Gil’s Taste of Taos
1601 E Bell Rd,Ste A-8, Phoenix, AZ, 85022
Gil’s Taste of Taos Menu
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Address :
1601 E Bell Rd,Ste A-8
Phoenix, AZ, 85022 - Phone (602) 410-7945
- Website https://www.gilstasteoftaos.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:30 am - 8:00pm
- Mon : 11:30 am - 8:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : No
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Mexican Cuisine
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
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Dave H.
I've never been to New Mexico but now I don't want to go. The place is cute,though. Nobody was in there on a Saturday. Get there early as they close at 5:00pm. Odd for a restaurant. We made personal friends with the server who was delightful. Since there was nobody there for him to wait on we talked to him a lot. I'm just not a fan of this kind of cooking. The chips were different but good. Salsa was ketchupy. The beans were bland but probably healthy. My carnitas burrito was filled with a strange kind of pork that was full of little chunks of grizzle. Like it was carved from a waste part of the pig like the head or hocks. HUGE turn-off for me. When I have to stop chewing and spit something in my napkin every other bite you loose me. I expected nice pulled pork. I should have gotten the chicken one like my wife. She loved hers. The taste was good, however. It was kind of hot from all the hatch chilis. You may want to ask for sour cream. The rice was OK. You get a huge portion. You will get 2 meals from it so the cost is great. I might go back and try something else from the menu but I like Macayos better.
(2)Ryan C.
A little patio with a little waterfall and little birds flitting about. A little bit different than your average local mexican, since it's NEW mexican style. A little bit of $ for a little more food than I could eat at once. A lot is how much I like Gil's food and service. A lot is how much effort the proprietor seems to have put into creating a unique, quaint, homey, and comforting menu and atmosphere. A lot is how much effort you should put into finding this little gem.
(4)jill m.
1st time and it won't be the last time. It is tiny and only 1 cook, so instead of hurrying through dinner, BYOB, sit and relax for a change. Had great service and the waiter had only been there 2 days "Very Impressed", they were very busy and ran out of chips, but they were worth the wait. They make their own and they are thick and wonderful. I had the chicken bowl with fresh hatch chili's, spicy and delicious. Have already referred to friends. Can't wait to back.
(4)Noah P.
Big fat meh! No alcohol and (at keast some) soda was served from bottles. Wife liked the ketchupy red salsa; I enjoyed the green. Chips were chewy and greasy, not bad, but different. I had the chiles rellenos -- the green sauce was bland and the chile, very mild. My wife has the chicken enchiladas with the same bland sauce. Kid one had a red tamale that had mushrooms, etc. in it? Wasn't expecting that! Kid two had scrambled eggs. This place just isn't worth it. There's way better Mexican in town and Spinato's is right across the street.
(2)hilary c.
Things I liked: The homemade chips (mmm), the red salsa, the tender chicken pieces in my enchiladas and the service. Things that just didn't work for me- The green sauce was so blah I couldn't eat it without dousing it in the red to get a little flavor. The beans and rice were disappointing as well. Perhaps it is my lack of familiarity with New Mexican cuisine, but I was not impressed.
(2)Tony S.
My first try of Gil's was A-ok. I did not dine in because I had some business to attend to at home. I did talk to the server who's name eludes me for the moment. He was nice and helpful. I asked how long they have been in business and he said it was 1 year ago today. He also said that he was actually born and raised in Taos. Gil is actually the owner and ,if I recall correctly, he came from Taos as well. My initial thought that the "Taos" thing was just a marketing ploy was changed. Gil started the biz doing catering and the restaurant came second. I wanted to try all the different kinds of meat so I got the Carne Asada sandwich, 3 tacos (chicken, beef, and carnitas), and a side of chips and salsa (both the red and green salsas). The Carne Asada came on a regular looking hamburger bun with sesame seeds on top. The meat looked like what you would get on a bbq sandwich. Shredded beef. Then cheese and hatch chiles. That's it. In my opinion it needed just a little salt to bring out more of the flavors. Not bad at all. The fries are a different story being that they didn't even come close to my standards. As was used before, the fries were like an afterthought. Just to be clear, I didn't come here for the fries. They just came with the sandwich. All three tacos were pretty much par for the course. I would say I liked the Carnitas best out of all the meats. However, they all were juicy, tender, and had good flavor. The crispy taco shells were fresh. They came with the normal fixins on top. The chips ARE good like everyone else said. I like the red salsa but I have a suspicion that it is just doctor'd up spaghetti sauce. I am probably wrong though. All-in-all a pretty good meal. I ate half of everything so this will feed me twice for around $20. I will definitely eat here again. When I was waiting for my food, the man who greeted me said that he felt the best thing on the menu was the #3 Hatch green chile and chicken enchilada, which I agreed sounded good. I will remember to try that next time.
