Chapala Mexican Grill

Great looking restaurant, nice service, excellent location across the street from the beach, but um, totally un-​fresh, uncreative, Sysco tasting hotel banquet food. Here’s the funny part: more than likely if you are reading this, you are in this restaurant or deciding «yay or nay» in it’s parking lot BECAUSE THE WAIT AT TACO TEMPLE IS TOO LONG! Right? If so, heed this warning from one who has been in your shoes: save your money, turn back and get out of town quick. This IS NOT an alternative. The food is horrible and both my wife and I got sick and I personally have an iron tummy… This, and Maya Restaurant I’ll write a similar review for, really show a deeper POOR BUSINESS MANAGEMENT issue… Here’s the problem: both restaurants are just a block away from Taco Temple (TT) which is an OUTSTANDING fusion American-​Mexican style, huge portion, very affordable, always long-​wait restaurant. TT has a super simple duplicatable menu, price structure and overall business model, but the problem is that it’s always packed and often times the wait is over an hour… So the only nearby alternative is this place a block up, and Maya Restaurant a block down, unfortunately both alternatives suck suck suck… Did I say suck? I mean S U C K triple exclamation mark!!! TT is so good that these other two restaurants can ONLY be called «bad trap alternatives»… But why don’t they just get their act together and copy all or part of TT’s again super simple model??? They do not have to be this way — it’s a choice! They have made the decision to leach off of all the poor hungry folks that can’t do the long wait for TT. It’s so terribly frustrating to experience two restaurants make such below average food when they are right next door to a brilliant lesson… Points to stupid and careless ownership. Both businesses truly deserve to fail and close ASAP :-(My families sickness reaction to both restaurant’s food, and, our colossal waste of time and money is YOUR FREE WARNING.

A must stop on your way home from the surf! I will step out on a limb and say this is the best Mexican food in Morro Bay.

This is my one of my two favorite Mexican establishments ever. The food is all delicious, the decorations are authentic and unpretentious, the staff are always friendly and the guacamole is SO GOOD. As a Californian I have tried so many Mexican food establishments and this one is the best. I highly recommend it.

Let me start by saying «Taco Temple was closed «. I was still craving tacos on the only day they were closed. We Unilocaled (best taco places in Morro Bay). The place was in need of remodeling and the table we sat at was grimy. The food was not hot. The chile relleno was cold. The tacos were loaded with meat and were super greasy (I almost walked out). But, I didn’t want to ruin the evening out. Never again. It was definitely a miss.

My husband and I came here for dinner. The food was average and the service was terrible. It’s like we were bothering them by being there. I doubt that I will return to this restaurant because of that less than stellar experience.

The shrimp tacos are the most delicious tacos I’ve ever had! I can eat two, but one is probably enough. You get a hearty helping of shrimp with tomatoes, crema, etc. all of their food is delicious, but if you are going to come for one thing, make in the shrimp tacos

This place is fantastic. Had Camarones a la Chapala and it was amazing. The shrimp had the inherent sweetness and pop when it’s extremely fresh. Their tortilla chips and salsa were delicious as well. Additionally they have a wider selection of Mexican beers (including Bohemia and Negra Modelo). The food is matched only by how gracious, attentive and kind everyone is. I cannot thank Chapala enough, definitely coming back and bringing my friends with me!

Their Salsa is sooooo good! We are coming back for sure! This is our new go to Morro Bay Mexican Restaurant!

Honestly, I wasn’t very impressed. The food wasn’t bad, but it was nothing to write home about. I had the shrimp tacos. They give you A LOT of shrimp, which was cooked pretty good, but it was like too much shrimp and not enough else. Sodas were semi flat. The bathroom was disgusting. Yeah…

The food here is incredible. Shrimp enchiladas are the perfect amount of spice. DELICIOUS. Chicken wet burrito was HUGE and amazing. I am definitely coming back.

So after going to two other places we found this one. And we weren’t disappointed! My husband got fish tacos and shrimp tacos. He loved them. He said the fish was cooks just right and not greasy. And said the shrimp tacos were just as awesome. I ordered the asada and chicken tacos. I haven’t had tacos that delicious in a long time. The meat had amazing flavor and was juicy as well. We will be back next year when we come back for vacation!!!

We gave it one last chance. Paalease, can you make us a decent chicken burrito? Answer: NO! We’ll never be back! Apparently, the cook staff is in a constant state of change, with no consistency whatsoever. What a total disappointment!

