Chapala Grill

My family and I have been regular customers at Chapala for several years now. Today my girlfriend and I decided to stop in for lunch. We received their prompt and polite service as we ordered our drinks. Unfortunately, we ended up waiting for our food for our long time. It usually arrives in less than 15 minutes but today it was over half an hour. At the end of the meal, we received our bill and thought that they had made a mistake because the total was really low. It turns out they didn’t charge us for the food since it was slow. This was the only time I’ve ever had a problem with food arriving late at this restaurant. I am thoroughly impressed by their integrity as a business, and their great service.

Went there for dinner and had the enchiladas poblanos. The mole sauce was okay, beans had no flavor and the rice was okay at best. Service was fast and the servers were somewhat friendly.

Went here for the Saturday night taco bar and to watch the football game. The bar is very small compared to the rest of The place. The tacos on Saturday night here are great, the price is good and they’re fresh made to order outside. If you’re going to bring a large party you might want to come early this place gets packed.

This is a two star review. I hate to give an establishment this low of a rating. I normally don’t. Bcz food service is a difficult business.
However when it’s a Saturday evening and ur out of every beer that I ask abt and u have zero in draft? Yea that’s getting two stars.
We went there last night for my wife’s work get together. I went in open minded bcz I Unilocal often and seen the reviews abt Chapala. Some were good and some were so so.
The place is spacious and very nice. As we went in we were greeted I assumed by the owner. Who was a really nice guy. I thought hmmm ok.
We were promptly seated and that’s when the «beer» situation appeared. After asking for 805, Blue Moon, any draft, how abt MGD? Man that’s a standard beer. Nope. Didn’t even have that.
So I glanced over at the bar and noticed a Lagunitas IPA sign. So I asked abt that. I’m sorry were out of that too. But I’ll check. Ok, go check if u don’t have that then I’ll settle for Coors Light ugh. I can over look a lot. But dude. It’s the weekend! Might wanna make sure you have things stocked up. Ya know? Just sayn.
The menu seemed pretty nice with lots of choices and I remember read abt the chips and salsa.
Which are free ONLY if you’re not getting the 1.50 taco option. The salsa which I read rave reviews abt being spicy. Was anything but. But it was ok. No biggie. It also comes with a bean dip that was nice.
I settled for the carnitas plate. I’m a carnitas ninja.
I have to try them were ever I go. El Tarasco in Hanford so far has the best. So I thought I’d try Chapalas. The food arrived in a timely manner and I dug in. I always make tacos with my carnitas and did the same here. I thought the portion of meats was a little small and right there in the middle of it all was a big glob of pork fat! Seriously?
I had just read abt a guy biting into a burrito and getting gristle. That’s was the first thing I thought of.
I thought whatever and kept eating. The meat was pretty tasty and the beans and rice it came with was equally as good. But they brought me a small tortilla shell with guacamole. It looked pretty nice. Til I started using it and found it was mostly lettuce.
By then end of the meal I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be coming back. Not when I live in Hanford and have El Tarasco and Jalisco in town.
On the way out. The same gentleman shook my hands and thanked us for coming. Would I recommend this place??? I would say yes. Bcz everyone has a different experience. So I would never say «avoid this place». Bcz I’ve gone to places that have had bad reviews and have found the exact opposite of what another person wrote.
This was just my experience and probably won’t go back.

The inside of this restaurant has very nice décor and a friendly staff to go with. I ordered the lunch special that came with 2 sopas, rice, beans, and of course you get chips and salsa. I like how they also included home made bean dip to go with your chips and salsa. The food was sooooo delicious!!.

The food is actually pretty good, if you can get it. I have tried to call in my order ahead of time multiple times and I get the message «the subscriber you are calling cannot accept messages right now». The first time was kinda funny but when it keeps happening repeatedly it makes me not want to ever eat here. I tried to call again tonight with no success. So we decided to drive there and when we start to walk in, I see the sign that they are not able to take credit cards at the moment. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to this place anymore…

Chapala is consistently excellent… service and quality all the way and very customer focused. The owner, Pedro, is always on his game and the crew is only as good as the crew boss, so excellent is the food and service. This is my «go to“place when I am in town. Pozole verde is excellent as is the fajitas Chapala. I have never had a bad meal here, always great !!

First visit. Food mediocre, taco HAS to be soft tortilla, they don’t make crisp unless you want a taco bell shell. Taco had little flavor. Tostada was so full of beans there was just a small handfull of lettuce, wife was unhappy with it. Margarita was large but average. Chile rellano was like it was from a package. Small, little flavor, and all its flaws buried under a fairly good sauce. The room has tile floors and it sounded like an echo chamber and made conversation difficult. Service was fair, price a little high for the quality of food. Not a value, will probably not return.

After numerous visit to this local Mexican gem, I have to say that we continue to be impressed the quality of food and service is on point. Saturdays at CG are a must! Cheap and flavorful tacos and cheap cold beers?!? Yes, please!

Food wasn’t memorable. Typical Mexican restaurant. Their prices are very low. We had about 9 people and we spent less than 100 for lunch. Can’t beat that.

I love this restaurant! Food is never disappointing. Always greeted with a smile at the door. Amazing family owners… they really make a point to get to know their regular customers on a first name basis. Had my 40^th birthday party there and the wait staff were always prompt with our drinks and and plenty of food for the taco bar. Nobody left hungry!