(4)Tracy M.
I thought the entrees were good, I had tamales and my buddy had the chicken enchiladas. I tried both and thought they were both pretty solid. My one complaint, and I REALLY hate this about Mexican/New Mexican spots, is that the rice and beans were totally an afterthought. Blah, Blah, Blah, they frankly well...they sucked. They were such a big minus they took away plenty from the main dishes. Do tell them if you're not a spicy food fan, I like spicy but even I was sweatin' at the end of the meal (not that I minded but if you're more timid you will be in pain). And they do not mention on the menu what's spicy and what's not from what I recall (nor was I asked my heat tolerance).
(3)Mario M.
By chance stumbled on Gil's, and walked away very pleased with my meal. The staff was extremely friendly. The chips quite possibly could have been the best I ever had - crisp, thick, not greasy. Although green chili's are the specialty, the red sala was great, with a terrific smokey flavor. To top it off - BYOB!! It was empty when I went, so I hope others frequent Gil's. I would hate for Gil's to fail because of lack of interest. We have our share of bad restaurants so when you find a good one, you just hope it succeeds.
(4)Chad L.
All I can say is YUM... The staff is great and the food is always good. We like to get it x-mas style because I like the green salsa and the GF likes the red. The Indian Frybread taco is my absolute favorite, but everything on the menu is worth trying!
(4)Aron B.
Great little hole in the wall with authentic New Mexican food. Chili Relleno was awesome, and the red and green chile was flavorful and spicy. Rice and beans were good and the sopapilla was delicious. Atmosphere was cozy. If you want real red and green chile vs. sauce this is the place.
(5)Paul B.
For home-style Northern New Mexican food, this is as good as it gets in North Phoenix, and Gil's is one of the best places in the valley for this style. As mentioned in other reviews, the chips are fantastic. The little patio with the fountain is great. Green and Red Chile are right on. Good sopapillas. Overall, it is worth going out of the way to eat here.
(4)Phyllis A.
Gils' Taste of Taos is truly a diamond in the rough. The staff is friendly and attentive, while providing a comfortable and home like atmosphere. The food to say the least is just like "mama" use to make growing up. To start they brought over chips and homemade salsa, the chips were not bag chips but homemade, which went perfect with the salsa made from real New Mexico Chile. I had the Chorizo and Eggs with papas, and was more then pleased with the generous portion size and quality. The sopapia's brought to the table were fresh and piping hot, I drizzled them with fresh honey kept on the table, and boy was it an experience short of heaven. I can't wait for my next visit. I had the opportunity to meet Gil and what a nice guy. He took the time to greet us and shake our hands, as he welcomed us into his "home" what a great place to sit and chat with the locals.
(5)Jennifer S.
Green Chili Chicken Enchilada was one of the best I've ever had- and I will always choose ANYTHING green chili. It's my thing. Chef makes each dish fresh. You are missing out if you let the location and quaintness keep you away.
(4)SdeGina B.
Im a regular, been there several times, always excellent service an luv everything from chips &salsa, enchiladas, burritos, tacos, always fresh an delicious:)
(5)Kristina A.
Beyond the superb service, the food was a pleasant reminder of the food from my childhood. Gil's uses simple ingredients with traditional New Mexican recipes to make truly wonderful food. My parents introduced me to Gil's and raved about it. They were right.
(5)Doug C.
