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Chava's Mexican Restaurant

4.2 (569 reviews)
ModerateMexican, Tex-Mex
Closed • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago
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CHAVA'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Chava's Mexican Restaurant

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Enchiladas de Crema Chicken
Maria E.

If you're looking for Tex-Mex, this place is for you. The food is tailored to more American taste buds. This being said, it's pretty good, just not authentic Mexican food. The margaritas were good, as well as the chips and salsa. The service was good when I went, and I liked the overall ambiance.

Wall decor
Amy S.

Chava's is one of my favorite places to eat in Soulard, this is one of the best Mexican restaurants around. When you arrive, there is a lot of parking. I usually end up parking on the street right around the restaurant. The restaurant is casual, yet nicely decorated. The wood accents bring a homey feel to the space, while still emphasizing Mexican culture. After being seated with my friend, we were brought chips and salsa. The chips were warm and fresh, and the salsa was chunky and spicy. Our server was so friendly, and we had excellent service. I ordered the BBQ Chicken Quesadilla. It was delectable! The smoky flavor, tender and juicy chicken, and the nicely-sized portion made this an excellent meal. For dessert, we ordered the Churros. And wow! They were warm, sugary, and filled with gooey cream cheese! The Dutch chocolate on the side was such a complimentary touch. I am excited to come ba

Bean burrito
Kyle C.

When I say this is a placed full of delight and deliciousness!!! It screams FLAVOR!!! The service was great!! The setting was so quaint & cozy!!! The food was soooo plentiful and well worth the price!!! A must try for visitors!!!

Salsa, tortilla soup and fish taco
Maddie W.

Chava's!! You have my heart. Delicious, fresh food and kind service. Their salsa is some of my favorite in the area and you'll definitely be getting refills! You won't be disappointed by anything you order, but I Highly recommend the fish tacos--it's one long, wide piece of fish instead of a bunch of small pieces. It's breaded, seasoned and cooked to perfection. The tortilla soup is great and their margaritas are stellar too. No notes!

Megan R.

Taco Tuesday really is therapeutic. Take what you need today--whether it's a chimichanga, fried tacos, chips & queso, or a marg on the patio at Chava's in Soulard! We jumped at the chance to sit outside, and Chava's patio setup didn't disappoint. Even though it runs alongside the building where there's plenty of street parking, thoughtfully placed greenery makes each table feel tucked away--like our own private spot in the middle of the city. The service matched the vibe too: welcoming, attentive, and quick, without ever making us feel rushed.

Entrance
Patrick C.

Classic go-to Mexican spot with quick service and good food. Variety of margarita flavors (on the rocks or frozen). Well decorated with cultural wall art. Lively environment but not loud. I got the chava's fajitas which I would recommend--an honorable portion of meat compared to most places! Pretty large menu to choose from.

Jaslynn W.

My coworker and I came here for lunch and we were seated at soon as we walked in. The service was pretty good and the food was great! The establishment was clean and very nice inside. I had the chimichanga with steak and it was so good. The steak was fresh along with everything else. My coworker got the beef tacos and really liked them. I'll definitely be returning.

Chips and salsa
Kay S.

A local favorite of ours, the food is great, servers are super cool, nice lil neighborhood restaurant in Soulard. We have been here before and normally get fish tacos, steak tacos, or the fajita steak nachos all great. We decided to try something new, the steak chimichanga and a grilled chicken plate with steak added. The new dishes worked out well. Try this place if you like Mexican you'll love it.

Three chicken enchiladas
Claralyn B.

Delicious lunch on the day after Thanksgiving! I enjoyed the enchiladas with chicken and my boyfriend enjoyed the tacos with steak. Generous portions and accompanied by tasty beans and rice. We each had a margarita on the rocks which were good too.

Courtney F.

Still as good as it always was!! I've been trying something new each time (their fried tacos are bomb) and my husband loves their chimichanga. Never a bad night here.

Tamales and Ranchero Tacos

Service was incredibly fast even with being seated outside. The outside seating was very enjoyable in the nice weather and the music was awesome. The decorations and plants looked very nice. The food was very solid.

Menu
Brenda C.

Was craving Mexican and decided to check out Chava's. It was a Saturday, early evening, so not too busy, we got in and were seated quickly, chips and salsa came right away with water (and they are still free folks!) If you have never been to Chava's, they make their own salsa, which is fantastic! So we ordered and the food came out quickly and as usual was wonderful, one of these days I will actually remember to take pics before I'm halfway through my meal... If you are looking for great Mexican, Chava's is the place! They also have great margaritas, we just didn't have any this trip....

Nycole R.

My colleague, who lives here in St. Louis, recommended that I visit Chava's when I was in town for vacation. I found myself in the area, so stopped by at lunchtime for a mid-day meal. It was not crowded at all and we were seated immediately. I noticed that there was patio seating, but I don't think anyone was out there when we visited. Everyone was indoors. Service was quick and attentive. Staff members were friendly and kept the chips and salsa and water full. The food was terrific too! I enjoyed a taco with beans and rice-there was plenty to save for later. As always, a recommendation from a local didn't lead me astray.

