El Charros

Some of the best margaritas in town, and amazing food to go with it. This place has been in Tyler ever since I can remember, and deserves the title of being one of the best local restaurants around.

Being from out of town, I was really looking forward to trying this new place. It was packed upon arrival so I was very excited and thought I had found a gem. We first ordered queso and was highly disappointed. It was bland, mushy, and unappealing. My 4 year old (who eats everything) took one bite and refused to eat anymore. We held out hope that our food would be good but were sadly disappointed in it as well. I would not recommend this restaurant.

One of the better restaurants in the area. Good chips and hot sauce, good menu variety, decent prices, and good service. It is Mexican food.

This place has a loyal following for some reason and the only reason I can think of is that their patrons have no sense of taste. The building is nice and the service is decent. Unfortunately the location and people are wasted on a restaurant that serves bland overpriced food. Seriously, if you’re craving TexMex there are much better options around. If you’re just wanting an upset stomach, Taco Bell will give you the same results for less money.

Tyler wouldn’t be the same without El Charro! So glad it has opened in the Ridge. Beautiful space too! I love their guacamole, enchiladas, and Tony’s tacos. Cheesy tex-​mex Classic!

I can’t compare this to the old El Charros but in my opinion I have had better food. It would be great if they had an ala carte selection as none of their featured dinners had what I wanted. The Margaritas were good, quacamole was excellent, and our server David was fantastic. I’d come back just to see him again — friendly, great memory for details and engaged in making sure we got all the right things.

Went and ate the chicken enchiladas beans and rice, it was amazing!!! It was my first time to eat there!!! I absolutely recommend this restaurant!!! Also, the atmosphere was great!!! Would be wonderful for any event or date night with the one you love!!!

Great service !!! The only thing was the guacamole isn’t homemade anymore. Other than that great food

Worst experience I’ve ever had. Bartenders are rude and manager named Rameriz is worse. Stay away.

In my book, this is the best restaurant ever. I have been coming here as long as I can remember. Was devastated when they closed and thrilled when they opened again. My go– to meal every time is the special cheese enchilada dinner with no onions and extra chili sauce. Then I add the delicious mixture of the hot sauce and orange sauce and pour that on everything. Talk about a party in my mouth. The service is always great, and the manager will take the time and talk to you, asking if you enjoyed everything, which of course I always do. I also appreciate that they are closed on Sundays so that the employees can have a day to worship. Simply the best! I would give 10 stars if I could!

This is our joint… we’ve been eating with the Gilbert family for 25 years… they’ve been in the business for over 70… people that give a less than stellar review should probably being eating at Mercado’s (Taco Bell with an ice cream machine)…you don’t order fajitas here… you stick to the basics and I’m going to give you the order so tell them you don’t need a menu:
* Top shelf marg w Herradura on the rocks w lite ice
* Large plate of grilled onions and japs, well done, as soon as you place your drink order
* Ask for the special hot sauce and the habanero and mix this with the orange sauce that you will use to put on everything you order
* After you start your 2^nd marg, order bean and cheese nachos (3 to an order on tostada shells) and put the grilled onions/​japs hot sauce and orange on them
* After you’ve finished the nachos, Special cheese enchiladas, no onions w carne with 2 eggs over easy… finish the onions/​japs hot and orange sauce
on these and you’ve just had the best Tex Mex meal in Tyler… now finish your 3^rd Marg and let someone drive you home… your welcome!
Can also try: chicken fried steak, brisket street tacos and they’ve got awesome grilled shrimp… but the above is what I have ordered 99.9% of the over 1k times I have eaten at Charro’s…1x week for 25 years!

I have never understood why Tyler people LOVE El Charro. Their food tastes like it came out of a can. The service is good but there are so many other mexican restaurants in town that actually have food that has a taste and is flavorful. I’m sorry. Just don’t get it. Won’t go back.

El Charro is the best and I am a loyal fan and customer. I miss the old building as it was a lot quieter. The acoustics make this place very loud. The food is almost perfect and still needs a few tweaks here and there (the french fries that come with the Chicken Fried Steak just need one or two more minutes of cooking) and the Mexican rice needs to be just a twinge better but otherwise everything is just fine. The cheese enchiladas are INCREDIBLE! I will always be a loyal customer of El Charro. It’s an extension of my kitchen! Love seeing the new staff mixed with the old staff. Great place for Happy Hour. It’s getting it’s groove back! Love this place with all my heart and soul.

Just not the same. I miss the old place. The new place is so loud!!! The atmosphere is bad. The food is about the same, but the restaurant doesn’t have a family feel to it. It seems like a huge drinking crowd. We couldn’t even enjoy our conversation because of the noise level.

