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Sandoval's Mexican Grill
Category: Restaurants Mexican Mexican [Edit]
7000 NE Airport WayPortland, OR 97218
Neighborhood: Northeast Portland
(503) 288-3999
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
30 reviews for Sandoval's Mexican Grill
Review Highlights
"...was super friendly and I ordered the Vegetarian burrito."
(in 7 reviews)
"Now that they're serving Ninkasi Total Domination IPA on..."
(in 1 review)
"...selection of liquor and the margaritas really hit the spot."
(in 3 reviews)
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30 reviews in English
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Review from Yvette J.
Decatur, GA
2/3/2012
Great, made to order tacos. Fresh ingredients. Friendly and quick service. This hits the spot before you board your plane.
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Review from Matthew W.
Portland, OR
12/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
Sandoval's at PDX Airport was just short of awful.
Their food is average at their in-town locations, so I was hoping beyond hope for a decent lunch while waiting for a family member's flight to arrive. My hopes were not answered, though.
After surveying the fairly disappointing options in the main concourse (PDX has great food INSIDE the security gates) I settled on Sandoval's by default. After all, how hard is it to screw up a burrito? Pretty easy, evidently.
Their grilled steak burrito was bland with no detectable hot sauce (as I had requested) and the tortilla literally disintegrated within 3 bites. I ended up with a yard sale of burrito where I had to pick the meat out by hand and throw the rest away. To make matters worse, the meat was tough and flavorless.
You might have better success getting take out from Stanford's or Beaches versus Sandoval's or the other food options in the main concourse. -
Review from Robert T.
Portland, OR
8/21/2011
Never go here. The owner is violent and dangerous. I was kicked out today with my wife. We went to Home Field and the owner waited on us (after 20 minutes). My wife ordered an ice tea. We changed our mind and decided to go to the mexican side of their business.
When we went over there, the owner came out with the $2 bill for the ice tea. I asked him to simply move the ice tea to the mexican side.
He got verbally violent yelling in front of the four other people that were in the place. He was yelling so violently that he was spitting. I had no idea what was happening.
He opened the door and yelled get your mother f'ing asses out of my gd restaurant. I stood there shocked - all this over a $2 tea. He looked at me and physically threatened me if I didn't get out. He said he was going to pick up my f'ing ass and throw me out the door.... This was over a $2 dollar item that we wanted to pay for in this other restaurant. We would have spent $40 on dinner.
This man is unstable and will undoubtedly physically harm someone in the future. He is violent and I would not suggest that you should go to this place. You may not be save while in the restaurant. -
Review from Don B.
3/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
Stick with the drinks. Just trust me on this one. There are too many other decent food options at PDX to eat this food. It was not good. The "tortilla soup" was tomato soup with a bunch of cheese, raw onions, tortilla strips and sour cream. The nachos were very bad. This is definitely HMSHost food.
The service is friendly and prompt, and I saw fresh squeezed limes going in to a marg, which is promising. But the food was really disappointing.
This is what I get for not checking Yelp before eating!Listed in: Montezuma's Revenge
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Review from Bree C.
5/18/2011
Their food is ok, and decently priced for the airport. Where this place really earns their salt... is their long islands. Delicious, and way stronger than you'd expect for an airport place. You can make anything a double for fairly inexpensive
I need a double long island when I fly, which isn't very often. I'm a shaky, nervous, turbulence fearing wreck, that giggles obnoxiously when I'm a nervous. You know those slow giggles where you can hear the breaths in between? Strong liquor calms the fears and keeps the giggles without sounding as much like a psycho.
I don't care if I fly out at 10 am, I'm having a double long island, maybe 2, with a burrito, enchilada, or chips and salsa. This helps me relax; unfortunately, once the biggest part of the buzz is gone by the time you take off, or shortly thereafter, but then you're stuck.
Here's an idea.... Time release liquor, like they have for medications. Perfect for long flights, or trips to the in-laws. Anyway, Sandoval's is the only way I get through my flights, and a pretty good excuse to drink in the morning. -
Review from Christy h.
Portland, OR
5/18/2011
Meh. This place is okay. The food is alright for the airport. I have had the nachos before. The chicken tasted canned and there was a LOT of cheese! Maybe too much cheese?
