El Cholo Restaurant

12/17/09

Huge portions

by travelbugg1980 at Citysearch

Great place for lunch or for a casual dinner with family or with a group. Food was great, portions huge! And margaritas taste as they should.... Mmm! Service was a little slow, but friendly. And once we ordered, the food did come quickly... I recommend the Blue corn enchiladas. Little pricier than some other mexican restaurants, about $15 a plate for lunch, but the portions are more than fair for what you pay. I could not finish my meal, though trust me, I tried!

• Pros: Good Mexican food, relaxed atmosphere
• Cons: somewhat slow on the service

01/19/09

Best TexMex in LA

by legacy2012 at Citysearch

love to go there with friends and family. they have excellent texmex and service is good. love the margarita especial and sonoma nachos are fabulous. they have a great patio and there is lots lots lots of space.

• Pros: Thumbs up
• Cons: none

10/14/08

Best Margarita!

by peacefaery at Citysearch

I have always been intrigued by this place from the outside and after years of walking by, finally went! It was a little more casual inside than I expected, but homey and comfortable. We were seated upstairs in a cove like part and it felt really private. I had a veggie burrito and it was the size of my head and really good!!! I think it's a great value for the money. Also, the margaritas are some of the best I've ever had!!!

• Pros: Great service and food...and Margaritas!!
• Cons: I'd find street parking and skip the valet.

05/22/08

Better than I thought

by foodie114 at Citysearch

I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food, but I enjoyed my trip to El Cholo. The restaurant is homey and comfortable. The tables are private and the restaurant is very well decorated. The food was really good and our waitress was very nice!

• Pros: Food, decor, service

05/02/08

Hungry hordes line up at this L.A. institution for potent margaritas and famous green-corn tamales.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
Low ceilings and exposed wood beams crown this venerable family-owned restaurant, with vintage photos of L.A. and memorabilia lining the colorful walls. High-back booths fill the dining rooms, and comfy sofas are strewn throughout the spacious bar. Gas-lit fireplaces add cozy ambiance while servers in traditional Mexican garb treat devoted customers like family. This Mexican fare has changed little since 1927. To start, a bowl brimming of freshly made guacamole is best with the obligatory warm chips. On the lighter side, the tostadita features a mound of shredded lettuce, black beans, fresh peas, avocado and tender, grilled chicken pouring out of a crispy flour shell. Otherwise, food is hearty and heavy: Bacon adds smoky flavor to grilled sirloin tacos, and chicken-filled blue corn enchiladas are doused in thick tomatillo sauce. The Taste of History combo tours house favorites like cheese enchiladas with slightly spicy red sauce and the ultra-puffy chili relleno.

05/01/08

Consistently good food and drink at a fair price

by MXC at Citysearch

Okay, I've read some of the reviews here -- several made me angry -- so I'm throwing in my '2 cents':

I have to laugh at people who trash El Cholo after apparently just one visit. This means that they

completely discount the place based on one item on the menu that they hated. Now, I've been going

to El Cholo restaurants for years at several locations: Santa Monica, L.A., Whittier, and one or two

that no longer exists -- one being The South of Santa Fe down in Orange County somewhere, which was part of the El Cholo famly chain and pretty much served the same menu. I've sampled a variety of items on their menu -- very consistent in taste from location to location -- and some are fantastic and others are so-so. In other words, it's like every other restaurant that ever served up a meal. Sure, if you're from Mexico, I doubt very much that the food will remind you of your homeland, and you can probably buy a more accurate representation of a taco or burrito from your local taco truck, but I really don't think that is what El Cholo is all about. It's good to great food with a Anglo/Mex theme. Nice decor with friendly people working there, a great cantina with great drinks and fair prices that won't break you at the bank. The only criticism that I have to offer is that their margaritas are not as good as they once were -- which makes me believe that they might be cutting corners where the actual alcoholic content is concerned. Still good, but they were once the best; no more. They also used to have a 'bottomless margarita Sunday brunch' which was absolutely amazing. A ton of food -- all you can eat including huge shrimp -- and as much margarita that you could stagger away with; all for about $11.95 ! Those days are gone forever, unfortunately.

• Pros: Good food, good drinks, location, service, parking
• Cons: Cantina can be crowded and noisy at times

05/01/08

HORRENDOUS FOOD

by nena5941 at Citysearch

The food is horrendous! I am Mexican and I love our food; everyone talks about this place but the food is awful. It is tasteless, no zest! It is nowhere in being authentic. I had a TACO and I hated it that I ordered the burrito and that was worse. I packed away both items and threw them out when I got home. The drinks are another thing though, they were great, but in that case just stay at the bar, drinking and eating chips and if you drink enough then order their watery guacamole. DO not go to this place, stay home and save money unless you want a good drink.

• Pros: drinks
• Cons: food

04/20/08

It's very interesting .......

by RichM7564 at Citysearch

how or why people rated this place high. Yeah the guacamole was tasty and so was every thing else....... but..... to me and my wife, we thought this place and the food was pretty much standard ordinary, and yes, we've had better. Nothing here at El Chollo really jumped out at us. The decor looked like any other mexican restaurant we've been to. In a nutshell, this place was O.K., nothing spectacular. And quite frankly, we don't critique restaurants by their Margaritas. We had beers, basically because I saw others with their Margaritas and they looked a little puny. I like things that are BIG & BOLD! So needless to say, we'll continue on our trek for the ultimate mexican restaurant. Please remember, all these remarks are only our honest opinions...... Cheers!

• Pros: Guac was good
• Cons: service a little slow, but O.K.

01/20/08

El Roa.cholo

by ed1800 at Citysearch

I did not order a side of r o a c h, but a r o a c h leg appeared on my plate! Who knows where the rest of the r o a c h was. Needless to say, I will not be returning to El Cholo. Too bad, because the margaritas were great!

• Pros: margaritas
• Cons: found r o a c h leg in food, parking

10/11/07

Authentic and fun atmosphere, great drinks

by bittabite at Citysearch

I definitely like this location over the other one in santa monica. It feels more authentic in that particular neighborhood, but of course all the waiters are in their formal mexican ware no matter what. Its a fun, relaxed atmosphere, the food is great but the drinks are excellent. Many would agree they are so good, on my way out of the restaurant I saw an older lady about 60 or so laying on the walkway (just a little too many drinks for her). So needless to say, they have tasty and strong margaritas.

• Pros: atmosphere, booths, drinks
• Cons: valet