Food is spot on in the opinion of a 50 yr veteran dinner at «old» El Charro.
Service was more like a Chinese fire drill. After standing for 50 minutes and watching empty tables sit waiting to be cleaned while what appeared to be management standing around with arms crossed and never lending a hand to obvious short staff I was very disappointed.
They need to rethink their system if they want to win over their old customers and keep the new ones.
I plan to stick with Gus’s till I hear this has improved.

Went here for lunch. Poorly staffed, service was extremely slow. Had to ask for everything. Waiter was almost impossible to track down. This place is definitely overpriced. Lunch portions were small and food was just ok. To give the food a 3 would be generous. The service was definitely a 1. Lots of Mexican food restaurants in Tyler beat this.

We’ve been waiting for our food for 2 hours. A few apologies, but no offers to make this right. I’m with my 90 year old grandmother and 2 kids. It’s a Monday. This is ridiculous.

Always great food and service! The owner, Mike, is a great guy! Always a pleasure to see him. Ask for Kellie! Best service around!

{Shaking my head in confusion} I don’t get the hype? Gilbert’s El Charros closed a few months before I moved to Tyler. I heard, back in the day, that was the best in town. I also heard there was some sort of family issues, and the place started to go downhill, which eventually lead to their demise. Not sure, as this is purely what I heard…
Fast forward, and I notice the new, El Charros On The Ridge. I was excited to try this place, but did hear mixed (mostly negative) comments from relatives, mainly concerning the service, not the food. Wifey, child and I went in last Frday, early, so we were promptly seated before the crowds came roaring in. Our server, albeit unfriendly, and bland in personality, was actually efficient, so we never had to wait for food, or drinks. I wasn’t there to make friends, so the fact she was a mute, was fine with me.
We ordered El Charros «Famous» margaritas, which were decent. At $ 5.50, I wasn’t complaining, as they had a reasonable amount of kick (i.e. tequila) in them, but being labled «Famous,» is laughable, at best! While perusing the menu, we noticed that there wasn’t a children’s menu, but a seniors menu. So, as instructed, we ordered from the senior’s menu, for our 2 year old child. Limited menu, at that. Not to mention, $ 6.50 for a child’s {cough cough}…I mean «senior’s» enchilada?
For entrees, wifey ordered the enchiladas. At $ 11, they were good, but this isn’t Uncle Julio’s or Mi Cocina, and the quality wasn’t there, but El Charros is proud of their food, as the prices reflected. I opted for the Tony’s Tacos. Four miniscule tacos, with a very limited amount of beef. The cabbage was stale, and the guac was some of the worst I’ve ever had. It looked like someone with a sinus infection blew their nose, and placed this garbage on my plate. Where were the avacados, because I sure as hell couldn’t find any. Fake guac, in my opinion. The tortillas were saturated in oil– so bad in fact, I couldn’t eat them. But, once again, El Charros is proud of their product, as the Tony’s Tacos were accompanied with a $ 11.49 price tag. (You could go to Rusty Taco, and pay $ 7 for 4 tacos, and get a better quality product, with a lot more beef).
Like I prefaced in this review, I simply don’t get it. I will gladly throw $ 100 at a dinner, even Mexican food, which is some of the cheapest, as far as food costs go, but I can’t figure out what is so special about this place. They cram you in like sardines, and the server even asked my wife to get up out of her seat, so they could serve the table behind us. Unacceptable!
An Abuelo’s is opening soon, and I think it will put a hurt on El Charros. If the ambience and product were upscale (as this is what El Charros is trying to accomplish), I would gladly frequent this place, and freely spend the $$$.
Missed the mark. Badly.

«Gilbert’s El Charro» of old has been reborn in El Charro on the Ridge. It’s located right next to Brookshires Fresh.
Having been a patron of the old El Charro for a couple decades, I can say that I know their food. The original menu and my old favorites are ALIVE, folks. I ordered Tony’s Beef Tacos. they were the same deliciousness, but I will add the meat had much more gristle. Perhaps it’s a fluke.
I was seated promptly and was immediately given chips and salsa. When the bowl got down to ½, I was then asked by every server and busboy that walked by if I wanted more. I almost ordered more just in self defense, as a ½ chip bowl is obviously a grave sin to the employees.
The acoustics with the high ceilings are bad, and it’s had to talk across the table. The bar included several craft drafts, and the only domestic draft was Bud.
Overall, I’ll return from time to time to quench my salsa and Tony’s Tacos lust.