The service depends entirely on the person. The chick that is always here is super fast and friendly. There is however a guy with dark hair and dark eyes that is a total dits!! He can't remember an order you just told him 1 minute ago.
The bonus here is the drink! Great selection of liquor and the margaritas really hit the spot. -
Review from Chris E.
2/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
Located in the main concourse outside security, this stop is a good choice for healthy airport fare. Staff was very responsive, service was fast. Food was tasty and hot. I had a chicken burrito with no rice and with guacamole - quite good!
Definitely will be back! -
Review from Andrizzle A.
Portland, OR
9/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good food, very quick. Good for an airport snack or a drink.
-
Review from Bobby G.
Spokane, WA
11/30/2011
Food was excellent and so was the service! Chicken Fajitas were great
-
Review from Andrew S.
12/31/2010 1 Check-in Here
I actually went to the bar connected to this place (Margeritas?), and ordered a breakfast quesadilla. I was a little nervous when I heard a microwave ding shortly before my food came out. I don't think it was mine though. The egg was fried well, the bacon crispy and thick, and the potatoes in it were decently cooked.
The server was very friendly, especially for 6AM. Other than that, there was nothing overly special about this airport locale. It was a place to sit and wait until my flight arrived and have an Irish coffee... -
Review from Michael H.
Bend, OR
11/14/2011
Food was good but lukewarm. About 20% overpriced IMO. Understaffed, as well.
-
Review from Nobbi L.
11/23/2007
On our way thru PDX to MCO for one of our many Disney stints, we decided to stop here. There weren't that many choices, and Mexican is usually ok. The menu was nothing special, neither was the ambiance. Granted, it was dark outside and a jetway was right by the window blocking my view. But Jack was able to see the Southwest 737 with Diana Ross Winglets.
The waitress took a while to come over, but after the intial drink order, the bartender took over: YES!!!!! What a sweetie! He sort of advised against my choice of chicken with rice soup, stating that he preferred pho ga at the local Vietnamese joint. Well, he was right. Even after doctoring up what looked quite nice with fresh onions, tomato, cilantro, chicken with a bunch of lime from the bar, it still was too salty. He was actually going to take it off our tab. But I just wasn't that hungry and it wasn't that bad that I wanted to take advantage.
Anyway, the place would get 5 stars, maybe 6 for him, 2 for the food. -
Review from Eric W.
Portland, OR
6/25/2008
We stopped here for margaritas before hopping on our flight. We splurged on the Herradura Reposado ($11 each) and were pretty disappointed. The sour mix they use tastes pretty nasty, likely chock-full of high fructose corn syrup or some other nastiness. What a waste of good tequila!
We also snacked a bit. She had some so-so bean and cheese dip and I had the ceviche. The food was better than the drinks but really bland, even for airport food. -
Review from Pete L.
Portland, OR
1/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Not a bad choice as far as PDX is concerned: beats eating at Wendy's and they've got some healthier options available.
-
Review from Genieve D.
Minot, ND
7/24/2010 1 Check-in Here
Okay had to eat some dinner while having a five hour layover in Portland. Let me tell you--Expensive!!! $11 for a freaking cheese quesadilla; is absolutely ridiculous. We waited more than one hour to get even our appetizer. There wasn't even that many people in the restaurant.
You have to weigh ur options nasty fastfood for a way cheaper price or something more " home cooked" and outrageously priced.
I know for next time, i will certainly take my business else where. I'm too impatient to wait over an hour for some grub. -
Review from Sean S.
3/25/2010
Scale of 1-10 (single visit):
4 Food
8 Service
6 Atmosphere
5 Value
Like ew. Okay, it wasn't inedible, it just had nothing about it that made me WANT to eat it. The Southwest Chicken Burrito is what I'm talking about. I thought there'd be something Southwest about it. Maybe a sauce, but more likely some spices on the chicken. Nada. No cheese or spices are sauces. Bland might start to describe it.
Maybe it's not fair to have an Arizonan reviewing a menu item dubbed "Southwest" in Oregon... -
Review from Jessica N.
Portland, OR
3/7/2010
I give the bartender a 5, but the place still holds at 3 in my book.
