For Mexican food in Ann Arbor this place is an easy 5. Since the owner is from Mexico City I am grading him based on my experience in Mexico. Yes the food is that authentic, the food could be more authentic but the owner told people were not interested in menudo or pozole soups. He also told me that his customers demanded burritos which is more from northern Mexico than central Mexico. When coming here stick to what they know how to do, taco pastor, taco carne asada, they also have a taco that mixes carne asada and chorizo very good as well. There two salsa are fresh and homeade, one is a mild verde the other is a spicy rojo. I have tried their torta's and quesadilla's with Carne Asade both were amazing. The burrito was ok because of the meat, but they add corn, green beans, and rice clearly that is the owner trying to please the mid-western customers. The horchata is creamy and delicious, nicely spiced as well. I would more recommend take out as opposed to eating in, but they do have a couple of tables and decent bathroom. The only problem is they do not have a lot of child seats so keep that in mind. In addition, I will write a separate review for their stone school location, but I wanted to let people know here it does make a difference which one you go to the maple location is much better! read more

I expected to have some authentic Mexican food. This place definitely has the tradition but does not have the flavor. Bland

A real gem not too far off of campus. The prices are very fair and you can have a satisfying, flavorful meal for around $8! The meat isn't the most tender but the flavors are still there and makes it delicious. Tacos are one of my favorite foods and it's not as good as some of the places in NY but for the flavor and price you won't find much better options. Also, service has always been 10/10 for me. It was my first time at this location, as I usually go to the one in downtown AA but the worker was so nice! My friends and I placed to go orders but saw that they had an outdoors seating area and asked if we could enjoy our meal there instead. The staff was friendly and allowed us to stay. read more

Just moved to town and wanted to find my local go-to for Mexican. Think this might be the place! Solid taqueria, good sauces, and liked the drinks too. Tried a bunch of things - the chipotle chicken tacos, al pastor tacos, tilapia quesadilla, and pineapple tamales. Horchata was yum! And good value for all of it as well. Will be coming back! read more

Very friendly employees, and yummy food! The lunch special is only $6 and filling enough without making you (well, me) feel like a disgusting pig afterwards. I chose a taco al pastor & a potato poblano one (which I liked better). The bf thought the sides (rice & black beans) were bland, but I liked them just fine. The taco al pastor could have stood to have a little more meat on it though. I'll definitely be back! read more

I tried Chela's for the first time and was SO happy to finally find a good taco! I did the taco trio with barbacoa, carnitas and Al pastor. The service was great too - quick and friendly check out for my pick-up order, and an employee recommended some salsas to go with my tacos. I cant wait to go back! read more

Oh my!!! I ordered 3 fish tacos which ended up being WAY too much food for just me, the tacos are delicious and very generously sized for the price. Paid a little over $10 with tip, first time here and I loved every bite of these!! The cooks were really quick with my takeout, only waited maybe 3-5 minutes. This is in a convenient location and even during rush hour it was easy to get in and out, I will definitely be back!! read more

Chela's - Fish Taco's!!!! These are huge!!!! - Mexican Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

I absolutely love this place! I may add, this was my first time visiting Ann Arbon, and I was very excited to see a pretty good Mexican restaurant in this little city. The tortillas tasted like they were hand-made, but I am not 100% sure of that. It still deserves 5 stars because their hot sauce is on point! read more

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this is a tough one because Chela's food can be great. however, the number of times they have gotten our online order wrong when we've used their app is significant. the screw ups range from the wrong meat to adding cheese when specifically excluded. the former case we can manage. in the latter case, we have food allergies, so it's a problem. and you can't exactly unwrap a.burrito before you leave, although that seems necessary if we god back. read more

By far the best authentic Mexican food in town. I come here at least three times a week for the lunch. The chipotle chicken taco and al pastor tacos are incredible. Pretty much everything there is incredible. Haha. I recommend this place every chance I get :) read more

Amazing locally owned place. The only thing I didn't love was the dessert tamales, but the kids did.

Chela's has been open for 9 days as of today, and WOW, my meal was very tasty! I ordered 3 tacos: potatoes with chili poblano, chorizo, and campechana. They came loaded full of meat (well, the potato didn't :) ) and sprinkled with onion and cilantro, served on double corn tortilla. Spicy but not too spicy! No cheese or sour cream on the tacos unless you ask for it- I prefer them not to have cheese or sour cream anyways. Now the other details... The menu is of tacos, tortas, quesadillas, tamales, salads, drinks, sides and desserts. The cashier was super friendly as was the owner. The dining room was surprisingly loud- I couldn't hear my friend talking and she sat right next to me. It was busy, but there were lots of take-out orders, and still lots of open seats. After my meal, I ordered some tacos for take-out. I will definitely be coming back to Chela's! read more

Chela's - Menu as of 6-09-12 - Mexican Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Great food. Loved chicken n beef taco. Pork tamales was not that good though compared to what I have had before at other places. Overall great food n great service. read more

Chela's - Mexican Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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TAMALES ON XGAMES MODE! The staff is so friendly and helpful. Salsas were delicious and the meat is quality. Chela's is amazing

