Gallo’s at Arctic and Diamond

Gallo’s, located at the corner of Arctic and Diamond, has a large and delicious sounding menu that actually delivers. Okay, no suspense in this review, is there? But, I really can’t wait to go back.

Gallo’s was recommended by some of the women on the Yahoo! Discussion board, Arctic Women. Gallo’s does have another Anchorage location, but this specific location was recommended, so that’s where we went.

This particular Gallo’s has a bar area as well as a restaurant. We accidentally went in through the bar area to start with. Which was fine for a bar – actually, pretty nice for a bar – but, smoky as a bar as well. There is a lot of dining seating in the bar area, so don’t be trapped into thinking that is THE dining room…walk past the long bar down to the REAL dining room. The dining room is relatively large and open, nicely decorated in a Mexican theme; perhaps a little worn around the edges, but clean and inviting overall.

Chips and salsa. Chips were crisp, thin and warm. As is the case in this scenario, a few were a little greasy, but the overall quality was good. Two varieties of salsa were provided; on our first batch, the hot and mild were noticeably different from each other – the hot was hot, the mild was mild, both were tasty, if a bit oniony. Our second batch of salsas both seemed identical – and honestly, I couldn’t tell you if they were both hot or both mild. Maybe I’d had too much to drink by that time, however.

Margaritas were tasty, in the same tacky margarita glasses almost everyone uses – doesn’t anyone ever go the subdued, plain bar glass route? Regardless, these were really tasty margaritas, and the alcohol content seemed to be kept to a reasonable human level; I made it through two of them, becoming only slightly tipsy.

The menu was large; the specialty dinners and vegetarian options were particularly intriguing to me; there was also a large selection of the traditional Mexican restaurant favorites. I went the spinach-and-mushroom enchilada route; these were good, but not the best rendition that I have had. The enchiladas had a stronger spinach flavor than I typically like, and the mushroom content was sadly minimal; this is more a comment on my personal preferences than a true flaw in the dish, however. Dinners were served with rice – standard and tasty – and a choice of either refried or whole beans. It was nice to have the choice on the beans; both Tim and I selected the whole beans, which were very tender and flavorful.

Tim had a chili releno and a tamale. The chile releno was fine; the tamale was extraordinary. Tim said it was the best tamale he ever had; two types of delicious meat inside, and the outer coating was less heavy than one normally finds in a tamale.

Hostess and waitress were both pleasant. Drink service was extraordinarily quick. Chip and salsa refills were anticipated and perfectly timed. Main meal arrived in good time and piping hot.

In summary, the food was good, the menu enticing, we will be back!

Overall rating for Gallo’s: 4

(Ratings are 1-5; 1=ick, 3=average, 5=yumyumyum!)

Ambiance: 4

Waitress: 4

Chips and salsa: 4-

Menu options: 4+

Food tastiness: 4

Margaritas: 4-