El Mireko - ranchero chicken burritos with rice and beans

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4 months ago

Food came out quickly, very delicious! Great portions. Service is good! Ambiance is nice.

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Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas - Steak Fajitas

Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas

4.6(353 reviews)
0.9 mi•Benton Park
•$$

We still love this place! I'm not sure how many times we've been here over the past few years, but…read morewe've never had a negative experience here. My husband and I have been here a number of times, we've brought our (adult) daughters and their partners, out of town visitors, and we've recommended it to friends. Some of our friends went on our recommendation and enjoyed it. Again, I have to say that we love the vibe, the staff, and the food - probably equally! We sat out on the covered patio last night. It was pretty hot out, but the cover and the fans made it feel okay out there. We ran into neighbors as we were leaving. It's about 35 minutes from our house and we have never seen anyone we know there. They were enjoying it as well! The only negative I can think of is the restroom situation. There is one restroom with one toilet - plan ahead! There's usually a line. We'll definitely be back!

This is a hard review because in my party of 4, my meal was horrible but everyone else had a…read moretasty-gratifying meal. To start, we ordered the guac. It's not authentic guac with chunks of guac, instead it was creamy and didn't have a clumps of avocado or flavor. It was more of a blended consistency with just a smashed avocado flavor. The chips were awesome! I ordered the mahi-mahi tacos. The first one that was brought to the table was fried so well done the fish inside was rubbery and dry, and the outer coating was black. My waiter apologized, visually confirmed that the dish was not right, took the dish and 5-10 minutes later brought out the same dish, assuming this one would be better. It wasn't. The fish was overwhelmingly fishy smelling, dry and overall, I felt like I would've had a better meal at McDonalds ordering their Filet o' fish. Ugh! The waiter took the one bite eaten from the taco dish and removed it from the ticket. He asked if he could bring me something else, but so much time had passed between the last 2 mix-ups that for me to order anything to replace the meal, my party would've left me at the table so I just had chips for dinner. Where I see an issue, is one would think a manager would've come over apologizing, or something. Yet, I felt like the bad guy sent to her room with no dinner. When the bill came, the waiter, what I feel like intentionally put the bill directly in front of another person from our party rather than in the center of the table. Probably because that person loved his meal... A person in my party got the 3 taco dinner- only ate one taco. Packaged up the other two tacos. I paid, tipped 20% assuming it wasn't the waiter's fault. And we walked out. We got to the front door, the person in my party that had boxed up the 2 tacos realized she left her box at the table, turned around 1-2 minutes after leaving, went back to the table and our waiter said he threw away the box! It wasn't busy ... I understand wanting to clean a table, but there should be some protocol of if this happens, maybe the bussers have x number of minutes before they throw away a meal that someone intentionally boxed up to take home. So -2 stars- I won't go back but if you try this place you might get something delish. My hope is you fall on the positive side of these reviews.

Photos
Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas - Inside artwork

Inside artwork

Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas - Quesabirria Quesadilla (a special)

Quesabirria Quesadilla (a special)

Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas - Cadillac Margaritas are the bomb

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Cadillac Margaritas are the bomb

Carreta's Mexican Restaurant - Kids meal

Carreta's Mexican Restaurant

4.4(322 reviews)
13.7 mi
•$$

Carreta's is the closest thing I have to a "local"--the place where I go after my shift at the post…read moreoffice to drink watery, domestic beer and make slightly inappropriate remarks to the waitstaff. My parents eat there on the reg, though not so much the past couple of years, after they implemented their controversial policy of shrinking portion sizes and increasing prices at the same time. Uh, whose idea was that? I have an idea. Let's just say he's not very good at riding a bicycle. I've eaten there literally a million times since it opened up 10 or 15 years ago. Before that, we used to eat at the place in Olivette that was once a Ponderosa, El Paisano or whatever. I don't think they're related, but when that place closed, a handful of employees came over to Carreta's. That was years ago, and they're now long gone. Hopefully, they weren't shipped off to El Salvador. I hear it's not safe there. More recently, we've been eating at a place a bit further west on Olive that was once a Houlihan's. Noticing a trend? Carreta's must be feeling the effects, because they've remodeled and added a few new menu items, some of which will be familiar to Barrel House patrons. The remodel seems to mostly have been a matter of applying a fresh coat of paint and turning the dim switch up to its absolute brightest. It used to be dark in there, like at a fancy restaurant. Now it's like Kmart circa 1986. I didn't check to see if a blue light had been installed in the ceiling, nor did I make it back to near the restrooms to see if they've still got that influencer wall. The menu has been reprinted, and I'm sure they took advantage of the opportunity to jack up prices even further. Many of the old favorites remain, and I'm not sure what, if anything, they removed to make room for the small handful of new items. I saw that they still have the carnitas, my old go-to. It's the only pork item on the menu. If you're familiar with the area, you can probably do the math on that one. Most importantly, they've added Birria, only about 10 years after it became trendy. What's next, a smashburger? A pumpkin spice latte? I've had Birria at a number of places, here in the STL and elsewhere, and in a few different preparations, and it's never not been good. It kinda is the Mexican food equivalent of the smashburger, in that regard. An order of three will run you $16, and it doesn't come with anything other than the consommé and a ramekin of tomatillo salsa. Just the three tacos wasn't the most filling meal I've ever had, but it wasn't half bad, for there not being any sides or anything. They stuff those tacos full with mostly just meat (along with cheese, onions and cilantro), and I'd imagine it's roughly as caloric as eating half the produce aisle at the grocery store. It's so good. I figured it would be kinda mediocre but nevertheless enjoyable, because I thought I had this place pegged, but credit where credit is due. They've exceeded expectations. This was one of the best things I've ever had in a Mexican restaurant. If they don't let the quality slip or try to charge literally $1,000 for it, I could honestly see it becoming a huge hit. What do you know? This place might manage to stay in business just yet, despite the newer, fancier place down the street.

