El Charro Café Downtown

I had an amazing experience at El Charro in Tucson! I ordered the chicken and steak fajitas, and they were cooked to perfection—tender, flavorful, and served sizzling hot. The portions were generous, and every bite was packed with bold, authentic flavor. What really stood out to me was the salsa—it had a rich, smoky flavor that perfectly complemented the rest of the meal. You can tell they put real care into their recipes. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and the service was top-notch. If I ever end up in Tucson, I'll be back. Go check em out.

Recommend: chimichanga Good: tamales, tacos, fajitas I think my expectations were a bit too high. The food was good especially when you consider the price. I was surprised to find the prices so reasonable. The complementary chips and salsa were both lovely. The chimichangas were nice though the chicken ones were dry. The coloring book for kids has the story of the origins of chimichanga I found the tamales and beans a little on the runny/mushy/wet side. I didn't love the corn kernels in the tamales - they tasted a little like canned corn to me. The shrimp were cooked nicely though. Tacos were solid We waited a pretty long time for our food so I would definitely recommend getting an appetizer or two so that you're not miserable.

Paid parking or limited side street parking read signs posted for hours. Long wait on Saturday afternoon about 2pm. Nice sitting areas while you wait. Lovely interior, clean nice decor. In a touristy area which equals pricey menu. Food was decent, ok hot sauce but it came in a teeny dip cup, which lasted thru about 10 chips, never got or offered a refill. Husband would have liked hotter sauce. Had steak fajitas w queso enchilada. Fajitas were served with corn tortillas, didn’t ask us if we preferred flour and none were offered. Sat us right next to kitchen squeezed in tight at a table we could barely get to the one chair…and we aren’t big ppl. We had good service by our waiter. We might go back, the vibe was fun but probably try some place different next time.

One of the oldest continuous run Mexican restaurants in the United States right here in Tucson Arizona. Usually very busy but lucked out for Father’s Day and had a great dinner as always. Highly recommended if you haven’t been yet. Muy delicioso!!

The history and setting here are great, wonderful building and ambiance. Unfortunately they’ve hired most young adults that don’t seem like a good fit for serving and upping the experience. My server doesn’t realize a tap beer has run out, he doesn’t mention it to me, he just brings me another type. Who does that? He did take it off the bill but acted like it was a favor. The chicken burrito made enchilada style… the little bit of chicken meat was very good! but it was a large tortilla folded in and was 1/2+ tortilla and not much inside. This was ridiculous, it’s going to turn off any person desiring an awesome burrito. Leave the ends open, more ingredients. Fry it to crisp the tortilla and add more sauce. Cheap! No thanks.

It is a very beautiful and traditional place with a large capacity for meetings, the food is of great size and delicious taste; it also has a bar area and I consider that the price is reasonable. As an additional point, the servers are very nice 😁

I sure love and appreciate restaurants with history and a great story. This place has both. Who invented the Chimichangas?.. (This place did) ask or look up the story. Which is longest Mexican restaurant running continuously by the same family in the Country? (This place is) since 1922. I truly loved going through the restaurant exploring and reading newspapers articles framed, all the wall pictures hangings and details. They have an entire dining section downstairs, which I can only assume was once a basement or cellar. This place has many areas to accommodate your seating preference. The lighting during our dinner seemed a bit dim, our food was good. We had to try the Chimichangas.Of course. (The aged beef) was perhaps not for me. Maybe ask to try a small bite before ordering. Everything else that we ordered was good.. Great place for dining and entertainment. The staff were all very friendly.

A must for every visit to Tucson!! My family lives in Tucson and we always dine here at least ONCE whenever I’m in town. For my parents, it’s because of the multiple vegan options available on the menu here. For me, it’s because I absolutely love the fresh, generous portions of food with every entree. You can literally taste the quality in every bite! I’ve always loved everything that I order here, but a few of my personal “must try” items include the tableside guacamole, which we do nearly every time. It’s a blast watching them prepare it fresh right at the table and then enjoy with some tortilla chips. I also love all the enchilada plates here, including the Bandera enchiladas, which come in three different sauces of green, white, and red! Another great option are the “El Charro Style” tacos, which are beef tacos in a what’s a nice and fluffy, yet slightly crunchy taco shell Regardless of what I order, I’m always left satisfied and with leftovers for later! I love sitting in the little outdoor courtyard space that this downtown/presidio location has. It’s easy to find shade while still enjoying the sunshine! I’ve also never had an issue with service here - always very quick to take your order and get the food and drinks out. Oh yeah, speaking of drinks, margaritas are always a must for me!! My personal favorite is the prickly pear cactus margarita - super colorful and has great flavor without being overly sweet. If you’re in Tucson, make sure you don’t skip a visit to El Charro!!

The crane seca is amazing and the best (relatively healthy) refried beans on the planet

Food was fantastic. Prickly Pear Margarita was outstanding. Service was great. Nice ambiance.

