El Charro Cafe

Avoid this place… spend your money elsewhere. We went last night with a party of 10 adults. Jordana was our server; she was nice but put her thumb in our food as it was served and brought us a hand full of limes for our beer :(Half of the food was lukewarm to cold; we spoke to manager and an unidentified man came to our table. He only wanted to know what food was cold but didn’t care about the poor service. The food was not very good… even the hot dishes. Definitely should not be recommended on the food channel.

ARGH! Like Tucson needs more pharmacies? What’s the objective here, to have one at every mile intersection?
I love El Charro, I’ve been eating mainly at the downtown location for 30 years after I was turned on to it by friends. On more than one occasion I drove from Phoenix to Tucson just to eat there. (granted, we also pillaged Bookmans, but this was the star).
And the Broadway location was perfect for us now that it’s a 500 mile drive from New Mexico to see my parents in Phoenix. We’d stop here and sit on the patio with our standard poodle and rest before the last leg of our drive. Last week we were returning home from Phoenix and had hoped to meet a friend here, only to get there and see a new and stupid CVS pharmacy. *sigh*
I can understand the CVS being built. Clearly the owners of the plaza were made a ridiculously huge offer, or wanted to no longer be landlords. El Charro bears no responsibility to the closure. What I don’t understand is why didn’t open another location on the east side with a patio. By their not opening another such location, they’ve just lost my business when I travel with my wife and poodle during the summer months.
Not happy at all. It makes me wonder if El Charro is in a tight spot and don’t want to risk opening another location. The downtown one is always busy, but I’ve never been to the other two locations so I don’t know if they’re a drain or also hopping.

We first get here with a «5−10» minute wait and wait at least 15 minutes. Then, I look for drinks on the menu and there isn’t a list of drinks they have. Other than, of course, the alcohol, which they have 2 pages worth. Then when I ask for my entrée with no sour cream, and the waiter confirms it, my burrito has sour cream. Although service and food wasn’t bad. Overall, I like El Charro, just not this particular restaurant

Nothing to write home about. It was okay. Quiet. Good service. Average food. Average prices. Nothing bad about it but I’d just look elsewhere.

Came for dinner they have happy hour from 3 to 6. Had chile rellenos and a michelada. People assisted me as soon as I walked in sat down ate had a good time. The waiter was very attentive to me and my needs. Small bathroom but it was clean and the restaurant has a good atmosphere. Not loud music or anything annoying. They have a Zagat rating and well deserved!!!

Cinco Corner, as the name suggested it is the $ 5 lunch special. Guess what? no it aint!
Ordered the Cinco Corner exactly like it says on the menu and waitress came back with a $ 11 including a ice tea drink. I asked if the tea costed $ 6 and she said its only $ 2. I now understand how mathematics work in Mexican’s brain. She insisted the meal in the Cinco corner cost $ 8…
NEVER AGAIN.

This is really a 3.5 star place. I’ve eaten at El Charro downtown many times but this was my first time at the one on Broadway. The chicken mole I had here was only average. The mole in my favorite Mexican restaurant in Maryland is just as good; you’d think mole in Tucson would be better. And the service was a little slow and inattentive. But overall, you can’t go wrong at El Charro. Carne seca in anything is great as is the carnitas burro. I was served a side dish of summer squash and zucchini in a cream sauce that was pretty good. The side salad with grapes was also very tasty; it had great vinaigrette dressing. Guacamole is fine though I make and have had better. Prices are OK. El Charro is a good Mexican restaurant. But I think it’s coasting on its reputation. It could do better.