This is true NM food. Although I am an AZ native, I lived for many years in Albuquerque and Gil's food competes with the best in that city. Their red chile enchiladas are excellent and the sopapillas are hot, fresh and puffy. The place is small, with a few outdoor tables. Bring your own beer and you will have an authentic, tasty and inexpensive meal.
(5)Jennifer L.
I'm from New Mexico and this place hits home for me. I'm a big fan of their breakfast if you can catch them on a Saturday mid morning. They have really good chips and salsa which is homemade. Sounds odd but Gil makes a really good green chili burger. I've tried mostly everything on their menu and recommend anything with their red chili smothered all over it. Scrumptious! They have a cute patio and you can BYOB. If you like spicy..This is your place!
(5)Greg L.
OK, no hours on their web page, and the web page leads you to believe you are headed for a nice place. Got there 11:30 on Saturday, doors were closed, only hours listed on the door sign for Sat was open at 1 pm. Seriously? It said 11 am on here. Peeking in, definitely a greasy spoon no frills super dive. I was so excited to get some good New Mexico food so I drove half way across town for double disappointment. If I were in the area again, I don't know if I would give them another chance. I'll head to Frank and Lupe's in Scottsdale next time I am going to drive for my fix, they are solid NM food.
(1)Mandy V.
I had the green chili chicken enchilada and it was fantastic. It was authentic New Mexican food at its finest and for a good price. I hear the breakfast burritos are legit so I will be coming back soon to try it.
(5)Tara B.
Even if the food was amaaaaazing. I won't be going back. It was good but I have had equally good and better. The service was horrendous. First we called so we could place our order and then pick it up since we had the kids, they didn't pick up the phone. I get there and there was only one guest in the dining room, so they weren't too busy at all. I sat inside for 40 MINUTES waiting for them to make a burrito/kids burrito and a taco plate. My husband was waiting in the car with the kids. While I was sitting there they could have at least offered me water or their table chips/salsa while waiting. Not only all of that but it was $30 for just those 3 things which is outrageous for mediocre Mexican food. They get 1 star for service and 2 stars for the food.
(2)Rick B.
we saw this place while shopping next door at the Indian market. I was excited to see a Mexican restaurant that was going to be differant. When we sat down and looked at the menu the only thing that looked interesting was the Indian taco. so we got that and nachos. Every thing was good but nothing was speacial or different from any other mexican place.
(2)Daren C.
Gils.. A relatively new business to the complex on 16th St and Bell Rd. Gils is NOT your average Mexican Style food. It is New Mexican Style. They use whole beans, no lard and light on flavor. The rice is not orange but more of a yellow with hints of garlic infused. The burritos are covered in red or green sauce, which can be a hot or mild depending on the crop. I had the pork Carnita's burrito topped with green sauce. Beans and rice. I would have been disappointed it I expected smashed refried beans too. BUT I love the beans as they are. They are sort of like a ham hock style bean. The carnitas was wonderful and huge. filled with pork and not a spec of fat in it. Topped with cheese and Hatch Green Chilie sauce. Did I mention Huge? The whole meal including water and chips and salsa set me back $10 bucks. I even have a small lunch for tomorrow. The chips are homemade and the thicker type. The red salsa was spicy but not hot and green was good. The rest of the menu looked good, nothing stood out as a must have but I will be back. The place was clean and they made a nice patio outside, complete with waterfall and everything.
(4)Ariel F.
This review is for Gil's catering - which is fantastic. Our perfect event for a new product launch needed to be casual, but tasty and high quality. Gil's was all of these things. The food presentation is pretty without pretension. Everything was fantastic. Best of all, Gil worked with us to plan an event within our budget. Fare is traditional with a tasty twist - our group loved the chimis, taquitos, enchiladas and especially the chips. We expected 2 servers and 4 showed up - including Gil. They over delivered in every sense.
(5)Jill G.
