02/14/09

SMELLY

by turkeydan

Uncomforting comfort food cooked with no love, served in a smelly dining room by waitresses with ridiculous costumes. Regulars to this place must be easy to please.

01/29/09

Best Mexican in LA/Santa Monica

by Artex

I'm a huge mexican food fan and have tried almost all mexican restaurants in la & santa monica. This is by far my favorite spot. Great margaritas (and variety), great food (my fave is the fajitas) and love the down to earth & traditional atmosphere.

Also, cheap valet ...but it does get full fast ...

• Pros: Great food, great margaritas, great spot
• Cons: valet gets filled up fast... come early

11/17/08

Love the salsa!

by CynMcKeever

This place is my home away from home. Great food, great service and great cocktails.

I love sitting outside on their small patio and in their huge bar lounge area. Great for a fun date or bring the whole family. Mixed crowd. MUST try their fresh lime margaritas.

All natural and better calories for you.

• Pros: Fresh lime margaritas, great lounge area, parking
• Cons: Small out-side patio

11/03/08

The most amazing tamales I've ever had

by BBM4567

I have always heard about this place, but have never went. I am glad I did. They had the best tamales I've ever had. Unfortunately they only had them May-October, so now I have to wait six months to try them again. The other food was delicious as well, try the enchiladas. The margaritas had no tequila though.

05/27/08

One of my favorite, Mexican restaurants

by jenheidir

In a city filled with Mexican restaurants, this is one of the best in my opinion. Their margaritas are thick and flavorful. The guacamole tastes tantalizingly fresh, which is good since the wait staff makes sure to keeping filling up your tortilla chip basket. The meat and shrimp for the fajitas has never come overcooked for me, and the enchiladas are deliciously creamy. Make sure you bring a big appetite as the portion sizes here are huge. The inside of the restaurant decorated to look like Mexican kitchen is a festive place to eat, though sometimes noisy. The outdoor patio on a warm night, which is sectioned off from the roadway, is perhaps the more intimate area of the restaurant to dine. Prices are average for what you pay at a higher-end, sit-down Mexican restaurant around L.A.-area. El Cholo fills up fast, so be sure to make a reservation.

• Pros: Food, drinks, atmosphere, dining room decoration
• Cons: Noisy at times, wait can be long without reservation

02/11/08

El Cholo = El Terrible!

by kumarik

I went with a friend for the first time and didn't have a good experience. Ordered salad in a tostada shell and sent it back because it was so greasy. Ordered chicken enchiladas instead because I thought it was a safe choice. Not the case. Food was extremely salty, and slathered in cheese and sour cream. By that time I was starving so I ate most of it. Really seemed like they use prepackaged frozen foods and ingredients. So overpriced! I prefer Taco Bell to El Cholo.

To their credit, the salsa was decent. The service was decent as well.

That night, I also ordered a plate of enchilada suizas to go for my boyfriend. Didn't say anything about my experience with the food in case he liked it. It turns out he didn't like his food either. Same reasons: salty, cheap ingredients, soaked in grease. Neither one of us would recommend El Cholo.

• Pros: Great setting
• Cons: The only good thing about El Cholo is their facility

02/07/08

never again!

by elguapo1

awfulk service! I came down here on a saturday night and damn....just plain awful. I had the enchiladas and my friend had the steak fajitas. Lets say Pepto is a must after dinner. I had to flag down our witress servral times andi guess they dont give refills cause I sure didnt on either my cke or water......awful place.....

• Pros: none!
• Cons: service, food...bring pepto!

01/09/08

Good Food, Good Drinks, Good Times

by jenniger

The margaritas are strong. The food is delicious. The prices are reasonable. El Cholo is definitely a good find for mexican food in LA.

• Pros: Food, Drinks, Service
• Cons: Valet Only

12/16/07

This is Mexican Food?

by pjorosco

I live a block away, and I really wish that this food was even AVERAGE. Unfortunely, this is the worst mexican food that I have ever had. Such a shame, location is A+, bar and restaurant design is A, food is a strong F. Everthing is over-creamy, over cheesy, overly gimmicky, and just plain bad. I wish that the owners of Lares, Tacos Por Favor, or Serenata could save up money and replace this sham. As a side note, please stop torturing your waitresses witht those garbage-bag outfits. Poor gals.

• Pros: Great facility
• Cons: Aweful. More than Aweful. An anglo version of mexican food.

08/12/07

Tasty Margaritas

by gripdxd

I'm not big on mexican food, but those I was with love this place. They accomodated a large group and served us well. The margaritas were tasty and it was greatly priced. The bill for nearly 12 people was SO CHEAP. We got here later on in the night and it was packed, so make a reservation.

• Pros: Prices and Margaritas