Cinco de Mayo on Sunday in AZ, had to eat at EL Charro the oldest Mexican food restaurant. They claim to have created the chimichanga. The Sunday special was $5 Beer & Margs from 3-6pm. Our server Bianca was friendly, knowledgeable and patient with us. Started off with tableside guac. Delicious! We ordered the: Enchiladas del rancho, crispy fish tacos and X2 Charro Birria Verde - the food was flavorful and hearty portions. Save room for dessert. This place did not disappoint. They have street parking or a pay to park across the street.

Just had another disappointing restaurant experience in Tucson...this time with a tried and true establishment (el charro). Not super hungry, I ordered a salad, and was brought a huge volcano of lettuce and other chunks of vegetables- with a dusting of carne asada around the edge of the plate. I really should have sent it back to the kitchen, but I didn't want to be "that" person Absolutely ridiculous, the enormity and plating made it impossible to eat and a huge turn off. Took it home with a takeaway box, maybe enough for a week of lunches (though I doubt the lettuce will be fresh after tomorrow). It's probably going to feed the worms in my compost more than it did me. Anyhow, El Charro lost me with this one. Oh, and the soup was cold too. Update: yes, just as I suspected.... the salad was gross last night...and absolutely inedible today.... it went straight into the trash. Frozen lettuce, carrots and celery like a sad banquet's leftover buffet scrapings. Honestly shockingly bad. They need to look at their staff.... whoever thought this was good to send out (and ignored our complaints) needs to get retrained. Maybe they can get away with this from the snowbirds but us locals (30+ years desert rat) know better!!!

While in Tucson, we had to eat at the home of the creator of the chimichanga! This restaurant has also been the best of the best in Tucson for over 100 years now ave it totally lived up to the hype. The service was outstanding: our waiter was friendly and our food came out quickly. The ambiance was casual and fun decorated Mexican style. My family decided to order a sampling of their famous dishes and we loved everything! We ordered: -Tamale Temptation Trio 10/10 - Quesabirria Mini Chimichanga platter - 4 count (we wished we'd gotten more of these cheese coated tiny chimichangas that we dipped in the most delicious consume as this was our favorite dish!) 11/10! - Carne Seca platter 10/10 - Bandera Enchiladas (carnitas, pollo arizona, & carne seca enchilada trio featuring green, raja crema & red sauces) 10/10 We loved all the food here and can totally see why this restaurant is so famous! Eat here for sure!

Teddy..... just ask for Teddy!! I can't remember what we ordered but what we ordered that was unique to this historic establishment and we are all so thankful we listened to his recommendation. Not only was the food wonderful we received quite the historical tour through culinary Sonoran Mexican food. This is the oldest Mexican restaurant in the US and has only changed ownership twice. Get there early enough to enjoy the outside seating when the weather is nice or call ahead to make a reservation. Teddy was amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed our time. And Bonus points... this celiac girl ate completely safe!!! Thanks for the attention to detail!

What a lovely little bit of Tucson. The food was incredible. I've never had better tamales in my life. The Natural Margaritas were a game-changer. The history of this place is absolutely rad and I love that they have they were grandfathered-in with the carne seca (dried meat) to have some of it hovering very flashy above the establishment. The cannons booming nearby and the music and art that can be bought makes this feel like an entirely different place. I loved it.

Found on tik tok as I only had a day in Tucson and to make the best of it, stopped by this Oldest Mexican restaurant. Cute, friendly staff. Got seated pretty fast! Cons; took forever to get water Salsa was more of a tomato sauce with a kick of spice and watered down. The chips were good. Quesabirria: TOOOOO much cheese. Was very overwhelming, the inside also had a cheese stuffing but the meat wasn't bad. Had good flavor One dip and the broth was gone. Although delicious, very small portion given. Beans were nothing special nor was rice Also: no cell reception or free wifi when eating downstairs Which can be hit or miss, nice dinner no interruptions or you're like me where your little is at camp and need to be reachable!!! Parking: meter across the street and also in a parking lot across from!!!!

The food was wonderful! The service was good! The ambiance was an old home changed into El Charro! You want great food in a centrally located place, they're the place to go. Park across from the restaurant for $6. They don't accept any reservations for weekend nights. We had a party of 4 and waited an hour. It was worth it!!! I had the chilli reños with beans and rice. YUM!!!!

In all the years of coming to El Charro, I've always had a great experience. Last night was no exception as we dined to wish my MIL a safe journey moving across the US. She was very impressed with El Charro and this location is charming and has the best artwork! Three of us for dinner and we were seated immediately. Chips & salsa came out within a minute. The salsa is really delicious and we managed to finish it off quite easily with our chips. The margarita special was a house margarita, just made with a different tequila for the special and it tasted wonderful and was only $5. Can't beat that! The MIL had the Enchiladas del Rancho and despite being a light eater, she managed to eat just about everything on her plate. My husband had steak fajitas with no peppers, just the onion and he said they were probably the best fajitas he's ever had. The meat was grilled to perfection and he ate every last bite. I chose Carlotta's Chicken Mole Enchiladas and the mole was smoky, a little sweet with a bit of heat - absolute perfection. The chicken inside the enchiladas was tender with some nice chunks of meat. So, so good. Our server was wonderful and provided just the right amount of attention.