Waiting for my departure to Oakland; the stressful and lack of respect from the security line for my mother in a wheelchair left me needing a beer. A margarita bar over yonder, just my luck.
Sat at the bar, ordered my Stella and watched the basketball game. The bartender didn't seem fazed I was there after taking my order since I had to ask for my free chips & salsa. She gave a lot of attention to the fellas next to me, com'on tips tips tips... So I was close to finishing my beer and leaving.
Great, my father joins me and suckers me into buying him a beer. I'm sitting there longer. But my opinion on the bartender and the other patrons' change after a crazy lady shows a bit of craziness...
Conversation with the fella to my left, crazy lady somehow involves herself (at first she wasn't crazy since she was on her phone the whole time). Gives me a story about her car being stolen and I'm about to give her sympathy... But then suddenly:
Crazy Lady (CL) to Bartender "Hey, how much was my meal?"
Bartender (BT) in response "$13.99"
CL "How come I only got $6 back? I ain't no penny pincher, what gives you the right to take my penny?! Where your manager at? You the manager? I have the nerve to get you fired!"
BT "Ma'am, I'm sorry. I apologize for that, would you like this nickel?"
CL curses, grabs her stuff and leave... And then argues with SW over stuff.
The patrons and myself stand there dumbfounded and near close to kicking this woman's arse. However, the bartender was calm, apologized, offered a higher incentive and left it be. As much as the patrons and I wanted to storm off after the crazy lady, the bartender kept her composer giving her a 5.
Side note: Crazy lady wasn't on my flight, most likely going to Reno and probably got escorted out since she was cut off at the bar.
Didn't have the food, can't expect much since it's in the airport, but the salsa was good enough! -
Review from Dave W.
Portland, OR
4/20/2011
Terrible food and rude employees.
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Review from Jennifer W.
San Jose, CA
11/9/2010
After reading the magazine, about 2 hours has passed since I found out my flight was delayed. Now what do I do? I walk around Portland International airport holding my magazine, water, and then I head to this place, the one place that is open and is closest to my gate. I plop myself at the bar. The people at the bar were in the same boat as I...waiting for their flight. Hmm...so, I ordered a glass of wine and some guac and chips. I sat there vegetating half of the time and the rest of time talking to a fellow Oregonian heading to Oakland to visit. The servers were friendly and asked what channel I wanted on the TV to help ease my pain. Thanks for the great service.! About an hour and half passes...I didn't feel like eating anymore. I didn't feel like drinking anymore. I just wanted to go home...I couldn't...I still had about 45 minutes to kill. Now what?
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Review from Reena M.
6/15/2009
Last call at 9:30 pm :( Should be open later.
I ordered at Strawberry Margarita... well it's definitely no where near the best margarita I had. It was very "alcohol-y" and the strawberry flavour was a little fake. Then when the bill for the 1 margarita came... I was thinking somewhere in the range of $6-8. But nope... it was a whopping $9! I couldn't believe it!! I don't even pay that much for a drink here in Vancouver (even though it's very possible that one could for a very good drink). But it was awful. The menu items were not very inspiring for a "Mexican restaurant." I mean they had fettucine at a MEXICAN restaurant...
Beer and high balls were a lot more reasonably priced. $5.50-$6ish.
The best thing about the place was the server, but service was just average. -
Review from Kirk F.
San Jose, CA
2/11/2011
This is pretty good in the context of an airport food/fueling station. Pretty fresh and reasonably tasty, above average in the context of an airport. But it was pretty weird that it took a fairly long time to get food when I was the only one ordering. Still, best option within eyeshot as far as I could tell.
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Review from Wade H.
Portland, OR
2/3/2011
If u need to eat at the airport then this is place. Good food and drinks. I suggest the salmon taco's. Very yummy
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Review from Amy V.
Phoenix, AZ
5/21/2010
I think the other reviewers must be kidding themselves. This is a restaurant in an airport. I'm assuming there are two locations, but the one I'm writing about is the counter in the main concourse.
