First-time visit and I was pleasantly impressed. I was greeted by Jose at the counter and asked him about the machaca burrito. He confidently told me it was the best around if you're looking for a breakfast burrito, so naturally, I put him to the test. I grew up and worked in Los Angeles for over 40 years and have had my fair share of great burritos. The burrito came out quickly (I was the third customer), and the presentation was very nice, cut in half and served with chips and salsa. It was hot and clearly made fresh to order. The shredded beef had a slight crisp to it without being dry or overcooked, and there was a generous amount inside. The bell peppers were cooked perfectly, well-seasoned, and still had a nice crunch. The Colby Jack cheese paired with the refried beans, eggs and really rounded everything out and took the flavor to another level. This was easily one of the best machaca burritos I've had. Jose was absolutely right, and I appreciate the recommendation. Afterward, I had the chance to chat with Jose and learned that this is a family-owned restaurant. He truly exemplifies great customer service, and I enjoyed the conversation just as much as the meal. I will definitely be returning and recommending this place to others. Looks like they also have a solid weekday happy hour. Highly recommended. read more

Plenty of parking. Ok for groups. They do have one tv for watching sports. Staff is always friendly. Typical fast food Mexican menu. Something for everyone. Can call ahead and order food to go. read more

Yummy and delicious! They have a pretty fantastic menu daily for happy hour with plenty of filling options. I had crispy chicken tacos, which were excellent. Service staff are friendly and welcoming. This place can get busy so grab a table outside before you order it's casual and a "come as you are" vibe. read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Crispy chicken tacos - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

Really tasty, colorful and flavorful dishes ... ¡muy auténtico!.. I've tried the tacos alambres and al pastor ... pictured. It's a small, pleasant, clean place with both indoor and outdoor seating. No wait staff, but very nice people at the counter who bring the food to the table. We've been here a couple of times and really loved it; recommended it to friends who texted us to say how great it was. read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Taco alambre (with red pickled onion) and taco al pastor. - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

Horrible. Over salted. Not fresh. Easy meal ticket for a stomach ache. Way over priced for product. Get a real food place in that location. If you want Mexican go next door to wahoos. read more

Honestly, we love Chela's. There's one closer to us in the Talega area, but we happen to be by this one. There is some parking right out front. Nice communal tables along with a bar front that looks cool. We love the specials and happy hours including taco Tuesday. Usually we get an order of fries because they're really good as well as the crispy chicken tacos. We also like the bean burritos. The beans themselves are delicious. Service is always upbeat and friendly. Really love the salsa variety. Honestly, I was too hungry to take a picture of the chicken tacos I had but trust me. read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

Several times I have been to the other location in Talega and they were great experiences. Today I tried their newer location and it did not disappoint! At their other location I have had the breakfast burrito (one of the best in SC), the bean and cheese burrito, and the el Macho burrito and the chili verde wet burrito. All great. This time I wanted something different so I had the Chela's Chicken Burrito. The very nice server took my order for the burrito, the verde, La Famousa and chipotle salsas. $0.45 for the extra salsa as you get two with the food order along with a handful of tortilla chips. But I wanted to try them all and I should have tried the habanero as well. Next time and, spoiler alert, there will be a next time. Order came out quickly and is brought to your table after ordering at the counter. I started my meal with a salsa sampling. With the warm and fresh chips, I dug into the three salsas I had chosen. Immediately I liked them all, as I recall from the other location. After several tasting rounds I put them in this order: 1. Verde, 2. Chipotle, 3. La Famousa. Honestly, I'd be happy with any of them. Can't say I've been to a Mexican restaurant where I REALLY liked all of the salsas! Damn, should have tried the habanero! On to the Chela Chicken Burrito. Came out very quickly and looked and smelled (smelt?) good. Took some boudoir pics of it and then tried it out. Another great burrito. They are consistent at Chelas! The Chela Chicken Burrito is black beans, sour cream, guac, cabbage, onion, cilantro and Monterey Jack cheese. I would have preferred my tortilla grilled, but it did not take away from how good this burrito was. Just delicious and I would get it again. For me, the highest, high point of Chelas is their breakfast burrito, but all I have had beyond the BB has been great. GO! EAT WELL! HAVE FUN!!!! read more

