Cafe Ole

If you come at noon, you’ll see a long line. Thankfully, it moves pretty fast.
The décor is no frills. But, the food is great. I love their chicken burritos. Yummy and filling.
They have a lunch special every day. I’ve tried the special a few times, but I usually end up wishing I had gotten my ol’ stand-​by instead (chicken burrito).
The chips they give with every meal are homemade. They’re a little too oily for my taste. I love the salsa they have, though.
This lunch spot is a regular on my list.

I was supposed to go out for lunch but was unable to. Thankfully I had takeout from Café Olé. I do wish that they had a menu online but based off a suggestion I got the chicken tostada.
It was really good. Full of refried beans, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, lettuce, chicken and just a fine sprinkling of jalapeños. It was really filling too.
I had some of the salsa too. It was good but next time I will have to try some more of their salsas.

When you work in the central business district, there’s only a couple of selections for Mexican. One’s a sit down restaurant known most for its bar, and there’s Café Olé. I’ve had their burritos and quesadillas. Both very enjoyable. Their corn chips have a few pita chips mixed in.
Café can get very busy around noon, so get there early or later. I’d probably eat there more if they weren’t 5 blocks away uphill. This is a no-​frills place joint so it’s not the best for a business meeting. Try the brownies!

Locate just across the street from where I work. Have no problems with the long lines b/​c from order to serving is pretty quick. The only drawback for me is that on the nachos /​nacho salads, they put all of the topping at the bottom and then add the cheese on top, which by time it cools off, you have this big combo of chips & cheese melted together w/​o any of the delicious toppings. I like to have my toppings on the top then you can smother with cheese!!! I guess that is my fault, the next time I order I will tell them my «preference»!!! Otherwise the food is delicious, service is excellent!!!

Best downtown lunch spot in Richmond. Their salsa is amazing. Everything on the menu is good although my usual is the chicken quesadilla. Be prepared to wait in line if you don’t arrive before noon! Seriously this is probably my favorite restaurant in the world (as I’ve been there weekly for lunch since 2001!) Café Olé, promise you’ll never leave me.

Pretty good Place. Came here for lunch. It is very busy during lunch but the lines move fast. I love their tostadas and chips.
I wish they were open during weekends!

Café Olé is a favorite of my coworkers and super close to the office. When we go, we always get there early to beat the lunch rush and nab a parking spot on the street out front. I am very picky about seafood at Mexican restaurants, but the fish tacos here are my favorite! I’m only giving four stars instead of five because the fish tacos are outstanding, but the rest of the menu is pretty standard for Mexican. The staff is awesome and service is quick.
I do wish they had paper menus to take home or a website. Would probably increase patronage as many aren’t willing to try without seeing a menu and prices.

This place is great for lunch and Mexican food! Although the line can get long at times, you’re never waiting too long and don’t have to worry about them running out of food like some other establishments in the area.
I’ve only had their special, the chicken and black bean burrito but it keeps me coming back on either Mondays or Thursdays to get the special. If you get the special, it comes with a side of chips and a drink fro under $ 10, not a bad deal for a full meal.
I love their chips, I sometimes ask for extra soft flour chips to accompany the corn chips :) They do cook the chips in peanut oil so keep in mind if you have an allergy.
The salsa is also very good, i always ask for more because I can’t get enough of it.
The food is very fresh and the staff is lovely. I’ve also never had to wait long once I’ve ordered my food.

Café Olé is a little far away for me to walk in a less than 1 hr lunch break, but a little too close to drive and feel justified taking a car for such a short distance. That said, I find myself there often anyway, whether I’m booking it by foot or driving less than a mile. As a pescatarian, I love how many options I have — black bean quesadillas, spinach burritos, vegetable burritos, tostadas, nachos, and some killer blackened fish tacos. The melon salsa with honey agave sauce they use on the fish tacos is amazing and refreshing, and the blackened fish is much lighter and more flavorful than the breaded alternatives at other places. Prices are reasonable and while it can get crowded, it rarely takes more than 10 minutes to get your food, even if the line is to the door. Their chips aren’t my favorite but they come free with nearly every food selection so I can’t complain much!
All in all, highly recommend for great lunch in the downtown/​Shockoe area. Just wish they were open on weekends :)

I’m absolutely a fan! Had the fish tacos today with fruit salsa and it was a great blend of spicy and fruity. I also really appreciate that their soda fountain offers plain soda water. I try not to drink coke/​diet coke anymore and don’t like to do caffeine (as in iced tea) at lunch time. I’m a regular and there are many good reasons to be. Just be prepared for a line at mid-​day, but it will move pretty quickly.

Wonderful tasting food. We stumbled across Café Olé because we were in the mood for Mexican and another place we found online had closed. Don’t be turned off by the aesthetics the food is amazing. Hands down the best flavored burrito I have had and the salsa and pico are wonderful. Great service. So glad we made the trip to Café Olé. Will return many times!!!