There’s no shortage of Mexican restaurants in Tucson, but as a visitor I found myself spinning in circles trying to decide upon one to hit up on a Friday night around 9 PM. I spent the day driving in from California and was beyond exhausted .I was on my way across town, heading towards my hotel… Unilocal app open on my phone as place after place popped up. Some low rated, some high rated… then came along El Charo Café with its «OK» rating. The string of festive lights seen from the corner of Broadway and Wilmont caught my eye… this, along with seeing how late it was getting persuaded me to stop and check it out.
Walking inside, I was taken in by the décor of the place… a lot of red and yellow… very festive southwestern motif. I walked in and was promptly seated at a small table in the corner next to the window overlooking the patio area. The place was quite empty as only a few people occupied the various tables. One table had a larger group of what seemed to be co-​workers enjoying food and drinks.
I was brought a serving of chips and salsa from my server and ordered up a Pacifico as I looked over the menu. I really enjoyed their salsa. Not too hot but had a lot of flavor… it was more of a pacante sauce as it wasn’t chunky at all.
There was quite a bit to choose from but I decided to go with the Original Recipe Carne Colorado Burrito (enchilada style). It what seemed like no time, I was served my burrito. The burrito kicked some serious ass. Cutting into it, you could see the meat… bright red from the chilli sauce it was cooked in. The flavors were bold and while it was spicy, it didn’t overpower the dish at all. I mixed in my beans and rice and I was good to go. Upon first glance, I was looking at the size of the burrito and thought, «I’m going to be hungry after I eat this… it’s not that big», because… well…I can eat. But the amount of food… along with my cerveza, chips and salsa, was just right.
Service was friendly and fast. I’m quite shocked looking at all the bad reviews. Maybe it was visitor’s luck (hope not!!!)? Hopefully I will return to try something else from here again. So good and a fitting end to a long, long day.

Definitely go here if you want to crack your tooth on a rock that ends up in your food…
My husband ordered 2 fish tacos which came with rice and refried beans. He was eating the beans when he bit down on something hard, really hard. To his dismay, he pulled a rock out of his mouth. The manager came over, took the rock, and explained that sometimes rocks are in with the beans and that this one slipped through the sorting process. Yeah, we know all about rocks and beans — still your kitchen’s responsibility to make sure it doesn’t end up in your customers’ mouths. He offered a lame apology and said he’d comp his meal. The bill arrived, and we found they ‘generously’ comped his tacos but not his margarita or Coke. Seriously?
I ordered the queso fundido dip. There was absolutely no way you could dip anything in this cheese. The concept was good — roasted corn and green chiles in cheese. The problem was that it was a plate of congealed, melted cheese with corn and chiles stuck in there. You couldn’t dip a chip into it. The only way to eat it was with a knife and fork. Just gross and totally unlike any other cheese dip I’ve had anywhere else, including Mexico.
Everyone’s water and other drink glasses were empty more often than not, and service was very slow for food that was just mediocre.

We often call ahead to this location for take-​out, but no more. Last night (²⁄₁₉) we called and waited 4 minutes on hold, called back and waited for 8 minutes, called a third time and no answer. By this time, we had already arrived at the locations, so thought we’d order there to go. We were told, with no explanation, that they were out of Charro tacos, one of their signature dishes. I ordered an alternative, chicken bahia tacos and got our order and got home. I was sorely disappointed. My chicken tacos were lacking chicken. I counted 5 pieces of diced chicken for 2 tacos. The tacos were all green chili and no other flavor. I ended up throwing them away. Between the lack of service on the phone, no explanation as to why they were not offering a signature dish and my chicken tacos sans tacos– we won’t be going back, or ordering out for a while.

Pros– The décor inside is beautiful! Several star lights and chandelier’s hang from the ceiling, the walls are lined with paintings and above the paintings are actual black and white photographs.
* Food was served very quickly (almost rushed)
* Friendly staff
* Different options for seating
* Gluten Free options!!! — HUGE DEAL!
Cons– Food… not authentic. Lacked flavour… being Mexican you need the LARD! UGH let’s just say its for the health conscious.
* Waited 15 minutes for seating however there was several open seats everywhere.
Eh try if you haven’t before, that’s what I did. Everyone’s opinions are different so test it out.

Although their downtown joint on Court Ave is best, this is solid. 9 times out of 10 it is very good. Recently they added a crispy chile relleno to their menu and it is one of the best rellenos around — just make sure you tell the waiter you want the newer crispy one and not the one drowning in sauce. Good to take visitors to; I usually recommend the carne seca but don’t tell them about the process cause then they won’t order it.
3−½ stars.
I’m bored now and need to go do something else.

Went there for lunch with my Mom who had just come into town. We’ve been there many times before and always liked it. I wanted a light lunch, which is hard to do at a Mexican Restaurant sometimes.
I ended up having the ½ order of Soup and Salad. The soup was Chicken Tortilla. Small bowl was perfect size. Then you get to choose between 3 salad types. I choose Carlottas, which was a smaller salad with a descent sized chicken breast on top. Delicious! My Mom had the Topopo Veggie Salad… HUGE! Tons of grilled and steamed veggies piled high on top a lettuce salad. She couldn’t finish it for lunch, she had it for dinner too. Oh, and the salsa… The best !

