Nice indoor/outdoor bar with some outdoor counter seating with windows that open to the inside of the bar. Interior was pretty and open. Food was good - would recommend the assorted mini chimichangas app and the corn tamale, the pork tamale was a bit dry. read more

First time in to this location. Sat at the bar and was served by an awesome gentlemen named Cody. Great hire El Charro team! Excellent customer service and was very attentive to us. The food was fantastic, Had Carne Seca enchiladas and tacos. Out of this world! Great flavor and the salsa they served blends very well with the Carne. Happy 100th Anniversary El Charro team and wishing many more. A must stop when I come back to Tucson. read more

This is the spot, im so glad they have patio seating now, food was great, and this restaurant is taking all the COVID precautions! Kudos to Mickey thanks for everything! read more

Best Mexican food in Tucson! The table sidebuckamoly is absolutely amazing!! Pair that with a Cadillac Margarita, and you're ready to segue into the next course. read more

I love the Chimichanga. This is a nice representation of the original downtown. Good Chips & Salsa. Choice of refried or whole beans & rice. Good flavors / Good service. We had a reservation for a table of 8. Straight in and sat down. Seating is spread out. I know this CDC stuff but the random shower curtains between seats? It's like Covid flypaper. read more

I've been to the downtown location and the food was excellent. I went The Oro Valley location and ordered the steak and shrimp fajita. It came out charred to ashes (El Charroed). The cast iron serving plate was sizzling. Unfortunately, everything on the plate was toasted. The steak strips were burnt crisp, the shrimp was burnt crisp and the vegetables were ashes. We brought this to the attention of the server and she sent the steak back for replacement and they replaced the steak. Then we did the same for the shrimp and they replaced the shrimp. The peppers and onions were the same but we didn't say anything so of course, no replacement. Hey, El Charro, how about don't send it out if the plate is ashes? Make the cooks cook it like it's supposed to be cooked? read more

Twice I called to place order for takeout dinners and each time I was put on hold, after waiting for more than 15 minutes I hung up and was not able to place my orders. Don't waste your time for takeout orders at this restaurant, those customers are not their priority. read more

My mother had the carne seca chimi. She said it was delicious. I ordered the two carne secq tacos both meals came with rice and beans. Yumm.

Best Mexican food I've ever had!!! I will be craving their carnitas enchalatas and guacamole weeks from now. Their pork was perfectly seasoned and extremely tender. The green chili white sauce and queso on top of the enchalata with the side of guacamole is what completed the dish. Portion sizes were great for the price and they also provide refried beans and rice with every meal. Service was attentive and friendly. Atmosphere was casual and comfortable to spend time with friends. Fantastic experience all around! read more

El Charro Cafe - Enchiladas del Rancho - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

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Had lunch here with my husband and son I got horrible food poisoning from the seafood enchiladas.. I wrote to them several times they finally asked for our credit card information I sent it to them at least 3 times for a refund and it's been 2 weeks and still no refund! So u get your customers sick and can't even manage a refund! Never again read more

The food was very mediocre, the house margarita was served with very little alcohol. They did have a very good vocalist performing for a short while. read more

The manager working on 12-11-21 in the evening was very rude about an event that was canceled at their restaurant. Shouldn't be in CUSTOMER SERVICE. Underline CUSTOMER service!!! read more

This seems like a small location. Food was good, service was poor. There were many upset tables the day we went. Would recommend trying a different location. read more

Was impressed with this place! The vegan options were so so awesome to see and my non-vegan boyfriend enjoyed his taco as well (we both agreed the beans needed more flavor though)! Prices were pretty average for this style of restaurant and our waiter was EXTREMELY friendly, informative, and helpful! He was super cautious about our allergies, knew a lot about the history of the spot and the ingredients, and when we asked for a box for the chips and salsa he packed us a full bag of chips with three extra salsas! Would definitely go back :) read more

El Charro Cafe - Vegan Jackfruit Taquitos - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

Our family of six came in after visiting from Phoenix. We have a vegan and someone that eats gluten free so we were happy to see that El Charro Cafe has many options for everyone! Got sat right away in Olivia's section, she was awesome!! We were greeted quickly, food and drinks came quick, we never had to wait for anything (including refills!). Olivia was great and so pleasant, she had a mask but you could see she was still smiling. The bussers were also on top of it, grabbing plates out of the way and making sure we had everything we needed. Service was 5/5, food and drinks were 5/5, and ambiance was 5/5. I recommend this place to anyone that loves Mexican food and is in the area, everything was great! read more

Saw that Food & Wine magazine said this was one of the best places to eat in Tucson so figured we had to try it. We came in for lunch one day and glad we did. Now we have another Mexican place we can eat at. I ordered the Charro style tacos and Bobbie got the Family recipe chimichanga. Both came with rice and refried beans. I really liked the way the charro tacos were made and will be stealing the technique at home. Instead of ground beef in the bottom of a taco shell they form it into a patty and fry it. This way instead of having meat at the bottom of the shell and none at the top you get meat in each and every bite. Genius! About the only down side was the meat patty could have been seasoned a bit more. Bobbies chimichunga had nice tender meat seasoned well with a great flavor. We both liked the beans but the rice was a bit off for both of us. Probably just our taste and not a hit on the way its prepared. Over all a very nice meal and we'll be back to try more selections. read more

