The Magic Pan Restaurant (In The Market Place@Placita Santa Fe)

My husband and I have always depended on Magic Pan for our celebrations - anniversaries, son's birthdays, our birthdays. The outdoor patio is simply magical with the lighting and soft music. Their newest venue, the Pan, is in a fun part of town. We recently celebrated my husband's birthday there. They have great appetizers and great happy hour specials. We simply love both restaurants and will continue celebrating our special moments there. \r more

Two weeks ago on a Friday night the three of us entered Magic Pan at 8:30 p.m. About half the tables were occupied.\r We were greeted at the door by who I think was the owner and a host came up within seconds. The first impression was very good.\r Our waiter was excellent as he took care of us throughout the evening - always meeting our needs without interupting our time together.\r The food was fantastic as we had an appetizer and shared our three main dishes with one another.\r I'd been to The Magic Pan many times for lunch but this was my first time for dinner. We are definitely coming again - for lunch and for dinner. more

I have been to Magic Pan perhaps 100 times and hope that I have 100 more opportunities. Each time the food is excellent, the atmosphere special, and the staff super sweet and attentive. It is unfortunately a hidden gem, not on the radar of enough people at dinner time. It is hidden away which adds to the ambience. Live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings makes this one of the most special restaurants in El Paso. Magic Pan, thank you for existing and enhancing the quality of life in El Paso more

A group of 6 of us went here before a UTEP football game 2010; we had 1 1/2 hours before kickoff. We walked in, and only one table was occupied. While we waited to be seated, one of our group spoke with a young lady who walked in with us; this was our future waitress, and though she seemed fine at the time, we little suspected our fate! We waited at least ten minutes to place drink orders;this took quite a while to accomplish, because our waitress kept losing track of who wanted what. After another 15 minutes, our drinks arrived...unfortunately, she brought beers, which we didn't request, since none of us were drinkers. When our waitress was taking the order, I noticed that she was weaving on her feet, rocking back and forth, and I mentioned it to one of my party. Our waitress finally took our food order, and then retreated to the bar area. I notice the other wait staff clustered around her, and that she was crying. Eventually a waiter and waitress came to our table and said that they were taking over because she was having a problem. Eventually our food came, but it was delivered by our original waitress; she couldn't remember who ordered what, and one in our group never got his salad. When it came time to pay out, we had to tell her what we each had, and make her take the beers off the tab. She was so out of it (I suspect some kind of drug use, seriously) that my wife asked if she could help her in some way. When we finally got out of there, we had missed the kickoff, and half of the first quarter. ""Tragic, Man"" would be a better name for this place. Where was the manager during all this fiasco? We were the only customers for most of our time there, and walked out very disillusioned. I do not even remember what I ate, which goes to show you how distracting the lack of service and disrespect for customers was. more

Really the olive garden is a million times better! they should change the name to the magic trashcan. our food wasn't very good,and the staff acted like we were bothering them. we paid over $100.00 to eat a lame dinner and to be treated poorly at that! Olive Garden, half the price and the staff is nice! more

Okay, so all you have to do is put a restaurant up in an odd part of town, fry up some sweet potatoes and you're all the rage? I don't get this place at all. Is it the name or the location that all the ladies seem to go crazy for. I get so many lunch invitations to the place. So, I guess a lot of people like it. I don't. I don't like sandwiches. Call me weird. But that's their whole menu with the exception of one burger that is just not good. Oh and soup. You yep, I don't like soup either. So maybe it's me. Maybe if it had a more diverse menu then I would get the ""atmosphere"". But I just don't. Pros: can't think of any Cons: It's just ""all right"" more

One of my favorites places in town!!! The patio is awesome, totaly recomended! more

I have heard about this place forever, mostly that it is really pricey, so we went for appetizers only, with a nice local wine. We were more than pleased with our selections--the portions are enormous, and the wait staff is friendly and helpful. The live music is very nice, and the ambience is curious, but nice, with lots of mismatched furniture everywhere--decor does not resonate with the reputation of the place. We stayed for dessert and coffee--one dessert serves two people. The manager there is especially cordial, and we even shopped for gifts in their quaint gift shop! We will certainly return! more

This place is overrated in El Paso. The ceiling of the place is falling down. I felt dirty just sitting in there. If they are going to call themselves a high class place, please fix you building. It was gross. When I got my food it was cold. Not a good time. If you have heard of this place and want to go, DO WASTE YOUR TIME. Pros: shopping near by Cons: Dirty more