El Charro

Food was so good and the staff was so friendly! Great atmosphere. Will definitely be eating here again.

Service is terrible tonight. We got the new waitress! Never put our order in! Normally not a bad place. Our friends sitting right next to us ordered with us, yeah, they’re finished eating.

With so many locations, we finally decided to stop in and try El Charro. Servers were courteous and prompt and the place was very clean. We received chips & salsa as soon as we were seated. Sadly, the chips tasted like they were from a bag and weren’t warm. They were more ‘thick’ than thin & crispy. Salsa was very mild — no choice for hot, nor were there any hot sauce bottles on the table.
Having spent 13 years in San Diego indulging in authentic Mexican cuisine I’m sure my standards & expectations of Mexican food are probably higher than most. I’ve been on a perpetual hunt for Carnitas (my favorite) since I got here 9 years ago.
They have Carnitas on the menu, but it’s not what I’m accustom to. They (and seemingly every place in Springfield) serve Carnitas as «pork tips», and without the peppers & onion. So I ordered fajitas, but with pork instead of chicken or beef. (Wayne got the beef.) One portion would easily have fed both of us. But each meal only came with 3 small tortillas. Our meats (with peppers, onion & tomatoes) came out on sizzling platters, but upon sampling our first bites we learned they had no seasoning.
The side plates with our beans, rice, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole were good. In fact the pico de gallo was very good — it had seasoning and cilantro!
I wouldn’t say it was bad — but I will say it was «lacking». Their daily lunch specials (starting at $ 4.79) might be a better option than dinner for two at $ 31.00.
One last thought — I wouldn’t have asked for a little bowl of salsa verde if I’d known it was going to cost me $ 1.49…

I love this place. I have been to El Charro all over and they are always great.
Very friendly, fast service and good food.