I like this space a lot. Some of the area is a little crowded but up by the fireplace and the "John McCain plaque" is very enjoyable. The server seemed a little hurried but was quite friendly. To be fair, they were very busy so I get the hurried part. Food was excellent, as was the menu selection. I really enjoy the vibe and location and I look forward to going back.

Nice overall but felt slightly overhyped. For 3 people walk-in on a Saturday night, we waited ~45 min to be seated. We actually noticed a lot of empty tables in their covered outdoor area, but maybe they didn't have enough staff that night? As we waited, we grabbed a drink at their bar, which was packed. It took us a while to get our order in since the bartender was busy prioritizing restaurant orders first. Waiters also kept pushing past the area, so there was no great place to stand without feeling like you were in the way. On the plus side, the margaritas were delicious... I had the prickly pear-rita which had a nice slight sweetness and my friends loved their natural and mango margaritas. Once we were seated, it felt much more comfortable. The food menu is large and extensive with options for everyone. We thought the mini quesabirria chimichangas were okay (they're like cheese eggrolls), and would probably skip next time. I ordered the taco platter, which were 6 different tacos that came with one creamy sauce and one birria sauce on the side. It was a fun dish to try, but it wasn't that memorable... I thought the tacos needed sauce and would've preferred if they came with salsas instead. On the other hand, my friends enjoyed their Monica's Plate and Chicken Mole. I have to give a shoutout to our waiter Steve, who was phenomenal. He was friendly, attentive, and incredibly knowledgeable of the menu. My friend visiting from overseas was even so impressed by the service and said it was one of the nicest parts of our dinner! Thank you Steve!

This is my third time coming here and it never disappoints. This time I tried the number 3 combo. The combos are perfect if you want to try a little bit of everything. Service is always great and fast. Be sure to make a reservation if you plan on coming here on a weekend or plan on waiting an hour for a table during dinner time.

It's a charming, family run restaurant that locals swear by, and the food lived up to the hype. There was an hour wait, and they forgot about me at the bar. The kitchen had closed, but they seated me. Inside it wasn't even that crowded. They easily could have seated at least 5 of the other groups waiting with me. When I checked in, The hostess seemed confused and ready to pass over me, but this isn't a New York night club, honey. I even reminded her to take my phone number down. But she never sent me the appropriate text message from their system. Another group said it was an hour and half wait. I had a late lunch, so I was ok waiting for dinner. I chatted it up at the bar with other tourists. The outdoor area was mostly retired seniors. The house manager was nice and seated me after I complained an hour later. I had the mini Chimichangas appetizer, since they were invented here. Food wise- it was the best Enchiladas I have ever had, and the tortilla chips were also fantastic. A simple thing you eat all the time, but made really well. Then they gave me a free 3 leches cake, which was enough to feed a whole family table. The Prickly Pear Margarita was also good.

This was my first time El Charro, and it did not disappoint! I started with complimentary chips and salsa, and my waiter was incredibly helpful. He made suggestions for appetizers and main dishes that they were known for, which helped me make my choice. I ordered the quesabirria mini chimis as an appetizer, which were so good. They were soft and tasty, and not like any birria dish I've had before. I ordered the grilled pastor wet burrito as my main course, and that was also very good. The meat was seasoned really well and the rice and pico on the side were great complements. I would have no problems coming back here and ordering the exact same things!

When you get a chance to eat at the oldest authentic Mexican restaurant in the world, you say yes! Crispy warm chips and great salsa to start, followed by quick delivery of our meals of dried beef, peppers, beans and rice, and a margarita salad. Easy parking, long line to wait to get in. Rustic authentic serving rooms. Just like the old west. Gotta give it a try if you get a chance.

We were excited to visit the original El Charro. We heard it was wonderful. It is the oldest Mexican food restaurant in the United States! When we walked in the door, we were blown away by the tantilizing aromas that greeted us. And the decor is warm and inviting with comfortable seating. I am vegetarian/vegan but the rest of my family eat meat. I was delighted to see there were great choices for me on the menu! Even all the beans were vegan-friendly. I was excited that I could have the refried pinto beans or the whole black beans AND I could have the rice! ! I am not used to such a treat! I liive in Mesa where there is not one Mexican restaurant that has both rice and beans that are lard-free. As soon as I saw the Hemp Tamales, I knew that had to be my choice! It came with beans and rice and there were two generously-sized tamales, served in the corn husks! They look fabulous and tasted even better! These tamales are unique to El Charro. It was the most delicious meal I have eaten in a long time. I wish I could have the recipe because I cannot get hemp tamales where I live and I love to cook tasty meals! When we were finished, our wonderful server offered to take our picture in front of the restaurant. This photo became a feature in a compilation video my son put together in memory of our trip. I hope to go back to Tucson just so I can eat at El charro again! I would definitely go back to the original location. It was charming and inviting. Thank you El Charro staff for a heavenly experience! Thank you for making a birthday meal the best ever!

