The Most Missed Restaurants of El Paso

From authentic German food to a tortilla soup no one has ever been able to match, the Sun City has lost some mouth-watering dishes from popular and beloved restaurants over the years.

Coney Island downtown, Seafood Galley by Basset, Gunther’s Edelweiss, and Elmer’s on Montana are just a few of the many once-popular spots now serving customers in restaurant heaven that El Pasoans' palates still have fond memories about.

Adolph’s on Airway was a favorite of mine. Man, I loved, loved, loved their wings. They were serving up delicious hot wings long before they became a bar food staple. Chelsea Street Pub inside Bassett Center (Yes, Center. It wasn’t a “Place” yet) was a regular stop for me, too. That was my go-to whenever I wanted nachos.

We asked our listeners and those who follow us on social media to tell us which El Paso restaurant from back in the day they wish was still open, and what they missed most about it.

Judging by the number of calls and the close to one thousand comments we received, many of our memory banks have that one place that may be long gone, but definitely not forgotten.

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Lisa Hinojosa: CHOPSTICKS inside Cielo Vista Mall. They had the BEST sweet n sour chicken

Antonio Herrera: Coney Island. The food and prices.

Melinda Banuelos: Jaxsons! Tortilla soup and potato green chili soup!

Jennifer L. Armendariz: Iron Tender!!! Their steak soup was amazing!!

Gloria Rey Chavez: Moe's had the best mole!

Craig Drake: La Hacienda. An order of corn tortilla quesadillas, followed by an order of red cheese enchiladas, an order of chile rellenos, and concluded with solpaipias. Everything with the best, cold draft beer in El Paso. Loved going outside and marveling at the river

Mark Blanco: City Limits on Viscount. Miss the nachos and wings. Free popcorn down by the bar.

Cassie Cardenas: Swenson’s! Everything. But mainly the ambiance and ICE CREAM! It was nostalgic for me; I’d go every year for my birthday and was my first date with my now husband.

Taylor Jeff: The Cinders. Best steak in town, [and] Kevin on the piano

Norma Gomez: Ben's Tacos. They were small but so good!

Pancho’s Mexican Buffet

Of all the restaurants mentioned, and there were many, the most missed and most fondly remembered is Pancho’s Mexican Buffet, revered for its 99-cent buffet, and the sopapillas. It hasn’t been a part of our restaurant landscape for decades, but old-school El Pasoans still long to raise the flag there one more time.

Alyssa Torres Fuentes: Pancho's loved the buffet style Mexican food. It tasted to good. And when you needed something you would raise a little Mexican flag at the table.

Suzie Bowman-Hafen: Ponchos ! It was soooo good, and it got a lot of us through college!

Tabatha Batson: oh man I miss Panchos so much. The sopapillas were the best I've ever had. Still think about them to this day.

Susan Torres Macias: Panchos! The fried burrito, green chili and sopapillas!

Alil Cis: Pancho's! Everything was good. Especially sopapillas and being able to watch how they made them as a kid was neat. The singing and piñata they would bring to your table for birthdays, good memories there!

Melissa Celeste: Panchos!!! their Cheese enchiladas and Sopaipillas yummmm lol and of course the little flag!