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I've driven by her so many times and finally stopped in today before my MRI. Marilyn was here to greet me and she's very sweet and said it's happy hour! They don't have any margaritas though but they do have beer and shrimp tacos on the happy hour menu along with stuff that I don't eat. The shrimp fajitas are tasty and the vibes are great and it's such a deal! read more

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Absolutely loved this modern Mexican restaurant! The atmosphere was stylish and welcoming, and the food was incredible. Everything tasted fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. The tacos were great The service was just as amazing everyone was friendly, attentive, and made us feel taken care of the entire time. Such a great spot for dinner with friends or family. I'll definitely be coming back soon! I came in on a sunday morning and the 2 kids at the register were amazing and so kind and had a great attitude and were raised right highly recommend going here. read more

One of our favorite places to grab dinner when we don't feel like cooking! The short rib tacos are my favorite. Their food always has a unique taste for Mexican and it's always fresh. The breakfast burritos are also great! Jose always gives us great service! See you next time! read more

Oh how I love OC Restaurant week! Took a drive to visit this gem and it was well worth it! For $30 I got chips with salsa and guacamole, carne asada fries, 3 tacos (beer battered fish, crispy carnitas, ribeye) and flan. Everything was tasty but the beer battered fish taco was a standout for sure. The staff was all so kind and pleasant to work with and I will for sure be back read more

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Wow wow a great start to this eatery in San Clemente the wait is finally over and this has been a great way for this restaurant to start off by having the most amazing Happy hour in town. Fish tacos 2 for $6 so huge not the street tacos look at the pics ..... great deal and the happy hour is Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday until closing 9pm . Don't miss this deal it's as good as it gets. read more

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I love this place very much because the food here is delicious, there was awesome service, great ambiance, and nice upbeat Spanish music, too. read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Food. - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

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Food is delicious. And customer service (Angel) was great. My girlfriends and I will most definitely be coming back here for breakfast. read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Chilaquiles with steak. - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

We've been waiting for this location to open for a long time! And we weren't disappointed! The best part of Chelas is their happy hour. They have both food and drink specials which are discounted pretty well. Their salsa is on point, definitely check out the habanero salsa. read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Happy hour chicken burrito - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

Good food! Chips are unfortunately very good! I had the crispy chicken tacos for lunch and they were delicious. Pico de gaya is fresh and not spicy which I prefer. They have outdoor seating so we brought the dogs. read more

Food is amazing ... definitely coming back !! The decor was very cute as well . I recommend this place for sure !! read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Don ole burrito was amazing - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

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New location in SC same great food. Love the salsas served! Someday will serve beer we hope. Counter service still. There's some outside tables with umbrellas. read more

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The food is great, the service is a little confusing (probably because they are new) , the chicken in the original chicken burrito was a little rubbery. We have been here 3 times to give it a fair review and each time it has taken 20 minutes to get your food, so just plan accordingly. We live close to this Chelas and we have always loved driving to the other so we were very excited for this one to open, but we may be driving out to the Original in the future. We ordered chips and salsa for an appetizer and they gave us a bag of chips and a pint of salsa for 8.99$. Everyone who works here is friendly, but they all seem to be training. All in all we support local so we will be back and will try it again. The ambiance was delightful . read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Got the ORIGINAL chicken burrito on a Wednesday for happy hour. - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

Some kinks to works out, but it's still new. The man behind me ordered after me and was able to finish his food before my food even came out. The couple who ordered before me, found out their ticket was never received. All that said, the cooks created beautifully plated dishes. All of our food was delicious. The art work is beautiful and so creative. The artist did a phenomenal job. The surfboard table is awesome. The only complaint is please get stronger togo bags. It ripped so easily and my food could have fallen out. We will definitely come back. read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Get stronger togo bags. - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

Kind staff. Food was pretty good! We got 4 steak/carne asada burritos, which were flavorful. They didn't come with/guac, which would've been a nice inclusion. I got the Chicken bowl which did come with/guac and was flavorful and a nice portion and included side of chips. 1 of their hot sauces is hotttt & I'm no spice wimp! Maybe it's a habanero sauce...looking forward to trying other menu items. read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Chicken bowl - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