This place leaves a lot to desired. My dad and I went during the week because he was craving Mexican food. So, I suggested we give Gil's a shot - trying to support local restaurants. It was in a pretty dingy strip mall but we weren't deterred. There was a family eating on the patio so we decided to eat inside (and were the only ones in there, aside from one guy that stopped in to get a take-out order). We started with chips and salsa. The chips were descent - thicker than normal but tasty. The salsa (if you can call it that) was horrible. Not much better than tomato paste and a few spices. Then, we got a cheese crisp with green chiles. This was the highlight of the meal. Not a memorable cheese crisp but the green chiles were fresh and not canned. For entrees I got a shredded beef taco and my dad got a combo plate with an enchilada, rice and beans. Pretty bad - bland and nothing to come back for. The 1-star is for the friendly service, good chips and okay cheese crisp. But, if you're wanting Mexican food, you'd be better off at Valle Luna or Manuel's. And my rating is not because I'm comparing this place to normal "Mexican food" places - I know this place is supposed to be "New Mexican." I have been to good New Mexican food restaurants - this will never be one of them.
(1)Arana W.
Not for me, thanks. I'm from New Mexico. Not far from Taos, in fact. This is NOT New Mexican style food, and it is NOT Taos style food. At least, not a place that plans on staying in business. Sure, the place is cute. Sure, the people are nice and friendly and provide decent service. Sure, the price vs. quantity ratio is more than fair. And the food isn't the type of bad that will make you sick. Had I been going with the aim of getting some Americanized Mexican style food, I may have given more stars. But to me, going to Gil's for New Mexican food is akin to going to Idaho for good Mexican food. It's just not happening. Sigh. And for the love of all that's right and good - will SOMEONE in this town learn to make a real sopapilla???
(2)Beth G.
Could've been 5 stars. but for a few small problems. The restaurant is tiny but they do have a cute patio space to sit in. I think it would be a great date place, BYOB so plan ahead. (there is a gas station in the same parking lot if you don't plan ahead!) The food was good. They fry their own chips, which are slightly thicker than most chips and really good. Except this time they were a bit over done. I honestly wouldn't have served them that brown, but half of the people in my group liked them that way. I had a taco salad with pork carnitas, the pork was really really good. I've eaten several things from here, I would recommend going with chicken or the pork instead of the beef. My husband really liked the carne asada in his enchilada but I have had the ground beef tacos which i thought were salty and greasy. Beans and rice are ok, they are definitely not the stars. There is only one guy cooking back there (Gil, obviously, right?) and one server. So don't expect it to be a super fast meal. Prices are pretty good and although the menu is limited, I would think there are enough options to keep everyone happy. They make milkshakes too!
(4)Roy J.
Wow , the best chile relleno i ever had ! The beans and rice were so good like homemade .
(5)Marc G.
I came here for my birthday a few days ago and I have to say that I really do enjoy the food and ambience of the restaurant. Our meal began with a bowl of flour tortilla chips (fried) that were simply tasty and memorable. The salsa was a green (tomatillo) and a slightly hotter red salsa. The salsa and chips cannot be beat! I ordered a Hatch chilli and chicken combo that was true New Mexican in taste. The one thing that I truly love about the food is that the sour cream is on the side, not all over. I have a problem with dairy and sour cream can easily ruin my meal. The server (part owner) was attentive and knowledgeable. My son decided that he wanted to play with a small armor suit in the background (sans the knight). The mask fell apart, but the restaurant and management were supportive and light hearted about it. He had a smiley face pancake and fries, quite the meal for a four year. My wife had the fajitas. It was served with the hot peppers on the side, not to overwhelm someone who does not cherish the finer qualities of chiles. The restaurant is small and has a romantic/quaint setting. The price for a couple dining (no alcohol) is about $30.00 per couple (before tip). My only suggestion - serve some desert! The ambience plus food for $30.00 per couple is a well deserved treat, just do not touch the shining armor in back!
(5)Heather C.
Great breakfast burrito! I've never been to Gil's, but the restaurant had a booth at Old Town Farmer's Market in Scottsdale today. I had a bacon and egg breakfast burrito. Good tortilla stuffed with bacon and eggs, of course, as well as potato, cheese, and green chiles. The burritos were made ahead, but wrapped in foil and kept warm. Tasted like it had just been made. I would definitely try the restaurant if I happened to be in that part of town.
(3)Tony B.
