Lucha Cartel

The food was ok, not great not bad. The service was fine. The prices are far too high for what you get. At least one of three things needs to change: the prices (down), the food quality (up to amazing), or the quantity of food for the price (portions are small). Right now the price/​quantity mix is just out of whack.

This place has the best guacamole we have eaten since we learn to make real guacamole in Los Cabos. The mushroom empanadas are unusual and delicious. JPH says the sangria is good and has real fruit inside (lime, orange, lemon cherries). The selection of tequila is large. And the wait staff is knowledgeable. I love the ceviche! We eat appetizers and forgo the main meal because the appetizers are so delicious.

The service was horrible, simply awful. I ordered tacos, and they were literally finger food size for a fairly high price. I ordered refried beans as a side, and they were very bland, even with hot sauce. By the way, I had to go get the hot sauce myself. The place charges for chips and salsa, too. I just can’t recommend this place at all.

Great time and just hung out at the bar!!! Bartender Luis on his game and a wealth of knowledge to the different tequila’s they have! We went the Chicanos Tequila! Great taste price is good! Thanks again Luis el Chicano de DF!

After moving from Texas to NYC we have struggled to find a place that has good Mexican food and during our adventure to Philly over the weekend, we discovered this GEM! Such a trendy yet inviting setting with an outdoor patio out front then walking inside and being greeted by such delightful staff.
We had a reservation but our table wasn’t quite ready at the time we had arrived so we took a seat at the bar just to have drink while we waited. Our bartender was so friendly and was very good at his job, constantly had a smile in his face and was very helpful. Even made me a white sangria! (He mentioned the normally only do red)
Once our table was ready we were greeted by another lovely staff member who was so friendly as well and very attentive. We didn’t get her name but she did a fantastic job! I had the nachos and they were SO nice! Tasted real authentic just like Texas. My husband had the enchiladas and said they were best he has had as well since moving to east coast.
This place is an all round great place to go to. Don’t be put off by the décor with all the weird faces around.
Highly recommend this place if you are in the area!

Lucha!!!
The food was excellent and the restaurant design is cool as hell. All lucha masks and even cool lucha pictures. Definitely hit this place up next happy hour

The ambiance was nice. Not too loud but comfortable and was given privacy. The guac was expensive for being pretty bit thin. The corn on cob was fun to eat. However the taste of the corn was odd. Out of the five people that tasted it three could not identify what about it was not pleasant. Would not recommend the corn. Lastly the pork belly tacos were good. The corn tortilla was very average, decided not to eat that. Two out of the three pork tacos had soft juicy meat while one was a lot tougher and dry.
The service was great and fast.

Wow! I am amazed and super happy with the food and service at Lucha Cartel. I had an event there on a Sunday afternoon and all of our food was super yummy! The event was hosted by my friend so she set everything up with the chef and staff. Our food was an array of delicious chicken, pork, veggie tamales, pico de gallo, guacamole, and a kick-​ass vegetarian paella that didn’t even make me miss meat! My friends and family are still complementing the food and how happy they were with everything. The margaritas were fresh and boozy, just as they should be! I will say that Lucha went above and beyond to make us feel like we had a separate space for our party and that food and drinks were available and delicious. So, thank you to all of the staff who took care of us and to the chef… keep doing what you’re doing! I highly recommend Lucha to folks looking for a place to host an event.

Want to give higher but just can’t for now.
From start to finish we had issues with the staff. While they were all vey nice, proper training was definitely lacking. From issues wth getting the table ready even though there were many open ones to missing food orders, training needs to be stepped up. That being said I would return as the place is beautiful, has great character, n good food. The steak fajitas were great although they provide blue corn tortillas the size of my palm, too small. The jalepeno margarita was fantastic and worth goin back for. I will give it another whirl, but am not exactly itching for it.

I’ve been to Lucha Cartel so many times and am only now getting around to reviewing it. Overall, the food here is pretty good, not amazing, but good. A few standouts are the Guacamole, margaritas, and the Lucha salad. They have a decent happy hour menu where everything is $ 5, including the house margaritas, which are, in my experience, strong and delicious. Unfortunately, the food on the happy hour menu is much smaller than the normal portions, which is disappointing when you are comparing it to other restaurants in the city that serve their normal size portions for cheaper during happy hour. The service is always good here. They offer outdoor seating when it’s nice out which is a nice place to enjoy drinks or food. The bar has a big variety of tequilas and offers different flights. They have a DJ some nights and offer dancing. The décor in the restaurant is unique and interesting, a little dark but cozy. It can get pretty crowded on weekends too, but is always a good, reliable place to come for drinks and food.