Never will I step in to this establishment again. Not only did the server,Hamad, accused me of yelling at him, he even threatened my husband to call a cop on me if I ever go back again. Hamad, I would recommend you take your customers service training again. Your attitude towards your customer was atrocious. You saw us waiting 15 minutes for our order; yet, you have never apologized when I asked where our order was. You played you were the victim instead. read more

Best breakfast burrito in Orange County! How are they not 5 star rated?- blasphemy! Come eat and review it! 5+++

We finally came this new place because we were driving past it while it was under construction. We were excited to try out the foods and I had to say there're many other places that do way better Mexican. It's a cute place but the food is just ok. The people behind the counter were nice. read more

Amazing food! I got a carne quesadilla, Baja burrito and everything was amazing. The flavor was superb and got great service! The ambiance is great too! I love how they have color in here and a TV for sports at the bar top. A great place to watch games read more

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Been there many times now. Everything we have tried has been amazing! Really friendly and knowledgeable staff! Best crispy tacos we have ever had! Thank you! read more

this restaurant was so nice and lovely and i enjoyed the nice staff and the food was very good so were the drinks

Beautiful food. Great service. Definitely returning. Loved the steak nachos and guacamole. All the salsas were superb. Thank you Chelas!

I will never eat here again. I've been sick for two days after eating there chicken enchiladas. I know this a popular place in SC but I don't get it Food is not that good! The only reason I feeling gave one star is that the place was new and seemed clean but obviously the kitchen is not. read more

This is the second Chelas that I've been to and it is just as good as the original store.

Service was great. They gave us their favorites. Specials on a Wednesday were great! I ordered the fish tacos and my husband got the chicken burrito. Fish tacos were amazing! read more

Chelas Mexican Kitchen - Fish tacos and half a chicken burrito. - Mexican Near Me - San Clemente, California

Stopped in for the first time to see what all the hype was about! Well, it was one of those huge neighborhood surprises. Was with my granddaughter and we had a delightful lunch with some of the best carnitas I have ever eaten. Food was outstanding~ wait staff outstanding~ the entire experience was over the top! They are going to be the best kept secret in San Clemente. Bravo...the atmosphere was hustling and bustling.... 5 star!!! read more

I was on a 30-minute lunch break with my husband and we ordered our food at 1:50pm, we waited until 2:25pm, thank goodness we work down the street otherwise we would've been late back to work. I had to cancel and get my refund. This place is NOT convenient at all. All we ordered was potato tacos and a burrito and their excuse was that the french fries were taking too long... not sure how that makes any sense but now I have to go the rest of my shift without eating anything until i'm off (shouldn't have skipped breakfast) + haven't ate all day, I'm regretting not just going to subway for a sandwich across the street. Thanks alot!! One more thing, about 6 WHITE people that ordered AFTER us got their food right away and better service than us LATINOS, it's so sad how they treat their own people... so sad. read more

My partner & I were excited to try the new location as we frequent the other one regularly. However we were a bit disappointed in our take out meal. When we got home, we realized neither of our dishes had a side of chips (as listed on the menu). Our quesadilla did not have its side of guacamole. We did not receive the burrito we ordered but rather an entirely separate item. It seemed as if the associate taking our order was unfamiliar with the menu, and this led to these issues listed above. We hope the new location/staff can sort out these order mistakes and familiarize themselves with their menu. read more

Over priced bland food, people working there did not seem to care or want to be there at all. Bad vibes, bad food, also charging 45 cents for a small side of salsa at a Mexican restaurant is ridiculous after already paying 45 dollars for two burritos. read more

Food was excellent and service was very good. We will definitely order again in the future.

Good service, ambiance is welcoming. The food was good, the only thing is that I got overcooked rice in my plate..very crunchy. But other than that the tacos were awesome! read more

Great taste and quality especially for the price point. Its very nice and inviting for a counter service restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. The people who work there are also very nice. read more

It's awesome! Same great food as the other location. The staff is amazing and will likely only get better. For only being open a short time, the place is running like it's been open for years. Looking forward to slightly warmer weather and will definitely have some tacos and a couple beers on the patio! read more

Love this place! Taco Tuesday and Taco Thursday is the best. They also have the best chips and salsa in town.