San Carlos Grill

My Step Dad loves this place because it is right by his work so he is immune to their underwhelming menu. I haven’t built up quite the tolerance yet! Still I end up there a few times every year to take one for the team.
The ambiance is that of a dentist office waiting room. The service is never bad, but the menu is limited and the food is always just sufficent.
I wouldn’t recommend it when Mosaic Café is just a mile up Silverbell and is infinitely better!

The food here is excellent! Tonight, I had the enchiladas de pollo with rice and beans. The red chile sauce was fantastic! My husband had a chile relleno, which I also tasted. Muy delicioso!
The restaurant is clean, and the walls have been freshly painted. Service is fast and efficient. This restaurant is kid friendly. Although not on the kids menu, they do have hot dogs, chicken strips, and French fries available.

9 dollars for a bad chilaquilas plate. They use the same chips that they give you for free with salsa. So you are basically paying for (free) chips with enchilada sauce and a couple of eggs. The other meals ordered were incredibly average. Will not be returning. There are much better Mexican places in tucson.

I consider this place a hidden treasure on the west side of Tucson. The menu is very diverse with many options and best of all everything is delicious so you can’t go wrong.

The enchiladas verdes here rival Mi Nidito… yeah, I said it. Amazing, creamy, rich, complex flavors. The chicken ones are fabulous, and the vegetarian version has generous chunks of vegetables. Don’t order anything else!
The atmosphere leaves a little to be desired, and I wish the prices were lower for the hole-​in-​the-​wall feel (the enchiladas are $ 11.95), but the enchiladas are so good I don’t even care.

Hmm. We used to come here all the time and loved it. Something strange happened recently. The changed their hours to open earlier, for breakfast, and we were very excited! They used to not open until 10:00 Am and that was kind of late for their earliest breakfast. So we went in early for their good breakfast but… 1) their menu prices were all covered with white stickers, raising each from 1 – 3 dollars. 2) their servings seemed smaller to us and 3) the food wasn’t as good. So sad to lose a favorite eating place. maybe they’ll notice the difference and change back.

I was very disappointed tonight. I had high hopes from some reviews I had read and must say that not only is the food over priced and under portioned, but it was all so bland! My enchiladas tasted like sour cream because there was no other flavor… Even the verde sauce that was on top was flavorless, my dates chicken couldn’t have been anything more than put on the flat top, no salt, pepper, anything… I won’t be returning and I hope for other people’s sakes that they do something different in the future…

If you’ve lived in Tucson long enough, you know each Mexican restaurant has a dish it does better than everyone else. So when crave a dish, you go to the place that makes the best of whatever it is you crave.
For us, San Carlos grill is THE west side stop for enchiladas and cocido. They offer a few varieties of enchiladas on the back of their menu and I’ve tried almost every variation. My absolute, hand-​down favorite are the enchiladas verdes. The green sauce has the perfect balance of spicy and refreshing. My husband enjoys the cocido, so of you are in a soup mood give that try. It’s great as well.
Dishes are cooked as you order them from this tiny shop on the west side of the Albertson’s shopping center so give yourself some extra time, their enchiladas are well worth the wait!

We drive past San Carlos every time we visit my parents but this was our first time stopping in.
It’s clean and put together nicely. The waitress was friendly enough and took our drink orders promptly. The beers weren’t listed on the menu, but we tried to order two different kinds of beers advertised on their windows — but they didn’t have either. I then asked what they did have. We ordered one and then she came back a minute later saying they didn’t have that either.
We all ordered and then 10 minutes or so later the waitress came back and let us know they only had enough rice for one plate (three of the four of us had ordered rice). My husband and mom took one for the team and got the chilaquiles (chips covered in cheese and enchilada sauce) instead.
The food was fine … the salsa was pretty tasty. I’m willing to come back (not sure if my husband is) … but they should have the beer they advertise and enough rice next time, or there won’t be a third chance.

Cocido soup. Mole… Tres leches… Simple setting. Decent fare.

This is a restaurant that’s a storefront in a shopping center. It faces west.
The ambience is simple; the service is friendly and good. I definitely recommend the tres leches cake. The flan was good, too. I’d say that the Mexican entrees are average so far.
I say «so far» because I received a coupon for 12 months’ worth of once monthly meals at this restaurant and am trying a different dish each month, and I’ve eaten here two or three times so far.

Delicious, loved the soup, the food, everything. What an amazing place!!!

Very good, I was quite skeptical at first, since I was just visiting the area, very good authentic mexican. Wait staff was very nice and helpful, she advised us what to pick out on the menu. Tried menudo for the first time, and it won’t be the last time either. If your in the area visting like I was I strongly recommend the place, if your local, try it, you’ll be a regular soon enough.

Good Mex Food. One cook, one waitress, and two worthless teenagers taking up space.

The green corn tamales are a masa lovah’s dream here. Seriously thick with big, sweet corn and chile chunks, these creamy pillows of goodness are some of the best I’ve had. The frijoles are more than an afterthought as well, and the table salsa is rich and tangy. I hadn’t been here in a while, but SCG and I are reunited and it feels so good. I star-​clipped because the prices are a bit exorbitant for strip mall central, but I’ll be back for the lunch special pronto.