Delicious sopapilla (if you like spicy I recommend the red sauce). Remember guys this is New Mexican food not Mexican. The waiter was great, food didnt take too long, and yes I will be going back.
(5)Chaundra C.
The only way I can describe my experience is its as if your Nana or your friend's Nana cooked a homemade meal and you were lucky enough to be over that day. -Homemade, perfectly salted, good textures, deep and spicy flavors, and HOMEMADE! -I had the bowl of Chimaya Red Chile (PICTURED), in which you choose whether you want ground beef, chicken, or carne asada meat a lil different to have the option than the red chile with beef we are all used to. I chose carne asada and it was greatness. It came out with an extra large flour tortilla in a tortilla warmer just like at yo Nana's, good homemade pinto beans (not refried), thicker tomatoey tasty spanish rice, and the bowl of chile was bigger than my face and filled to the brim. I swear it had to have had more than 2 cups in there. -The best part was that the chile was perfectly seasoned, slightly smokey, slightly spicy and had the most meat I have ever seen in a red chile. Aside from having such a great quantity of meat, the meat was so moist it tasted as if it had actually been in the chile for some time when we all know it hadn't been since they make the bowl to order. -The man had the 2 taco combo. You also have the choice of meat with this dish. He also chose Carne Asada. He said it was very tasty, moist carne asada in perfectly hand-fried shells. He enjoyed the beans and rice as well so we have no idea wtf the previous reviewers were talking about the rice and beans being bland. It was obvious the recipes used to concoct the rice/beans were Gil's own and again delicious at that. -Chips are the thick, just-cut corn tortillas then fried to a perfect crispness and salted generously. -Green salsa was okay but red salsa was thick and hotsaucy and had a very good spicy. -Sopaipillas were perfect. Light, airy, crisp outside, pillowy soft inside. Served with a bowl of honey and YES a honey dipper (PICTURED) just like your Nana had in her kitchen for all those sopaipillas she made you. I know 5 stars for one visit is a bit extreme but seriously every thing there is so homey tasting I am completely ignoring the fact that the atmosphere is lacking (think you are eating at Nana's and she's watching TV and only you and your friend are the only ones eating in the kitchen at 8pm haha), and the fact that they serve the 12oz bottles of Coke products for drinks..but you CAN BYOB I saw a couple walk in with their brown bags consisting of a Corona tall bottle and a premixed Margarita bottle. ANYWAYs ignore what I just said in the last paragraph and only remember what I said about the food. Please go here ONLY for the food and for the fact that I don't want this gem to close down from the lack of knowledge about this place's goodness before I have a chance to get back there! GO here for the FOODS!
(5)Bill B.
This is a very small "hole in the wall" restaurant. They are primarily known for their catering but the food at the restaurant is some of the best around. The Chips and Salsa are winners themselves but everything I tasted was equally delicious. Try the Cheese Crisp with Green Chili's. They are not to hot but packed with flavor. The food is cheap and the portions are large so make sure to leave room for desert. They definitely have me wanting to visit Taos.
(5)Patrick W.
We utilized Gil and his crew at Gil's Taste of Taos to cater our baby shower yesterday afternoon. These guys are true professionals and handled changes to the menu and head count without batting an eye. They were prompt to send over and invoice and a pleasure to deal with leading up to the shower. They arrived at the shower at the scheduled time and did all the set up and subsequent breakdown at the end of the party. They used the available space and made the buffet functional and tasteful. Speaking of taste...the food was phenomenal and WAY beyond my expectations. I had previously informed Gil of my love of the Hatch green chile and he ensured that the ingredient was center stage with our meal. We opted for beef and chicken fajitas and he included both corn and flour tortillas. There were chicken and beef burros, cheese and chicken enchiladas, whole beans, spanish rice, freshly made tortilla chips and all the fixings including guacamole, green and red salsa, sour cream and extra roasted Hatch green chiles! Excellent, excellent, excellent job guys! The food and service were both outstanding and we will definitely recommend you for any catering needs.
(5)Wes N.