Yes yes yes! Its legit. I decided to take my daughter to the public library and spotted this small building right next door. I took a chance and im super glad i did. First off, i live in pittsfield and the only decent mexican food ive been able to find is in detroit. But im not trying to drive that far all the time. First time ordering i got 3 tacos al pastor and 1 horchata. And i picked up the medium and hot salsa. It was all great. The horchata wasnt watered down, the tacos had good flavor, weren't dry and thank god the hot salsa was actually hot. Yes i expect my salsa to have both flavor and be spicy. It was well worth my money. Im excited to go back and try the rest of the menu. I also hope they continue to keep the integrity of their food. read more

Can't say enough amazing things about this place! Friendly staff, decently priced food, and incredible flan! Vegetarian friendly as well (with incredible options)! This will always be my favorite place in Ann Arbor. Highly recommend their flan and tamales read more

Chela's - Mexican Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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This is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. I love the chicken taco dinner with the rice and beans. The chicken is so tender and juicy. The beans are cooked perfectly; they're not dry or mushy. Then the rice is absolutely delicious, I usually put my beans on top of the rice. I usually pair all of this with the medium salsa and a Jorritos Mandarin. I love this place. The only downfall is that there aren't any close to Detroit. read more

This review is only with regards to the catering. Ordered catering for 17 people which came out to be around $170. We got basically one container of everything, which was a bit perplexing. One container of carne asada, one container of potato, etc. If we had ordered for 15 people, would we have gotten the same amount of food? 10 people even? There was no... portioning it just seemed like we got a "set" amount of food, and it definitely was not enough. For example, the portion of chips and salsa that came with it was laughable, 3-4 of us ate most of it before the party even started just snacking a bit. It was one tray full. There is no CHANCE 17 people could have eaten this tray of chips it was really tiny for 17 people. Like, a sick joke kind of. Overall the food was ok but the portions didn't make any sense and I felt like I should have just ordered a bunch of tacos instead of getting the catering. If they have set sizes for 10-15 people, or 10-20 people, then they should just say that, and have a set price for a range, not per person. I can almost guarantee that if we would have ordered for 10 people we would have gotten ourselves the same amount of food and saved 70 dollars. I felt ripped off but there was anything I could do since it was really too late by the time it got home and I wasn't going to raise a stink or go back during our event. JUST FYI PEOPLE. read more

Veggie tacos! Yes more please. The mashed potato taco was a huge surprise. So good. Loved them all though. Fast service. Very busy spot.

The food is YUMMY and they are following all COVID guidelines. If you are looking for an authentic taco, this is the place! We will be back!!! read more

I have a feeling this place is past its heyday. I remember eating here years ago & found the food to be very flavorful. I ordered takeout from here recently & it was just so-so. Meat was one note and bland...salsas weren't spicy..meh. Or maybe I've just eaten better tacos since then. Either way, I'd pass on this place. Head to La Torre in Ypsi or even Taco King up the street. read more

I really, really want to give this place 5 stars because their tacos are awesome! However, I needed to add a ton of sauce and salsa to make them spicy and not dry :') After adding the sauce though, they were A+++. Ask for a carnita taco! They are amazing but also off the menu. Nice low-key but cheerful decor outside, super friendly staff, prices can't be beat. Definitely recommend if you're into tacos. read more

Chela's - Mexican Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Seriously the best authentic Mexican we have EVER had! We got the elotes and 2 barbacoa burritos. Everything was so perfect and tasted AMAZING, not to mention its all super affordable! Definitely a must try. read more

Support great food and great ownership. Authentic, going to visit every time I come to Ann Arbor

Love Adrian (owner) and this local joint. My usual is the chicken burrito - ask for it loaded (comes with no extra charge). Runs about $8-9 but def the best Mexican food in town. Tacos and tamales are also great. read more

This is a great locally owned place, and some of the better Mexican food in the area (though I still desperately miss Colorado!). They have things really well labeled for vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free folks, and I have never been glutened here. They also have some tasty aqua fresca options and a killer lunch special. I like the cheese and the pineapple tamales (what?! I know!), and the rajas tacos. Partners like pretty much everything they have tried on the menu. Ordered here once during COVID, and they were super timely and brought to food right out to the car, wearing masks, no contact. Affordable, yummy, local business that I am proud to support! read more

This place is awesome and you can't beat the quality for the price. Have ordered from here many times and will continue to. Great staff. Note to owner, the girl working the cashier today 5/31 was terrible. Her attitude was just unforgivable and she was only concerned with flirting with the cooks. read more

I've been to Chela's many times. I've also ordered Chela's catering for company parties. I decided to take a date to there recently. We ordered food and saw that there was a pathway to a brewery right behind it. It looked linked in one location. So we mentioned to the person at the counter that we were going to go eat the food at the brewery. After a few drinks we went to leave and Chela's had both of our vehicles towed. It cost us $400/each to get our vehicles out of impound. I missed my vacation while being stranded in Ann Arbor over night. This place is on the outskirts of AA and the parking lot was empty. I was told by an employee that the owner of Chela's is having it out with the brewery owner and is taking it out on their customers. The towing company said that this happens to people every night. What a horrific thing to do!! The owner should reimburse us for this or lose her business. read more