Not worth the two hour wait and mediocre service, especially if it's your first time. We came to this restaurant from California to celebrate a birthday and what a disappointment overall. Make sure you make an appointment a couple days in advance otherwise you will have to wait for two hours on a Saturday. We mentioned to the hostess and server that we were celebrating a birthday and the request was ignored. We ordered two margaritas and one mojito and the drinks came over 30 mins later. The chimichanga style burritos were burnt and inedible. We would not recommend. Maybe since our table was downstairs, they forgot about us too. Felt like we were in a dungeon.

My spouse and I wondered by on the weekend before Christmas as it wasn't packed but still fairly busy. Normally when I go here there is a wait but not this time around. Been wanting to try this place since I heard about it from the locals. It's be red n around 101 years so it's gotta be good. The kind waitress sat us down and we were served fresh tortilla chips and very tasty and tangy salsa. I don't think I've had salsa this delicious at a Mexican place in a long time. Usually the salsa is watered down or too tomatoey. This had the right consistency and balance. I only wish that could have given us more. There were a lot of good options on the menu and I felt the prices were in line for the location and quantity I was seeing. We decided to share the Carne Seca platter. It's one of the things the restaurant is known for. The ambiance was spot on for a place of this age. I loved the sombreros and the Christmas decorations. You can tell this is a business that is run by people that care. The food arrived shortly and were were given the option of fresh made corn or flour tortillas. We were also given refills of the tortillas. The staff was super friendly and checked up on us several times during our lunch. The carne seca was delicious and melted in my mouth and packed with flavor. Is been a few days and I'm still thinking about it. I'd definitely recommend this place and plan to go back to try something else in the future.

Food was presented nicely. Service was great. Beautiful restaurant. However taste of food was horrible. Came here twice and both times the food was extremely salty. Ordered the horchata and it tasted like straight up milk and water. Not a single trace of cinnamon as u can see in the picture. It just looked and tasted like watered down milk.

Definitely a must if you are in Town. Cool vibe, good drinks, great food, very professional staff. We were here last night March 6th. A Wednesday night and the place was PACKED! Make a reservation if you are not interested in having a drink at the bar and taking it all in. But reservations cannot be made same day so plan accordingly. Like I said our food was excellent. If you get charro beans it comes with a different rice. I thought that was very cool. I am a huge fan of variety and my husband and I eat family style so our sides were all different because of this and not sadly the same. Everything was seasoned beautifully. Tortillas were clearly home made and soooo delicious. We will be back! The staff was very professional and I had the pleasure of witnessing them handling a very unpleasant couple seated after us right next to our table. We are all long time food service employee's, so we know a thing or two. Let me just say they were u happy from step one. They were upset when they were outside with us that there was a wait, they were overly dramatic when seated huffing and dragging the table and chairs around loudly and rudely to show their displeasure with the spot they were given, and with out even barely touching their food they declared it all to be "aweful, and ice cold". But the server was cool as a cucumber. We salute you!

This was our second visit for dinner, and we had an hour wait before we got our table. Reservations are recommended. When we got our table, we had a Michlota, which was made perfectly. I had the Reynosa Chicken, and this dish has made El Charro my new go-to place in Tucson! The dish has two grilled chicken brest over arrow Blanco and grilled vegetables. My brother had the Tamale Temptation Trio consisting of a pork Caritas, chicken tomatilo, and a corn tamale. He said that these were the best Tamales EVER.

It's a classic and the margaritas are top notch. The bartender at the outdoor bar was super friendly and walked us through the entire menu. Totally recommend the carne seca which is an amazing dried beef with so much flavor. Think prosciutto meets beef. I ordered the combo and enjoyed the variety. Definitely make this historic spot a destination when you're in Tucson!

We didn't know too much about this place, other than its long rich history in the area. The inside of the restaurant reflects that, with a more traditional and rustic ambiance. Service was nice and friendly here. I ordered the Monica's plate, which was a combo plate and included a tamale, enchilada, and taco. My favorite of the 3 was definitely the tamale. Half of it was covered in this rich and creamy sauce which paired well with the tamale that also contained some corn and peppers in it. It was delicious but needed a tad more of that sauce! The enchilada came with the carne seca, which was loaded with tons of flavor, albeit too salty and dry for my liking. The beef taco contained a beef patty that wasn't memorable although the taco shell itself was nice and crunchy. For the price and longstanding history of the place, I guess i had higher expectations for the food.

We didn't expect to find the original El Charro while doing a historic downtown tour. It was not busy (on a Sunday late afternoon) but it looked like a nice relaxed atmosphere, so we popped in to have a quick drink. It was impossible to get seated here when it's not busy. We waited 20 minutes to even have someone acknowledge us and tell us to wait more. What's it going to be like when it is busy here? No thanks. Skip this place, it seems to be going on reputation alone. The Charro family has many other great places and I suggest the El Charro in Oro Valley or the truly excellent CharroVida northwest of downtown.

