First impression is EVERYTHING! Our first impression of El Charro Cafe was the SMELL! It smells so delicious, especially when we had just walked out of a restaurant that smelled like pee or vomit, or both. Rachel, our waitress and hostess is AWESOME!!!! We ate the mole and it was SO AWESOME!!!! Holy Spirit filled place, full of genuine love, the food is made with a lot of love!!!! Last impression before leaving, the restrooms were wonderful and clean, well done, obviously care has been put into upkeeping them. Thank you all!!! Yahweh Bless You Alll!!!! read more

We stopped in on our way to UT for breakfast. It was good. Packed full of people, but they had seating for us. We got a breakfast and lunch menu. We chose the breakfast! #17 Eggs-chicken fried steak and the other plates were #12 eggs with chorizo and added cheese to the them. These were also served with potatoes. Everything was hot and fresh! The tortillas were thin and homemade. They serve you 2 tortillas with each meal. Our waitress was awesome, prompt and polite. The entire place from the outside to the bathroom was super clean. Well recommend! read more

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I had the Baylor plate. The cheese enchilada was excellent also came with fajitas and crunchy taco. It was all great. The waitress was super sweet and the restaurant was very nice inside. I will be going back. read more

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Great food at a great price it hasn't changed in years and that's what I love about it

we stumbled upon this place passing through waco and were encouraged to stop by the review of their carne guisada. we are on the constant quest for a good carne guisada taco. in these parts of texas, tacos are called burritos. don't be put off by the name. tomato, tamahto. the carne guisada at el charro did not disappoint! they have two sizes of "burritos," regular and large. the waitress showed us the approximate size with her hands and we thought the regular might be small so we went with large. they are HUGE! two large burritos covered our entire large, oval dinner plate! priced at $8.50 each, they were still a bargain! you could tell the meat had been stewed for hours and flavors were savory and well balanced. my husband agrees that the carne guisada was reminiscent of what you'd find in south texas. flour tortillas were light and fluffy, not perfect circles so they seemed homemade. i added potatoes and cheese to my burritos which was an up charge but again, still worth it! my husband enjoyed the chips, they were yellow corn and not fried in-house but still good. they bring you two salsas to try, a red and a green. we only tried the red, it wasn't chunky but not smooth, kind of in between. good flavor with a heat that builds. it was great on the burritos! it's a seat-yourself kind of place but the cashier staff was friendly and prompt. Celeste, our waitress, was very attentive and quick with the drink refills and napkins. atmosphere was festive in some places with papel picado and paintings of mexico, wood carved benches with the restaurant name featured, brick arches around the dining areas. you felt like you were in a good place. parking was ample but no frills. you pull right up to the restaurant so it's not a far walk for differently abled folks. the entrance has two doors in a corner so it might be challenging for a wheelchair user, neither of us are wheelchair users so i'm just trying to give folks a heads up from what i observed. if you're in town to shop, it's only 2.2 miles from the magnolia market at the silos so just a quick 6-minute drive to el charro. if in town, you should make this your breakfast stop! all in all, we are putting el charro on our list of favorites to visit when in waco! read more

El Charro Cafe - short drive from the silos! - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

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5 out of 5 Bear Paws One the best classic Mexican plates and place in Waco. I just semi retired and this is my first breakfast on my first day off. Wooo! read more

El Charro Cafe - Juevos Rachel's #7 - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Legit Tex-Mex food! Service was absolutely fantastic and the food was on point! If you like Tex-Mex enchiladas this is the place to go!

The menudo had a horrible smell and the taste was horrible as well. The management was rude and said they she talk to the cook and they said nothing is wrong with the food. And there was everything wrong. I do not recommend this place anymore. If you want menudo, go somewhere else.. read more

I was reluctant to try Mexican food in Waco, TX, as I'm originally from San Antonio. I can't find really good Mexican in Dallas Fort Worth, where I live. I ordered Carne Guisada and it wad so freaking delicious!!! It reminded me of the food I eat when I go to San Antonio. The staff wad super nice and humble . El Charro has become my favorite spot when I travel up And down Interstate 35. read more

The best salsa in Waco! Great food for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Fast service and great vibe inside.