In my quest for the best chili verde, I requested a chili verde burrito to go. This is a sit down and get waited upon kind of restaurant and business seemed to be moving. There sure seemed to be a lot of happy people coming in and out while I waited for my burrito.
I was put in the cooks queue and the cooked called me when my burrito was done. It was a hefty gem and I went to a local, and close by park. Cloister Park. I sat in the park at listened to the birds all around as I enjoyed and quite tasty and meaty chili verde burrito. It was made with very lean, well trimmed pork and was very tasty. maybe a bit mild for my taste, but the heat perked up in my mouth a bit upon completion of the burrito. I will be returning for a second shot and a try at the table service next time. Till then Thanks for the burrito it was nice.

Did not stay and eat because first, they were closing in 40 minutes and when we got there, they made sure that we knew that. They were a bit rude about it. Second, the inside truly leaves something to be desired with very odd, uncomfortable seating.

Delicious!
Great service and food with Large portions for a reasonable price
We will be returning!

Eh, this is a lackluster Mexican restaurant. My friends love it, so I’ll go with them every once in a while, but I’m always disappointed with lukewarm and bland food. Maybe I just get them on off days I wouldn’t go out of my way for Chapala

This place disappointed us very much. Had excellent reviews on Unilocal,and yet they fell short of our expectations.
Both of us received our orders wrong and when we asked we got blank stares. We just decided to eat rather than wait an additional 35 – 40 mins to get a new order… Very didsapounted. Will not return! And 35 $ for two burritos, 2 caronas and a sprite. Not worth it

Dropped in for lunch and ordered their Al Pastor combo plate– two heaping tacos with rice, beans and a small dressed salad of shredded lettuce & diced tomatoes. Tacos hit the spot, and the rice & beans made their own mini-​meal accompanied by complimentary chips and their fresh, spicy table salsa.
Got out for under ten bucks, which is a ridiculous bargain.
One of the great undercover ‘bang for buck’ eateries on the Central Coast.

You know what? For a place that seems to be mostly frequented by retired gringos (usually, to me, a signifier that the food will be bland), this place is surprisingly good! Many of the Mexican places around here cater to the local population (which is fine, but leaves me missing the spice), but Chapala keeps it real. My burrito was surprisingly flavorful and, with the addition of a serrano chile, spicy enough.
The food is flavorful and FRESH. And, the price is right. My burrito was under $ 6.
They’ve got chilaquiles on the breakfast menu, which I consider a plus and a sign of authenticity, as it was my staple breakfast en el DF. They’ve also got Mexicoke. The décor reminds me of a family style restaurant in baja califas, with the oversized leather chairs and plaid tablecloths.
Overall, I’m pleased. And I’ll be back!

This is the second time I have eaten at Chapala. The restaurant is situated at a place of what used to be a quick stop shop at a gas station and was converted into a Mexican eatery.
I was actually pleasantly surprised when I did my check-​in on Unilocal here and found a coupon for a complimentary fountain drink. So when I showed the waiter, he told me that’s not correct and that he will check with his father, the owner.
So afterwards the son of the owner came back and told me that his father had forgotten to take it off on Unilocal so they can’t honor it. Well, I guess it’s nothing to make a big stink over but come-​on, it’s just a cup of soft drink and as restaurant owner, it might be a nice gesture if they would offer it until the ad is officially removed on Unilocal.
Well, set that aside, we were hungry and ordered a chili verde burrito, asada torta, carne asada plate and two carnitas tacos plate that came with rice, beans and salad. They also gave us homemade tortilla chips and salsa before the meal starts.
The chip and salsa were so good that we consumed two servings of it before our meal came. Everything looked ultra-​delectable as I would imagined from a more authentic Mexican restaurant. All were good except for the burrito and the torta. The torta was sub-​par with a thin layer of chopped-​up beef and hardly any other ingredients compared to some other more substantial tortas I have had before with queso and avocado. My burrito was extremely-​salty. I am not sure if the cook had forgotten how much salt was put in it or what but it was excruciatingly high in sodium. I should have sent it back but I was too hungry. Other than that the meal was really well-​prepared and delicious.
The service is good and price is very reasonable. I will probably return but I feel like the dishes here are inconsistent. My first time here was okay but not great and second time the dishes were good but there were some big flaws. Coming here again would be like taking chances and not knowing how the food is going to turn out.