I'm visiting my GF in Tucson and we decided to try this place after walking trails at Catalina State Park. The people were friendly and my food was fantastic. I'm always wondering what options will be available to me as a vegan when I eat out, and I was willing to flex to vegetarian (ie: have some dairy cheese), but this place has a vegan burrito (mine was done chimichanga style) and it's, again, fantastic! The protein in the burrito is a hemp seed mixture, giving it a subtle nutty taste. The rest was veggies, and huge chunks of avocado, with tasty sauces and what I'm assuming was a vegan cheese melted on top (the menu says the meal is "Plant Based" and the meal is called "Vegan Burrito", but there's no statement about what brand or type of vegan cheese is used, and I neglected to ask because I didn't want to be a PITA - so don't take my assumption as a definitive statement if you have dairy allergies). I was delighted with my meal! There are a couple other vegan options here that I've not yet tried, and now I definitely want to! My GF liked her food, too (she got the Beria soft tacos, which are made with shredded beef, since they don't do ground beef here). She has no dietary restrictions but she's still particular about food, so her enjoying it says a lot IMO. Both meals came with beans & rice, which were fairly typical of this kind of place (meaning, they didn't stand out but were absolutely fine, as well). I just mixed mine together into one side. Yummy The complimentary baked corn chips & salsa were good. The salsa seemed unique to me, which is usually a nice thing; all salsas should not taste identical. Not sure if it's oregano or thyme I was tasting in it. My only critique was with billing: why does the bill have a line under the tip amount line for "+2 for cook"... is tipping and employee pay really going there? Is this unique to this restaurant, or is this something being done everywhere now? Are we supposed to tip everybody because businesses won't pay employees fairly? I'm also not sure what "add enchilada style x-mas" meant as an added item on my meal, and we did not ask because I had assumed it meant doing it deep fried as a chimichanga, but now I'm wondering if that was the red & green sauces (I was asked "would you like a sauce on that: green, red, or both"), and I can't recall if the implication was they were optional ‍ I won't knock off a star for those questions; I don't know what the answers are, because we did not ask. The food was great and the employees we interacted with were great to us. I was very happy with my experience overall and would happily return. PS: There were typical restaurant noise levels, but the music was not annoyingly loud (major plus for us, since we tend to be overstimulated by that kind of thing). The two TVs I noticed were inaudible from where we sat.

After waiting an hour with an extra round of drinks ($100) and ordering another round with dinner for 8, we were charged a "Large Party Fee" of $51 on a bill of $320 with no advance warning. The server said that this was not a gratuity and went to the restaurant, not him so we still had to add the gratuity. A totally unacceptable ripoff in my opinion.

Always good. Traditional place with consistent food. Tucson classic. I would recommend trying it, but definitely get a reservation.

Popped in for a quick lunch during the holidays and had a wonderful meal. Had to try the signature carne seca and it was really delicious. Loved the atmosphere and service was excellent given that they were still pretty busy. I will definitely return and try more of the menu.

Home of the chimichanga! We had a large group, seated in a large table inside towards the back. Our server was helpful and very accommodating with our individual checks and to-go box requests. He also replenished our chips, which we easily devoured. We had a mini chimi sampler and green corn tamal platter. The food was beautiful & tasty. It is a little confusing on which side to enter, also tends to be really busy with both locals and tourists. There is a paid parking lot in front of the restaurant, but on weekends the street parking is free.

The food was absolutely delicious. We had four different plates. Service was great and a really cool place to hang out. I had the #2 combination plate. Chicken taco was my favorite followed by the tamale then enchilada. The stuff chicken breast was yummy. The sautéed veggies were good as well. The mole was sweet and delicious.

Nothing about this place or the servers will ever require a low rating. Top notch each and every time. I take all my Tucson visitors here.

Ambiance: I quipped to my husband that, in a way, this is like the Old Spaghetti Factory of Mexican restaurants. There is exposed brick where the original restaurant has been added onto, there are multiple rooms and a bar behind panes of glass, and there are ever present servers. A shining beacon of food and drink downtown on North Court Avenue, if you don't know by now, El Charro is the oldest Mexican restaurant continuously run by the same family in the United States -- and the undisputed cornerstone in the "best 23 miles of Mexican food in the United States." When I read that UNESCO designated Tucson as a City of Gastronomy, I knew I had to be choosy about my limited time here. El Charro was at the top of the list and it did not disappoint. Make reservations. I made mine through Yelp and our table was ready at the time they said it would be. Since we were early, we had a drink at the bar and took in the scene: waiters rushing around, large parties of families and friends celebrating special occasions, and couples having date nights. It's loud and hectic on the bar and patio side. I asked if we could run a tab while we waited and was told we had to close out the drinks we ordered, which turned out to be a good thing because the drinks were pretty strong. (I had the prickly pear-rita - too sweet even for me.) When we went back to the host station in front of the restaurant, the hostess remembered us and immediately handed us off to be seated. Pros: - Great food. The albóndigas soup was hands down the BEST albóndigas I have eaten outside of homemade. Although not pictured, it had a charred nub of corn in it along with a large lemon slice, a spoonful of salsa, and chunks of carrot. The beans were good both ways (my husband got refried and I got charro-style). The famous tacos created by Tía Monica were surprising: a ground beef patty enveloped in a crunchy tortilla shell topped with a very mild (possibly just) tomato salsa and a few green peas. Flavor was good - just different and unique. My husband had the enchiladas nopales. I had a taste and they were one of the most flavorful things on the table. - Culinary tradition. Eat a piece of history and give a silent thanks to Monica Flin for having the grit to start El Charro back in 1922. - Easy parking. Lots of street parking or in the lot across the street on a Friday night, even when tons of people were there for a bowl game the next day. (Check to make sure you don't have to pay. We went later, when we didn't have to feed a meter.) - Friendly servers and hostesses. Had a good chat with my server about the building, ghosts (she has never seen one), and the odd steps leading down to the basement that are sealed off by painted bars (if you sit on the enclosed patio all the way at the end, you'll see what I'm talking about - sort of freaky!). - Reasonable prices. Cons: - Bathrooms need to be updated and expanded. There is only one bathroom (single) in the bar area and two singles in the main restaurant area. - It was so busy that some things we asked for never came, like more chips and salsa and more salsa to go with dinner. - Even with the heat lamps, sitting outside in the winter can be chilly because of the wind. All in all, a good visit, and I'm glad we ate here on our first full day in town!

