Poor service. Food was bland. Do NOT get the "fried ice cream" it's terrible. I said something to the waitstaff and the girl cashing me out but they didn't seem concerned or offer to make it right. read more

To be frank, everything at El Charro seems to taste the same. This is due to the fact that they ingredients they use for most of their dishes are alike. About the only thing that changes from one menu item to another is what type of bread the product is wrapped in and maybe what type of sauce is laid on top. The service is on par with most of the valley. Slower than you'd like but not terrible. Most of the time it takes longer to get the bill than it does to eat the meal. This place has gone down hill over the years and unfortunately, I think they must own all the other Mexican restaurants in the area because they all taste the same. I've had way better Mexican food outside of the valley. read more

Honestly, just put off by the treatment. My family and I have been going there with extreme regularity for over 25 years (and referring countless others). It's been a nice relationship. Food's always been pretty good, and we've always treated them well, tipped very generously, including on carry-out orders, etc... Carry-out orders are occasionally wrong (missing items, or wrong thing sent). No big deal, it happens, we all make mistakes, and we've never called back to make a fuss about it or ask for credits or anything like that. The third to last order we placed was missing salsa and a side of tortillas that were ordered and paid for. We didn't call or make a big deal about it. The second to last meal we ordered, the carne asada tasted like old fish. We threw the whole meal out, and again we didn't call or make a big deal of it. This last order was missing a queso dip that we ordered and paid for. Figured it was fair to call the next day to humbly ask them, as a token, to make right on the missing queso (literally about $3), and you'd have thought we were asking for them to feed us for the rest of the month. "It can't be done! We can't give you queso, it would be coming out of MY pocket!..." They ultimately offered to "generously buy out of my own pocket" a side of queso for us, which is a funny compromise since I already paid for but never received it (AND tipped almost 20% on the whole order), but not without pointedly making me feel guilty and crooked about it. So I declined... In all reality, yes I understand that it's a TINY thing, and that's how it should have been treated when we called, and we probably could have looked the other way AGAIN. But after decades of loyal patronage and increasing frequency of errors and missing items, I thought it was fair to just request them to make right on one single small item. Apparently not. It used to be a nice family feel in there, where you get to know servers and staff, but unfortunately that's gone, and I guess loyalty is a one-way street now. We'll regretfully take our business elsewhere. read more

Salsa appears to be from a can. If you are a Mexican restaurant, you should probably at least take the time to make salsa. I ordered fajitas because it's hard to mess them up. Well... I've never had fajitas not come out in a sizzling pan. They were served on a plate. It was ok, but lame. Their refried beans are probably the worst I've ever had. Server was good! I think if they shortened their menu and focused on fresh well cooked food it would help. (That's my 10c worth...) read more

This was a horrible experience. I got the taco salad (do not order) and It came out and the whole half bottom of the shell was filled with water. It was atrocious, so I asked them to bring me another one. I got the second one and just as much water. Then when I go to pay I tell the cashier and he says it's the liquid cheese that makes it so watery, YET there's a pile of SHREDDED cheese on top of both taco salads?!?! And they wouldn't give me a discount!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT GO HERE. Unless you're dying for some disgusting, microwaved Mexican food. They can go f*** themselves!!!!!! Oh, and STOP staring down every girl while they're trying to eat. Very rude. read more

I don't understand why the reviews for this place are so low. I really enjoy the food here! The only thing i would say is that either staff is oblivious sometimes or just i don't know.. the last time I visited a server dropped a cup of salsa and it splattered on my back and my friend's hair that was sitting next to me. It was obvious that the server saw this but never offered to help us clean up our table or even a polite apology. read more

Margaritas are disappointing. But the shrimp quesadilla was good. Chips have an oily taste but are crisp. Salsa was very mild.

Stopped here on a whim and was very disappointed. Party of 3. Had Margaritas - frozen and on the rocks. Tasted ok but were Cleary watered down. Fajitas were not served on hot plate but on plate atop Refried beans that were horrible. We will not be returning. read more

As a huge fan of Authentic Mexican Restaurants I am highly disappointed in the food and drinks here. It took us 10 minutes to order drinks that ended up being nothing but sour and margarita mix. Our server however, was very happy to add more tequila for us. Unfortunately, the drinks still ended up being sub-par. Girlfriends of mine had ordered a taco salad and it was soupy from the start. I would rate this place a 5/10. Basically flip a coin and hopefully odds are in your favor that you don't end up going here. Not to mention you have to pay for chips and salsa after the second basket. What is a Mexican restaurant without the free chips and dip?? read more

The El Charro on Rt 11 is simply the best! Great food and good prices! The servers are sweet and know regulars when they see them.

I love bland food, so judging from the other reviews I thought I would love this place. I did enjoy my meal and the food was really good, albeit spicy. Friendly waitress, decent prices. Just your typical Mexican food restaurant. It really deserves 4 stars rather than 5, but I felt the overall average of only 3 stars isn't accurate. read more

Terrible.. Bland boring food. Do yourself a favor and go home, cook up some ground beef with a little salt and pepper. Place the meat in a store bought generic hard shell, throw a little shredded cheese on top and you have the same "authentic" Mexican food this restaurant serves.. Taco Bell has more flavor, even they will give you a little lettuce on top! Very disappointing.. Ok one good thing was the salsa, it was very spicy and good with the tortilla chips. read more

Good food, standard mexican restaurant menu. Decent staff, relatively clean.