I give Sandoval's five stars because it absolutely exceeds the expectations of what it is: A RESTAURANT IN AN AIRPORT. There's no bar at the concourse location, and I wouldn't get a margarita there anyway. What I want out of Sandoval's is something fast and simple I can eat before I run to security, or to sneak on the plane with me. And not only does Sandoval's fulfill this need, it does so WELL!
As a native Texan, I would say that Sandoval's is a better Tex-Mex restaurant than 90% of the Tex-Mex restaurants in Portland. Why? Because Sandoval's has two things: beautiful, delicious, tasty-wonderful and FRESH tortillas, and good beans. These two things are the cornerstone of any Tex-Mex place. If you have crappy beans, as most places in Portland do, then anything you put on a burrito is just to hide the taste of your crappy beans. And if you serve cardboard tortillas, like most places in Portland do, well, there's really nothing I can do for you. Fortunately for those places, most Portlanders wouldn't know a good tortilla if someone hit them in the face with one. But Sandoval's has delicious tortillas and beans, so good that anything you put on them is an afterthought, and you're really going to have to go out of your way to screw them up, which I've found the Hispanic ladies behind the counter don't, because like all good Tex-Mex places, they're efficient. I also like their salsa verde, which is chunkier than I'm used to, but has those nice little seeds that tell you they used real tomatillos. Yum!
If you want to snag a tasty burrito before your flight, no frills, no crap you'll be regretting all the way back to wherever you're going, quick, and easy, then Sandoval's is your place, and roughly a zillion times better than the neighboring Wendy's or whatever other boring coldcut sandwich places are in the PDX airport. -
Review from Kyle F.
3/16/2008
Had the Carne Asada burrito, flavors were very bland. Our waiter unfortunately had to bus all the tables on his own which made him irritated and ultimately resulted in poor service. Might only go for a margarita next time.
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Review from Jen V.
Portland, OR
11/3/2010
Edible but not enjoyable. Got the rockfish tacos with black beans & rice. Fish was fishy, and had no seasoning at all. The salsa added some life, but tasted metallic. I' guessing the beans were heated straight out of the can. Rice had flavor, but likely onion or garlic powder, not fresh.
So that was the food. Now for the service. I got mine to go. During my brief time in the restaurant, the (male) server called me more terms of endearment than my husband, reeked of alcohol & forgot to give me back my credit card (nearly missed boarding call).
Definitely won't be back. -
Review from George C.
Anchorage, AK
10/23/2010
We gave Sandoval's a try while waiting for a flight. The prices are typical for airline restuarents. We were quit pleased with the service and the 3-4 good local draft beer on tap (at a good price.) I had the chicken & rice soup & my wife had the rockfish tacos - both were good. An added bonus is that there are a number of tables w/electric outlets so we could charge our phones while we ate.
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Review from Steve K.
Gilbert, AZ
8/26/2009
Now that they're serving Ninkasi Total Domination IPA on tap I give this place 5 big stars. I mean come on who eats food at the airport anyways. If you're in the C concourse stop by for a beer.
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Review from Linda B.
Sonora, CA
8/29/2010 1 Check-in Here
We were stuck at the airport and were hungry. It was just OK(we were hungry). Had the huevos rancheros! Probably wouldn't so again! It wasn't bad, just ok!
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Review from Cathy V.
Granite Bay, CA
9/14/2010
I'm reviewing the Sandovals on Concourse C of the Portland Airport. I was there on a Monday for their "Cinco de Monday" specials ($5 Margaritas and $5 burritos). The wait staff was super friendly and I ordered the Vegetarian burrito. The burrito was quite large and I put their fresh made salsa on it. Delicious! They do have a bar side and a restaurant side. I sat by the window and watched the airport. It wasn't that busy when I was there, so that might effect the service.
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Review from Celina H.
Portland, OR
2/11/2010
No I can't complain about airplane food and I can't complain about fast food style Mexican @ PDX but I was really hopeful. I ordered an egg, potato and cheese burrito and was suckered into getting bacon that was too stringy. The whole thing was almost $7.00 with no drink or frills. When you order take heed that when they ask if you want "whatever" in that or a type of whatever you gotta always ask, "Is that extra?" Pepita's in Beaverton does this with their chips. This place fills the void if your hungry and in a junk food mood but if you can wait, then wait.