Best chips EVR!!!!! Gil's makes their own tortilla chips from scratch & they are absolutely fantastic. I also particularly enjoy the green chile salsa, so delish. For the main course, I ordered up a cheese enchilada with chile relleno combo. Food items were drenched in a good amount of chile sauce. The chile relleno was deeeelishous. The cheese enchilada itself was nothing too special & I didn't eat much of it. The rice & beans were delish. Rice was thick & tasty. Everything is made to order and home made, which shows in the food. No alcoholic beverages served at this restaurant, which is one drawback.
(4)Brad P.
Today I ordered a Chile Rellenos Plate, and a Bowl of Hatch Green Chile with Chicken. The Chile Rellenos had the red sauce, was flavorful but not very spicy. Had a homemade taste to it which I enjoyed; beans/rice were excellent. The Chile itself however was just ok. It was more of an omelette with a chile inside. It had a good flavor, but my wife is picky and didn't enjoy the omelette-style chile. Normally it's a fluffy egg mixture encasing the chile with a crisp texture on the outside. What she had was an omelette filled with strips of chile, not a stuffed chile. I ate the bowl of Hatch Green Chile with Chicken, which was $8.25. I ordered our meals to go, and I was surprised to see what I ordered in a 16-oz soda cup. It came with 3 small tortillas (dipping or to make a taco?? tasty but wasn't really sure.) and that was that. It was bland at first, but then the pepper and green chile builds as you eat it creating a peppery-heat that tastes good. It was more watery than I expected, and the tortillas didn't really serve a place. I was pretty disappointed immediately that I had just paid about $9 for a cup of soup. I thought it was going to be more like a rice-bowl or something. Now, to stay positive, my wife and I eat their Hatch Chile breakfast burritos regularly at the farmer's market. We always enjoy them, they are $6.95 and delicious. HUGE too. I have to say though, I was very disappointed with what I ordered today. I suppose I'll stick with that burrito at the market.
(3)Gaby T.
Always good New Mexican "soul food." Great chips, red salsa and green salsa. Love the Chile relleno and Hatch Chile enchilada. The place is very small but cute. The wait staff is always friendly and attentive. I go for lunch or dinner every other month or so and have never been disappointed.
(4)Eric B.
Great New Mexican food. The house made chips are worth the visit. The chile con queso tastes just like my mom's. Unfortunately everything we got with the exception of the beans and rice was too spicy for my lovely lady. A margarita would have been great but they don't serve alcohol.
(4)Lisette R.
Gil was so friendly, super professional. The New Mexico enchiladas were delish!!!! Hands down for this place!!!!
(5)Cory T.
My meal was amazing. The guacamole was great as well as my partner's Indian taco. Our waiter was great as well.
(5)Nathan C.
I would love to write a good review of Gil's Taste of Taos but it is never open during the normal posted business hours. I was able to eat there once for lunch and had an amazing meal. I have been there three times since during the normal posted business hours and it is always closed. This establishment needs to find a way to run a catering business and a restaurant at the same time or quit selling itself as a restaurant that has normal business hours. Do not waste your time trying to eat at Gil's it will most likely be closed because they are out catering. There are plenty of great Mexican spots in town that keep their posted business hours.
(1)Thom C.
On our first trip to Gils, I called ahead to see if we'd need reservations only to get a recording saying they were closed between 3&5 but to leave a message and someone would call back. I left a message but no one ever called back. Thinking we'd give it a shot even without reservations we showed up just after 6 on a Friday only to find a sign on the door stating they were closed for the day. Gee, it would have been nice to know that before driving across town. So a couple weeks roll by and we decide to give it another shot. The chips & salsa are great. More of a pita chip than a tortilla but they work great with the salsa. I had one of their daily specials which was very good and my GF had a taco which she reported was OK (high praise for her). The only complaint is that it took soooo long. It took sooo long before we were asked for our drink order, then sooo long for the drinks to show up. Instead of taking our food order at that time we were left sitting sooo long before he came back. Then it took sooo long for our food to come and when we were finished it took sooo long to clear our plates. He finally came back after sooo long and we put in an order for dessert. Empanadas with honey. Very yummy, it just took sooo long to get to our table. Then sooo long to get the check and sooo long for our waiter to pick it up and charge it. We showed up at 6 and didn't get out of there until after 8. The next trip there were four of us and it was a virtual repeat of the previous experience. Really good food, really slow service. The differences were that this time they were out of their house tea and although I ordered chicken in my burrito, I got beef. If it hadn't taken sooo long in the first place I would have asked them to fix it, but by this time I'd been there sooo long I was in need of a shave. We got out of there around 8:30. There's no doubt that the chef is outstanding, but perhaps they're more suited to catering and should leave the restaurant business to people with more experience in the hospitality industry. Or maybe they should change their name to So Longs and start serving Asian food. Until that happens we'll just say "So Long" to Gils Taste of Taos. On the upside, on the Friday they were closed we discovered a Thai place a couple doors down that's fantastic!