Stopped by for lunch on the recommendation of a coworker and this place did not disappoint! This cute home-style restaurant does not only pack the punch with flavor in their dishes, but also gives you more than generous portions! I ordered the Al pastor torta with pineapple and finished the whole thing. The crispy cheese and sweetness of the pineapple really left you digging in for more. Definitely check out this place as it is one of the oldest restaurants of the city.

Steve was great, fantastic service, anyone who disagree should kill themselves!! The staff was friendly, and the service was prompt. The books on the wall are illustrative and sweet. I highly recommend the Do-It-Yourself Diary of a Wimpy Kid book by Jeff Kinney.

After the hype of this place had to come to the original Chimi. The three of us all ordered different dishes. The Chimi with the dried beef filling, Monica's plate , and enchiladas. And Nachos for an app. I would say the nachos might have been the best dish. The Chimi needed a sauce on it. Monica's plate the taco was like eating a taco with a hamburger patty on it with no flavor. The Tamal was good and the carne enchiladas was Meh. Service was great and the atmosphere was rustic and fun to see all the history

Birth place of the Chimichanga?? That's what the bartender said while we were waiting for our table. How cool is that? She said the person who made it, accidentally dropped the burrito in oil and the chimichanga was born! How cool! When I asked what I should try, they recommended the charro seco. Beef that's been sun dried on the roof and shredded and marinated, unique to the El charro cafe! It can be on a taco, burrito, chimichanga, or enchilada! Lots of options at this place. I enjoyed the atmosphere. And the seating near the open windows, it was perfect! Be mindful though, there can be a wait. Very popular place My experience was good. At first, they sat us at a table near the door and there were so many people and servers walking back and forth, over and over again, like you're afraid you're going to get stepped on. We kindly asked to be moved and they moved us to the front by an open window which was so great! The other issue is that I had to keep reminding the server about things, like utensils or water. And when we ordered 2 separate tres leches cake to go, we each were supposed to get a caramel and a chocolate, but mine was packed with two chocolates sauces and the other bag had two caramels sauces. These were honest mistakes, but too many to count. I don't regret coming here and would recommend to others too!

If you are ever in Tucson come and eat at this place. Established in 1922, it's one of the Nation's Oldest Mexican restaurants. If you do plan on going call ahead for a reservation sense the wait tends to be long. We were severed by a young man named Matt great guy with a great personality and knows how to present himself in a way that is you've known him your whole life. While I was there I got the street tacos they were amazing it came with six different charro recipes. We also got the Chili Relleno Del Rey and the chimichanga. We also got dessert the flan was amazing it melts in your mouth, the Nutella Chocolate Tamal filled with Hazelnut and Mexican chocolate sweet masa tamal really good and something new. The last thing we got was the apply pie mini chimis also very good. The ambiance is an old look with hats and pictures all around.

El Charro is the iconic Mexican spot in Tucson. As a relative newbie, my first couple visits were at the request of others who were in town for business and wanted to go. The downtown location is in a historic building, so it's not super handicap accessible. There are steps to get into the restaurant and since it's an old house, it's several small dining rooms and not one big open area. I have yet to try an iconic chimichanga here, but have tried the chopped margarita salad, the cheese crisp, rolled tacos, and some other things I honestly can't remember. The salad was probably my least favorite. Everything was fresh and tasted fine, but there was a little lack of cohesion in the dish. It was like everything was great individually but together was a little lackluster. The cheese crisp is huge and will be given to you in a pizza box if you order it to go. My favorite was the rolled tacos. Full of meat, fried up nice and crisp with good flavor. I learned El Charro will also ship some items via Goldbelly. I was visiting friends out of state who love El Charro. I placed a catering order of mini chimis to take with me. I packed them well and froze them overnight and they made it just fine on my flight the next day. My only complaint was not marking the different fillings in the pan of chimis. It ended up being a tasty guessing game when my friends reheated them for dinner. Tucson is a UNESCO city of gastronomy for its Mexican food. Are there other places that may do certain dishes better? Sure. But El Charro is consistently good and has the history of old Tucson.

