn’t sliced, possibly in the hope of preserving any juices that may have survived the cooking process, so I asked for a steak knife. Alas, Chilango’s does not offer steak knives. Is this because no one ever orders the Carne Asada? Or maybe because the chef does not want to give potential weapons to those who do? Both are equally possible. My boyfriend ordered a burrito with stewed pork with salsa roja and salsa verde. He tried to order a barbacoa taco on the side, but was shot down. A Mexican restaurant not offering tacos ala carte is new to me. The burrito was the highlight of an otherwise horrible meal. It was tasty and spicy. For this reason alone, if we find ourselves in Spencerport, we might be willing to give Chilango’s a second chance. Maybe. —ChristineH