A little disappointed in the food. I give it an A for effort. Unfortunately, they fell short in the seasoning department. I ordered the Asada burrito and 2 asada tacos. The meat wasn't very flavorful. It was very bland. My wife had the fish tacos. I asked her, how they were. She gave me a disappointed look. She said, the balance was off. It had a lot of unseasoned fish and not many toppings to balance out. Basically, flavorless. I just moved here from LA and was hoping to find my go to Mexican joint. This was not it. Maybe we are just spoiled with great LA Mexican restaurants. I don't say these things to criticize the restaurant. I'm just hoping the owner comes in once in awhile to taste his food. I want to see everyone successful. read more

I ordered from here for the first time. I ordered 3 carne asada soft tacos, a carne Asada bowl with NO beans, and I got my kids the carne asada quesadillas. I only received 2 tortillas and a small amount of steak on top of one tortilla. The bowl was COVERED in black beans with the juice literally surrounding all of the steak and rice, which made everything soggy and hard to pick apart. My kids enjoyed their quesadillas, but probably won't order again. read more

Very small and comfortable restaurant. The daily lunch special is a pretty good deal, where you get two tacos, rice, beans, and a drink for 7.85. The food also came out very quickly, maybe around 3 minutes. As for the quality of the food, the tacos were average. There is nothing special that stands out about the tacos. The tortilla on both my tacos had inconsistent texture (one was pretty soft and hot, the other was hard, crusty, and brittle). The meat was cooked well, the rice and beans were normal. Overall, would give it a try and would recommend coming for cheap eats. But, if you want quality tacos, then there are other places that do it better. read more

The food here is really good. I love their fish burritos and would've given 5 stars for that. However, I'm very disappointed in tonight's service. 9/2/17: We arrived and put our order in at 7:57pm. There wasn't many people tonight. One table finishing up and one table waiting for their food. We waited patiently for 25 mins but we still didn't get our food and wondered if they forgot us. We thought we'd give them a few more mins until the 30 min mark. Just then a couple of guys came in, ordered and sat down, 3 mins later their order was ready and we have been sitting there for 30 mins still without food! We went up there to remind them and they found the order wasn't even started! All the while, we were getting hangry and had to sit through listening to the cashier do nothing but whistle obnoxiously and slapping the counter with the music.... and they didn't once say sorry. They threw a rice pudding in for free though. Anyway, this was an annoying experience. read more

The best tacos in town!!! They taste like an outdoor cafe in Mexico City, or street vendor in Los Angels. The staff is kind and very quick. We are so lucky to have this in our community. read more

Extremely simple, no frills, but simply delicious Mexican street food. Tacos are absolutely packed and always great. My go-to is the daily special with al pastor and barbacoa tacos and a lime Jarittos. We've also used them as caterers, or been to events they catered, a few times. Just as good as from the restaurant! read more

Atmosphere was casual, food was outstanding! Very authentic Mexican dishes, my favorite is the campechano taco.

Our party of 3 ate here last night. We had a couple fish tacos, an Al Pastor taco, a couple of chorizo tacos, a barbacoa taco, a steak taco, and a Chicken tamale. We drank water. The bill came to $24. That's what I call cheap eating. But don't be fooled by the price: the tacos (ordered with cheese except for the fish tacos) were tremendous - the double wrap corn tortilla were served crispy. The hot seasoning was great, and the tacos were warm, delicious, and unbelievably not the least bit greasy. Pleasant Mexican music played in the background. We were very impressed with the variety of the menu, the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the eating area and restrooms, and the cheerful and professional manner in which we were served. I can't praise this restaurant enough! read more

We got Chela's to go: cheese tamale, pork tamale, rajas with cheese taco, potatoes with poblanos taco, campechano torta, nachos, strawberry tamale (which they didn't have). Overall, it was pretty disappointing. I had a hard time telling the tamales apart, except for the dry, stringy pork. And the masa was pretty soggy. For my money I'd rather go across the street to Pilar's. The nachos were soggy. To be fair, take out nachos are going to suffer, so moving on. The potato taco was pretty good, but the rajas with cheese was literally just shredded, raw poblanos, with no crema or cheese. It was inedible. The torta was passable, but still pretty sad. Not much filling and poorly constructed. So as far as first impressions go, not a winner. We won't be going back any time soon. For better results, check out Pilar's Tamales (across the street) or Miny's (Ypsi). read more

I love Chela's. I have had everything on the menu and it's all great. Barboca is the best. Burritos are loaded with goodness.

Local business owner whose kids were being harassed at school--and he was also at a meeting meant to raise awareness about the issue. Hispanics unite! I love this restaurant. I love our Hispanic-American heritage. I love another biracial family! I love Hispanic food, and I love Mexican food. This restaurant is amazing! It's run by amazing people, caring, loving, hard working, respectful, and noble! EAT AT CHELAS! Gozate! read more

This is my favorite place to get tacos!! Such a good price, friendly staff, and delicious food. The specials are my favorite, and I love the Horchata. read more