I’m giving them 4 stars because of the food… free chips & salsa & happy hour beers… I’ve been sitting here about 20 mins with out service. The owner is super nice but they only have about 2 & ½ waiters working && it’s really busy (taco night) …If your patient give them a try;) it’s a great atmosphere

No one seated us and it says please wait to be seated… finally seated ourselves and got looks from the employees. Service was slow and food took forever to get there (30 minutes). Had to get utensils from a nearby table once our food did arrive. Food was okay but overpriced for what you get.

This is our favorite place for Mexican food. Always awesome! Great service. Cheese empanadas are so delicious!

Absolutely love how they serve refried beans and cheese with their chips! I could’ve eaten two baskets of chips buy myself. We ate on the patio and ordered $ 1 tacos from their taco stand. Tacos al pastor were the best. The guy shaved the pork right off of a rotisserie onto my plate. The line went by fairly quickly. Our waiter was on top of his game and we were never without beers. Kiddos all got to run around within a confined area and adults feasted and socialized. I’d like to come back and order some other things from their menu. I always judge a good Mexican restaurant by their chili rellenos.

Can’t speak for the food. I am still sitting in the restaurant and have waited over an hour and still no food. Service is lousy not sure I’m waiting much longer. Don’t go to this restaurant.

Best food on the planet!!! Coupled with the best service around! Pedro and the guys always do a fabulous job from the breakfast bowls to the dinners! We love Chapala!

I was gonna write a bad review but I looked at some of these reviews and some of them are really dramatic. I will stick to the points.
Waited for drink order: 15 minutes
Waited for margarita: 1 minute
Waited for food order: 15 minutes
Waited for food: 1 hour
I waited too long so u just walked up front and asked to pay…
The bartender (I think) gave me a free drink
I left without getting my food I said I wanted to pay for my drinks but he insisted I only pay for one.
The margaritas were strong but I like them strong so I can’t complain lol just three stars sorry :-/

A monstrous craving for a carne asada burrito led me to this location while I was in Visalia.
—-The Food — -
Nachos, Bean dip, and Salsa (FREE) — If chapala was rated on this complimentary free appetizer alone, they would get 5 stars from me, hands down. The chips are fresh, crispy, airy, well salted, and delightfully hot upon arrival. The bean dip is almost creamy and the salsa has a strong kick that’ll make you sweat. Love how they’re served in stone bowls too. The best part? Completely free and all you can eat.
Wet Carne Asada Burrito ($ 7.50) — A pet peeve of mine is when I find a piece of bone or a tendonous piece of meat in my meal. In this well presented and well-​sized burrito, I found both of the above with a couple bites, which turned me off to the meal. In addition to that disappointment, I feel this burrito needs something else besides meat and refried beans. I think some rice, guacamole, and corn would help a great deal… something like Albertos/alerto’s in orange county. Haha. Overall, the asada was seasoned nicely, the tortilla was homemade and beautifully dressed in cheese. This order was served with a side of normal salad too.
Carnita Taco ($ 2.75) — A little expensive for such a tiny taco. Although the carnita was delicious, the veggie and meat ratio was heavily in favor of the greens, which is a negative in my book. Still very tasty and even better when I added the complementary bean dip and salsa into it.
—-
Conclusion: 3.5 Stars. Located in a strip mall with Save Mart and Mcdonalds, you wouldn’t expect Chapala to be so spacious inside! The décor has Aztec accents and the floors, tables, and walls are clean. There’s a small bar with a TV too. The service could be more attentive, however, since I had to repeatedly ask for refills of water and nachos. Despite the disappointing experience with the burrito, I’d gladly come back for another try because that bean dip is that special – Buh-​lee dat.
Extra Notes:
–Accepts credit card
–Clean, nice décor
–Service could be better
–Parking isn’t a problem
–Clean restrooms

Came here to try something different. There are so many options for Mexican in the Central Valley… so I thought I would give it a shot after reading reviews and looking at pics.
At first when I walked in, I wasn’t impressed. There was only 2 people in the place… at lunch time!!! Seemed a little strange to me, especially since they are located in a busy strip mall type place. We waited and waited, took forever for the host to seat us. Even when he did, he was very curt.
I decided on the Wet Chile Verde Burrito, and the Wet Carne Asada Burrito. I liked how they bring out the chips and salsa as well as a bowl of frijoles w/​queso… yummy. The salsa was waaaaay too hot for me, but it had a good flavor (if you like spicy stuff)
Our food came out in a timely manner. I was happy w/​the size of the burrito, I was disappointed though to see that the ‘Wet Burrito’ wasn’t wet at all… it was slightly sprinkled. I like the filling, although there was not enough meat… it was mostly beans and rice and the rice wasn’t fully cooked. I did not care for the Carne Asada burrito, something about it was just weird.
Our waiter was not the best, although he did a good job. Through our entire meal, their phone was ringing and nobody was answering it. I can imagine it would be frustrating as a customer to call a place to order, or inquire about hours etc and have nobody answer, when you know they are open.
I soon realized our waiter, who was our host… was also the bartender. This is the reason why I am not giving a lower rating as far as his service was concerned… this guy was working his tail off (there were people coming in for to-​go orders, and people in the bar after we began eating). I understand his frustration and probably why he wasn’t overly friendly or attentive, everyone deserves an off day.
I would consider coming back here, but next time I’ll tell them to drown the wet burrito
#flagproof