Went for a Meetup and ordered the Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms. Delicious and gluten free. Large portion, enough to take home for dinner. Splurged on the Sangria... read more

El Charro Cafe - Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms (gluten free) delish!!!! - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

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Amazing food! And fun experience with great service! Went for our anniversary and got to try a little bit of everything, we will be back!

i thought the food was bland - rice was like instant rice with a can of tomatoes in it the Charro Beans also had little flavor and the Chili relleno had no fire at all. The salsa and chips were good and the Prickly Pear margarita was AWFUL. Fructose Corn Syrup flavor to me i drank down about an inch in my glass and left the rest on the table. Our wait service was great. Others in our party seemed satisfied with their meals. I guess I just want more in Mexican food and well this wasnt it. read more

Just had Margaritas and tableside guacamole. Velvet had the house frozen. She said it was very good. I had the 1922. It was good. Could have been stronger. The tableside guacamole was OK. We asked for it hot but it was mild. Service was good. read more

Very busy place...but delicious, beautifully presented and good service. Recommend! read more

Booooooo! We've been to El Charro many many times over the years and while enjoy most of the food, we really like the nachos. They used to be HUMONGOUS and served in a large tray. They used to be $10.95. Today, we ordered the nachos and we felt duped. The price was now $12.95. We totally understand this price increase as minimum wage was increased this year. What came next, we never saw coming... I wish I would have taken a picture of the pathetic bowl of nachos that appeared before me about 1 minute after I ordered them. They were tiny (half the size of Nico's super nachos). They had cheese....unmelted, shredded cheese. Why unmelted???? What makes these nachos?? THE CHEESE...THE CHEESE!!! Needless to say, we couldn't patronize a change like this. If you fix your nachos, we'll be back...if not, there's nacho joints aplenty in the Old Pueblo. Too bad, because we really liked yours. read more

Got the chicken mole. I have had the enchilada version as well as just the chicken with the mole sauce. Stay away from the chicken with the sauce. The sauce does not have much taste and needs some spicy kick to it which it does not have. More like on the bland side which was very disappointing. I have had much better chicken mole at other places. The enchiladas are worth a try. I would recommend the carne seca crisp. That alone is worth the visit. This place did have great service. Though overall I think the food is over priced for what you get. read more

El Charro Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

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This review is for my experience with their take out service and quality. The food was packed very well to travel and stayed hot until we opened it about 10 minutes later. The tortillas stayed pliable but not soggy, which was noteworthy to me. While waiting for the food to be prepared I was offered water by no less than three servers, so points for promptness. It is not fast food even when ordering take out, but it's worth waiting for. The interior is well decorated and seems like a great place to take out of town visitors to give them a good southwestern dinner with a fun ambiance. read more

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My wife and I enjoy trying family run restaurants when visiting different cities. While in Tucson we found El Charro. Location was easy to get to work plenty of parking. The atmosphere was really nice, clean with plenty of room. I ordered the chile relleno and my wife the chicken chili. The food was excellent, my relleno had a great green chile flavor. My wife's chimi was juicy and very tasty. Portions were big and neither of us could finish our servings. The service was fast and friendly, my wife is diabetic and her sugar crashed just after we ordered. The staff was there with orange juice in no time. I highly recommend trying to place next time you're in Tucson. read more

El Charro Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

I ordered online for pickup for 5 people. The food was ready when I arrived and correct. It was a struggle to cut the enchiladas with a fork. Usually enchiladas are soft and easy to cut up. The taste was different. The chimichangas had very little meat. The desserts were great. read more

Great food, outstanding service, in a pleasant atmosphere. Definitely recommend it to anyone who likes Sonoran style food.

Went here a few months ago. Saw good reviews and thought we'd give it a try. It was busy and took a few minutes to get a table. And then about 10 minutes to get menus. Ordered, food was served. Then spent 7-8 minutes trying to get someones attention so we could get silverware. Food was below average and service was worse. First and last time for us read more

My fiancée and I were there yesterday and we will no longer be going there. They gave us stale chips that could have broke a tooth. The food came and how small the portions are now for the amount of money you pay for. The enchiladas were so small and the side servings were bland. When we left there, we were still hungry. Waitress was very nice. BTW, the second bowl of chips were stale also. read more

Best Mexican lunch I've ever had!! Everything was perfect. I like that they offer two kinds of tortillas with tacos. The refried beans taste fresh like beans should. I had a fish taco and a chicken taco. all ingredients were excellent. The service was awesome and friendly. I found out this is a family owned restaurant and that may explain why they care to deliver the very best in quality food and service. Will go back soon! read more

This was our 2nd time here and we were both very disappointed. We were ignored when we walked in, though many servers were running around. Finally got seated and were served chips and salsa quickly which was nice. We sat there for about 8 min till our server finally appeared, took our order and we never saw her again till the check arrived. Someone else brought our food and drinks. She never checked on us or offered refills. My food was ok, while my boyfriend hated his dish. The cheese crisp wasn't fully cooked, a bit cold. Major disappointing evening. read more

Great food, service, and wonderful for family get togethers! Carne Seca, Shredded Beef Barbacoa, and Fish Tacos are some of our favorite dishes! read more

Fourth time I've been to this location and they are out of their charro style tacos. It's the item I come in for so it's extremely disappointing! BTW it was at noon n a Sunday so I doubt they sold out read more

Best Mexican food!! The bartenders and wait staff are amazing!! We usually go at least every 2 weeks!! Never disappointed!!

