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    Chapala Mexican Restaurant

    3.5 (251 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Chapala Mexican Restaurant Photos

    Business Info

    CHAPALA MEXICAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Chapala Mexican Restaurant

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    All meat grande plate, so good!

    The food was authentic and fresh! Great service! We know good Mexican food and this is it! The dining room is clean and well maintained. We came here twice during our Ventura stay and if we come through this way again we'll for sure stop in! Our first visit, Rosa was our server. The second time it was Jeff. Both were excellent!!

    Molcajete brings chicken, meat, chorizo, shrimps, nopales and queso fresco. So good
    Karina C.

    The food is delicious and well served. We couldn't finish the Molcajete. My friend also got Jamaican and I got Cranberry Juice both were so fresh and not that sweet perfect to drink. The service was wonderful, they made sure we were happy with our food, always checking to see if we needed anything. The Ambiance is cozy with two big TV they had sports in it and also has a bar if you only want to have a drink. Lots of parking lot and it restaurant looks super clean. Recommended it.

    Cadillac
    Greg T.

    Chapala sits at Harbor and 10th Street at the gateway to downtown Santa Paula. The dining area is spacious and comfortable, with room for small, medium and large parties. There is a banquet room available as well. Chapala serves a wide selection of dishes and has a full bar. Service is quick and efficient with friendly staff. My party of 6 was easily accommodated and enjoyed a variety of items. The complementary chips (prepared on site) and salsa are a delicious way to wet your appetite. Ask for the "picante" salsa, a sort of habenero/Chipotle mix that is very good. I had a crisp shredded chicken taco (again, house prepared shell) and chili relleno with whole beans. All were tasty and delicious!

    Chicken Combo Plate
    J K.

    We have been here twice in the past two months. Both times we came at very different times, yet the experience was the same, quickly seated but no menus, chips and salsa given with no one coming back for 15 minutes, a drink order (one cocktail one glass of water), still no menus 15 minutes in, and didn't get the water for 20 more minutes after I had the opportunity to be able to ask again. Service was very slow, food was slow, my husbands food came out considerably sooner before mine. The entrees were good, I had Enchiladas Suizas both times, my husband had the chicken combo, BUT the beans are absolutely horrible! I never waste food, but didn't eat them or bring them home, they taste worse than canned beans so maybe just a super cheep brand, I don't know. There are so many good Mexican food places in SP, I think we will stick with the others. The booth seating is comfortable. The servers were very nice both times, more so towards the end when bringing the check, I don't know if it's training, or....

    Papas Don Juan
    Shawndiz H.

    Amazing food! The sweetest staff! We had a very memorable meal and would come back if we're ever in the area. Very cozy lovely restaurant!

    Cape cod
    Debra R.

    Six years since my previous review, and they are still a solid 4 stars. Six of us headed from the Santa Paula Theatre on a Sunday afternoon after watching an excellent matinee play. Choices on a Sunday afternoon before 5 are limited in Santa Paula, but fortunately, our friends reminded us of Chapala and the fact it also serves cocktails. We found parking spots in their private lot, and we were seated immediately. Rounds of their homemade chips and salsa appeared on our table. The drink service was quick, and then the hard part, choosing an entree from their six page menu. The ambiance is pleasant with typical serapes festooning the walls, inside is clean and fairly quiet with booths on the sides, and open tables in the center that can seat at least eight, so good for groups, plus they have a separate banquet room. The bar area only has a few tables. The drinks' alcohol content is fairly low, but drinks arrived quickly. Their horchata comes in a giant tumbler. Everyone enjoyed their ginormous entrees.

    Papas Don Juan 9/17/21

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    9 months ago

    Tacos de papa are the best in town. Service is quick sometimes when they are super busy you need to call twice

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    2 years ago

    Nice place to eat. I loved their carne asada plate. Service is awesome. I love the ambience of this place. Nice restaurant for the family.

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    5 years ago

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    1 year ago

    I was there last month service was ok it was right after the power outage food was good.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Excellent salsa. Good margaritas and good food. Plus, top notch service. I enjoyed it.

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    El Preferido Taco Shop

    El Preferido Taco Shop

    4.4
    (127 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $

    THIS PLACE IS AMAZING. I've been working down the street and decided to give this place a try…read moreafter my wife showed me their yelp and I was mad at myself for not coming sooner due to the amazing corn taquitos/burritos I had today. THEY WERE SO GOOD. If you haven't been here yet, do your like a favor and come eat here, you will not regret it. Called in my order of 5 corn taquitos/burritos around noon and the the lovely gentlemen let me know my order would be ready in 5 to 10 minutes. As I walked in he was backing up my order, talk about fast and friendly service here. Got a side order of guacamole for my order and it was a very inexpensive lunch. The corn burritos/taquitos were popping hot and came topppd with a ton of cheese. I poured the red salsa it came with over the cheese and I got the final product of salsa and cheese covered burritos/taquitos. 10/10, highly reccomend. These things were amazing. Overall come support this local buisness. Great food, great service, what is not to like here. Thank you El Preferido for the great lunch, I will be back very soon.