SO pleasantly surprised by Lucha Cartel. I had been here a few times before for drinks but this was the first time I came for drinks, dinner, AND salsa tuesday. Everything, from the service, to the drinks, to the food, to the dancing made for a fun and engaging atmosphere. It seems like a fun place to come with a date, or as a group of friends.
The guac and chips were delicious. I wasn’t too impressed with the Crispy Fish Salad, but I guess that is what I deserve for ordering salad instead of tacos or something. The lettuce was wilted, overdressed, and sparse. The fried fish on top didn’t have much flavor either.
Now the big ass margaritas on the other hand… my friends ordered a pineapple jalapeño one and it was SPICY. Not for the faint of heart. I ordered a coco-​rita which was delicious and sweet and just strong enough.
DEFINITELY stay for the salsa. It was my favorite part of the night. If you come for dinner and stay for salsa, try to get a table around the outside of the dance floor (they move the high top tables around 9ish). Lesson starts at 9:45 and you will be dancing with everyone as the instructor asks the ladies to rotate. There are dancers of all skill levels and its a fun, no pressure environment.
So in all, 5 stars for the service, drinks, and salsa. Docked one star for the food. But in all, a Tuesday night well spent!

Lucha Cartel was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting more bar food, but was happy to see Lucha offer a pretty extensive Mexican menu. In addition to the entrée menu, the appetizers were pretty generous in size which made it easy to share with our table of three.
Overall this is a must try if you are in the area and craving more authentic mexican food.

Atmosphere– 4 star– I really like the inside gothy set up with Lucha Libre masks and a disco ball. There is cool artwork to chat about, I dig it inside. They have a small outdoor seating, booths and tables. The bar area seats about 15 people.
Food– 3– I wasn’t a fan of my 4 crunchy shredded chicken tacos. It was pretty messy with grease. I really wish you could mix & match the tacos so that you wouldn’t be stuck with 4 of the same type. The waitress told me that they are pretty strict on that though.
My husband’s pork sandwich was good though. He was pretty happy with the sauce and portion since it also came with fries.
The chips and guacamole were average. It had a good lime kick. A pitcher of iced margaritas wasn’t bad but it was flat because it’s made with beer.
Price was over $ 40, meh.

Lucha Cartel was the perfect spot for a casual, fun, and tasty happy hour to catch up with friends.
You can’t really go wrong with the $ 5 selections (chips & guacamole, margaritas, Tecate & Tequilla shot) — so we were set. We also ordered the Lucha Nachos for the table, which were messy, over-​loaded, and absolutely delicious.
Our server was great, too. She was funny, personable, and made sure we always had a drink.
Despite being surprisingly kind of empty, I think Lucha Cartel is a great happy hour spot where you can maybe have a drink or two more than you should while chomping on some fresh tortilla chips.

The al pastor tacos were delicious.
Though I was surprised to find that it wasn’t a traditional looking (or tasting) al pastor, this cut of meat (thick slabs of pork belly) was amazingly braised and tender. It was served under corn tortillas and a pineapple relish + spicy salsa and lime. I loved that they used belly because the fatty parts balanced so well with the leaner parts of the cut.
There were a couple dry pieces here and there and my corn tortillas were a little harder than I’d like, but it was a solid 4 stars, tasty dinner.

Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-​speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries. Masks the wrestlers wear are a key part of the performance.
Lucha cartel is a modern Mexican restaurant that honors that sport in its décor. I thought it gave the place a nice, cool touch.
My lady and I split a medium size pitcher of their recommended El Santo Margarita (not your typical lime flavor).
We tried their chips and pico. So-​so at best.
We split the crispy beef tacos (tiny in size) and chicken enchilada. They were tasty.
Service was ok.
It was a decent lunch. I’ve had better. I’ve had worse.

Been here a few times now, but always for cheap beers and hang. The wall art is amusing and the ambience is low key and fairly dim-​lit.
Last time we were here we noticed a group of middle schoolers celebrating a birthday party. Felt rather strange to have that going on considering this was a Saturday night. We sat at the bar and the bartender was very attentive and knew exactly when beer (canned) was empty. We looked at the menu but couldn’t find chips and salsa, so we asked the bartender if that was available. He brought them right out for us and the chips were still warm. We ran out of chips and he brought out another batch. When we received our check, we noticed he only charged us for the beers. what a surprise!

Pleasant surprise! Great happy hour food and drinks. Very friendly service in a very clean establishment.
Will come back.

Lucha Lucha whats your function? Messing up service at the Cartels junction.
In reality, a waste of my money. The portions are small, the free chips are greasy, and the service is abhorrent. You know its bad when you need to leave your table to get the servers attention. The décor seems confused with itself, maybe Dia De Los Muertos? Could use a rehab.
With that being said they have a decent happy hour that starts early. I would always try to come here when its slow.
If you must come here the pork belly tacos are tasty. Quite the aggravation.

Went here for Cinco de Mayo lunch today. Margaritas were tasty (sans the agave syrup) and the slow cooked beef tacos were on point. The spicy sauce was a a hit with my friends. The guacamole could have used a bit more lime, but overall very tasty and plenty of gluten free options.
The patio was a great place to celebrate the holiday and another med school exam over!
I’ll be back!