I happen to work a couple blocks away, and when a couple coworkers came into the office with some great smelling Mexican food, I figured why not give it a try.
–Food: I ended up trying a few things; a Chicken Quesadilla, a Hard Shell Chicken Taco, and some Chips and Salsa.
The chicken quesadilla was decent but not stellar. It did have an adequate amount of filling and was by no means bad, it was just a little bland. I will say I’d rather it be bland than either soggy or poor tasting, so there’s that. It was served with salsa, sour cream, and chips.
The chips are actually pretty good, and I found the salsa to be really quite good. I found myself eating multiple little dishes of salsa and the whole bag of chips. The chips are both triangle corn chips and square fried tortilla, both super good and satisfying. If the place was a chip restaurant alone I’d probably be more excited about the place, but you can’t really eat chips and salsa for lunch.
The biggest disappointment was the hard taco. The shell was borderline dark (for a yellow corn shell, it almost seemed burnt, but luckily didn’t taste too burnt). The filling or meat, lettuce, and cheese tasted a little uninspired in that I feel I could have constructed the same taco from a salad bar. Was it bad? Nah. It was fine, I ate it, enjoyed it to a certain degree, but wouldn’t get it again.
It’s also worth saying that based on the toppings of the taco and the way the quesadilla is made, it is very much American Mexican food. There are a lot of authentic taco places in Richmond, and I suppose I was expecting something a little more like that. Just keep that in mind if you are expecting the kind of soft shell meat — cilantro — salsa type things.
–Cost: The chips come free when you order a main item like tacos or quesadillas, so I didn’t pay for those. The quesadilla I believe was around $ 6.50 and the taco around $ 2. All together I recall paying around $ 11. With the amount of food in a quesadilla, taco, and two bags of homemade chips, I didn’t feel like I wasn’t getting enough food, I was just a little bummed on my overall enjoyment of it.
–Service: The lady at the cashier was nice enough, but the order process is a little strange. I placed my to-​go order, she asked me how many salsa I wanted, I replied «two», and she handed me the salsas and my receipt. I assumed that they would call my number (which they did in about 5 minutes), but there I was just sitting at a table with some salsa and my receipt. The service was overall pretty fast, that wasn’t my problem, I just was a little lost and not sure why I was holding onto my salsa and why it wasn’t just bagged with the rest of my order. No real complaints, but a little bit of confusion.
–Atmosphere: I’m all for homely eating environments, so the slightly aged look and mismatched /​older tableclothes actually don’t bother me at all. It’s not going to win a décor challenge, but I didn’t have any real qualms with it either. It feels sort of like an outdated diner, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
–Overall: I want to like Café Olé since my coworkers seem to like it, I just can’t bring myself to love it. I’ll probably try it again, maybe try some other meat, maybe a soft taco or burrito. I think it’s a fine place for lunch and I wouldn’t *not* suggest it, but there are a handful of places I’d recommend first in the general area.

I had the beef burrito and the beef taco. As other reviewers have mentioned, the meat is very bland and not seasoned. Luckily there was Siracha sauce there to put some flavor on it.
The salsa has a tomato spaghetti sauce flavor to it, for which I didn’t really care for. The service is friendly and the wait for my food wasn’t long.

Fresh and delicious. That is what I can say about Café Olé.
When I visit my mother at her work, we often walk down here for lunch. It is almost always packed, but that doesn’t mean they lack on service and quality of food. I usually order their burritos, which are always fresh and flavorful when I eat them. I also tend to go vegan, and they helpfully accommodated to no dairy for me.
Overall, a splendid place for lunch if you don’t mind the crowds of lunch goers.

Beware Southerners, this is Yanky Mexican food. No spice, no cumin, no seasoning in the shredded beef burrito that I had. I gave 2 stars because it was fast even though there was a line out the door when I arrived at 11:45 on a Friday.
The chips were a weird combination of bagged chips that they then fry and square pieces of fried flour tortilla. To top it off, they were almost burned. This was true of the shells for their taco salad as well.
Expensive for what you get to boot.

I don’t know why this place doesn’t have AT LEAST four stars. the salsa verde is the best ever, love the special potato burrito, the homemade chips, and the bean and cheese burrito.
easily the best Mexican in richmond. go now!

UPDATE! The fast young lady behind the cash register is back, so I changed my rating to 5 stars! Line is under control again!
Never let her go on vacation again! :)

Good service, awesome burritos, fish tacos are itty bitty though.
I cannot get enough of their tortilla chips!

Long line, few seats available for lunch, no waiter service but line moves well. Specials today are Quesadillas and grilled chicken burrito. I’m opting for burrito which is a good choice, fresh ingredients (see photo of Thursday specials). You only get 3 small containers of excellent salsa, both red and green, 30 cents for extras, but lunch special with drink and extra salsa only $ 9.19. This is a great lunch spot for food and price in downtown Richmond. Highly recommended for cheap delicious «Mexican style» lunch.

It’s about what one should expect for lunch less than $ 9.00. Two chicken tacos, and a drink. Fast, decent food, with extra salsa on the side. It’s a hole-​in-​the-​wall, but very popular. Get there before 12 if you want a seat.
Worth the effort, and consistently good.