Dirty side plates, leftover salsa drippings still on the inside of the menu, dirty silverware, decent food, nasty «margarita special», tasty «tres citrus“marg (which no one must order as our waiter asked 3x «which one?» and had to read over my shoulder. Too bad, it was really tasty…
Your call…

On my surprise visit to my family I asked to eat here upon the recommendation of a coworker. I was told it was famous for it’s Carne Seca– and the menu highlighted all of it’s fanfare, so I decided that is what I would order. I thought $ 17.95 was a little pricey, so I went with the chimichanga.
The Carne Seca had a good flavor, but it was the texture of beef jerky in a burrito. I didn’t enjoy it all. I also asked for it with a mixture of sour cream and green sauce, and it came dry. The beans and rice were unmemorable.
We had a constant supply of salsa and warm chips which were tasty.
My step mom said her tortilla soup was very good and said the broth tasted home made, and my sister really enjoyed her enchiladas.
Our server, Destiny, seemed like she was in a rush. I also asked for my sauces to be mixed and it seemed like it was such a hassle for her. I asked the rest of my family and they said that they felt rushed since they had arrived (I arrived a little after the 6 of them sat down. I was literally taking a bite of my food– which wasn’t ²⁄₃ finished and the server said, «are you going to want dessert?» I had already seen the dessert menu so I told her that we probably would, but would like to finish. She later came and said «Are you ready for your check now?” — so instead of ordering desserts for the 7 of us we said yes. I’ve definitely experienced better, and for a much better price. And although we were a big table, we weren’t that picky– we would have doubled her tip if she would have just treated us well.

Recently had a quick business lunch at El Charro on Broadway to take advantage of the summer lunch specials and to watch Brazil trounce Chile in the World Cup. I opted for the quesadilla and, while it was pretty tasty, apparently «pico de gallo» is El Charro-​speak for a spoonful of wilted lettuce and chunks of under ripe tomato, though I guess I shouldn’t expect much for five bucks.
Before the meal, the obligatory chips/​salsa are brought out by our (rather pleasant) server. The chips were warm and crisp but I’ll just say one thing about their salsa: I’ve made pasta sauce with more flavor and heat.

Complimentary chips were warm and tasty but quantity was VERY sparse. Salsa was good.
Carne seca itself was pretty good. However, $ 17.95 for carne seca w/​peppers and onions, refried, rice, and 3 — yes 3 — corn tortillas is WAY TOO MUCH. Refried beans were bland. Rice was OK. Corn tortillas were TINY.
Over-​hyped, over-​rated.
Waiter was insincere. Water refill waiter was diligent and helpful.
I’d find a better restaurant for Mexican fare, if I were you. It won’t be difficult.

The place is definitely cute and nice and the service was pretty good as well! The food was good, but I live in an area in Los Angeles where you can get great Mexican food for a really good price, and although the food here was good, it was wasn’t great… I’ve had better… and I think it was overpriced even though the portions are quite large. I went to a Mexican place near my house, comparable to El Charro, and our dishes were half the price of what El Charro charges. The portions were equally as large! I guess I can’t really give an accurate review since I was only visiting Tucson and this was the only Mexican restaurant we ate at, but I’ve definitely had better…

I found El Charro Café through the website Tucson Originals website. This restaurant’s claim to fame is that it is the country’s oldest Mexican restaurant still in operation by the same family (since 1922!).
For lunch, they have a number of «Dine Under $ 9» entrees to choose from. It’s actually a very good deal and is a lot of food. I ordered the grilled fish soft tacos plate for $ 7.25. It was very satisfying. If you go, I do recommend getting the tortilla soup, as it’s only 99 cents more.
Bottom Line: Maybe this place is a little too touristy and may not even be as good as other local establishments, but still glad we came here.

–gulp– I like this place. I know, I know I feel like a total traitor to my fellow Unilocalers, but they have me. They lured me in with their carne seca and I was beyond help after that. I’ve never had anything but great service here.
Here’s my theory and please tell me if you think I’m wrong. .. .. there are a few places in which I’ll only speak Spanish and it seems that I get better service that way. This is one of those places. Seriously, I’ve done this for years starting in Texas and vice versa in Mexico.
I justify going here by knowing that kids eat free Sunday through Tuesday. That somehow makes me feel like I’m saving.
Oh, carne seca. .. I wish I could quit you.