In my search for the best birria I stumbled upon Carrera's…read more Fried corn tortilla, juicy but can't say my #1 Very beautiful space in small shopping center off Olive. Could be hard to locate. Best for a quiet date night

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Carreta's Mexican Restaurant
Carreta's Mexican Restaurant - Enchiladas Tapatias

Enchiladas Tapatias

Carreta's Mexican Restaurant - Bar

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Bar

El Potro Restaurant - Chorizo cheese dip.

El Potro Restaurant

4.6(106 reviews)
5.5 mi•Ellendale, Franz Park
•$$

Was looking to try a New Mexican place and found this one via Yelp reviews. The service was ok,…read morewent at 3PM on a Saturday so it was not busy. My main issue was the dish I ordered was quite different than described by the menu. It didn't taste bad per se, but I would have ordered something else if it was described accurately. When I asked the waiter if I received the correct dish because it didn't seem like what the menu described they said it was correct. Felt a little bit like I was being gas lit, so just won't be back. I wish I had taken a picture of the dish, but here is the menu description and then I'll describe what I was served. Pollo El Potro Menu description: Two grilled chicken breasts topped with cheese dip sauce and served with salad, rice and tortillas Actual dish: One grilled chicken breast topped with cheese dip sauce served on a bed of tortilla chips, grilled onions, and grilled peppers. Served with a small pico de gallo salad, guacamole, rice, beans, and tortillas. The one chicken breast I got was very dry, even with the cheese sauce and the onions/peppers/tortilla chips made it super awkward to eat. The flavor was ok, but more than anything my issue is that it was way different than what was described on the menu and when specifically asked about it I was told it is what I ordered. Overall, a disappointing experience.

This is my absolute favorite Mexican restaurant. The parking lot is frequently full but don't be…read morescared - just park on a side street nearby, you can usually still find a table!Everyone who works here is so fun and friendly. The Cadillac marg is my fav but I don't think any of the margs are bad. It's one of my favorites in St. Louis! I've had a few different entrees but love the carne asada and chorizo tacos. Recently had the choriqueso too which was insanely good. Plus, free chips and salsa (in individual serving dishes!) which not everyone does anymore and the salsa is fantastic! Do NOT skip this tiny gem!!!

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El Potro Restaurant - Main dining area

Main dining area

El Potro Restaurant
El Potro Restaurant - Cadillac margarita!

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Cadillac margarita!

Chevys Fresh Mex - The chicken flautas and salsa

Chevys Fresh Mex

3.3(326 reviews)
9.7 mi
•$$

Pretty standard tex mex if that's your thing. The chips and salsa they bring out are pretty good…read morealthough it's not my favorite salsa. We also got queso and guacamole for the table. The queso was really good, but the guacamole was a bit too spicy for me. My food was good and a great big portion. I had a lot of leftovers. Not the most delicious food I've ever had, but it was filling.

My wife and I stopped by Chevy's for lunch recently. It had been about three or four months since…read moreour last visit to this location, and we usually dine here during the dinner hours. Upon entering, the host wasn't particularly engaging. He briefly acknowledged us and led us to our table, but there wasn't much interaction. Fortunately, our server was the complete opposite--friendly, attentive, and quick to check on us throughout the meal. For lunch, my wife ordered the veggie fajitas, and I chose the chicken fajitas. Our food arrived in a little over 10 minutes, which was a reasonable wait time. The portion sizes appeared smaller than I remembered from previous visits. I'm not sure if this is typical of the lunch portions or if the restaurant has reduced serving sizes since our last visit, but I was expecting a bit more food for the price. That said, the food itself tasted very good. The fajitas were flavorful and arrived hot and fresh. Overall, we enjoyed our meal and appreciated the excellent service, although I would have liked to see larger portions.

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Chevys Fresh Mex
Chevys Fresh Mex - Flamed Mixed Fajita

Flamed Mixed Fajita

Chevys Fresh Mex - Bottomless Bloody Mary's and coffee

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Bottomless Bloody Mary's and coffee

Chava's Mexican Restaurant - mexican - Updated October 2026

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