The El Charro Café is a historic location with both a dine-in restaurant and a full service cantina. I drove 121 miles from Mesa to try out this eatery, reportedly the oldest Mexican restaurant in the country. I was not dissatisfied. I met a couple of good friends at El Charro, and we enjoyed the food, ambiance, and service, all of which had a charm and flavor that surprised and exceeded expectations. The facility is actually a couple of contiguous buildings on the same side of the street, allowing customers to sit down and have a drink at the cantina while waiting for a table at the restaurant. The restaurant also has an extra large outside waiting area, which includes outdoor chairs and tables covered by market umbrellas, where people on the waiting list can enjoy a drink from the cantina while waiting for their table. For those who want nice paid parking, it is plentiful. If you don't want to pay, there is a good amount of street accessibility for parking as well. Good all around. Once you are inside, the decor and ambiance of the restaurant are very homey, with clustered rooms containing several tables each. The walls are covered in traditional themes of ranch and adobe living in a rustic Mexican style. The food contains many expected items such as tacos, burritos, plates, and more. One item that caught my attention was the Carne Seca. This is a carna asada meat that is brought to completion by drying the meat in the sun. This unique way to complete the meat makes the shredded beef amazingly flavorful. I found out later that this is the signature dish as El Charro Café, and I am glad I chose it. You would think the meat would be dry, but it definitely wasn't. It was so flavorful. It went excellent with the fresh made tortillas, guacamole, rice, and beans. The service was good, and the waiter was enjoyable and joking with us. The food came in a reasonable time. The prices were between $15 to 22 each for the dinner entrées. At the end of the evening, I enjoyed a scoop of fried ice cream, which was stellar. Definitely, this is one of the best Mexican restaurants I've eaten at. The wait was worth it, the food tasty, and the experience was delightful. I will be back!

My experience at this restaurant was okay. My party of 4 sat at the bar until our table was ready. The bartenders were friendly and made amazing cocktails. After getting a table, I ordered the queso fundido appetizer for myself and 3 guests. We were not given any tortillas with this appetizer, which is customary at every Mexican Restaurant I have eaten at across the country. When I requested tortillas, we were given 2 tortillas for a party of 4. Our waitress came over when she wasn't busy and remedied the issue. Our waitress was very busy, but she did a good job trying to accommodate us, during such a busy time of the day. We ordered 4 entrees, they were satisfactory. All the members of my party thought there entrees were okay, not overwhelming good. This was not a horrible experience, but I would not visit this restaurant again.

First off, I do acknowledge that since COVID, many places are understaffed. However, I need to comment on how poor of service we got when we went here. This wasn't the first time we've been here, but this was the first time service was really, really bad. The GOOD: Food is actually pretty good. If you like margaritas, I'd recommend their mango margaritas. You'll get chips and salsa when you're seated. If you like tamales, I'd recommend their trio, pictured in this post. I was really impressed by their cheese tamale and beef tamale. The sauces on top are all very different and very flavorful. Ceviche is pretty good, although I wish there was more seafood than vegetables. My fiance got their carne seca enchilada and thought it was tasty. The BAD: SERVICE! Like is said, I understand being short staffed, but a lot of things went wrong. First, it took awhile to get chips and salsa after we sat down. Other tables that were seated after us got their cutlery and chips before we did, and we were seated at least 10 minutes prior. Then, there was a huge puddle of water on the ground, making it difficult to sit comfortably or else my shoes would have gotten wet & soaked. Since we were seated by the windows, we thought it might be from watering the plants; we mentioned this to the waiter, and they said they were going to get a towel to clean it up. Never got a towel...we mentioned this to one of the bussers, who said he'd come back with a towel; he came back without a towel and then said, "Uh, I'll just clean it when you're done with your food." (So you're going to make me sit uncomfortably until I leave and then clean it up...?!?!) Then we told one of the other staff that brought out food; he said he would tell our waiter...no one ever brought a towel or mop to clean it up. We also asked for a spoon for the ceviche. We asked 2 separate people and never got a spoon. Had the cutlery been available on the table where extra napkins and containers were, I would have gotten it myself...but there were not. Then, when we were done, we waited patiently to get our check and to-go containers...with how bad the reputation of service was that day, I just grabbed containers from the table on my own. I saw another table do the same. We then waited to check out...and waited. Although we had been finished, our server closed out 3 other parties that got done 10-15 minutes after us. We had to flag them down to check out. They didn't show us our bill, just took our gift card. When I asked for a printed receipt, he said he'd come back with one...never did; by this point, we were fed up with waiting so many times so we we just left. I was super disappointed on how poor the service was: long waits, never got cutlery we asked for, and had to sit awkwardly avoid a large puddle under my seat & table. Although the food was good, I don't know if I'll go back with how bad the service was. We will have to check out their other sister restaurants before we come back here, which is really a shame because we've enjoyed eating here in the past.