This place sucked the food had no seasoning. Waiter didn't know what type of sauce was the red sauce and they also did not have real carnitas that are supposed to be shredded not in chunks wouldn't recommend to anybody dnt eat here not real Mexican food. read more

Watery retried beans, plain guacamole, and bland tamales. The salsa and chips were good and so was the burrito. Service- ok

This place is meh. After living with my Mexican born grandma for a year I've come to know what great Mexican food is. It's not this. A step above Taco Bell this places saving grace is free tortilla chips,something you can't get at T Bell. The fish bowls are weak. If you want a real fishbowl in Harrisonburg go to Dona Rosa's. For what it is, moderately prices food for drunk college kids it's okay . Service was good. read more

I don't normally write reviews, positive or negative, but after my dinner experience at El Charro last night I felt obliged to. The service was incredible.. chips and salsa were brought to the table within 30 seconds of being seated (I also noticed this for customers who came in after me). My waiter was very kind and checked in on us often. The fajitas I ordered were delicious and brought out very quickly. While the food was good and relatively cheap the great customer service really stood out. I left very satisfied and I plan to bring my business there again soon. I'm also a JMU student so me and bros are totally gonna take advantage of your gnarly $6.99 pitchers of domestic brew on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Cheers! read more

Taco Salad was watery and nasty, service was fast but waiter was a bit clueless when taking our order.

Literally the most bland food I've ever had. Decent service, but the server constantly would reach across my face, and got his sleeves in my bland boring food. The guacamole was tasteless, the refried beans were watery, the chicken seemed like it was just re heated frozen chicken. The only thing I can say nice is that the salsa was decent. Eccchh save yourself some money and go to Taco Bell next door. read more

I am pretty regular customer. And, I tend to stick to a couple of favorite items. I have to say that I have never had a bad meal here. The shrimp tacos are AMAZING! They don't overcook the shrimp and they are perfectly seasoned. Did I mention that shrimp are large with a generous portion to boot?! Plus, they come with a generous helping of fresh avocado. And the salsa they serve with it is incredible. I have ordered shrimp tacos at other restaurants only to be very disappointed. I can't speak to authenticity, but these tacos are delicious. I went last night and broke out of my routine. I got the Tacos de Carnitas. Excellent! The pork was tender, juicy with a wonderful smoky flavor. With the spicy tomatillo salsa and fresh cilantro, the flavors just worked. I have never been disappointed. read more

The molcajete bowl and the salsa is awesome. So good, in fact, that it compensates for everything else on the menu being so-so Mexican fare. There are a few of these in town, an I have only been to the one on Market St near 81. read more

Chicken tacos were pretty good, but I've definitely had better. The salsa was mundane, and lacked green herbs. They would have gotten at least 3 stars, but the service was TERRIBLE. It could have just been the waitress we had, but she was pretty bad. Overall the food wasn't too bad. I would eat here again, I just hope I don't get that damn waitress again! read more

Watched server rub my tortilla on his balls!... dead serious. Wish I was joking. The server gave me the wrong food and when I told him about it (very politely I might add cause I waited tables in college and know it's hard work) he was very disrespectful. He didn't want to make it right. Finally he just grabs the plate and says "whatever" and stomps off toward the kitchen. My girlfriend looked at me in disbelief and then said "what was his problem? I bet hes probably gonna spit in your food." Being the germaphobe I am i quietly stood out of sight near the kitchen area to try to see watch my food being prepared. Anyone who's eaten here before knows how the restaurant is laid out. I stood close to that partition near a plant with just my head sticking over to see what I could see. Glad I did! When my plate was set on the counter to be served I witnessed my server remove the soft tortilla from one of my tacos and shove it down his pants. Rubbing it on his genitalia while laughing with the other servers standing with him. Then he placed the meat back in it and set it on the plate. I wish I would have recorded it. I grabbed my girlfriend and got the hell out of there. I wanted to knock his ass out. I can't remember the servers name but I will update this when I find out. He was a younger guy maybe 18 or so. Dark mop top hair and a light mustache. I will never eat here again. read more

The original and best mexican in Harrisonburg. It's been around for quite awhile and that's a testament to it's service and food quality. Nice atmosphere and lightning fast service. Good size portions. Give it a try you won't be disappointed. read more

Not looking for a 5star restaurant here, but even this blew my mind. It's amazing how awful the staff was!! But maybe it was just our waiter, I don't know... Taco Bell quality mixed with worse service than the DMV makes this a definite no! Try anything else... Seriously... Anything. read more

Love everything on the menu! My husband and I go there weekly and we are never disappointed. The chips, salsa, and cheese dip are very yummy! read more

By far the worst Mexican food I ever had..We were traveling through and thought to check them out due to the yelp reviews. First, the waiter did not speak English well so when I asked if there was pork in the refried beans, he had to go get someone to translate. 1st sign there was going to be trouble! We ordered chicken fajitas (which came out on a non sizzling plate (never saw that before) and cold. The fajitas had no seasoning on them, the beans had so much water added to them they were runny and the color did not even look brownish but more yellow. We ordered chimichangas, which came out as fried burritos. Same problem with the beans. The absolute killer and the reason for such a low review, we ordered the mixed fajitas which was shrimp, chicken and beef. Again it had no seasoning and watered refried beans, but he shrimp was not deviended. Come on..for $14.00 in this area I wold at the very least expect shrimp that was edible. read more