Good clean restaurant with great food. Portions are plenty, too. No complaints about the service. My favorite is breakfast: chorizo & eggs with a side of chicharrón. read more

After 30+ years of patronage here, I called one time (one of hundreds of times) to place my usual order. Sent my employee to go get it. Looked at my receipt, and was charged $42 for 3 cheese enchiladas. The waitress had accidentally rang up 3 cheese enchilada dinners. I walked back across the street and asked to speak to the owner about the mixup. He said either I pay for all of it because it was my fault, or I could blame the waitress and have her fired. I offered to just pay for half so that he wouldn't lose much on the mistake... and he said no. 30 years of coming here. Weekly breakfast burritos. Saturdays lunches for me and my employees and Saturday date nights. I will never step foot back in here. If the owner is reading this, I've done the math, and you've now lost about $1400 in sales from just me, and about $8000 from customers that I could've recommended. Maybe you should've just tried to meet me in the middle. Aside from my personal distaste for poor customer service, the prices change often and my card had been charged for more than I was told numerous times. read more

Excellent Tex Mex. Like stepping back into a 1960s Mexican cafe, in a good way. Very professional wait staff, many of whom have been there for decades. Great breakfast. Best menudo in town. Carne guisada or carne con papas are favorites. Cheese enchiladas excellent. Both red and green salsas are good. read more

My wife and I was driving in from Dallas and wanted some menudo. We googled and man did we find a great place. Tacos were great also. read more

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Got breakfast tacos from here and how do you mess that up I don't think they used any salt or pepper on anything. Looked like my 10 year old made me breakfast and I was forced to eat it because I don't wanna feel bad read more

The staff are super sweet, Vero attends everyone with welcome arms. And the foos is always on point never disappointed

Good service and salsa. Not much seperates one taqueria from the next. Except for service and salsa. Both are a above average here.

very good breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ate there today and had the Carne Guisada. Delicious as always !! They have been open for many years and I hope they stay for many more. Very clean restaurant and restrooms and the service is great. read more

Arrived there just before 6:30pm and there was only one car in the parking lot. We thought maybe they were closed but we went in and found that only one other table was occupied. We sat down and was served by a very friendly girl who gave us great service and said this was the best Mexican food restaurant in Waco. Well, it was hardly that. It was just OK. My chicken enchiladas were bland and the refried beans were not good at all. One of our dining companions said her chili rellenos were good and another said the carne asada was all right. So this place gets one star for being OK and another for having Mexican Coke. We'll be going back to where they really DO have the best Mexican food in town ... around the corner at Trujillos. read more

El Charro Cafe - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

Lots of options on their menu. The staff was really kind and the prices were really affordable. We will definitely be back.

Visiting from Atlanta & really missing Mexican food. After a day of shopping on La Salle street, we were happy to find this gem. The food was fresh & tasty. The server was busy but he was super helpful & courteous. The horchata was perfectly flavored & not overly sweet. Highly recommend this place for lunch. read more

The food is friggin good. The waiter was super nice and took good care of me. I recommend this place any day of the week

This is a very clean restaurant that has very good food. Service was a bit slow the day that we visited, but not horrible. The portions seemed a bit light when you compare it to other Tex/Mex restuarants. We will be back to give it another try. read more

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Waco. My family has been coming here for years. I admit I order the same thing every time the cheese enchiladas which are the bomb.com read more

Absolute dive but delicious, authentic, and cheap Mexican food. This place makes their own tortillas fresh everyday (which is very uncommon in Waco for some reason) and has a wide range of items on the menu. They have a la cart items like grilled cheese for under $2.00 and full sized entrees from $8.00 to $15.00. I ordered the three taco combo for right around $6.00. The ambiance of the restaurant is not amazing but is definitely worth more than what you pay for the food. If you have an adventurous woman, this would not be a bad place for a date. All in all, good Mexican food experience. I will be coming back. read more