I heard a lot about El Charro Cafe from people saying how it was more of a tourist establishment with the food being a bit overpriced and overrated. Well, seeing how we are tourists, we still decided to go. We dropped by on a Saturday night and were quoted a 35 minute wait, Luckily, it didn't take nearly that long and we were seated within 10 minutes. As soon as we saw the menu, we were kind of overwhelmed at how extensive it was. We spent a decent amount of time staring at it, but finally made our choices. The food took quite a while to come out, somewhere around 30 minutes, given how busy the restaurant was. Chips and salsa (Complimentary) - These came out right at the start. I'm not sure if the chips here are made in house (they seem commercial to me), but they weren't overly salted which was nice. The salsa was nice and refreshing and only had a very slight spice. It was good enough that we decided to get a second round. Carne Seca Platter ($22.95) - The rice had good tomato flavor, and I love that they added peas and diced carrots into it. Super salty though. I got the platter with the charros beans which were tender and well seasoned. I had a choice of flour or corn tortillas. I went with corn, which I could definitely tell were hand made. In retrospect, I should have gotten the flour, which would be more authentically Sonoran. The tortillas came in a rolled up little paper bag with two pieces - not sure why they came in a paper bag, because they kind of stuck to the paper and ripped when I was trying to take them out. Maybe they keep these pre-portioned under a warmer for quick serving? This was my first time trying carne seca and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit. It reminded me of pork floss, with a deep savory meaty taste and a nice maybe slightly stringy but chewy texture. It was mixed with veggies - green chili, onion, tomatoes, then fried again, resulting in some nice crisp on some pieces of the meat and a great textural contrast. Original "Charro Style" Beef Tacos ($12.95) - This was ordered with the frijoles refritos, which were pretty standard. The rice again was very salty. The tacos were... interesting. Essentially a ground beef hamburger patty inside a corn tortilla and fried. The tortilla kind of split in half when I lifted the taco up, although it didn't shatter into a thousand pieces as a hard taco shell would when bit into. The ground beef is well seasoned and quite dense. The problem with this dish is just how dry the taco is. There's a reason that hamburger patties are usually served with a bunch of burger sauce, or in the case of hamburg steak, served with demi glace on top. This taco had a small scoop of salsa on top, but it wasn't nearly enough to moisten the meat. The spring mix and shredded cabbage on top and underneath also couldn't really be wedged it into the taco, so it was essentially eaten as a separate topping. Overall El Charro Cafe is a good option to try. I do agree that the decor and history make it seem a bit touristy, but I think the food holds up pretty well and makes the restaurant worthwhile to visit.

I wanted to give this iconic restaurant five stars, but just couldn't. We'd stopped here on a foodie tour and had the best tamale, but I decided to try something different, lower carb, so had fajitas. I opted for chicken and shrimp. For the fixings, I asked for no rice, charro beans, add calabacitas, and bring me a mix of flour and corn tortillas for the table to use since I can't have them. When the food was delivered, I had all the standard fixings instead of what I'd asked for. They took it back to the kitchen, but it took awhile to have it brought back corrected. And then I never did get the tortillas. Another person in our party ordered tamales with a side of rice and beans. It took several reminders for that side to get to the table. Somehow our table got a much more expensive pitcher of margaritas than we thought we'd asked for. In spite of all this, the food was tasty. The ambiance was authentic, although I'd have preferred the music to be softer, more background. Our server was nice and I know he tried to make it all ok. I wouldn't hesitate to go back, but might try to get there on off-hours when they're less busy.

Amazing food. Love this place, I try to stop here every time I make it to Tucson. One of my favorites.

Great food, great ambiance -- I come down here every time I am in Tucson. Would highly recommend reservations ahead of time!

I got the Combo # 5 with flour tortillas. Excellent meal. Excellent chips and salsa. The waitress was very nice and helpful and brought us a taste of the Carne Seca and some salsa and chips with our leftovers.

Food is OK, service is poor. Once seated waited 15 minutes, waiter never came by. Then table next to us is seated,waiter instantly to them. Finally said something to get attention. Funny though, 3 times approached by different servers with plated food asking if we ordered it. Guess they don't keep track of where orders go. Good luck if you go there.

When in Tucson you must visit El Charro Cafe's downtown location! Sitting in the childhood home of the creator of this historic 100 year old restaurant was a treat, the food was phenomenal! Although I'm sure you can't got wrong with any dish, the famous sun dried Carne Seca Platter is a must! The sun dried meat literally melts in your mouth but has the texture and flavor of jerky! I also highly recommend the Sinaloa Shrimp Culichi, the shrimp are tender and the sauce is spoon worthy! The table side guacamole is good and the Skinny Margarita is perfect! Service is spot on, very well trained and super friendly.

Meh. Crazy packed on a Monday night but we watched everyone get their food and leave whil we waited and waited and waited. For sure the waiter forgot to put our order in. He offered to comp dessert but we didn't want dessert so instead he comped our app and took 20% off everything else so solid recovery. But the fish tacos just weren't that good and the queso fundido was just ok.