SCG has become my default location for my craving of mole! I’ve grown to really enjoy this place. It’s small and out of the way so it makes it a great location to get seated immediately because not many people go! Either that or we get lucky every time. They’ve recently gained their alcohol license so they’re now serving beer and wine. I found it quite funny when I noticed the video camera directly above the booze frige. I guess the cooks were taking a little too many cerveza breaks!
Great food; especially their enchilada choices, their fish tacos and their mole! Great service; sometimes it can be slow but the food is all made fresh so its worth it. Chips and Salsa: YES… they’re great! Prices: moderate.
I recommend you get over to the west side to visit! I’ve also heard they’re opening a second restaurant somewhere in town.

The ambiance is somewhat modern and clean without the usual colorful mexican décor. They are known for their enchiladas and live up to that reputation. My enchilada with mole sauce was great. On another occasion, I ordered the chicken asada and was disappointed because it was dry and overcooked. Despite that experience, I still give it a 4 star since i felt they did everything else so well including the salsa. It’s easy for me to stay away from chicken asada. Horchata is awesome with free refills.
UPDATE (⁰⁴⁄₂₀₁₂)
I’ve been to SC Grill many times since this review was first written. No, I’ve not ordered the chicken asada again. The salsa is still good and their chips are another thing that has gotten my attention. They are so crisp and just break into pieces in your mouth. Such a great companion to the salsa that is also very good. One other thing that I have come to love at this place is their Cocido. This is Mexican beef vegetable soup. So good for you and good tasting, too. With many Mexican restaurants in Tucson, this is probably one of the top, IMHO. Just simple Mexican food done right. No fan fares, no gimmicks.

Any of the enchiladas on the menu are a good choice! I love the green enchiladas and the mole enchiladas. (Can you tell I like enchiladas?) The green enchiladas are made with a creamy green sauce and are one of the best green sauce enchiladas I’ve had anywhere. The mole enchiladas are self explanatory– chicken enchiladas with mole sauce rather than the traditional red sauce. Also very good.
Note: I like the rice here! I am super picky about rice at Mexican restaurants. San Carlos Grill’s rice passed my test! It has bits of veggies and a good, not overpowering taste.
Unfortunately the last time I went to San Carlos Grill I diverted away from ordering the enchiladas and have seen the error of my ways! I ordered the chicken tacos and waited quite a while for them. People that ordered after I did on a slow lunch hour got their food way before I did. After waiting a good half hour I got my tacos and they were so-​so. I won’t be ordering them again. Definitely not worth the wait! However, the waiter did apologize for the long wait. If that had been my first time at San Carlos, I don’t know if I’d be back. But based on past experiences and the enchiladas, I will return!

Me & my sister consider this our small little heaven when it comes to a delicious meal!
It’s small cozy and the food is delicious!
She is a vegetarian, so it was important for us to find a place where we could find delicious food and that offered vegetarian options, and this was the perfect place!
She is a HUGE fan of Chiles Rellenos, and we have gone through so many restaurants only to come disappointed at the quality and flavor!
You see, most restaurants use canned chiles, and it takes away from the flavor. At San Carlos Grill, the chiles are FRESH! and cooked the REAL MEXICAN WAY, so she just cannot let go of this place!
They also have a dish called «Calabacitas con queso» that is also vegetarian and very, very yummy! You have to try it!
The girls there all know me, they no longer give me a menu because my favorite thing to eat there are the «ENCHILADAS VERDES»
Oh My GOD!!! Just writing this here is making me hungry thinking about it! They are so good! BEST ONES IN TOWN HANDS DOWN!
The servings are GENEROUS! and the dishes are usually served with rice and beans.
The rice is always soft, fluffy, and with that REAL MEXICAN flavor! Sooooo Good!
Refills in Soda & Lemonade are always free and thier salsa and chips are always yummy!
We are always afraid to fill up on chips and salsa before our meal arrives, but since everything is so good, we usually end up finishing everything!
I personally recommend their Cheese Soup (SOOOOOO GOOD!!), their Enchiladas Verdes, Camarones Empanizados, Calabacitas con Queso, and Chiles Rellenos. Even if you don’t have space for dessert, take some to go! You will not regret it! Their 3 Leches cake is always delicious and their flan is made fresh in the house, the way the grandmas used to make it down in Mexico.
San Carlos Grill doesn’t look like your average Mexican Food Restaurant on the outside, the inside is very pretty and I like the colors and decorations; but I go there for the great and delicious food, and I always come out happy and satisfied. I am glad is small, and kind of tucked away, because it keeps it just right, not too busy, not too big, and perfect in every other sense!
Try them out but don’t spread the word too much! I would hate to see this place become too commercial and grow out from the excellent little restaurant they are! The service is always friendly, the food is always fresh and delicious and that is something I don’t find in larger more popular restaurants.

Chile rellenos in the Tucson Area rated according to the Homeland Security Advisory System with three word descriptors.
San Carlos Grill: not yellow cheese. Yellow
See photos.