I've never tried this place, though a Wacoan since the early 90s. Well, this weekend...we decided to give it a go! It was packed at around 11 when we arrived. Great service, good coffee. Their chips and salsa were spot on. We were excited about the food! My hubs got the carne guisada and papas per the waitress' suggestion. I decided to try the cheese enchilada plate. His was good, seasoning a bit basic. Mine was , I was dumbfounded to bite into my enchilada and find it was stuffed with some kind of velveeta or pasteurized cheese rather than cheddar! Couldn't eat it. Can't say I've ever had that happen...even for tex-mex, yuck! read more

Probably the best authentic Tex-Mexican food in Waco. We come here every time we get the chance. The coffee is a gift from God and the huevos rancheros, retried beans and potatoes are the perfect hangover cure. If you want an awesome breakfast, go for the huevos rancheros and a cheese enchilada on the side. So good. read more

Sweet tea and salsa were good, overall the food is bland and we did wait a good 20 mins before we got our food.

Clean facility. Good service. Good food. Good prices. The sauce they use on their enchiladas and wet burritos is delicious!

Fabulous hamburger, huevos rancheros the "real thing", I love this place, it's convenient and if anything wasn't right, I'd send it back and they'd happily fix it. Once the bacon was just not crisp enough, wham, new bacon. They rock and on the weekends it's packed, locals love it, I love it. read more

This was one of our favorite affordable Mexican places during our time in Waco. The Cubano was our favorite but everything was good. read more

El Charro Cafe - The Cubano (Carne Pastor) - Mexican Near Me - Waco, Texas

Just moved here great place to eat at a good price! The service was good and the chips and salsa were spot on. Will be coming again!

We found this gem off of I35 on a road trip. We were originally heading to the restaurant next door but they were closed. The food was good but the excellent service provided by Delia made us feel like VIPs. If we ever come this way again, we will definitely stop here. read more

The service was great, and the food had a unique taste, all in all was very good.

I love this place. We soon became regulars because of the quality, quantity and price of the food. The service is great too. I have not found another Mexican restraunt in Waco that compares. read more

The food was good. Had a good taste, and came out pretty fast even though they were busy. Our waitress was a little rushed which was the only beef I had. Overall she was nice, though. Nice local restaurant. read more

My family and I have been eating here for years. I ate here for the first time in 1982, before we had relocated to Waco later that year. There are a lot of places to eat Mexican food in Waco and I have eaten at a good share of them. The food here is as authentic as any in Waco. I keep coming back not only because of the great food but also for the great service I get from the owners, their family and there staff, they're all the best. I am sitting here with my iPad waiting for an order of the best beef enchiladas with authentic chili carne, mmmm. read more

The most consistent old style Mexican food in Waco. Try the cheese enchiladas and add Pico de Gallo.

Passing through Waco in search of authentic Tex-Mex food. We hit the jackpot at El Charro Cafe!! Great food and the Ranchero Sauce was awesome with the Chili Relleno! We requested the sauce on the side and was also awesome over the beans and the rice. Great tasting food, clean restaurant and very friendly staff. Will return when we're in the area again! read more

This is NOT a four star restaurant which was the listed number of stars this place had when I checked out the reviews for here. If this is the best Mexican food in Waco which a previous poster suggested, they either don't know what good Mexican food is or Waco is in dire straits when it comes to Mexican food. Salsa was good (not great) and the chips came out of bag which is bad mojo for a place that presents itself as an authentic family owned Mexican restaurant. I ordered a #1 combo plate and the taco was good but the rest of the meal was terrible. The shells were all pre-made and nothing was authentic. The Spanish rice was blah and the beans tasted off. The service was acceptable and the ambiance was not great but I really don't care since you come to an old Mexican restaurant, you're not expecting much in that regard. Overall, I came here on a local recommendation to give it a chance but was very disappointed. There were a lot of local clientele in here but definitely not a place for someone who has eaten at some truly great Mexican restaurants. I would avoid this place and I for sure will not be coming back, sorry to say. read more