Excellent quality food. Good service with an intent to please. History dates to 1922 and they are conscious of this

If I could give this restaurant zero stars I would. In the past we have walked out twice because of no service. Today I was in a group of 10, it took almost an hour to get our food. One person in the group ordered beans & rice with no cheese. That came out 10 minutes after everyone else had their food. It was sent back because it had cheese. 15 minutes later & still no beans & rice she left because he was hungry. If you are hungry & want good service I would advise you to go elsewhere. The restaurant was only 1/2 full, can't imagine what the wait would have been like if they had a full house. read more

IMO they make the BEST fish tacos in town. That's what I get every single time I go there. Why bother with perfection, right? The place can get busy during rush hours so try to go off hours. read more

A copy of the letter I'm mailing to this restaurant since their email isnt' working.... "I ate at your Oracle location the other night and was utterly dismayed/pissed to see on your menu a fish-based item marked as vegetarian! I realize that some religous-types consider fish a non-meat, however a restaurant isn't a religious institution. Shame on you for lumping fish and vegetarian dishes together and shame on you for not considering your vegetarian-based community's needs... and they DON'T include fish. Having that on the menu made me question your entire menu for validity of its "vegetarian" claim. I chose the corn tamales and can only hope that the "vegetarian" refried beans were in fact made with no meat. I've blogged about this and am bringing it up at the next meeting of the Vegetarian Society of El Paso." read more

El Charro Cafe - Completely unacceptable vegetarian rating! - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

Sometimes you see a 3-Star rating, and you think, "Whoa, that's awfully close to 2-Stars." But other times it's good to look at a 3-Star rating as, "Not very far away from 4-Stars." I found El Charro to be "A-OK," the descriptor for 3-Stars. It's not bad in any way...but I wasn't really blown away either. It's a very solid choice for Mexican food, but nothing I would go out of my way to try again...especially since I live in an hour and a half away. DRINKS- El Charro boasts of the "Best Margarita in Tucson." Well, it's the only Margarita I've ever had in Tucson, but it was damn good. Heck, it was one of the best Margaritas I've had anywhere. And we were there during happy hour, so it was discounted. I had the House Margarita on the rocks with salt, to be exact. Definitely worth trying. CHIPS & SALSA- The chips tasted freshly made on premises. Very good. Crunchy, not stale. The Salsa was smoky and spicy, but not overly hot. Thumbs up on the Chips & Salsa. CHIMICHANGAS- El Charro claims to have invented the Chimichanga. "Wait, what? Really?" I haven't researched this independently, but that is one heckuva claim. I was game. I had to honor their boast and try out the Chimi where it was invented. It was good too--not greasy. I had it with the Carne Seca.... CARNE SECA- Dry Meat. Literal translation. Perfect descriptor too. It's a unique preparation of beef, and one I had to try. I can't say that I'm a fan, but I'm an adventurous eater, and I'm glad to have tried it. Tastes like shaved beef jerky with a ton of big chunky white onions mixed in. If you get this in a Chimi, well you're apparently experiencing something really special too.... USA TODAY TOP 50 PLATES- I guess according to USA Today, El Charro's Carne Seca Chimichanga is one of the Top 50 Plates you can eat in this great nation of ours. "Wait, what? Really?" Yeah, so how could I possibly resist dining on history? Despite it's $20 pricetag, it's not bad. It's ladled over with sauces, cheese, and comes with Guacamole, Sour Cream, and all the bells & whistles. It's freakin' huge too. [See my photo.] I split it with a buddy, and neither one of us could even finish our halves. AMBIANCE- Very stylish. Loved the red colored walls and star shaped lamps hanging from the ceilings. Since we were such a large party, they tucked us into this VIP-looking corner of the restaurant, complete with our own giant flatscreen TV. There were even curtains if we wanted to seclude ourselves from the rest of the restaurant. SERVICE- We had who appeared to be a new server. He didn't seem very experienced, and the size of our party looked like it was a little intimidating to him. Still, he was friendly and earnest. And although things ran a tad slow (crowded Sunday evening), we were all well taken care of. OVERALL- As many things as I like about El Charro, ultimately a restaurant will be judged by its food. And I thought the food was "decent" but not "outstanding." I would return again, but I wouldn't necessarily make a special point to do so. It's a solid choice it you're nearby though. read more

El Charro Cafe - USA Today's Chimi - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

Closed for remodeling. No mention of that on their website, or message when calling their phone, so an unpleasant surprise. read more

El Charro Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Oro Valley, Arizona

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