(2)Jeff H.
We had dinner and the food was very authentic. I had Hatch Green Chile and chicken enchilada and my dining partner had the beef burrito combo plate. I was surprised to learn the beef was ground and not shredded. Flavor of salsa has right mix of spices and tasted fresh. Cute place tucked away in the strip mall. Very good choice for lunch or dinner in you are in the neighborhood. Prices are reasonable for what you get. No liquor license and not sure if you can byob (cold Pacifico would have been nice).
(5)Lionel F.
I'm from New Mexico so when I heard of Gill's being a New Mexican restaurant I was excited to try it. When I first walked in i noticed that there was no one there but me and my guest,which raised a question in my head. I asked my friend "wow do you think no ones here because it's not a good place to eat" since it was around 12:30 lunch hour I thought it would be busier. We went ahead and sat down. Started off with a nice waiter and burnt hard greasy extra salty chips! They were gross! I stopped eating the chips and ordered the green chile chicken enchiladas and my friend ordered the red beef burrito. The food took sooo long being that we were the only ones there I think we should of gotten our meal a lot faster. I guess Gill is the only cook back there! I dug into my enchiladas and tasted nothing good! They were so bland and had absolutely no taste. I also found 3 bones in my first bite and 2 more on my second bite from the chicken. I then stopped eating them and tasted the beans which were just ok and the rice which was probably the best thing on my plate but still gave the rice a 4 out of 10. I then tasted my friends red chile ground beef burrito and it tasted like a mix of chile powder and water which is NOT New Mexico style! So I asked the waiter if I could please have a chile relleno which is my favorite food and I love all chile rellenos and thought to myself I couldn't go wrong with my second choice. Boy was I wrong! The chile pepper was hard as if it had never been roasted and peeled as they should be and it barely had any egg batter on it and to top it off it super greasy! Yuc what a disappointment. This restaurant is an embarrassment to the people that are from NM because gill's Taste of Taos is nothing close to real New Mexican food! New Mexico food is amazingly delicious and this place is a joke if they think they're making New Mexico food! It was the worst food I've had since i was a child and my mom would make me eat creamed corn as a kid! Just as bad!
(1)Ryan W.
This place is a really, hole in the wall, cozy place. I had lunch with the wife outside next to the water fountain and we both enjoyed it. The price wasnt bad and the food was good. As for the chips, I definitely like the green salsa more than the red salsa
(4)Chris C.
While I am clearly aware that the cooking has a Taos or Northern NM influence, my desire for quality Southern NM cuisine brings me here hoping to taste a bit of the Las Cruces/Mesilla flavor. For those people who appreciate the taste of Southern New Mexico cuisine, you'll be disappointed. There is a huge difference in how the food from Taos and Mesilla/Las Cruces is prepared. I've been here 6 times over the past 3 months and although the chips are better than average, it's still not as good as NM. The sopapillas are OK, not great, and the food in general hit or miss. The only really bad dish is their chili rellano. For some reason, they wrap this with an omlette-like cover which doesn't work. I highly recommend the green chili stew, it's a safe play. I would highly recommend Carolina's Mexican restaurant on Cave Creek and Thunderbird Rd. The food there is cheap, portion sizes large, and it's home cooked and always yummy. One thing about Gil's, their patio. It's a quit little set-up which does make for an enjoyable retreat with friends.
(2)