    So happy I finally got to try this place omg these taquitos were fantastic!!!! Such a cute spot and…read morefamily owned, everyone is polite and welcoming The horchata is yummy and overall a great experience

    Photos
    El Preferido Taco Shop
    Michelada; 2 tacos, asada/carnitas; taquitos & cheese; chicken taquitos dressed with cabbage; one cabesa taco.
    Michelada; 2 tacos, asada/carnitas; taquitos & cheese; chicken taquitos dressed with cabbage; one cabesa taco.
    Where to find them. Takeout or dine in

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    Where to find them. Takeout or dine in
    Cocina 1912

    Cocina 1912

    4.5
    (100 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    So I knew of Cocina but wasn't able to come until recently. I had ordered for pickup prior to…read moresitting to try it. I like how they created their own app to make it easier for pickup. Prior to coming in I had tried their beans tacos dorados (tres taquitos) and their chilaquiles. Tacos were okay. I felt like there wasn't that many beans inside. Chilaquiles were delicious. I live close but by the time they got to me, the tortilla was not as crunchy anymore. Still enjoyed them. When I went in, got the chilaquiles again since I wanted to eat them fresh. Even better. Loved the sauce and how crunchy they were. I did get the red ones. They are a bit spicy for those who don't like spice. I have really liked that they use black beans instead of pinto beans. Their red rice has always been nice an fluffy. Another time I went I tried their quesobirria shrimp tacos. They are tied for my all time favorite spicy shrimp tacos. They were so good. The chipotle sauce you do to add to it was delicious. Overall, I love Cocina 1912. Love that it's so close to me and how delicious the food is. I have definitely started to bring people already to try it and will continue to do so.

    Shoutout to yelp elite Raquel for bringing me here. We'd been eyeing this restaurant for a while…read moreand we finally came in for lunch and had a wonderful experience from start to finish. Cocina 1912 is located in downtown Santa Paula and was easy to find. Large signage outside and plenty of 2-hour parking out front and across the street. This restaurant is surprisingly large. Not only do they have the regular dining area but they also have an attached second room for dining and a larger event space. This space can be rented out for markets, parties - you name it. Would make a great music space too. Another standout here is the staff and the hospitality. The young gal working behind the counter was super nice and welcoming. She helped us with the menu and on deciding what to order. What I also love is even though it's an "order at the counter place", the staff were attentive to come over to our take multiple times to check on us. Talk about A+ service and care. This alone would keep me coming back. Thankfully, the food is equally as good and tasty! We started with a Jamaica drink which was refreshing and hit the spot. For our mains I ordered the Al pastor tacos and my friend went with the shrimp tacos that were made queso birria style. Lastly, I ordered a side of rice and means. Everything was tasty and satisfying! The tortillas are freshly made each day and you could really taste it. The Al pastor and sides were about a 4/5. Not the best I've had but totally satisfied my craving and I'd get them again. The real star of the show was the shrimp tacos! My friend let me try some and I was blown away by the freshness of the shrimp and thought it was a delicious dish. Very spicy though so I know I can't hang lol. Regardless though I loved them, so if you can handle spice and love a good shrimp taco, you absolutely must get these. Such a solid experience here and a fun time with my friend. We'll definitely be back!

    Photos
    Interior high ceilings with cool light fixtures
    Interior high ceilings with cool light fixtures
    Chile Verde Chilequilles
    Chile Verde Chilequilles
    Interior table and great brick walls with order counter

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    Interior table and great brick walls with order counter
    La Terraza

    La Terraza

    3.6
    (106 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$

    I came here over the weekend and unfortunately, it was a pretty bad experience. This is a walk-up…read morecounter place that looks run down. The tables were dirty, so I had to wipe one down with my baby wipes before we sat. They brought us chips and salsa after we seated ourselves, but the salsa was bland and tasted store-bought. Nothing fresh or flavorful about it. I ordered a carnitas burrito. I was starving but only got through half because it just wasn't good. Dry, under-seasoned, and overall disappointing. My friend got a carne asada burrito and kept making weird faces while chewing. She said the meat was disgustingly tough and fatty. I tried a bite and had to spit it out because it was all fat and the texture felt off, maybe even undercooked. She ended up tossing most of her burrito and finished the second half of mine since hers was not edible. We both ordered large fountain drinks and the staff filled them to the top with ice. The total came to $38 for two burritos and two ice-heavy drinks. Plus the tip I threw in their jar before tasting the food. Big mistake! There are way better Mexican spots out there. Never coming back here again!

    I am new in town and had not found my perfect Mexican cuisine. I had a craving for a tostada so I…read moredid a Yelp search and many choices came up. La Terraza was not the closest, but they had their menu available and the prices were reasonable so I drove over. It is a cute restaurant on the corner and parking was easy. The staff was friendly and I got a Carne asada tostada to go. When I got home it was still warm and I liked the simple presentation. The ingredients were fresh and the asada tender and delicious. I will be bringing my husband back and I really can't wait to try The Chili relleno, my favorite dish.

    Photos
    La Terraza
    Tacos a la Carter, my favorite!
    Tacos a la Carter, my favorite!
    La Terraza

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    Chapala Mexican Restaurant - mexican - Updated June 2026

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